Xiaoshanhe Urban Village.
The biggest room on the first floor of a tube-shaped building, its balcony crowded with all kinds of flowers and plants.
LĂŒ Qian was fiddling with a nearly glossy string of prayer beads in his hand, lounging comfortably on a recliner and listening to the radio.
His eyes were half-closed, humming along to the melody drifting from the radio, a Beijing opera show tune.
Every now and then, heâd reach out for the enamel mug on the side table and take a sip of his liquor.
A tune of Beijing opera, a sip of his liquor.
Beijingâs Old Deng, living a worry-free and well-fed retirement, life is just this dull and monotonous.
Ring ring ringââ
A burst of phone ringing interrupted LĂŒ Qianâs little moment of pleasure.
He picked up his phone for a lookâCaller ID: "Xiao Jiang".
The only tenant surnamed Jiang renting from him was Jiang Tao; aside from him, there was no one else.
"Hey, Xiao Jiang."
LĂŒ Qian swiped to answer, and Jiang Taoâs voice came in over the line.
"Landlord grandpa, do you want a wife or not!"
LĂŒ Qian laughed and scolded, "You little punk! Are you messing with your grandpa? Wait till I see you, Iâll sort you out."
On the other end, Jiang Tao didnât bother to banter with LĂŒ Qian.
He gave LĂŒ Qian a quick rundown of Ma Dongmeiâs background.
Then forwarded the photos He Jing just sent him to LĂŒ Qianâs WeChat, telling him to figure it out himself.
If he liked her, come over; if not, forget it.
Ding dong!
Sure enough, just as LĂŒ Qian hung up on Jiang Tao, he got a picture from Jiang Tao on WeChat.
"Little brat, messing around with your grandpa, huh."
LĂŒ Qian scolded with a laugh but couldnât help the curiosity as he clicked into his chat history with Jiang Tao.
The moment he saw Ma Dongmeiâs photo, LĂŒ Qian started by freezing, then shot up from the recliner in an instant.
So quick, he didnât look at all like a man his age.
He stared at the photo for a good while; the more he looked, the more excited he got, so he immediately found Jiang Taoâs number and called back.
After getting the address from Jiang Tao, LĂŒ Qian rushed into his bedroom.
Rummaged through his closet for his most expensive suit and put it on, pairing it with a crisp white shirt underneath.
Even dug out an old Rolex thatâd been gathering dust in the closet for years and strapped it on.
Once he was all dressed up, the chill, laid-back retired Beijing grandpa had transformed in an instant into a sharp-dressed, dapper Old Deng.
He opened the doorâcold wind howled; LĂŒ Qian shivered, but still strode resolutely outside.
Hair all white, donned in a black suit, white shirt, and, extra flashy, an understated gold tie.
LĂŒ Qian strutted through the streets of the urban village, instantly becoming the coolest grandpa on the block!
At a local flower shop, he dropped more than 300 yuan on a big bouquet of roses.
After buying the flowers, LĂŒ Qian caught a cab at the village entrance, heading straight for the Red Star Second-hand Furniture Market!
Fifteen minutes later, the taxi arrived at the market gate.
LĂŒ Qian, spotting Jiang Tao through the car window, told the driver to pull over.
He handed the cabbie a hundred-yuan bill with a "keep the change."
LĂŒ Qian pushed open the car door and strode briskly toward Jiang Tao.
"Xiao Jiang! Where is she? Where is she?"
LĂŒ Qian, too eager to wait, blurted out his question as soon as he saw Jiang Tao.
"Ay, come on... Landlord grandpa, arenât you cold?"
Seeing the landlord grandpa in full suit and tie, Jiang Tao was completely stunned!
Young people put fashion before warmth, but youâre a seventy-plus grandpa, what are you joining in for?
"No, no, Iâm not cold! Iâm, uh, sturdy; this chill is nothing, I can handle it!"
The old grandpa really had a stubborn mouthâstubbornly stiff!
This cold weather, dressed all flashyâwho wouldnât be freezing!
"Sheâs over there, roasting sweet potatoes. Come on, letâs go."
Jiang Tao quit teasing the old landlord, grinned, pointed out Ma Dongmeiâs direction, and set off with him.
Out of nowhere, LĂŒ Qian felt his heart racing, a wave of nerves flooding him.
"Xiao Hu, this is the landlord granâ"
"Ahem, ahem, ahem!!!"
Jiang Tao was about to say "landlord grandpa" when LĂŒ Qian started coughing up a storm and shot him a laser-focused look!
"Brother! Thatâs right, Iâm Xiao Jiangâs landlordâbig brother LĂŒ Qian!"
LĂŒ Qian saw Jiang Tao didnât get the hint, so he rushed into introducing himself.
"Uh..."
Jiang Tao was speechless hearing LĂŒ Qian suddenly call himself "brother"âwhat was that all about!
LĂŒ Qian was two or three years older than Jiang Taoâs own grandpa!
"Brother LĂŒ, hello, Iâm He Jing. This is my aunt Ma Dongmei. Sheâs deaf-mute, canât speak."
He Jing looked at LĂŒ Qian, whoâd just called himself Jiang Taoâs brother, her face equal parts surprised.
A head of white hair, a sharp black suit, leather shoes.
To be honest, this Old Deng looked pretty cool!
And what really surprised He Jing: her auntâs eyes lit up a bit when she saw this cool old guy.
Looks like her aunt has a pretty good impression of him too!
Hearing He Jing say Ma Dongmei was deaf-mute, LĂŒ Qian wasnât taken aback.
Jiang Tao had already mentioned this over the phone.
The surprised one was Jiang Tao!
After exchanging greetings with He Jing, LĂŒ Qian suddenly started signing, skillfully, to Ma Dongmei!
The landlord grandpaâs sign language was nothing like Jiang Taoâs "plastic" versionâhis gestures were accurate and elegant, and he and Ma Dongmei were off signing away!
He Jing watched the pair happily signing, looking both incredulous and delighted.
"Uh, Xiao Hu, mind doing a live translation for me? What are those two chatting about?"
Out of the four people present, Jiang Tao was the only one who didnât understand sign languageâwanted to get the landlord grandpaâs gossip but was totally lost!
"What! Seriously? She agreed? Just like that??"
He Jing, seeing the content of their gestures, couldnât help but exclaim softly.
"Agreed to what? Agreed to what?"
Jiang Tao, clueless about sign language, was like a newborn who couldnât get any milkâtalk about anxious.
"Just now, your landlord big brother invited my aunt out for dinner tonight, and my aunt said yes!"
He Jing translated the whole exchange for Jiang Tao, sounding almost in disbelief herself!
The two whoâd just met were vibing already.
LĂŒ Qian and Ma Dongmei had cut out He Jing and Jiang Tao, starting a private conversation, one-on-one!
"Is this what a 97% compatibility rate can do?"
Jiang Tao glanced at the landlord grand... brother and Ma Dongmei, chatting away, and couldnât help sighing to himself.
"Hope lovebirds end up together. If the two of them stick together for the rest of their days, maybe thatâs not a bad thing."
Task completeâmatching up landlord grandpa and Ma Dongmei. Jiang Tao felt he could retire with honors.
As for whether itâd work out in the endâitâs up to fate!
As for the 88,888 yuan red packet, whether he gets it or not depends on grandpaâs conscience.
Jiang Tao wasnât going to push it.