108. 108 Incident
When Ning Jin got home, he found that it seemed like no one had returned to live there. He first went to Su Yu's school and asked at Xiao Yuan's dormitory, only to find out that the mother and son had gone to the Northwest. After that, he took a ride to find Ping An to see if he had run away with them.
"Dad, you're here? I was planning to go back tomorrow, but Mom said you'd be coming at the end of the month." Ping An packed her things, preparing to go back to her place.
"No classes today?" Ning Jin leaned out the window, watching the young men coming and going downstairs. The difference between the school and the outside world was too great, making him feel old when he passed by the energetic young men, as if they couldn't even stand up straight.
"That's all. I only have classes in the afternoon tomorrow. Shall we go back, or should I show you around the school?"
"Let's take a look at the school." He rubbed his face and asked his son, "Do I look a lot older?"
It was much more sloppy, and he looked a bit tired. Ping An leaned his elbow against the wall, looked him up and down, and joked, "You're not old. Put on the clothes my mom bought you, and you'll look like my older brother when you walk out."
"You little rascal," he chuckled and scolded, then went downstairs with his son. As they left the dormitory building, he stretched his shoulders and straightened his back before walking out.
"That's the law school building up ahead. Er Ya usually has her classes there," Ping An pointed out to his father.
Ning Jin nodded. He remembered that he had been to and from the two schools many times and still remembered them. He asked his son to accompany him because he always felt out of place when he was alone, as if people were talking about him behind his back, which made him uncomfortable.
“Something happened to Er Ya’s family. Her father and Er Bao were arrested, and she lost her job.” He frowned as he recalled the commotion next door and said, “Da Ya even came to me and asked me to tell Er Ya.”
Ping An had heard about this. The two colleges were not far apart, and it involved something as vital as the college entrance examination, so many people were discussing it. "Er Ya should know that it's about the college entrance examination. Her father and Er Bao want to sell her college admission notice."
The man was stunned for a moment, then cursed, "Short-sighted bastard! When someone's family gets a college degree, they'd throw a three-day feast to celebrate. He's obsessed with money, actually trying to sell the college admission notice?"
Ping An frowned, too lazy to talk about that disgusting family, and asked, "Shall we go find Er Ya?"
"Forget it, she probably knows the situation too." That family is a murky place, and anyone who steps in will get their hands dirty. He's afraid that Er Ya will beg him to steal Da Ya out again. Da Ya is different from Er Ya. If Da Ya comes, the household registration problem can't be solved. There's nothing he can do then. He brought her here, so how can he just let her go?
The actual situation unfolded much faster than outsiders expected. It wasn't a complicated case; many people were involved, but most were thugs. Once the higher-ups gave the order, the county police moved directly into Pingqiu Town and arrested the small gang that Erbao had implicated. Pulling out the carrot led to the discovery of the rest of the gang, from the scouts to the liaisons, the buyers and sellers—everyone in the same boat was arrested and imprisoned.
As the person who reported the crime and the victim, Er Ya needed to go back to identify the suspect and give a statement. When the train departed from Ningjin bound for Northeast China, Er Ya also boarded the train back to her hometown.
Going to the police station to give a statement was simple; the attempt to steal her college admission notice had failed, and the case was relatively straightforward. She stood in the police station lobby watching the victims who had been notified to come. One woman, with her belly protruding, slumped on the ground, weeping, and couldn't be helped up. This was a woman whose college admission notice had been stolen in 1977, while the village secretary's daughter, who had replaced her, was now a senior in college, while she had been left behind in the village and married to the village secretary's nephew.
"She's bleeding!" Er Ya, who had been staring blankly at her, immediately noticed the blood flowing from between her legs and hurriedly called out to the police, "She's bleeding, is she about to give birth?"
"No, I can't give birth! Even if it's born, I'll strangle it!" The woman on the ground frantically pounded her stomach, her legs thrashing even as she was pulled up. Her face contorted in pain, she insisted, "I won't go to the hospital! I'll suffocate this bastard! You son of a bitch! Ah—! They stole my acceptance letter and are forcing me to marry into their family! They deserve to be childless, childless—!"
Bright red blood spread from the hall into the courtyard. The woman had already been carried away, but the echo of "being childless and without descendants" still lingered in Er Ya's mind.
"Let me mop the floor, please mop it for me." Er Ya walked over and took the mop from the cleaner's hand. "Let me mop it, I almost ended up like her." As she spoke, tears fell into the blood. People who have experienced the light are more afraid of the dark, and only now did she truly feel the fear.
"A girl who hasn't had children shouldn't touch this unlucky stuff," the somewhat hunchbacked old woman scolded her, gripping the mop tightly.
"It's bad luck, it's the bastard in your belly that's bad luck. If you mop it clean, it won't be bad luck anymore." Er Ya insisted on mopping and struggled to get the mop.
"You young people just won't listen to advice. It'll be too late to regret it later." The old man let go of the mop, went out to get a shovel. The yard was muddy, and the blood had already soaked into the soil, so he could only shovel the dirt.
Er Ya took the blood-stained mop out to wash it. The cold water splashed on the mop, and the strong smell of rust hit her nose. "Ugh—" She bent over and retched, and it felt like she had swallowed blood. She vomited so much that she couldn't stand up and could only crawl away from the sink on her knees.
With a thud, she was kicked to the ground. She squinted and saw it was her mother, her mouth opening and closing, her face contorted in a ferocious grimace, as if she wanted to devour her alive. Er Ya heard what she was cursing, but couldn't remember it. She stared at the foot that was stepping on her face, the sole of the shoe landing on her face. She grabbed the leg with both hands and quickly got up. The person on the ground was someone else.
