The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 568 The Best Scene (Thanks to Kurumi丶33 for the generous donation!)

Xu Chenggang took out a painting tube from the locked cabinet, took out a framed painting from the tube and slowly spread it out on the table. Qin Huai and others, who had never seen the world, all crowded around to watch.

Hmm... nice drawing.

That's a really good painting.

I can't quite put my finger on what's so good about it, but it's definitely a good painting.

An Youyou's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, but she still couldn't figure out how much the painting was worth. After looking at it for a full five minutes, she asked, "Is this painting meant to be rolled up and kept inside this thing, or can it be hung on the wall?"

Xu Chenggang: "...Of course, paintings can be hung on the wall."

An Youyou understood and nodded in satisfaction, deciding to go back and hang the painting behind the three-legged toad as a backdrop for herself.

Hehe, that's impressive.

Gong Liang couldn't help but say, "Back then, I only heard that Xu Nuo was secretly doing some small business, but I never expected his business to be so big that he could exchange it for Zhang Daqian's paintings."

"Xiao Nuo acquired it by chance. None of us knew anything about paintings, and we didn't know if it was real or fake at first. Because this painting was a memento left by Xiao Nuo, we couldn't bear to throw it away even after moving several times over the years. It was a few years ago when I was in Shanghai that I took this painting to be dusted. The person who maintained it told me that it seemed to be an original and asked me to have it authenticated. Only after the authentication was it confirmed to be real."

"I don't know the exact value. Someone offered more than three million to buy it before, but I'm an old man and I don't need the money, so I didn't sell. I don't know if the price has gone up or down now."

An Youyou, who had originally wanted to touch the painting, immediately withdrew her hand and watched Xu Chenggang roll it up and slowly put it away.

"Little...Little An." Xu Chenggang poured An Youyou a cup of tea. "How has Little Seven been doing all these years?"

It was within Qin Huai and the others' expectations that Xu Chenggang would ask about Lin Qi's recent situation. This part didn't need any fabrication or improvisation. They could simply omit the fact that An Youyou had once written a letter to Lin Qi and sent him 10 yuan, and tell the rest of the story.

An Youyou started babbling on and on without stopping, drinking almost half a pot of tea in the process. Xu Chenggang then brewed another pot before she finally finished talking.

Upon hearing that Lin Qi, despite suffering from Alzheimer's, was in relatively good health and had lived a comfortable but not terrible life these past few years, with his children being quite filial, Xu Chenggang smiled with relief.

"Grandpa Xu, how have you been all these years?" An Youyou almost blurted out that she called Xu Chenggang "Little Nine".

"I..." Xu Chenggang took a leisurely sip of tea, "Not good, not bad."

Then Xu Chenggang began to recount his experiences over the years.

The information An Youyou gathered was actually inaccurate, but this couldn't be blamed on her, because she had been deceived in her first life.

Her younger brothers are all very hardworking.

Xu Chenggang worked at the steel mill for less than two years. It wasn't that he didn't work hard; the steel mill went bankrupt. In Xu Chenggang's words, the steel mill was actually doing very well, but it just went bankrupt. During his two years at the steel mill, he learned some technical skills, recognized more characters, and could even write some.

After the steel mill went bankrupt, Xu Chenggang couldn't find a better job, so he made a decision that went against his boss's wishes—to secretly join the army.

Back then, An Youyou absolutely forbade her younger brother from joining the army. From An Youyou's perspective, sending her younger brother to join the army was like selling her younger brother, whom she was about to raise and who would regularly send her money every month, for a cheap price of less than two silver dollars.

It's still the kind of one-time sale where there's no return.

Of course, Xu Chenggang subtly omitted the fact that this was against the boss's decision when he spoke. He only said that he knew the boss was short of money and wanted to save money to return to Shanghai. After the steel mill went bankrupt, he couldn't find a job that would allow him to save money, so joining the army was his best option.

When An Youyou died, the war had ended. Xu Chenggang originally planned to go to the countryside near Shanghai to farm, just like Lin Qi. However, because of An Youyou's death and the inheritance he received, Xu Chenggang opened a shop in Suzhou on Chen Shun's advice.

Then he joined the volunteer army. Before leaving, he closed his shop and sent all his money to Chen Shun, enlisting with the intention of risking his life.

After being discharged from the army, Xu Chenggang was assigned to a cotton mill as a leader, and worked his way up to factory director.

The rumor that Xu Chenggang became the factory director because he married into the family is also false. Xu Chenggang did marry into the family, but he could have become the factory director even without it. He married into the family because he was an orphan with no relatives or friends, and his wife's parents were his own parents.

Not to mention that his wife shares the same surname as him, and his two sons call their maternal grandparents "grandpa" and "grandma" without any concern for Xu Chenggang. He himself calls his father-in-law and mother-in-law "dad" and "mom."

