LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 102: Envy
The plastic bag opened to reveal boxes upon boxes of cooked seafood. At a cursory glance, there were lobsters, crabs, fish and so on…
“Doctor…” Tears were rolling in Fatty’s eyes. He suddenly felt it didn’t matter if he couldn’t find a sugar mommy as long as he had Doctor.
“Eat them while they’re still hot.” Jiang Cheng patted Fatty’s back.
“Thank you, Doctor!”
Fatty loved seafood the most. Unfortunately, they were expensive so he didn’t get too many chances to eat them. He grabbed a crab and snapped it in half. When he saw the overflowing crab roe, the unhappiness from earlier was gone. Jiang Cheng glanced at the door. The deliveryman was still there and hadn’t left.
“Is there anything else?” Jiang Cheng questioned.
The man smiled and said in a polite tone, “Mr. Jiang, you…” He rubbed his hands, “Haven’t paid!”
The crab that was about to enter Fatty’s mouth paused.
Jiang Cheng was startled. “Pay for what?”
“Haven’t these been paid?” Jiang Cheng said, “I told them to pack it up for me as a takeaway.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Jiang,” The man didn’t seem to believe Jiang Cheng. His tone hardened. “Today was a private party. All the food was fixed. We didn’t provide takeaway services. Yours is considered extra delivery.”
The next second, Jiang Cheng moved to snatch the crab away from Fatty and then pieced the broken crab back together. After he placed everything back in their boxes, he shoved the plastic back to the deliveryman. “I don’t want them anymore.” He raised his neck and said proudly.
Deliveryman, ???
Fatty, ???
Then, before the man could react, Jiang Cheng chased him away.
A water sound came from the kitchen. As Fatty washed his hands, he said, “Doctor,” He sounded embarrassed, “It doesn’t matter if I don’t get to eat crabs, but you shouldn’t trouble that brother.” He flung his hands dry, “I’ve been in his place before. Delivery jobs are not easy. You have to withstand the weather, and when you encounter unreasonable customers, you might even need to cover the fees yourself.” He added in a whisper, “That crab earlier probably cost him his salary for two days.”
Jiang Cheng sat before the computer. The typing sound relayed his insouciance. Fatty sighed. He knew the Doctor didn’t hear him at all. This was a man who was extremely self-centred and rarely listened to others.
He washed his hands with the dishwater three times until he couldn’t smell the seafood on his hands anymore. Then, he walked out while wiping his hands. It was not that Fatty didn’t want to use a normal hand shampoo, but Jiang Cheng didn’t have that. Fatty didn’t know why, but it probably had to do with money.
“Fatty,” Jiang Cheng removed his headphones and grumbled, “Use less dishwater liquid. Just use tap water to wash your hands in the future!”
“I know, Doctor.”
“You’ll still have more dishes to wash later. What a waste…” After he put the headphones back on, he grumbled.
Fatty frowned, not knowing what he meant.
Someone knocked on the door again. Fatty ran to get it. It was still the same deliveryman from before. However, the man’s face was piled up with smiles. “Is Mr. Jiang here?” His eyes skipped over Fatty to look inside the office.
“He is here.” Fatty was confused. He lowered his voice to ask, “What’s wrong, brother? Did your boss refuse to take the food back…”
“Mr. Jiang Cheng!” The man shouted excitedly when he saw Jiang Cheng, “Please come over here!”
Fatty turned around to look at Jiang Cheng with confusion. The latter removed his headphones and sauntered over. The man handed the bag of seafood and then patted his body as if searching for something.
“Don’t need to look for it.” Jiang Cheng said, “I have a pen. Just give me the bill.”
The man smiled ingratiatingly. He handed the bill over. Jiang Cheng expertly signed it.
“Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Jiang.” The man couldn’t stop smiling, “I just accepted the delivery job. I’m sorry for failing to recognise you.”
“It’s fine.”
The man left. Fatty sat before the table filled with seafood. His brain was filled with question marks. What just happened?
“Eat.” Jiang Cheng’s voice floated over. He sat back in his office and typed on his computer carefreely. “They won’t be good once they’re cold.”
Fatty picked up the crab that was cracked and then pieced together. He was reminded of the comment Jiang Cheng said earlier…
“Doctor,” Fatty had to ask, “Did you know he would come back? And who paid the bills? What did the man mean by not recognising you?” His eyes widened, “Do you often go to those places?”
One single signature could make up for a food bill that was over 1000… Even though the number was not high, it was Fatty's monthly food budget.
“I guess you can say that.” Jiang Cheng didn’t ignore Fatty. He recorded something on his computer. “I’m familiar with the restaurant’s boss. We’re old friends.”
“No wonder…” Fatty was quite agile with his fingers. Soon, the shell of the prawn was gone. “Doctor,” Fatty said through oily lips. He opened the can of free Coca-Cola. “I envy you for having so many rich friends.” Fatty did mean that. He had been in the society for years. He once dreamed of getting rich overnight and knowing many rich friends. However, the one thing good about Fatty was that even though he was envious, he didn’t hate those who had things that he didn’t.
His old colleague, who drove transportation trucks for long-distance, liked to purposely brush against branded cars and used the large size of the truck to scare and scam them for money. He claimed that those people often got rich from scamming the poor. He was only taking back his money…
Fatty disagreed with him. He believed most people were kind people. They merely worked harder.
“Doctor,” Fatty raised his head to ask Jiang Cheng, “Did your friend work extra hard to finally get the chance to manage a restaurant?”
Jiang Cheng thought about it. “Not really. He did work so hard for one night. The next day, the original owner gave him the restaurant. I was there when the transfer was made.” Jiang Cheng snapped his finger. “Actually, you know that person too. It’s Pi Wan.”
Fatty almost choked on the lobster.