Chapter 121: How Terrifying Illiteracy Is

Installing the glass for the shoe cabinets was simple and quick. In barely half an hour, all the glass had been fitted.

Since the cement floor had not yet dried completely, the cabinets could not be moved into the bungalow. Liu Xing was in no hurry, of course. Seeing that it was almost time for dinner, he hurriedly brought tables, chairs, and stools over with Little One, then invited everyone who had been working to sit beneath the pomelo tree and eat.

Halfway through the meal, Village Chief Zhao suddenly slapped his forehead. “Oh no! I completely forgot to deliver lunch to Lanlan and Old Xie. They must be starving by now.”

He turned to Liu Dongju. “Is there any food left in your kitchen? If so, pack it up and let me take it over at once.”

“There is! There is!” Liu Dongju immediately rose and hurried into the kitchen.

She blamed herself for being so careless. She had been busy at noon and had completely forgotten. After all, Lanlan and Xie Zhongquan had been eating at her house these past few days. Failing to send them food today really was her mistake.

Zhao Hu, however, shook his head. “Chief, you don’t need to worry about Lanlan and Old Xie. They’re doing just fine. When I went back at noon to check the rice seedlings, I saw Zhao Xin’s mother bring them a large bowl of rice, along with some fried eggs.”

“You mean Old Xie treated Zhao Xin’s mother, and his payment is three meals a day?” Village Chief Zhao asked in surprise.

“You didn’t know?” Zhao Hu looked astonished.

The others at the table were equally puzzled. After all, Xie Zhongquan and Lanlan were staying at the village chief’s house.

“If I had known, would I have been so anxious?” Village Chief Zhao stroked his beard and laughed. “It’s good that they’ve found a way to get food. At least I won’t have to worry about them every day.”

In fact, ever since Old Xie and Lanlan had moved in with him, they had been busy treating the villagers of Old House Village. The village chief had not even had a chance to learn how they were managing in their daily lives.

Of course, that also had something to do with the fact that he spent all day helping Zhao Dongkui renovate the shoe shop.

“Something doesn’t seem right. Didn’t they say they were going to leave the market and seek refuge with relatives?” Liu Xing could not help interrupting.

If they had decided to stay, it would be a tremendous blessing for him and for the entire village. After all, even the lion-head chef had taken an interest in Old Xie’s medical skills.

“It seems the illness of Widow Wang’s son is the reason they can’t leave for the time being,” Village Chief Zhao replied.

“I see.” Liu Xing slowly nodded.

In that case, Old Xie truly possessed admirable medical ethics. He had not accepted their hospitality for nothing. In such a short time, he had already begun using everything he had learned in his lifetime to give back to society.

It was certainly a good sign. Liu Xing was just about to suggest that they visit the grandfather and granddaughter later when Zhao Gou, having finished his meal, took out a battered notebook and handed it over.

“Big Brother, this is the market management ledger you asked for. It records where the temporary stall fees go each month, as well as the number of shops and the layout of the shops and sheds.”

“Oh.” Liu Xing reached out and took it. “From now on, just call me Liu Xing. Don’t keep calling me Big Brother. It makes me uncomfortable.”

“All right!” Zhao Gou nodded with a simple grin.

“You seem to have something else to say,” Liu Xing remarked, looking at him.

He asked because Zhao Gou was terrible at hiding his emotions. Every joy and sorrow was written plainly across his face.

“Heh, heh… My mother was discharged from the hospital today. I wanted to borrow two yuan from you to buy her some nourishing food. Do you think that would be all right?” Zhao Gou was not afraid to speak in front of everyone. After hesitating briefly, he finally said what was on his mind.

He had no choice. After paying the hospital bills, he truly had no money left. Otherwise, he would never have asked Liu Xing for a loan.

“Two yuan won’t buy much in the way of nourishing food.” Liu Xing could not help laughing. Ignoring Zhao Gou’s embarrassment, he turned to Liu Dongju, who had just come out of the kitchen. “Sis, don’t we still have a pork knuckle in there? Bring it out for Zhao Gou. His mother really needs something nourishing.”

“All right!” Liu Dongju naturally had no objection and turned back into the kitchen.

A moment later, she brought out the pork knuckle in a large bowl and placed it before Zhao Gou with a smile.

“Thank you, Sister-in-law.” Zhao Gou took the bowl, his eyes reddening, and ran off.

“What a fellow.” Liu Xing shook his head.

“You don’t know how difficult things are for him now,” Zhao Liang said softly. “To pay for his mother’s treatment, he sold everything in the house that could be sold. He even borrowed more than two hundred yuan from his uncle.”

“Who is his uncle?” Liu Xing asked casually.

“The owner of the grain and cooking-oil shop—the one you met last time,” Zhao Liang replied.

“That man?” Liu Xing was startled.

