Chapter 44

The morning light was gentle, and a soft breeze drifted by.

Ye Wanqing lightly closed the courtyard gate and walked along the alley paved with granite slabs.

Today she planned to take her admission notice to Hongxing Village—the countryside where she had lived for more than ten years—and transfer her household registration out.

The morning light stretched her shadow long. Framed by the white walls and dark tiles on both sides of the alley, the scene carried an especially elegant feeling that made early-rising neighbors glance at her a couple more times.

They also couldn’t help quietly reflecting that although the Ge family’s boy was a bit of a ruffian, he really was a lucky man.

Going out in summer was too hot, so most people preferred to leave early or late and avoid the fiercest midday sun. Ye Wanqing did the same.

She came out of the alley, followed the street toward the river, and stood at the ferry waiting for the boat.

Right up until the end of the 1990s, perhaps because the dirt roads were hard to travel and many routes still hadn’t been properly built, water transport in Qingshui County remained very developed. It was the main means of travel for people living along both banks of the river.

Only after the year 2000 did land transport gradually replace river transport along the banks.

Quite a few people were already standing at the ferry early in the morning, waiting to board. Most held buns or flatbreads in their hands; the wealthier ones carried a porcelain cup of soy milk or tofu pudding and ate with obvious enjoyment.

When the large boat appeared in the distance, the crowd waiting to board suddenly grew restless. They no longer cared about eating and pushed forward, scrambling toward the boat.

The man maintaining order at the ferry immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, “Don’t move around! Don’t push! If you fall in the water, nobody’s going to fish you out!”

“You… yes, you! Stand properly!”

“Line up one by one to board. Did you hear me?!”

Amid the noise a small ferry boat rowed over and stopped at the dock.

The water near the bank was shallow, and the ferry was built rather simply—just a short stretch of granite platform extending into the river. The large boat drew too much water to come close to shore, so passengers had to be ferried out to it in small boats one group at a time.

Even though the man in charge of order had shouted warnings, there were still impatient people who didn’t even bother with the gangplank and simply tried to leap onto the small ferry so they could claim a seat on the big boat first.

Unfortunately that person overestimated his skill. His foot slipped on the edge of the ferry and he fell into the water with a splash.

The water near the bank wasn’t deep, but it was covered in slippery moss and hard to climb out of. Although the man in charge was annoyed, he wouldn’t just stand by and watch someone get into real trouble. He gave a shout, and the boatman stretched out an oar and hauled the man up so the reckless fool wouldn’t drown.

The man spat out several mouthfuls of water—“Pei pei pei!”—which set the onlookers laughing heartily.

“Laugh, laugh, laugh—laugh your asses off!” the order-keeper cursed again. “It’s so hot you must be desperate for a bath! I told you not to push and you still wouldn’t listen. Best if you all drowned!”

Sure enough, order improved a little after that.

Ye Wanqing didn’t rush to squeeze onto the boat. She waited until the scramble had thinned out before calmly joining the queue and boarding the small ferry.

Once she was on the large boat, the cabin was already full, as expected. She wasn’t in a hurry. She found a shady spot at the bow and stood there.

The crossing from Qingshui County to the ferry at Hongxing Village only took about half an hour. In her previous life, just going to work by bus in the provincial capital had taken one or two hours round trip. What was this little bit of time?

Sitting in the cabin staring at people’s faces was nowhere near as comfortable as standing at the bow watching the scenery.

A quiet river breeze blew. Ye Wanqing didn’t get seasick and found the ride fairly pleasant.

Still, she kept feeling that someone was watching her. Every time she turned around, however, the cabin was packed with people and she saw nothing unusual… After thinking about it, she decided not to dwell on it.

With so many people around in broad daylight, she wasn’t worried anyone would try anything improper.

—

Ye Wanqing had lived in Hongxing Village for fifteen years. Both primary school and junior high had been completed there, and she had stayed in the village until she went to senior high.

At that time Ye Xiangdang and his wife had taken Ye Mingzhu to live in the county town, leaving twelve-year-old Ye Wanqing alone in the old red-brick house in Hongxing Village. Thanks to the good local customs and the kindness of neighbors, she had grown up safely.

She had once felt that her parents were unfair and that she was being rejected by the family… but now she only felt a sense of resignation.

If her household registration had been under Ye Xiangdang’s booklet, transferring it now would have been much more troublesome.

