The next day, Wang Family Village.
Lin Yan walked through the village.
The dirt road was pitted, with low earthen houses on either side.
The plaster had peeled off the walls, exposing the yellowed stalks of straw beneath.
There were a few slightly better red-brick houses, but even those were covered in dust.
“So Wang Li’s hometown is this poor.”
He sighed to himself.
Most villagers passing by couldn’t help glancing back at him, their eyes wary.
It was mainly because of the scar on his face.
It was hard to miss.
Lin Yan didn’t mind and continued on his way.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.
He’d been so caught up in his thoughts that he’d forgotten the most important thing.
Where exactly was Wang Li’s younger brother’s house?
Just then, a village shop not far away caught his eye.
Inside the shop,
an old man was lazily reclining in a faded bamboo chair, idly fanning himself.
Lin Yan walked over and asked,
“Sir, this is Wang Family Village, right?”
The old man didn’t even lift his eyelids.
“That’s right.”
“Do you know where Wang Hao’s house is?”
“Who? Wang Hao?”
Only then did the old man raise his eyelids, his cloudy gaze sizing Lin Yan up.
“Who are you?”
Lin Yan smiled.
“I’m a friend of his. I came by to visit.”
The old man looked him up and down, his gaze lingering on the scar for a moment.
Then he actually closed his eyes and said nothing.
Lin Yan was taken aback.
What was with this old man...?
“Sir? Sir?”
The old man impatiently waved his fan.
“If you want to buy something, find it yourself. If you’re not buying anything, don’t block the way.”
Lin Yan scratched his head, feeling a little helpless.
Then an idea struck him, and he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
Harmony World （Special Supply）.
He took one out and offered it to the old man.
“Here, sir. Have a cigarette.”
The old man opened his eyes. When he spotted the cigarette, he sat up a little straighter.
He’d run this little shop for years and had seen plenty of ordinary cigarettes.
But this was the first time he’d ever seen a specially supplied one.
“Oh, young man, you’re too kind.”
The old man took it and, using the flame Lin Yan offered, drew in a deep breath.
“Mm... this cigarette has a real kick.”
Lin Yan seized the opportunity. “Sir, I really do need to see Wang Hao. Please, just tell me where he lives.”
The old man choked on the smoke and coughed twice before looking up.
“He’s been dead for years. Why are you still looking for him?”
“Dead?”
Lin Yan’s heart sank.
“That’s right. He died of an illness. Poor fellow was unlucky.”
The old man shook his head.
Lin Yan hurriedly pressed him. “Then... did his family have a little girl?”
The old man looked at him in surprise. “How do you know? She’s his older brother’s child. Her name is Panpan.”
He sighed, the wrinkles on his face deepening.
“That poor child... I heard her father went off to serve in the military. No one knows if he’s alive or dead, and now... sigh...”
He trailed off, only puffing away at his cigarette and unwilling to say more.
Lin Yan’s heart tightened.
“Sir, please tell me where their house is. I’ll go see her.”
The old man hesitated, then pointed toward the eastern end of the village with the hand holding his cigarette.
“At the east end of the village, the third house. The one with the faded red couplets still hanging by the door.”
“All right. Thank you, sir.”
Lin Yan thanked him and turned to leave.
After taking a single step, he stopped again.
His gaze fell on the White Rabbit Creamy Candies in the glass jars on the counter.
A memory surfaced.
Wang Li’s honest smile appeared before him. “My Panpan just loves candy...”
“Sir, how much are these candies?”
“One yuan for three.”
Lin Yan took out some money and bought a whole big handful, probably more than a dozen.
Then he hurried toward Wang Hao’s house.
...
...
Meanwhile,
at Wang Li’s younger brother’s house,
Li Shufen sat on a little stool by the door, knitting a sweater, with a ball of yarn rolling by her feet.
A sturdy-looking little boy ran out of the house.
He was her son, Wang Fugui.
“Hey, Fugui, slow down! You’ll fall!”
The boy grinned and came over. “Mom, I want to go see my older sister.”
