Father Yan carefully recalled the events before slowly beginning to speak. “The night before last, the factory suddenly required overtime. It was already past eight when we finished. I had just walked near the alley not far from the factory gate, and when I turned the corner, someone suddenly threw a sack over my head.”
He continued, “At that moment, one person held me down while another used a stick to beat my upper body. My arm was struck three times, and my head was hit a few times too. I used all my strength and only managed to push one of them against the wall. I couldn’t shake the sack off my head no matter how hard I tried, so I could only shout for help. In the end, the gatekeeper from the factory heard my cries and rushed over, scaring them away. Otherwise, who knows how badly they might have beaten me.”
There were some details about the beating that Father Yan deliberately left out, afraid of frightening his daughter.
After hearing this, Yan Sisi frowned angrily. “Those people are way too brazen. Did the gatekeeper uncle see what they looked like?”
“No. He only saw two thin, tall figures running away. But during the scuffle, I grabbed one of their hands, he had six fingers.” Father Yan glanced at his daughter’s injured head and pretended to sound relaxed so she wouldn’t worry. “I already told the police about all of this. Don’t worry, they’ll definitely find the culprit.”
When Yan Sisi heard the distinctive detail about the six fingers, she decided she would start by investigating among the people they knew nearby. Maybe she could find some clues.
Compared with his own injuries, Father Yan was more concerned about his daughter. Thinking of what Mother Yan had mentioned yesterday, he frowned and said, “Your mom said that family came over yesterday?”
Yan Sisi nodded. “Yes, but I scared them off.”
“If I’d known that boy was that kind of person, I would’ve rather fed those things to a dog than send them to his family.” Thinking about the large bundle of gifts they had delivered a few days earlier made Father Yan angrier the more he thought about it. The veins on his forehead bulged. He had looked like such a polite young man, yet he turned out to be so shameless.
In the end, it was still his fault. He hadn’t properly investigated the boy beforehand, otherwise this wouldn’t have happened.
“Alright, what’s the point of saying that now?” Mother Yan said. “If we don’t agree to their demands, that family will definitely go around the residential building spreading rumors again. Once gossip starts flying everywhere, what will happen to our daughter’s reputation?” Thinking that her perfectly good daughter might have her reputation ruined in the workers’ residential compound just because of the accident of falling into the water, Mother Yan’s eyes turned red. “And Weiming’s mother isn’t someone easy to deal with. Once she hears about this, will she still let our daughter marry into their family?”
“If their family doesn’t want to go through with the marriage, I don’t want my daughter marrying into their family anyway!” Father Yan became even angrier at those words. That skinny boy who looked like a bamboo pole and didn’t dare disobey his mother, he had long disliked him. If it hadn’t been for the engagement arranged by their elders, and because the two children had gotten along fairly well before, he would never have agreed to let his daughter marry into that family and suffer.
“You’re thinking too simply,” Mother Yan replied. “If their family calls off the engagement, and people also hear that your daughter fell into the water and was rescued by someone, who would still be willing to marry our daughter?” With one problem after another happening, Mother Yan felt so worried that her hair might turn gray. The world was far too harsh on girls. Once something like this happened, the chances of her daughter finding a good husband were almost gone. As soon as anyone asked around about the situation, the matter would probably go nowhere, unless it was a second-marriage family that wouldn’t mind.
“Even if my daughter never gets married for the rest of her life, I can still support her,” Father Yan said unhappily when he heard that. Looking proudly at his daughter, who had inherited his good looks, he added, “Besides, my daughter is so pretty, plenty of people will like her.”
Yan Sisi touched her face and shamelessly agreed, “Exactly. I’m this good-looking. If it really comes down to it, I can just bring a live-in son-in-law home for you.”
After experiencing the dream, Yan Sisi felt that her mindset had become much more relaxed. She was no longer as anxious and overly concerned about her own marriage as she had been before.
