Yonghe Road

Chapter 2 Spring Water
Zhong Chunshui had run away from home many times but never succeeded. This time he finally succeeded.

When Zhong Ziqi found out that Zhong Chunshui had run away from home, he wanted to slap himself hard. If he had not believed Wang Zian's words and gone to his mother's bedroom to steal Zhong Chunshui's ID card and the family's household registration books, Zhong Chunshui would not have been able to leave at all.

In order to prevent Zhong Chunshui from running away from home, their mother hid her ID card and household registration book very secretly. She hid the ID card in a pile of old clothes and even pressed the household registration book with a urine bucket.

Although the family had been using a flush toilet for a long time, his mother had the habit of placing a urine bucket behind the bed in the bedroom for decades to make it easier to get up at night.

When Zhong Ziqi finally found the household registration book from under the urine bucket, he was choked by the smell of urine and couldn't help cursing, hoping that one day men and women would not need the damn household registration book when they get married.

When Zhong Ziqi handed Zhong Chunshui's ID card, household registration booklet, and Zhong Chunshui's hand to Wang Zian, his eyes were red.

"Wang Zian, you have to treat my sister well. You still owe our family the betrothal gift, and you have to make it up later."

"Second brother, my mother sold me like a pig. Are you going to sell me like a pig too?"

Being questioned by Zhong Chunshui, Zhong Ziqi was also furious. "Chunshui, Mom is a widow. It's not easy to raise three of us siblings. You have to help Mom share the burden. Big brother and Yingying have been dating for many years, but the marriage has not been finalized. Isn't it because our family can't afford the betrothal money? Yingying's family has issued an ultimatum. If we don't give the betrothal money within this month, they will force Yingying to break up with Big brother. Yingying has been with Big brother and has had two abortions. If she has another abortion this time, I'm afraid Yingying will never be able to have children again in the future..."

"So you're selling me?"

Zhong Ziqi looked into Zhong Chunshui's tearful eyes and sighed, "Don't girls have to get married when they grow up? Lei Sheng has liked you since he was a child, and he's from the She ethnic group. Besides, the Lei family is rich and willing to give a larger betrothal gift, which is just enough for Big Brother and Yingying to get married."

"Isn't this selling me out?"

"I just want you to share the burden with me. If possible, I would rather sell myself."

"Disgusting, you're so filial, why don't you sell yourself?"

"I'm a man, who wants me?"

"Men can also marry into the wife's family and earn betrothal money. Why don't you sell yourself so that Big Brother and Yingying can get married?"

Seeing that the brother and sister were talking more and more outrageously, Wang Zian quickly stopped them.

"If you keep arguing, the Civil Affairs Bureau will be closed."

Wang Zian's words reminded Zhong Chunshui. She looked up at the sky, immediately took Wang Zian's arm, and said goodbye to Zhong Ziqi with a beautiful smile.

"Brother, you wait at home to eat our wedding candy."

Looking at the backs of Wang Zian and Zhong Chunshui as they left, Zhong Ziqi always felt something strange in his heart, but he couldn't tell what was strange.

Chunshui is a famous beauty in Baile Village. She has been beautiful since she was a child. She has been harassed by the boys in Baile Village since she was a child, and Lei Sheng has been harassing her a lot.

Every time, Wang Zian jumped out to protect Zhong Chunshui.

Zhong Ziqi once asked Wang Zian, "Are you interested in my sister?"

Wang Zian said, "Don't be so sentimental."

"Then you always save my sister like a hero."

"That's because he's your sister."

"So, you are interested in me?" Zhong Ziqi said jokingly, but Wang Zian rolled his eyes.

Now, the mystery is finally solved. Wang Zian is interested in his sister. No matter how well he hides it, it will eventually show up. If Wang Zian hadn't graduated from university and then served in the army, perhaps his good brother would have become his good brother-in-law long ago?
But perhaps without his mother's approval, Wang Zian wouldn't have been able to marry Zhong Chunshui. Perhaps his mother, accustomed to hardship, always felt inferior, always feeling that her family wasn't worthy of Secretary Wang Kai's family. She didn't dare dream of marrying into the Wang family, saying that marriage was about equal status. When Zhong Ziqi asked his mother to stop being so feudal, she replied, "A man should know his own limitations."

As an older brother, Zhong Ziqi was not convinced. In what way could Zhong Chunshui not compare to Wang Zian? Apart from being pretty, Zhong Chunshui was not as good as Wang Zian in any other way. Wang Zian had always been a good student since he was young. Whether he was studying at university or serving in the army, he always performed well. Unlike his sister, she was a complete academic failure.

