Chapter 54 Looking Back
Yu Shu never expected that Yang San would see through his reluctance to say goodbye, and he even calmly accepted the separation.
"good."
Yu Shu felt a pang of sadness, and her eyes welled up with tears.
After receiving this reply, Yang San got up and took a step towards the wooden house, bidding farewell to Yu Shu like a little adult.
"I have to go back to chop wood. It's getting late. You should leave early. It's more than two hours to get out of the village, so I won't see you off. After all, I'm just a child, and it's not safe for me to be out in the dark."
When Yang San spoke these words, he did so in a well-organized manner, without any reluctance, if one ignored his red eyes.
Yu Shu nodded, indicating that he had taken her words to heart.
Yu Shu turned and walked back. He didn't dare to look back as he left. Yu Shu felt a painful ache in his heart, a pain he had never experienced before. Tears fell unconsciously.
Yu Shu realized he was crying when warm tears fell onto the back of his hand. He stopped some distance from the woman's house, composed himself, and wiped away his tears.
Yu Shu gazed at the impoverished mountain village for a long time.
As Yu Shu reflected on his past life, he felt that his past self was incredibly unfamiliar, and his present self was equally unfamiliar.
He felt as if he had walked from a rose garden into a muddy swamp, his feet stained with filth. Now Qi Shichen said they were leaving.
Why am I sad?
A persistent ache ran through Yu Shu's heart. She raised her hand to cover her heart, savoring this unfamiliar sensation. The wind here seemed to know that Yu Shu was about to leave, sending a gentle breeze before her departure.
The wind dried the tear stains on Yu Shu's face.
After calming down, Yu Shu returned to the woman's house.
Qi Shichen stood at the edge of the yard, while the male homeowner sat in the yard picking vegetables. Upon seeing Qi Shichen return, the male homeowner put down the vegetables and locked the front door.
Let's go.
When Qi Shichen saw Yu Shu return, he noticed Yu Shu's unusual appearance, but he didn't ask anything. He simply told the male host that they were leaving.
The male head of the household led the way, with Yu Shu and Qi Shichen following behind him, and the three of them walked together out of the village.
They went down from the back of the mountain and walked for about two hours until they reached the river. The man rolled up his trousers high, but Yu Shu couldn't do that, so he planned to walk across the river directly.
Qi Shichen was the second to go into the river. After he stepped into the water, he turned around and handed his hand to Yu Shu. Yu Shu had no experience walking in the river and was prone to falling.
Yu Shu placed his hand in Qi Shichen's hand, and the other man led him across the river. Qi Shichen walked very slowly, and would look back at Yu Shu with each step.
The man walked quickly and got ashore first. He waited on the shore for a while before the other two safely got ashore.
After getting ashore, the man pulled down his trouser legs.
Qi Shichen and Yu Shu were soaking wet from the waist down, with water dripping from their trouser legs with every step they took.
After crossing the river, they walked for another half hour before reaching the town. Although it was called a town, there weren't many people.
The man led them to a small shop. He took out a plastic bag from the inside pocket of his jacket. The bag was wrapped several times and contained loose banknotes.
He opened the box, took out a ten-yuan note, gave the money to the shop owner, bought a bag of salt, and then asked the owner if he could make a phone call while the owner was giving him the change.
The shopkeeper looked up and glanced at the counter, then took out an old-fashioned cell phone from under the counter and took two yuan back from the change he had received.
"Two yuan per call within two minutes, extra charges apply for calls exceeding two minutes."
After the shop owner explained the price, he held onto his change, not paying the person in front of him yet, intending to wait until the person finished their phone call before giving them the change.
The male homeowner glanced back at Mr. Qi behind him, then gave up his seat. Qi Shichen walked to the glass counter, picked up the old-fashioned cell phone, and dialed a number.
Old-fashioned cell phones all had speakerphones, so the ringtone was extremely loud, and the other end would answer after it had been ringing for about twenty seconds.
"Hello, this is General Manager Qi's secretariat."
"I am Qi Shichen, and I have sent someone to pick us up."
Just as Qi Shichen finished speaking, a loud thud came from the other end of the phone, and you could hear the chaos on the other end. A few seconds later, an urgent voice came from the other end of the phone.
The secretary inquired about the young master's location and said that people searching nearby would be dispatched immediately to the young master's location.