Without much effort, Ye Wanqing smoothly completed the formalities.

The villagers had all watched her grow up. When they learned she had successfully been admitted to university and had made something of herself, they crowded around offering continuous congratulations. Familiar people also carefully reminded her of things she needed to watch out for once she was away from home.

Ye Wanqing had brought a bag of fruit candies. Whenever she met familiar neighbors she sweetly called them by the proper titles and handed out quite a few candies. In return she received plenty of praise for being well-behaved and sensible.

She didn’t leave empty-handed either. Warm-hearted villagers pressed several eggs and some vegetables into her hands, and one person even tied two fish with a grass rope and insisted she take them.

It would have been hard to refuse such kindness, so Ye Wanqing accepted everything with a smile.

After she climbed the embankment to wait for the boat, the neighbors still gathered together couldn’t help discussing her.

“Wanqing has really made something of herself. She’s grown more and more beautiful too.”

“Exactly. She’s finally come into her own. She used to be so dark and skinny she looked like a little monkey. Now she’s truly fine-looking. A girl really does change eighteen times as she grows.”

“She’s gotten into university. Who knows if she’ll ever come back. I was still thinking of asking her to teach my kid how to study.”

“Liao Lao-san, you must have forced those two fish on her because you were thinking exactly that, right? Your abacus is pretty sharp!”

“Hahaha, so you noticed.”

“……”

Waves of cheerful laughter rose. Sitting in the main room, the village head and the village party secretary watched the scene and also smiled.

Seeing a child they had watched grow up succeed made them feel comforted. Ye Wanqing was a university student who had come out of Hongxing First Team. Saying so gave them face and glory as well!

That afternoon’s joy, however, turned into anger when another person arrived.

The moment Liu Lizhen stepped off the boat she hurried straight to Hongxing Village and went directly to the village head’s house. Without even greeting anyone she announced, “Village Head, I came today about our Wanqing’s household registration. I’ll transfer my urban registration to her and have her put under my Old Ye’s booklet.”

Her attitude made it sound as if people owed her something.

She had thought about it all night and suddenly remembered that Ye Wanqing would need her household registration when she married Ge Yuan. If she controlled this key point, Ye Wanqing would have no choice but to listen to her!

Unfortunately for her, she was destined to be disappointed.

The village head tapped his tobacco pipe, lifted his eyelids, and glanced at her. “You’re late. Your Wanqing’s household registration was already transferred out this morning.”

Liu Lizhen froze, then asked sharply, “Who did it?”

“Of course it was your Wanqing herself who brought the admission notice and transferred it. Who else did you think it was?” The village head’s tone was earnest yet carried a note of warning. “Liu Lizhen, we’re still neighbors of several decades. Let me advise you to stop while you can. Don’t push things past the point of no return, and stop making things difficult for that girl Wanqing.”

Having failed at the first step and been scolded on top of it, Liu Lizhen had her face stripped away and immediately collapsed into a scene.

“What nonsense are you talking? When have I ever made a fuss or made things difficult for her? If I make a fuss, I’ll make sure everyone knows Ye Wanqing is an ungrateful white-eyed wolf who refuses to acknowledge her parents and runs around with some wild man! We never even agreed and she still insists on marrying him—how shameless!”

“She got into university and didn’t even tell us, her parents. Who is she guarding against? She’s planning to abandon her ancestors!”

Liu Lizhen stamped her feet in rage, but the village head had no interest in listening to her nonsense. He called his son out of the house, and the two strong men grabbed Liu Lizhen’s arms and threw her out.

Liu Lizhen had always been treated with respect in the village because of Ye Xiangdang’s success. When had she ever suffered this kind of humiliation?

On top of that, the matter with Ye Guoqiang had left her both anxious and panicked. She no longer cared about her image and stood at the village head’s gate cursing in the most vicious language.

The village head of Hongxing Village was highly respected. The neighbors only held him in esteem. How could they stand by and watch Liu Lizhen curse him so viciously?

At once neighbors came out of their houses one after another and surrounded Liu Lizhen, cursing her even more fluently.

“I was wondering what was yapping outside—turns out it’s the Ye family’s woman.”

“You didn’t come back for years and left Wanqing alone at home without even worrying the child might get into trouble. Is that how a mother acts? Bah, you’re the one who’s not human!”

