Chapter 56: No one answered anymore

Fu Fei stared intently at the object on the ground in front of him, not blinking even when his eyes grew sore and welled with tears; his legs felt as if they had been filled with lead and could not be lifted.

He was hallucinating again.

"Heh—" A bitter smile appeared on the young man's weary face.

That cloth bag... how could it be? It must... it must be another hallucination!

His illness had worsened.

Fu Fei dragged his heavy legs forward, but after a few steps, he saw the cloth bag was still there.

His heart gave a heavy jolt.

This was the first time since that incident two years ago that Fu Fei had felt his heart beat so vividly, a sign that he was still alive.

His throat suddenly turned dry, as if rubbed by sandpaper, his eyes felt painfully gritty, his body trembled uncontrollably, and his teeth chattered, colliding with a *da-da-da-da* sound.

A light suddenly sparked in his eyes; he walked over quickly and slowly crouched down, hesitant and fearful, unable to reach out for a long while.

If it were real...

If it were real!

"Thump, thump, thump!!!"

Fu Fei's heart raced faster and faster, blood rushed to his head, and he plunged forward onto the ground.

His forehead knocked against something; it wasn't the warm, sun-baked soil, but the cloth bag—a bag with the texture of cotton.

This cloth bag was something he had obsessed over for more than two years, over eight hundred days and nights, over twenty thousand hours.

Fu Fei quickly grabbed the bulging cloth bag.

The cotton-stitched seal, the tape at the seam, and the red stamp that burned his eyes were all there.

He clutched the bag tightly, the cracks on his fingers splitting and oozing bright red blood; a few "hng, hng" sounds leaked from his throat before he covered his mouth, the stifled sobs echoing in his nasal cavity like a wounded beast pacing in an iron cage.

A long while later.

He smiled, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes.

A luster slowly returned to those numb eyes.

Growing brighter and brighter.

Fu Fei stood up abruptly and rushed toward the Cotton Textile Factory.

"I didn't embezzle! The money is here! Look, everyone, I really didn't embezzle!" He shouted, holding the bag high and showing the seal to everyone. "Look, look closely, the seal is still here, the red stamp is complete, I didn't take a single cent!"

At this time, many people were working overtime at the Cotton Textile Factory.

Hearing the noise, quite a few came out.

Those standing close saw the seal and red stamp on the bag at a glance and were astonished.

Fu Fei's incident two years ago had caused a huge stir; if not for the incomplete laws and the protection of the factory leadership, he would have at least gone to prison, and even without prison, re-education would have been certain.

But now.

This cloth bag had actually appeared, looking exactly as if it had just been withdrawn from the bank; this... this, this, this, it was like seeing a ghost.

The factory leader walked out of the office, and seeing the bag held high by Fu Fei, his pupils shrank.

Fu Fei ran straight to him. "Factory Director, the lost money, the money has been found! I didn't embezzle, look—the seal and the red stamp are both here, I found it!"

He repeated that he hadn't embezzled, his eyes bloodshot, his emotions agitated, his appearance bordering on madness.

The factory leader took the bag from Fu Fei's hands and tore open the seal; inside was a stack of neatly folded ten-yuan notes.

He counted them again.

One thousand four hundred and eighty-five.

Not a cent missing.

"Where did you find it?" The factory leader stood on the steps, his gaze like a torch fixed on Fu Fei.

"In the alley closest to the factory's south gate," Fu Fei said.

"How strange," the dignified-looking factory leader muttered in confusion.

Found exactly where it was lost.

It was like seeing a ghost.

As a veteran, he naturally didn't believe in ghosts, but this matter truly defied explanation.

The man handed the bag full of money to the finance department and patted Fu Fei on the shoulder.

"Comrade Fu is a good comrade."

Hearing this affirmation from the leader, Fu Fei's expression shattered; he crouched down, covering his face, unable to speak, crying until he was a mess of snot and tears.

