Chapter 26
26.
Qu Niang and Lao He were both sincere to him. Cheng Lingjun looked at them and a comfortable smile appeared on her face. "I'm doing quite well now. In time, I will tell you where I live now, and I will also bring Xiao Guang to visit you."
Cheng Lingjun doesn't yet have the courage to face his family, the Li family. Whether you say he's too heartbroken or he's running away, he just wants to live a peaceful life now. Once he's fully healed and Xiao Guang is older, he probably won't be hiding anymore.
Old He sighed, then rallied his spirits and said with a smile, "Then you must remember to come visit our shop when you have time, and don't forget about us, husband and wife."
"Definitely not."
The three men exchanged a smile before Old He asked, "So, what exactly do you want us to do today?"
Cheng Lingjun has been gone for so long, and this is the first time she has appeared in front of them today. It must be an extremely difficult thing. Qu Niang and Lao He both secretly made up their minds to do their best to help Cheng Lingjun.
Unexpectedly, Cheng Lingjun pulled out a... a yellowish-brown, blocky object from a large bag he had dragged out from behind him.
"What is this?" Old He took it with both hands and examined it carefully with Qu Niang.
"This is sweet potato noodles, have you ever heard of it?"
"Fried potato?" Old He looked up. "Is it really a fried potato? I was wondering why it looked so familiar."
“Yes,” Cheng Lingjun said, “This time I was asked by someone to grind these sweet potatoes into flour and sell them in your shop. No matter how well they sell, I will pay you a reasonable price.”
"That's...that's all?" Qu Niang's eyes widened. "No, no..."
Cheng Lingjun frowned, "Is it not possible? Can you try, Qu Niang? My friend succeeded in making it into powder and cooking it."
Old He, however, understood what Qu Niang meant. He quickly said, "That's not what Qu Niang meant. She was asking, 'You came all this way to see us just for this little thing?'"
Cheng Lingjun laughed and said, "Yes, you were the first people I thought of. It turns out that it was a small matter for you. I thought it would be very difficult."
"But...but what about yourself?" Qu Niang asked.
"Myself?"
"Don't you need any help?" Uncle He added, "You're a man with a child of a few years old, it must be inconvenient for you. Don't be afraid to bother me and Aunt Qu, just tell us."
Qu Niang nodded vigorously. Cheng Lingjun looked at the two of them, feeling warm inside. He smiled and said, "I have people helping me out, so I'm doing alright. Even if there were any inconveniences, they've long since passed. You don't need to worry."
"Is...is someone helping?" Qu Niang looked at Lao He, her eyes holding a different meaning.
After considering it carefully, Old He finally asked, "Um, Ling Jun, was the person who helped you a woman?"
The village chief is indeed a woman, Cheng Lingjun nodded.
Qu Niang and Lao He's expressions changed. Lao He said, "Ling Jun, I... I know you were heartbroken by the Li family, but you must be careful. Be wary of strange women, what if they have ulterior motives?"
Cheng Lingjun couldn't help but laugh, "Uncle He, you've misunderstood. That's the village chief. Besides, I'm not some ignorant young man. Of course I'll be careful."
“I see, that’s good, that’s good,” Old He asked again, “It seems you’ve found a good place. It would be best if the village chief there could take care of you, but you are, after all, a young man all alone, so you have to be careful in everything you do.”
“I will,” Cheng Lingjun replied.
Old He looked through the pile of sweet potatoes and casually asked, "So, are you helping the village chief process the sweet potatoes this time?"
"It's not the village chief, it's a friend of mine who lives across the street."
"Oh?" Old He laughed and said, "You've made friends. As the saying goes, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. Having a good neighbor is more important than anything else. Neighbors really do need to help each other."
Old He and Qu Niang didn't ask Cheng Lingjun whether their neighbor across the hall was male or female. They assumed it was a man, and besides, they had heard Cheng Lingjun say that his friend had made sweet potato flour before, so he must be a skillful man. Maybe he was older, which is why he did these things. Young people don't have the patience to grind sweet potato flour into powder.
However, Lao He and his companion also knew about this sweet potato. "A couple of years ago, this sweet potato was brought to town to be sold, but unfortunately, not many people bought it. After that, no one has seen it since."
Cheng Lingjun had forgotten that, probably because there was no market for sweet potatoes, they quickly disappeared. But that wasn't the point. He said, "My neighbor also forgot about them in the field for a long time. He only dug them up recently and found that they could be used to make... taro balls..."
Cheng Lingjun told Lao He and Qu Niang what Guan Yue had said and the results of his own experiment. The latter expressed some surprise. Lao He said, "In that case, we will help your neighbor grind the flour. You don't need to pay us. We go to the mill every few days anyway, so it's just a small favor."
Cheng Lingjun didn't stand on ceremony with them. After expressing his gratitude, the three chatted casually in the shop for a while. When there were more customers, Cheng Lingjun took his leave. He had brought a veiled hat with him, which he wore on his head to cover his face. He left with his head down.
