Leaving Xu Qiguang and Tian Dongmei to their conversation in the office, let’s turn our attention to Xu Changqing.
After giving her father some privacy to talk, she first went to a place that once again made her heart pound with anxiety.
From a distance, Xu Changqing didn’t dare approach the door marked with the two large words, “EMERGENCY ROOM.” She had hurried over, only to slow her pace, shuffling step-by-step toward a nurse.
‘None?’
‘No drivers have been brought in for emergency treatment these past two days?’
Upon hearing the answer, Xu Changqing wasn’t sure if she should breathe a sigh of relief or press on to the station to see for herself and put her mind at ease.
She stood in the hallway, dazed for a moment.
In truth, Xu Changqing was trying to recall the dream she’d had yesterday, and the fragmented images that had reappeared in the early hours of the morning.
When Xu Qiguang emerged after bidding Doctor Tian farewell, he saw his daughter staring blankly at the hallway ceiling.
His usually sharp-eared girl, who would typically react to the sound of his footsteps, didn’t even turn her head.
A back-basket in one hand and a net bag in the other, Xu Qiguang walked slowly to his daughter’s side.
He copied her, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling.
“Figured anything out?”
“Huh?” Snapping back to reality, Xu Changqing couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
“Dad, are you all done?” As she spoke, she reached for the back-basket he was carrying and glanced toward Doctor Tian’s office.
“I haven’t said goodbye to Grandma Tian yet.
Why don’t you wait for me?
I’ll be right back…”
“No need.” Xu Qiguang sidestepped his daughter’s hand and started walking ahead with long strides.
“She has a patient right now.
Your Grandma Tian doesn’t care for formalities.”
“If you go now, you’ll interrupt her work, and she’ll be annoyed.
Your Grandma Tian likes her peace and quiet, but it’s clear she likes you a lot.
You can visit her more often when you have time.”
Xu Changqing agreed.
She watched her father striding ahead, then glanced around to make sure no one was nearby.
After a moment’s hesitation, she voiced the question on her mind.
“How come I’ve never met her before?”
“Didn’t I just say your Grandma Tian likes her peace and quiet?” Xu Qiguang wasn’t one to gossip, especially about a respected elder.
But faced with his daughter’s question, he thought for a moment and added, “Her situation is a bit complicated.
It’s just…
your paternal grandma had me, but she is all alone.”
‘And that wasn’t all.
Her stepchildren from her second marriage fought like dogs over who would inherit her job, angering Grandma Tian so much that she disowned them and refused to see them even on her deathbed.’
“Dad, then how did you meet her?”
‘That’s a long story.
If I hadn’t had the chance to meet Aunt Tian back then, my life might have taken a completely different path.’ He replied simply, “One was a patient, one was a doctor.
We just got to know each other over time.”
Seeing that her father didn’t want to elaborate, and noticing how hot it was walking under the high sun with no shade, Xu Changqing decided to change the subject and suggested they head to the station.
‘Since her dad had the opportunity for a transfer to the station, it was only right to go check it out first.
She definitely wouldn’t admit that she just wanted to go and verify something, and she’d never admit how much she dreaded the thought of him working there.’
‘But then again, if her father liked the job, she would never stand in his way.
A dream was just a dream, after all, and finding a job that you actually enjoyed was no easy feat.’
“Let’s go to the restaurant first.” ‘And after that, they’d go to the house Aunt Tian helped them rent.
Since he already had the key, it was a good chance to tidy up a bit today and avoid a last-minute rush.’
Xu Changqing looked at her father, a back-basket in one hand and a net bag in the other.
She discreetly touched the hidden pocket on her person, her gaze filled with a sense of helplessness as she watched her father, who was acting so out of character.
‘What in the world has gotten into you?’
Inside the state-run restaurant, Xu Changqing watched coldly as her father, ignoring her silent protests, ordered two servings of dumplings.