Utterly wretched.

After the crying, the light in his eyes gathered and grew stronger.

Suddenly, he began to laugh, his whole body trembling with the laughter.

"Hahaha—"

The young man stood up laughing, his shoulders, once hunched under the weight of infamy, straightened; his face was covered in tears, yet he smiled with relief.

Bowing deeply to the factory director, Fu Fei ran out.

He ran fast, from the Cotton Textile Factory to the riverside, cupping his hands around his mouth to shout, as if to scream out all the grievance and pain that had accumulated in his heart for over two years.

Afterward, the factory office held a meeting.

In view of Fu Fei returning the factory's losses, the Cotton Textile Factory revoked his administrative punishment and simultaneously adjusted his job.

The incident of the lost money had a bad impact, so returning to the finance department was out of the question, but working in a regular workshop was acceptable.

Fu Fei said nothing and reported for duty honestly.

Everyone, including those in the Fu family, thought the matter had passed just like that.

But unexpectedly.

Less than half a month later, Fu Fei swapped jobs with someone, left quietly, and never set foot there again.

Some things, once they happen, can never be treated as if they didn't.

These long two years were, for him, a scab formed in his heart that hurt at the slightest touch; he wanted to start over.

At the same time.

In a dilapidated small courtyard on West Street.

The tiled roof was covered in moss, layers of moldy green creeping down the ridge; the courtyard walls were long since mottled, the newspaper pasted on the window lattice had yellowed, and the half-section of a spring couplet remaining on the lintel rustled in the breeze.

An old woman with graying hair lifted the black bamboo curtain and walked out, holding a chipped enamel basin, intending to fetch water to wash her grandson's feet; just as she reached the water vat, her eyes were flashed by a beam of light.

Grandma Guo squinted her farsighted eyes and looked again; the gold ring that had been lost for over two years was sitting quietly on top of the water vat.

*Clang—*

The enamel basin bounced on the ground and rolled away.

The old woman stumbled toward the water vat, her withered fingers clutching the gold ring tightly, pressing it into her palm; the carvings on the ring pricked her palm with pain.

Her palm hurt intensely.

Grandma Guo came to her senses, blankly opening her hand; the ring was still there.

In an instant.

Two lines of turbid tears flowed from the old woman's eyes, which could no longer see clearly.

She shuddered abruptly, collapsed to the ground, and suppressed sobs spilled from her throat.

"Why did you only come out now? Why only now! It's too late! Too late!"

"My child—!"

"Cui Cui—!!"

"Mother found the ring, Mother has money to trade for grain, come back—!!"

Grandma Guo balled her right hand into a fist and pounded her chest fiercely; she was in pain.

"Mother is useless, Mother lost the ring and couldn't trade for grain, Mother is useless, child, Cui Cui, Mother is useless!"

"Why won't Heaven take the life of this old wretch..."

Just then, a two-year-old boy ran out of the room barefoot.

Seeing his grandmother crying, he ran over, his small hands clumsily wiping the old woman's furrowed face.

"Grandma don't cry, Grandson will protect Grandma."

Hearing her grandson's words, Grandma Guo's heart ached even more, and she hugged her grandson, crying even harder.

Her mind recalled the events of two years ago.

It was the dead of winter, the snow was heavy, the grain supply in the whole county was difficult, and her daughter-in-law Cui Cui had just given birth.

Her newborn grandson's crying was weaker than a kitten's; she had set out with the only remaining gold ring to trade for grain, but before she even reached the black market, the ring was gone, and she had to return home empty-handed.

Her son, heartbroken for the child, went out to borrow rice, but he was in such a rush that he fell on the road and fainted; by the time he was found, his body was already frozen stiff.

The daughter-in-law heard the bad news, suffered a shock, and hemorrhaged; the blood stained more than half the mattress red.

By the time she brought people back, Cui Cui's eyes were wide open, dying with a grievance she couldn't close her eyes to.

