After the siblings finished their meal, they sat on the kang and talked. Xu An shared the information he had gathered from the male educated youth earlier that day.

The man had visited the educated youth dormitory several times. Once, when Liu Fang was not there, Liu Shaojie invited him to sit in his room for a while. He told Liu Shaojie that his name was Wang Daqiang, that he was from Dawangzhuang, and that his sister had married into the city, with her husband working at the meat processing factory.

Xu Ning recognized Dawangzhuang; it was very close to the city, right by the archway. Now that she knew the address and the name, it would be easier to handle things.

Xu An asked, “Sister, what should we do now?”

Xu Ning thought for a moment and replied, “Let’s not act yet; let’s see what Liu Fang wants to do. We need to be careful while working during this time.”

She then went outside to take a look. The courtyard wall was very high, the back door was sturdy, and the front door was secure. Even if someone were to break in, she had ways to deal with it.

The next day, when she went to work, she did not see Liu Fang. Wei Lanlan mentioned that Liu Fang had taken a leave of absence; this morning, the man had come by bike to pick her up, and the two of them had gone into the city.

Xu Ning finished her work and headed back. The sun had been quite strong these past few days, and she planned to water the vegetables.

As she approached the educated youth camp, she saw Liu Fang talking to a man at the entrance. When they noticed her coming, both of them looked her way. Xu Ning walked past them, keeping her gaze straight ahead, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the man—he was around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a somewhat lecherous gaze.

Liu Fang knew Xu Ning usually finished work around this time, and today she had deliberately brought Wang Daqiang here to wait for her.

Once the people nearby had walked away, Wang Daqiang continued to stare, a sly smile forming in his heart as Liu Fang spoke. “She’s also from our commune, but her family is well-off. She built her own house.”

Liu Fang continued, “Her family sends her thirty yuan every month, along with various coupons. She earns quite a bit of work points, and I’ve heard she has at least several hundred yuan saved up. She’s the richest person in our commune, and she even has a bicycle.”

Wang Daqiang’s eyes lit up at this information, greedily watching Xu Ning as she walked home. The girl looked decent, and her loose clothing could not hide her graceful figure. Thirty yuan a month, along with various coupons and a hefty savings account—it was quite appealing.

He turned back to Liu Fang and said with a smile, “Baby, why care about her? You’re the best in my eyes. Come on, let’s go talk in your room.”

As he spoke, he reached to pull Liu Fang inside, but she held back, suppressing her disgust as she looked at his yellowed teeth. “Daqiang, the people from the commune will be getting off work soon. It wouldn’t be good for them to see us together. Next time, I’ll come to your place.”

Wang Daqiang looked at her with displeasure. That stubborn girl, always saying “next time.” He had been pursuing her for six months and still hadn’t made any progress.

Seeing that he was a bit angry, Liu Fang continued to speak about Xu Ning. “Daqiang, I know you care about me, but my family isn’t well-off. I want to buy you a gift, but I don’t have the money. I’m not like Xu Ning; her family buys her whatever she wants.” As she spoke, her eyes turned red.

Wang Daqiang felt a pang of sympathy upon seeing her like this. He quickly turned to comfort her, calling her “baby” repeatedly. Then, he looked in the direction Xu Ning had gone and asked, “That girl built her own house. Does she live alone?”

Liu Fang lowered her eyes, hiding the smile in her gaze. “She has a younger brother living with her, but he’s only about ten years old and isn’t much help around the house—he’s even less capable than a girl.”

Liu Fang then took Wang Daqiang for a stroll around, casually mentioning the structure of Xu Ning’s house.

She sighed and added, “She doesn’t get along with the people in our camp. She opened a back door near Daqingshan. Many people advised her against it, saying it was too remote, and if anything happened, no one would know. But she wouldn’t listen; she insisted on having that back door.”

Wang Daqiang glanced at the inconspicuous back door. It was still quite a distance from the educated youth camp, separated by a high wall. If anything happened, no one would see it.

Through the crack of the back door, Xu Ning observed the two standing on the main road. Liu Fang was pointing in her direction and saying something to Wang Daqiang, who was looking around as he spoke.

Xu Ning kept her eyes on Wang Daqiang, watching as he circled the outer wall of the camp once more before he and Liu Fang headed back.

When Xu An returned home and saw Xu Ning watering the vegetables, he dropped his backpack and went to prepare dinner.

During dinner, Xu Ning told him about her encounter with Wang Daqiang and Liu Fang.

“Sister, what should we do now?” Xu An asked.

Xu Ning replied, “Today’s encounter was definitely a setup by Liu Fang. I noticed Wang Daqiang was observing everything around here. He’ll likely come by during the night these next few days. We need to be more alert while we sleep.”

Xu An said, “Sister, should we tell Dad and the others?”

Xu Ning finished the rice in her bowl and replied, “No need. We can’t involve Dad in this. He’ll probably bring two or three people at most, but we can handle it ourselves.”

Xu Ning continued to go to work as usual, while Xu An had not gone to the fields to earn work points these past couple of days. Instead, he returned home from school and slept, getting up at night to keep watch.

Around midnight on the third night, Xu An heard some noise outside and immediately called Xu Ning awake.

The siblings carefully slid the bolt out of the door and each grabbed a stick, hiding behind the door.

The door was pushed open from the outside. In the moonlight, Xu Ning saw two figures. The person who opened the door quietly asked, “Qiangzi, why isn’t this door bolted?”

Wang Daqiang, behind him, whispered back, “That’s how it is in the countryside. When the main door is closed, the inner door isn’t bolted.”

The two outside quietly stepped inside. Once they were both in, the siblings struck down with their sticks, and the two men collapsed instantly. Xu Ning, feeling uneasy, gave one of them another blow, while Xu An quickly grabbed some rope to tie them up.

“Sister, I’ll keep watch over them. You go call Uncle Village Head,” Xu An suggested.

Xu Ning replied, “Wait a minute. I want to ask them a few questions first. Go get some water to splash on them to wake them up. Actually, bring a needle instead; it’s better to poke them awake. Splashing water will just make the room wet.”

After a moment of thought, she added, “When I start questioning Wang Daqiang, you need to cooperate with me. Just say this…”

Xu An nodded and went to get a shoe-making needle from the house. He began poking the two men randomly on their arms and thighs. Once they were awake, they cried out in pain and struggled, only to realize they were tightly bound. They were confused—wasn’t it said that only a little girl and a sickly boy lived here?

Seeing that they were awake, Xu Ning said, “I know you. I saw you with Liu Fang the other day. Did she send you here?”

Xu An chimed in, “Sister, did Liu Fang send him? Is she still holding a grudge against you for hitting her last year? I knew she wasn’t a good person. You were just trying to help her, and she’s repaying kindness with malice. Last time her boyfriend came, she even told him not to pay any attention to me.”

Wang Daqiang initially didn’t want to mention Liu Fang, but upon hearing that, he angrily retorted, “What the hell are you babbling about? I am Liu Fang’s boyfriend!”

Xu An scoffed, “Liu Fang likes you? You can’t compare to her boyfriend at all! That guy is younger and better looking than you, and he works at the factory. They’ve been together for two years, and they’re getting married by the end of this year.”

Lying on the ground in anger, Wang Daqiang shouted, “I’m her boyfriend! Who is she going to marry? I’ll see if she dares!”

Xu Ning interjected, “Xiao An, why waste your breath on him? Hurry on your bicycle and go find the village head. We need to send these two to the police station.”

Wang Daqiang continued to shout in frustration, insisting that he was Liu Fang’s boyfriend, while the other man shrank back in fear, too scared to move.