Chapter 15: “Shen Tingjun’s Income”

Even though Jiang Wanwan had told her little brother they wouldn’t go to the Red Star Restaurant, that was before they had to flee from People’s Park. Now, with nowhere else to go, they ended up at the restaurant anyway.

Although she had only been working for a few days and hadn’t even gotten her paycheck yet, Jiang Wanwan saw herself as a wage-earner now. She felt it was rude to always let Shen Tingjun pay, so she took the lead and went to the counter to order and pay herself. Shen Tingjun saw her determination and let her go, staying at the table and getting lost in his own thoughts.

Jiang Wanwan had noticed that he preferred sweet and sour food, so she ordered sweet and sour spareribs, a plate of spicy and sour cabbage, and a few steamed buns. After using her ration coupons, it only cost one yuan and fifty cents. She once again marveled at the price of the famous roasted chicken. While it didn’t require coupons and tasted amazing, it was a luxury most people couldn’t afford. She knew her stepfather, Xu Weishan, had paid only ten yuan for a famous Beijing roasted duck when he was on a business trip.

Jiang Wanwan was lost in her thoughts and hadn’t noticed that Shen Tingjun was staring at the table. She waved her hand in front of his face. “What are you thinking about? You didn’t hear a word I said.”

Shen Tingjun looked up at her and sighed. “I was thinking about where we should go on our next date. I thought guys like Sun Er, who are already married, would be more reliable. I asked them where they go on dates, but they all said they just watch movies and go to the park, and then they get married after only a few dates. They only went to the cooperative to buy things for their weddings, so that experience isn’t very helpful for us.”

“We’re tired of watching the same movies. There are too many people at the park, and it’s boring. We can’t go to the department store and cooperative every day!”

Jiang Wanwan’s expression hardened as she listened to him. “Are you having second thoughts? Do you not want to date for a year anymore? If you even mention getting married early, I’ll punch you!”

Shen Tingjun couldn’t help but laugh at her defiant glare.

“What are you laughing at?” Jiang Wanwan looked even angrier.

“Nothing. I just think you’re cute when you’re mad,” Shen Tingjun said, trying to appease her. But in his mind, he was thinking, Before, she would have said, ‘If you mention getting married early, I’ll dump you right now,’ but now she only says she’ll hit me. She’s not talking about ending things anymore.

His persistent flattery and food deliveries are working. The revolution is about to be won! Shen Tingjun thought to himself.

There was another reason for his laugh, too. He looked up and saw Jiang Wanwan rolling her eyes in frustration. His smile deepened.

In this era, her face was considered a little scandalous. He hadn’t noticed it before when she always looked down and hunched her shoulders, but now that her expressions were so animated, her entire face had come alive. She probably didn’t realize it herself, but she had a pair of expressive eyes. When she was acting normal, it was fine, but when she glared at him, it looked like a tender gaze. When she rolled her eyes, it looked like she was flirting. That’s why every time Jiang Wanwan looked at him with disdain, Shen Tingjun couldn’t help but laugh.

“If you want to date for a year, we’ll date for a year. If you don’t want to get married, I’ll never bring it up. Whatever you want to do, we’ll do. Okay?” Shen Tingjun said with a laugh, looking so agreeable that Jiang Wanwan grew more suspicious. The more he smiled, the more she felt he had a secret motive.

“What were you just saying to me?” Shen Tingjun asked, eating with his chopsticks.

Jiang Wanwan was easily distracted and went back to their original topic. “I was asking why that roasted chicken is so expensive. A chicken from a small shop in our city costs almost as much as a famous Beijing roasted duck, which is well-known throughout the country.”

“Expensive? This is cheap! After the public-private partnership, they barely make any money. It was much more expensive in the past. The secret recipe for that roasted chicken starts with the feed for the little chicks. To guarantee the quality of the meat, the ratio of the feed has to be changed at every stage of the chicken’s life. Then there are the procedures before it goes into the oven, during the roasting process, and after it comes out. The complicated steps would drive a chef crazy, and that’s not even counting all the seasonings! At least five or six people have to tend to one batch of roasted chickens, from chick to sale. How could it not be expensive?” Shen Tingjun said, chewing on his food.

Jiang Wanwan listened with wide eyes and then asked, puzzled, “How do you know the secret recipe and process so well?”

“Why do I know?” Shen Tingjun looked at Jiang Wanwan and scoffed. “Because before the public-private partnership, that was my grandfather’s shop.”

“So that roasted chicken shop is your family’s?!” Jiang Wanwan was so shocked that she forgot where they were and yelled out loud.

They were sitting in a corner, and everyone in the restaurant turned to look at them.

Luckily, no one heard what she had yelled.

“Why are you so excited? It’s a state-run restaurant now, not mine,” Shen Tingjun said. He didn’t understand why she was so agitated. It had been years since the public-private partnership. There was no way a private business could still exist.

“But what about the fixed interest?” Jiang Wanwan asked. She wasn’t a history expert, but she vaguely remembered something about that.

“They paid all that out years ago. What do you do all day that you don’t know this?” Shen Tingjun asked, confused.

Jiang Wanwan was just as confused. What did Jiang Huiwan do all day? Her memories barely had any information about national policies; it was as if she spent all her time thinking about her mother’s attitude toward her. Even so, Jiang Wanwan wasn’t about to admit her ignorance. She turned the tables and started blaming Shen Tingjun.

“It’s because you spend money like it’s nothing! You buy roasted chicken all the time. I thought you got them for free!” The more she talked, the more she realized how little he thought about money. “The salary for a job in the sales department isn’t high, only around thirty yuan a month. Where do you get all this money to spend so lavishly? My stepfather makes over 130 yuan a month, and he doesn’t spend like you do.”

Shen Tingjun shook his head and corrected her. “I was a temporary worker in the sales department, and I only made fifteen yuan a month. But I might be transferred to the logistics department next month, so my salary might increase a bit.”

Jiang Wanwan’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You make so little, and you don’t save any money? What are you going to use to support a family in the future?”

Seeing her concerned expression, Shen Tingjun decided to stop teasing her. “Just relax. Thanks to my grandfather, I have another job at the roasted chicken shop. I’m a technician, and I make over eighty yuan a month. With the allowance my dad and my uncle give me, it’s more than enough to support you!”

Jiang Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about being poor and living on the streets if they got married. But then she realized something else was wrong. An allowance from his father and uncle? Wasn’t that just a fancy way of saying he was mooching off his family? At this rate, when the elders retired, he’d be broke.

Jiang Wanwan was about to ask him another question, but Shen Tingjun shoved a steamed bun in her mouth.

“All right, Miss Moneypockets, just eat and stop asking questions. I have other sources of income. I definitely make more than I spend, and when we get married, I’ll give you my entire money box.”

“If you ask another question, I’ll assume you want to get married early!”