“You call her a white-eyed wolf, but why don’t you call yourself a lazy woman? When the public grain was collected you made Wanqing carry those hundred-jin sacks while you sat at home enjoying yourself. She was only an eight-year-old child then—did you ever feel sorry for her?”

“Carrying grain was nothing. When Wanqing was six or seven she already went with our family’s Zhuzi to the pond to scoop duckweed to feed the chickens and ducks. This woman wasn’t the least bit afraid the child might fall in and drown either!”

“Wanqing’s knees started hurting when she was still little. If she ends up with rheumatism later, it’s all your fault! The one who rubbed medicinal wine on her knees in the middle of winter was this old woman. Where were you, you old thing?”

“Get out! Your household registration has already been moved. Our Hongxing First Team doesn’t want a lazy woman like you!”

“And you claim the village head’s family laid hands on you? Look at the crazy way you’re acting—who would even want to touch you?!”

“……”

One after another they spoke. Liu Lizhen couldn’t fight four hands with two fists. She was cursed until she was full of rage yet had no way to argue back, and could only slink away in defeat.

Besides wasting several jiao on boat fares for the round trip, she had been thoroughly scolded for nothing. Her expression was extremely ugly.

Once she left, the village head snorted coldly. “The Ye family people really aren’t human. They think everyone under heaven is stupid and only their family is clever. It’s still that girl Wanqing who has foresight. She sent me word early, told me to keep a tight watch on her household registration and said she’d come transfer it once she got into university. Thankfully the formalities were completed peacefully.”

The neighbors immediately put on smiling faces again.

“It’s the village head who has foresight.”

“Wanqing will definitely be grateful to you. Later she’ll buy you wine and cigarettes.”

“I can tell that girl Wanqing has a conscience. If anything comes up later and people ask her for help, as fellow villagers she won’t just ignore it.”

Hearing this, the village head glared again. “Don’t go bothering Wanqing. Properly farm your own land. What business could you possibly need to ask her about?”

“Understood, Village Head.”

“We know.”

Once he turned around, the village head walking with his hands behind his back smiled again.

Sunset clouds burned red across the sky. The little village was lively and full of human warmth.

—

That night Liu Lizhen walked through a dark alley and knocked on the door of a certain house.

After a long while the door creaked open and an impatient voice asked from inside, “Who is it?”

“It’s me—your sister!”

Only then did the door open fully, revealing a messy courtyard. A short, thin middle-aged man stood in the doorway, looking at Liu Lizhen with eyes full of surprise.

This man looked sixty or seventy percent like Liu Lizhen, especially the expression at the corners of his eyes and brows—it was an exact match.

“Sister, I’m a bit short on money lately. Help me out a little, will you?”

“Where would I get money?” Liu Lizhen was already full of anger and shouted, “Money, money, money—all you know is asking me for money! I just gave you three thousand not long ago. Did you lose it all again?”

“Winning and losing is normal when you gamble, isn’t it? You’ve got to give me a chance to win it back.” Liu Guanghui couldn’t help glancing toward Liu Lizhen’s pockets. “Sister, just give me another one or two thousand to spend.”

Liu Lizhen replied coldly, “I have no more money!”

If she hadn’t felt insecure facing Ye Guoqiang alone, she never would have called Liu Guanghui. Who would have thought Liu Guanghui was so ruthless? He had seized on her weak point and directly snatched three thousand from her hands.

Now he still wanted more money from her? She herself was at her wit’s end—how could she give him any?

Liu Guanghui clicked his tongue. “Weren’t you capable before? How come you’re as useless as Big Sister and Third Sister now—so poor?”

“I’m poor because of you! If you hadn’t gone gambling and kept clinging to me for money, the Ye family’s days would still be better than they are now!” Her eyes turned fierce and her tone shifted. “But if you want money now, it’s not completely impossible.”

“Tell me!”

“Ye Wanqing has earned quite a bit from her shop. As long as you take a few people and block her, you can get as much as you want, right? I’ll find a way to lure her out. You make the move. I don’t want a single coin—I only want the admission notice she’s carrying.”

Liu Guanghui had thought it would be some clever idea. When he heard this, he bared his teeth.

“You think that Ge Yuan kid is easy to deal with? If I touch Ye Wanqing today, tomorrow he’ll hang me upside down from a tree and whip me!”

Those three little thugs who had previously laid hands on Ye Wanqing had their legs broken. Did he think he didn’t know who did it?

Luckily he had hidden quickly, or he wouldn’t be able to get out of bed either!

