The Rental Shop Owner

The ordeal should have ended after that, but for some reason I felt… I did not even know what I felt.

 

Anyhow, the days went by just the same: lots of dates set up by the parents. And wouldn’t you know, I got lots of yes’s. If I had a dollar for every time I rejected someone, I would have been rich. Gradually, the word got around that the Qians’ kid had high expectations and the recommendations decreased too. Of course, that was the better way to put it. Maybe in a few more years, they would say I have some weird illness—the kind you can’t show anyone.

 

I thought I would just see where it goes. My parents were crazy for a grandkid. Maybe I should just get married. But I couldn’t just cheat the girl. Maybe I should just ditch this place and go find some man. But I just got my business running (Who was I kidding here. But really, I wanted to start my own chain of record stores called ‘Qian Jr.’s Records.’). Ugh, I guess I should just go become a monk!

 

There was no point for me to waste more effort thinking about it. I’ll just figure something out when the time comes, I thought.

 

Near the end of ‘98, I hired a young lady who was kind of related to me to look after the shop because I was preparing to open a second shop in the developing east side of the town. It got really busy and I had to buy more stuff to stock the new shop with.

 

There were only two places to do so at that time. You either went down south to Guangzhou or east to Shanghai.

 

I ended up going to neither this time, mainly because I was not too familiar with those places. There was more variety but I would not have gotten any good deals. At any rate, the most important for a new shop was Mainland stuff and they had that anywhere. So I ended up going to City N nearby.

 

To come back on the same day, I had to leave at four-thirty in the morning. After eating breakfast in City N when the sky was barely light, I had to rush to grab the disks and books and eat some quick lunch before rushing back in the afternoon.

 

That day turned out really well. I ran into someone I knew and got everything done in a jiffy. He even dropped me off at the bus station, no extra charge.

 

Seeing that I still had plenty of time, I wandered around with no particular aim. The wholesale markets were close to the outskirts so there was not much going on. I was just wondering if I should head into the city centre and–

 

Oh hey!

 

It was not my first time stocking up in City N but I noticed for the first time that the city prison was near the book markets.

 

Wasn’t the punk, Shen Bin, locked up there?

 

I had nothing on my hands so I went to visit him for some goddamn reason.

 

The correctional officers were pretty mild and down-to-earth, not how I had pictured them in my mind. I had thought that all the prison guards would look like those rapists in Sleepers, or that evil warden in The Shawshank Redemption. I admit I was fairly immature and had a wild imagination.

 

The officer said he thought Shen Bin didn’t have any relatives since the only ones to have visited were his delinquent buddies from before. He probably thought I was the only decent-looking person to visit Shen Bin.

 

He also said that Shen Bin was too young, that if he had been born a few months later, he would be considered a minor and would not even be locked up there. The prison was a complicated place and he told me to be watch out for him and guide him back to the right path.

 

I agreed profusely.

 

Turns out there were still nice people in this world.

 

But on what basis could I watch out for him? If it hadn’t been for my punch… I tasted a bitter tang in my mouth. Yeah, the kid was only eighteen.

 

The prison in City N was not as advanced as it is now. There were not a glass and a phone but instead a big room and a long row of tables. The prisoners sat on the south end and the visitors on the north end.

 

As I watched him come in, I had no idea what to say. Why did I even go in the first place?

 

It was actually the first time I had a good look at him.

 

He was a bit fatter than before and not as snazzy. He even grew.

 

Actually, his eyes and brows did look like Ding Hongmei’s, very clean. His eyes were less disgruntled but still impenetrably black.

 

He did not say anything. No expression, either. He just pursed his lips.

 

I couldn’t just sit there and not say anything.

 

“I, um, I didn’t bring anything. I would’ve if I knew…”

 

That was the first thing I said to him which he still laughs about after a long, long time. But itwas pretty stupid.

 

He still didn’t make a sound.

 

I thought to myself, I don’t owe him anything and I even took care of his old lady’s funeral and…

 

“How’s everything? Did you get bullied?”

 

No reply.

 

“Study hard.” I remembered he was a hillbilly.

 

Still no reply.

 

I began to regret it. I must have been crazy to go there in the first place.

 

“Okay, I’m gonna go then!” Then I got up from my seat.

 

“Yo, I’m doin’ fine. What I got locked up for is this inside.”

 

Seeing the kiddo across from me stick his thumb up and smirk arrogantly, I felt kind of warm inside.

 

I nod. “That’s great. You study hard though. Your mom said you’re a good kid.”

 

His face darkened.

 

Did I say something? I thought Ding Hongmei loved this son of hers.

 

He stood up too and pointed his chin towards me. “Your videos ain’t half bad, bro. Can’t get them in the slammer though,” he said before leaving.

 

After coming out from the prison, I began to feel antsy.

 

He’s doing okay in there. Better than before.

 

I’m going to be thirty-something by the time he gets out. A poor, old man, hah.

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ayszhang: >u< What do you guys think of the story so far?
And again, Happy Mother's Day! Don't forget to visit your momma or give her a call if you're away from home <3 

Or she'll come and snatch you away!!! Like Momma Panther is doing here ^^