“What do you want to see that good-for-nothing girl for? It’s filthy and stinks in there. You’re not allowed.”
Li Shufen didn’t even look up.
“I wanna go! Just for a look, Mom!”
Fugui tugged at her sleeve and began to wheedle.
“All right, all right. I can’t do anything with you.”
Li Shufen couldn’t resist her son.
“Just look from outside. Don’t go in, got it? It’s filthy in there.”
“Got it! Thanks, Mom!”
Fugui hopped toward the pigsty behind the house.
Inside the pigsty,
Panpan was curled up on a pile of dry straw in the corner, clutching half a steamed bun as hard as a rock.
It was the last half left over from yesterday.
But she had to finish it before noon.
Otherwise, her aunt would beat her again.
She nibbled at it in tiny bites.
Each bite took all her strength.
The crumbs scraped painfully down her throat.
The light at the doorway was suddenly blocked.
Then came a creak.
The wooden door swung open.
Fugui walked in, pinching his nose.
A foul stench of manure and rot hit him.
He gagged.
Panpan looked up, revealing a pair of swollen yet clear eyes.
“Big sister, do you want some candy?”
Fugui suddenly pulled a White Rabbit Creamy Candy from his pocket and deliberately waved it in front of her.
Candy...
Panpan’s gaze instantly latched onto it.
She remembered what candy tasted like.
Her father had bought it for her once.
The feeling of that sugary sweetness melting on her tongue.
But that had been a very, very long time ago.
So long ago it felt like a past life.
Fugui leisurely peeled off the wrapper and popped the candy into his mouth.
Then he chewed exaggeratedly, smacking his lips.
Panpan watched him longingly, as though the sweetness might travel through the air to her.
Seeing how badly she wanted it, Fugui grinned even more smugly.
He tossed the wrapper he’d licked onto the ground in front of Panpan.
“Big sister, there’s still some sweetness on the wrapper. Why don’t you lick it?”
Panpan froze for a moment, then instinctively picked up the wrapper and lightly touched it with her tongue.
A trace of sweetness spread across her tongue.
At that very moment,
Fugui suddenly shrieked at the top of his lungs,
“Mom! Big sister stole my candy!”
Panpan flinched in fright, and the wrapper fell to the ground.
She shook her head in a panic.
“N-no... I didn’t... I didn’t...”
Li Shufen came rushing in at the sound of his voice.
“Mom! She stole my candy! And she threw the wrapper on the ground!”
Fugui pointed at Panpan, looking utterly aggrieved.
Li Shufen spotted the wrapper by Panpan’s feet, and a blaze of anger surged through her.
“Auntie, I didn’t... He gave it to me...”
Panpan shrank back, her voice trembling.
“Getting brave, are you? You dare steal your little brother’s candy!”
Li Shufen advanced with a vicious grin.
“Get up!”
Panpan trembled as she stood. The iron chain around her ankle rattled.
Li Shufen still held the steel needle and thread she’d been using to knit.
“Greedy, are you? I’ll teach you to be greedy!”
She grabbed Panpan’s thin cheek, squeezing so hard her fingers nearly sank into the flesh.
“I’ll sew that mouth of yours shut today and see if you still dare steal!”
“Mmm... no... Auntie, it hurts...”
Panpan struggled in terror, tears welling in her eyes.
But Li Shufen wouldn’t listen. All she could see was her son being “wronged.”
She gripped the needle, aimed it at Panpan’s cracked lips, and jabbed down hard.
“Ah!! It hurts!! It hurts!! Auntie, it hurts!”
The instant the first needle pierced her lower lip,
Panpan let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Blood gushed out at once, trickling down her chin and onto her filthy clothes.
Li Shufen’s hand was steady.
She had knitted for years and was skilled with needle and thread.
Now, however, the needle had become an instrument of torture.
Stitch by stitch, it pierced flesh,
cruelly sewing the girl’s lips together.
Fugui stood in the doorway, watching without blinking.
An indescribable feeling welled up inside him.
It was like excitement, or perhaps satisfaction.
So making someone else suffer was this much fun.