Chapter 9 Warmth

  At night, lying in bed, Wen He couldn't sleep, tossing and turning. Although Li Siqing's appearance had become blurry in his memory, he still remembered that many years later, Ding Mei suddenly mentioned Li Siqing and shed a lot of tears.

  In her past life, after graduating from elementary school, Li Siqing did not attend school, picking up trash, eating leftover food, selling flowers, cigarettes, and wine, and even working on construction sites carrying bricks to make a living. As she grew older, Li Siqing became more beautiful and charming than her mother, Zhao Yaqing, and mixed with society, cheating and deceiving others. At the age of 15, she followed a hoodlum named Pockmark Brother, who was later shot and killed by the police. After that, she hooked up with a wealthy man, but he went bankrupt, leaving Li Siqing without support, so she headed south alone.

  It wasn't until Wen He graduated from college that he learned from his mother that a young man from a farming machinery factory had seen Li Siqing in the south. In the city's dazzling nightlife, what could a beautiful girl who only finished elementary school do?

  The last time I heard news about Li Siqing was that she had been caught in a police raid and taken to the station, where some sisters from Qingzhou went to bail her out but were told she wasn't there. From then on, 25-year-old Li Siqing disappeared from everyone's sight, perhaps even from this world.

  Ding Mei remembered the kindness of both families and had helped out whenever she could. She had even thought about bringing Li Siqing back home many times, but Li Siqing was young and didn't want to burden those who were truly good to her. She rarely met with Ding Mei, and when they did, she would quickly avoid her. What's touching is that no matter whether she was rummaging through trash for food or hanging out with rich people, from the age of 11 to 25 when she went missing, every year during Spring Festival, the Wen family would receive a package of stir-fried rice cakes. Underneath the rice cakes was a note with crooked handwriting that read: "Good people live in peace!"

  Every year when Ding Mei sees this, she quietly sheds tears while clutching the note.

  Thinking of this, Wen Qian felt that he could no longer hesitate. Most tragedies in the world, after all, are about money. As long as one has money, many people's lives can be completely changed.

  He slammed his fist on the bedside and fell into a deep sleep, muttering to himself.

  The next day, he woke up and didn't go for a run as usual. Instead, he rode his father's old Phoenix bicycle to Li Siqing's house. The Agricultural Machinery Factory was founded in 1985 and wasn't considered a large factory in Qingzhou, which focused on heavy industry. Compared to the massive Qingzhou Heavy Industry Group, it was even less notable. However, as a state-owned enterprise, no matter how small, it was still a coveted spot. Ding Mei's entry into the factory was entirely due to Wen Huiming's efforts. Li Shengli had taken over his mother's position, following the old retirement succession system which allowed a child to replace their retired parent in the factory. However, Zhao Yaqing, an ordinary farmer's child, had somehow managed to get into the factory, and it remained a mystery how he did it.

  The farm machinery factory expanded in 1989 and built several storefronts on a newly enclosed plot of land outside the factory. After Li Shengli resigned in 1992, he could no longer live in the factory's housing and moved back to his parents' home. He used his severance pay to rent a storefront and open a restaurant, which was a family trade passed down from his ancestors. At first, business was decent, but it quickly took a turn for the worse over the next year. His parents passed away one after another, and his business continued to decline. Soon he lost all his savings, and then Zhao Yaqing abandoned him and their daughter. Li Shengli could no longer withstand such blows and became addicted to alcohol, numbing himself in a world of liquor every day, never having a sober day again.

  No one knows how Li Siqing survived these two years...

  Li Shengli's parents' home was in the northern suburbs, far from the city center. It was a small courtyard house with a yard, not very big, three rooms lined up in a row, and a clear river flowed slowly in front of the door. The noise of the city was reduced, replaced by a rare tranquility.

  Pushing open the half-closed door, Wen Liang caught sight of Li Siqing at a glance. She was sitting on a small wooden stool, her thin body bent into an arc, holding in her hand an axe that was only slightly thicker than her arm, chopping firewood with great difficulty. The courtyard was empty and desolate, the stove fire piled up in the corner was cold and icy, and on the wooden table beside it lay a heap of chopped black vegetables, which one could tell at a glance were wild greens picked from outside. A few little chickens ran out of the chicken coop in the northwest corner, making "cluck cluck" sounds, adding a bit of vitality to this lifeless courtyard. Hearing the sound of the door opening, the little girl lifted her head, her disheveled hair covering her forehead, her waxen face without a hint of blood color, her dry lips with faintly visible threads of blood, her clear black eyes wide open, but no longer showing the innocence and spirit that should be seen at this age.

  Is this still the lovely and charming little girl in my impression?

