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墨書 Inktalez
Early in the morning, Zhang Qiu and Jiang Xue picked up Tao Ya from Cloud Sea District and headed straight to the Bus Station. The security at the Bus Station had significantly improved. The three of them, carrying large bags, boarded a bus heading to Aunt He's house. During Jiang Xue's time away, Fire Cicada was temporarily entrusted to Taolengman. Taolengman patted his chest and assured Jiang Xue that he would take care of Fire Cicada as if it were his own home. However, his gaze while speaking was directed at Zhang Qiu.
Zhang Qiu, Jiang Xue, and Tao Ya took the early bus, which departed promptly at seven in the morning. There were not many passengers on board, with fewer than twenty scattered across the seats. The driver, dressed in work clothes and sweating profusely, had a fan spinning beside him. Jiang Xue and Tao Ya sat together, while Zhang Qiu occupied the row behind them. As the bus left the station, several passengers boarded along the way. The female Ticket Seller, with a bag slung over her shoulder and a handful of change in her hand, moved through the crowd.
As they traveled halfway, passengers began to get off one by one. A young man dressed in flashy clothes walked over and sat down across the aisle from Jiang Xue. He grinned and said, "What are two beauties doing out here?"
Jiang Xue glanced at him but ignored his comment. The young man cursed, "Damn, what are you pretending for?"
Just as Zhang Qiu was about to react, Tao Ya spoke up first, yelling at the young man, "What are you pretending for, idiot!"
Zhang Qiu looked at Tao Ya in surprise; he never expected her to curse. Jiang Xue felt similarly surprised—while it wasn't unusual for Taolengman to curse, this was Tao Ya. Both of their attentions were drawn to Tao Ya, leaving the young man ignored. Tao Ya's face turned red; after cursing, she lowered her head and softly said, "Xue Jie, I should protect you..."
"You did great," Jiang Xue replied with a smile as she held Tao Ya's hand.
The cursed young man was taken aback as well; he stood up from his seat and arrogantly pointed at Tao Ya while shouting, "How dare you talk to me like that?"
Seeing the situation escalate, the Ticket Seller quickly approached to mediate. Having worked in this field for a long time, she had encountered all sorts of situations and was confident she could handle this minor issue. She thought it would just be a matter of calming down the impulsive young man; as for the two girls, they likely wouldn’t cause trouble. However, she did not anticipate that someone would act before her.
A scream drew everyone's attention in the bus; even sleeping passengers woke up startled, looking around as if something unusual had happened. In the middle of the bus, Zhang Qiu had one foot on the seat beside him and was looking down at the young man. The finger that the young man had extended was bent painfully by Zhang Qiu's grip; his face contorted in agony as he cried out.
The driver glanced back through the rearview mirror and reminded them, "Everyone sit tight; no fighting or we'll be stopping at the police station next."
The Ticket Seller had already reached Zhang Qiu's side and urged him gently, "Brother, let him go before he ends up with a broken bone."
"Let him break!" Zhang Qiu tightened his grip further; another scream escaped from the young man as he attempted to lunge at Zhang Qiu but was restrained by his bent finger. Frustrated and in pain, he shouted angrily, "You better let go now; otherwise I'll make you regret it."
"Ah!"
Accompanied by a cracking sound, another scream erupted from the young man. Zhang Qiu stared expressionlessly at him, responding silently with his actions.
The Ticket Seller watched in shock; she had seen fights before but never one like this. Observing the young man's grimacing face made her contemplate whether to call the police. At that moment, Zhang Qiu smiled at her and said, "Now can I return to my seat?"
Zhang Qiu turned to Jiang Xue and Tao Ya, saying, "Come sit behind me."
"Okay."
Jiang Xue and Tao Ya both stood up and followed Zhang Qiu to the empty seats in the back row. The young man, clutching his broken finger, looked back at Zhang Qiu with a mix of anger and fear. He had only tried to flirt, but unexpectedly ended up breaking his finger. He wanted to pull Zhang Qiu over and give him a beating, but he was worried he might end up getting beaten instead. The intense pain in his finger made him shout, "Driver, stop the car! I need to go to the hospital."
The driver shouted back from the front, "This is a highway; we can't stop here. Besides, where's the nearest hospital? You have to get off the highway for that. If I let you off here, it won't be convenient for you to find another ride, and you might even attract the police."
The driver showed no intention of stopping, and the young man grimaced as he covered his hand. Realizing the driver's point, he stopped insisting on getting off but couldn't shake off his frustration and kept glancing back at Zhang Qiu.
The Ticket Seller, standing nearby, saw that the crisis had been averted but was still wary of any further conflict. She chose a nearby seat so she could intervene if anything happened between the two groups. Fortunately, until that man and the two women got off the bus, the young man remained still.
