OBS Chapter 142 Silence itself is a tacit understanding
Chapter 142 Silence itself is a tacit understanding
The two men helped Wang Ergou turn a small path and arrived at the gate of a house.
Zhao Dayong knocked gently on the door.
Not long after, footsteps could be heard in the courtyard.
The door creaked open, and a young woman in her early twenties peeked out.
She was wearing a drab gray cotton-padded coat, and her face was pretty, but her eyes were a little swollen, obviously from crying.
Upon seeing three drunken men standing at the door, she cautiously took a half-step back.
"Guizhi," Zhao Dayong said somewhat embarrassedly, "it's like this, the village hunted a wild boar today, and I was thinking of sharing some with you..."
After saying that, Zhao Dayong handed over the wild boar meat, but the other party did not take it, making him feel so ashamed that he lowered his head and didn't dare to look at the other person.
Zhao Dayong was utterly ashamed, while the drunken Wang Ergou showed no embarrassment whatsoever. He lifted his heavy eyelids, glanced at the girl, and said, "Young lady, you're really beautiful. No wonder..."
"Bang!" Li Xiangyang kicked Wang Ergou hard in the shin.
"Ouch!" Wang Ergou jumped up and down in pain.
"I'm sorry, he's had too much to drink."
Li Xiangyang quickly smoothed things over, and at the same time, he secretly took out the pocket watch from his pocket. Taking advantage of the opportunity to straighten Wang Ergou, he quickly threw the pocket watch at the girl's feet.
Sun Guizhi stared at the object on the ground, startled at first, then a strange light flashed in her eyes. She quickly stepped on it and soon returned to calm.
Even though she tried to control her emotions well, her eyes instantly welled up with tears.
She recognized the watch; it was Zhang Ziming's most cherished possession, something he had never parted with in the past.
After that night, she only saw him in her dreams.
But she said nothing, her face remaining indifferent.
"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Zhao." She reached out and took the wild boar meat, her voice a little hoarse. "It's getting late, and it's not convenient for me here..."
Zhao Dayong rubbed his hands, his face full of embarrassment: "Yes, yes, we'll leave right away, we'll leave right away."
Wang Ergou wanted to say something, but Li Xiangyang held him back tightly.
The three people turned and left, disappearing into the night.
Only after the footsteps had completely faded away did Sun Guizhi gently close the courtyard gate.
With trembling hands, she picked up the pocket watch from the ground, and tears finally welled up in her eyes.
There is still a faint scratch on the watch case, which Zhang Ziming accidentally bumped into last winter when he was chopping firewood for her.
She still remembers saying a few words to him out of pity, but he just smiled foolishly.
"Guizhi, who is it?" came the old voice of Granny Chen from inside the house.
"Zhao Dayong said the village was distributing meat, and he gave us some." Sun Guizhi quickly wiped away her tears and hid her pocket watch in her clothes.
"Bringing meat so late? That kid isn't up to no good, is he...?" Aunt Chen's voice was wary.
She had long regarded this poor girl as her own junior, and felt only heartache for her.
“Aunt Chen, you’re overthinking it. He probably just took pity on me and brought me some meat. Don’t worry about it.”
After explaining, Sun Guizhi placed the wild boar meat in the kitchen and returned to her hut.
She took out her pocket watch and examined it carefully under the dim oil lamp.
The fact that the watch was delivered means that Zhang Ziming is still alive, or at least alive not long ago.
Her fingers gently caressed the surface, as if she could feel his body temperature that way.
Meanwhile, the three drunken men had already walked quite a distance.
"Xiangyang," Zhao Dayong hesitated, "Was I... a little too abrupt just now?"
"It's alright," Li Xiangyang said softly. "You meant well."
Wang Ergou was a bit more sober now: "That girl... is really pitiful."
Li Xiangyang didn't reply, but just stared at the dark night sky.
He knew that some things couldn't be summed up simply by saying "pitiful".
But what can be done?
The tragedy has already happened.
Hopefully, these two unfortunate people will meet again someday.
Back at Zhao Dayong's house, Wang Ergou quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Li Xiangyang also drank quite a bit, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
"Ouch, my head hurts."
Early in the morning, Wang Ergou rubbed his head and got up from the kang (a heated brick bed), only to see that Li Xiangyang had already packed his things.
"You're awake? Hurry up, it's time to go back." Li Xiangyang handed him a bowl of hot porridge.
"Leaving already?" Zhao Dayong asked, sounding reluctant. "Would you like to rest a little longer?"
"No, we're out hunting after all. If we don't go back right away, our families will be worried sick." Li Xiangyang waved his hand. "Ergou, I'm not trying to be mean, but you need to be more mindful of your family's feelings in the future."
"Yes, yes, you're right. Let me sober up first, then we'll come over next time without hunting and have a proper drink."
Wang Ergou shook his head, drank a couple of mouthfuls of porridge, and finally came to his senses.
After breakfast, the two said goodbye to Zhao Dayong.
Although Wang Ergou had regained consciousness, he was still walking unsteadily. Seeing this, Li Xiangyang simply stopped riding his bicycle and pushed it to follow him.
After leaving the village and walking for about half an hour, a figure suddenly emerged from the woods by the roadside.
"etc......"
Wang Ergou was startled and subconsciously took a step back. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Sun Guizhi, whom he had seen the previous night.
"You..." Wang Ergou was about to speak when Li Xiangyang glared at him fiercely, and he immediately fell silent.
Sun Guizhi stood there, her face showing the weariness of not having slept all night.
She stared at Li Xiangyang, her eyes filled with inquiry and expectation.
Wang Ergou looked at Li Xiangyang, then at Sun Guizhi, and suddenly realized something.
No wonder Li Xiangyang insisted on going to see him last night; it turns out he had already met that wanted educated youth.
“He went north,” Li Xiangyang said in a low voice after glancing around to make sure no one was around. “If he’s lucky, he might be able to come back in a couple of years through overseas connections.”
“North…” Sun Guizhi murmured, repeating the word.
Wang Ergou was startled when he heard this.
He hadn't expected that Li Xiangyang not only had met the person, but also knew where they were.
However, upon further reflection, it was best to know as little as possible about such matters, so he tactfully stepped aside.
"Here, take this." Sun Guizhi pulled a small cloth bag from her bosom. "If...if you ever see him again, please give this to him for me."
"I'm sorry, I can't do that either. I've told you everything I know. Don't be too sad; you were sent-down youth, after all, and you're educated. He should be able to make a name for himself in the north."
Li Xiangyang quickly pushed the things back.
"Thank you..." Sun Guizhi's voice choked with emotion.
"Take care." After saying that, Li Xiangyang waved and pushed the cart toward Wang Ergou.
"Ergou, can you sit still?"
"Of course, let's go."
Having received a positive reply, Li Xiangyang rode away on his bicycle with Wang Ergou.
Wang Ergou, sitting in the back seat, held back for a long time before finally speaking: "Xiangyang, you're something else, keeping something like this from me."
“Some things are better known to as few people as possible,” Li Xiangyang said without turning his head.
Wang Ergou patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, I understand."
The bicycle wheels creaked and groaned as they rolled over the muddy road.
The two young men rode on silently, neither of them mentioning what had just happened again.
Some things are less beautiful when spoken out.
Silence itself is a form of tacit understanding.