[130] A Doorstep Interview

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Chang’an hung up the phone. Changming and Yanran both turned their heads. Yanran asked, “Big brother, is Sister Momo coming to our house again?” Chang’an nodded, then stepped out of the east room. He saw Dad strolling in from the courtyard; it seemed he had just finished arguing and was now eavesdropping again. Smiling, Chang’an said, “Dad, where’s Mom?”

Congrong, from the west room, asked calmly, “What’s going on?”

“I’ve got something to tell you.”

Lujun nodded, “Go ahead.”

“There will be reporters coming to our house later.”

Lujun was momentarily stunned and couldn’t react immediately. Congrong also came out from the west room and asked, “What kind of reporters?”

Chang’an hesitated a little before saying, “Well, last night in town, I encountered a robbery…”

Lujun and Congrong had yet to fully absorb the news about the interview when this bombshell hit them, leaving them dazed despite knowing their son was unharmed.

Chang’an then simplified the story, selectively recounting the events of last night, and ended with, “The police said the man was also a migrant worker who lost all the money he earned in a year gambling. When he got to town, he felt ashamed to return home for the New Year, so he resorted to robbery.”

He paused, then continued, “Of course, now he definitely won’t be able to go home for the New Year.”

The family was silent for a while. Finally, Yanran asked, “Big brother, you weren’t hurt, right?”

Chang’an ruffled her hair and smiled at his parents, “I’m fine. He just wanted money, not to hurt anyone. The police quickly pinned him down—that’s why he ended up on TV.”

Congrong asked, “So, what will the reporters want to interview you about?”

“Probably some details or my feelings about it. I asked; I don’t have to use my real name. Nobody will know it’s me, so don’t worry.”

Congrong hesitated a bit and exchanged glances with Lujun. Lujun said, “Hurry and tidy up the house, clean around…”

Chang’an replied, “It’s a newspaper, not TV. They won’t film inside our house.”

“But we still need to clean up—that’s called courtesy.”

Chang’an agreed to the newspaper interview partly to distract his parents from further arguments, and partly to educate his father again about the dangers of gambling.

Though the quarrels stopped, things did not unfold as he expected. Instead of reflecting, Dad was quite excited. He took the lead in the big cleaning, even splashing water around and sweeping the entire courtyard.

But he forgot how cold it was. After splashing water, there was no dust left, but the water quickly froze.

“Won’t they slip when they come in?”

Lujun muttered, preparing to boil water to melt the ice.

“Dad, they’re not kids, and they’re not blind. They can see. Besides, pouring hot water will make the ice form even faster…”

“That’s called courtesy!”

Lujun stuck to his words. In the end, he didn’t pour hot water but swept the courtyard for a long time. Before the reporters arrived, he nearly slipped on the ice, threw down the broom, and groaned while clutching his waist as he lay on the bed, calling out, “Rongrong! Congrong! Come massage my back… I think I pulled it…”

“You deserved it! I told you not to splash water in the yard, but you didn’t listen…”

“You woman…”

Lujun was so angry he tried to get up, but then groaned and lay back down. Changming ran over, “Dad, I’ll massage you.”

“Go, go, go, do your work.”

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Lujun waved his hand like shooing flies at his second son, “You just want to slack off and still want to massage me? I’m your father, don’t you think I know you well?”

Changming came out of the inner room, panting, and complained to Mom, “Mom, I wanted to massage Dad’s back, but he called me lazy… How did you end up with such an ungrateful man?”

Congrong, who was still a bit annoyed, couldn’t help but laugh hearing this. Lujun heard it too and yelled from inside, “Good heavens, how can you talk about your father like that?”

Although Lujun had pulled his back, Changming didn’t dare argue with him, muttering quietly as he helped take out the trash. Chang’an went into the inner room, and Lujun thought he was coming to offer help, waving him off, “Alright, go do your work. I’ll lie down a bit.”

But Chang’an persisted, “Dad, I’m not here to massage your back. I just want to ask, did you really pull your back, or is it an excuse to slack off…”

Lujun was speechless.

Chang’an pressed lightly on his father’s waist, and Lujun let out a sharp intake of breath. If this weren’t his own son, he might have slapped him.

Chang’an quickly stepped back and slipped out, calling to his mother, “Mom, Dad really pulled his back. He’s not faking.”

Yanran corrected, “Mom didn’t suspect Dad of slacking off.”

Changming, without much standing, said, “Yeah, big brother, you made it sound like Mom told you to do it.”

“Which side are you two on?”

Changming confidently said, “Of course we’re on Dad’s side.”

Yanran agreed, “Right!”

Lujun happily said from the inner room, “Ah, now these are my son and daughter!”

