WHF Ch 51 – Accepting the Challenge

Half an hour later, Yu Tianbai came out of the magnificent and brightly lit office, a postcard held between his fingers. He looked left and right for a moment before he found Xiu Ma leaning against the wall.

“What are you thinking about?” Yu Tianbai circled around to his front. “You look so pale.”

Xiu Ma took several deep breaths as if waking from a long dream, straightened up, and answered him: “Nothing, just tired.”

“I was the one driving the whole way, how did you get tired?” Yu Tianbai was somewhat at a loss for whether to laugh or cry. “Let’s go, time to go home.”

It was probably the time when people got off work in the small city, and the farmers’ market downstairs was filled with many colorfully dressed students. Xiu Ma rarely saw young people here, and as he walked along with Yu Tianbai, he kept glancing back a few times.

“Who was that person you just met?” he asked again after taking a few quick steps to catch up to Yu Tianbai.

“A forger of fake documents,” Yu Tianbai’s answer was concise and to the point.

That was a pointless statement. Even if Xiu Ma were any more foolish, he would have known that was a forger of fake documents. Yu Tianbai also noticed the disdain on his face and continued, “Forging documents is just his means of making a living now. Don’t be fooled by his appearance, he was a proper gangster before the crackdown on organized crime.”

A proper gangster. No matter how one heard it, that term did not sound proper at all.

“A local ruffian?” Xiu Ma asked.

“That term can sometimes be a compliment in my book.” Yu Tianbai did not turn his head to look at him.

After walking out of the farmers’ market, the sky in Jiamusi had already turned a grayish blue. It was about to be sunset. From the People’s Square in the distance, the melodious and lingering sound of an accordion could be heard. An indescribable feeling welled up, and Xiu Ma stared for a while in the direction from which the music came.

“Want to go for a stroll?” Yu Tianbai stopped in front of the car door, gesturing with his chin towards that direction.

“Let’s not.” Xiu Ma ducked into the car and fastened his seatbelt.

It was not that he did not want to go and see, it was just that the feeling in this small city was too much like home, like some nonexistent childhood home. Xiu Ma had never been to Jiamusi, but this feeling was so familiar, a feeling of his mind being numb and his nose being stuffy.

The young master did not want to stroll, so Yu Tianbai did not insist. He got into the car, released the handbrake, and unable to hold back his chatter, he started telling Xiu Ma about the dark legends of the Northeast around the year 2000.

Of course, times change, society develops, and the black soil could not forever belong to armed brawls and turf wars. After entering the new century, the young and dangerous punks who once vied for supremacy were like cement stirred and scattered at a construction site, blending into the crowd to each find their own way to make a living. The bald boss they had just met was one of them.

Although document forging was not exactly a legitimate business, and Yu Tianbai himself did not encourage, support, or judge such behavior, in certain unique industry contexts, there was indeed some useful intelligence to be exchanged.

For example, about the previous person who needed fake documents.

“Back then, I introduced him to the guy surnamed Sun. Since they both did fake documents, one with a fixed establishment is better than a freelance operator, right?” Yu Tianbai chattered on while driving, while the person in the passenger seat offered no comment.

“He just wouldn’t listen and got scammed out of two hundred and fifty.”

As he spoke, Yu Tianbai let out a “tsk” sound and turned on the signal to turn into a side road.

They were all people who made a living by acting for others. Someone who ran their own theater was better than a traveling troupe, that was probably the logic — in short, the bald boss with a fixed establishment, relying on his background and connections, had made his way through the underground market of the Northeast. As long as it was something obtained or spent on this piece of land, of unknown origin, and not presentable, he knew a thing or two about it.

There was a red light ahead. Yu Tianbai stepped on the brake and turned his face to the passenger seat. The main point was coming:

“In the underground market transactions from the past few months, there really was a person named Fang Hui.”

Although the conversation had reached the main point, for some unknown reason, after coming out of the farmers’ market, the young master’s complexion had been strangely poor. He looked as if he had downed a pound of white liquor with some pig head meat and then thrown up in a public toilet. He was even listening to Yu Tianbai’s words with his eyes closed. However, after hearing the two words “Fang Hui,” he slowly opened his eyes.

“Aren’t you afraid it’s just someone with the same name?” His tone was still the same as usual, full of that cocky young master’s attitude.

“The bald guy knows the person. It’s the Fang Hui whose household registration is in Changlin Village and who worked as an accountant at the glass factory.” As he finished speaking, the light ahead turned green. The evening in the small city looked quite lively, with plenty of people and cars at the intersection, which made the person in the car seem even more listless.

The car started moving, and Yu Tianbai glanced at the passenger seat again.

“What is wrong with you today?”

This time, the young master did not close his eyes. His head rested against the car seat, as if his neck had no bones.

“Go on, I’m listening. He knows Fang Hui, and then what?”

He had replied, but it was an evasive answer. One could not say he was in a bad mood, but it was definitely not polite.