But isn't beauty the most important thing for a woman? A woman's face is her best competitive advantage. This is Zhong Ziqi's narrow-minded, male chauvinist perspective.

Wang Zian should thank him very much. If he hadn't smelled of urine, how could he have won the beauty so easily?

After Wang Zian and Zhong Chunshui got their marriage certificate, he was going to give Wang Zian a good beating and then argue with him about the betrothal gift. Brothers are brothers, betrothal gift is betrothal gift. After all, Zhong Ziwang is his biological brother, and he couldn't help but fight for his biological brother's rights. If Yingying became his sister-in-law, he would soon become an uncle...

But how should he explain this to his mother? His mother had agreed to the marriage with the Lei Sheng family. Suddenly changing the son-in-law was a case of acting without authorization. He would definitely be beaten by his mother.

Zhong Ziqi waited for half a day in a daze, but Wang Zian and Zhong Chunshui did not come back with the red book to report to him. Instead, Wang Zian returned.

"Where's Chunshui?"

"Didn't come back."

"Still in town?"

"gone."

"Where are you going after getting your marriage certificate and not coming back?"

"Didn't get it."

"What didn't you get?"

"Marriage certificate."

A surge of hot blood rushed to Zhong Ziqi's forehead, and finally flowed out of his nose.

Zhong Ziqi wanted to know where Wang Zian had taken Zhong Chunshui, but Wang Zian refused to reveal a word in the police station. Zhong Ziqi became stubborn and insisted that he and Wang Zian had just had a fight and it was not a misunderstanding.

■

Secretary Wang Kai had already received Xie Anmin. Seeing the name, he'd assumed it was a man, but it turned out to be a young woman, unlike the writers he'd imagined. In Secretary Wang Kai's mind, writers were often simple, certainly not stunning beauties, perhaps simply taking advantage of their literary and artistic heritage. Xie Anmin, however, was a beauty, not a petite, delicate beauty, but a strikingly beautiful woman with a rich complexion. Fortunately, Secretary Wang Kai was well past the age of being captivated by beautiful women. He simply smiled the kindly smile of an elder looking at a younger person, and shook Xie Anmin's hand. "I didn't expect Writer Xie to be so young."

"I'm thirty and already independent, I'm not young anymore." Xie Anmin laughed.

"That's still young, about the same age as my son."

Wang Zian is 29 years old and will be celebrating his 30th birthday in a few months.

Speaking of Wang Zian, Secretary Wang Kai suddenly remembered the incident when Wang Zian was taken to the police station, but because Xie Anmin was present, he didn't dare to ask Xiaoliang why Wang Zian was taken to the police station.

After taking Xie Anmin back to Baile Village from Longwan Airport and settling him in the Rural Revitalization Hotel, Secretary Wang Kai had dinner with Xie Anmin and then walked back home.

The residents of Baile Village are so attached to their roots that they become nomads even if they travel fifteen miles. The initial effort to relocate them from their various hilltops to capitalize on the provincial "welfare projects" was a monumental undertaking. For years, they had built houses along Chang'an Avenue, finally settling down. Now, the village is planning the "Two Parks, Two Districts" project, which requires the entire stretch of Chang'an Avenue to be expropriated and all residents to be relocated to the new district. The villagers are reluctant, making the project difficult to implement. Secretary Wang Kai, therefore, had to set an example by moving his own family there first.

The plaque above the retro gate made of white marble is still blank, because no one has moved in yet, so the name of the new district is still hanging in the air.

The new district, a cluster of cleverly designed farmhouses, was deserted and seemed eerie in the night. The entire area felt lifeless, and walking through it felt strangely daunting. Fortunately, a white streetlight lit up under the porch of a distant villa.

A figure swayed in the light.

Secretary Wang Kai approached, and the man hurried over to meet him, his voice anxious: "Secretary Wang, please save Ziqi and Zian."

This person is Zhong Ziwang, the elder brother of Zhong Ziqi and Zhong Chunshui.

At ten o'clock in the evening, Zhong Ziqi finally returned home from the police station.

His mother, Huifang, pulled a wide, flat silver ring from her pocket and placed it around his wrist. The silver bracelet was engraved with cloud patterns and inlaid with two blue ambers, giving it a dazzling appearance. It was the most valuable item in their family, passed down from her mother-in-law when Huifang first married. She had originally planned to give the amber-silver bracelet to Yingying after she married Zhong Ziwang.

But now, it can only be worn by Ziqi.

"Mother, isn't this what you want to leave for your sister-in-law?"

