Zhu Shijun’s words settled everything instantly, leaving Zhuo Feng utterly dumbfounded.
Zhu Shijun was compromising? The man who had been obstinate and domineering all his life had, just two years ago, avoided her and refused to disclose Xiao Xian’s whereabouts. How had his nature changed after just one dinner?
"Is it because you want your sister-in-law’s ashes to be buried sooner?" This was the only reason Zhuo Feng could think of that would make Zhu Shijun compromise.
"Miss Zhuo, or should I call you Ah Feng, as your brother often does. I am over sixty years old now, only surviving without imprisonnt thanks to a few old comrades-in-arms from above. It is also thanks to having Xiao Xian by my side that my health has improved significantly over the years. But ti is rciless to those of us who have aged. A person like might lie down one day and never wake up. Bringing Xiao Xian back to Beijing is the best arrangent," Zhu Shijun said in a lancholic tone, which affected Zhuo Feng.
The sa feelings were often echoed by Zhuo Feng’s parents. Those of advanced age all hope their children will settle down early, secure a stable job, and delight their parents with their presence. She was a disobedient daughter who joined the ranks of Beijing drifters after graduation. Fortunately, she t her current husband, settled down, and finally put her parents at ease.
The hostility was fading bit by bit, and the wall of hatred built in Zhuo Feng’s heart was gradually crumbling.
"What are you and grandpa talking about? Co here, there’s a teor shower!" After clearing away the square table, Xiao Xian brought out two rattan chairs and a bench, calling her grandpa and Zhuo Feng to watch the sky.
In the heavens, several white streaks dashed across the glittering cluster of stars.
"It’s August now, those should be the Perseids teor shower. Look towards the northeast corner, there are more teors there," Zhuo Feng explained, still infused with a girl’s dreamy fascination. She had loved watching teor showers since her university days, once even dragging her classmates to the Great Wall in the middle of the night to watch one.
"They say making a wish upon a ’blind star’ is very effective," Xiao Xian mumbled, making a wish as a teor crossed the sky. In Yunteng, she always referred to teors as ’blind stars’. All other stars neatly stay in their position except for the ’blind stars’ that seem to dash wildly because they can’t find their way.
After nightfall, Xiao Xian let Zhuo Feng sleep on the bed while she laid a mat on the freshly swept ground, considering it was sumr and she wouldn’t be cold sleeping on the floor.
Zhuo Feng, however, wouldn’t have it. After a long argunt, they reached a compromise: both slept on the bed, lying crosswise. Xiao Xian’s bed wasn’t large, only about 1.3 ters, so they both ended up with their legs hanging in mid-air, needless to say, neither slept well.
"Xiao Xian, I’m sorry for what I’ve done. These past few years, I’ve had thoughts of giving up on finding you several tis," Zhuo Feng confessed, unable to sleep and using her arm as a pillow.
"I heard what grandpa said behind the house tonight," although Zhu Shijun and Zhuo Feng had lowered their voices at the ti, Xiao Xian’s enhanced vision from obtaining the copper space allowed her to see as clearly at night as in day, and she could pinpoint the location of a mosquito flapping its wings within a hundred ters just by the sound.
"Did you agree?" Zhuo Feng sat up excitedly, and even in the darkness, her face glead with lively brilliance.
"Yeah," Xiao Xian knew that even if she had adamantly demanded to stay in the village, Zhu Shijun would have kept persuading her. Before she entered the house, her grandpa also ntioned that she must transport her parents’ ashes back to her father’s hotown. As the saying goes, filial duty is foremost. Since she possessed the last remnants of familial affection as ’Xiao Xian’s’ granddaughter, she also had to fulfill the duties expected of a child. This was just one reason for leaving Ge Village. Beijing was not only the place where Zhu Shijun was wrongfully accused but also where ’Xiao Xian’s’ parents were driven to despair. She was determined to uncover the truth about that year’s corruption case, refusing to believe that Zhu Shijun was corrupt. She needed to clear her grandfather’s regrets.
In the next room, Zhu Shijun’s eyes welled up with tears, his heart filled with sorrow. This decision was expected; Xiao Xian had grown up and could make decisions independently. She was a very obedient child, having kept silent after hearing about her parents’ ashes and grandparents. As her grandfather, he should be happy to have raised such a well-behaved child. Not to be sad, not to be sad, otherwise it would be awful if Xiao Xian found out when she woke up in the morning.
Zhu Shijun quietly walked around the room, opening the nanmu chest he had brought from Beijing.
Moonlight streaming through the screen window illuminated the items in the chest: a blue household register book, a red savings book, and a yellowed, curled-edge copy of the Party Constitution. Flipping open the Constitution’s title page, several markedly different signatures were revealed.
"From now on, it’s up to you to help watch over Xiao Xian," Zhu Shijun gathered the three items, planning to hand them all over to Xiao Xian the next morning.
The conversation next door gradually quieted down, with bursts of frog croaks outside, while Zhuo Feng beside him had fallen asleep, breathing evenly.
Leaving Ge Village ant having to say goodbye to everything here—Leigong Mountain, White Dragon Pond, the villagers, Yezi, Taohua, and Master Shanyin... Ah, it had been four years, her heart had more or less filled up with these people and places.
It would be better to rise early tomorrow, while the sun isn’t too fierce, and break the news of leaving Ge Village to everyone. Xiao Xian lifted her hand, shaking it slightly, and the little silver bell atop i Building sounded a clear, pleasing ring.
The bell’s sound crossed over the layered forest mountains, over White Dragon Pond bathed in slanting moonlight, past Black Mountain, reaching a suspension house in Dongnan Miao Village.
"Xiao Xian has an aunt? I’ve never heard her ntion her, and she looks like she’s from the city. I’ll get up early in the morning and find out what her aunt is doing in the mountains," Yezi thought to herself, never guessing that this ti Xiao Xian’s aunt had co specifically to take her away. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welco you to cast your recomndation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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