She continued comforting her worried parents. “You two shouldn’t worry about this anymore. What’s done is done. No matter how much we think about it now, it won’t change anything. I’ll talk to Weiming myself. If he can accept it, we’ll continue seeing each other. If not, it’s better to separate sooner, for everyone’s sake.”
If Xu Weiming wanted to break off the engagement just because she had fallen into the water, then he wasn’t someone she would want to spend her life with. Missing out on someone like that wouldn’t make her regret it.
Hearing this, Father Yan said nothing more. He simply patted his daughter on the shoulder and comforted her. “If that kid breaks off the engagement, Dad will find you someone even better.”
“You just spoil her,” Mother Yan said irritably, glaring at the father and daughter. It was as if she were the only outsider. She packed up the lunchbox and said to Father Yan, “I’ll take our daughter to change her dressing and then we’ll head back. Will you be alright here by yourself?”
Father Yan waved his hand and urged them on. “Hurry up and take my daughter to get her dressing changed. Ask the doctor how the wound is healing too. I’ve got doctors and nurses here looking after me, so don’t worry.”
Yan Sisi touched the bandage on her head. “Dad, then I’ll go get my dressing changed first. I’ll bring you lunch at noon.”
Sitting on the bed, Father Yan called out to Mother Yan as she headed toward the door, “Remember to have the doctor prescribe the best medicine. Don’t try to save money.”
Following behind her mother, Yan Sisi once again experienced how crowded the hospital was. It took more than an hour before her dressing was finally changed and they walked out through the hospital gate.
On the way home, Yan Sisi couldn’t help turning to look at her mother beside her. “Mom, does Uncle’s family know that Dad got injured?”
“No. We didn’t tell them. Your dad’s arm is injured, so he definitely can’t go to work for the time being. If your uncle’s family finds out, who knows what crooked ideas they might come up with.”
“Then what did Dad say?”
“He said to keep it quiet for now.”
“Did the doctor say how long it’ll take for Dad’s arm to heal?”
“The doctor said it’s a minor fracture. It’ll probably take one to two months to recover. I just don’t know what will happen with your dad’s job.”
“How about I go work in Dad’s place for a couple of months?”
When Mother Yan heard that, she immediately stopped walking and turned to look at her daughter, who was as delicate as a flower. She said firmly, almost scolding, “Can you lift heavy things? And besides, your dad’s supervisor strongly favors men over women. If a little girl like you goes there, it’ll be easy for them to make things difficult for you.”
She had only this one daughter, how could she bear to let her do such hard work?
Yan Sisi froze at once. She really hadn’t thought that far ahead.
Seeing that her words had frightened her daughter, Mother Yan continued walking forward. “After I take you home, I’ll go to the factory and talk to the leaders to see what they say. It would be best if we can get him a long leave so he can go back to work once he’s healed.”
Hearing that, Yan Sisi felt much more relieved. If they could get leave, that would be best. If not, she could suggest that her mother find someone to temporarily fill in for two months. Opportunities like that, temporary work replacements, were something plenty of people would eagerly jump at.
Before long, the two of them returned to the residential building. Before they even got close, they saw neighbors nearby pointing at them and whispering among themselves.
“So it’s her family.”
“The daughter just fell into the water, and then the father got beaten right after. Seems like someone’s targeting them.”
“Who knows? Never mind, she’s looking over here.”
Mother Yan’s expression darkened as she walked toward the stairwell. It looked like that family had come again while they were out. The moment Mother Yan thought about those people coming to the residential building and talking nonsense while they weren’t home, her footsteps landed heavily on the stairs, as if she wanted to stomp that family underfoot.
Yan Sisi followed behind her mother. As soon as they reached the third floor, they saw Aunt Cai, who usually had a good relationship with her mother, walking over. When Aunt Cai saw them, she immediately pulled them into her home.
“You two finally came back.”
“Aunt Cai, did someone go to my house?” Yan Sisi asked directly. Otherwise, those neighbors outside wouldn’t have suddenly stopped talking the moment they saw them return.