As if that wasn’t enough, he then added an order of fine-grain white steamed buns.
The waste of money made her heart ache so much she wanted to walk right out.
‘This one extravagant meal could have bought enough white flour to feed their family for two days.
Her mother didn’t manage the household, her father was a spendthrift, and to top it all off, her grandma was a total pushover.’
‘This family…
forget 2,500 in savings, even 25,000 wouldn’t last!
SIGH!
And with a new baby brother or sister on the way, no amount of money would be enough for them to squander.’
‘Luckily, she had come prepared, having brought a food container with her.
They wouldn’t let her bring cooked dishes or flatbreads from home, but surely they couldn’t stop her from bringing an empty container, right?’
But soon, Xu Changqing had no time to worry about the cost.
“Did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“The son-in-law of the Wang family, the ones at the end of our street?
He died yesterday on a run.
Just…
gone, right on the road.
Not only is he dead, but the entire truckload of goods is gone, too.”
SMACK!
A bald, middle-aged man at the next table, wearing nothing but a yellowed undershirt, slapped his thigh.
“The eldest son-in-law?”
“That’s the one!
The older one!
I heard it was an absolute bloodbath.
A few of the old-timers who went to the scene threw up the moment they saw it.
Can you imagine how horrific it must have been…”
CLATTER.
Xu Changqing’s chopsticks dropped onto the table.
‘It’s real!
Someone really died…
The Wang family’s son-in-law.
Yes, that man was the Wang Family’s eldest son-in-law!’
“Dad, the Wang…
Wang…
Wang…”
“I don’t know them.” Seeing his daughter’s face turn deathly pale, Xu Qiguang shot a displeased glance at the two men at the next table.
“They’re just messing around.”
“No, they’re not!” Xu Changqing blurted out, realizing only after she spoke how loud she’d been.
She instinctively leaned closer to her father and whispered, “Li Datou is the Wang family’s eldest son-in-law.”
‘How does she even know that?’ Xu Qiguang was surprised, but then he relaxed.
He figured his daughter must have met him and taken note when the family had asked people to deliver things for him.
“Is that so?” Xu Qiguang shook his head noncommittally.
“If you’re talking about your Uncle Li, it’s unlikely.
He has a bit of a temper, sure, but he’s been driving for decades.”
‘Ugh, why doesn’t he get it?
It’s not something you can avoid just by having lots of experience.
Driving for a hundred years wouldn’t have made a difference…’ Xu Changqing grew frantic, but the more frantic she felt, the more at a loss for words she became.
‘Should I ask Dad to take me to check it out?’
‘No!’
‘The moment she recalled the events of her dream—how that family had been less grateful than a stray dog, tossing a couple hundred yuan at them before secretly moving away, terrified of being burdened by them—her resolve hardened.’
She definitely didn’t want her father getting involved with people like that…
“You’re right,” she said, quickly forcing a smile as she picked her chopsticks back up.
“I must have misremembered.”
‘Silly girl.
If you don’t want to smile, don’t force it.’ Xu Qiguang could hardly bear to look at his daughter’s forced smile.
“Alright, eat up.
We still have things to take care of after this.”
“Okay.”
‘Okay?
What’s okay about that?
She didn’t even ask what we have to do next,’ Xu Qiguang thought, shaking his head to himself.
Seeing his daughter pick up her chopsticks and start on the dumplings, he decided to drop the subject.
Still, this incident made one thing clear: the job at the station really wasn’t for him.
It wasn’t that he wanted to betray his teacher’s good intentions or deliberately go against anyone.
It just wasn’t a good fit.
Look at this.
A simple piece of gossip was enough to make his usually level-headed Changqing panic.
It was just as Aunt Tian had said—he was better off taking this opportunity to leave.
‘It had been over twenty years.
What had to be done, had to be done.
He had to take this chance, even if only for his children’s sake.
Surely his mother—their grandmother—would understand his decision now, right?’