Above the Galaxy
Chapter 236 - 171: What a Handsome Young Man!_3

Chapter 236: Chapter 171: What a Handsome Young Man!_3

He still had this confidence in himself: the old man treated him even better than he treated himself.

"But I’ve already passed on the first half of Lu Ban’s Book of Death to someone else, someone you’d never expect..."

"Little Fatty?" Tang Fei asked.

He immediately dismissed the possibility, shaking his head and saying, "It’s not Little Fatty, he couldn’t possibly learn it, memorizing a single incantation might take him several years..."

Tang Fei looked at the old man and said, "An Ning? You passed it on to An Ning?"

The old man looked at Tang Fei in surprise and asked, "How did you know it was her?"

"I’ve always known you had designs on Aunt Cheng, so of course you’d teach her daughter some life-saving skills to please your old flame."

"Get lost."

"Alrighty." Tang Fei patted his buttocks and quickly got up.

Sitting for too long can lead to hemorrhoids.

When Tang Fei emerged from underground, night had fallen, and the entire city was brilliantly lit, bustling with traffic.

Suddenly, Tang Fei felt somewhat sentimental, a sight like this could never be seen in the Old Land.

After arriving at New Star, Tang Fei hadn’t taken the time to truly appreciate the nightscape here.

He didn’t take a car but decided to walk in the direction of home.

He hadn’t told Little Fatty that he was coming back today; he wanted to give Little Fatty a surprise.

Just thinking about Little Fatty warmed his heart.

This was his family; wherever he was, they had a home together.

Otherwise, he would be alone in this world.

Even if material life was abundant, his heart would still be empty, without a place to rest or rely on.

While passing through a small alley, Tang Fei saw a man with an energy cart selling sugar-roasted chestnuts.

"Sugar-roasted chestnuts..."

"Chestnuts roasted in the traditional way..."

"So fragrant and sweet... sugar-roasted chestnuts..."

------

Tang Fei couldn’t help but salivate at the smell of chestnuts wafting through the air.

Since he had left White Crane Academy, he hadn’t eaten anything and was really a bit hungry after expending quite a bit of energy.

He approached quickly and asked, "Sir, how much for the chestnuts?"

"Twenty star dollars a pound." The old man looked at Tang Fei cheerfully and said, "Young man, would you like some? My roasted chestnuts are very sweet; they are roasted using the traditional method..."

"What’s the traditional method?" Tang Fei asked.

"Others roast their chestnuts with machines, but I hand-roast them... And I use the softest sand mixed with the chestnuts to roast... The sand’s heat cooks the chestnuts... You’ll know once you try it."

"This traditional method came from Blue Star, right?" Tang Fei asked.

Back in the Old Land, he and Little Fatty had gone to pick chestnuts and then roasted them in a large pot with sand...

But they didn’t roast them nearly as well as this.

"Yes, yes, it’s from Blue Star," the old man nodded repeatedly, saying, "Blue Star, such a distant notion... It’s where humanity originated, and now we can’t even return..."

"Don’t go back there, the environment is too harsh to survive," Tang Fei said. "Even if you could roast chestnuts, no one would buy them... They’d only steal them..."

"You, young man, talk as if you’ve just been there..."

"I’ve just come back from there," Tang Fei said.

The old man laughed heartily, clearly not believing Tang Fei, and asked, "Would you like to try some?"

"Sure, give me ten pounds," Tang Fei said.

The old man was taken aback and quickly tried to dissuade him, saying, "Young man, don’t buy so much at once. The chestnuts are best when they are fresh out of the pot, they’re not as fragrant when cooled..."

"If you buy so much at once, you can’t possibly finish them. Isn’t that a waste of money? I’ll weigh out two pounds for you, and if you like them, you can come back to me later."

"No worries, I can finish them. Just weigh me ten pounds," Tang Fei said with a smile.

Of course, he couldn’t finish them by himself, but he had Little Fatty.

He was quite confident in his brother’s eating prowess.

Two pounds? That wouldn’t even fill the gaps between Little Fatty’s teeth.

"Really want ten pounds?"

"Really want ten pounds."

"Alright," said the old man, no longer trying to persuade and deftly helping Tang Fei weigh ten pounds of chestnuts.

Just then, a young man in white approached and said with a cold voice, "I’ll take ten pounds too."

"You want ten pounds too?" The old man looked at the young man in white, surprised, and said with a smile, "Can you finish them all?"

"Yes."

"Ok, then I’ll get you ten pounds too," replied the old man cheerfully, and then he added, "What a handsome young lad."

"..."

Tang Fei felt somewhat displeased inside.

The old fellow hadn’t complimented him like that.

Everyone bought the same amount of chestnuts, spent the same amount of money, why did he get the praise and not me? Why don’t you offer me that valuable emotional affirmation?

Are you looking down on people? Do you believe I’ll call the consumer hotline and complain about you?

The old man was unaware that he had just offended a major customer. After quickly packing ten pounds of chestnuts for the young man in white, he said to him, "Just like this young man, two hundred New Star dollars..."

"...."

Tang Fei couldn’t help but snicker.

He gets called a handsome young lad, and I’m just ’young man’? Who’s your brother?

The young man in white accepted the chestnuts, fumbled inside his clothes for a while, then turned to the old man and said, "I don’t have any money."

"..." said the old man.

"..." Tang Fei.

The young man in white turned to Tang Fei and asked, "Do you have two hundred?"

"Yes."

"Can you lend it to me?"

"No," replied Tang Fei.

"..."

"It’s ok, it’s ok..." The old man waved his hand and said to the young man in white, "Looking at the way this lad is dressed, he’s definitely not trying to scam an old man out of a few pounds of chestnuts..."

"Everyone has inconvenient moments. Take these chestnuts and eat them. Whenever you have money, you can pay me back then."

Tang Fei felt even more unhappy. He watched the old man and asked, "Could you also give me ten pounds of chestnuts for free?"

"No, you’ve already paid," said the old man.

"You could give it back to me....."

"..."

"How about this..." Tang Fei suggested, "I’ll cover his two hundred... and you compliment me."

"Compliment you?" The old man widened his eyes, not understanding this type of deal.

"Yes, just say ’What a handsome young lad’ to me."

"Such a... such a handsome young... lad..."

"It should be fluent and natural, coming from a genuine place of admiration... not forced or perfunctory as if you’re doing it against your will..."

The old man clenched his teeth, deciding to make an effort for two hundred New Star dollars.

Life, after all, is full of moments where you have to bow and scrape...

How did that saying go? Money is hard to earn, shit is hard to eat.

"Such a handsome young lad," the old man complied smoothly, letting out the "heartfelt" compliment in one go.

Fluent, natural, and not at all stammering.

"Done." Tang Fei raised his wristwatch and paid the old man another two hundred, saying, "Sent it."

Then to the young man in white, he said, "You owe me two hundred, remember to pay me back..."

"..."

Holding his chestnuts, Tang Fei walked joyfully on the path home.

He grabbed one, tossing it into his mouth, using his teeth and nimble tongue to peel the shell.

Sweet upon entry, with a wonderfully chewy texture, utterly delicious.

The old man and the young man in white watched his retreating figure, feeling the evening wind rather chaotic, blowing everything into disarray.