Yu Tianbai looked at him for a while longer before turning his head back. A taxi next to them that was preparing to overtake got impatient and honked its horn wildly as it swerved. As soon as he made way, the taxi immediately twisted and turned to race ahead. Yu Tianbai stuck his head out and hurled a few curses at the back of the car.

After cursing, he closed the car window as if nothing had happened. The nameless fire that the young master had provoked dissipated a little. He continued:

“Fang Hui was last seen in the Seafood Grand Restaurant, together with the restaurant owner. We have to go and meet this owner tomorrow.”

It would not be strange to have one or two acquaintances in Jiamusi, but it seemed that Yu Tianbai had known every person he mentioned by name for years. This was no ordinary level of being well connected.

“You know the restaurant owner too?” Xiu Ma was incredulous.

“I don’t,” Yu Tianbai said, firm and decisive.

If he did not know him, how were they supposed to meet? Xiu Ma’s face already spelled out the question. Yu Tianbai could see his confusion.

“Aren’t there plenty of ways? There are always more solutions than problems.” Yu Tianbai turned the car, speaking with self satisfaction.

Solutions were not thought up like that. Although Yu Tianbai had improvised many times over the past month or so, meeting the owner of a seafood restaurant on the spot was indeed the most unreliable plan yet.

Xiu Ma still wanted to say something: “But what if—”

“We’re here.” Yu Tianbai stopped the van.

The car had stopped in front of an old residential complex, the kind commonly seen in the Northeast. Khrushchev-style buildings, faded gilded characters, looking quite similar to the one in Songyuan, perhaps even older. The sky was getting dark, and even the newly painted walls could not make the complex look fresh.

“Building number four, the one in the middle, go up to the third floor, that’s it. You go first.” Yu Tianbai gave him no buffer, directly revealing his home address.

There were not many people in the complex. A few scattered tricycles collecting home appliances were all there was. Xiu Ma also felt out of place standing in the open space, so he lowered his head and ducked into the stairwell.

Time really did move slower in a small city. From leaving Suihua, to visiting the local big shot, getting the information, and returning to Yu Tianbai’s home, it was only four o’clock in the evening.

Even that text message did not take up much time.

The stairwell door opened again, and Yu Tianbai slipped in, pointing upwards: “Let’s go, it’s on the third floor.”

It was the middle door on the third floor. The neighbors on the left and right looked like they had not been around for a long time. The spring couplets on their doors were from the previous year’s zodiac, and there was even a bundle of withered mugwort. Yu Tianbai lowered his head to search through his key pouch, fishing out a key that looked like it had barely been used.

“The apartment is a bit empty, but both rooms have beds. Pick one you like.”

When Yu Tianbai said this, he did not have his usual flippant demeanor. Instead, he truly sounded like the master of the house, inviting a guest who had come from afar, which made Xiu Ma feel a little inexplicably nervous.

Once the door was opened and the lights were turned on, the feeling that was exclusively Yu Tianbai’s hit him in the face. Yes, even a mere apartment could be described with an adjective like “Yu Tianbai.”

The hard furnishings in the apartment were not too old fashioned. It was not the dark, thin wood paneling typical of 1980s complexes. It had been renovated, with gray-toned wood floors, and the walls had been repainted. There were no magnificent crystal chandeliers or blindingly bright incandescent bulbs common in Northeastern homes. The decor was very simple, the color scheme was uniform, very ordinary, very relaxing, even a little nice.

Of course, this alone was not enough to be considered “Yu Tianbai-ism.” What truly led Xiu Ma to this conclusion were the boxes neatly stacked in the living room.

Simulation tools, family planning products, sexy lingerie — Xiu Ma still remembered the twelve shocking characters Yu Tianbai had brought to him on their first day. Now, after some time, he had graduated. With just a glance, he knew that these boxes were filled with a dazzling array of items, everything one could wish for, and endless fun.

“Why put them right by the entrance?” Stepping into the room, Xiu Ma gave his first critique.

“Nobody usually comes over,” Yu Tianbai took off his hat and started taking off his jacket. “As long as it’s convenient, right?”

Xiu Ma looked at him, at a loss for words, and asked again, “Is this your reason for watching condoms instead of a television?”

That’s right. In the spot facing the sofa, where a television should have been, a box was prominently labeled “Ultra Thin.”

“I don’t usually watch TV, it’s pretty lonely.” Yu Tianbai hung his jacket on the coat rack by the door — a feature unique to old houses. “Just think of the ultra thin condoms as an ultra thin LCD TV.”

Exceptionally reasonable.

“You can check out the rooms yourself,” Yu Tianbai gestured with his face towards the inside of the apartment. “I’m going to turn on the gas stove. Anyway, this is my own place, so it’s no problem to stay a few more days.”

