Chapter 2808 Daya Village (II)

The driver glanced at Tan Shuangxi and smiled. "Sort of."

Years of service had taught Tan Shuangxi to recognize when words carried hidden weight. But he was an outsider here, and village affairs were none of his concern. He changed the subject with a chuckle.

"With so many ducks raised, the local duck meat must come from your village too, right?"

"Some of it, some of it. Our main business is still duck eggs, along with the culled laying ducks. Most of the meat ducks come from the villages around Fengqian and Fenghou." The driver smiled. "But the braised duck and old duck stew you eat at the market—those are all from our village."

"Wouldn't culled laying ducks be scrawny? Too dry to eat?" Zhang Laicai asked.

"That just shows what you don't know. Precisely because they've stopped laying, all the nutrition they eat accumulates in their bodies. Feed them a while longer after they stop producing and you're all set. The meat is firm, with plenty of fat and rich flavor—far tastier than those white-feathered meat ducks that go from hatchling to market in sixty days."

"You even know about 'nutrition,' sir—quite the scholar!"

"My family raises ducks too. The Heaven and Earth Society technician talks about it all day long. Even a parrot would have learned it by now." The driver laughed.

"You raise ducks and still come out to drive a coach? That's real dedication!"

"Bullshit! If I had money, I wouldn't be out here driving a coach." The driver laughed and cursed. "It's not like I'm a glutton for punishment—I have no choice. My son refuses to tend ducks with me, and he won't work the fields either. Went to the city to be a factory worker, then complained about being too managed, the work too hard, and getting scolded by foremen. I told him: back in the day, his old man delivered firewood to Master Liu's house in the city. Set off while it was still pitch dark, arrived near noon half-dead from exhaustion, and then got disdained for the firewood being damp. Argued a few words and took several slaps from the steward for nothing! A foreman scolds you a bit—what of it? You know what he said?"

"What did he say?" Zhang Laicai asked with interest.

"He said, 'A foreman is a person; a worker is a person too. Why should he get to scold me? If he scolds me, I quit. If it were me delivering firewood back then and the steward hit me, I'd definitely hit him back.'"

"Good kid, he's got spirit!" Tan Shuangxi praised.

"Spirit counts for bird shit." The driver sighed. "He doesn't understand a damn thing. If it came to fighting, I could beat ten stewards! The problem was what came afterward—one visiting card from Master Liu to the county yamen, and my ass would be beaten raw. Couldn't farm Master Liu's land anymore either—the whole family would drink the northwest wind! It's only since the Australians came that there are livelihoods everywhere. No more suffering through fishing and scratching at dirt just to get by. Now the kid thinks he's capable of anything!"

"What did he do after quitting the factory?" Zhang Laicai started gossiping.

"Came out of the factory and followed a merchant to run trade. Gone more than half a year without a peep. A letter finally came a few days ago; the sending place was somewhere called 'Hirado.' Had to ask the police to learn it's a foreign place. Said he's been to many places, and though he hasn't made money yet, he's gained lots of experience—what kind of bullshit is that? Can experience fill your stomach?" The driver smoked and continued griping about his son. "He's already twenty-five, doesn't even have a wife, just does useless things. Never see him send money back. So I have to come out and earn money myself."

"Merchants get rich quick. Give it a few more years and he'll make it. Then you think he won't find a wife?" Tan Shuangxi laughed.

"I'm not asking him to make it big—just want him to live peacefully. Sure, merchants who make fortunes exist, but those who jump into the sea or hang themselves aren't few either. Where's there such a thing as a sure-profit business..." Here, perhaps feeling his words were a bit unlucky, he spat over the side of the coach. "Whether he makes it or not, I can't count on him—his heart has already gone wild."

Zhang Laicai suddenly remembered something and asked, "Do you know a Li Anze from your village?"

"Yes, yes, his family is in the Third Pai." The driver nodded repeatedly. "His dad used to be a carpenter—great craftsmanship! Pity he died young. Now his sister and brother-in-law run the household." He suddenly realized something. "You said you're on official business—is it to his family?!"

Tan Shuangxi silently cursed Zhang Laicai for being a meddlesome fool! He roughly knew the location of Li Anze's home, just a bit hazy after so long. Besides, the Australians had adjusted the district boundaries since arriving. He had originally planned to get off at the Second Pai's village office and have the village head guide them there.

The driver said nothing, but from the way his expression darkened, he had clearly understood what kind of official business they were here on.

The coach stopped in front of the Second Pai's village office. The two got off and went to find the village head, but he wasn't there. The village accountant said the village head had gone to the commune for a meeting, and the stationed police officer was also out on a call.

"Is his family still in the old place?" Tan Shuangxi asked.

"Still in the old place. The house has been renovated." The accountant had roughly guessed their "official business." "Should I find someone..."

"No need to find anyone. I roughly know where his family is."

"Then go ahead. I'll send someone to wait for the village head; once he's back, I'll have him come over."

