Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Yi Feng didn’t expect to be outwitted by Gu Muxi at the end. After much persuasion and repeated assurances that he hadn’t bullied Gu Muxi, he finally dispelled his mother’s suspicions.

Back at home, Meng Xiaoyun went to the kitchen to cook, while Yi Feng stayed in the living room.

Their home wasn’t large, being a two-bedroom and one-living room apartment allocated by the No.3 Rolling Mill, spanning 80 square meters.

Looking around the living room, not a single piece of wooden furniture was new; all bore the marks of his father’s repairs.

The living room’s fabric sofa was a hand-me-down from Gu Muxi’s family, covered with a cloth his mother had sewn to protect the fabric, fearing that the only slightly upscale item in their home would get dirty.

In the center of the living room was a 21-inch Hitachi color TV, boxy and bulky.

This second-hand TV had cost his father 800 yuan, sourced from a second-hand market.

At the time, 800 yuan was a significant amount for him, especially when his monthly salary was only 700 yuan.

This TV was the only household appliance they owned.

Aside from their parents’ wedding photo and his own awards from childhood on the living room walls, there was nothing else, truly making the phrase “bare walls” apt.

The hall’s decor was simple and unpretentious, yet it felt warm and welcoming.

Yi Feng knew their family was poor.

In this life, he hoped his parents could live a better life, no longer having to toil for every grain of rice.

He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his flesh, took a deep breath, and resolved himself.

Dad, Mom, in this life, I won’t let you have any regrets!

There won’t be a situation where the child wishes to provide for the parents, but they are no longer around!

I will definitely use my own two hands to provide for you, to shield you from the wind and rain!

Yi Feng turned on the TV, but the screen occasionally glitched, making it unwatchable.

It seemed time for a repair.

He ran to his parents’ room and fetched the toolbox.

Half an hour later, Meng Xiaoyun, in the kitchen, noticed the absence of TV sounds from the living room, only hearing clinking and clanking noises.

“Son, what are you doing?” Meng Xiaoyun shouted from the kitchen, but received no reply.

Puzzled, she washed her hands, wiped them on her apron, and walked out of the kitchen.

“What, what are you doing?” Meng Xiaoyun was dumbfounded at the sight of the disassembled TV casing and parts scattered across the living room floor.

“Mom, I’m fixing the TV,” Yi Feng said without looking up, focused on his mission.

After all, he was a distinguished graduate of the computer science program from Guangxi University, skilled in repairing computers and designing IC boards.

Repairing highly complex computer motherboards was part of his expertise, making old household appliances like this TV a trivial matter for him.

“What?! Fixing the TV? My dear child, please don’t break it!”

“If your dad finds out, he’ll surely give you a spanking!” Meng Xiaoyun exclaimed, rushing over to dissuade him.

“You’re just a high school senior, how could you know how to fix a TV?”

“Quick, stop it, your dad will be home soon!”

“Hehe, Mom, I’ve got it fixed!” Yi Feng sighed in relief, grinned, and looked up.

“Fixed your head, quickly put it back together, now!” Meng Xiaoyun sternly said.

“Alright, alright, I’m putting it back together.”

Yi Feng reassembled the TV and placed it back on its stand.

He pressed the power button.

“Zzz~”

The TV screen flickered, then lit up normally, with the color display returning to normal.

Meng Xiaoyun was astonished!

“My goodness, son, you… you actually fixed it?!”

The TV had been broken for so long, and she had been reluctant to have it repaired due to the cost.

She never expected her son could fix it!

She was shocked!

Yi Feng dusted off his hands, “It should be fine now. I just checked, and one of his motherboard’s capacitors was bad. I wrapped it with some wire, and that fixed it.”

“Ah? What? What’s that?” Meng Xiaoyun was utterly confused.

“Hey, as long as it’s fixed, that’s what matters. If it wasn’t, your dad would have had to fix you when he got home!” Meng Xiaoyun laughed.

The TV was fixed without spending money on repairs, which truly pleased her.

As they were talking, footsteps were heard outside the door, followed by the sound of the door opening.

“Wife, son, I’m back.” A tired, weathered voice called out.

The door opened, and Yi Jianbing appeared in his dirty blue factory uniform.

His hair was a mess, resembling a bird’s nest, and the blue of his uniform at the chest area was hardly recognizable.

“Dad, you’re back!” Yi Feng greeted him cheerfully.

His father had always been a man of few words, a genuinely kind person and a good father, silently contributing to the family, never complaining or showing tiredness.

At just over forty, his temples were already graying, and the wrinkles on his dark face made him look much older than his peers, nearly fifty.

Yi Jianbing smiled wearily at his son, “Yeah, got a bit busy before clocking out, so I’m late.”

“Wife, is dinner ready? I’m starving.”

“Almost, I’m just frying two dishes. Go wash your hands first, look at them, they’re as black as coal,” Meng Xiaoyun laughed, covering her mouth.

“Alright, I’m going to wash.” Yi Jianbing chuckled, setting down his canvas bag and heading to the washroom.

After a while, he noticed the TV was on, showing the popular drama ” Palace of Devotion.”

“Eh? How’s the TV on again? Wasn’t it broken?”

“Wife, did you have someone fix it?” he asked, drying his hands with a towel.

Meng Xiaoyun brought out a plate of stir-fried hollow vegetables, proudly stating, “Your son just fixed it!”

“What? The son fixed it?!” Yi Jianbing was dumbfounded, staring at Yi Feng in shock.

Incredible!

Yi Feng scratched his head, smiling, “Dad, I just followed some instructions from a magazine, didn’t expect it to actually work.”

“Haha! Son, you’re really something! A true genius!”

“You’ll definitely achieve more than me!” Yi Jianbing clapped excitedly.

Parents seem to be overjoyed and comforted by even the slightest progress in their children.

“Hehe, just luck, just luck,” Yi Feng modestly said.

Yi Jianbing came over, patted his shoulder, and encouraged, “Son, you must study hard, go to university, and don’t be uneducated like me.”

“In this world, only by studying hard, going to university, and becoming a college student can one succeed!”

Hearing his father’s earnest advice,

Yi Feng nodded vigorously, “Yes, Dad, I understand.”

Meng Xiaoyun brought out the second dish, bitter melon with sliced pork.

“Dinner’s ready, let’s eat!”

The three of them gathered around the dining table.

A family of three, a pot of porridge, and two dishes.

One plate of stir-fried hollow vegetables, clearly made from leftover stems, as no tender leaves were visible.

The other plate of bitter melon with pork slices, where the amount of meat could be counted at a glance.

Fifteen slices, roughly two hundred grams of meat.

Yi Feng looked at the two dishes, never having realized how poor their family was because he used to eat meat almost every day.

But now, it was clear… they were not well-off.

“Son, eat, why are you just staring? Have more meat, you’ve seemed to lose weight recently,” Meng Xiaoyun said, adding two more slices of meat to his bowl.

His father took a sip of liquor and pushed the meat slices towards him, opting to eat the bitter melon himself.

“Ah, today’s bitter melon is quite crisp, wife, you picked well,” Yi Jianbing praised.

Yi Feng was moved to tears by this scene.

The feeling of being loved and cherished by his parents deeply touched his heart.

He was also pained by their current difficult life.

Dad, Mom, I swear, I will make sure you have a better life in the future!

Definitely!

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