Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Yu Jianghai... Long Time No See Even if she deliberately tried to ignore these rumors, the tree may crave stillness, but the wind will not cease—the news still came flooding in from all directions. Just like Yu Jianghai back then, surging onward like river tides, never ceasing. After those people left, she spent the rest of the afternoon watching the landlord circle around the entrance of Linji several times. It wasn't until after eight in the evening, when all of Linji's customers had gone, that things settled. Lin Meiyan finished cleaning up, then called out toward the street, "Grandma Zhao." The landlord, Grandma Zhao, finally came over. From a distance, she saw Lin Meiyan standing under the dim yellow light, wearing a loose cotton dress, her hair loosely pinned at the back of her head, her face fair and clean, her features as delicate as a painting. She stood there quietly, radiating a gentle beauty, like a pearl emitting a soft, faint glow. Lin Meiyan was indeed beautiful. Even after giving birth to a daughter and becoming a mother, her figure remained graceful and elegant—carrying a certain charm that made her even more alluring than unmarried young women. At this thought, Grandma Zhao lifted her bound feet and stepped up the bluestone stairs, starting with pleasantries. "Meiyan, I can see business is doing well on your end." The moment she spoke, Lin Meiyan knew why she had come. She poured Grandma Zhao a cup of mung bean water, her voice soft and unhurried. "What's there to speak of being good or bad? You know how it is, Grandma Zhao." "It rained a few days ago, so Linji didn't open at all. Yesterday it didn't rain, but my daughter went missing, so I closed for the day. Today was the only day we opened. The neighbors took pity on us—a widow and an orphan—and came by to show their support." With words like that, how could Grandma Zhao possibly bring up her request? She looked at her small storefront. When she had first rented it to Lin Meiyan, it had been a dilapidated shack, its only virtue being its prime location along the street. Now that rundown little shop had been completely transformed by Lin Meiyan. The walls were painted green, baseboards had been installed, a partition on the left separated the small kitchen from the main room. The floor of the main hall had been specially laid with white ceramic tiles, with five small tables arranged inside. It looked completely different from before. Grandma Zhao hesitated, but ultimately spoke up. "I know this isn't very honorable of me, but there's something I need to say." "Jianghai Dicai's second phase is going to be built at Simenkou, and all the storefronts along the street are having their rents raised." "This old woman is no exception." Lin Meiyan paused. She looked up, her apricot-shaped eyes under the lamplight as clear as autumn water, bright and moist. "How much does Grandma want to raise it?" Grandma Zhao rubbed her hands together. "It was twenty-five before. I won't raise it much—just twenty more." "Why don't you just go rob someone?" Before Lin Meiyan could speak, Gu Kaihua, who had just arrived after work to pick her up, was already cursing. "Old lady Zhao, when you first rented out this dump, twenty-five yuan a month was already plenty high." "Now Jianghai Dicai hasn't even started construction, and you're already trying to double the rent?" "Are you even human?" Grandma Zhao had originally wanted to discuss things civilly, but Gu Kaihua's scolding set her off. Her face fell. "How am I not human? If I weren't taking pity on Meiyan—a widow with a child—do you think I'd have rented out my storefront to her for twenty-five yuan?" "Is it me who's raising the rent?" "Gu Kaihua, go out and ask around—which shop on Simenkou Hengjie isn't raising their rent?" "I only raised it by twenty, didn't double it. That's already out of consideration for how hard Meiyan's life has been." Gu Kaihua was furious beyond words. He laughed in anger. "So I should praise you for being such a good person, then?" "You bet." Grandma Zhao was shameless about it. "Anyway, that's my price. Meiyan, think it over carefully. If you want to keep renting, then keep renting. If not, give the place back to me—I won't have trouble finding tenants for this property." Seeing that Gu Kaihua was about to argue with Grandma Zhao again, Lin Meiyan grabbed his hand and stepped forward to face Grandma Zhao. Under her gaze, Grandma Zhao felt somewhat uncomfortable. After all, as the landlord, she had freeloaded quite a few meals from Lin Meiyan over the years. "Grandma Zhao, give me two days to think it over. I'll give you an answer." Lin Meiyan's voice was unhurried. Even at this point, she remained gentle and soft. The gentler she was, the guiltier Grandma Zhao felt. "Meiyan, it's not that I'm trying to pressure you. It's just that my son is planning to get married, and everything costs money. I have no choice." Lin Meiyan stood at the doorway, lowering her eyelashes. "I understand." Grandma Zhao nodded and left as if being chased by wolves. The moment she was gone, Gu Kaihua started cursing. "Black-hearted old hag! Isn't this just bullying? That place was a wreck when you first rented it. If you hadn't fixed it up bit by bit, she wouldn't have the nerve to ask for forty-five yuan a month." Lin Meiyan grabbed Gu Kaihua's wrist and called out softly, "Uncle." "Men die for wealth, birds die for food. It's only natural." Gu Kaihua wanted to ask, "And what about you?" But he couldn't bring himself to ask. It was hard enough for him to even speak to Meiyan. He could only change the subject. "So what are you thinking of doing?" Lin Meiyan lowered her gaze. She had a pair of apricot-shaped eyes, with long, dense, and delicate lashes. When she lowered her eyes like this, they concealed all the emotions within them. She looked up, and her gentle, beautiful face carried a rare trace of determination. "Well then, I'm going to take back Linji." This Linji was not the same as that Linji. The Linji she ran now was rented from a landlord, not particularly large—altogether less than thirty square meters. But the Linji her father had left her when he departed was a full two-story building, over two hundred square meters in total. However, after Linji was confiscated back then, there had been no news of it ever since. Later, after she returned to the city, she had gone to the Luosiban several times, but