45: Chapter 45 Chen Yang's Summer Vacation Visit

The cicadas in the Old neighborhood had finally quieted down a bit, no longer shrill enough to make one's ears ache like they did at noon, leaving only a few listless "zhi-liao" calls drifting on the breeze.

Chen Jie was crouching behind Brother Li's bicycle stall, tidying up his tools. His canvas backpack lay at his feet, the zipper not fully closed, revealing half of a dark green jade stone—the patterns on its surface glimmered coldly in the afternoon sun, like a scattering of tiny stars.

He held a piece of sandpaper in his hand, polishing a rusty screwdriver. The "swish-swish" sound of the grit rubbing against metal blended with the "gurgle" of stewing meat wafting from Wang Leis Braised Food Stall in the distance, creating a sense of lively, everyday bustle.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar, loud voice coming from the alley entrance, carrying the impatience unique to a youth, accompanied by heavy panting: "Brother! I'm here! Wait a sec! Can't run anymore!"

When Chen Jie looked up, he saw Chen Yang running towards him with a bulging black sports bag on his back. Large sweat stains soaked the underarms of his white T-shirt like maps, and there was mud on the knees of his jeans—it was obvious he hadn't given any notice and had come straight from the train station, not even bothering to wipe away his sweat.

The boy had run in such a rush that his bangs were damp with sweat and plastered to his forehead. When he reached them, he didn't forget to lean on his knees to catch his breath for a long while. His sports bag hit the concrete floor with a "thud," the zipper not properly closed, revealing half of an unfinished whole-wheat bread with a bit of ketchup on the wrapper.

"Why are you here?" Chen Jie shifted to the side, clearing a space free of machine oil, and rubbed his fingertips on the handle of a wrench—the oil stains from repairing the bicycle earlier hadn't been wiped clean, making the wrench handle shine with a greasy luster.

He secured the bicycle pedal he had just repaired onto the vise, the metal jaws "clicking" as they clamped onto the pedal. "Didn't you say you were going to practice driving at school during the summer break? When we talked on the phone last week, you said you were going to take your driver's license test and told me not to disturb you."

"Practice what? That instructor was too fierce!" Chen Yang sat down on the ground, not caring if the concrete was cold, and pulled the sports bag to his side. He unzipped it, rummaged through, and pulled out a glass jar. "I had a fight with him, so I'm not learning anymore! Mom told me to come stay with you, saying it's cool here and I can learn a trick or two about repairing things, so I don't have to get nagged by her every day at home. Oh right, I brought the pickled peppers we made at home. Mom said you love them, so she specially packed a full jar, enough for you to eat for half a month."

The peppers in the glass jar were bright red, soaked in oil with a few peppercorns floating in them; even through the jar, one could smell the pungent, spicy aroma.

Chen Jie didn't respond, just screwed the polished pedal onto the bicycle crank. Amidst the "click" of the metal interlocking, he suddenly remembered how Chen Yang looked as a child—back then, the kid was only as tall as his waist, always loving to crouch beside him to watch him take apart radios, his small hands gripping the edge of the toolbox, his eyes shining as if they held stars, holding his breath so gently, afraid to disturb him.

Since he was little, this kid loved to compete with him. Even though he wasn't bad with his hands—dismantling toys and assembling models faster than his peers—he would stubbornly insist, "Repairing things is for old men, it's boring," yet turn around and secretly imitate the way he held a screwdriver.

"Right, Brother," Chen Yang suddenly leaned in, his nose almost touching the machine oil on the bicycle chain. His voice was lowered, but couldn't hide his curiosity. "Brother Zhao Kai sent me a message yesterday saying you've become a capable person in the Old neighborhood now? That you can even fix that falling-apart radio of Grandma Zhang's? And he said you're super magical when you repair things, that it just gets fixed with a touch of your hand?"

Chen Jie's movements paused. A familiar tingling sensation rose in the web of his hand—the jade stone in his backpack seemed to sense something and grew slightly warm, the heat palpable even through the canvas.

He glanced to the side and saw Chen Yang staring at his hand, his eyes filled with inquiry, like a cat that had discovered a new toy, even the corners of his mouth were turned up.

"What nonsense," Chen Jie threw the wrench into the toolbox, the metal clattering with a "clang," deliberately putting on an impatient act. "It's just some minor issues, replacing a capacitor or tightening a screw; it's not as mysterious as he makes it sound."

But Chen Yang clearly didn't believe him. He leaned forward and reached out to rummage through his backpack: "I don't believe it! Brother Zhao Kai also said you found a strange stone that can keep braised food from spoiling for days, and it can even glow at night! Brother, let me see it, what kind of treasure is it?"

"Don't go poking your nose into things, and don't go rummaging through other people's stuff." Chen Jie pressed down on the backpack, his fingertips brushing against the cold surface of the jade stone, the temperature helping him steady his nerves a little.

He suddenly remembered something from when Chen Yang was little—the kid was only in elementary school then, and had secretly taken his screwdriver to take apart the family alarm clock. He ended up scattering parts all over the floor, couldn't put it back together, and sat on the ground crying as he came to him for help. Tears were still hanging on his face, yet he stubbornly insisted, "The alarm clock broke by itself, it has nothing to do with me."

