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墨書 Inktalez
I heard someone call my name, and the sound distracted me. When I regained my focus, I saw Auntie facing me.
She wore a smile.
As I looked at Auntie's smile, I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.
Auntie asked me, "Why are you up so early, young man?"
I swallowed hard and took a serious look at Auntie. She was a living person, probably just an ordinary one. I didn't sense anything unusual about her.
I replied, "I couldn't sleep, so I got up." I then asked Auntie why she was up so early as well. She said she was going to see her daughter.
I remarked that it was quite early to visit her daughter, but before I could finish my thought, Auntie's expression suddenly changed. She sighed and said, "Yes, I need to go see her."
I nodded but didn't continue the conversation.
Auntie then said to me, "Would you like to come with me to see my daughter?"
Upon hearing this, I felt a bit awkward and replied, "I think I'll pass." Auntie looked at me but didn't press the issue. She stepped outside but paused after a few steps and said, "Young man, don't leave just yet. Wait for me to return before you go. Make sure to wait for me." After saying this, she walked away with small steps.
I had intended to say something else, but Auntie left so quickly that the words stuck in my throat.
I glanced at the clock; it was already four-thirty.
I returned to my room and lay down. Despite having not slept all night, I began to feel drowsy and soon fell asleep.
When I opened my eyes again, it was already four in the afternoon.
I was quite surprised; how could it be four o'clock already after just a short nap? I got up and stepped outside. I walked over to call out to Wang Wei and Clay Bodhisattva, but both of them were still groggy from sleep.
I urged them to wake up, and once Wang Wei was up, he asked me, "Saning, should we head back now? I just need a little time to tidy up."
I showed Wang Wei the time, worried that I might have miscalculated. After checking, he immediately became more alert and exclaimed, "Damn it, how is it almost five o'clock already?"
I glanced at my phone, which displayed just past four forty.
Wang Wei complained, "Saning, why didn't you wake me up?" I replied, "I just got up myself."
Wang Wei looked at me in surprise and asked if I had also slept for such a long time.
I confirmed that I had. Clay Bodhisattva had also stirred and emerged from the room, standing at the doorway. He called out to me, "Saning Brother."
I responded and asked Clay Bodhisattva how he was doing.
"What do you mean how am I doing?" he replied. I quickly realized my mistake; I had misspoken. Why would I ask him that? My head felt a bit foggy.
Something seemed off here. Yet, I vaguely remembered that Auntie had asked me to stay and wait for her.
After getting out of bed, Wang Wei asked me, "Saning, are we going back in a few days?"
I stepped into the living room and glanced outside at the sky. The sun was out but had already dimmed. I said, "If we go back now, there won't be any transportation available."
Down at Burial Dragon Ridge, where would we find a ride? Last time we mentioned taking an ox cart to get here. Of course, there might be ox carts in the village now, but at this hour, they surely wouldn't want to drive us into town.
“Brother Saning, what should we do?”
I looked at the fading sunlight and thought that we could only wait until tomorrow. I said to Clay Bodhisattva, “Let’s head back tomorrow. Make sure not to oversleep.”
As soon as we got up, we felt a bit hungry and planned to go out to find something to eat.
At that moment, Wang Wei shouted, “There’s food here!”
Wang Wei pointed at a few white steamed buns on the table. After a long night of tossing and turning, and having not eaten anything for so long, Wang Wei immediately grabbed a bun and started eating. After a few bites, he suddenly burst into laughter and said, “Saning, Jiaolin, come eat! They’re meat-filled buns!”
Clay Bodhisattva was not pleased when he heard Wang Wei call him Jiaolin and said, “Don’t call me by my name.”
Wang Wei replied, “If I can’t call you by your name, then I’ll call you Sister Jiaolin instead.” With that, Wang Wei wore a fawning smile on his face. Looking at him, I could only think of one word to describe it: “sleazy.”
Seeing Wang Wei laugh like that, Clay Bodhisattva was ready to teach him a lesson.
Clay Bodhisattva and I actually had somewhat similar tempers; we both preferred being straightforward and disliked being coy.
Just as Clay Bodhisattva was about to make a move, Auntie suddenly returned. She was holding a black umbrella and looked somewhat pale. Against her pale complexion, the age spots on her face appeared even more pronounced.
I called out to Auntie, who then put away her umbrella.
Noticing Wang Wei was eating buns, I asked, “Are these buns good?” Wang Wei praised Auntie’s cooking skills, and I told him to pay Auntie for the food.
Auntie said it wasn’t necessary and that the accommodation fee she received was already quite generous.
I watched as Auntie put the umbrella away and asked, "Auntie, is it raining outside?"
Auntie replied, "No, it’s not. The sun was too strong earlier." I nodded, and she continued, "My daughter is worried about me getting sunburned; she insisted that I use an umbrella."
Suddenly, I remembered what Auntie had said to me earlier. I asked, "Auntie, you wanted me to wait for you this morning. Was there something you wanted to tell me?"