While recounting his story, Xu Chenggang also mentioned the death of Chen Shun among the four people from Qinhuai. Chen Shun died when Xu Chenggang's eldest son was a little over two years old. At that time, Xu Chenggang had lost contact with Chen Shun for several years. Xu Chenggang had settled down in Suzhou and had a stable job, while Chen Shun had been living a nomadic life, sometimes in the south and sometimes in the north.

Chen Shun died in Sichuan, reportedly from a mudslide caused by torrential rain; his body was never found. Since Chen Shun never married, his estate was divided into four parts: two for his surviving siblings, one for Jiang Weiguo, and one for Xu Chenggang.

As for why Lin Qi wasn't included, it was mainly because Lin Qi was farming in the countryside at that time, and Chen Shun and Lin Qi weren't familiar with each other; the two had long since lost contact.

As for the exact amount of inheritance Chen Shun left behind...

Xu Chenggang was given 12 large yellow croakers.

Upon hearing this, Qin Huai and An Youyou both gasped in shock. Qin Huai could even discern the unspoken meaning behind An Youyou's gasp.

A large part of Chen Shun's estate is mine!
Qin Huai realized that these spirits really loved large yellow croakers. An Youyou hadn't expected to die so young, not having had time to exchange her accumulated silver dollars for large yellow croakers. Chen Shun probably learned from An Youyou's experience and made plans in advance, so his inheritance was very easy to divide.

Relying on Chen Shun's legacy, Xu Chenggang reorganized the cotton mill, making it bigger and stronger, and turning it into the number one state-owned factory in Suzhou.

Yes, Xu Chenggang funded the construction of the factory out of his own pocket. This is why, even though the cotton mill closed down many years ago, the old employees of the cotton mill still remember Director Xu, and even now, some former colleagues still visit Xu Chenggang at the nursing home.

Xu Chenggang glossed over what happened next.

His youngest son, who seemed absurd and unambitious but was very intelligent and had his own ideas, died in a car accident at a young age.

He was sensible, ambitious, and the quintessential "other people's child" eldest son. However, due to the excessive hard work he did, he passed away before his father.

They loved each other their whole lives, and their days were always peaceful. Despite the gossip and rumors from others, his wife, who was also going to marry into his family, passed away a few years ago due to illness.

Xu Chenggang has a bumpy childhood, an inspiring and legendary youth, a middle age that can be described as a refreshing novel plot, and an old age full of partings.

Xu Chenggang is now just an old man in a nursing home who is very good at playing chess. His million-dollar paintings are displayed in a cabinet, just like his glorious past.

At the end of his speech, Xu Chenggang looked at An Youyou and told her that he was very happy that An Youyou had come to see him and told him that Lin Qi and Jiang Weiguo were still alive.

Only these two people know about the first half of his life.

The brothers and the leader who used to beg with me have passed away many years ago; those days seem as distant as centuries ago.

“I’ve fantasized many times about what it might be like when I’m sitting in a rocking chair on the first floor of a nursing home before I die, and suddenly an old friend comes to find me and tells me that he has been searching for me for many years and has finally found me. He’ll chat with me for an afternoon until I quietly lie in the rocking chair and close my eyes before the sunset disappears.”

"Before I close my eyes, I will divide my estate into parts, just as I inherited the estate of my eldest brother and Chen Shun, and give one part to each of my deceased relatives."

"This is the best scene I could imagine before I die. I never thought that before I was about to die, Xiao An would come."

“If Gong Liang hadn’t come to the nursing home to see me and greet me yesterday, I wouldn’t know what to give you. I’ve been in relatively good health these past few years, and I haven’t taken stock of my estate, so I don’t know how to divide it equally.” Xu Chenggang laughed as he spoke.

Qin Huai: ...You guys really are the same boss's underlings, you're all so obsessed with dividing the inheritance.

When Qin Huai first heard Xu Chenggang recount the events of the past few years, he wanted to pretend he didn't know much about the situation and casually remark that it was a pity Xu Nuo died in a car accident at such a young age. With Qin Huai's eloquence and the cooperation of Gong Liang and Shi Dadan, there was about a 60% chance they could subtly extract the truth about Xu Nuo's death from Xu Chenggang.

But Qinhuai did not.

He listened quietly as a silent listener, sipping his tea. Even An Youyou, who was always outspoken and liked to ask questions, just gulped down two pots of tea.

Although Xu Chenggang didn't spend much time talking about Xu Nuo, only mentioning his youngest son who died young in just a few sentences, everyone could tell that Xu Chenggang really liked his youngest son.

I don't talk about it because I'm too emotionally attached to it, and I don't want to bring it up, because it will remind me of the past.

When Xu Chenggang spoke the word "promise," the smile in his eyes was deeper than at other times.

For Qin Huai, directly asking the person involved was the best way to complete the task. But Xu Chenggang wasn't a spirit; he was a pure human, and an old man in his twilight years.

Monsters and spirits are all mentally unstable and have abnormal thinking, so you can stab them in the heart at will, like Bifang. If it weren't for the fear that Bifang would breathe fire and kill everyone, turning them into a barbecue feast, Chen Huihong and Chen Gong would have really planned to frantically offer Liu Tao every day before Luo Jun died, hoping to have a big stroke of luck and allow Luo Jun to successfully transcend his tribulation before death.

