Street Stories: A True Account of a Group of Blind Men in the Underworld

In front of the Quanye Market, Xue Si had already lost every inch of his footing.

The fortune-telling stall was overturned, and the reputation of the swindler spread throughout the street. The capital he brought from home was almost gone, and he only had a few jingling coins left in his pocket. He had to think twice before buying two hard steamed buns to fill his stomach.

The bruises from Lin Hai's beating around his eyes hadn't faded yet, and his skin was still a pale purple. The bruises from being pushed and shoved by the porters yesterday were still there, patchy and purple, sticking to his body. Every step he took made his muscles stiff and sore.

He huddled against the cold wall at the street corner, every word of the disdainful whispers of passersby reaching his ears:

The words "liar," "blind fool," and "charlatan from out of town" were like fine needles, piercing his heart.

Xue Si was both panicked and resentful. He resented his lack of real skills, resented the people of Tianjin for not giving him a way out, and resented even more that he couldn't even match half of Qiao Yang's abilities.

Just as he was feeling dejected and contemplating packing up and heading back to his hometown if things got really bad, a soft, gentle female voice suddenly rang out in front of him:

"Excuse me, are you a gentleman from Baodi?"

Xue Si jolted awake, his blind eyes instinctively lifting towards the source of the sound. His voice trembled uncontrollably, yet it held a hint of desperate hope for survival.

"Yes, yes! I'm a native of Baodi, no doubt about it!"

"My name is Wen Jing," the girl said softly. "I have a classmate named Su Yue, who married Qiao Yang from Baodi. Do you know him?"

Upon hearing the name "Qiao Yang," Xue Si instantly perked up, his voice unconsciously rising eight octaves in volume.

"I know him! Of course I know him! Qiao Yang is my buddy, he's like a brother to me! We've been through thick and thin together in Baodi, our friendship is unbreakable!"

Wen Jing immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and a look of warmth and familiarity appeared on her face as if she were meeting a fellow townsman.

"So it's one of us. Mr. Qiao saved my life when he came to Tianjin last year. Seeing that you're all alone setting up your stall, it's not easy. Since it's lunchtime, I'll treat you to a hot meal at the restaurant next door."

Upon hearing this, Xue Si felt elated.

In all his life, apart from his family, no young woman had ever been so polite to him, and even offered to take him out to eat.

He was blind, but not stupid. The more he thought about it, the more something seemed off—could it be that this Miss Wen had taken a liking to him because of his handsome appearance and the fact that he and Qiao Yang were brothers? Otherwise, why would she be so nice to a blind man for no reason?

A surge of joy welled up inside him, instantly erasing his previous dejection. He deliberately adopted a certain air of superiority and spoke slowly:

"Since Miss Wen has so kindly extended the invitation, then I will not stand on ceremony. Thank you for your kindness."

Wen Jing gently supported his arm and led him into a nearby small restaurant.

As soon as he sat down, Xue Si couldn't help but put on airs and, before the other party could ask any questions, began to boast incessantly.

Wen Jing politely asked him if his business in Tianjin was going well, and Xue Si puffed out his chest and started spouting nonsense:

"Smooth sailing! How could things not go smoothly? I, Xue Si, am a renowned fortune teller in Baodi. This trip to Tianjin is just a small test of my skills."

"I was just a little unlucky before. My luck will turn around in a few days, and making a hundred or two won't be a problem!"

Wen Jing then inquired about Qiao Yang and Su Yue's recent situation, and Xue Si bragged about it endlessly:

"Qiao Yang owes his success to my guidance. Back when he was making a living by setting up a stall, it was I who taught him the ropes! In our hometown, who doesn't turn to me, Xue Si, for help with big or small matters?"

"I can accurately predict weddings, funerals, good fortune, and misfortune with a single calculation; no one in the surrounding villages dares to disrespect me!"

While he was spouting nonsense, he picked up the bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor) that Wen Jing had ordered and gulped it down.

The strong liquor made him grimace, but he still tried to appear bold, slamming his fist on the table and shouting:

"I'm not bragging, but in Baodi, everyone who mentions my name, Xue Si, gets to give me face!"