"I can't care less. This silver item can be used to pray for peace and ward off evil. This is the first time you've been in jail..."

Zhong Ziqi quickly said, "Pooh, pooh, pooh," and said, "Mother, I was just called to the police station for a few questions. Who's in jail?"

"Why did the police station call you in for questioning? What did you do to deserve questioning?"

At the side, Zhong Ziwang was preparing water for Zhong Ziqi to wash his face. He said with dismay, "Mother, he has been fighting with people since he was a child. Who do you think he is fighting with this time? An An!"

For Huifang and her son, Secretary Wang Kai was their benefactor, who took good care of their family. Zhong Ziqi actually fought with Wang Zian and even broke into the police station. This was simply an ungrateful act.

Huifang then scolded Zhong Ziqi, with Zhong Ziwang chiming in. Zhong Ziqi was furious and pushed Zhong Ziwang off the washbasin stand and against the wall, saying angrily, "You're gloating! Chunshui and I have been scolded by our mother since we were little, and you've always been the cause. Do you know why I'm fighting with Wang Boya this time? It's all because of you."

Wang Boya.

In the entire Baile Village, this is a name unique to Zhong Ziqi because of the legend of the mountain stream and Boya smashing his zither.

"What does your fight have to do with me?" Zhong Ziwang was unhappy.

"Of course it has something to do with you. It's all because of the betrothal money you asked for during your wedding!"

Huifang finally understood the whole story and then fainted because her beloved daughter Zhong Chunshui was missing.

At the Wang family's home, Wang Zian was criticized by Secretary Wang Kai and went back to his room to lie down. His eldest sister had just given birth to her second child, and his mother had gone to her house to help take care of the grandchildren. She wouldn't be back for a long time, leaving him and his father alone at home. He was scolded by his own father, and with no one to help him, he could only endure it.

Besides, he couldn't tell his father about Zhong Chunshui. Chunshui must have arrived in Beijing safely with the song and dance troupe by now, right?
Chunshui was singing She folk songs in Fengshan during the daytime of the Ox-Relief Festival when the chief singer, who was visiting Ruiyun Temple, discovered her heavenly voice. The chief singer happened to be suffering from sore throat that day, so he asked Chunshui to fill in for him during the evening performance. This established their mentor-disciple relationship.

The chief wants to take Chunshui to the capital to develop and train her to be a singing star, but Huifang is still waiting for Chunshui to marry Lei Sheng so that she can get a betrothal gift and hold a wedding for Zhong Ziwang and Lin Yingying.

Chunshui has been a good singer since she was a child. She has always envied the singers on TV and hoped that one day she could become a singer. However, she is just a country girl and does not know how to become a singer. Huifang is not a mother who can provide her with resources. She is just a peasant woman who moved down from the mountains. She cannot even provide the most basic words to encourage her daughter to bravely pursue her dreams.

Last night, on the grass behind the stage in the township square, Chunshui stood in the darkness and sang happily:
"Deep in the Wutong tree, green embraces the Phoenix,
Spreading its wings among the clouds, its feathers are covered with rosy clouds.

The clear spring in the mountain stream is busy washing away the dust.

The sound of the phoenix's cry awakens the yellow mountains.

Phoenix, Phoenix, soaring high in the sky,

Phoenix, Phoenix, the She family’s heart’s desire…”

She was twenty-five years old and had never been so happy.

Singing is such a joyful thing for her. Only when she sings loudly can she feel that her soul is flying, shining in the air, and spewing flames, just like the two phoenixes spreading their wings and soaring.

But this happiness is short-lived and temporary. After the bonfire carnival is over, the chief and her troupe will leave the village and go to their vast and prosperous world, while she will stay in the village, get married, exchange for a betrothal gift, and help her brother marry his beloved woman.

Who cares whether the person she is going to marry is the one she likes?
As Chunshui was singing passionately, a sense of sadness suddenly surged in his heart. A cold silver light seemed to appear in the darkness before his eyes, and Wang Zian was standing in that light.

Just like every time when she was bullied as a child, he would miraculously appear and save her.

As the plane slowly descended, the night view of the capital came into view. The lights of thousands of homes gathered into a vast ocean. Chunshui's tears welled up. She didn't know whether she would be able to stand out in this world and become a shining star. But, Wang Zian, thank you for your cover and giving me a chance to explore the possibilities of the future.

In the future, in the shining music world, no one will know Zhong Chunshui, but there will be another singer named "Yi Chi".

A few lines of returning egrets bathe in the sunny sand, creating a pool of rippling spring water.

(End of this chapter)