But he soon understood. Only then did he remember that Zhao Gou’s mother’s surname was Zhong as well. She and the shopkeeper were brother and sister, which was perfectly natural.

That also explained why Xie Zhong had always taken such good care of Zhao Gou. It turned out everything was connected to his relationship with the shopkeeper.

“Big Brother, if there’s nothing else tonight, I’ll go keep Zhao Gou company. His family’s farm work still hasn’t been done,” Zhao Liang said softly when everyone fell silent.

“All right. But don’t call me Big Brother. Call me Liu Xing.” Seeing the sky gradually darken, Liu Xing took thirty yuan from his pocket and handed it to Zhao Liang. “Give this to Zhao Gou. Tell him to buy whatever needs buying and spend whatever needs spending. He shouldn’t be too frugal.”

“All right!” Zhao Liang accepted the money, deeply moved.

Village Chief Zhao also stroked his beard and smiled in satisfaction.

This Liu Xing truly did not treat money as money. But he knew that people like this were often the ones capable of accomplishing great things.

“However, don’t go work in the fields tonight. Take the others to patrol the market instead.” Seeing that there were no strangers nearby, Liu Xing leaned toward Zhao Liang and quietly gave him his instructions.

His meaning was simple. The police force Director Wu had assigned to Old House Village would certainly not be enough to catch the cattle thief, Zhu Dachang, quickly. He therefore had to mobilize everyone he could and take precautions before anything happened.

Of course, he did not tell Zhao Liang that the purpose of the patrol was to catch Zhu Dachang. If he did, Zhao Liang might be frightened weak at the knees.

After all, Zhu Dachang was a desperate criminal.

Zhao Liang, on the other hand, was merely a petty hoodlum.

No—that was not entirely accurate. People like Zhao Liang and Zhao Gou could not even truly be called petty hoodlums. At most, they were idle young men from the early 1980s.

The kindness in their hearts had not yet been extinguished. They simply did not dare commit crimes such as murder and robbery.

“I’ll be going, then.” Having understood Liu Xing’s meaning, Zhao Liang turned and took his leave.

“I should be heading home too.”

“Yes. My wife is still waiting for me to spray the crops.”

Seeing that darkness had fallen, Village Chief Zhao, Zhao Hu, Zhao Biao, Zhao Jianzhong, and the other bricklayers did not linger at Liu Dongju’s house. They all rose and departed.

Liu Xing walked them as far as the roadside. When he saw Nie Sun, Nie Quan, Zhao Long, and the others preparing to leave with their carpenter’s tool bags, he immediately said to Liu Dongju, “Sis, settle their wages, and include Brother Huang’s five yuan transportation fee. I’m going to the village chief’s house to see Old Xie and Lanlan. I’ll be back shortly.”

“All right!” Liu Dongju agreed at once.

Nie Sun and Nie Quan felt rather embarrassed. They had originally intended to slip away quietly at the first opportunity, but Little One reached out and stopped them. Tilting her little head, she asked, “Where are you going? My mommy hasn’t paid you yet!”

“You little girl.”

“We’re not leaving.”

Nie Quan and Nie Sun could not help laughing.

Nie Sun picked Little One up and teased her. “You’ve been sneaking quite a lot of meat lately, haven’t you? Look at your cheeks—they’re as round as balls.”

“I didn’t eat your meat!” Little One struggled free, unhappy, then kicked her short legs and ran away.

“Hahahaha…”

Nie Sun and Nie Quan burst out laughing as they watched her.

With a little bringer of joy like Little One around, their troubles vanished in an instant.

Liu Dongju heard the laughter from inside and laughed along with them. She knew, however, that the reason for Little One’s enormous change was Liu Xing.

Seeing that it was already dark, she quickly took out the wages she had prepared and walked toward the entrance.

…

When Liu Xing arrived at the entrance of Village Chief Zhao’s house, he saw Old Xie busy treating patients. There were many people waiting in line, so Liu Xing did not disturb him. After informing the village chief, he returned home.

He did not shower and go to bed immediately. Instead, he began studying the notebook Zhao Gou had given him.

The figures recorded in it looked like meaningless scribbles. Most of the handwriting was incredibly sloppy. The numbers seemed able to recognize him, but he could not recognize them, leaving him both amused and exasperated.

At last, he understood why Xie Zhong had refused to let Zhao Gou manage the market. The man was illiterate—he could not even write properly. Judging by the way he had scrawled the Arabic numerals from one to ten, he had probably only learned them later in life. Otherwise, he could never have written them in such a wretched fashion.

In other words, the ledger had been useless from the moment it was handed to him.

There was no way he could use it to understand the market’s layout or its operating methods.

Since that approach was impossible, Liu Xing did not dwell on it. He put the notebook away, then went to take a shower and sleep.

Still, he knew that managing the market well would be a long and arduous task.