Chapter 4 Memories (3) Carefree

  On Sunday, Liu Jing refused Chen Jun's suggestion of driving to Luodai for a relaxing trip, insisting on going to Zhen's home instead.

  My uncle's family is in the suburbs, and the land has been requisitioned by the government. My uncle built many temporary shantytowns, with the aim of making a small fortune during this relocation. This is also the only way for farmers to get more compensation after losing their land.

  Grandma passed away a year ago, and at home there were only Uncle and Auntie. Their child, Liu Jing's older cousin, went to Qinghai for school, and it is said that he will graduate in another year. Uncle and Auntie warmly greeted Chen Jun and Liu Jing. They all had their own busy work to attend to, so Liu Jing and Chen Jun came to Zhen's home.

  The scene before my eyes is vastly different from what I saw in my childhood. Zhen's home has undergone a tremendous change, the original four dilapidated thatched cottages are gone, replaced by a three-bay two-story building.

  "Oh! Xiao Jing has arrived." Zhen's mother, slightly plump in figure, with several grayish-brown freckles visible on her face, warmly brought over a stool and instructed Zhen's father to pour Chen Jun a cup of tea.

  Chen Jun Dong Zhang Xi Wang, with a restless look, Liu Jing knew that he had accompanied her here and must have plucked up the courage to come.

  "Jun, why don't you go to your uncle's teahouse to play video games? I'll chat with Auntie." Liu Jing blurted out the words and immediately regretted it. Chen Jun's eyes lit up, he jumped up, put down the tea cup in his hand, and unhesitatingly agreed, taking big strides to leave Zhen's house entrance.

  Liu Jingyu was suffocated to death, with a faint sense of loss in her heart, and she secretly said: You should at least make an excuse! Just leave like this, and don't even think about saying anything to yourself when you leave.

  "Xiao Jing, are you a freshman?"

  "I'm already at work, at the funeral home." Liu Jing knew that Zhen's mom was confused and still treated her like a child, but one thing was very clear: when Lin's mom saw herself, she would absolutely think of Zhen. Looking at her slightly moist eyes, Liu Jing lowered her head and after a long time, said: "Auntie, I'll come visit you often from now on."

  "Hmm, Xiao Jing is indeed well-behaved, even more so than our own daughter." As she spoke, Auntie couldn't hold back her emotions anymore, and tears burst forth from her eyes.

  "Auntie... I dreamed of Zhen last night, she was still the same as before, always smiling. Auntie... I miss Zhen too." Liu Jing suddenly lost control of her emotions and buried her head in her aunt's bosom. Her aunt stretched out her wrinkled hands to gently stroke and comb through Liu Jing's silky hair, which cascaded down like a waterfall. This stroking was very warm and intimate, perhaps because Liu Jing lacked maternal love. For an instant, she felt a pang of nostalgia for this warmth.

  "What did Little Jing come to do today?" Auntie seemed to have guessed the purpose of Liu Jing's visit, but she couldn't tell her the truth, nor could she tell her that she was now a part-time writer, and even less dare to say that she would be doing makeup for Zhen.

  "I just wanted to understand Jen's specific situation, I only remember her junior high school days, then she dropped out of school and worked in a bar, and said she was going to leave A city. Plus my studies were tight, so I'm not very clear about what happened to her later."

  "Uh..." Auntie managed to squeeze out a word from her throat, her sunken eye sockets overflowing with tears. She hesitated for a moment before getting up and fetching something wrapped in a handkerchief from inside the house, which she handed over to Liu Jing.

  Auntie unwrapped the package layer by layer, and finally presented to Liu Jing a full set of pure gold jewelry.

  "Uh..." Liu Jing looked at Auntie in confusion.

  "This was bought for me by Zhen, I've been reluctant to wear it, besides, in the countryside, it's not suitable to wear this, and people would laugh at me." Auntie said with tears on her face.

  "Hmm... Logically speaking, Jane, there shouldn't be enough money to buy expensive clothes and furniture, rent a luxury villa, and even furnish her home, build a house. For an unemployed woman with no fixed income, where did all this money come from? It's a mystery, a puzzle that sparks curiosity."

  Aunt's emotions gradually stabilized, and Liu Jing also returned to normal, bringing up some stories about Zhen from the past. After all, Zhen and Aunt were mother and daughter, and whatever the daughter had to say would naturally be told to her mother, not her father.

  Liu Jing pretended to casually play with her phone, but secretly pressed the recording button... She gazed at Auntie, who told the story of Zhen in a gentle tone.

  Zhen, with a strong sense of vanity, envied those luxurious female friends. So she secretly vowed in her heart to surpass them at all costs, to become a genuine rich person, and to take revenge on the contempt and humiliation she had suffered.

  Zhen, alone and weary from traveling day and night, arrived in Shenzhen, one of China's most prosperous cities...

  Imagination and reality played a big joke on Zhen, looking at the bustling crowd, gazing out at various billboards and shops, dazzling neon lights, and men in suits, well-fed, radiant and dignified. She felt a little dizzy...and couldn't quite believe she had finally arrived in Shenzhen, the city she had been dreaming of day and night.

