The end of a blue duckweed (5)
Lin Yan’s unfulfilled wish led her to a small village hidden in the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, a place not marked on any map.
She and Song Yuhang drove for hundreds of kilometers, day and night, leaving the highway for provincial roads, which eventually turned into rough gravel roads. After crossing several mountains, they found themselves on a muddy dirt road impassable by car.
The two had to disembark and continue on foot, carrying their belongings. Lin Yan spotted a farmer carrying bundles of firewood on the mountain path and approached him with a photo in hand to ask for directions.
“Hello, have you seen this family?”
The photo was quite old; at that time, Liu Zhi was still a boy of fourteen or fifteen, dressed in his father’s worn-out blue shirt, as thin as a pole.
Standing beside him were his parents. On the stool in front of him sat a seven or eight-year-old girl. Among this family, filled with worry, she was the only one who smiled, extending her hand towards the camera and making a victory sign.
After pondering for a while, the farmer suddenly slapped his forehead and began speaking rapidly in the local dialect.
Lin Yan didn’t understand, but she grasped the direction he pointed to. She nodded slightly in thanks before heading towards the mountain.
Song Yuhang quickly caught up with her, carrying their belongings, and used one hand to help her up the slope.
“Which way should we go? Are you tired?”
Suddenly faced with two questions, Lin Yan shook her head, slightly out of breath.
“Let’s climb the mountain first. I didn’t understand what that person said earlier.”
As she spoke, she grabbed onto branches and started climbing upwards.
Luckily, she hadn’t worn high heels when they set off, or else climbing this mountain would have been impossible.
While pondering this, Lin Yan glanced back at Song Yuhang. “Fortunately, I can manage. Let me carry some for you.”
Song Yuhang shook her head, carrying a large travel bag on her back and holding fruits, milk, and other gifts for Liu Zhi’s family.
“No need, it’s just a small gesture.”
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Following suit, she grabbed onto tree roots and pushed herself up with one hand, while Lin Yan helped the person up.
Navigating through the dense forest on the mountainside, both of them had dirt on their faces, yet they exchanged a smile at this moment.
Walking and chatting along the way, Song Yuhang said, “Do you remember when we went to Xiaohe Village? It was just like climbing a mountain like this.”
Lin Yan cast a disdainful glance at her, her smile somewhat chilly. “Yeah, back then, Captain Song took advantage of me quite a bit.”
Song Yuhang’s face flushed, and she touched her nose.
“Then… let me make it up to you.”
Lin Yan’s mouth twisted in annoyance, and she flicked the branches along the way towards her.
“Get lost!”
Lin Yan rarely gets the upper hand, as she often finds her victories turned against her afterward.
When it comes to holding grudges, who can truly forgive the other?
Song Yuhang lifted her elbow to block, noticing another uphill climb ahead, and gave Lin Yan a hand.
“But thinking back to that time, you, me, Fang Xin, Duan Cheng, Old Zheng, we were all there. Despite the tough conditions, it’s still quite interesting to reminisce.”
They still remembered that night on the mountain when they were suddenly caught in a downpour. The group, including two police officers from the Wuli Town Police Station, huddled in a mountain hollow, chatting around a campfire.
After returning home with the old grandmother, Lin Yan helped her with various chores: planting vegetables, fertilizing, herding sheep, and chopping wood.
It was also there that she and Song Yuhang had their first intimate encounter.
At that time, neither of them probably imagined so much would happen later on.
Bringing up those memories, Lin Yan’s mind briefly wandered, a faint hint of bitterness appearing at the corner of her lips.
“Yeah, those were… good times.”
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Seeing her disappointment, Song Yuhang hurriedly walked up to her, then stopped. “Come, I’ll go ahead and scout the path. You hold onto my clothes, and I’ll lead you up.”
Lin Yan was momentarily stunned, a slight curve forming at the corner of her lips. Feeling playful, she grabbed onto her clothes. “Drive!”
No matter how many different faces she showed to the outside world, how aloof or cold-blooded she appeared, in reality, only Song Yuhang knew that the 33-year-old Lin Yan had a heart as pure and untainted as a child’s.
“Sit tight. The terrain ahead is flat. Let’s speed up, turn right, and enter the dense forest…”
And so, the 36-year-old Song Yuhang, with one hand pretending to steer, joined her in a game that only children would enjoy.
The two of them chatted and climbed the mountain, reaching halfway up in no time.
The village was indeed small, with only six households. They visited each one, showing the photo, until they found Liu Zhi’s family nestled deep in the mountain hollow.
It was breakfast time, in the midst of winter. The old man was dressed thinly, his hands exposed to the cold, as he picked up firewood from the ground and stuffed it into the earthen stove. A large iron pot sat atop the stove, emitting steam.
Lin Yan approached slowly, her throat feeling dry. “Um… is this Liu Zhi’s home?”
The old man looked up, noticing two elegantly dressed women standing at the doorway of the thatched hut.
He stared blankly for a while, scanning the person from head to toe, but still couldn’t recognize who it was.
