Uncle Wang is gone.
Since the school principal has already agreed, there shouldn't be any problems with proceeding steadily and surely. Anyway, it's already November, and winter break will start in January, so she can wait.
Although she was a bit tired during this period, the letter of introduction she obtained through hard work was indeed more justifiable than one obtained by giving gifts. Xu Tangmian gradually stopped rejecting some of Yu Chunsheng's previous self-righteous teachings.
After school, she passed by the convenience store and bought a pound of fruit candy to bring to Zhi Meizi later. They had agreed to teach her to write every day at the air-raid shelter, but because the school had been too busy lately, she hadn't been able to keep their promise and always told her to come to her house when she had time.
Just as Xu Tangmian got her hands on the candy, wondering how high this glutton would jump for it, a burst of firecrackers startled her so much she almost dropped it.
The firecrackers were short and only lasted a few seconds, unlike the long string of firecrackers that lasted for almost half a minute when Yu Chunsheng's colleague came to his house before.
Junjun's mother, the owner of the convenience store, hurriedly went out. A group of elderly men and women who were sitting in the sun at the door also got up and craned their necks to look in the direction of the smoke.
"Whose house is in trouble?" one of them asked.
"I don't know, but it looks like Wang Si's family's. Let's go check it out."
Xu Tangmian followed the crowd in that direction. Before they even reached the destination, someone ran over from a distance, clapping his hands as if he didn't mind watching the drama unfold, and said, "Come and see, come and see! Old Mrs. Wang has chased her daughter-in-law out!"
"Huh? Why are you chasing your daughter-in-law away for no reason?"
"Didn't you hear the firecracker? Wang Si's gone!"
"Ah! Wang Si? Is that Wang Si from the pig farm? Isn't he only in his forties?"
"That's right! It seems he got a strange illness. His wife was feeding him medicine when he suddenly passed out. Old Mrs. Wang even wanted to call the police to arrest her daughter-in-law, but the village chief suppressed it."
Wang Si, the pig farmer, is Zhi Meizi's father!
Xu Tangmian felt a little lost when she recalled the scene of Uncle Wang smilingly handing her chestnuts every time she went to his house to see Zhi Meizi. How could this happen out of nowhere!
More and more people were on the road, all heading towards the Wang family's residence, and a crowd had gathered at the Wang family's gate.
Before they even reached his yard, they heard an old woman crying out in a hoarse voice, "Oh, my son, why did you die so young! How can an old woman like me raise this family! Please take me with you!"
Beside her stood a bewildered Wang Shunyi, holding her grandmother's arm with one hand and picking her nose with the other, seemingly not understanding what had happened.
Xu Tangmian pushed through the crowd, looking around but couldn't see Zhi Meizi. With such a big incident, even people she rarely saw had come; her own daughter should be there.
Could it be true, as others have said, that Zhi Meizi and her mother were kicked out?
Xu Tangmian hurriedly returned home and recounted everything she had just witnessed.
Yu Chunsheng frowned and said, "No wonder I haven't seen Zhi Meizi these past few days. From what you've said, the mother and daughter have either gone back to her parents' home or settled down nearby."
"Probably not." Xu Tangmian squatted in the corner, staring at the cartoon doll drawn by Zhi Meizi on the courtyard wall and pursed her lips. "I heard Zhi Meizi say before that her mother seemed to come from a remote place and it was impossible for her to go back to her parents' home."
"Then...did they go to the brigade headquarters? You just said that the village chief stopped her mother-in-law from calling the police. Could it be that they went to the village chief for help?"
"Impossible, right?" Xu Tangmian thought of the shy woman wearing an apron and said, "They're so shy, they'd probably be embarrassed to trouble the organization."
"Where can we go?" Yu Chunsheng took off his apron. "How about we look for a sheltered place nearby?"
"There's cover..." Xu Tangmian realized, and exclaimed with joy, "I know where they are!"