It seemed like Auntie just then recalled her purpose, saying, "Oh right, I almost forgot! I do have something to discuss with you."
I inquired about what it was.
Auntie said, "Young man, my daughter is 22 this year and still hasn’t married. I was thinking..."
Before she could finish, I quickly interrupted her, saying, "I already have a wife."
At that moment, Clay Bodhisattva chimed in, "My Saning Brother's wife is Sister Ke'er."
Auntie's eyelids drooped slightly as she covered her eyes. However, perhaps due to the proximity, I noticed that her eyelashes seemed to tremble.
Auntie said, "Oh, you have a wife? Well then," and after saying that, she wandered over to Wang Wei and asked if the buns were good.
Watching Auntie fuss over Wang Wei made me think that perhaps she had given up on me and was now looking at Wang Wei instead.
In this day and age, in the current environment, having a daughter isn’t a concern for marriage unless there’s something physically or mentally wrong with her. Earth Island is quite the opposite.
But this issue isn't too significant; as they say, a good horse deserves a good saddle—though a bad one can also match with another bad one.
Unless she wanted her daughter to marry better.
As I expected, while Wang Wei was enjoying his meal, Auntie approached him and asked, "Do you have a girlfriend?"
Wang Wei replied, "No," sounding completely distracted.
Upon hearing Wang Wei say he didn't have a girlfriend, Auntie immediately laughed, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
Auntie asked, "Young man, how old are you this year?"
Wang Wei quickly responded, "Almost fifty." However, he seemed quite sensitive about his age and quickly corrected himself, saying, "No, I mean I'm 22." After saying that, he cast a guilty glance at me and Clay Bodhisattva.
I knew Wang Wei's age, but Clay Bodhisattva did not.
But the fact that Wang Wei was actually fifty years old was surprising. Looking at his face, it was hard to believe he was that old; he still had the appearance of someone in their twenties, deceiving everyone around him.
Auntie seemed even more pleased and asked Wang Wei, "Would you like to meet my daughter?"
Wang Wei might have wanted to express loyalty to Clay Bodhisattva. After glancing at Auntie, he said, "I have a girlfriend." Then he tried to move closer to Clay Bodhisattva.
However, just as he approached, Clay Bodhisattva seemed to anticipate what Wang Wei was going to say and interjected, "Auntie, I'm not his girlfriend. He would make a great son-in-law for you."
Wang Wei's face instantly darkened. He chuckled awkwardly and said, "Of course my girlfriend isn't her; my girlfriend is waiting for me at home."
"Isn't that right, Auntie?"
I nodded, feeling that this Auntie was a bit strange. She had a daughter of her own, so why was she so eager to marry her off?
Moreover, at just twenty-two years old, she was barely out of college. But then I thought about it—if a girl in the countryside wasn't married by that age, it really was considered a bit late.
This wasn't an exaggeration; it was just how things were in rural areas.
Seeing that both Wang Wei and I were reluctant, Auntie became somewhat displeased and said, "It's not that my daughter can't get married; it's because she's too beautiful."
I found this a bit absurd. If she were truly too beautiful, how could she possibly not find someone to marry?
Wang Wei chimed in, "Auntie, how can your daughter be more beautiful than her?" He pointed at Clay Bodhisattva. Clay Bodhisattva was indeed stunning; if it weren't for her somewhat tomboyish personality, she would definitely be considered a goddess.
But even goddesses could be beaten up—I'd done it twice.
When Clay Bodhisattva heard Wang Wei say she was pretty, she looked a little pleased.
Auntie finally stopped talking and pulled out a photo. It was in color, but when we saw the girl in the picture, we were all stunned.
Because the girl in the photo was truly beautiful.
She was almost as pretty as Ke'er and just slightly more attractive than Clay Bodhisattva.
Wang Wei glanced at Auntie and said in disbelief, "Is this really your daughter?" My mother nodded in response.
"How's it going, young man?" Auntie asked Wang Wei.
Wang Wei chuckled a few times and said he could go take a look, glancing at me in surprise. I had never noticed before that Wang Wei was such a flirt.
Wang Wei looked at me, as if to say, "You know what I mean."
I shot him a disdainful glance and said I didn't understand. I had no intention of watching the girl, even though she was indeed quite beautiful.
Clay Bodhisattva suddenly became interested. "Photos can't be trusted these days, but I want to see too."
When Auntie heard that both of them were interested, she turned to me and asked, "Young man, are you going?"
I initially wanted to say no, but then I felt a bit reassured about Wang Wei and Clay Bodhisattva. If Wang Wei couldn't hold himself back and did something inappropriate later, I could stop him.
So I nodded. When Auntie saw me nodding, she smiled in satisfaction and then picked up a steamed bun from the table, saying, "Young man, I just made these this morning. Try one."
However, as soon as Auntie finished speaking, I felt something was off because I had seen her earlier that morning. Just as I was about to say something, Auntie suddenly grabbed my hand.
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