Chapter 12 The Village at Night

It was evening.

Xiao Wu and I shared a room, squeezed together on a single bed. The old bed creaked with every turn.

The dim light cast a gloomy shadow over the room. There wasn't even a television. I stared at the stickers on the wall, put there when I was in elementary school. Paper cutouts of various animals covered the entire wall. After all these years, Grandma had kept them there.

Xiao Wu was constantly sending WeChat messages, and the sounds were especially loud. I turned to face the window. The equally old curtains seemed to have shrunk, unable to fully cover the edges. Outside, it was pitch black. Even the moon seemed to be hiding from us.

"Brother Lin, when are we going back?" Xiao Wu suddenly asked.

"I want to stay a few more days."

"Let's go back sooner. If we sign that deal quickly, my future of enjoying the good life will depend on you."

"Have you lost your ability to work?" I asked him in a sullen voice.

"You just take care of getting the business, and I'll help you manage it. You just need to find the work, and I'll manage the construction site for you perfectly."

At that moment, all I could think about was snatching the business from Lin Hai's hands, to show him how impressive I looked standing up, and make him regret what he had done.

"Are you planning to get married?" Xiao Wu changed the subject.

I had too many uncertainties about the future. Without a stable income, how could I start a family? Once a man gets married, he should at least be able to provide the other person with a basic sense of security.

So I didn't answer the question. It was hard to say whether I would get married or not. Any perfunctory answer would be a false proposition.

"Have you ever loved a woman?" Xiao Wu persistently circled back to this question.

I was already numb to women. After being with so many, I realized that it was all just about physical needs. Except for my first relationship, wasn't love supposed to grow from ignorance to maturity? But I had only gone from ignorance to depravity!

At this age, it was impossible to return to a pure era. Besides, there was too much resentment in my life. It had accumulated to the point where I didn't understand what marriage was, nor had I ever considered entering into such a life.

And at that moment, that woman appeared in my mind again, that woman named Pei Shi Yu. Suddenly, her alluring figure appeared before me. I couldn't understand why such an outstanding woman would be interested in the Lin Hai family. Even if Lin Yang was more educated than me, he shouldn't be able to climb up to a woman like Pei Shi Yu, in terms of both inner and outer qualities.

If I had previously made excuses for her actions, my hatred for her wasn't as strong as before, after Xiao Wu told me about her family's situation.

I pulled the quilt up to cover my entire head, not wanting to recall the woman who was completely unrelated to me. Different births were destined for different lives, and I could only struggle to survive on the edge of society. What kind of background could a person who was abandoned by their own parents expect to have!

That night, I didn't know how I fell asleep. I kept having all kinds of dreams, and that woman broke into my dreams again. In the dream, I was intertwined with her. I tenderly kissed her body from top to bottom. I saw a rare tenderness in her eyes. I rode her hard, reaching the peak together...

Suddenly, my sweet dream was interrupted by Xiao Wu, who vigorously slapped the quilt covering me. It took me a while to open my eyes, still seemingly nostalgic for the scenes in the dream.

I turned over and saw Xiao Wu looking at me with a mocking look, and then asked in a slightly tactful tone, "Missing a woman?"

I found it a little hard to speak, and then said calmly, "Is it that obvious?"

"The bed was shaking." Xiao Wu looked at me exaggeratedly.

"I was dreaming about carrying bricks."

"Can carrying bricks cause moaning and panting?"

"Stop being annoying."

"I knew I should have recorded you and not woken you up."

"I was struggling on the edge of life and death, not as dirty as you think."

Xiao Wu didn't believe me at all, with a sly look in his eyes.

"Go to sleep, what time is it?" I urged impatiently.

"It's only ten o'clock. It's really good for your health here. You've already woken up from a full night's sleep so early. I was having a good chat with a woman from last night."

"You can't marry her as a wife anyway, why are you chatting so enthusiastically?"

"If the chat goes well, we can just make do."

"It seems you're getting mixed up with women from nightclubs. You've been looking for this type of woman and you're particularly fond of them."

"If there were better conditions at home, who would want to do this kind of work?"

Xiao Wu's generosity also showed, to some extent, that he knew his own limitations, knowing what kind of woman he deserved.

I ignored him and continued to close my eyes, seemingly wanting to return to the dream I just had.

But after being woken up, it took a long time to fall asleep again. Until the next morning, I was awakened by a knock on the door, put on a cotton coat, and went downstairs immediately.

It was Lin Fei's grandfather, holding two large cabbages in his hands, who said, "Still not up?"

"Yeah, what are you doing?" I asked, looking at the cabbage in his hands.

"I grew them myself, so you don't have to go out and buy any these few days."

His actions made me feel a little guilty. He was still able to support himself at such an old age, while I was still lazing in bed even though the sun was high in the sky. I wanted to decline, but it wouldn't be appropriate.

I stepped aside and asked, "Grandpa, why don't you come in and sit for a while?"

"I won't sit. When are you going back to the city?"

I thought for a moment and replied, "Maybe today, it's not confirmed yet. Do you want to go to the city?"

"No, if you go back, I can't finish all the vegetables I grew myself. Can you take some to Lin Fei? His whole family has to spend money on everything."

"Do you know his address?"

"How could I not know? I'll go live there for a few days during the New Year."

"Then give me Lin Fei's phone number later, and I'll contact him."

"That's fine too. You young people are quick-witted. Anyway, I'm leaving this matter to you. It's convenient for you since you have a car."

"Don't worry, I guarantee I'll deliver it to him."

Having received my promise, the old man left with peace of mind. Looking at his back, I felt a lot of emotions. He was so old and still worried about the living expenses of the whole family. It seemed that their generation had inexhaustible strength, and they couldn't rest even when they were so old.

The cabbage on the ground was still mixed with soil, and it was very big. It was enough for Xiao Wu and me to eat for a while, especially since we were about to set off back to the city.

While I was worrying, Xiao Wu came downstairs, looking like he hadn't woken up yet. I pointed to the cabbage and asked, "Can we finish it?"

"Did you buy it?"

"The old man from yesterday brought it."

"There's still pork, so we'll stew it for lunch. No other dishes, just a big pot of stew, and I'll take care of it."

"Okay, we'll go back after we finish the cabbage."

"Looks like we won't be able to go back today then." Xiao Wu replied with a smile.

"We came all this way, so we'll just stay one more night."

"Okay... okay... you decide."

Xiao Wu picked up the cabbage from the ground, muttering to himself, and walked straight to the kitchen.