After the meal, the group didn’t linger any longer. They got into their cars and headed towards the village.
Chao Xin led the way, followed closely by Su Chang driving behind, and Xiang Wan naturally moved to the passenger seat beside Chao Xin. Recognizing Chao Xin’s nervousness, Xiang Wan didn’t talk much, only occasionally handing her a bottle of water.
Regardless of the circumstances after returning, Xiang Wan secretly told herself that she really had to make time to learn how to drive.
The village roads were genuine mud paths, uneven and narrow, with occasional large stones in the middle of the road. Chao Xin and Su Chang had to be very careful to navigate around the stones to avoid scraping the undercarriage. After driving around a few mountain roads, Chao Xin instructed Xiang Wan to send a voice message to Su Chang to be extra careful when turning, as it was easy to have an accident.
Yu Zhou, feeling nauseous from the car’s shaky movement, rolled down the window to catch some air. She worried about the narrowness of the road, thinking, what if a car came from the opposite direction? How would they manage to pass each other?
Fortunately, her worries were unfounded. After driving for a couple of hours, not a single car came from the opposite direction.
Yu Zhou gazed at the lush green mountains, the scent of pristine nature growing stronger, and so did her concern. The absence of cars meant just how remote this place was. Remote and backward didn’t necessarily equate to ignorance, but combined with Chao Xin’s previous descriptions, she felt anxious about the upcoming negotiations. She also felt a bit relieved that she had come with Xiang Wan; otherwise, she would have been worried sick.
Upon reaching the village entrance, they only passed two or three motorcycles with baskets carrying a chicken or two. After a while, they encountered a villager passing by with a caravan of horses.
“Wow, he’s riding a horse,” Yu Zhou’s attention quickly shifted.
“This area is close to the plateau; there should be horse teams,” Su Chang said.
“Wow, can Ms. Chao ride one?” It seems so cool.
Su Chang glanced at Yu Zhou with amusement. Yu Zhou might be a bit of a scaredy-cat, yet she had a way of finding joy amidst discomfort.
“Right, how did she manage to get out of here before?” Peng Xiangzhi leaned back in her seat, eager for some gossip.
This distracted Su Chang as well, as she visualized Chao Xin galloping through the woods—a thought that indeed seemed quite impressive.
This person, who seemed ‘steady as an old dog,’ (not really), calm as a deep pool, was the senior who brought them the most surprises. From the beginning, when she asked Xiang Wan to help retrieve the tip, to their one night stand encounter, and then the two of them falling for each other, and finally, by a stroke of coincidence, leading them into the mountains.
It was as if, intentionally or not, Chao Xin was allowing them into her past.
She was like a puzzle, interconnected and deepening layer by layer, and now, this page was finally about to be unfolded.
The village didn’t have main thoroughfares like towns, where residential areas and shops are neatly lined up along asphalt roads. Here, orderly fields were the norm, while the houses were scattered and haphazard, interspersed with narrow pathways crisscrossing like scattered chess pieces on a board.
Bamboo groves and tree shadows framed the mud walls and black tiled roofs, while the smoke from cooking fires in the countryside was a constant, blending with the earthy smell of the soil, creating a scent unique to the rural landscape.
The pathway in front of this particular household was relatively smooth, however, the cars couldn’t go any further, for there was nowhere to reverse below. So they had to be parked on the flat ground above.
As the car wheels rolled in, the chickens, disturbed from their pecking, clucked frantically and scattered in flight. Chao Xin brought her vehicle to a stop and stepped out, waiting for Su Chang to park alongside.
It must have rained a few days ago, as there were several streaks of mud on the sides of their vehicles now.
Xiang Wan looked at Chao Xin’s lower legs and asked, “Do you want to change into flat shoes?”
“No need,” Chao Xin replied. “It’s not much of a walk.”
As Su Chang and the others got out of the car and approached, Chao Xin thought for a moment and then spoke, “You guys wait here for me, I’ll go talk.”
She was still reluctant to let Xiang Wan see those people.