Er Ya didn't say anything, staring fiercely at the person on the ground. She picked up the mop dripping with blood and started hitting her head and body repeatedly, getting more and more excited as she hit her. Seeing the person back in pain, she thought that she must have looked the same when she was beaten as a child, in pain but with hatred in her eyes. No wonder her mother beat her harder and harder; the eyes couldn't hide the thoughts in her heart.
"Stop! Fighting in the police station!" someone shouted. Then Er Ya was shoved away with force, and the mop that was supposed to hit someone fell to the ground.
Du Xiaojuan stood up like a blood-soaked person. Blood was flowing down her chin, her hair was wet, and her faded blue shirt was covered in bloody mop marks.
"Are you alright? Are you bleeding? Go wash your face." The policeman glared at Er Ya and snapped, "Do you want to go to jail too? You dare to hit people in the police station, what will you do when you get out?"
Er Ya threw down the mop, took a breath, and smiled while smoothing her disheveled hair. "Officer, she's my mother. We had a fight because of a domestic dispute. Mother and daughter don't hold grudges overnight. We don't need police mediation. We can make up as soon as we leave the house."
"I won't reconcile with her. I'm calling the police to arrest her. Quick, she broke my face. Arrest her!" Du Xiaojuan lunged forward like a mad hen, pointing to the wound on her forehead and asking, "Is it bleeding? I'm calling the police."
Er Ya didn't even flinch as she explained, "She really is my mom, the one who conspired with my dad and my second brother to sell my college acceptance letter."
"Since it's a family conflict, you should resolve it privately. Don't resort to violence." The policeman glanced at her with disgust, then immediately looked away as if his eyes were dirty. He glanced at Er Ya again before turning and leaving.
"Hehe, do you know what kind of blood this is? It's the blood from a woman who lost her child. The grandmother inside said this blood is unlucky. I think if you've been tainted by this blood, the rest of your life will be miserable. You won't be childless, but you'll be destitute in your old age and have to beg for food to fill your stomach." She watched with satisfaction as her mother's face changed drastically, and she put her hand in her mouth to vomit. She washed her face and quickly left the police station.
She went back first and found that neither Daya nor Xiaohu were home. After thinking for a moment, she walked towards the weir where she washed clothes, and sure enough, her older sister was there washing clothes.
"Big sister, I'm back."
"Er Ya?" Daya stood up in surprise. "Why are you back? Did Ping An's dad tell you? I have to tell you, Dad and Er Bao were arrested by the police and are in jail. Mom and Dad lost their jobs." As she spoke, she glanced at Er Ya resentfully. "Mom scolds you every day at home. Did you call the police to arrest them?"
Er Ya nodded, staring at Da Ya's face, but Da Ya only gave a muffled "Oh" without changing her expression. Er Ya had no choice but to ask Da Ya, "Big sister, are you angry with me?"
"No." She really didn't. She had no feelings for her parents. If it weren't for her mother staying home and scolding her every day instead of working, she would even think it would be nice to cook for two fewer people and wash two fewer people's clothes.
"Let me pound the clothes," Er Ya said, rolling up her sleeves as she went down the steps.
"Okay, if you want to wash, then you wash." Daya handed her the washing stick and sat on the steps, looking into the water.
Dad and Erbao are locked up, Mom lost her job, and the family has no income. Dabao is just a freeloader who doesn't earn any money. Once things calm down, who knows, someone might come knocking on her door again. There's no one to take responsibility. If they run out of money, Daya will be the first to be sold off, to whoever offers the highest price. Then Xiaohu will also be unable to go to school.
Er Ya looked at the silly older sister who was hugging her legs and staring blankly from the water, sighed, and asked, "Sister, where is your household registration? Is it still in Dawazi Village?"
"Huh? Household registration? I don't know either. Aren't you at home? I've never heard of household registration."
Her household registration was not on the household registration book. After she was sent back, no one cared about her household registration. It was probably because it was not easy to transfer a rural household registration back, so it was still registered in the countryside.
Asking her sister was less effective than going to ask her herself, but she was afraid her mother would hear about it and interfere. Er Ya didn't think too much about it. She wanted to transfer her eldest sister's household registration, but there was nowhere to receive it. She had to go back and ask Aunt Su, oh no, ask her classmates and teachers.
"Big sister, I'm leaving now. I'll come back to see you next time." She finished pounding her clothes, rolled up her sleeves, and was about to leave.
"So soon? Have a meal at home, I'll cook for you. Mom's not home right now, she went to the police station to get information." Daya quickly stood up, took her sister's hand, and said, "Xiaohu hasn't gotten out of school yet, he'll be happy to know you're back."
“No need, he’s just a little kid, it doesn’t matter whether I see him or not, I have to catch my train.” Er Ya pushed Da Ya’s hand away and said, “I’ll be back soon, you have to wait for me at home. If Mom wants to marry you off, you run away, run to the police station and say you’d rather die than get married, and wait for me to come back for you.”
When Da Ya heard that she was to be taken away, she immediately smiled, nodded, and said, "Then I'll wait for you at home." She added at the end, "I won't tell anyone."
"Okay." Er Ya left. The train tickets for the round trip cost several tens of yuan. She still had to rush back to earn money. Da Ya went with her. Although her food was guaranteed, she needed a place to stay. It would be best if she could earn money herself. She couldn't rely on herself to support Da Ya.
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