Li Hongmei watched her from the side, stomping her foot in agitation.
“Qingyou, why are you crying? What’s wrong? Just say something!”
Shen Qingyou looked up at her.
“Hongmei,” she said, her voice very soft, “I’m going to Jiangcheng.”
Li Hongmei froze.
“What?”
“I’m going to Jiangcheng.” Shen Qingyou said it again. “Third Uncle is there. Something’s happened to him.”
Li Hongmei’s eyes went wide.
“How do you know something’s happened? The letter says, ‘Don’t worry’!”
Shen Qingyou shook her head.
“I just know,” she said. “I know it.”
Li Hongmei stared at her for a long moment, unable to speak.
Finally, she found her voice.
“Qingyou, are you crazy? Jiangcheng is so far away. How is a young girl like you supposed to get there? And besides, you still have school—”
“I can ask for leave,” Shen Qingyou interrupted. “I’ll say there’s a family matter.”
Li Hongmei opened her mouth, then closed it again. She looked into Shen Qingyou’s eyes.
Those eyes were red and glistening, but there was a fierceness inside them, stubborn and strong.
She suddenly remembered the year they were first-years, when Shen Qingyou had just arrived. She looked the same then — eyes glistening, but when she stood at the front of the classroom to introduce herself, her voice was steady and unafraid.
Three years had passed.
She was still that same girl.
Li Hongmei sighed.
“Fine,” she said. “When are you leaving? I’ll help cover for you with the teachers.”
Shen Qingyou froze for a moment, and then her eyes reddened again.
“Hongmei…”
“All right, all right,” Li Hongmei waved her hand. “Don’t cry. I don’t know how to comfort you. Just tell me — when are you leaving?”
Shen Qingyou sniffled.
“Tomorrow.”
……
The fourth day of the third lunar month.
Before the sky had even brightened, Shen Qingyou was up.
She packed her bundle — a few changes of clothes, a little dry food, and that fountain pen.
Tucked close to her body, she kept the letter and a photograph of Third Uncle.
In the photo, he wore that dark gray sweater, standing by the jujube tree in the courtyard, his face expressionless.
She took out the photo, looked at it, then put it back.
She pushed the door open. Cold air hit her face.
She walked into the yard and wheeled out her bicycle.
She mounted it and rode toward the train station.
When she passed the main room, she stopped for a moment.
The door was shut.
Inside was pitch black.
She looked for two seconds, then looked away and kept pedaling.
……
The train station was packed with people.
People carrying bundles, people hauling luggage, people holding children — all pushing and shoving.
Shen Qingyou bought her ticket. It was a slow train — two days and one night of travel.
She tucked the ticket away safely, found a corner, and squatted down to wait.
The sky slowly brightened.
The sun rose, shining down on the platform and on the crowd of jostling people.
She squatted there, watching the parade of feet walking past, pair after pair.
Her mind was a tangled mess.
One moment she was thinking about how Third Uncle was doing in Jiangcheng. The next, she was wondering if Li Hongmei could keep the secret from the teachers. Then her thoughts spiraled to what would happen if she couldn’t find him at all.
She didn’t dare go further down that path.
She buried her face in her knees and closed her eyes.
She didn’t know how long she sat there when the announcement crackled over the loudspeaker.
“The train bound for Jiangcheng is now boarding…”
She shot to her feet, grabbed her bundle, and ran toward the gate.
…
The train was packed.
Even the aisles were crowded, jammed full of people.
Shen Qingyou found her seat — by the window. She stowed her bundle, sat down, and looked out the window.
The train slowly began to move.
The platform receded. The buildings receded. The trees receded.
Watching everything fall away behind her, she suddenly thought of three years ago.
In her previous life, she had come by train as well.
From the countryside to the capital, to meet the Third Uncle she had never seen before.
She had been afraid back then — afraid he wouldn’t take her in, afraid he’d find her a burden.
But he hadn’t said a word.
He gave her blankets, gave her money, cooked for her, bought her a cotton jacket.
She remembered him standing at the gate, looking at her, saying, “I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
She remembered him crouching down to bandage the blister on her hand, his brows knitted tight.
She remembered him teaching her to ride a bike, holding the back of the seat, never letting go.
She remembered him standing on the ice rink, holding her hand, telling her to “glide forward.”
The train rumbled on.
She pressed her face against the window, staring out at the dark night.
Third Uncle, wait for me.
……
The train traveled for two days and one night.
On the morning of the third day, Shen Qingyou arrived in Jiangcheng.
She clutched her bundle and followed the crowd out of the station.
Stepping outside, she froze.
Jiangcheng was bigger than she had imagined.
The streets were crowded with people — people on bicycles, people carrying shoulder poles, people pulling handcarts.