“We’ve come all the way, let’s go together,” Peng Xiangzhi said, chewing her gum.
“Yeah, yeah, let’s go together,” Yu Zhou also chimed in.
Chao Xin pinched the inside of her elbow, casting a glance at Xiang Wan.
Xiang Wan linked her little finger with Chao Xin’s, turning her head and softly whispering, “You’re scared again.”
“I was very happy when you asked me to come yesterday. If we are to be together for a long time, it shouldn’t be a one-sided affair of care and protection.”
Xiang Wan looked up at Chao Xin, her bright eyes and white teeth radiating a compelling charm.
“To be honest,” Peng Xiangzhi leaned against Su Chang, “When ancient people said this kind of thing, it really was quite cheesy.”
“Look at my goosebumps,” she said, running her hand over her sleeve.
How could they talk like this without blushing or skipping a heartbeat, as if they were the pioneers of the new era?
Chao Xin couldn’t help but laugh, reaching out to touch Xiang Wan’s face. Xiang Wan shot Peng Xiangzhi an annoyed look, and Peng Xiangzhi zipped her mouth shut, staying silent.
The group followed the path down the slope, with the Sun family’s home on the left halfway down.
A small path had been carved from the roadside with a few stone slabs, weaving through the sparse bamboo grove to a backyard cluttered with bundles of straw and chickens. It led onward to a concreted front yard and a three-story self-built house with pinkish brick walls that stood out in the countryside.
Below the front yard was a mud embankment, and beyond that, a contracted fish pond that seemed quite substantial.
They all stood firm in the yard, and a big yellow dog started barking loudly.
A man in his thirties emerged from the house, smiling enthusiastically, “Hey, you’re here?”
As he spoke, he bent down to move two long benches over, inviting them to sit.
Chao Xin had no intention of sitting. She just stood still and called out to him, “Sun Er.”
Yu Zhou gasped in shock. Was this Chao Xin’s brother-in-law?
His hair stood in tufts as if it hadn’t been washed for days, his dress pants hung loose, a bunch of keys dangled from his waist, the T-shirt he wore inside looked like an undershirt. His jacket was carelessly draped over his shoulders, deliberately unkempt, with a cigarette tucked behind his ear.
“Aiya, my little auntie, it’s been a long time, hasn’t it?” Sun Er propped the hem of his jacket on his elbow, hands shoved into his pockets as he greeted Chao Xin.
“You didn’t even come back when Mom died,” he said with his knees wobbling casually. His complaint came off as flippant.
Peng Xiangzhi felt nauseated at his disregard for proper attire. She glanced at Chao Xin, whose expression was icy. Chao Xin touched her tongue to the roof of her mouth, swirled it slightly, then returned to her normal expression.
Lifting her eyelid, she asked him, “Where’s Paipai?”
“Oh, you are even speaking Mandarin,” Sun Er laughed, his double chin piling up. “Doing voice work really makes you different, huh? Can you still speak Ning County dialect?”
As he spoke, a woman came out holding a bowl of food, shoveling rice into her mouth, and a little boy gnawing on a bone stepped over the threshold, his dirty face staring at Chao Xin.
“Call her auntie,” Sun Er smacked the boy’s back.
His new wife, who’d borne him a plump son.
“If you’re not going to talk about Paipai, I’m leaving, and then I’m going back to town to call the police,” Chao Xin said, her patience wearing thin.
Sun Er released the boy’s head and sat down on the opposite bench. “Aiya, call the police? Why so serious? And what are you going to report? I’m her laohan, she’s my girl, what are you going to report? Which cop cares about this?”
“What does ‘laohan’ mean?” Peng Xiangzhi asked Yu Zhou.
“It probably means ‘dad.'”
“Yo,” Peng Xiangzhi and Yu Zhou also sat on the benches, smiling at Sun Er, “You have the nerve to call yourself a dad, have you ever raised her? Now you remember.”
“Girl, mind your words, eh? It wasn’t me who didn’t want to raise her back then; it was Panpan who insisted on taking her away. It’s been so many years, and I’ve missed her, blood is thicker than water,” Sun Er glared at her.