From the bold decisions of these two people, Qin Huai could see that the plant spirits and the Wenyao fish were truly willing to take on any challenge.

Since it was destined that they could not recognize each other today, Qin Huai thought it would be good to turn this day into a pleasant surprise for the old man in his later years as he met his old friend.

No unexpected elements are needed.

The five people chatted in the room until after 11 a.m. When Xu Chenggang had said his piece, he invited everyone to have lunch at the nursing home and continue their conversation in the afternoon.

The food at the nursing home is pretty good.

Everyone readily agreed.

Xu Chenggang carefully put the painting back in the cabinet, then led the four people out. As soon as they opened the door, they found the room filled with old men.

Everyone: ...?
Upon seeing Xu Chenggang emerge, the old men who had been watching from outside became excited and started talking over each other.

"Old Xu, are you done chatting? We haven't finished that game of chess from yesterday!"

"Yes, yes, everyone's waiting to see you finish that game of chess from yesterday."

"Which grandson is this? You have a granddaughter too!"

"Old Xu, are you playing chess again this afternoon?"

It's clear that Xu Chenggang is indeed the chess king of the nursing home.

Qin Huai and An Youyou exchanged a glance.

"Grandpa Xu, if you have something to do this afternoon, we won't bother you any longer. We can come to see you again tomorrow morning."

Xu Chenggang smiled and nodded: "Alright, let's go to the cafeteria for lunch first."

The nursing home's dining hall is very small, supposedly because many of the elderly residents in the rooms have difficulty moving around, and caregivers usually deliver their meals to their rooms. However, a small number of elderly residents do not want to eat in their rooms, so this small dining hall was set up.

The menu is quite extensive, with a total of eight dishes to choose from, three meat dishes and five vegetable dishes. They are all relatively light and not greasy, as older people should avoid foods that are high in oil, salt, or sugar.

In addition to hot dishes, there are also fruits: apples, pears, and bananas—a standard three-piece fruit set.

The fermented rice buns that Qin Huai brought hadn't been steamed yet, but after Xu Chenggang nodded in approval, the canteen chefs steamed the whole bag of buns.

As Qin Huai carried his rice tray to get his food, he felt as if he had returned to the Cloud Canteen. When he sat down and took his first bite of scrambled eggs with tomatoes mixed with rice, he felt even more strongly that he was back in the Cloud Canteen.

It's all sweet.

It's still that kind of sweetness with a bit too much sugar added.

What happened to the rule that elderly people shouldn't eat foods that are high in oil, salt, or sugar?

Xu Chenggang handed Qin Huai a banana. It was a bright orange banana with a few black spots, and it didn't look very appealing, but anyone who eats bananas often would know at a glance that it was a very sweet banana.

"Xiao Gong told me that Master Qin, you like to eat bananas." Xu Chenggang sat down, sitting opposite Qin Huai.

Qin Huai was taken aback, then took the banana and said with a smile, "Thank you."

Xu Chenggang smiled and lowered his head to eat.

In just a few minutes, the fermented rice buns were ready.

As the steamer basket was lifted, the small canteen was instantly filled with the rich aroma of fermented rice buns. Everyone eating in the canteen subconsciously looked up to find the source of the aroma.

"Sweet fermented rice buns, these are sweet fermented rice buns!" You can tell at a glance that this is a loyal customer of the state-run restaurant back in the day.

"Did Zheng Da come to the nursing home to make steamed buns?"

"Probably not. I heard he made a lot of money in business and stopped selling steamed buns a long time ago."

“Who said he doesn’t sell steamed buns? My daughter even bought some frozen steamed buns from their company during Chinese New Year this year.”

"I can't explain it to you clearly."

Xu Chenggang had already instructed the nursing home staff to distribute the bag of fermented rice buns. With so many elderly residents, it was impossible to give one to each person; they wouldn't even get a single bite. The distribution was limited to those eating in the cafeteria.

The canteen staff also precisely cut each steamed bun in half, giving each person half, which was then placed on a small plate and distributed by the caregivers to avoid unnecessary disputes.

Qin Huai dipped steamed buns in the sauce from scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Although this way of eating was a bit strange, Qin Huai liked to dip steamed buns in the sauce when he ate them as a dish.

While inwardly complaining that the sweet tomato and egg broth was really not suitable for dipping steamed buns, Qin Huai ate in large mouthfuls.

Looking up, Qin Huai found Xu Chenggang smiling at him.

"Master Qin, is there not enough food? How about I give you this half-steamed bun?" Xu Chenggang asked.

Qin Huai quickly waved his hand and said, "No need, no need, Director Xu, you forgot, I brought these steamed buns."

Xu Chenggang was taken aback: "I forgot. It seems I'm getting old and a bit senile."

“You’re not confused at all,” Shi Dadan suddenly blurted out.

Xu Chenggang glanced at Shi Dadan with a smile, said nothing, and continued eating.

(End of this chapter)