The north wind howls, and at the desolate foot of the mountain, devastation is everywhere.
Xu Tangmian led Yu Chunsheng over a small hill behind the village. In an inconspicuous corner, under a yellow earthen slope covered by a few withered grasses, there was an air-raid shelter of about twenty square meters.
This was built during the war. The cave was carved out from the foot of the mountain. The walls and the top are made of gray bricks, which could withstand artillery fire during wartime.
In peacetime, this place has long since become a playground for children. Although the cave is dimly lit, graffiti drawn on the walls with various charcoal blocks can still be seen.
There were several black marks on the ground, left by scorching. One of the wheat stalks was still burning, and a few branches were flickering with faint sparks.
“Someone came here, and they haven’t gone far.” As Yu Chunsheng finished speaking, a few braying sounds came from outside, as if to match his words.
The two left the cave to search for the source of the sound. They saw a donkey cart slowly driving away into the distance along the winding path. Sitting in the back of the cart were two people, one adult and one child. The adult was sitting and looking ahead, so their face was not visible. The child, who seemed to be Zhi Meizi, was sitting obediently with their back to the direction of travel.
Judging from the direction of the road, it should be heading towards the neighboring village.
Yu Chunsheng asked Xu Tangmian, "Should we still pursue her? I heard from the villagers that Zhi Meizi's mother used to date someone from the neighboring village before she got together with Zhi Meizi's father."
"I don't know either." Xu Tangmian was undecided. "You have more experience. Do you think this gossip is reliable? Should we follow it?"
Yu Chunsheng looked surprised and was quite taken aback by her words: "What do you mean I have a lot of experience? I don't have any experience in handling this kind of thing."
Xu Tangmian thought to himself: Compared to you, a local, of course I don't understand what rural people of your time are thinking.
The two were undecided, but in the end Yu Chunsheng made the decision: "Let's not chase after her. What good would it do if we did? At least Zhi Meizi wasn't kicked out alone. Her mother is there, so she shouldn't suffer any injustice."
Xu Tangmian agreed with him. Even tigers don't eat their cubs. How many mothers in this world are bad to their children? With her mother around, Zhi Meizi won't end up homeless.
Xu Tangmian and her husband were not familiar with Wang Si's family regarding the funeral, but considering that they were outsiders who were already prominent figures in the village and whose every move would become the subject of gossip, they gave some money as a gift but did not attend the funeral.
Xu Tangmian was also thinking about something else. After Teacher Geng publicly mentioned the gift-giving incident last time, Teacher Li Yutao didn't seem as enthusiastic towards her as before.
Although it was Teacher Li who was pushing this relationship forward, the two of them were indeed very close as peers at school, and Xu Tangmian enjoyed having a work partner and a friend in life. Feeling a little upset when she was suddenly looked down upon by her.
There were too many people and too much gossip at school, so she couldn't explain herself. She specifically asked other teachers for their addresses and planned to go to their residences to explain in person.
She lived near the school, probably in the area where Principal Ding lived. Yu Chunsheng kindly offered to lend her his bicycle, but Xu Tangmian didn't know how to ride it at all, which made him laugh at her for a while.
"How old are you and you still don't know how? How will you get around in the future? You're not going to rely on human power or a four-wheeled vehicle the whole time, are you?"
Xu Tangmian pursed her lips and remained silent, her jaw muscles bulging slightly. After a long while, she finally managed to utter, "Then what use is a husband like you to me? Won't you pick me up and drop me off?"
“I can pick you up and drop you off, but my arm is injured right now. I can ride with one hand by myself, but I’m afraid you’ll fall if I take you with me. Once I’m better, I’ll have to go back to work and won’t have time to pick you up and drop you off anymore.”
He chuckled and poked her cheek with his index finger. "Why don't you try learning to ride a bicycle while I'm home? It's easy to learn."
Xu Tangmian was somewhat tempted, and with her eyes slightly raised, she said lightly, "Then... shall I give it a try?"
