“Cock-a-doodle-doo—”
Before dawn, the rooster’s crow rang out in her ears like a clap of thunder.
Yu Yin hadn’t been sleeping very deeply; at the very first crow, she sat bolt upright in bed.
She didn’t have a watch, but since she’d been here for over ten days, she could roughly guess what time it was—probably around 4:30 or 5:00 a.m.
Yu Yin slapped her cheeks and didn’t go back to sleep.
She packed up her things, checked to make sure she hadn’t left anything behind, and then went to the washroom to freshen up.
Yu Yin was currently in Ning’an County, Ning City, Guangdong Province. Although this was a county seat, the facilities were still quite underdeveloped, and the washrooms were communal.
After washing up, Yu Yin slung the backpack—a repurposed burlap sack—over her shoulder and went to check out.
The village chief’s mother, Aunt Chen, had given Yu Yin this bag before she left; it contained the two sets of summer clothes she’d received from Village Secretary Chen Shan.
It was still a bit early to wear these summer outfits, so Yu Yin planned to visit the local department store or supply and marketing cooperative after mailing her letters to see if she could buy some clothes there.
After all, since she was marrying into an unfamiliar family, she needed to dress presentably so as not to be looked down upon.
After checking out, Yu Yin headed toward the post office, following the instructions given by the guesthouse attendant.
The post office wasn’t far from the guesthouse—just a few minutes’ walk away.
Compared to big cities, this place wasn’t particularly bustling; commercial activity was confined to just two streets, and the main facilities were all located along the main thoroughfare.
When Yu Yin arrived at the post office, it wasn’t open yet, but the state-run hotel nearby was.
The aroma made Yu Yin’s stomach growl.
She wasn’t going to skimp on herself—she’d just received a large sum of money from those bad guys, so there was no need to deprive herself.
But as she approached the state-run restaurant, she suddenly remembered that in this era, you needed ration tickets to buy anything—and she had money but no tickets.
That was an awkward situation.
Yu Yin rubbed her stomach and could only leave, disappointed.
Just as she was about to walk away, a head of snow-white hair suddenly poked out from the food pickup window—it was the restaurant’s head chef.
The chef, in his fifties, saw Yu Yin and asked, “Ready to eat?”
Yu Yin nodded sheepishly. “But I forgot my grain ration tickets. I—”
“Come on over. What’d you like to eat?”
“Oh, I—I can eat even without tickets…”
“We’re not in the provincial capital here—just pay an extra two fen.”
Could this be true?
Yu Yin hurried over, ordered a bowl of clear broth noodles, and then five large meat buns.
She planned to keep one of the meat buns for herself and give the remaining four to Zhao Ping’an when he arrived in the county town later.
She didn’t know if Zhao Ping’an had managed to dig up the things the original owner had hidden in the woodshed. She didn’t know if the other items were important, but one thing was crucial: the original owner’s household registration booklet.
Only by getting that booklet could she truly move to the provincial capital.
She hoped everything would go smoothly for Zhao Ping’an.
Meanwhile, things were going more smoothly than ever for Zhao Ping’an.
Perhaps Yu Yin’s attitude before she left had upset everyone in the Yu family. Combined with the subsequent uproar over forcing her to leave—and the fact that Patriarch Ye had publicly criticized the Yu family in front of the villagers—the entire family had been holed up in their rooms since dinner, sulking and refusing to come out.
As a result, places like the courtyard and the woodshed were completely deserted, making it very convenient for Zhao Ping’an to “carry out his mission.”
Zhao Ping’an sneaked into the Yu family’s wood shed at 1:00 a.m. and, following the location Yu Yin had described, dug up a dilapidated metal box.
The box had once been used to hold cookies as a New Year’s gift; it was very sturdy, though the design on the outside had corroded, making it impossible to tell what brand of cookies it had contained.
But Zhao Ping’an wasn’t interested in that.
After digging up the item, he planned to go to the county seat to find Yu Yin, but just as he was about to climb over the wall to leave, a sense of resentment welled up inside him.
Everyone in the Yu family was a heartless monster; they had bullied and brutally beaten Yu Yin time and again since she was a child.
Although Yu Yin had never spoken publicly about being beaten by the Yu family, Zhao Ping’an had seen bruises on her hands on several occasions.
In the past, because Yu Yin had to live with the Yu family, he was afraid that if he lashed out at them, she would be dragged into it and beaten even more, so he had never dared to act.
But now that Yu Yin was gone…
Zhao Ping’an jumped down from the wall again. First, he went to the pigpen, scooped up a shovelful of pig manure, and tossed it into the Yu family’s kitchen water tub. Then, feeling that wasn’t enough, he threw all of the Yu family’s rice bowls, plates, and other dishes into the stinking tub.
After doing all this, Zhao Ping’an still wasn’t satisfied. He thought for a moment, then returned to the pigpen.