Who is Panpan again?…
Peng Xiangzhi, not one to hold back, was about to launch into an argument when Xiang Wan furrowed her brows and spoke in a gentle, soothing voice.
“Everything should be reasonable, Paipai was raised under the care of Teacher Chao. Even if you are her biological father, how can you just take her away without saying a word, keeping her hidden? Moreover, Paipai is in school. By disrupting her education like this, how can you claim to be a good father? Additionally, what has become of Paipai now, and why won’t you let us talk to her? If you’ve hurt her, even as her father, you ought to be imprisoned.”
With each word she uttered, Sun Er’s face wrinkled another inch. He poked at his ear with his pinky finger, having trouble understanding.
It took him a moment before he responded, “You’re talking about schooling, huh? That’s exactly why—because kids need to be in school, which costs money. Kids are just money burners. Look at your nephew; he needs to go to town for his studies.”
The little boy was squatting at the edge of the field, hitting ducks with a tile.
“I’m saying, Paipai is already over ten years old. She’s learned enough by now. Bringing her back to live with us for a couple of years, finding a good family to betrothe her to, I could get a decent bride price to fund her brother’s education. It wouldn’t be a waste of her birth,” Sun Er reasoned.
“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely find a very good family.”
“What are you saying?” The absurdity was too much, and Yu Zhou couldn’t help but interject, “Paipai is only ten years old!”
What betrothal? What bride price? What family? Looking at the man sitting amidst the picturesque scenery and the woman squatting on the threshold eating, she felt her scalp tingle.
“I’m going to throw up,” Peng Xiangzhi blurted out.
“What’s wrong with being ten years old?” Sun Er got defensive, his face twisting into a stubborn expression, “You ask Panpan. When her sister was betrothed to me, she was just a teenager herself. How much money did her family take, you can ask…”
He didn’t finish his sentence when ‘smack!’ a crisp slap resounded. Chao Xin stood up and struck him across the face.
Everyone froze. Sun Er, with a burning cheek, looked up at Chao Xin. Chao Xin grabbed his collar, yanked him up against the wall, lifted her knee, and forcefully thrust it into his groin.
His screams were about to lift the roof off the house.
The woman on the threshold, holding the little boy, began to cry out in shock, her voice shrill as she shouted, “They’re beating someone! They’re beating someone!”
Su Chang and Yu Zhou quickly stood up but hesitated to move.
Chao Xin lifted her leg again, striking Sun Er’s lower abdomen.
“Where is Paipai?”
She had no intention of exchanging another word with this wretch.
Sun Er was sweating profusely from the pain, “I’m going to sue you, I’m going to take you to court.”
“Do it,” said Chao Xin, as she lifted her leg a third time, ruthlessly driving it into his abdomen once more.
Xiang Wan had never seen this side of Chao Xin—cold and composed, her tear mole not losing its luster amidst the violence. She continued to strike Sun Er again and again, her curly hair brushing her face, as if frozen, not daring to move an inch.
Sun Er, frightened, curled up like a shrimp, while Chao Xin’s jaw jutted out, her hand gripping his collar shaking with force.
Onlookers gathered at the mouth of the lane, pointing and whispering amidst the heart-wrenching cries of the woman. Xiang Wan stepped forward, gently took Chao Xin’s hand in hers, and tenderly embraced her, softly stroking her back.
Then Xiang Wan turned to Sun Er and said, “Tell us what you want. We’ll think of a way. If it’s negotiable, we can talk it over.”
“Otherwise, I have a knife with me.” Her voice remained soft, “Ms. Chao isn’t afraid of anything, and neither am I.”
She finished with a faint smile.
Sun Er, a man accustomed to crudeness, had never encountered such a civilized tone and stance. He was stunned into silence, his eyes darting around in panic, searching for her knife.
It was then that Su Chang stepped forward, timely suggesting, “If it’s money you want, we can talk.”
“Let’s go to town, and after we’ve talked, let us see Paipai.”
CNYuriTranslation 