every time she came back empty-handed. Linji was her original home, but later it went from being one household to five households—the street office had arranged for people to move in. The prerequisite for her to get the house back was to make these people move out. But whether it was the Luosiban or getting these people to leave, neither was easy. That was why it had been delayed for so many years. But now, it could no longer be delayed. The landlord had raised the rent. Either she gave up the lease, or she held her nose and accepted it. She didn't want to choose the latter, so she could only choose the former. Give up the lease. Take back Linji. Get Linji reopened. Every single matter was urgent. Gu Kaihua opened his mouth. "Then I'll go to the Luosiban tomorrow and ask." Lin Meiyan shook her head. "I'll go myself." Qiaoqiao had been listening the whole time from the side. She pressed her lips together. Linji wouldn't be given back that easily. In her memory, Linji had never been taken back from start to finish. The small restaurant her mother guarded was nothing more than the current Linji. She could only hold her nose and let the landlord raise the rent. Qiaoqiao clenched her little fists. She needed to think of a way. A way to help her mother take back Linji. But what kind of way? That night, after the Gu family had all gone to sleep, Lin Meiyan kissed Qiaoqiao's cheek, then quietly slipped out of the Gu house alone. The Gu house was very small, so she walked with extreme care, afraid of waking anyone. She gently opened the door, went down the Tongzilou, and headed straight for Linji. No—it should be said, her original home. Linji had originally also been located at Simenkou, and at the most bustling spot at that. But later, when Father Lin hanged himself, Linji was confiscated. Mother Lin was driven out of Linji and made to clean toilets. For a long period of time, Linji remained sealed. It wasn't until three years later that the sealed doors of Linji were opened once more. Linji was divided into several portions and distributed to neighbors who had no housing. And the people who were allocated the housing gradually moved in one by one. They had no property deeds; they only knew that when the street office was cracking down on capitalists, they had also distributed the capitalist's house to them. So they simply moved in. From the moment they moved in, Mother Lin chose to remarry. And she had been remarried for thirteen years, and these people had lived there for thirteen years as well. Lin Meiyan stood at the base of the Linji building, looking up at the lights of each household above. That was the home she once had, yet outsiders lived there now. Through those lights, she seemed to see her younger self. Her father was the head chef at Linji, with two assistant cooks hired. Her mother collected money in the main hall, and she and her sister would occasionally help out. If she didn't want to, she would hide in her room on sweltering summer days, lying in bed with the electric fan blowing, reading comic books and story magazines. After slacking off, once Linji closed for the day, she would run downstairs to eat a slice of iced watermelon and tally up the day's earnings with her mother. If they made a good profit, her father would defy her mother's pressure and grandly wave his hand to give her two yuan, telling her to go buy some picture books. Those were her most leisurely and happy days. But it seemed those youthful days were gone forever. She was no longer the beloved youngest daughter of the family, but a mother. A mother living under someone else's roof with her daughter. Even though her uncle and aunt never said anything, Lin Meiyan knew that her presence had brought them a great deal of trouble. Thinking of this, Lin Meiyan looked up at those lights, and she seemed to see her father smiling at her. She murmured softly, "Dad, you have to bless me and help me get Linji back." She stood at the base of the building, the moonlight stretching her shadow long. That was—Lin Meiyan at twenty-nine. Looking at Lin Meiyan at fifteen. Back then, she was innocent and naive, spoiled by her family, knowing nothing of sorrow. She seemed to be saying. Keep going. Lin Meiyan stood at the base of the Linji building for a long time—so long that she herself forgot the time. Only then did she turn around, facing the moonlight, and walk down that road she knew so well. But just as she turned around, she spotted a black sedan parked at the intersection. In truth, Simenkou was pitch black, and it wasn't easy to see a parked car. But it couldn't be helped—the moon on the sixteenth was fuller than on the fifteenth. It wasn't just full; it was especially bright. The black sedan was illuminated by the moonlight, gleaming with a sheen. That sheen was like a lightbulb, casting the figure standing outside the car into clear, sharp relief. The man was truly tall, impeccably dressed, with a stern, cold expression—like an icicle from a snowy mountain, clean yet carrying a hint of sharpness. He was the kind of person impossible to ignore. Lin Meiyan's steps faltered slightly. Even after five years, she had to admit that the old flame still looked as striking as ever. She stood rooted to the spot, hesitating. She was thinking whether to pretend she hadn't seen him, or pretend she hadn't seen him. But that wouldn't be right. He was the one who had just brought her daughter back. That was a great kindness. At that thought, before Lin Meiyan could make a choice, the headlights of the car ahead switched on, casting a beam of light onto the ground about a meter in front of her. It was positioned to illuminate her path without shining directly into her eyes. Well then. No choice left. He had already made the choice for her. Just as he had always been—assertive and domineering. He didn't even give her the chance to decide, having already made the call on her behalf. Lin Meiyan pressed her lips together, took a deep breath, and walked forward step by step, each footfall as heavy as if she were treading on knife blades. That face—the one she had deliberately tried to forget for five years, the one she desperately avoided in her midnight dreams—suddenly crashed into her sight. There he was, standing right before her, real and tangible. Lin Meiyan's throat tightened, her voice so soft it was nearly carried away by the wind. "Yu Jianghai... long time no see." Author's Note: Yu Jianghai: Long time no see.