Qi Shichen put the phone away and asked the boss what the name of the location was. The boss felt like he had met a big shot on TV, and his eyes widened in surprise.
Upon hearing the inquiry, he quickly told the other party his location, gave the man the change he was holding, and didn't care whether the man on the phone had been on the phone for more than two minutes.
Qi Shichen gave a lot of instructions to the person on the other end of the phone. After waiting for five or six minutes, the secretary handed the phone to Qi Zhengming.
Qi Zhengming first asked his son if he was safe and if he was injured. After receiving a reply that he was safe and unharmed, Qi Zhengming handed the phone to his secretary and went back to his meeting.
After hanging up the phone, Qi Shichen returned it to his boss.
"They looked at the nearest people to us, and it would take them at least two hours to get here."
Qi Shichen spoke with Yu Shu.
"good."
Then Qi Shichen and Yu Shu waited at the entrance of the convenience store, while the male owner squatted on the steps opposite them, waiting with them.
As soon as they came out, the shop owner brought out three plastic stools and warmly invited them to sit and wait.
Yu Shu glanced at the plastic stool, which was brand new and had a price tag the size of a fingernail on it that said 3 yuan.
Yu Shu was at a loss for words in response to the boss's enthusiasm. He glanced at Qi Shichen, who took the stool from him and thanked the boss.
Qi Shichen distributed a stool to each person and they sat down to wait.
Yu Shu sat on the stool, lost in thought. His long hair hung down to the side of his face. Perhaps because he hadn't had proper washing and care for a long time, Yu Shu's hair had lost its luster.
He seemed to have fallen into the mortal world unintentionally.
Yu Shu had been in a daze the whole way out.
Qi Shichen kept an eye on Yu Shu out of the corner of his eye. He knew that Yu Shu was reluctant to leave and had developed feelings for the children, especially that little devil.
Qi Shichen got up and went to the shop behind him, asked the owner for a pack of cigarettes, and walked a distance before lighting one.
No matter how down on his luck Qi Shi became, his every move still exuded an air of unparalleled nobility.
As dusk fell, Qi Shichen stood on the steps, a cigarette between his fingers. After exhaling a puff of smoke, he glanced back at Yu Shu, who was sitting not far away.
The sun was setting, and most of its rays were blocked by the rooftops, leaving only a few rays that shone into the narrow alley.
The beam of light shone on Yu Shu's side, making him seem like the most dazzling person in the alley, so much so that passersby couldn't take their eyes off him.
Yu Shu didn't move at all. He didn't even notice the way people were looking at him. He was staring blankly at the opposite wall.
The shop owner came out of his shop. He had never seen a powerful or influential person before. The way that person walked and spoke was something that ordinary people could not imitate.
He had never seen a man so beautiful that his gender was indistinguishable.
Just then, a commotion arose from the end of the alley, with mournful music of gongs and drums that could be heard from afar. Yu Shu's thoughts were interrupted by this sound.
He looked in the direction of the sound and soon saw several people walking towards them, with white flowers pinned to their sleeves.
Seeing this scene, the shop owner cursed under his breath, then immediately went back to the shop and closed the door.
Everyone has to experience life and death, separation and reunion. Yu Shu didn't understand why the boss said that. Didn't he also have a day when he would leave?
The funeral procession passed by them, and only after it had gone did the owner open the door again. He then looked at the departing funeral procession.
"It's a pity that this young girl died before she was married."
The boss changed his earlier attitude of saying it was unlucky and started to feel regretful.
Yu Shu didn't understand why his boss's emotions were changing so quickly. What he was more concerned about was how his boss knew that the deceased was an unmarried woman.
Yu Shu voiced his doubts.
When the boss saw that Yu Shu had taken the initiative to talk to him, he smiled and told Yu Shu that he knew.
“Here, women go up the mountain at night. If a married woman dies, the person carrying the memorial tablet is a younger generation member, usually a son or daughter. If she is married but has no children, then a younger generation member from her husband’s family who is close to her will carry the tablet. If she is unmarried and has no descendants, her parents cannot carry the memorial tablet for her, so they can only ask someone who specializes in funeral arrangements to do it. I recognize the person who carried the tablet just now; he is someone who does funeral arrangements here.”
"Can't the younger generations in my parents' family be included?"
Yu Shu asked the boss a question.
“That won’t do. Once a woman grows up, she belongs to another family. How can you ask someone from her maternal family to hold the memorial tablet? It will ruin the luck of her maternal family.”