His family was poor, and the farthest he had ever ventured was to the town market. He had never seen such a figure before.
The old man stuttered and stumbled, managing only a few monosyllabic sounds. “Ah… ah…”
Lin Yan furrowed her brow slightly, observing his movements and expressions. “So, he’s mute…”
Song Yuhang pulled her aside. “Hello, we’re from Liu Zhi’s company. With the year-end approaching, he’s swamped with work and couldn’t come himself, so he asked us to come and check on you.”
The old man seemed to snap out of it at this point. His gaze fell on the things they were carrying in their hands. Suddenly, he tossed the firewood aside, a hint of joy appearing on his weathered face. Limping, he walked into the house, muttering continuously.
Song Yuhang lifted the curtain and followed him inside.
Inside, the smell of moldy grain mingled with the odor of a long-term bedridden patient, somewhat pungent. It wasn’t much warmer than outside, and there was hardly any furniture. The doors and windows leaked, many patched up with newspapers. A dim yellow light bulb hung from the ceiling, surrounded by cobwebs.
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The old woman was nestled in bed, coughing a few times, unable to conceal her joy.
“Liu… Liu Zhi has come back?”
The old man who was tending to the fire stood by the bed, speaking earnestly with gestures, his hands busy drawing strokes in the air.
The woman understood and shifted her gaze to them. Her initial excitement settled, replaced by a hint of disappointment. However, her eyes remained warm and kind, with a touch of rural simplicity and shyness.
“Please, sit down. Look at how messy this room is. Liu Zhi didn’t even give us a heads-up before sending someone over…”
Lin Yan could tell she wanted to sit up, but her legs buried under the blanket were so weak and powerless that she couldn’t even muster the strength to move them into a proper position.
“Your legs…”
The woman smiled, her hair half white, her face not very clean, and her hands still showing a few frostbite scars. Even the mattress was pitifully thin.
“Oh, didn’t Liu Zhi tell you? Years ago, before he went out to work, he broke his leg while chopping wood in the mountains.”
The woman seemed more optimistic than her, warmly welcoming them.
“Sit, please sit. Old man, pour them some water.”
The old man scooped water from the iron pot boiling outside into enamel cups, tremblingly carried them over, and wiped the only bench in the room with his sleeve. He eagerly gestured for them to sit.
Song Yuhang took the water and placed it on the table. The cup, both inside and out, wasn’t very clean, and it was hard to tell how long it had been used, but it was one of the few everyday items in the house that seemed worth using.
Lin Yan and Liu Zhi hadn’t known each other for long, and their positions were different, so they wouldn’t talk about such things.
Their purpose in coming was simply to check on his parents.
“We won’t stay long. We’ll be leaving soon,” Lin Yan declined the offer politely. Then, remembering he had a sister, she looked around the room.
“Where’s his sister?”
At this point, tears welled up in the woman’s eyes. “A few years ago, she fell ill and passed away.”
The old man stood beside her, sighing heavily and wiping his eyes.
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Before Lin Yan came, she had mentally prepared herself for their poverty and misery, but she hadn’t expected it to be this dire.
Two elderly people, one paralyzed, the other mute, and now their daughter had unexpectedly passed away as well.
It was difficult for Lin Yan to even speak. “Did you… tell him?”
The woman shook her head, wiping her tears with her hands. “No, we didn’t. He’s working hard outside all by himself, and it’s already so tough for him. We didn’t want to burden him with this news, besides…”
The old woman paused briefly, sounding somewhat melancholic. “We can’t even contact him. Every month, he sends money to the post office in town without fail, and his father goes to collect it. We wanted to send him something, or write him a letter, but we can’t read or write.”
Life’s struggles force one onto the edge, leaving many things beyond their control. Not contacting family is the greatest protection for them.
Lin Yan suddenly recalled their last conversation.
She stared at the gradually brightening sky outside the window and asked him.
“Do you have any particular place you want to go back to?”
A slight smile appeared on the young man’s face. “Yes, I want to go home.”
His family, his elderly parents, were still worrying about him, but he could never return home again, never marry a wife.
Lin Yan lowered her gaze, concealing the fleeting glimmer of tears in her eyes.
Song Yuhang placed her hand on her shoulder.
Lin Yan turned to look at her, forcing herself to muster a smile, not letting the elderly couple catch on.
Song Yuhang took the things over and then took off her backpack to retrieve items from inside. “Four sets of warm clothing, an electric blanket, two boxes of milk, some fruits, bread, snacks, nutritional supplements…”
This was already the maximum they could bring up themselves.
Lin Yan also rummaged through her wallet. “Take this money too.”
The elderly couple looked overwhelmed, attempting to interrupt several times but failing to find the right moment. Seeing Lin Yan starting to take out money, the woman hurriedly sat up from the bed and grabbed her wrist.
“We can’t accept this, we’re already very grateful for your visit. We absolutely cannot accept the money.”
The elderly man beside her shook his head vigorously, gesturing his agreement.
Awww 🥺🥺