“You managed to hide last time. Can’t you hide this time too?” Liu Lizhen said with a dark face. “Once you get the money, just leave. What’s the point of staying in this little county town?”

Once this man left, she would have one less source of trouble.

Liu Guanghui narrowed his triangular eyes. “That admission notice is worth quite a bit of money too, isn’t it? If I get my hands on it and hand it over to Ye Guoqiang, won’t he also give me five thousand?”

Liu Lizhen never expected he would also have this idea. She immediately slammed the table in anger. “Liu Guanghui, has your brain gone bad?!”

“Anyway, I don’t need you to lure the person out, and I’ve decided I want the notice.”

Liu Lizhen sneered. “Then I’ll go tell Ge Yuan that you’re planning to make a move and see how far your schemes get you! You’ve been hiding here these past few days without going out because the debt collectors have scared you, right?”

Brother and sister glared at each other. They were cut from the same mold of selfishness and ruthlessness.

After a moment of confrontation, Liu Guanghui backed down. “Fine. You lure the person out, I’ll make the move, and the notice goes to you.”

Only then was Liu Lizhen satisfied.

Liu Guanghui secretly clicked his tongue. He would just humor her for now. Once the goods were in hand, whether he gave them to Liu Lizhen or not was still entirely up to him.

Women really were stupid!

—

Liu Guanghui was bold and ruthless. Inspired by Liu Lizhen’s idea, that very night he took two underlings and slipped near the Ge family’s little courtyard.

After staking the place out for two or three days, he discovered that Ye Wanqing had the habit of taking Ge Yue out for a walk in the evening. He immediately decided to strike at that time.

The plan was solid. Unfortunately, the moment he and his two half-baked underlings rushed out, they hadn’t even managed to stop Ye Wanqing before Monkey and Flower Shirt blocked them first.

“Yo, isn’t this Brother Guanghui? What have you been squatting here for the past few days?”

“The grass on the grave of the last person who laid hands on our sister-in-law is already three feet high. Are you also looking to try our brothers’ strength?”

They didn’t waste many harsh words. Monkey and Flower Shirt had seen the world following Ge Yuan and had used real ruthlessness before. In just a few moves they subdued Liu Guanghui and his two men.

Ye Wanqing was wide-eyed with shock. Ge Yue clapped her chubby little hands and jumped up. “So amazing!”

A little girl shouldn’t watch this kind of thing. Ye Wanqing pinched the chubby child’s cheeks and said, “Go play with Fatty Wang and the others. Tonight Sister-in-law will make you some sour-date cake.”

“Okay!” The moment Ge Yue thought of sour-date cake she started drooling. Although she still wanted to watch the excitement, she walked away looking back every three steps.

Monkey tied Liu Guanghui and the other two with a hemp rope and stuffed a rag into each of their mouths before walking up to Ye Wanqing, scratching his head and grinning foolishly.

“Brother Yuan has been busy with things in the provincial capital these days. He leaves early and comes back late and was afraid something might happen to you, so he told us brothers to keep an eye on things… And look, we actually caught three rats.”

A flash of understanding struck Ye Wanqing. “A few days ago when I went to Hongxing Village, were you following me too?”

Monkey only grinned more foolishly—“Hehehe.”

“……” Ye Wanqing understood.

She found it both funny and exasperating. Did Ge Yuan think this group of brothers of his were some underground party? If he wanted to protect her, he could just stand out openly. Was there any need to sneak around like this?

Monkey seemed to understand her thoughts and immediately explained, “Brother Yuan won’t let us get too close to you. He’s definitely not confident enough about himself. Sister-in-law, what do you think of me and Flower Shirt? Introduce a few girls for us to meet later, okay?”

He puffed out his chest. The pair of toad-shaped sunglasses hanging on his clothes was especially eye-catching.

Flower Shirt looked up curiously. “Monkey, wasn’t it Brother Yuan who said ‘a brother’s wife is not to be played with—if you dare play around I’ll kick you to death,’ and you were afraid Brother Yuan would send you flying with a kick to the butt, so you said we should follow from a distance and not get close?”

Monkey’s teeth ached. “If you don’t speak, no one will treat you like a mute!”

Flower Shirt: “……”

Ye Wanqing let out a “puchi” of laughter. Her mood improved, and looking at Liu Guanghui and the other two no longer felt so thoroughly disgusting.