For these two years, Grandma Guo had been tortured every moment.

She felt it was all her carelessness that caused her son and daughter-in-law to die miserably one after another; if not for her grandson, she would have long since been unable to go on living.

Now that this gold ring had appeared out of thin air, what was the use? Her family was scattered!

The family was scattered!

The little boy imitated his grandmother trying to coax him, patting her shoulder gently; the tiny child was ignorant but well-behaved.

Grandma Guo's eyes were bloodshot. "Grandma is fine, Grandma still has to raise you, raise you up strong, so I'll have the face to see your father and mother when I go down there."

The gold ring could be traded for quite a bit of money; at the very least, there would be enough to support her grandson through high school!

On this day, quite a few strange occurrences like this appeared in the county.

Some adults found things they had lost long ago, some children inexplicably ended up with a large bag of White Rabbit Creamy Candies, and one little girl even found her favorite dangling hairpin...

Harvest Production Brigade.

Lu Baozhen wanted to eat White Rabbit Creamy Candies, so she raised her hand and called out to the Black Koi.

"Koi, Koi."

No one answered.

"Koi, Koi?"

Still, no one answered.

Lu Baozhen, having been spoiled by the Lu family to the point of having no patience, used her uneven fingernails to scratch the place where the Black Koi resided.

She scratched her hand until it was covered in red marks.

As if she couldn't feel the pain, she kept scratching, each time harder than the last, shouting as she did so: "Koi, Koi, come out!"

The Black Koi had long since vanished from this world, so naturally, it could no longer respond to her.

"I want you to come out! Give me White Rabbit Creamy Candies! I also want to drink powdered milk and eat meat buns!!" Lu Baozhen said in a commanding tone.

She had only eaten half a bowl of cornmeal porridge for dinner, and she wanted to eat something good.

Su Yuxian came to deliver eggs to Lu Baozhen. When she reached the doorway, she heard a voice coming from inside the room, so she stopped and pricked up her ears to listen.

"Koi, Koi, if you don't come out again, I won't go find Big Brother Gu Da Cai and Big Brother Ercai anymore." Lu Baozhen looked very displeased, as if she were talking to someone.

Through the crack in the door, Su Yuxian caught a glimpse of the situation inside the room.

The little tagalong was sitting on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs, head lowered as she stared at her own hand, while her other hand scratched fiercely, muttering under her breath.

Suddenly, Su Yuxian abruptly recalled what she had seen before... Lu Baozhen's face-changing, those eyes so black they lacked a single glimmer of light, the eerie expression on her face—no matter how she looked at it, she didn't seem like a normal child.

Her heart sank abruptly, and a chill rapidly spread from the soles of her feet throughout her entire body.

No, she had to calm her nerves!

Su Yuxian peeled the eggshell and stuffed the entire egg, white and yolk alike, into her mouth.

She chewed a few times and swallowed it into her stomach.

Afraid of being entangled by a little ghost, she didn't dare go in and quietly left.

There was no sun out now, after all!

Thus, the two people who were supposed to be a loving mother and filial daughter in the original book began to harbor mutual hostility before they even had time to cultivate any affection.

Seeing that the light in her granddaughter's room hadn't been turned off, Lu Mu shuffled out in her straw sandals to take a look.

Upon entering the room, she saw that Baozhen's hand was covered in scratch marks, with some places even bleeding.

"Oh my! Baozhen, what are you doing?" Lu Mu grabbed her granddaughter's hand and hurriedly treated her wounds, her face full of heartache. "How did your hand get like this? Where is your stepmother?"

"I don't know," Lu Baozhen replied.

She raised her head and looked at Lu Mu, looking utterly dejected. "Grandma, Koi isn't paying attention to me anymore."

Not knowing what to think, Lu Mu let go of Lu Baozhen's hand, took two steps back, and dodged her gaze, not even daring to look at her granddaughter.