  Zhen, looking at the woman in front of her, sideways, and from behind, wearing a midriff-baring outfit, with an alluring and seductive appearance. Her eyes were filled with envy and jealousy, holding onto a cheap luggage with wheels, inside which were the clothes that Zhen thought were the best for everyday wear, now it seems, these will all become a pile of worthless trash.

  Night fell, Zhen still hadn't found a place to stay. She couldn't get her bearings and didn't dare enter an unclear hotel. In this unfamiliar prosperous city, she felt helpless, confused, cramped, and uneasy for the first time.

  Zhen, being frugal with money, had borrowed all the cash she had on her from Liu Jing. She had found a decent hotel and went in to ask about the price, but was shocked and hastily apologized to the hotel receptionist.

  Locals can tell at a glance that Zhen is an outsider. The hotel is a service industry, and customers are free to choose their accommodation. If they're not satisfied, they can leave freely. However, Zhen thinks that after haggling over the price, she has taken up someone else's time, so she must apologize.

  Zhen didn't dare to speak much, heaven knows why the people here can't just speak properly, every time they open their mouths it's that damn Mandarin, making her who doesn't like Mandarin feel very awkward and unable to adapt. And as soon as she opened her mouth, she provoked a burst of laughter from the strangers around her. In the end, Zhen could only make a hasty retreat, leaving behind the unscrupulous whistling and jeering sounds.

  "Hey, looking for an apartment?"

  Zhen, who was feeling utterly disheartened and at a loss, suddenly saw a middle-aged man appear before her. And he spoke in the most familiar Sichuan dialect Mandarin, which made Zhen, who had been feeling lonely and homesick after leaving her hometown, feel as if she had seen one of her own family members.

  The middle-aged man is a recluse, equipped with simple and inferior facilities, a civilian inn's puller (that is, an employee who goes out to pull guests to stay). The man's kind smile hides a hint of secrecy and obscenity.

  "Come on, I'll help you." The man cheerfully took the suitcase from her hand without caring whether she agreed or not, and all along the way he kept bragging about how good their hotel was.

  "Thank you." Zhen felt that she was still lucky, just now she was still complaining to herself, but in a short while, she met good people. It seems that the world is still dominated by good people, and even if they stumble upon each other, they will meet good people.

  "May I ask where you're from?"

  "Hmm..." Zhen hesitated for a moment, remembering Liu Jing's reminder, and smiled wryly: "I'm from a nearby city, I came to rely on my relatives, didn't I miss the bus? So... you understand, it's like that!" As she spoke, she made a very helpless gesture.

  "Hmm..." The middle-aged man seemed somewhat disappointed upon hearing this and continued walking forward.

  "Uh... mister, where is your inn? We've been walking for half a day and still haven't arrived?" Zhen raised an eyebrow, not stopping, gazing at the eerie night sky and the gradually receding neon lights. They were already some distance away from the bustling area they had left earlier. The old man, however, continued to lead her on without pause. Zhen couldn't shake off Liu Jing's warning: "The outside world isn't as beautiful as you imagine; be cautious."

  "We're almost there, let's go! Little sister, you won't think I'm a bad person, will you? Let me tell you, my daughter is about your age, so you can rest assured."

  The uncle continued to persuade with a sincere tone, his words were like a tranquilizer for Zhen, who was worried and restless. Upon hearing that the uncle also had a daughter of similar age to herself, she felt at ease.

  The two of them walked for a while longer and finally arrived at the inn, which was more like a civilian house converted into an inn.

  A two-story building, upon entering was a larger room, the room had many people seated. Both men and women were present, under the grayish-brown smoke, Zhen felt piercing gazes scanning her body like thorns.

  Zhen rented a third-floor room without a bathroom or toilet, only a simple, shared outhouse for men and women.

  Zhen walked a long way, she was already hungry, the meal brought by the landlord, she couldn't help but forget what Liu Jing had told her about being reserved in front of strangers and maintaining a ladylike demeanor. Zhen wolfed down the food, finishing off a big bowl of porridge and pickled vegetables in one go.

  The room is okay, nothing special, just a place to rest and sleep for the night, can leave early tomorrow, but that toilet...

  Zhen sniffed the pungent smell of the latrine, squatted down, and felt a wave of relief wash over her. Before she could even stand up, the wooden door of the outhouse was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and a drunken man stumbled in, grabbing Zhen with one hand and undoing his pants with the other, his stinking mouth closing in on hers for a kiss.

  "What are you doing? Get out!" Zhen pushed the man away with all her might, pulled up her pants which she hadn't had time to fasten properly and rushed out of the toilet.

  Zhen was so frightened that her heart kept racing, the stairs of the hotel room were set outside, she ran wildly upstairs, closed the door and leaned against it, for a long time she couldn't calm down from the shock.

  Just as Zhen was panting heavily, there came a knock at the door.