The buildings were taller than those in the capital, too — several stories high, their glass windows glinting in the sunlight.
She stood there, not knowing which way to go.
Where was Third Uncle?
She didn’t know.
All she knew was that he was in Jiangcheng.
But Jiangcheng was so vast. How was she supposed to find him?
She stood by the roadside for a while, then spotted an elderly woman selling tea eggs. She walked over to ask.
“Auntie, could you tell me if there’s a big hotel near here?”
The old woman looked up at her.
“Little miss, you’re not from around here, are you?”
Shen Qingyou nodded.
The woman pointed ahead.
“Go straight. Take a left at the second intersection. There’s a hotel there — Jiangcheng Hotel. State-run.”
Shen Qingyou thanked her and started walking.
After a few steps, she turned back.
“Auntie, may I ask one more thing? Has anything big happened in Jiangcheng lately?”
The old woman paused.
“Big thing? What kind of big thing?”
Shen Qingyou didn’t know how to ask.
She thought for a moment, then said, “Has there been any unrest? Anything dangerous?”
The woman gave her a strange look.
“Little miss, why are you asking about that?”
Shen Qingyou bit her lip.
“I’m… looking for someone.”
The woman was silent for a moment, then lowered her voice.
“Down in the southern part of town, things have been unstable lately. I hear several factions got into a fight — even the public security bureau got involved. I don’t know the details. You’re just a young girl — don’t go down there.”
Shen Qingyou’s heart tightened.
“The southern part? Where exactly in the south?”
The woman shook her head.
“That I couldn’t say. You’ll have to ask someone else.”
Shen Qingyou stood there, watching the old woman disappear into the crowd.
She clutched her bundle tighter and walked in the direction the woman had pointed.
…
The Jiangcheng Hotel was not large — three stories, with a sign hanging by the entrance.
Shen Qingyou walked inside. Behind the counter sat a middle-aged woman, snacking on sunflower seeds. She looked up and gave her a once-over.
“Need a room?”
Shen Qingyou nodded.
“Do you have a single?”
“Yes.” The woman studied her for a moment. “You’re alone?”
Shen Qingyou nodded again.
The woman put down her seeds, pulled out a ledger, and said, “Register here. Two yuan a day, meals included.”
Shen Qingyou took out her money, registered, and received her key.
The room was on the third floor — very small, with a bed, a table, and a chair. The window faced the street, overlooking the road below.
She set down her bundle and sat on the bed.
Her mind was a tangled mess.
Where was Third Uncle?
How was she supposed to find him?
She thought for a long time, then suddenly remembered something.
In her previous life, when those men had delivered the news, they’d mentioned a place.
She had crouched beneath the window and heard only one phrase.
“Comrade Yan Tingxu, at the Jiangcheng docks…”
The docks.
Jiangcheng Docks.
She shot to her feet.
……
The Jiangcheng Docks were in the southern part of the city, far from the hotel.
Shen Qingyou took two bus rides and walked another half hour before she arrived.
The docks were enormous.
Boats of all sizes lined the shore — some for cargo, some for passengers. Workers carrying burlap sacks walked back and forth, chanting work songs. The place was bustling.
She stood at the edge of the docks, watching the crowd, not knowing what to do.
She found a small shop and bought two bottles of water, then asked the shopkeeper.
“Excuse me, sister — is there any place around here where people do business?”
The shopkeeper looked at her. “Do business? This whole dock is nothing but business. Which one are you looking for?”
Shen Qingyou didn’t know how to answer.
She thought for a moment, then said, “Is there anyplace that handles big deals? Something involving people from out of town?”
The shopkeeper shook her head. “That’s too many to count. Outsiders come through this dock every single day. Who knows which one you mean?”
Shen Qingyou froze.
The shopkeeper glanced at her, then lowered her voice.
“Little miss, are you looking for someone?”
Shen Qingyou nodded.
The woman sighed. “This dock is a chaotic place. Don’t go wandering around here, you hear? Something happened just the other day — several groups got into a fight. I heard people got hurt.”
Shen Qingyou’s heart clenched. “People got hurt? When?”
The woman thought for a moment. “A few days ago, I think. I don’t know the exact date, but it was a big mess.”
Shen Qingyou stood there, her palms slick with sweat.
“Do you know who got hurt?”
The woman shook her head. “How would I know? The police came, took some people away, and that was the end of it.”
Shen Qingyou wanted to ask more, but the shopkeeper had already turned to attend to other customers.
She stood there for a long time.
Then she turned and walked deeper into the docks.
……
Further in, there were fewer people.
Warehouses lined the area, one right after another, each with a heavy lock hanging on its door. A few workers were unloading cargo, walking back and forth with burlap sacks on their shoulders.