After falling three times, Xu Tangmian refused to learn anymore.
Clutching her scraped knee, she said angrily, "Now we're both crippled, one with a crippled hand and the other with a crippled leg. Are you happy now?"
Yu Chunsheng patiently applied medicine to her arm, suppressing a laugh as he said, "Falling while learning to drive is normal, it's not that serious. Once my arm is healed, I'll pull you from behind, I promise you won't fall, okay?"
"Now that you can ride it yourself, I'll buy you another one later, so it'll be easier for you when you go out and you won't have to ask for help anymore."
Xu Tangmian thought about it and agreed. It was quite inconvenient to have to hitch a ride with someone else just to get to the station.
The country roads were difficult to navigate, while the main roads were barely passable. After another day of classes, upon hearing that Li Yutao had taken sick leave, Xu Tangmian specially asked Yu Chunsheng to wait for her at the school gate. The two of them bought some apples and went to her home to visit her.
Li Yutao lived in the second room at the intersection in front of Principal Ding's house. Just as Xu Tangmian was about to knock on the door, Principal Ding pushed the door open and came out.
They looked at each other in confusion. Xu Tangmian took a step back and looked at the door number with suspicion: Had they gone to the wrong place?
"You've come to see Teacher Li, right? She's at home," Principal Ding said, turning to leave.
"Principal, wait a minute!" Xu Tangmian called out to him, nodded politely, and said, "Shall we watch it together?"
Principal Ding smiled, shook his head, and left.
Xu Tangmian found it strange, but didn't say anything. Checking on Li Yutao was the most important thing right now.
Just as they entered, they saw a middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties, wearing an apron, come out of the kitchen and greet them with a smile.
Judging by her age, she seems to be Li Yutao's mother, but Li Yutao is from out of town, and this is just a place she's staying. Could this be her relative?
Xu Tangmian greeted her politely, "Hello, Auntie. I am Li Yutao's colleague. My surname is Xu. I heard she was sick, so my husband and I came to visit her."
The aunt smiled shyly: "Teacher Xu, you're too kind. Please come in. Our young lady has a fever and is still in bed."
Xu Tangmian paused in her tracks: "Miss? Aren't you her relative?"
The aunt smiled again, "I'm the young lady's nanny."
Xu Tangmian was shocked.
Li Yutao's daily life, except for eating better than ordinary people, is no different from other teachers in the school. How can she afford a nanny?
The houses here are all pretty much the same layout, with one bedroom and one living room. But compared to the house where Xu Tangmian and Yu Chunsheng lived, which would get damp on rainy days, Li Yutao's house was entirely paved with cement, and it looked like it had putty powder added, making it no different from a smooth terrazzo floor.
Once inside, since it wasn't convenient to go into the master bedroom, the nanny invited Yu Chunsheng to sit on the sofa in the living room, while Xu Tangmian went to the bedroom alone.
Li Yutao lay on the bed with a flushed face and a white towel covering her forehead. When she saw her coming, she greeted her softly, "You're here," her voice heavy with nasal congestion.
Xu Tangmian frowned slightly as she sat on the edge of the bed. "How did it get so serious? Didn't you just have a runny nose yesterday?"
Li Yutao could barely lift her eyelids, and said weakly, "I don't know, it might be a viral cold."
“You can’t just lie there, get up and go to the hospital.” Xu Tangmian got up and was about to call her nanny.
"No." Li Yutao stretched a hand out from under the covers and grabbed her. "Go and ask the doctor from your village to come and give me an IV drip. Make sure it's the young one. I knew you would come to see me. Take Aunt Wang with you; she has money on her. Aunt Wang doesn't know how to get to the clinic."
Xu Tangmian had heard her praise the doctor at the clinic several times before, but when she heard that the doctor had always ignored her, she immediately thought of a scene from a TV drama and her eyes flashed as she said, "You didn't make yourself sick, did you?"
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