She gave a forced smile. "... Is that so? Maybe it's asleep."

Lu Mu didn't even want to mention this monster. She was afraid of being targeted by that so-called Koi; she still wanted to live a few more years, and what if the monster wanted to drain her lifespan?

Lu Mu was an interesting person; she couldn't bear to give up the benefits the Black Koi brought, yet from the bottom of her heart, she didn't want to deal with it.

She was afraid—so afraid that she didn't even want to mention it.

"Koi never sleeps," Lu Baozhen said.

Lu Mu's face turned slightly pale.

Look, it didn't even need to sleep; if it wasn't a monster, what was it!

"I-is that so?"

Not wanting to talk about unlucky things late at night, she changed the subject. "Did you eat the egg?"

"No," Lu Baozhen said, swallowing her saliva from hunger, even though she didn't really like eating eggs. "I didn't see an egg."

Lu Mu's face darkened. She rushed out of the room, headed straight for her son and daughter-in-law's room, and pounded on the door.

"Su Yuxian, get out here! You're even greedy for a child's egg; why didn't you choke to death?"

Su Yuxian turned over and didn't make a sound.

She waved her palm-leaf fan.

She had married Lu Yizhou and was also a member of the Lu family; what was wrong with eating an egg!?

Mother was right; a daughter-in-law couldn't always be soft, otherwise, the in-laws wouldn't treat her like a human being.

She had to resist!

Her man couldn't divorce her anyway.

After Su Yuxian thought it through, she didn't care at all about her mother-in-law's nasty insults.

Lu Mu tossed and turned, changing the ways she cursed, using the nastiest words she could think of. After outputting for a full half-hour, she felt tired, kicked the door, and left while muttering curses.

When passing by Lu Baozhen's room, she shouted toward the room: "Baozhen, blow out the lamp and go to sleep."

She didn't say she would boil another egg for her, either.

"Oh." Lu Baozhen blew out the lamp but didn't lie down. She remained sitting there, the moonlight shining through the window onto her. The little girl's face flickered in and out of the light, indistinct, as she whispered, "Koi, I'm hungry."

The room was completely silent.

The next day.

Not having to go to work, Lin Zhao didn't wake up until after nine o'clock. When she woke up, she felt like she couldn't breathe.

Opening her eyes, she saw the twins lying spread-eagled on her, quietly playing with their fingers.

"..."

"You're awake," Lin Zhao said, her voice raspy from just waking up, as she patted the two little buns.

"Mm," the Fourth Cub responded crisply.

The little head leaned in, planting a wet kiss on her mother's face, grinning wide with a smile as sweet as could be.

"Mom," she called out, burying her head into Lin Zhao's neck and rubbing gently, clinging tightly.

Who could resist this?

Lin Zhao certainly couldn't.

She sat up, took the two sweet little cubs into her arms, and gave them a big squeeze, making the twins giggle.

After the commotion, Lin Zhao put new clothes on the little brother and sister and took the children to get up.

She fetched water to wash their faces, casually tied her waterfall-like hair behind her head, and braided the Fourth Cub's hair.

The Fourth Cub's hair volume was like her mother's—blacker and thicker than other children her age in the village, fine and soft. Just looking at her hair, one could tell she was a cute little girl.

Lin Zhao combed her hair smooth, separated a layer from the top, and tied a half-ponytail with a medium-sized red bow. With her slightly uneven bangs and bob cut, her cuteness was doubled.

"So beautiful."

The little clever-clogs could understand praise, revealing a pure and bright smile, her tone soft and sweet: "Mom is pretty."

The Seeing Seeing Dazai and Hearing Hearing Erzai returned right on time.

The brothers were covered in smelly sweat from playing.

The Fourth Cub wanted to show off her hair to her two brothers, so she ran over wobblily, but upon smelling the unpleasant odor, her delicate and cute nose wrinkled, and she took a detour and ran away.

Cub's disdain. jpg