Chapter 7

Busy during lunch, Luan Hongmei came back carrying a shoulder pole.

Her elderly mother looked delighted, and when Tian Mi peeked out, she saw that, indeed, all the radishes in the basket had been sold.

“Is the food ready?” After spending the morning talking, Luan Hongmei was now both thirsty and hungry. There were people selling pancakes at the market, but she hadn’t dared to buy any and had gone without.

Tian Mi came out of the kitchen carrying warm water and, upon hearing this, quickened her pace. “You should drink a few sips of water first; the food is ready too.”

After Luan Hongmei took the water, she leaned in to take the shoulder pole and basket, not forgetting to warmly invite the neighbor’s aunt, who had come back with her, “Si Shen^[1]Fourth Aunt. Si(四) – four Shen(婶) – wife of father’s younger brother, come eat with us!”

Since they were in the same village and mostly related by blood, they could count as distant relatives despite being neighbors.

Si Shen waved her hand. “No thanks, Da Yatou^[2]Big girl at home is cooking.”

“Why is there sugar in this water?” Luan Hongmei downed half a bowl in one go, smacked her lips, and handed the remaining half to her old sister to drink.

Tian Mi was already in the kitchen and shouted out, “I bought a few pieces of candy and made you sweet water to enjoy.”

What she didn’t say was that the reason she made it sweet was that she understood her mother’s character; giving her candy would also save her some to give to her older brother. The excuses were ready-made, like saying she didn’t like sweets.

In fact, how could anyone not like candy? Especially in a time when most people lacked the luxury of variety.

Sure enough, although Luan Hongmei felt a bit distressed, she looked pleased on the surface. When she took the empty bowl, she didn’t forget to show off, “You little girl, just know how to waste money; giving me these good things is a waste.”

Si Shen knew her old sister’s character well and shot her a glance. “Go ahead and be that way; at least your daughter is being filial.”

As she spoke, she bent down to lift the shoulder pole. Her luck hadn’t been great today; half of the vegetables in the basket hadn’t been sold. “I’ll head back now. This afternoon, I’ll have Hongbing come dig a small cellar for you.”

“Sure, come by at three, and we’ll eat dinner together in the evening.” Luan Hongmei wasn’t being polite at all.

“What cellar are you digging?” Tian Mi came out to call her mother for dinner and curiously asked after hearing this.

Luan Hongmei pressed down on the well water a few times to wash her hands before replying, “It’s not really a cellar; it’s just digging a big hole. We have to harvest the radishes from the field.”

Tian Mi suddenly realized that every year around this time, any radishes or cabbages that couldn’t be eaten were buried in the ground and dug up around the New Year to steam for dumplings.

She sighed and handed her mother a cloth to wipe her hands. “Why bother someone else? Just have Dage dig it. Wouldn’t asking someone else mean you owe them a favor?”

Because of his job, Tian Hongxing was often not home. Luan Hongmei, a slender woman, seemed to think of herself as the man of the house.

“Your brother can’t do this. He’s a scholar.” Luan Hongmei took a couple of bites of food from her bowl, looking completely matter-of-fact about it.

Ugh… there are a thousand curses she could think of but didn’t know if they should be said.

“Oh, right, where’s the red fabric you bought? Go get it and let me have a look.”

Tian Mi…

=

Because of a piece of red fabric, Tian Mi was nagged until her head hurt. If she hadn’t been quick on her feet, she might have ended up getting hit.

In the afternoon, when they were digging the small cellar, both of her younger sisters went to join in the excitement. Tian Mi didn’t go out to watch, fearing that Luan Hongmei would never stop talking.

Of course, she also had things on her mind. Rarely having a moment alone, she took out a few old notebooks and gathered three sheets of paper to start writing a letter to her eldest sister.

Her eldest sister, Tian Yu, was 32 years old this year and had been with the military for eight years. When she left, she was only 12 years old.

With a distance of over two thousand kilometers, just taking the train would take seven or eight days. For most people, whose activity range barely extended beyond the county, it was simply unimaginable.

Also, because the distance was just too great, ever since she joined the military, her eldest sister had only sent things back each year but hadn’t returned in person.

In Tian Mi’s memory, her eldest sister Tian Yu was very cheerful and, being the eldest daughter, she tended to worry about others.