Chang’an reached out and tapped the two little ones, “Alright, alright. Starting tomorrow, I’ll tutor you two.”

“No!”

“Me neither!”

The two kids protested simultaneously. Chang’an called out, “Dad, I’ll tutor them during the winter break. How about that?”

Lujun said, “Good! Teach them well!”

Changming and Yanran shouted together, “No! Dad, you’re so ungrateful…” Then they looked to Congrong for help, “Mom…”

Congrong said, “Tutoring is a good thing; it’ll make next semester’s classes easier!”

“No tutoring!”

“No, no… no tutoring…”

Yanran was so flustered she couldn’t get her words out clearly, making her brother, dad, and mom laugh.

Just then, the roar of a car came from outside the courtyard gate. Chang’an said, “They must be here.”

Congrong was tidying the west room and stopped immediately upon hearing this. Lujun, still holding his waist, came out too. Sure enough, they heard Shen Mo’s voice outside the door: “Chang’an! Uncle! Auntie!”

Chang’an took the lead to greet them. Shen Mo was still wearing the white down jacket from that morning, happily pushing open the courtyard gate to enter. Behind her were a young man and woman in their twenties, both bundled in thick down jackets, curiously looking around.

Behind these two, who were likely the reporters, was a stern-faced man—Chang Chao, the policeman who would appear on TV.

“That’s Chang’an, this is his younger brother Changming, and his younger sister Yanran.”

Shen Mo introduced them seriously, then saw Congrong and Lujun come out and continued, “This is Auntie, and that’s Uncle.”

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“Sorry to disturb you.”

The two reporters, clearly young and professional, greeted politely. Shen Mo introduced again, “This is Sister Zhang, a reporter from the city TV station, and this is Uncle Liu, a reporter from some city newspaper.”

“Daily News, Daily News,” the young man named Liu quickly clarified, not wanting to be vague.

“Uncle Chang.”

Chang’an greeted Chang Chao and then introduced him to his parents as the policeman who saved him last night.

After last night’s events, Shen Chengyan had a very good impression of Chang Chao and talked with him quite a bit. Chang Chao was amazed by Chang’an’s conduct the previous night and knew Chang’an was the first to volunteer to be on TV, which gave him this rare opportunity. He was very courteous to the boy.

Congrong and Lujun, hearing this was the policeman who bravely captured the criminal, quickly thanked him. Chang Chao repeatedly declined politely. Congrong and Lujun then invited them all inside.

Yanran went over and grabbed Shen Mo’s hand. Shen Mo held her little hand and said, “So cold!” Then she slipped her hand into her own pocket to warm it.

Yanran said, “We’re doing a big cleaning.”

Shen Mo smiled, “You help with cleaning too?”

“Yes, I wiped the table.”

“Wow, Yanran, you’re amazing.”

Chang’an watched Shen Mo, still a child, coaxing his even younger sister and found it amusing. Shen Mo noticed his smile and gave him a fierce glare.

Chang’an asked, “Did you come alone?”

Seeing he seemed to still find her annoying, Shen Mo pouted, “How many people do you want to come?”

The two reporters walked ahead. Chang’an whispered with a smile, “I don’t want that many; you’re enough.”

The little girl was a bit shy and shot him a glance but didn’t respond. Yanran listened to her brother talking with the pretty young lady, looking up at him and then at the pretty lady with wide eyes, as if witnessing some novel adult-world event.

Chang Chao, though a bit rough by nature, was not without brains. He knew Chang’an was much more mature than ordinary children and was very close to Shen Chengyan and Shen Mo. Coming under the pretext of “helping with the drive,” he was really just showing support and had no intention of participating in the interview.

After sitting in the main room and exchanging pleasantries, the reporter named Liu began the formal interview. The TV reporter was mainly curious to meet the boy and see if there was anything else to add for the news, without a formal transcript.

“I’ve already repeated the events from last night several times, so I don’t need to say them again. You can ask Uncle Chang later.”

Chang’an treated the interview as a formality, aiming to strengthen his father’s education. He didn’t want fame or to waste time since it would soon get dark and they would have to prepare dinner. No one wanted that hassle.

Most importantly, he feared the reporters might uncover his little stash of money, so he set clear boundaries from the start.

Since arriving, Chang’an showed no special traits. But once he spoke, he wasn’t like a typical child who just complied blindly. The male reporter Liu was a bit surprised but smiled, “Alright, no problem. I’ll ask some other questions or for some details. So, did you go to the bank to withdraw money last night?”

Chang’an smiled, “I already explained the details at the police station last night.”

Nowadays, appearing in the newspaper was a great honor and rarity. People felt proud and were overly polite and cooperative. Reporter Liu didn’t expect such a complicated child with so much insistence, making it hard to handle, and his expression grew a bit unpleasant.