Lin Qimo listened carefully. She was naturally beautiful, and even the simple way she looked at people made Li Da’s face flush red.
Li Da glanced at her and then quickly lowered his head in embarrassment.
“Sister A Mo, your uncle is familiar with people from the black market. Everyone in the village is afraid of him. No one dares to provoke him.”
“Just like my father he beat my mother, and even my maternal uncles didn’t dare come help her because he has connections with people from the black market.”
Lin Qimo fell silent.
People living at the bottom of society were used to bowing their heads in front of power. They seemed to have even forgotten how to fight for their own rights. That was why evil people could keep doing evil, believing no one could ever deal with them.
“Thank you for today,” Lin Qimo said. Then she added, “You’ve been to the black market, so you should know the way. Can you take me there?”
Li Da suddenly looked up, all his embarrassment gone.
“No, you can’t go there. How can you go to that place?”
Someone as good as Sister Qimo should never go somewhere so dangerous.
“I’ll give you thirty yuan as a guide fee. Take me to the black market.”
Li Da still refused firmly.
Seeing this, Lin Qimo smiled and said again, “Forty.”
“It’s not safe, Sister Qimo. Those people are thugs and hooligans, and I’ve never seen any women go there.”
“All men?”
Li Da shook his head. “I’m not sure. They all cover their faces, only their eyes are visible. I’ve never seen a woman there anyway.”
Lin Qimo looked up at the sky.
The moon was bright, and the night was filled with the sound of insects. Unlike the tall city buildings that made people feel trapped in a well, this place felt wide and open.
If possible, she hoped she could live here forever looking up at such a bright sky and clouds every night.
“Since it’s the black market, they’re doing things that can’t see the light of day. No one would go there openly, which means everyone there is disguised.”
“A Da, I have something very important to do. I have to go to the black market, or else my uncle will keep using the debt to pressure my family. His real goal is to kidnap Tangtang.”
“Even the brigade leader said no one in the village dares to offend those people. No one here will help me. If I don’t fight for it now, I’ll lose all chances to change things later. Constantly giving in isn’t a solution.”
Li Da listened quietly, torn inside.
But in Lin Qimo’s eyes, he saw a different kind of determination something similar to the fierce look in his father’s eyes when he beat his mother.
It made his chest feel tight. He really wanted to help her repay the debt, but he knew he didn’t have the ability.
In the end, he could only nod and agree, and even told her everything he knew about what to be careful of in the black market.
Originally, Lin Qimo had thought that disguising herself might be enough to slip in, but after hearing Li Da’s warnings, she became somewhat afraid.
To avoid messing things up, she eventually decided to wait for Qin Wenying and Si Chongguang to return and ask Si Chongguang for help.
They didn’t come back until nine o’clock at night.
After hearing what had happened during the day, Qin Wenying’s good mood completely disappeared.
“There’s a saying: even a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake,” she said.
Si Chongguang said seriously, “Little sister waited for us. Did you think of a plan?”
Lin Qimo nodded and told them about her plan to go to the black market and what she intended to do next.
Qin Wenying felt it wasn’t appropriate.
“It’s too dangerous. How about we wait until Wenqian comes back?”
Lin Qimo looked at her in confusion.
She knew Qin Wenying was familiar with her brother Qin Wenqian through the photo studio, but their relationship seemed closer than she had assumed.
“Sister Ying, I’ve always been curious how did you and Qin Wenqian meet?”
Qin Wenying hesitated, wondering whether she should tell her the truth.
“I’ve known Wenqian since we were young,” Si Chongguang stepped in to smooth things over. “We served in the same unit in the military. That’s how we met.”
Lin Qimo thought it made sense, but something still felt slightly off.
It wasn’t until Si Chongguang handed her a letter, saying it was from Qin Wenqian, that she finally realized what felt wrong.
This meant that when Si Chongguang went to the post office earlier, he had also sent letters to Qin Wenqian. They were clearly in contact.
From the very beginning, when these two had followed her here, none of it had been coincidence.
These two not only knew Qin Wenqian well their relationship was far from ordinary.
“For me?” Lin Qimo looked at the envelope in her hands, still finding it unbelievable.
In both her lifetimes, this was the first time she had ever received a letter. In her past life, when she had first been with Pei Shao, she never received replies from her younger sisters. Even after a telephone line was installed in the village, calls were too expensive, and her grandmother never let her speak to them.
Suddenly remembering something, Lin Qimo’s face turned pale.
Seeing her expression, Qin Wenying quickly grabbed her hand.
“What’s wrong?”
She thought to herself: It’s just a letter from my brother does it really scare her that much?
Lin Qimo shook her head and said she was just tired, then went back to her room to sleep.
Watching her leave, Qin Wenying looked confused.