The more she thought about her sister’s good qualities, the more Tian Mi felt there was a chance to go to her for help. Even as she put pen to paper, the emotions in her letter became more sincere…

=

When Father Tian returned that evening, it was already dark.

Seeing someone come back, Tian Mi, who was already hungry, immediately led her sisters to the kitchen to get the food.

Tian Hongxing looked unhappy. After wandering around the house, he frowned and asked, “Where’s the eldest? Still not back?”

Luan Hongmei handed him a bowl of food filled with sweet potato porridge, and with a pout, she replied, “Chang Qing is a good boy; he’s been with his grandparents these past few days. What’s wrong with you?”

Tian Hongxing clearly didn’t believe this. He snorted and picked up his chopsticks to eat. “Things have been chaotic outside lately; you should tell the eldest to stop running around.”

“How could our Chang Qing be disobedient? What kind of father are you?” Luan Hongmei’s face darkened.

Tian Hongxing didn’t respond to his wife’s words. Their eldest son had been spoiled; he had thought about teaching him properly when he was younger, but both parents and his old wife always protected him. Whenever he tried to discipline him, the household would be filled with cries and noise.

Fortunately, their younger son, Xiang Yang, was well-behaved and sensible; he was also smart. Sometimes, Tian Hongxing even thought that the parents’ lack of attention to the younger son was actually a blessing for him.

With the head of the family in a bad mood, aside from Tian Mi, the other children all buried their heads in their food, not daring to make a sound.

Seeing her husband sullen and silent, Luan Hongmei slapped him lightly. “I’m talking to you! What’s with your temper? Did Chang Qing offend you?”

Tian Hongxing had no choice but to speak up. “Someone died in Shengli Village today.”

“What? How did someone die? Whose family was it?” Luan Hongmei immediately forgot her anger and curiously asked.

Tian Mi and the others also looked up.

Thinking of the young life that had been recovered today, Tian Hongxing sighed. “Do you remember that landlord Yao?”

“Of course I remember. Isn’t there just a little granddaughter left in that family… Is it her?” As she spoke, Luan Hongmei suddenly realized, her not-so-large eyes widened in disbelief.

Tian Hongxing nodded, “It’s her. She jumped into the river to commit suicide.”

“How could this happen? I remember that girl was two years younger than our second daughter, right? Why… why would she do that?” 

“What else could it be? It was the slander and rumors that drove her to it. I don’t know who spread the word that she had gold jewelry and even hidden gold bars…”

Tian Hongxing didn’t elaborate on the details, but Tian Mi and the others could guess the general idea.

“Then… can those who spread rumors be charged?” After repeatedly lamenting that it was a shame for such a good girl, Luan Hongmei looked hopefully at her husband.

Tian Mi pursed her lips, feeling that the situation was uncertain.

Sure enough, Tian Hongxing shook his head. “This is hard to handle. The law doesn’t hold the majority accountable. In a village, there aren’t many clean individuals. The key point is that the girl committed suicide, and in the letter she left, she didn’t specify who pressured her. She only admitted that her family did have gold, but she took it with her when she jumped into the river.”

That girl from the Yao family had been labeled a “black class” due to her family being landlords. After all these years, she was left with only one little girl, and life was already difficult; anyone could step on her. Now, those baseless rumors became the last straw that broke her back.

This wasn’t an isolated incident; it was a tragedy of the times. When Tian Mi looked at historical materials in the past, she didn’t feel much. But now, experiencing it firsthand, she felt a deep sense of suffocation in her heart.

“Is there really gold?” Luan Hongmei’s attention shifted to the mention of gold.

Tian Hongxing picked up a piece of dried radish and took a sip of porridge. “Who knows? No one has seen it. But there’s definitely someone going into the river to salvage it recently. I’m worried there might be an accident. You should keep an eye on the eldest.”

Having worked in public security for decades, Tian Hongxing still had some ability, but he was overly upright and rigid. He wouldn’t even accept a gift for a single egg, nor would he flatter anyone, which led to him remaining just a small public security officer after all these years.