Xiu Ma followed Yu Tianbai’s back and looked into the apartment. The apartment had a good orientation, north-south facing, about a hundred square meters. There were indeed not many things in the room. Although it could not be considered a mansion of several hundred square meters, for one person living alone, whose range of activities was not large, it might indeed be a bit lonely. Imagining it further, in the long and unchanging deep winter and early spring of the Northeast, feeling bored all alone, turning on the TV, the loneliness would spread from one person to fill the entire room.

He suddenly felt that perhaps Yu Tianbai was also afraid of being lonely.

“Don’t open the window yet!” Yu Tianbai’s voice came from the bathroom, followed by a few more muffled sentences, probably about the condensation on the window and the dust in the room needing to be wiped first. Xiu Ma answered him with an “okay” and turned to go to the bedroom.

One living room and two bedrooms. The two bedrooms were one large and one small. The larger one was probably where Yu Tianbai usually stayed. There was a double bed covered with a dust cloth, looking like he had not been back to stay for some time. The guest room was smaller, but it could not escape the fate of being a storeroom. Boxes of goods were stacked in the corner. There was a single sofa bed. It was probably used as a study usually. Next to the sofa bed were a desk and a floor to ceiling bookshelf. Surprisingly, there were quite a few books on it, mostly classical and wuxia novels. They did not look like they were just for decoration. He had not expected this unlucky boss to be so bored as to start studying literature.

“Want to eat out tonight?” Speak of the devil and he shall appear. The unlucky boss poked his head in from behind him.

Xiu Ma withdrew the hand that was about to pick up the “Collector’s Edition of The Plum in the Golden Vase,” cleared his throat, and asked, “Do you have a wok?”

This reply startled Yu Tianbai. He raised an eyebrow: “Are the bowls at the restaurant not enough — are you that hungry?”

Faced with such a question, Xiu Ma pursed his lips and exhaled through his nose. Every time Yu Tianbai made some shocking remark, he would cycle through the expressions he had prepared for speechless moments. This time, he chose the silent one.

After the silence, he explained his meaning to Yu Tianbai again: “What I mean is, I can cook.”

The unlucky boss leaned against the doorframe and looked at him, blinking his eyes, followed by a look of utter disbelief: “You can cook?”

The young master sighed again: “I often couldn’t wait for my mom to come home when I was in elementary school, so I learned to cook for myself — besides, cooking is so simple, how can there be people who can’t do it?”

Obviously, Yu Tianbai could not. But he would not admit defeat just like that.

“Then I won’t be polite,” he shifted his weight to his other foot, leaning back against the wall again. “What dishes can you make?”

“Just don’t ask me to make the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast.” Xiu Ma rose to the challenge, rolling up the sleeves of his hoodie.

When the young master got excited, even his Northeastern accent started to show. Yu Tianbai changed his posture, stood up straight, and held out a hand to signal him to stay put:

“The master chef can rest in the room. There’s a supermarket downstairs, I’ll be right back. I’ll buy whatever, and you’ll cook whatever.”

After saying that, he turned around. The sound of him putting on his jacket came from the unseen doorway. Before the sound of the door closing, that person shouted into the room again:

“Be right back!”

Xiu Ma stood in the study, feeling the heating pipe under his hand gradually getting warmer.

At this moment, it really felt a little like home.

He rubbed his hands on the warm heating pipe again, and then discovered that the accumulated dust on the heater had not been wiped off yet, and he had gotten a full handful of it. Damn it, great joy followed by great sorrow, great ups and downs. Cursing all the way, he went to the kitchen. After washing his hands, he turned to look at the dark gray cabinets.

It was clear that Yu Tianbai did not cook much usually. There were no oil stains on the walls, the wok was brand new, and the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar in the cabinet had only been used slightly. He was clearly not the type to live a settled life.

Being left in someone else’s house was a very strange thing. Jars and bottles, pots and pans, every home had them, but appearing in different people’s homes from different angles and in different ways made them different. Yu Tianbai’s home had Yu Tianbai’s symbols, hard to describe, white, cool-toned, but very warm. Xiu Ma tapped his fingers on the marble countertop, making his way to the seasoning rack.

Hmm, oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, aged vinegar, all were good brands, the unit price more expensive than rice. Sometimes Boss Yu was quite willing to spend. He casually picked up a bottle and weighed it in his hand, estimating it had been used less than three times. As expected of someone who could not cook.

So who on earth was using them?

In the unlit kitchen, Xiu Ma suddenly thought of someone. He took a step back and leaned against the wall. The phone in his pocket had been off all afternoon and had been chilled by the north wind until it was as cold as the stone used to press down on pickled cabbage.

The phone turned on, the screen lit up. After a few useless notifications flashed by, Xiu Ma’s gaze once again settled on that text message.

No new ones. The sender’s location was displayed as Heilongjiang.

He had a premonition. He knew who this text message was from — it was actually very obvious. Besides that person, no one else would see him as a formidable rival for Yu Tianbai.

It was quite despicable, quite boring, but it was not that he could not accept a challenge.

Xiu Ma raised his eyes to look at the seasoning bottles, guessing that these were also the handiwork of that same person.

How annoying.