Liu Guanghui and his men were taken away by Monkey. Ye Wanqing didn’t interfere, knowing Ge Yuan would have his own sense of proportion. With Liu Guanghui’s character, giving him a few extra beatings could count as eliminating a public nuisance.

—

What Ye Wanqing hadn’t expected was that before she had even decided how to handle Liu Guanghui, Liu Lizhen came looking for her.

The next morning Liu Lizhen no longer wore the usual “parents are greater than heaven” sense of entitlement. She knocked on the door properly for a while and said she had something to discuss with Ye Wanqing.

Ye Wanqing didn’t know about Liu Lizhen’s trip to Hongxing Village to transfer the household registration, but she could guess that Liu Lizhen definitely didn’t have anything good in mind.

“We have nothing to talk about.” Ye Wanqing wanted to close the door, but Liu Lizhen quickly grabbed the door panel.

Her eyes carried a pleading look. “Eldest Girl, even if you don’t want to acknowledge me and your father, I still fed you, clothed you, and paid for your schooling. You won’t even give me a little time to talk?”

“I’m not asking you to forgive us. I just don’t want things to end up looking like we’re enemies.”

Seeing Ye Wanqing remain silent, Liu Lizhen’s expression grew even more bitter and a few parts of resentment appeared. “Do you want me to kneel down and beg you? Your father knows you got into university and is so happy at home he’s beside himself. He even said he’ll put up the money to hold a promotion banquet for you. And this is the attitude you show?”

What attitude?

What good attitude could she possibly have toward this person?

Ye Wanqing smiled lightly in her heart and said calmly, “I don’t have time today. How about we talk tomorrow? You don’t need to come looking for me here either. Tomorrow afternoon at three o’clock, just wait for me at the teahouse in the row outside the bus station. After I finish handling matters at the shop I’ll go find you.”

“Alright.” Liu Lizhen nodded, then said as if casually, “Bring your admission notice tomorrow. Your father and I never went to university and will never have that chance in this lifetime. We just want to see your notice with our own eyes and feel it a little.”

“Alright.” Ye Wanqing agreed readily.

Liu Lizhen felt a surge of joy and finally felt a bit more settled. She had made up her mind: tomorrow she would beg if she had to, or snatch if she had to—she would get that admission notice.

After sending Liu Lizhen away, Ye Wanqing went to find Ge Yuan.

Because he was worried about her, Ge Yuan hadn’t gone out today.

The night before, after he returned, he had given Liu Guanghui and the other two a severe beating and left them searching for their teeth on the ground. He had also dug quite a bit of information out of their mouths—more detailed than what he had previously sent people to investigate.

That information included the fact that Liu Lizhen had taken five thousand yuan from Ye Guoqiang, spent most of it, and was now frantically eyeing Ye Wanqing’s admission notice. No matter how nice Liu Lizhen’s words sounded today, what schemes she was really harboring—did she think everyone else was a fool who didn’t know?

“What do you plan to do?” Ge Yuan asked.

Ye Wanqing’s fair, pretty face was full of coldness. She smiled lightly. “We’ll play along with their scheme.”

She had already planned to cut ties with the Ye family. Now that Liu Lizhen had forced this knife into her hands, she would reluctantly say a word of “thanks for the hard work” to Liu Lizhen.

—

The next day.

Liu Lizhen couldn’t sit still at home. By half past two in the afternoon she couldn’t help walking to Auspicious Teahouse, intending to generously open a private room herself. Unexpectedly the boss said Ye Wanqing had already arrived.

The so-called private room was only a small compartment separated by wooden boards—very crude. It could only slightly block the line of sight; the soundproofing was nothing to hope for.

When Liu Lizhen reached the doorway of the room and looked inside, Ye Wanqing, who was already sitting there, immediately raised her eyes toward her. Those eyes seemed to hold a watery light and were full of affectionate longing. Liu Lizhen’s heart immediately settled.

“You came so early?” Liu Lizhen found something to say.

Ye Wanqing pressed her lips and didn’t speak, yet her attitude looked rather gentle, reminding Liu Lizhen of the days when Ye Wanqing had still been at home.

Back then Ye Wanqing had been so obedient. Whatever she was told to do, she did it. She handled all the work inside and outside the house without needing anyone to worry. It had been much better than now.

Still, if this time Ye Wanqing was willing to hand over the notice, Liu Lizhen could also let bygones be bygones regarding previous matters.