Volume 1 / Chapter 1: A Tricycle
Volume One: The End of the Twentieth Century
--------------
The evening sun sank low on the horizon. For once, Yu Liang hadnât driven his car home. Instead, he plopped himself down onto an old tricycle.
Heâd spoken with the staff member in charge of the vehicle earlier that day, arranged to borrow it after work, and now, as the end of the workday arrived, he was already straddling the thing, keys in hand.
This was the Hangzhou Fisheries Bureau. Aside from the elusive bureau chief who rarely showed up, the section chiefs like Yu Liang were the highest-ranking folks in sight.
So when the gate guard saw Yu Liang pedaling out on a tricycle, he couldn't help but find it amusing.
"Section Chief Yu! What happened to your car today?" the guard asked with a grin.
"Canât be hogging the government car every day, can I?" Yu Liang chuckled. His pudgy figure looked hilariously mismatched with the flimsy tricycle. "Borrowed this one to haul some stuff home."
"Aiya, Section Chief doing his own moving? Thatâs real dedication."
"Itâs fine! Bit of exercise wonât kill me." Yu Liang smiled and gave a nod. "Off I go then."
"Take care!"
Yu Liang hadnât ridden a tricycle in years, and now, huffing down a busy street, he was quickly reminded why.
Within minutes, sweat beaded on his forehead. The heat had him constantly using his already-soaked shirt sleeve as a makeshift towel.
âHey-yaâhey-yaââ he muttered rhythmically as he pushed the pedals, even standing on them at times.
Heâd hit an incline. Going uphill meant serious legwork.
When he drove his car, the commute felt shortâjust a few traffic lights and heâd be home. But on this thing? Every inch of the road felt endless. He was barely a third of the way and already felt like he was about to keel over.
"Looks like I need to get some exercise more often..." he muttered to himself, pulling up beside a small shop. Without hesitation, he bought a bottle of cola to cool off and downed half of it in one go. "Damn it, AâLi better treat me to a big meal for this!"
He joked aloud, though his complaints didnât stop him from finally making it home.
Though the weather had cooled a little, his clothes were soaked with sweat.
After climbing the stairs, he found the apartment emptyâhis wife mustâve gone out to pick up their daughter.
Yu Liang went straight to the bathroom for a much-needed shower, then picked up the phone and called Mo Xueyaoâs father.
"Hello?"
"AâLi?"
"...Hello?" The signal sounded fuzzy.
"Mo! Wen! Li! How are you doing?!"
"I hear you, I hear you! Whyâre you shouting so loud?" came the annoyed reply.
To anyone listening, it wouldâve sounded like nothing more than two college buddies catching upâjust a bit loudly.
"Come eat at my place."
"You got it?"
âWhat the hell are you talking about? Just get over here.â Yu Liang smacked the table. âYou better appreciate this. I almost passed out hauling your crap back.â
âThatâs just âcause youâre outta shape,â Mo Wenli joked. âFine, fine, Iâm coming over now.â
Just then, the front door openedâit was Yu Liangâs wife and daughter returning.
âDaddy~!â the little girl squealed as she launched herself into his arms, snuggling up affectionately.
Even though they saw each other daily, she seemed more attached to her father than her mother.
âHmph! This little traitor,â his wife huffed, half-joking. âIâm the one with her all day, and sheâs never this sweet with me.â
âHaha, just goes to show Iâm more charming,â Yu Liang laughed as he scooped his daughter into his arms. âAâLiâs coming over in a bit. Make a little extra for dinnerâdo we still have beer in the fridge?â
âYeah, the stuff you bought last time. Didnât even finish it.â
âOnly Silver Lake left?â
âWhat, you wanted something fancier?â
âForget it, Silver Lakeâll do.â Yu Liang shrugged. âA-Li loves braised pork. Make a big batch.â
âI havenât bought any.â
âThen go grab some. The wet marketâs right around the corner.â
âYou ever think of getting off your ass yourself?â His wife gave him a withering glare âBack when we got married, you were slim. Now look at you! 1.75 meters tall, pushing 108 kg !â
âHehe⊠Iâm just tired, darlingâŠâ Yu Liang reached out to caress her hand, grinning sheepishly.
At that moment, the serious Section Chief had turned into a bashful man-child.
âFine, fine, Iâll go. Want shrimp too?â
âYeah. And grab some spiced beef while youâre at it.â
âYou just loaned out 50,000 yuan and now youâre spending like a emperor . You think money grows on trees?â
âCome on now. Youâve got to spend money to make money. Comfort is the real wealth, and itâs not like we can take it with us when we die,â Yu Liang said, lounging on the sofa with his daughter. âOh, heyâturn on the TV for me before you go.â
âLazy pig.â His wife shot him a glare, grabbed grabbing her little purse and heading out the door.
âSweetie, help Daddy turn on the TV?â Yu Liang turned to his daughter instead.
Of course, she was thrilled to helpâhopping over plugged in the TV, then skipped right back into his arms.
