4
The Clear Sound That Made Zhou Xiye Unable to Turn Back
Zhou Xiye had returned this time to carry out a secret mission—escorting several individuals to the capital with the police. However, one had escaped midway, leading to the scene that had just unfolded when they gave chase.
He was puzzled as to why Jiang Zhizhi avoided him as if he were the plague, and he lamented that such talent was wasted by not joining the military.
After completing the handover with the police, it was already past 4 a.m. They needed to catch the earliest train back to the base around 7 a.m., leaving three hours in between. He decided to return home to resolve the marriage his family had arranged for him.
This marriage had come out of nowhere. The match was with the daughter of Jiang Zhenhua from the compound. He remembered the girl being eight or nine years younger than him—when he left for the army, she was still a short, stubby little girl with two pigtails pointing upwards.
How had she suddenly become his wife? It was utterly absurd.
He was aware of the Jiang family’s circumstances, but he couldn’t accept solving it through marriage.
Arriving home in the early hours, he woke Father Zhou and Mother Zhou, and even Zhou Xiaochuan stumbled out, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
Seeing his elder brother sitting in the living room and recalling the incident at the Jiangs’ that evening, Zhou Xiaochuan rushed over to tattle before Zhou Xiye could even speak to their parents.
“Brother, you can’t marry Jiang Zhizhi. That woman is vicious and wicked. Besides, she’s not even Uncle Jiang’s biological daughter—just some country wild child. Her mother swapped her with Uncle Jiang’s real daughter back then. If her mother was that malicious, she’s definitely no good either.”
“Zhou Xiaochuan!”
Father Zhou roared, cutting him off. “Shut up! Don’t spread nonsense if you don’t know the facts.”
Zhou Xiaochuan retorted indignantly, “Am I spreading nonsense? I saw her bullying Xiaoyue myself. To avoid going to the countryside and to marry you, she even slit her wrist, and tonight she pushed Xiaoyue down.”
Zhou Xiye frowned deeply. “What exactly is going on?”
Father Zhou spoke gravely, “Here’s what happened…”
He explained the mix-up with the Jiang family’s child and their current predicament: “Originally, Xiaoyue was supposed to marry you, but that child is filial and wants to stay with your Uncle Jiang. So, they decided Zhizhi should marry you instead.”
Zhou Xiye’s face darkened. “This is ridiculous!”
Father Zhou said sternly, “We’ve had a long-standing relationship with your Uncle Jiang’s family. Everyone in the compound knows our two families are to be in-laws. If we back out now, where would that leave our dignity? You must go through with this marriage.”
Zhou Xiaochuan snorted coldly. “Dad, why are you being so unreasonable? That Jiang Zhizhi is no good at all. I heard she was so eager to marry you that she packed her bags and left today, saying she’d take the train to Ganbei to find you. She made Auntie cry.”
Ignoring his father’s stance, Zhou Xiye asked, “What did you say? Jiang Zhizhi has already gone to Ganbei?”
Zhou Xiaochuan nodded. “Yeah, she’s not only ungrateful but shameless, rushing off to marry you like that. Brother, you absolutely cannot agree to this.”
Zhou Xiye’s expression grew even darker. This was beyond absurd!
Mother Zhou, who had been silent until now, cautiously ventured, “Xiye, you’re twenty-eight now. It’s time to think about settling down. Is there someone suitable over there? Or… are you still unable to forget Xiao Xiao?”
Zhou Xiye was quite helpless: “Mom, don’t make wild guesses. I’m not in the mood to get married right now, and with the border situation being unstable these past few years, we’re busy every day.”
Zhou Xiaochuan snorted beside him: “Brother, if you see Jiang Zhizhi when you go back, make it clear to her that she should obediently go to the countryside!”
Zhou Xiye naturally had no intention of getting married. He was too busy every day to pamper a delicate young girl.
Checking the time, Zhou Xiye didn’t say more. After bidding farewell to his parents, he headed out to the train station.
Zhou Xiaochuan chased after him all the way to the gate: “Brother, you absolutely cannot marry Jiang Zhizhi! She may be good-looking, but she’s spoiled and unreasonable. She even gangs up with peers in the United Compound to bully Xiaoyue!”
After a pause, he added with heartache: “Xiaoyue is truly pitiful. She grew up in the countryside where her adoptive mother abused her and made her do heavy chores. Now that she’s back, she still has to endure mistreatment. I really don’t understand what Uncle Jiang and the others are thinking – they should send Jiang Zhizhi to the countryside where she belongs.”
Zhou Xiye felt like his ears were going to grow calluses from hearing this. He tapped Zhou Xiaochuan on the head: “A man shouldn’t gossip like an old woman. There are always two sides to every story. Don’t let your hot head lead you to do impulsive, foolish things.”
Zhou Xiaochuan, unconvinced, thought about his brother leaving and not knowing when they’d meet again. He became sad and spoke with a choked voice: “Brother, I’ve applied to join the military several times, but they say since there’s already one soldier in the family, I can’t go. Why is that?”
Looking at his 22-year-old brother who still acted so childish, Zhou Xiye sighed helplessly: “Alright, it’s not like you just learned about this rule yesterday. Hurry back now, I need to get to the train station.”
Zhou Xiaochuan stopped walking and watched Zhou Xiye stride into the morning light, then couldn’t help shouting: “Brother, you really can’t marry Jiang Zhizhi! That woman has evil intentions.”
…
Jiang Zhizhi was grateful that with a Letter of Introduction, she could wait inside the train station. Holding her bag, she endured until dawn. As soon as the ticket window opened, she rushed to buy a ticket to Ganbei.
She vaguely heard the ticket seller say something about the journey taking over fifty hours, but wasn’t sure if she heard correctly.
Clutching her ticket as she exited, she thought about buying some food for the journey.
She didn’t know exactly how long the train would take to reach Ganbei, but she knew that trains at this time were the old green ones that stopped frequently.
Since Zhou Xiye didn’t recognize her and was currently in Beijing, she would go to Ganbei. Once there, she’d find a place to stay – management should be more relaxed in the northwest.
Then she’d figure out a way to make a living. After these few years passed, that would be her time to shine.
And these few years would be just right for resting and experiencing the life of an idler.
The more she thought about it, the more hopeful she felt about the future. Her steps lightened considerably as she carried her bag toward the state-owned cafeteria.
Zhou Xiye had arranged to meet his two subordinates at the train station’s state-owned cafeteria. When he arrived, Zhang Zhao and Wang Changkun were already there.
The three ordered ten steamed buns and three bowls of fried liver, planning to eat before boarding the train.
Zhang Zhao was still curious about last night’s incident: “Boss, that female comrade from last night was really skilled in martial arts. I feel like I couldn’t beat her.”
Zhou Xiye recalled the scene from last night and told Zhang Zhao with certainty: “You and Wang Changkun together couldn’t beat her either.”
Wang Changkun, who was eating fried liver, looked up in surprise: “Boss, you previously praised Zhang Zhao and me as impressive.”
Zhou Xiye ignored him and continued eating with his head down, when suddenly someone called out clearly: “Comrade, I want twenty buns. How many Food Stamps do I need?”
He looked up and turned around to see the girl from last night standing briskly at the counter, her small face radiating vitality…