Leaving the village office, he led Zhang Laicai not along the main road but turned onto a country stone path flanked by large banyan trees. They walked past patches of fast-growing forest and paddy fields for over two li, crossed a wooden bridge—seven big white geese honked majestically and waddled past their feet as if putting on a demonstration—then turned right... Tan Shuangxi muttered directions to himself while Zhang Laicai said nothing, following behind.

Despite only three or four years since his last visit to Daya Village, Tan Shuangxi felt as though he had been away for a lifetime. The unfamiliar faces flashing by, the northern accents reaching his ears—it all made him feel as if he existed in another age.

"It should be around here, though I'm not entirely sure." Tan Shuangxi pointed at a row of red tile rooftops hidden beyond the trees ahead.

The two followed the path around a few bends. The view suddenly opened up—a small bay, with a stone pier running along the coast. Several wooden jetties, none particularly long, extended into the sea, packed with fishing boats.

After circling the docks and asking a few people for directions, they walked along a path to a corner of the bay. Here, a waist-high hedge enclosed a courtyard. The courtyard was tidily kept, with several plots of vegetables growing in neat rows. Most striking was a tall shelter made of reed mats standing in the yard, beneath which stacks of sawed planks and timbers were piled. A wide carpenter's bench lay scattered with tools, and bags of scrap material were heaped in a corner.

No one was in the yard. It was quiet.

"Anyone home?" Tan Shuangxi called toward the house. The silence felt unnatural. A breeze brushed his face, rustling the leaves. From the two tiled rooms in the middle of the yard drifted the faint scent of cooking smoke.

Zhang Laicai sometimes liked to say things that sounded learned. Now he plucked a blade of grass to chew and sighed: "The family's doing quite well! Why bother enlisting?"

"Young people..." Tan Shuangxi said. "Aren't we the same? No one held a knife to our necks and forced us to enlist."

"I enlisted for a meal. The soldier's pay is high, isn't it?" Zhang Laicai said.

The front door was closed. The two had to circle halfway around the yard. Behind the house, in the backyard, logs were stacked high. A man in his thirties sat atop the lumber pile, holding a book and reading intently. He was so engrossed that Tan Shuangxi had to cough loudly twice before his eyes left the page and looked at them.

Though his expression showed some surprise, he displayed no alarm.

"Something you need? Looking to buy something, comrades?" His northern accent revealed his immigrant status.

"We're looking for Li Anze's family," Tan Shuangxi said.

The man smiled; the white teeth showing between his lips made one feel as though the sun had suddenly grown brighter.

"I'm his brother-in-law. His sister is inside. The hedge gate isn't latched—come in and talk."

Despite the invitation, Tan Shuangxi found his feet difficult to move. These few short steps he walked very slowly. Zhang Laicai was as unreliable as always, hiding behind him and dawdling.

Li Anze's sister came out. There was no mistaking her—her brow and eyes were almost identical to Li Anze's. She was dressed simply, her hair pinned up.

Tan Shuangxi looked at Zhang Laicai, who deliberately kept his head down, staring at his own shoes. Tan Shuangxi had no choice but to steel himself and say to Elder Sister Li: "We are Li Anze's comrades-in-arms."

"Come in, come in, have some water." She smiled. "I saw through the window and thought you were here on official business. Why didn't you invite them in?" She quietly reproached her husband, her face full of joy. "It's about my younger brother, right?"

"No, we won't go in..." Tan Shuangxi answered automatically, though at that moment he didn't know whether he should go in or stay outside.

"Don't be so polite!" Elder Sister Li still carried a wave of warmth, but this warmth only made Tan Shuangxi's heart clench tighter.

The brother-in-law studied their expressions and seemed to understand. He took his wife's hand and asked them, "Did something happen to Little Li?"

Tan Shuangxi nodded silently, saluted, and said in a low voice, "Lieutenant Li Anze has fallen in action. We are here to notify the family."

Elder Sister Li gave a startled cry and covered her face with her hands, seeming about to faint. The brother-in-law hurried to support her.

"Don't cry." The brother-in-law said steadily, then turned to the two of them. "What happened? Where is he?"

Zhang Laicai took out the notification and handed it to the man.

Elder Sister Li buried her sobs in her husband's chest. He had to bring her into the house to sit down. At a loss, Tan Shuangxi and Zhang Laicai could only follow them inside and carefully take seats on the opposite side.

Sitting on a wooden chair in the main hall, she began to talk to herself: "A perfectly fine person, had to go take some military academy exam. Said there'd be a future going there, a future! Even talked about being an 'Imperial Student'! Wanted to be an officer, wear a command saber... Only a few years, and they bring back a 'notification'... What kind of thing is this! You made the Li family line extinct. How am I going to face Father when I die..."

Elder Sister Li wept and complained, her words tumbling out between sobs. It made the two of them feel sour inside. They had witnessed such scenes many times, supposedly immune to tears by now. But at this moment, her words pounded at their hearts, dredging up sorrows they had long since buried.

"Don't make a fuss. Let them finish what they came to say." The brother-in-law admonished as if giving an order, his eyes fixed on Tan Shuangxi. Probably because Zhang Laicai had been the one to produce the notification, he didn't much like this bearer of bad news.

(End of Chapter)