Jiang Xue's village was called Jiang Family Village, a large village with thousands of households and rows of orderly bungalows. The Jiang family had settled here long ago, and there was even a Jiang Clan Ancestral Hall in the village. However, that hall had been rebuilt later; the original one was destroyed during a movement as part of the Four Olds campaign.
Zhang Qiu, Jiang Xue, and Tao Ya got off at the village entrance. Right at the entrance was the Village Committee's location, next to five newly built bungalows. A wooden sign reading "Jiang Family Village Village Committee" hung beside the doorposts. The courtyard of the Village Committee was equipped with fitness equipment, where village children were playing joyfully. In the center of the yard stood a flagpole with a faded Five-Star Red Flag fluttering in the wind.
On a half-height lime wall beside the Village Committee sat or squatted several elderly people. When they saw someone getting off the bus, their wrinkled faces lit up with curiosity as they turned their attention to those disembarking. An elderly man with missing teeth suddenly exclaimed after watching for a while, "That's strange; isn't that Jiang family's eldest daughter?"
"The Jiang family? Which Jiang family?"
"Which other Jiang family could it be? The Qin Widow's family."
"Oh, now that you mention it, she really does look like her."
"What do you mean 'looks like'? It's clearly her."
"Why has she come back?" one elder muttered to himself. Immediately someone else chimed in, "Yeah, with a stepfather like that, why would she return home?"
"Exactly! That man—how did we not see it before? Buying this and that for the Qin Widow's family made him seem like a good person. Who knew he was just a drunkard without even a house of his own? He had to live at his wife's place after marriage. I don't understand how Qin Widow agreed to marry someone like him."
"Qin Widow must have been deceived too."
As soon as a topic comes up, people immediately start chatting excitedly, exchanging words and creating an atmosphere even hotter than in June. Having just gotten off the bus, Zhang Qiu, Jiang Xue, and Tao Ya walked along the newly paved cement road towards the village. Passing by the Village Committee, Jiang Xue looked at the elderly men by the wall and cheerfully asked, "Gentlemen, what are you talking about? You seem so happy!"
"Oh, nothing much, just chatting casually."
"Are you back home?"
Jiang Xue smiled and replied, "Yes, I finished the college entrance exam and came back to see my mom."
"What school did you get into?"
"A first-tier university."
"Wow, that's impressive!"
The elderly men sighed in admiration. Jiang Xue laughed and said, "You gentlemen take care; I'm heading home now."
Zhang Qiu, Jiang Xue, and Tao Ya continued walking along the cement road. After a while, an old man at the village entrance remarked, "The girl from Qin Widow's family is remarkable; she got into a first-tier university. There aren't many from our village who have done that."
"Isn't that right? She finishes her exams and comes back to see her mom with this news—what a proud moment for the family."
"I see she's carrying quite a few things; they must be for her mom. That girl is something else."
"Who’s that guy with her? We don’t have anyone like him in our village."
"Do we even need to ask? It’s obvious she’s been studying outside and has found herself a boyfriend. Isn’t that how young people are these days?"
"What about the other girl? Why are three of them coming back together? What's her story?"
"Who knows? It's hard to understand anything about Qin Widow's family."
"That's right."
Along the cement road, rows of houses passed by, and in the distance, corn could already be seen growing in the fields. Zhang Qiu asked, "Xue'er, if we keep going, we'll head straight into the fields."
"Don't rush, my house is in the second-to-last row; we're almost there," Jiang Xue replied as she led Zhang Qiu onto a side road. After passing a few houses, she stopped and said, "This is my home."
The courtyard wall, built of red bricks, stood two meters high, with pumpkin vines climbing over the top. A large iron gate, rusty and tightly shut, obscured the view inside. Jiang Xue stared blankly at the gate, and Zhang Qiu gently asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling sad?"
Jiang Xue nodded lightly, gazing at the gate as memories flooded her mind. Zhang Qiu placed a hand on Jiang Xue's shoulder and said softly, "I'm here with you. Let's go in and see how Auntie is doing."
"Okay," Jiang Xue replied firmly, her nod indicating she had made a significant decision.
Zhang Qiu watched as Jiang Xue walked step by step to the gate and twisted open one side of it. After Jiang Xue stepped inside, both Zhang Qiu and Tao Ya followed closely behind. The yard was filled with corn, cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes, and various other vegetables that showed signs of careful tending. A woman emerged from the main room wearing a floral top; her hair was tied back, wrinkles clearly visible at the corners of her eyes, and her back slightly hunched. Upon seeing Jiang Xue, the woman froze for a moment and trembled as she asked, "Child, is that you?"
"Mom!"
Jiang Xue cried out sharply as she rushed towards the woman. The mother and daughter embraced tightly in the yard, tears streaming down their faces. Zhang Qiu observed their reunion, especially the tears from the woman, which brought some comfort to her heart. The tears indicated that Jiang Xue's mother truly missed her daughter. If she had been indifferent towards Jiang Xue, this visit would have felt pointless.
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