Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 384 Blackie's Mother

The design of large cakes during this period was much more complicated than after 95, because the cakes used at this time were made with cream, which was not as light and three-dimensional as the later fresh cream. Cream was thick and soft and did not have the same shape as fresh cream, and the color was not as realistic and vibrant.

In fact, there is no inherent superiority of one over the other between cream and fresh milk; they are simply two different things. The difference is a natural consequence of changes in people's living standards as times have progressed. Fresh milk is actually much cheaper than cream, but it is favored by cake decorators because it is easier to shape, has a stronger three-dimensional effect, and has bright and realistic colors.

Fresh milk is weak because it can't withstand heat and needs to be refrigerated. In summer, it will melt a bit if left at room temperature for a long time. Also, being water-based, it will evaporate naturally and dry out quickly, making it less palatable. Cream, on the other hand, solidifies at low temperatures, being an animal fat, while softening when heated. Being an oil, it doesn't change much even after a few days.

This is like how people used to like eating fatty meat when they were poor, but now that their living conditions have improved, they're more selective and eat more vegetables—there's no inherent good or bad in it.

Li Wenhe was working on his ideas when Xiao Wei walked around and said, "Master Li, if you're busy, I'll head over." After leaving the cake shop and returning to the restaurant, they needed to arrange the five tables for lunch tomorrow. They discussed it with Master Zhai and Sister Zhang, and then sent Ding Chunyan to buy wine glasses. It was already five o'clock, and the shops would close soon if they didn't go soon.

He drove himself to the police station to ask Liu Huasheng for help inquiring about the trademark registration, because it would take too long if he went there himself.

Hei Zi's family lives in the suburbs, in a shantytown in the northwest corner of the city. These days, it seems that most of the entire Longcheng is a shantytown.

This area is a mixed urban-rural area, where urban and rural households live together in cramped conditions. Some work, some farm, some run small businesses, some are unemployed, and some just drift along.

Huang Laowu and Lao Hou strolled from the restaurant all the way here, taking more than half an hour. In those days, walking was a habit for people, unlike in later generations when they would take a taxi.

A cluster of black-tiled bungalows, narrow mud streets and alleys, latrines crisscrossing the houses, garbage scattered along the roadside shaking in the wind, and the faint smell of dry toilets lingering in the air.

After winding through the alleys, Huang Laowu and Lao Hou arrived at Heizi's house. Without calling out, they reached through the keyhole to open the door and enter the yard.

Hei Zi's mother was standing at the doorway with a basin of water in her hand. The muddy ground in the yard had just been splashed with water. Huang Laowu and Lao Hou came in, and Hei Zi's mother said with a smile, "You two are here! What brings you here today? Come in and sit down. Hei Zi isn't with you? He's never home all day, I wonder where he's off running off to."

Huang Laowu and Lao Hou entered the house. Huang Laowu asked, "Auntie, what time does Heizi usually come back?"

Hei Zi's mother said, "How could anyone know? Sometimes he comes back in the middle of the night, and sometimes we don't see him for days on end. Didn't you say you were busy over there? That you stayed at the shop because it was too late? Do you have a place to stay over there?"

Huang Laowu glanced at Lao Hou and said, "Auntie, let me ask you something. How much money has Heizi brought back for you these past few months?"

Hei Zi's mother said, "How much? Let me think... They gave me money three or four times, a total of about four thousand yuan. Then they asked for fifteen thousand back. That's all. What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Old Hou asked, "Auntie, do you know who he's been spending all his time with lately?"

Hei Zi's mother put the basin she had been carrying on the shelf, went to wash her hands, and dried them with a handkerchief. She said, "How would I know where he is? You all used to be together all the time, but now you can't find him. I've been staying home all day, how am I supposed to know? I can't even ask. You're all grown up now, you all have your own ideas, just go your own way. What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Huang Laowu asked, "Where's your uncle?"

Hei Zi's mother said, "They went to the workshop, saying some pump broke down. The second son went with them too, and they left not long ago, right after you."

Huang Laowu asked, "When will you be back?"

Hei Zi's mother hung the handkerchief she was holding to dry and said, "Don't stand here in the outer room, come inside and sit down. Just say what's on your mind. What's wrong, all of you stammering and looking so hesitant? Can't I talk to you?"

Once inside, Huang Laowu and Lao Hou sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). Hei Zi's family was poor; Hei Zi's mother was a rural resident, and the family of four relied on Hei Zi's father's meager salary to survive, while also having to take care of Hei Zi's grandfather.

Hei Zi's job was secured by his father asking for favors from many people. It cost a lot of money, and the family's savings were gone, leaving them with a debt of over a thousand yuan. That's how Hei Zi got a job in a large collective. No matter how good or bad his job was, he earned a salary of a hundred or two hundred yuan a month. His family couldn't rely on him, but it was enough to support himself.

Hei Zi was quite ambitious. He had saved some money over the years of working. He partnered with Huang Laowu and Lao Hou to start this business. He contributed 6,000 yuan himself and borrowed 10,000 yuan from Huang Laowu. In those days, it was quite remarkable for a worker in a large collective to come up with 6,000 yuan.

Perhaps it was because he had been poor and depressed for a long time. After the billiard hall and dance hall opened, the first month was okay, but in the second month, Hei Zi couldn't control himself anymore. His monthly income of several thousand yuan was equivalent to an average person's monthly income of 100,000 yuan in later years.

He started wearing fashionable clothes, brand-name shoes, imported cigarettes, hair mousse, and rings on his fingers, and then he would often disappear, even now.

Looking around the old-fashioned furnishings, even the television was a 14-inch black and white model. The quilts on the old-fashioned kang (heated brick bed) cabinet were neatly folded, and the densely stitched patches on the quilts were visible. Huang Laowu glanced at Lao Hou and said to Hei Zi's mother, "Auntie, Hei Zi hasn't been to the shop much for a long time. Lao Hou and I think he's probably gotten into gambling and has probably lost a lot of money."

Hei Zi's mother glared at her, then immediately sighed and softened, a helpless and sad expression on her face. She said, "What can we do? You're grown up now, your parents can't control you anymore. What's the use of saying anything? Whatever, let them do what they want. I'm just happy that you two came to talk to your aunt. Don't follow his example, behave yourselves, understand?"

After a pause, Hei Zi's mother turned sharply to Huang Lao Wu: "Lao Wu, did Hei Zi borrow money from you guys?"

Huang Laowu glanced at Lao Hou, who had been keeping his head down and not saying a word, then nodded and hummed in agreement.

Hei Zi's mother said, "How much did you borrow? Let me see if we can scrape together enough."

Huang Laowu said, "No need, Auntie, we're not here to ask you for money."

Hei Zi's mother asked, "How much did you borrow? If you consider me your aunt, then tell the truth."

Huang Laowu licked his lips and whispered, "Eight, eight thousand."

(End of this chapter)