The kid looked carefree, but he was actually quite thoughtful. In the "treasure box" he hid under his bed when he was little, he kept the slingshot he'd repaired, the glued-together spinning top, and even the small part he'd accidentally chipped the paint off when he first helped Chen Jie hand over a wrench—he kept them all like treasures.

When he took Chen Yang to Wang Leis Braised Food Stall in the evening, the setting sun was already hanging askew over the rooftops, dyeing the walls of the Old neighborhood a warm yellow.

Just as they reached the alley entrance, they ran into Grandma Zhang sitting on the bench he had previously repaired, listening to opera. The radio was playing Pingju, and the old lady was waving a cattail leaf fan in her hand, with an enamel cup placed by her feet.

"Little Jie-zi, is this your brother?" Grandma Zhang squinted as she looked Chen Yang over, smiling until all the wrinkles on her face bunched together. "He's cut from the same mold as you, especially these eyes, just a bit thinner than you; he needs to eat more good food."

As she spoke, she pulled a piece of rock candy from her pocket and stuffed it into Chen Yang's hand. "A girl gave it to me, it's very sweet, take it and eat. Make your brother cook more delicious things for you; the braised food he makes is even more fragrant than that kid Wang Lei's. The last time I ate the braised pig trotters they sent over, I couldn't forget the taste even at night."

Chen Yang chewed on the rock candy, his eyes squinting from the sweetness, but his attention still hadn't left Chen Jie's backpack. Taking advantage of Grandma Zhang not paying attention, he leaned over again and whispered, "Brother, Grandma Zhang says your cooking is good, do you really have a treasure in your backpack? Brother Zhao Kai said your fingertips glow when you repair things, like magic, does it have to do with that treasure?"

Just as Chen Jie was about to refute this, he saw Wang Lei poke his head out from behind the braised food stall, holding a spatula, a smile on his greasy face: "Little Jie-zi, it's perfect that your brother is here! My freezer is acting up again, the cooling is very slow, could you take a look? If this keeps up, the braised food is going to spoil!"

As he followed Wang Lei toward the freezer behind the stall, he heard Chen Yang whispering with Grandma Zhang behind him. The voice wasn't loud, but he could vaguely hear words like "glowing," "strange stone," and "repairing things," along with Grandma Zhang's laughter.

He suddenly felt a bit guilty, just like when he was little and had secretly glued back together a blue-and-white porcelain vase that Chen Yang had broken, thinking he could pull the wool over everyone's eyes, only for this kid to spot the cracks at a glance and pester him, "Brother, did you glue this vase? Why didn't you tell Mom?"

When he squatted down to check the freezer, the moment his fingertips touched the cold compressor, he felt the jade stone in his backpack vibrate slightly. A faint green light slipped out through his fingers, like a nimble little fish, silently drilling into the gaps of the machine.

He quickly pressed down on the backpack, pretending to adjust the thermostat knob, while catching a glimpse of Chen Yang out of the corner of his eye, who was hanging onto the iron cabinet of the stall, peeking inside with his eyes wide open, having forgotten to even chew his rock candy.

In just a few seconds, the freezer's compressor began to hum, sounding much more powerful than before.

"It's fixed. It was just poor contact in the wiring, I tightened the terminal posts for you." Chen Jie straightened up and scrubbed the back of his hand hard on his work pants to wipe away the lingering warmth from the green light. "Check it again in half an hour; it should be cooling down by then."

On the way back, Chen Yang suddenly grabbed his arm, his voice trembling with excitement: "Brother! I saw it clearly just now! Your hand really glowed! It was light green, super bright, like fireflies on a summer night! You still say it's not a treasure, this is clearly magic!"

Chen Jie stopped and looked at the excitement in his younger brother's eyes—that look was exactly the same as when he watched his father repair tractors as a child, full of admiration and curiosity.

He suddenly remembered that when he was Chen Yang's age, he also always felt that the wrench in his father's toolbox was magical and could fix anything that was broken, and he would secretly hold it and gesture, imagining that he could be as capable as his father.

He reached up and patted Chen Yang's head, his fingertips brushing against his brother's sweat-damp hair whorl, which felt soft. "You saw wrong, that was the light from inside the freezer reflecting. You were standing at a different angle, that's why you thought my hand was glowing."

But Chen Yang clearly wasn't convinced; he just chuckled twice, showing his two little canine teeth, his eyes carrying a sly look that said, "I get it, I won't expose you."

Chen Jie watched his back as he skipped along ahead, his white T-shirt swaying in the setting sun, and suddenly felt that this kid had grown up—he was almost as tall as him, his voice had deepened, but he was still the same as when he was little, always loving to chase after him asking questions, full of curiosity about everything he did.

The evening breeze blew through the locust tree leaves, carrying a hint of the scent of braised food, along with the fresh, sweet smell of grass and trees.

Chen Jie touched the jade stone in his backpack, its cold touch helping him steady his nerves.

Perhaps letting Chen Yang stay for a while wouldn't be bad. At least this kid wouldn't be loud and boisterous like Zhao Kai, telling everyone that his "hand can glow"; plus, this kid was good with his hands, maybe he could even help him out, handing over tools, wiping down parts, and the like—of course, provided that this kid didn't keep staring at his backpack, and certainly didn't try to sneak a look at his precious jade stone.