Chapter 46: All Good Things

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“Weiguo, I see you’re pushing your bike home—what happened? Come on, tell us all about it,” called out one of the uncles as Xiao Weiguo appeared.

“Hello, Uncle Chuan. That bike belongs to the work unit. I’ve found a job as a worker in the capital, and today’s my day off before I officially start, so I came home for a visit. I brought some candies to share with everyone—let’s all have a bit of good luck,” Xiao Weiguo replied.

He reached into the lining of his coat, pretending to pull out candies, while actually drawing a bag of fruit hard candies from his secret space. As was custom, everyone present got a share, two candies each.

“Heh, Weiguo, you’re generous! Not like Old Eight’s kid—became a worker and never shares any good fortune with us, just likes to show off,” chimed in one of the more outspoken men in the crowd.

As more and more people gathered around, Xiao Weiguo quickly handed a handful of candies to Xiao Weijun, asking him to distribute them among the children, while Weiguo took care of the adults.

Weijun, delighted, grabbed the candies and dashed over to the group of children, laughing and playing as he handed them out.

Weiguo distributed the rest to the adults as quickly as he could. During this, Grandfather Xiao Tie Niu stepped out into the courtyard and called out, “That’s enough, everyone’s had their share, time to go, go, go! Weiguo, stop giving them out—keep some for ourselves.”

Weiguo paid his grandfather no mind and continued, but after hearing the old man’s words, some of the older folks politely declined more candy, merely offering their congratulations and asking about the details of his new job.

Weiguo brushed off their questions with a laugh—there was no way to explain it all in a few words, better to just let them know the outcome.

Once the candies were all handed out, he followed his grandfather back into the courtyard, with Weijun trotting along behind.

“In the afternoon, remember to give Little Shitou a couple more candies,” Weiguo reminded Weijun, who only looked puzzled.

Grandfather Xiao Tie Niu closed the gate behind them, and the whole group returned to the main room.

“Big Brother, what good things did you bring back this time? That bag looks huge,” Weijun asked Weiguo.

“Why not see for yourself? It’s all in the bag on the floor—just be careful when you take things out,” Weiguo replied, not wanting to explain item by item, and simply put Weijun to work as his little assistant.

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“Alright!” Weijun replied, and dashed into the house, heading straight for the big bag.

Weiguo and Xiao Tie Niu followed them into the main room.

Weijun first pulled out two bottles of Xifeng liquor. Weiguo explained, “These two bottles are gifts from my boss, especially for Grandfather.” The old man took them with a broad grin, examining them over and over.

At this time, Xifeng liquor was considered a high-end spirit—among popular brands, only Moutai could rival it.

Next, Weijun pulled out a bag of Snow Cream. Weiguo took them, then called his six younger sisters over. “Come, each of you gets one box and one bag. Hongmei, help me hand them out.”

The girls’ eyes sparkled with delight at the sight of the Snow Cream. If Grandfather weren’t there, they might have burst into happy tears.

Hongmei hastily divided the goods, handing out two portions to each sister.

Pan Di held her Snow Cream, pressed it to her nose, and breathed in deeply, her face full of bliss. “It smells so good.” She eyed the twins’ share, thinking to herself that the two little sisters were too young to use something like that—she’d take it later.

At that moment, Weiguo noticed his grandmother’s longing gaze and realized he’d forgotten her. After all, she was a woman too—what woman doesn’t love cosmetics? He quickly pulled two boxes of Snow Cream from his secret stash and handed them to her. “Grandma, these are for you. I kept them close just for you—see if you like them.”

Grandmother accepted them with surprise and delight, though she scolded lightly, “You shouldn’t have wasted money buying for me—just getting some for Hongmei and the others is enough. Next time, don’t do it again.”

Seeing everyone else in the room had received a gift except himself, Weijun dove back into the bag and pulled out malted milk, canned fruit, canned beef, and brown sugar.

Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight of these rare and expensive treats—this was truly extravagant.

Grandmother turned to Weiguo and said, “Dear boy, who gave you all these things? How did you bring back so much on a single visit? None of this is cheap.”

“My boss is wealthy—these are all gifts from him. You and Grandpa should eat them to nourish yourselves. These are all good for health. When you finish them, I’ll buy more—don’t save them, they’ll spoil,” Weiguo replied, conveniently using Shi Guanglin as a shield.

“Make sure you work hard for him—that boss is very good to you. You must be grateful,” Grandfather advised earnestly.

Weijun then pulled out a bag of candies, mostly White Rabbit milk candy. Weiguo took them and passed them to Lianxin. “Lianxin, help hand these out—see how many there are, leave half for Grandma’s family, and divide the rest among the seven of you.”

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At this, Grandmother came over and snatched the bag of candies, scolding, “It’s not a festival—what’s the point of eating so much candy? Two each, and the rest we’ll save for New Year.”

She counted out fourteen candies and handed them to Lianxin, deliberately picking the cheaper ones.

Weiguo looked at his seven younger siblings and noticed their slightly disappointed expressions.

He turned to Grandmother and said, “Grandma, let’s give everyone one more White Rabbit—let them taste what Shanghai’s famous milk candies are like.”

In those days, White Rabbit was the most coveted candy—there was nothing finer. Everyone took pride in having White Rabbit, a sentiment that lasted through the ’80s and ’90s, keeping the brand alive into the 21st century. By the 2000s, that feeling had faded.

Weiguo took the bag from Grandmother’s hand, counted out ten White Rabbits, and made sure everyone in the room got one.

Grandfather and Grandmother tried to refuse, but Weiguo popped a candy into Grandfather’s mouth, and the old man’s face lit up in pure contentment.

Old folks are always like this—always wanting to save the best for their children, reluctant to eat or use anything for themselves. Even in later years, when supplies were plentiful, many elders would let things expire rather than indulge themselves, always eating the oldest items first and putting away the fresh ones, so that everything they consumed was out-of-date—all in the name of thrift.

Weijun then pulled out another bag containing chicken, rabbit, pork, rice, oil, and other groceries.

Weiguo accepted it and said to Grandmother, “Grandma, this food won’t keep for long in this weather—you’ll need to finish it in the next few days, or smoke it for preservation.”

“You’re always buying so much meat—there’s plenty at home already,” Grandmother chided.

“Brother, we’re not allowed to eat at the communal canteen anymore,” Hongmei said to Weiguo.

“When I left, everything was fine—what happened? Besides, it’s noon now, shouldn’t everyone be eating at the canteen?” Weiguo asked in confusion.