390: Chapter 384: Dalong Comes Knocking 390: Chapter 384: Dalong Comes Knocking After taking a shower, Chen Hai walked out of the bathroom.
In the living room, only his father, Chen Zhonghua, was left sitting on the sofa watching TV.
“Hai, I’ve already reheated the food on the table for you!”
“After traveling all day, grab some food before anything else!”
When he saw Chen Hai come out, Chen Zhonghua, pointing to the steaming dishes on the dining table not far away, called out to him.
“Okay!” He nodded and casually responded, “Dad, what about you?
Want to eat something together?”
“No need, I’m stuffed from dinner.
I was just joking with your mom!” Chen Zhonghua shook his head as he spoke.
At the same time, he lifted his wrist, intentionally showing off the new gold Rolex he had just put on, pretending to check the time.
However, he only got halfway through the motion when he stopped.
He suddenly remembered that this shiny gold watch was actually a gift from his son, Chen Hai.
Apart from his son right now, there was no one else around—so even if he felt like showing off, he didn’t know who he’d be showing it to!
Chen Hai witnessed his father’s action, but he pretended not to see anything.
Traveling all the way back home to Liuyuan County by plane and then by bus from Shen City, indeed, he hadn’t eaten anything.
However, for Chen Hai, this was hardly worth mentioning.
The spread of dishes in front of him had been made especially by his parents; no matter if he was hungry or not, or whether he felt like eating, he couldn’t waste their good intentions.
He filled himself a big bowl of rice, picked up a few pieces of braised pork, and started wolfing down his meal.
“Dad, where’s mom?
Why haven’t I seen her?”
He still hadn’t seen his mother, Jiang Meixian.
Besides the living room, the other rooms were dark, and the lights were off.
Feeling a bit puzzled, Chen Hai looked up at Chen Zhonghua and asked.
“Your mom, she’s good in many ways, but she loves to compete and show off.”
“She’s wearing all the jewelry you bought for her.”
“Look, it’s past ten at night, and she actually ran off to visit the neighbors!”
“She said she’d heat up the food for you, but she left, and I ended up doing it…” Chen Zhonghua grumbled with dissatisfaction.
While speaking, he took the opportunity of checking the time to lift the gold watch on his wrist and purposely waved it in front of his eyes again.
Of course, he was genuinely checking the time and not deliberately showing off.
“It’s this late and she’s wearing all that gold jewelry while running off to visit?”
Chen Hai couldn’t help feeling amused and a bit speechless.
“In the county, it does get a bit messy at night, but your mom just went next door, no problem!”
“When she left, she even took with her a hammer she had borrowed from Sister Zhang’s the other day.”
“She said she was returning something, not earlier nor later, but specifically chose this time to go there decked in gold jewelry.”
“Such a poor excuse, only she would believe it…” Chen Zhonghua started complaining again.
Hearing this, Chen Hai smiled wryly and didn’t pursue the topic any further.
Women, no matter their age, seem to have a natural inclination to show off and compete!
Back when their family was poor, others would flaunt their wealth in front of Jiang Meixian.
Although she wouldn’t say much, she must’ve been holding back a lot of frustration!
Now that they were free from worries and living comfortably, her behavior wasn’t really surprising.
After adding a few large chunks of chicken to his bowl, Chen Hai continued to feast voraciously.
He could go ten to fifteen days without eating and not feel a hint of hunger.
If he really let himself go and ate heartily, he could devour the vast array of dishes before him as fast as a tornado, leaving not a trace behind.
Once food entered his stomach, it seemed to be digested at lightning speed, then converted into nutrients, which his body absorbed quickly.
However, when eating at home, Chen Hai always chewed slowly and savored each bite, never displaying the peculiar behavior of a starving ghost reincarnated.
“Bang bang bang…”
Just as he had added another bowl of rice, a sudden knock at the door sounded.
“It must be your mom returning, I remember she took the keys with her when she left, didn’t she?”
Muttering his dissatisfaction, Chen Zhonghua quickly stood up and walked briskly to the door to open it.
“Uncle, is Hai here?”
“I heard from my dad that he called home this afternoon, saying he would come back today?”
“This evening when I went home and heard about this from my dad, I rushed over here straight away!”
Outside the door was not Jiang Meixian, but that guy Jiang Dalong.
As he greeted Chen Zhonghua, his eyes scanned the living room inside.
Seeing Chen Hai sitting at the dining table not far away, holding a bowl and eating, Dalong’s face lit up with excitement, and he hurriedly waved his hand.
“Dalong, what’s the matter with you, kid?”
“You’re covered in dirt, and you’ve got several bruises on your face!”
“Don’t tell me you’ve been fighting with someone again?”
As he welcomed Jiang Dalong inside, Chen Zhonghua looked him up and down with a puzzled face and asked.
This nephew of his had never been the worry-free type!
Seeing him in this state, Chen Zhonghua couldn’t help but suspect something was amiss.
“Don’t mention it, Uncle, when you’re down on your luck, you could even choke on cold water!”
“If it really had been a fight, I wouldn’t have ended up looking like this.”
“I was riding over here on my motorcycle when I took a fall on the road.”
“It was just a little past Wuyang Town towards the county city, near Conggui Mountain.”
“It’s strange to say, that road had been recently repaired and was fairly smooth, but when I was passing by there, my bike started to bump so terribly I could hardly keep a grip on the handlebars!”
“Luckily, I just fell onto the road.”
“If I’d been unlucky and tumbled down the roadside embankment, it would have been a real tragedy…”
While he rambled on, Wang Dalong rolled up the cuffs of his trousers and sleeves.
Near his left knee was a bruise as big as a palm, already turning a dark purple.
On one of his elbow, there was a large scrapped area oozing fresh blood.
“Brother Long, have you had dinner?
Why don’t you join us for a bite?” holding a bowl of rice, Chen Hai also walked over, smiling and inviting Wang Dalong.
“At this hour, still talking about dinner?
It’s more like a late-night snack, which won’t fill me up!”
“Uncle, do you have any alcohol at home?
I’ll have a few drinks with Hai!” Jiang Dalong said with a grin.
His dad and Chen Hai’s mom were siblings.
With his naturally blithe and unreserved character, he wasn’t one to stand on ceremony at Chen Hai’s place.
“Definitely, just wait a moment, I’ll go get it for you right now!” Chen Zhonghua responded and headed towards the kitchen.