Sensing the gazes from the villagers of Lower River Village, Xiao Changzhu hurriedly spoke up, “Alright, since the matter is settled, let’s get moving.”
Xiao An stood up. Wearing Pei Zhiheng’s jacket, which was far too long and wide for her, she looked like a child playing dress-up in adult clothes despite her 165-centimeter height.
Turning to Pei Zhiheng behind her, Xiao An asked, “Comrade, this jacket… how should I return it to you?”
“There are no shoulder insignia, it’s just an ordinary jacket. Keep it and wear it,” Pei Zhiheng said, then strode forward on his own.
Xiao An looked down at the oversized garment engulfing her frame, thinking to herself: It’s so huge, how am I supposed to wear this normally?
If she hadn’t been in such desperate need of something to cover her drenched clothes, she would have handed it back to him right then and there.
Xiao An and Xiao Changzhu walked a little behind.
Sighing, Xiao Changzhu said, “An’an, you were far too… reckless. Don’t be so impulsive when things happen in the future. If something had happened to you, how could I ever face your late grandfather?”
Xiao An comforted him, “Uncle Village Chief, I’m no saint either. If that man today hadn’t been a soldier, I definitely wouldn’t have stuck my neck out.
“Just like my grandfather, he’s a soldier. Soldiers protect our homes and country; they’re heroes, and they shouldn’t be preyed upon by scoundrels like that.”
Hearing this from ahead, Pei Zhiheng couldn’t help glancing back at Xiao An.
Their eyes met by chance, and Xiao An offered him a polite, faint smile.
For some inexplicable reason, Pei Zhiheng’s heart skipped a beat. He thought her eyes looked as though they were dusted with starlight, so brilliantly bright that even the scorching sun seemed to pale in comparison.
With a blank expression, he gave her a slight nod in acknowledgment, turned his head away, and continued walking.
Since Xiao An and Xiao Changzhu were walking at a slower pace, it wasn’t long before Pei Zhiheng’s figure disappeared ahead.
After walking for a while, the two finally reached the main thoroughfare of the town, where they saw Pei Zhiheng standing rigidly to one side like a pine tree.
Xiao An hesitated, wondering whether she should take the initiative to greet him. They weren’t close, but after all, she was still wearing his jacket. In the end, she politely spoke up.
“What a coincidence, we meet again. Comrade soldier, are you waiting for someone?”
With a deadpan expression, Pei Zhiheng nodded. “Mm, waiting for you.”
Xiao An frowned in confusion. Waiting for me? What for?
Then, sudden realization dawned on her. He must be waiting for his jacket! But didn’t he say earlier that it was just an ordinary jacket?
Since her own clothes had dried out pretty well along the walk, she hurriedly raised her hands to unbutton the jacket, saying apologetically, “I’m really sorry, I walked a bit slow and wasted your time. I’ll give your jacket back right now—”
Pei Zhiheng was equally baffled. Why is she trying to return it? I already told her it’s just an ordinary jacket; I gave it to her.
“I didn’t wait for the jacket. I just wanted to say a simple hello and goodbye.”
Xiao An: What’s going on here? Are we even that close?
Noticing Xiao An’s reaction, Pei Zhiheng realized his own behavior was a bit abnormal.
Right, he thought. We’re just passing strangers. Although she did help me out, from what I heard her say earlier, she helped because he was a soldier—she would have stepped in for any soldier. I’m nothing special to her.
And to him, she was merely a passerby. Why on earth had he stopped just to specifically bid her farewell?
Xiao An: “…Goodbye then… Stay safe… The people of the motherland need you.”
With a stern face, Pei Zhiheng replied, “Goodbye.”
Standing beside Xiao An, Xiao Changzhu watched Pei Zhiheng’s retreating figure and remarked, “That fellow… he’s no ordinary man.”
Turning her head, Xiao An asked, “Uncle Village Chief, how can you tell?”
“Facing that mob of ruffians from Upper River Village, he could act like a rascal and slip away completely unscathed. But facing ordinary folk like us, he’s expressionless, calm, and steady.”
“So… that makes him extraordinary?” Xiao An countered.
Embarrassed and a bit defensive under Xiao An’s gaze, Xiao Changzhu snapped, “You girl, how old are you anyway? What do you know? Anyway, that soldier gives me the strong feeling that he’s no simple character.”
Xiao An didn’t argue with him. Whether the soldier was simple or not had nothing to do with her anyway—they were just ships passing in the night.
Before long, Xiao Changzhu and Xiao An arrived at the town post office.
As they were depositing her money, Xiao An smiled and said to Xiao Changzhu, “Thank goodness I had you hold onto this money before leaving the village, Uncle. Otherwise, it would’ve been completely soaked through, and whether I could’ve deposited it today would’ve been up in the air.”
Xiao Changzhu just smiled without answering.