Guping Town is neither too big nor too small, and he has lived here for many years, so there is a high chance that he will be recognized. He walked along the corner of the wall and walked to West Street, but did not go in. He just stood in the corner at the entrance of the street and waited for Uncle Niu and the others to return.
He had brought his own embroidery, but after much consideration, he decided not to deliver it to the embroidery shop himself. Qu Niang and Lao He were trustworthy people, and he was not afraid to go to their shop in person. However, there was still a risk of being exposed if he went to other shops. Cheng Lingjun did not want to be recognized, so she entrusted her embroidery to Uncle Niu and asked him to find a shop to sell it.
Cheng Lingjun never puts the embroidery he consigns in the same shop. Although he doesn’t think anyone can recognize him by his needlework skills, he still has various concerns. Cheng Lingjun always tells the people he entrusts the items not to sell them in the same shop.
Cheng Lingjun is here today to see Qu Niang and the others; otherwise, she wouldn't have shown up. Unless something special happens, Cheng Lingjun probably won't come to Guping Town again.
If nothing unexpected happens...
Cheng Lingjun looked at the hand that was holding her and knew that the unexpected had finally happened.
He looked up and saw those shocked and excited eyes, those hands that were tightly gripping his wrist. It felt as if a weight had been lifted from his heart: So... he couldn't escape it after all.
He opened his mouth and called out, "Father."
Cheng Lingjun's father, Wen Lin, immediately had tears in his eyes. His lips trembled, and it was clear that he was suppressing his excitement. Cheng Lingjun was afraid that her father would lose his composure, so she quickly pulled him into the alley.
Looking at his youngest son, whom he hadn't seen for several months, Wen Lin touched his son's face, which was taller than himself, and said in a tearful voice, "He's lost weight, he's lost weight..."
Cheng Lingjun felt somewhat helpless and bittersweet. He let Wen Lin touch his face, and the two of them just looked at each other, the air almost frozen.
After Wen Lin calmed down a bit, he said, "Where have you been all these days?"
Cheng Lingjun gave the same answer, "I moved to another place and I'm doing quite well."
"Where did he go?" Wen Lin wasn't Lao He Qu Niang; he was Cheng Lingjun's father, and he was determined to find out where his son had gone.
Cheng Lingjun remained silent, lowering her eyelashes under Wen Lin's piercing gaze, unwilling to say anything more.
Wen Lin knew how stubborn his son was; otherwise, he wouldn't have insisted on divorcing the Li family. Thinking about this, his suppressed emotions surged up again.
"Go back, Ling Jun, admit your mistake and go back."
Hearing her father's tone, which was half pleading and half coercing, Cheng Lingjun laughed angrily, "Go back? Go back where? Dad, I've told you so many times, there's no place for me there, and I don't want to go back!"
The two of them, no, whenever Cheng Lingjun talked to his family about the Li family, they inevitably ended up in a dead end. He didn't want to see his family because he didn't want to give in to their pleas or force them, nor did he want to have a complete break with them. Not seeing each other was better for both of them.
"Why...why are you so disobedient?" Wen Lin's eyes were moist, and her tone was still the same reproach that Cheng Lingjun knew.
Cheng Lingjun tilted her head, like a tree that would never bend.
He was the most obedient child in the family since he was a child, but now he doesn't want to be obedient anymore, so he has been abandoned by everyone.
Cheng Lingjun doesn't blame his father. His father loves him the most. When he did something wrong as a child, it was because he was a boy that his father always protected him. He was scolded and beaten less than his two older sisters. But this was also because he was a boy. He didn't need to be the pillar of the family. He only needed to get married, be a good wife and mother.
...Unfortunately, neither of his two older sisters became pillars of the family, and he also went against the grain, becoming a target of public criticism.
Cheng Lingjun found it somewhat amusing, but felt mostly sorrowful. Even his closest relative, his father, didn't understand him, let alone anyone else.
The good thing is that it was his father who found him, not someone else. Although Cheng Lingjun didn't know what would happen if someone else found him—maybe nothing would happen, maybe something would happen... but he really didn't want to be found.
The two couldn't continue their conversation, so Cheng Lingjun changed the subject, asking, "Father, how did you find me?"
Wen Lin took a breath and softened his tone, saying, "I recognize your embroidery. I taught you the patterns, so it's easy to recognize. I know you've been making a living by selling embroidery these past few months, so son..."
Cheng Lingjun interrupted him, "Besides you, is there anyone else who knows?"
"Know what?"
"You know I'm here."
Wen Lin was somewhat displeased. "So what if you know? So what if you don't? What kind of image do you project if you don't go back?"
“If others find out, I will disappear forever. I won’t even step on a single brick in Guping Town. Father, you don’t want to never see me again, do you?” Cheng Lingjun said in a calm tone.
Wen Lin was startled by his words, "W-what are you going to do?"
Cheng Lingjun laughed: "Do what you think is right, Dad. Don't force me."
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