However, this did not affect his ability to judge cases. When he found the suicide note, he knew it was a scheme set up by the Yao girl. He didn’t know how many people had been blinded by gold and gone into the river to salvage…

Luan Hongmei didn’t understand her husband’s meaning and was still calculating. “How about I go back to my family? My elder brother has been fishing his whole life and is a good swimmer…”

“Stop right there. Don’t even think about it.” Before his wife could finish, Tian Hongxing interrupted with a dark face.

Seeing that his wife completely misunderstood his meaning and looked displeased, Tian Hongxing sighed. “It’s early winter now; just watch. I’m afraid there will be more deaths this time.”

Human greed is terrifying. That Yao girl left behind such a letter; who knows how many hearts it burned.

The Chaoyang River is wide and deep, making it easy to have accidents in summer, let alone in winter.

Moreover, from his decades of experience, he suspected that the story about gold was mostly a fabrication…

=

After dinner.

Tian Mi, under the sympathetic gazes of her younger sisters, was once again called over by her parents for a talk, with a familiar topic at hand.

“…It’s not that dad and mom can’t allow you to stay home for a few more years, but a girl has to marry sooner or later. If you wait a few more years, all the good matches will be taken, and people in the village will gossip… In short, you need to pay attention to this matter.” Half an hour later, the family head, Tian Hongxing, gave his final summary.

Knowing that arguing was pointless and that being sensible made one a true talent, Tian Mi considered herself a talent, raising her pretty little face and replying obediently, “I will.”

“Don’t just say it without action. That Liu Xiangdong is such a good young man! I don’t understand what’s going on in your head, you silly girl. The city people look down on us; do you really want to marry someone from Beijing?” Luan Hongmei genuinely couldn’t understand her daughter’s thoughts. Their family was just trying to make a living in the dirt; no matter how high one’s aspirations were, they had to have matching conditions, right?

Tian Mi found it hard to respond. She really wanted to tell her mother that people from Beijing were just like anyone else—two eyes and a nose, nothing special about them.

Fearing that the conversation would drag on endlessly and her mother might really think she wanted to find someone from Beijing, she cleverly shifted the topic, casually asking the question she had pondered over all night, “Dad, is there really gold in the river?”

Upon hearing this, Tian Hongxing didn’t think much of it, assuming his daughter was just curious. He pulled his reddened feet out of the foot-soaking bucket, took the towel Luan Hongmei handed him, wiped his feet haphazardly, and then sat cross-legged on the bed to reply, “There probably isn’t any gold in the Chaoyang River. The big ships can’t get in. But our county is by the sea, and the seabed has everything. I’ve heard that before liberation, many ships were sunk. There’s plenty of good stuff down there, not just gold, but antiques too… Why are you asking about this?”

“Just curious, that’s all.”

“…”

=

In the following days, as Tian Hongxing had predicted, many people went into the river to look for gold.

It wasn’t until two strong young men drowned in succession without finding anything that the greed of the masses was extinguished, allowing the river to regain its tranquility.

Tian Mi didn’t join the commotion; even if there was gold, it belonged to the Yao girl.

Moreover, her mind was occupied with other matters as she kept waiting for an opportunity to go to the county town.

Ever since she encountered Liu Xiangdong at the post office last time, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy, always thinking the post office in town wasn’t safe.

This suspicion was a bit paranoid, but she preferred to take precautions. What if that brat really tried to do something bad? Wouldn’t she be grateful for her caution?

Additionally, she wanted to go to the sea to gather some things. She was tempted by gold and antiques, but her main focus was on collecting valuable seafood.

However, finding an opportunity to go to the county town wasn’t easy. After graduating from high school two years ago, she hadn’t been back.

Another week passed while she waited.

Whether it was divine intervention or not, just as Tian Mi was contemplating whether to concoct a lie to deceive her family, she received word from one of her best female classmates in high school, inviting her to her wedding.

The moment she got the news, Tian Mi felt so moved that she almost cried.

Not wanting her parents to know she had money, she shamelessly asked her father for one yuan.

After a bit of tidying up, she slung her bag over her shoulder and dashed off.

In her haste, it looked as if she were being chased by a fierce dog.

At the same time, over two thousand kilometers away, after visiting his old class monitor and enduring a rough seven or eight days on the road, Lou Luhui finally returned to his unit with his comrade.

TN:

I go in to work on Thursdays so updates will be on Tuesdays and Fridays.