Translator: Cinder Translations
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Halfway through taking a step, he suddenly stopped.
There was a sense of delayed realization, and the entire body of the Fatty froze in place.
That's right. If he hadn't noticed the newspaper placed close to him and had gone to sleep normally, what would have happened afterward?
He feared he would end up like Dr. Jiang last night.
Caught in a nightmare.
Then he would die.
And become the "dead fatty" Dr. Jiang had mentioned.
The bag he was holding, neatly packed, dropped to the ground with a loud "thud," and the half-bottle of iced tea inside rolled out, bouncing and hitting the wall with a "bang."
"Dr. Jiang..."
The blood drained from his face as he turned around trembling, only to find that the bedroom door had already been closed, and the sticky note on the doorknob was gone.
A few seconds later, Dr. Jiang's voice came from inside the room, "Don't disturb me tomorrow morning," his voice muffled, as if he was cocooned in the blankets.
"Before 11:00 AM, I want to see the pork ribs on the table," he continued, "Also, make sure the minced garlic, aged vinegar, seafood soy sauce, and green onions are properly sautéed."
Fatty acted even more obediently than Dr. Jiang had instructed. When he woke up in the morning, he moved slowly, barely making a sound.
He tiptoed down the stairs, went to the morning market, bought some fresh yam, peeled it, cut it into pieces, and put it into the pot to stew with the cleaned pork ribs.
He also bought some small cucumbers, still not as thick as his fingers, and pickled them with salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and so on. By the time Dr. Jiang woke up, they would be ready as a side dish.
The pork ribs were in the pot by 8:00 AM, and Fatty calculated the time so that he could wake up Dr. Jiang at exactly 10:50.
In the meantime, he began cleaning up.
Wearing rubber gloves, he started in Dr. Jiang's office, cleaning the desk, chairs, and the computer. Fatty picked up Dr. Jiang's keyboard and couldn't help but frown.
In the unlocked drawer, there were two large rolls of toilet paper.
He cleaned meticulously, not missing any corners.
Having worked in housekeeping and knowing a little about renovation, this was no trouble for him—it just took some time.
Just as he was crouching on the floor, holding disinfectant spray in one hand and scrubbing stubborn stains with a cloth in the other, he heard footsteps from the stairs.
Fatty looked up just as Dr. Jiang appeared at the corner.
"Dr. Jiang," Fatty greeted him enthusiastically, "You're up early. It's just past 10:00 AM, the ribs aren't ready yet."
Dr. Jiang seemed still half-asleep, his eyelids barely lifting. Like a zombie, he stumbled toward the bathroom by the stairs.
Soon, the sound of him washing up could be heard.
After a refreshing sound of flowing water, Dr. Jiang spoke slowly, "It's fine, I can wait a bit."
"Thank you for your hard work, Dr. Jiang."
Dr. Jiang's dazed state only started to change once he had the first bite of the ribs.
Since they had been stewing for a long time, the meat on the ribs fell off easily with chopsticks. Dr. Jiang picked up a big piece, dipped it in the sauce, and after rolling it a few times, stuffed it into his mouth.
Fatty served Dr. Jiang more broth and reminded, "Be careful, Dr. Jiang, it's hot." He paused and added, "You don't have to rush, no one's fighting you for it."
The entire pot of ribs was nearly finished in less than half an hour. After the meal, Fatty went to the kitchen to wash the dishes while Dr. Jiang leaned back on the sofa, picking his teeth.
"Fatty," Dr. Jiang said with his eyes half-closed, "Are you free later?"
The sound of water in the kitchen grew softer.
"I'm not busy, Dr. Jiang," Fatty dried his hands with a towel and turned to answer, "Do you need something?"
"Come with me this afternoon."
"Got it, Dr. Jiang."
In the afternoon, as they prepared to leave, Dr. Jiang looked very neat and tidy. He had a face that wealthy women liked, and now, with his well-dressed appearance, he gave the impression of a young, successful professional.
"Dr. Jiang," Fatty, standing at the door, looked down at the tips of his shoes. He gathered his courage and hesitated before asking, "Do you think I need to tidy up?"
"I'm meeting a client, not a rich woman," Dr. Jiang adjusted his tie, cutting off Fatty's thought immediately.
When they arrived at the street corner, Fatty hesitated. He had expected the employer to send a car, or at least they would take a taxi, but Dr. Jiang led him straight to the bus stop.
Fatty pursed his lips and spoke after a while: "Dr. Jiang, we're taking the bus?"
"Mm-hmm."
"But..." Fatty continued, "Dr. Jiang, do you have any change? I've run out of coins."
At the mention of money, Dr. Jiang's gaze grew deeper for a moment, but it quickly passed as his eyes moved away from Fatty, noticing something in the corner nearby.
Fatty followed Dr. Jiang's gaze and saw an old man walking toward them, leaning on a cane with a limp.
The old man was wearing a tattered, dark red sweater, the collar worn and frayed.
One of his legs seemed to be broken, and he hunched over in an awkward manner, his eyes cloudy and dull, clearly blind.
He was holding a broken bowl, the rim chipped, and inside, there were a few scattered coins.
It seemed like this was his means of survival—begging.
People waiting for the bus along the way avoided him, with only a few tossing one or two yuan coins into the bowl, the coins making a sharp clink as they hit the bottom.
Everyone's eyes showed their disdain.
So pitiful.
The old man reminded Fatty of his grandfather, and his mood grew heavy.
Soon, the old man approached Fatty and Dr. Jiang. He raised his head, trembling as he held out the broken bowl and spoke in a pitiful tone: "Thank you, kind person, I haven't eaten for three days..."
Just as Fatty, with tears in his eyes, was about to give the old man a 5 or 10 yuan note—
In the next second.
To Fatty's shock, Dr. Jiang casually reached out and started rummaging through the old man's bowl.
He picked out the two cleanest one-yuan coins and clenched them in his hand.
The old man froze. Not only did he not feel the bowl become heavier, but it actually felt lighter. He immediately realized what had happened.
His dirty face turned slightly red with anger. He reached out with his other arm and grabbed Dr. Jiang's sleeve.
His mouth opened, revealing a set of black and yellow teeth.
Just as Fatty thought Dr. Jiang would be scolded or even hit by the old man, Dr. Jiang calmly straightened up and slowly cleared his throat.
"Ahem."
The plain sound of clearing his throat caused the old man's actions to freeze.
The anger on his face quickly faded, replaced by a look of fear.
It was as if he recognized the person in front of him.
The hand that had grabbed the sleeve immediately let go, and the old man clasped his broken bowl, hiding it.
Then, muttering curses, he walked away, disappearing from Fatty's sight.
(End of the Chapter)
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