Chapter 589 Changjia Village 4
Most of the houses in Changjia Village are bungalows, with only a few being two-story red brick buildings. Zhao Fengying's house is a two-story building.
As the sky gradually darkened and the sun set behind the mountains, Ye Rou stood by the window of the two-story building and watched the gray-blue sky swallow up Changjia Village bit by bit.
"Let me go!"
Ye Rou looked in the direction of the sound.
At the alley entrance, a thin girl with a shrill voice was struggling impatiently, holding tightly to the person who looked like a young man.
"Huahua...play with me..."
The girl's clothes were gray and obviously ill-fitting. The cuffs and trouser legs were too long and had patches with messy stitching.
The young man who grabbed the girl was wearing a Dacron shirt. His body was clean, but his hair was messy.
"Afu, let me go!" Chang Hua hurried to find Grandma Zhao. She didn't want to get entangled with this fool, but she was too weak and couldn't get rid of Afu no matter what.
Ah Fu blocked the way, waving his hands non-stop, mumbling, "Play with me, play with me..."
He got so excited that he suddenly cried out for a headache and started hitting his head frantically.
"It hurts... it hurts so much. Playing with flowers won't hurt..."
"I have something to do now and can't play with you."
Changhua tried to go around Afu, but Afu was like a follower, constantly moving his feet and always blocking her way.
Ah Fu grabbed the broken sandbag he had picked up and shouted, "Let's play together... Let's play together..."
Chang Hua jumped anxiously: "Don't shout!"
Seeing her big reaction, Ah Fu thought Chang Hua was happy, and shouted even louder as if encouraged.
Fearing that he would make noise and attract others, Chang Hua suddenly had an idea, pulled over the sandbag, and said through gritted teeth, "I'll play with you."
Ah Fu immediately shut up and smiled foolishly. His dark eyes hidden under his messy hair made him look like the big yellow dog at the entrance of the village.
Chang Hua swung her arms and threw the sandbag high into the air, "Afu, go pick it up!"
Upon hearing the sound, Ah Fu rushed out immediately at an extremely fast speed.
Chang Hua saw him running away and turned and rushed into the alley.
This was Ye Rou’s first impression of Chang Hua—a smart girl.
Chang Hua noticed the prying eyes, and quickly glanced at the strange woman standing on the second floor, then quickly looked away without interest.
Chang Hua stood at the door and heard rustling sounds in the yard. Confirming that Grandma Zhao had returned, she took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock on the iron gate.
"Who is it?" Zhao Fengying's voice was a little alert.
"Grandma Zhao, it's me, Xiaohua."
The door creaked open, and Zhao Fengying appeared, wearing a dusty coat and clutching a handful of firewood. She looked Chang Hua up and down, her eyes probing: "It's so late, what's going on?"
Chang Hua clenched the corner of her clothes and wiped the sweat from her palms.
Grandma Zhao was the only person living in the city and the one most likely to know her mother's whereabouts.
"Grandma Zhao, I want to ask..." Chang Hua's voice trembled a little, "Have you seen my mother in all these years outside?"
Zhao Fengying's eyes flashed, and she turned and walked into the house: "Come in and talk."
The family lives outside all year round, and the yard is overgrown with weeds.
The room was dimly lit, the flames flickering in the stove. Chang Hua stood by the stove, watching Zhao Fengying add water to the pot. The water boiled, gurgling like her own heartbeat.
"He hasn't come back in all these years..." Zhao Fengying sighed, "Xiaohua, stop looking."
Chang Hua's heart suddenly tightened.
The last time she saw her mother was when she was five years old.
Her father got drunk and beat her mother. She was so scared that she hid on the kang and cried. She was tired of crying and fell asleep wrapped in a quilt. In a daze, she was hugged by her mother and vaguely heard "I'm sorry".
The next day, when she woke up, her mother was gone.
Zhao Fengying added some firewood to the stove: "Xiaohua, your mother is so selfish. She abandoned you when you were so young..."
"Grandma Zhao!" Chang Hua suddenly spoke, scaring Zhao Fengying.
Chang Hua clenched her fists and said seriously, "Grandma Zhao, I don't blame my mother."
Who wouldn’t want to leave a village like this if they had the chance?
Zhao Fengying paused, the firelight reflected on her face, bright and dark. "In the final analysis, your father is really too unreasonable. Xiaohua, don't worry, grandma will go over to talk to him tonight. How can a father be like this?"
"All he does all day is drink and beat people up. He beat his wife away and now he's beating his kids. What a beast."
"Grandma, go scold your dad and never let him hit children again."
The fire in the stove crackled, and Chang Hua found the sound extremely harsh.
Last night, Dad got drunk again and pointed at her nose and cursed: "You are just like your mother, both ungrateful wolves! I will sell you out sooner or later. I am annoyed just looking at her mother!"
"There is no future." The little girl standing by the stove lowered her head and spoke in a low voice.
Zhao Fengying didn't hear clearly and was about to ask, but Chang Hua was about to leave.
"Grandma Zhao, goodbye."
Chang Hua said this and turned to run out.
She heard Zhao Fengying calling her from behind, but she didn't bother to answer. The road in the village was bumpy, but her steps became faster and faster, as if this could put those suffocating emotions behind her.
Chang Hua finally stopped running to the old locust tree at the entrance of the village. She looked up at the new buds on the tree, and tears finally welled up in her eyes. She knew she wouldn't be able to wait until she was ten.
"This kid runs so fast." Zhao Fengying shook her head. When she heard footsteps coming down from upstairs, she threw a handful of noodles into the pot without looking back.
"Comrade Ye, did you hear everything?"
The steaming heat blurred Ye Rou's vision.
"Um."
She simply sat down on a small stool next to the stove, the firelight shining on her face, making her feel warm.
"What was that kid's name?"
"Chang Hua, everyone in the village calls her Xiao Hua." Zhao Fengying filled a bowl of noodles and handed it over.
Ye Rou took it, the clear soup noodles floating in the air. She asked softly, "Aunt Zhao, where have all the women in this village gone?"
The iron spoon hit the edge of the pot with a harsh bang.
Ye Rou held the bowl, raised her head, and looked at Zhao Fengying. Her extremely ugly face looked even more ferocious in the firelight.
I went into the village with Aunt Zhao in the afternoon, and didn't see a single woman along the way.
This is very abnormal.
Zhao Fengying suddenly lowered her head, the firelight shining on her face making it look particularly sinister. She warned, "Comrade Ye, find out what happened to your mother back then and leave. If you want to leave the village, stay out of other people's business."
Seeing Zhao Fengying's serious expression, Ye Rou stopped talking and did not ask any more questions.
After dinner, Zhao Fengying was worried about Chang Hua, so she took a flashlight and went to talk to Chang Hua's father, and told Ye Rou to go to bed early.
As if afraid that Ye Rou would run around, she simply locked the gate when she went out.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