The boss shook his head repeatedly as he spoke, and then added.
"Men are buried in the morning, and the process is the same. For unmarried men, a younger relative who lives nearby can hold the memorial tablet for them. Men are considered yang, and women are considered yin. Children who have not reached adulthood are considered to have died young, and no funeral is held for either men or women. They are simply buried in the ground and a small mound is built."
After hearing this, Yu Shu found it difficult to comment on these feudal customs. Just because she was a girl, did she not belong to her parents?
When a person dies, even the lights go out, and yet, because of what outsiders say, one cannot send their child on their final journey.
Not long after, the people who came to pick up Qi Shichen arrived. The leader was dressed in a suit and carrying a large briefcase. He was dressed seriously, and there were four or five other people in suits behind him. The leader was clearly the person in charge of this group.
Following at the rear were about a dozen search and rescue personnel, all wearing uniforms.
The man in the suit who was leading the group walked up to Qi Shichen.
"Young Master, the car is ready. It's difficult for cars to get into the town, so we parked them all outside. The search and rescue helicopter is parked in an open area five kilometers away. You can take the helicopter directly back."
The man in the suit was one of the assistants under the general manager, and he was in charge of this search and rescue operation.
After saying that, the man in the suit took out a file bag from his briefcase and handed it to the young master. The dark green file bag was bulging and full of cash.
Qi Shichen walked towards the male homeowner with the file bag in his hand.
"Thank you for taking care of us during this time. This is a small token of our appreciation. Please accept it."
Qi Shichen handed the file bag to the male owner.
The man felt the file bag was burning hot in his hands. He just wanted to stay with them until the person who was supposed to pick them up left. Neither he nor his wife intended to accept any payment.
Besides, the other guy had been teaching their child for several days.
"Take it."
Qi Shichen knew what the other person was thinking. After saying this, he turned around and walked towards Yu Shu.
Yu Shu watched as Qi Shichen walked towards him, and those who were there to meet him stood respectfully not far away, waiting.
Qi Shichen rose from the mire to his former status, adorned with gold and purple robes. This journey was merely a small part of his life, an unexpected turn of events; he was, after all, a man of noble birth.
Let's go.
This is what the person said to him.
As Yu Shu got up to leave with Qi Shichen, the image of that small mound suddenly popped into his mind. Yang San had met him most of the time in front of that mound.
Just bury it in the ground and build a small mound, and you're done.
Yu Shu recalled what the shop owner had just said, and without warning, she turned and went into the shop.
"Boss, do you just bury the dead in the ground and build a mound of earth here for funerals? Don't you have memorial tablets?"
The shop owner was happily counting the stack of hundred-yuan bills in his hand, thinking to himself, "Rich people are so generous. I've made a fortune today."
He didn't expect this handsome young man to suddenly come in. Seeing him counting money, the boss quickly put the money under the counter.
After realizing what the young man was asking, she quickly nodded in response.
"Yes, after burial, the grave is piled up into a mound. Most people hire a stonemason to buy stones and carve a tombstone, but there are also those who don't have money and don't even carve a tombstone, they just bury the body and that's it."
In an instant, Yu Shu suddenly understood why Yang San always played in front of that mound and met him there.
The woman said that Yang San's mother died young, so it is very likely that the mound is Yang San's mother's grave.
What was Yang San digging in the pit next to the mound?
Yu Shu didn't believe Yang San would dig for fun.
A thought suddenly popped into Yu Shu's mind.
His new friend is digging his own grave, next to his mother's.
Before parting, Yang San told Yu Shu to bring him a bouquet of flowers next time he came to visit. Why flowers?
Flowers are not practical for children. Why not textbooks, pens, candy, or other items?
Why exactly is it a bouquet of flowers?
Yu Shu came out of the store and, ignoring everyone's stares, turned and walked back.
Qi Shichen stepped forward and quickly grabbed Yu Shu's hand, looking at her with deep eyes.
"Yu Shu".
Qi Shichen called out to him.
Yu Shu turned back to look at Qi Shichen in surprise. He wanted Qi Shichen to let go, but Qi Shichen held his hand tightly.
The moment Yu Shu met Qi Shichen's gaze, he understood everything. He knew that Qi Shichen also knew what he was thinking.
Therefore, Qi Shichen never asked about it along the way.
Because he knows everything.
Even what Yu Shu thought was a secret was one.
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