“Two old women came this morning. They stood at your door making a huge scene, saying that Sisi had been rescued from the water by their son and that they came to propose marriage.” Aunt Cai’s voice lowered as she continued, “They were shouting so loudly that basically the entire residential building heard it.”
After saying that, she grabbed Mother Yan, who was about to rush out the door after hearing this. “They’ve already run off. What’s the use of going out now? You should think of a way to shut that family’s mouths. Otherwise, what will happen if Sisi’s boyfriend’s family hears about this?”
“How could we not have tried to stop them? We already gave them things, and at the time they agreed nicely, but then they turned around and went back on their word.” Mother Yan said helplessly. Originally, she had thought the matter could pass quietly without anyone noticing, but who could have expected to run into such a family?
She had thought they were rare kind-hearted people, but it turned out they were like bloodsucking leeches that couldn’t be shaken off.
“Sigh… those two old women were scolded away by me and Sister Gu. But judging from the way they acted, they’ll probably come again,” Aunt Cai said. For a moment she didn’t know how to comfort them. Anyone would feel upset if something like this happened to them. These days, every family had daughters. If those young men who couldn’t find wives all started pulling tricks like this, the whole social atmosphere would be ruined.
When Mother Yan realized that everyone now knew about her daughter falling into the water, she no longer had the mood to talk. She simply said, “Thank you, Sister Cai. We’ll head back now.”
“Alright. If you need any help, just say the word.”
Yan Sisi followed Mother Yan in thanking Aunt Cai politely. As soon as they returned home, she saw that her mother had started worrying again.
Sitting on a stool, Yan Sisi looked at her mother, who seemed at a loss, and suggested, “Mom, weren’t you going to the factory? Hurry and go. Don’t worry too much about my situation. They can’t possibly force me to marry into their family. At worst, it’ll just hurt my reputation a bit.”
Looking at her mother, Yan Sisi continued firmly, “If you really follow their wishes and marry me off to that family, that would truly be harming me. I’d rather never marry than marry into their household.”
“Even if it cost me my life, I would never marry you into a family like that.” After seeing that family’s true colors, how could Mother Yan bear to let her daughter marry them?
Still, there wasn’t any better solution for the moment regarding her daughter’s situation, so she could only leave first to speak with the factory leaders.
Once Yan Sisi saw her mother leave, she immediately went back to her room. She had been so groggy earlier in the morning that she had forgotten to check on the corn she had planted in the space.
As soon as she entered the space, she saw that the corn she had planted yesterday had already grown to nearly half a meter tall. The growth speed was astonishing.
It seemed that the Spirit Spring water really did accelerate plant growth. Then could its ability to heal injuries and detoxify also be real? Yan Sisi touched the back of her injured head and thought about it for a moment. She approached the well and cautiously took a small sip of the Spirit Spring water. After waiting a while and feeling no reaction at all, she gave up.
She walked over to the corn seedlings and touched their long leaves. They were a deep, vibrant green. At this growth rate, it wouldn’t take long before she could eat soft, sweet corn on the cob. Maybe she could even sell some to earn a little money for the household.
After using her mind to water the corn again, Yan Sisi stood beneath the ancient tree and placed her hand on it. The same two words appeared in her mind as before: Plants required.
Compared with yesterday, nothing had changed. Perhaps the number of plants she had grown was too small. Or maybe she could go to the seed station and buy more seeds to try.
After leaving the space, Yan Sisi rested for a while, then went out, planning to visit the seed station to buy some seeds. As she passed by Cuihu Garden, where she had previously fallen into the water, she couldn’t help going inside to take a look.
On a Monday, the park was much quieter. Most people had gone to work, leaving only some elderly men and women sitting under the trees playing chess and chatting.
Yan Sisi had only taken a few steps when a middle-aged woman called out to her, “Hey, girl, are you alright?”