  With a gentle sigh, he walked forward a few steps and smiled warmly: "Nuan Nuan, do you still recognize your brother?"

  The little girl stood up, her coarse linen clothes were washed clean, but couldn't hide the girl's shyness and unease. She called out softly: "Wen Gege..."

  Wen Cheng stood in front of the girl, looking at this lovely girl who used to dress up like a little princess, and for a moment, he didn't know how to speak. This was an unprecedented experience for Wen Cheng, who had long been accustomed to speaking fluently since adulthood.

  Li Siqing hung her head low, one hand still gripping the axe tightly, and the other small hand pinched the corner of her clothes to pull it down, trying to cover up the exposed skin. After a moment of silence, the girl suddenly remembered something and said: "Wen Gege, you sit first, I'll go get you a glass of water."

  Wen Cen felt a sharp pain in his heart. That little girl with braids and a princess dress, when did she already understand these human emotions... He took the axe from her hand, gently placed it on the ground, then pressed her shoulder to let her sit down. Wen Cen squatted in front of the little girl, held her small hand and softly said: "It's okay, brother won't drink water. Nuan Nuan, it's brother's fault, I haven't come to see you for a long time."

  A child's hand should be plump and soft, but Li Siqing's hand was bony and thin, and when held, it felt somewhat painful to the touch.

  Li Siqing shook her head and said seriously: "Brother, you are busy with school, Auntie Ding often comes to see me, it's already very good."

  Wen Cheng's heart had already been hardened by the two worlds, but after hearing this sentence, he still couldn't keep calm. He stretched out his arms and gently hugged the little girl in his arms, stroking her hair and whispering: "Nuan Nuan, you've suffered. Don't be afraid, everything is over."

  Li Siqing has been through a lot of white eyes and hardships in the past two years. Children would point at her and scold her as an unfilial child, while adults would sigh and often add that it's all because of that bad woman, but that bad woman is actually her own mother.

  How long has it been since someone spoke to me in such a tone? I feel the warmth of sincerity and care, and the unfamiliarity that had built up over two years instantly disappears. Memories of playing together as children come flooding back. Li Siqing slowly raises her hands, which had been hanging at her sides, and places them on her waist, her eyes welling up with tears as she bites her lip to hold them back. Her voice is soft but firm: "Nuan Nuan isn't suffering, Nuan Nuan isn't afraid!"

  Brother is no longer the annoying ghost who teases himself every day, and he is not that warm and lovely person anymore. However, for some reason, after two years of suffering, his cold heart was easily melted by Wen Qian's simple tenderness.

  The sound of the door opening again, two people in their 40s walked in. One of them, a man with a square face and a dignified appearance, didn't even glance at Wen Qian and said: "Wenwen, is your dad clear-headed today? Let's just sign this agreement quickly, I don't have time to drag things out..."

  Another man with a pointed chin and narrow eyes chimed in, "Nuan Nuan, I've heard your uncle talk about this. It's actually a good thing. Don't be stubborn, just let your dad sign it and that'll be the end of it. It'll also save me from coming here every day to ask for drinking money."

  Wen Qian unknowingly stood up and stood on one side, looking up and down at the two people.

  As soon as the two entered, the little girl's face turned cold and she didn't say a word, no matter how they talked nonsense. The country character was anxious, pointing at Li Siqing's nose and scolding: "If it weren't for your pitiful appearance, do you think I would care about this broken house? You really have no shame, your dad is a drunkard, your mom is a prostitute, what good can be raised from them?"

  Li Siqing suddenly encountered great difficulties, her mind had long since matured. Hearing this scolding, the face that was lowered suddenly lifted up, both hands tightly grasping her clothes, her whole body slightly trembling. Wen Ze's eyes narrowed, pulling Li Siqing to his side, gently pinching her palm, smiling at Guozi's face: "How should I address this big brother? What is going on, making you so angry?"

  The country boy looked at Wen Qian with a surprised expression, and towards the 16 or 17-year-old kid, he didn't have a good temper. With a wave of his big hand, he irritably said: "Mind your own business, go stand aside."

  The man with a pointed chin stepped in to mediate, saying: "Hey, calm down, let's talk things over. There's nothing that can't be discussed when everyone is calm and reasonable."

  "Still how to discuss, I've said all the good words, came seven or eight times already. It was not easy last time to catch Li Shengli when he was sober, we talked it over and signed the agreement. Then this little girl comes out and makes a big fuss, not only did she throw away the pen but also tore up the contract... If I didn't take pity on you, I would have slapped you long ago. Dammit, growing up to be just like your mother, what kind of thing is that!"

  This sentence is for Li Siqing, fierce and intimidating, quite impressive.