Volume 1, Chapter 17: Hard to Say?
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He said it so calmly, as though he were drinking a cup of plain water without even the taste of tea.
Yet Gao Qiming’s heart began to churn violently.
Had everything already been exposed?
To be honest, what he had done could be considered either serious or trivial. It all depended on what the county magistrate intended.
“What’s wrong? Xiao Gao, is it difficult to talk about?”
“Oh! No… no, it’s not difficult to talk about. The village chief’s eldest son is my sworn brother.”
Gao Qiming stood there blankly, his eyes shifting restlessly from side to side. He was waiting—waiting to hear how County Magistrate Gao would respond.
But even after the county magistrate finished drinking his water, he gave Gao Qiming no answer. He merely uttered a faint, “Oh.”
“Here’s what you’ll do. Make the arrangements below. Three days from now, you’ll accompany me to Yushan Village. The villagers have come to petition so many times that, as county magistrate, I ought to show some response.”
“Good! Yes, of course!”
It was as if nothing had happened. Everything continued as usual. But from that moment on, Gao Qiming’s heart beat like a drum.
Because of that unease, he did not dare send another warning directly to Yushan Village. Instead, he had someone pass along just two words:
Three days.
“Big Brother! Qiming sent word. He says County Magistrate Gao will come to our village in three days. We really can’t delay the matter of Widow Liu any longer!”
The village chief continued puffing at his cigarette.
“Well? Has that widow relented?”
“Relented? Ha… Big Brother, let me tell you, that widow is made of iron. At first, I was afraid something might happen to her, so I went in to check on her. I told her that if she left the village, I could give her steamed buns made from refined flour right away. That woman didn’t even look at me. A day later, I went in again. This time I changed my story and told her that all she had to do was abandon the baby and give the villagers an explanation. If she left the courtyard, I would arrange a place for her to live. That way, she could at least pay for her mistake. But, Big Brother… guess what happened!”
The village chief took a drag on his cigarette and tapped the edge of the table twice.
“What happened?”
“Hmph! That woman hasn’t eaten for days and is practically starving to death, yet she still had enough strength to drive me out. She even declared that if anyone tried to take her daughter away again, she would fight that person to the death! Honestly, Big Brother, I don’t understand it. She’s nearly starving to death, so why the hell is she still holding on? Is that child really so important to her?”
To tell the truth, even the village chief could not understand it.
But the question was no longer whether they understood her. The matter had to be settled as quickly as possible.
Yet how were they supposed to settle it?
They had already resorted to the idea of forcing her to starve to death.
The village chief smoked in silence while Gao Ping scratched his head endlessly, until at last the village chief’s wife came in with a foolproof plan.
“Mother, if we handle it this way… will it work?”
“Why wouldn’t it? If this still doesn’t work, then our family truly has no hope of moving into the Liu family’s house! Enough, enough. There’s no point talking to a bunch of grown men like you. I’m going to find my sisters right now!”
Gao Ping watched his mother leave, his eyes filled with unease.
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“Big Brother, are you sure nothing will go wrong if we do this?”
“What could go wrong? I can see that you’re not even as capable as your mother. Enough. Don’t concern yourself with this matter. Just follow your mother’s instructions when the time comes. Oh, and send someone to keep an eye on Xu Gouzi. We can’t let anything go wrong on that side and ruin everything here!”
“Oh!”
Gao Ping nodded, somewhat unwillingly.
Why did he feel so uneasy?
Liu Qiaohui had been starving for an entire week. When she truly could not bear it any longer, she would occasionally drink a little wild goat’s milk. Several times, she had been so hungry that she wanted to slaughter the goat, but every time she looked at Ye Ling, she forced herself to suppress her hunger and desperately comforted herself.
Wait a little longer.
Hold on just a little longer.
The county magistrate… the county magistrate would be coming soon!
But Liu Qiaohui waited second after second, and when exactly would the county magistrate arrive?
Seeing her in that state, Ye Ling felt unbearably miserable.
But what could she do? Aside from trying her best to drink goat’s milk and complete her growth points as quickly as possible, she had no other use or value.
She was more anxious than ants on a hot griddle.
If the county magistrate did not come soon, Liu Qiaohui really would be starved to death.
She had no way to think of a solution. Even if she did think of one, she had no means of carrying it out.
All she could do was place every hope in the county magistrate.
But how long could that hope last?
Dong…
Dong-dong-dong…
The clear sound of a bell rang through the village.
It was noon, when the farmers usually rested. Since there was little food to go around, the villagers spent most of their time sleeping. As the saying went, once you fell asleep, you no longer felt hungry.
But… now the bell was ringing. And if the bell rang, it meant something major had happened in the village.
Something major!
Yes!
Something major!
Holding Ye Ling in her arms, Liu Qiaohui suddenly rose to her feet, trembling.
Something major?
What could possibly have happened in this village?
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It must be… it must be that the county magistrate had arrived!
It had to be!
At last, a trace of joy appeared on Liu Qiaohui’s utterly exhausted face. Her nearly skeletal cheeks pulled upward at the corners of her mouth.
Ye Ling also felt as though she had been freed, laughing and crying at the same time.
Although Liu Qiaohui no longer had even the slightest strength left, she would crawl out if that was what it took.
She had to live for her daughter!
She had to live well!
She had to live well in Yushan Village!
The main gate was still locked tight. Liu Qiaohui knocked against it again and again.
“Let… let me out! Let… let me out! Let me out! I want to see the county magistrate… I want to see the county magistrate!”
At first, there was not even a dog barking outside.
But gradually, the sound of footsteps began to multiply.
The more people gathered outside, the more excited Liu Qiaohui became.
The county magistrate had arrived. It had to be the county magistrate.
Ye Ling thought the same. Only now did she understand how wildly excited a person could become upon seeing hope in the depths of despair.
Liu Qiaohui pounded on the gate with both hands, her hoarse voice trembling with excitement.
“Let me out! Let me out! I want to see the county magistrate… I want to see the county magistrate!”
Ten minutes later, she could clearly hear the lock being opened outside the gate. Excitement filled Liu Qiaohui’s face and heart. The person she had been waiting for had finally come. The person who could uphold justice for her had finally come.
A whole week of hunger—worth it… worth it!
She imagined the county magistrate rescuing her from her suffering…
But she had never imagined that, at the instant the lock was opened, before she could even see clearly who was standing outside, she would be struck hard across the face.
Smack!
The sound was sharp, and the force behind it immense.
Stars burst before Liu Qiaohui’s eyes. She and Ye Ling tumbled to the ground together, and for a long while, she could not get back up.
“You killed our granddaughter! You killed our granddaughter!”
The slaps continued. Blood had already begun to seep from the corner of Liu Qiaohui’s mouth…
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