âSo, did anything fun happen at school today?â
âUmm⊠my deskmate borrowed my eraser... and lost it!â
âHaha, thatâs okay. Weâll just buy a new one.â
âBut if people keep losing stuff and we keep buying it, isnât that wasting money?â she asked, tilting her tiny face up at him.
âOh wow, my daughterâs so sensible. Well then, donât lend it out next time. People who always lose stuffâjust ignore them.â
âThatâs not right either,â she said, now taking the moral high ground. âEveryone makes mistakes. You have to give people a chance to change.â
âOh, oh! My daughter is so wise! Youâre amazing!â Yu Liang gave her a big thumbs up.
As night fell, the little girl went off to do her homework, and his wife returned with groceries, busying herself in the kitchen.
Then the landline phoneâconnected to the buildingâs intercomârang.
âHello, Mr. Yu? Thereâs a Mr. Mo here to see you.â
âOh, thatâs my friendâyouâve seen him before, right? Donât keep stopping him every time.â
âAh... sorry, Mr. Yu, Iâm new here. Didnât know.â
âNew, huh? Just remember for next time. Let him in.â
âUnderstood.â
Minutes later, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the stairwell.
Just before the doorbell rang, Yu Liang opened the door.
âHuh?â
âWhat do you mean âhuhâ? Get in already,â Yu Liang grinned, patting Mo Wenli on the shoulder.
âWow, you really went all out.â
âYeah, yeah. You owe me two meals now, remember that.â Yu Liang joked, picking up some spiced beef with his chopsticks. âHere, have some appetizers. I told Ayang to make braised pork.â
âHeh! Youâre the best!â Mo Wenli gave him a thumbs-up. Their banter didnât sound like two middle-aged dads, but more like college boys hanging out again.
âKnew you liked braised porkâeat up.â
âMan⊠I feel kinda bad now.â
âWhat for? Weâre brothers, arenât we?â Yu Liang laughed heartily. âXueyao back yet?â
âNot yet. Sheâs supposed to return today, but I left early this morning and havenât been home.â
âShe didnât call?â
âBeen too busy. Barely got a minute to breathe.â Mo Wenli sighed. âWho wouldâve thought the company would lay off that many people all at once?â
âThe whole wave of layoffs is almost over, and you still managed to get axed...â Yu Liang shook his head. âPlanning to start your own business?â
âYeah. I used to dabble in it. Iâll start small and test the waters.â Mo Wenli nodded. âHard part is getting a proper tricycle license these daysâŠâ
âYeah, yeah, Iâve heard that one a million times. Can you stop repeating yourself?â Yu Liang rolled his eyes. âAnyway, I brought the tricycle back. The keyâs right in front of you. But donât come asking me why it went missing.â
âHaha, youâre a good man.â
âQuit drinking and eat something!â
And so, three rounds of beer and five plates of food later, Mo Wenli was already tipsy.
âJust three bottles and youâre wobbling? You sure you can make it home?â
âJust a little dizzy. Iâll be fine riding home.â He hiccuped. âRight⊠Itâs late. Iâm off!â
âBe careful.â
âYeah, yeah!â
He climbed onto the tricycle, only to realize he hadnât unlocked it. Off he hopped, fiddled with the lock, released the handbrake, and pedaled off into the night, disappearing down the empty street.
Back home, his wife and daughter still had no idea heâd been laid off and was now worrying about how to support the family.
---
âYou really just let him ride off like that?â
âSure did.â
âWhat if they come after you for compensation?â
âPlease. Iâll just say it was stolen. Itâs government propertyâwhoâs gonna go digging for a lousy tricycle? Itâs not worth much anyway. itâs the stupid license plate thatâs the real headache. Honestly, licensing a tricycle is the dumbest thing ever,â Yu Liang waved it off. âItâs a small thing. Their familyâs in a tight spot. If AâLi doesnât get something going soon, he wonât be able to repay us anyway.â
âTrue⊠Still, you should really stop doing this kind of thing.â His wife gave a gentle warning. âGovernment property going missingâthatâs not a good look.â
âYeah, yeahâI get it,â Yu Liang sighed, polishing off the last of his beer in one gulp.
---
âDid Dad pick up yet?â At home, Mo Xueyao was fanning herself with a cheap plastic hand fan.
âNope. Must be busy today,â her mother replied with a shake of the head.
Just then, they heard the door unlocking.
A moment later, Mo Xueyaoâs father stumbled in, reeking of alcohol.
âWhat happened? Why are you so drunk? Company dinner?â her mother asked.
âUhh... just got back from AâLiangâs place...â
âWhat were you doing there?â She helped him to a seat and poured him a cup of tea.
âBorrowed a tricycle.â
âA tricycle? What for? Whereâd he get one?â
âWell⊠Plates are hard to get now⊠and the frameâs got a serial number⊠Canât just slap on some other plate⊠He helped me get the trikeâŠâ
âWhy do you even need a tricycle?â she pressed, confused.
âWork... gotta make money...â he mumbled as he slid from the chair to the floor, then tilted his head and passed out within a second.
Mo Xueyao looked at her baffled mother, then at her snoring father.
A sinking feeling crept into her chestâ
Could it be that⊠Dad got laid off?
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.