The pigs inside were fast asleep. Zhao Ping’an looked at the wooden slats blocking the pen’s entrance, reached out, pulled them aside, and opened the pen.
Then, he walked away nonchalantly.
Early the next morning, before dawn, the Yu family was awakened by the sound of pigs squealing and things being knocked over.
When everyone woke up and looked around, they saw that their own fat pig had actually escaped.
It must have been starving for a long time; it charged at everything in sight, trying to eat whatever it bumped into.
By this point, the Yu family’s courtyard and kitchen were already in ruins.
And that wasn’t all. Just like humans, pigs have physiological needs, and when humans are desperate, they find a place to relieve themselves. But pigs, who sleep right after eating, don’t do that—its feces were scattered all over the Yu family’s courtyard and kitchen.
The Yu household now resembled a pigsty, reeking to high heaven.
“Aaah—!!!”
“Yu Yin, you bitch, I’m going to kill you!! !!”
……
“What’s the Yu family up to now? Didn’t the Patriarch just scold them? Cursing Yu Yin—who’s getting married today—first thing in the morning… Do they not want to stay in Cuizhu Village anymore?”
“Who knows? Just stay away from the Yu family from now on—they’re all heartless…”
……
Neither Yu Yin nor Zhao Ping’an knew any of this—especially Zhao Ping’an, the one who started it all. As soon as he left the Yu household, he headed straight for the county seat.
But just as he reached the village entrance, a beam of light shone on him from behind.
“Big Brother, is that you?”
It was Ye Dong’s voice. Along with it came the sound of a bicycle approaching.
Before long, Ye Dong rode up on his family’s 28-inch bicycle and stopped in front of Zhao Ping’an.
“Big Brother, it really is you.”
“Come on, I’ll take you to the county seat.”
Zhao Ping’an immediately grew wary. “How did you know I was going to the county seat?”
“I don’t know. Great-Grandpa told me. He said you’d definitely go to the county seat to look for our sister, so he told me to wait here for you and take you there.”
Zhao Ping’an furrowed his brow, and his face, illuminated by the light, took on an involuntary look of ferocity.
He missed the point and snapped, “Who’s your sister?”
“Of course, your older sister is my sister,” Ye Dong said, carefree and giggling, seemingly oblivious to Zhao Ping’an’s ferocity.
Zhao Ping’an: “……”
Zhao Ping’an turned and walked away, but after taking only a couple of steps, he remembered that if he went to the county seat on his own, it would take at least four hours. Even taking a shortcut, it would still take over three hours.
Yu Yin was all alone in the county seat right now—who knew if she was scared…
Zhao Ping’an spun around fiercely. “Hurry up and follow me!”
“I’ll tell you this: I owe you one for this. Next time I catch a pheasant, I’ll pay you back.”
One pheasant would be enough to cover the round-trip fare.
Ye Dong’s grinning face immediately turned pouting. “Big brother, you don’t owe me anything. If we’re really keeping score, what about the time you saved my life?”
Don’t let Ye Dong’s current tall, burly build fool you—he’s still a middle school student in the village. But when he was a kid, he was short and chubby, and was often bullied by kids from both his own village and the neighboring one.
One day after elementary school, he was cornered by a group of kids by the stream between the two villages, where they mocked and beat him. If it hadn’t been for Zhao Ping’an—who was out looking for something to eat because he was hungry—finding him and chasing the group away, Ye Dong might have really been in serious trouble.
If Zhao Ping’an had arrived just a moment later, the spot where Ye Dong was hiding would have collapsed because the soil was loose—and at that time, Ye Dong didn’t know how to swim.
If he had fallen into the fast-flowing stream, he would have lost his life.
However, while Ye Dong cherished this life-saving favor deeply, Zhao Ping’an didn’t think much of it at all, because after he saved Ye Dong, Ye Dong’s family had already repaid the debt of gratitude.
Because he had saved Ye Dong, Ye Dong’s family gave him a sack of grain, and that sack of grain sustained him and Yu Yin through the winter.
So, Ye Dong’s family had essentially traded one life for two—the debt was settled.
Zhao Ping’an said coldly, “You’ve paid back your debt with your life.”
“I don’t think so!” Ye Dong retorted angrily.
Zhao Ping’an glared at him menacingly. “Are you going to go or not? If you’re not, I’m leaving.”
Ye Dong instantly put his resentment aside. He stepped onto the bicycle pedals and grinned from ear to ear, “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.”
Ye Dong thought to himself, what Big Brother said about settling the debt doesn’t count.
He was determined to be Big Brother’s little brother—and to stay his little brother for life.
Besides, his sister had told him to take care of Big Brother.
Ye Dong looked a bit dim-witted, and although Zhao Ping’an, sitting on the back seat, couldn’t see him, he could sense it.
He thought to himself, “This Ye Dong from the Ye family is really dumb.”
Oh well, he’d just have to be more careful from now on to avoid getting bullied again.