He was genuinely happy for Xiao An that the money was successfully saved. He felt sure that the days ahead of her would surely be good ones.
After tucking her savings book away, Xiao An turned to the clerk behind the counter and asked, “Comrade, is your manager in?”
“Is something the matter?”
Xiao An smiled. “Nothing major. I just wanted to ask your manager if, from now on, my letters and parcels can be picked up and signed for by me directly here at the post office, without needing the postal worker to deliver them to the village.”
Without feeling any sense of shame, she recounted how Chen Xueqiang’s parents had hidden her letters and embezzled her money and ration coupons.
The clerk behind the counter dropped their jaw in shock, taking a good moment to react. “…Really?”
Xiao An nodded. “Really. The money I just deposited is what the village chief and villagers helped me get back.”
The clerk handed her a piece of paper. “Write down all your details here, and I’ll make a note of it. From now on, your mail can only be claimed and signed for by you in person. We won’t send a postman to your village anymore, so those people won’t have a chance to pull any more tricks.”
Picking up a pen, Xiao An quickly filled out her information and handed the paper back. “Thank you.”
The clerk, clearly a warm-hearted person, replied, “What’s to thank? Listen, girl, stay away from those people from now on. Think about your future early—if worse comes to worst, remarry as soon as you can.”
“I will.”
Xiao An smiled and left the counter.
In the eyes of most people, remarrying was the quickest and easiest way for Xiao An to completely cut ties with the Chen family.
Xiao An treated Xiao Changzhu to a bowl of noodles in town, and Xiao Changzhu didn’t refuse, knowing that even if he tried to be polite, Xiao An wouldn’t take no for an answer.
After finishing their meal, Xiao An went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some basic pots and pans, which Xiao Changzhu helped carry.
Just as they reached the edge of the town, they ran into Grandpa Liu from their village driving his ox cart. He gave them a ride back, and upon entering the village, he drove the cart straight to the old house belonging to Xiao An’s grandfather.
Placing her things by the doorway, Xiao An beamed at Grandpa Liu and said, “Thank you, Grandpa Liu!”
Waving a hand and taking a puff from his large-bowled tobacco pipe, Grandpa Liu replied, “Don’t mention it. I’m off.”
Xiao Changzhu helped Xiao An carry the items into the courtyard and looked around. “It’s a good thing you come back here often to tend to the place; it still has some life in it and isn’t badly damaged. With a little tidying up, you can move right in. Shall I have your auntie come over and stay with you tonight?”
“Uncle Village Chief, I’m not a child, I don’t need Auntie to stay. Our village has always had good morals; there aren’t any bad characters around at night.”
After a moment of thought, Xiao Changzhu agreed. “That’s true. Petty thievery and sneaking over walls at night are serious offenses that can earn you a bullet. Still, living here all by yourself at night, you must be careful.”
Back in his courtyard, Chen Jinyou puffed on his tobacco pipe and said to Li Xiuhua, who was still cursing angrily, “The sun’s about to go down, why aren’t you making dinner?”
Sitting on a wooden stool with a face as long as a donkey’s, Li Xiuhua snapped, “That bitch Xiao An smashed the stove to pieces, what am I supposed to cook with? Don’t let her loud act this noon fool you; she’ll definitely crawl back here crying by tonight. When she comes back, she can figure out how to fix the stove herself, otherwise she needn’t even think about stepping foot in this house again.”
Chen Jinyou blew out a smoke ring. “You too, what were you doing playing along with her madness? If Xiao An wanted to smash the stove, you should have let her. Why did you hit her?
“Xiao An has to be handled with honey, the way we used to do. As long as Xiao An is around, our family doesn’t have to worry about lacking money. For the sake of your so-called mother-in-law pride, you went and alienated her.
“When Xiao An gets back, you and Xuelan should apologize to her proactively and promise not to withhold her letters and things anymore. She likes Xueqiang so much, she won’t hold a grudge against you. As long as she’s here and her belongings are here, won’t it all end up in our bellies anyway?”
“Ask me to apologize to her? Never. She’s the one who needs to apologize to us. If she doesn’t apologize, she can forget about sleeping in this house tonight—let her sleep on the street—”
“Big sister! Big sister, come take a look! Xiao An is buying a whole bunch of things and bringing them back to her old family house. Goodness knows how much that cost, it’s heartbreaking to watch! Could it be she spent every single cent she got back from you guys…?”
It was Liu Jingfeng, the village widow known as Widow Liu, and Li Xiuhua’s close friend in the village.
Before Widow Liu even finished shouting, Li Xiuhua sprang to her feet and rushed outside.
“Just because someone came from Kyoto, she really thinks she’s grown wings. We played along with her little performance just to get the things back, and now she actually thinks they belong to her? She’s really getting too big for her boots.
“Buying things and not sending them to her husband’s family—does she really think she can live on her own outside?”