Chapter Twenty-Four: Jiang Mochen, the Match Seller

He strode quickly to Su Wan, grabbed her hand, and ran. Su Wan clutched her head as she followed him out of the courtyard.

“Who were those people?” she asked in a trembling voice.

Jiang Mochen led her onto the main road. “Debt collectors,” he said.

Su Wan was startled. “You borrowed from a loan shark?!”

Jiang Mochen nodded in silence.

Su Wan’s expression turned grave. From childhood, her parents had never cared much for her, but apart from forbidding gambling, drugs, or vice, their only rule was that she must never borrow money from anyone.

So Su Wan was deeply averse to the idea of borrowing.

“You didn’t gamble, did you?” she asked cautiously.

Jiang Mochen shook his head. “It was my father. Before he died, he borrowed the money. He’d gotten into gambling.”

At this, Su Wan couldn’t help but sigh in relief. “How much do you owe?”

Jiang Mochen seemed surprised by her question, glancing at her curiously as if he couldn’t understand why she cared so much. After a moment’s thought, he replied, “A little over eight thousand.”

“I’ll lend it to you. Go pay off the debt first,” Su Wan said, thrusting the ginseng in her hand toward him before dashing home to fetch the money.

When she returned, the men in black had left; Jiang Mochen sat waiting on the doorstep.

“Where did they go?” Su Wan asked, breathless.

Jiang Mochen simply shook his head in a daze.

“What’s wrong? Did they do something to you?” Su Wan asked, pulling him up to check him over from head to toe. Finding no wounds, she concluded that Jiang Mochen must have been humiliated.

“You fool, can’t you talk tough? Why can’t you be a little more assertive? You should have pointed your finger at them and told them, ‘I’ve got plenty of money! Believe it or not, I’ll throw it in your face right now!’ Come on, let’s go find them and get your dignity back.”

As she spoke, she tried to drag him outside.

“There’s no need. They live quite far away,” Jiang Mochen said, his voice low and nasal.

Su Wan turned to see his head bowed low, as if he were crying.

“You’re crying?!” She immediately regretted not staying with him earlier—those men must have done something terrible.

Furious, she rolled up her sleeves, ready to seek justice. “Come on, let’s go find them right now.”

But Jiang Mochen shook his head again. “No need.”

Seeing his spirits so low, Su Wan had no choice but to let it go.

She sat down beside him. “You don’t have to pay me back right away. This is my own savings; my grandfather doesn’t know about it.”

Jiang Mochen remained silent, his head bowed.

Thinking he wanted to be alone, Su Wan stood up awkwardly. “Then I’ll leave you for a while.”

She wanted to offer a few words of comfort, but just then, Jiang Mochen suddenly grabbed her hand. “Stay with me a little longer.”

Su Wan nodded and sat back down beside him.

They sat together until dusk before Su Wan finally rose to go home.

After she left, several men in suits emerged from the house. When Jiang Mochen turned back, the tenderness in his eyes had been replaced by coldness.

“I’m sorry, Young Master. I didn’t expect that girl to be so wary. I’m willing to accept any punishment,” the leader said, head bowed, beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead.

He couldn’t begin to describe how torturous it had been waiting in that room for hours, the Young Master not scolding or punishing him right away. Just the thought of Jiang Mochen’s strange expression earlier made him feel a chill from head to toe.

The wait for punishment was far more agonizing than the punishment itself. Once punished, it would be over.

However, Jiang Mochen merely waved his hand in that unsettling way and said, “Go.”

The leader’s heart, which had nearly sunk, lurched again. He almost wanted to beg: Please, Young Master, at least scold me.

But he dared not speak.

He bowed his head anxiously. “Yes, I will obey your instructions.”

The men slipped quietly out of the courtyard.

Once again, Jiang Mochen was alone in the empty yard.

He looked around, and the man in the long gown appeared before him once more.

That man’s narrow eyes were fixed on Jiang Mochen. “She only pities you. She’d do the same for anyone in your place.”

“You’re nothing but a pathetic wretch nobody wants.”

This time, Jiang Mochen didn’t lower his head in shame. He met the man’s gaze.

“I’m not you. You couldn’t keep her, but I can.”

The man let out a cold laugh. “We’ll see about that.” With those words, his figure faded away.

Once again, the cry of a child echoed through the courtyard.

But this time, Jiang Mochen didn’t cover his head or cower. He forced himself to stand, and with trembling hands, began to light the fire to cook.

He sat before the stove, shivering as he fed wood into the flames. As the fire sprang to life, the image of the plump fox from the mountains flashed through his mind.

He stared at the flames, lost in thought.

That fat fox danced around his feet, wagging its tail at him.

Its comical antics made Jiang Mochen laugh to himself. He looked down at the fox, and in a daze, its figure blurred and became Su Wan’s.

When the fire fully caught, the orange light filled the yard with warmth.

Jiang Mochen sat in a daze, as if he were no longer alone.

—

The next morning, Su Wan rose early.

She quietly washed the hibiscus flowers and spread them out on the rooftop to dry.

She remembered that there seemed to be a large patch of prickly pear cactus on the rocky slopes behind the mountain, and wondered if she might find cochineal insects there.

Once Su Chen was up, she dragged him along to the back of the mountain.

They were fully equipped: Su Wan carried a big jar and wore a straw hat. Su Chen donned gloves and had a large water bottle slung at his waist.

The winding mountain path was not easy to traverse; thick vegetation all but covered the trail.

Su Chen walked ahead, using a stick to clear the way.

“What exactly are you up to?” he asked.

Su Wan, gasping for breath, did her best not to show it. “I’m looking for ingredients to make lipstick, of course!”

“You’re still thinking of doing business?” Su Chen couldn’t understand. Their family wasn’t short of money, and in the future, her husband’s family would support her. Why should Su Wan work so hard, searching for ingredients to make lipstick?

He remembered their aunt, too. She could have just studied for a few years and married the military officer Grandpa had chosen for her. Instead, she quit school and started trading corn, beef bones, and pig intestines.

A delicate young lady, spending her days running around with a bunch of rough men, toiling under the scorching sun until she was covered in dust and grime.

She’d been away for so many years that, even when their parents and grandmother died, she never returned.

He feared Su Wan would end up the same way.

The higher they climbed, the steeper and more treacherous the path became, the ground slick and slippery. They had to be doubly careful to avoid danger.

The thorny bushes on either side of the path frequently scratched their skin, and venomous insects lurked everywhere, ready to bite.

They paused by a fallen dead tree. Su Wan took out floral water and sprayed herself.

Su Chen, covered in itchy welts, let Su Wan apply antiseptic ointment to them.

Seeing how thoroughly prepared she was, Su Chen grew even more uneasy. He had thought this was just a passing fancy for her.