"I came to Tianjin hoping to make a name for myself and show you Tianjin people the amazing skills of Baodi fortune tellers!"

Wen Jing frowned more and more as she listened, feeling that this person was full of empty talk and extremely frivolous, and was not at all in the same league as the steady and reliable Qiao Yang.

However, out of consideration for Qiao Yang and Su Yue, he could only reluctantly comply.

"Mr. Xue is so amazing..."

Xue Si couldn't detect the perfunctory tone in his voice at all, instead taking it as genuine admiration. Coupled with the effects of the alcohol, his mind went completely blank.

Hearing the girl's soft and melodious voice, he couldn't help but feel a surge of desire. Emboldened by the alcohol, he reached out and put his arm around Wen Jing's arm, muttering to himself with a sly grin:

"Miss Wen, you are beautiful and kind-hearted... I can see you care about me quite a bit, so how about... we start dating?"

Before he could finish speaking...

“Pah!”

A crisp, loud slap landed hard on his face.

Xue Si was jolted to the side by the blow, stunned on the spot, covering his face and crying out in disbelief:

"Why are you hitting me?!"

"You scoundrel!"

Wen Jing was both angry and ashamed, her face flushed red. Seeing that he not only showed no remorse but also looked aggrieved, she immediately raised her hand and slapped him hard again:

"I kindly invited you to dinner, and since you're from the same hometown as Mr. Qiao, how dare you be so rude and disrespectful!"

Two slaps later, Xue Si's lip split open, his mouth filled with a strong, metallic taste of blood. The effects of the alcohol instantly wore off, and he winced in pain, frantically trying to explain:

"I...I was just joking with you..."

The diners in the restaurant had already noticed the commotion, and when they saw what was happening, they immediately erupted in chaos.

"Good heavens, a blind man dares to act like a hooligan here, harassing the girls in Tianjin!"

"How shameless! Someone kindly invited him to dinner, and he's already got ulterior motives!"

"Beat him up! Let's avenge this girl!"

A group of people, filled with righteous indignation, surrounded him and started punching and kicking him.

Unable to see, Xue Si had nowhere to hide and could only curl up on the ground, clutching his head and screaming in agony.

"Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! I was wrong! I know I was wrong!"

"I'm not a thug! I was just drunk and my head was spinning, so I was talking nonsense!"

"Please forgive me! I'll never do it again!"

But no one was willing to listen to his explanation. Punches and kicks rained down on him, adding new wounds to his old ones. His shoulders, back, and thighs were in excruciating pain.

Just moments ago they were boasting and exaggerating, but in the blink of an eye, all that remained was a pathetic wail.

Wen Jing was both angry and scared. Too lazy to argue with such a person anymore, she snorted coldly, picked up her bag, turned around and left, thinking that all her good intentions had been fed to wolves.

The diners dispersed, grumbling and cursing, after they had finished fighting.

Xue Si lay on the ground, his face bruised and swollen, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His clothes were torn to shreds, and even the few coins he had left were nowhere to be found in the chaos.

He groped and struggled to his feet, gasping for breath with every movement, looking like a stray dog, as he slowly and laboriously made his way to the station.

He heard clearly the curses, jeers, and pointing fingers of others along the way.

Old wounds haven't healed and new swellings have appeared. I've lost all my capital and all my face.

In the end, he had to grit his teeth, swallow his pride, and beg a fellow villager he happened to meet at the station to scrape together the money for his journey home.

He stumbled back to his home in Baodi, collapsed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and gasped for breath in pain all over his body.

Touching her swollen cheeks, she finally couldn't hold back her sobs, muttering with a mixture of grievance and despair:

"What kind of mess have I made... I didn't make any money, I didn't get a wife, and I even got beaten up. I've embarrassed myself all the way in Tianjin..."

After much deliberation, Xue Si finally blamed Lin Hai and Qiao Yang for this—if he hadn't been humiliated in Zunhua, and if he hadn't run into Su Yue in Xinantun, why would he have gone all the way to Tianjin?

He looked towards Zunhua and said through gritted teeth:

"You surnamed Lin, you surnamed Qiao, let's see how you read the accounts while riding a donkey!"