Author: Chai JiDan
Full Etrans: Evie
Visiting the familiar snake farm, his alma mater, Wu Suo Wei could see things had changed. All of the snake rooms were empty. Nauseating odors wafted through the air, snake boxes were piled haphazardly in corners, and everything was dirty and stained. Boss Wang, in a sleeveless tee-shirt, squatted out under a tree forlornly dragging on a cigarette. His slatternly wife stood in the doorway of the house pointing at Boss Wang and shouting abuse.
In just three short months, the formerly prestigious Wang Snake Farm had become the laughing stock of the industry.
It started when his business license was revoked, not only because of illegal practices, but also because the law enforcement officers he had been paying off were detained. In order to scrape together the funds to pay the huge fines, he had no choice but to sell off the real estate he had bought with dirty money. Former friends acted like strangers, looking down on him. He was hounded by debt collectors and cheated by an apprentice looking for the opportunity to take revenge...Boss Wang and his wife spent their days in squalor living like pigs and dogs.
It was an extraordinary sight, then, to see Wu Suo Wei coming by wearing a business suit and a smile.
"Did you come to mock me?" Boss Wang's eyes clouded over.
Wu Suo Wei continued smiling. "What are you saying? I came to visit and to bring you something."
Excellent [1] Xinyang Maojian, a collector's edition of [2] Wuliangye: Wu Suo Wei had spared no expense for this highly respected "mentor."
[T/N: [1] Xinyang Maojian - green tea from the Xin Yang province of Henan, one of the top 10 Chinese teas. [2] Wuliangye - a premium brand of baiju]
Boss Wang just glanced at this face from the past, his tone icy cold.
"Take it away. I can't accept this gift."
"What do you mean you can't accept it. Of course you can accept it." Wu Suo Wei just stuffed the gifts into Boss Wang's hands and smiled warmly. "Without you, I wouldn't have more than half a million in my hands. I wouldn't have a batch of high-quality snakes ready to hit the market. I was able to raise my first round of capital without a hitch thanks to your strong sponsorship. These are small tokens of my appreciation, so you have to accept them."
He stopped smiling, and the corner of his mouth twitched. His expression was fierce.
"Boy, everyone makes mistakes, so you should be tolerant. Your road is still long. You don't know where it leads."
Wu Suo Wei was calm and at ease, looking at Boss Wang. "Yes, ah, I'm not even thirty. The road is still long, and maybe I don't know where it leads, but I know your road - it would be the same as now."
Boss Wang's face suddenly turned dark, and he brandished his fist at Wu Suo Wei.
Wu Suo Wei forcefully gripped Boss Wang's wrist with one hand, his neck stiff, his eyes piercing. I can't beat Chi Cheng, but can't I handle you, you old fart?
"Boss Wang fiercely hocked and spit before snarling, "Kill me if you want. I, Wang Zhong Xiang, have no fear these days. If you have the ability, go ahead and raze these few rooms. Bring it on!"
"You really misunderstand." Wu Suo Wei said calmly. "Don't you remember? That time I bought 2,000 poor quality snake hatchlings from you, you told me: someday when you get rich, don't forget me. Even though I am not actually rich now, I'm pretty well-off compared to how I was back then, so it wouldn't be right to forget where it all began. I came here today because even a small favor should be returned twice over."
Boss Wang's face stiffened until it was as lifeless as an iron panel.
"I'm here to thank you for teaching me a lesson."
Having said this, Wu Suo Wei firmly pressed the gifts on the torpid Boss Wang. Confident and at ease, he turned and walked away with a little spring in his step.
Alone in the clinic that night, Wu Suo Wei took a bath, donned his holey old singlet and his ripped and threadbare flower pants, and settled comfortably in his chair to read [3] Crayon Shinchan.
[T/N: [3] Inane but popular manga about 5 year old Shinchan, famous for drawing an elephant on his penis then shaking his hips crying "Zō-san, Zō-san!" ("Mr. Elephant, Mr. Elephant!")]
Familiar footsteps were heard outside the door.
Wu Suo Wei's dark round eyes opened wide. He quickly pulled open the drawer, threw in Crayon Shinshan, and pulled out "Pride and Prejudice." Then he dashed to the front of the wardrobe and, in a panic, looked for underwear and pajamas.
In actuality, Chi Cheng had been standing at the window looking in for a quite a while, and Wu Suo Wei's tacky attire, uncultured reading material and lewd smile were all recorded with precision through his eyes.
If he was thinking that he had salvaged his image, he was too late.
Please note that some part might be incorrect as we don't know how to translate the slangs and idioms to English and translators might rely on the pinyin. Mistakes are bound to happen and corrections are very welcome.