My Wife is Gone

"Brother Chuan, Xiao Mo, come out for breakfast."

Chen Mo chatted with Chen Dachuan for a while before the two walked out of the shop at Aunt Liu's call.

Breakfast was set on the stone table in the courtyard.

There was a basin of rather thin rice porridge, a small dish of blackened pickled vegetables, and a few steamed buns mixed with wheat bran, their edges already turning hard.

Yuanyuan held a chipped ceramic bowl in both hands, sipping the porridge in small mouthfuls, though her eyes drifted toward the brown paper package on the edge of the table from time to time.

Aunt Liu had already put that package of snacks away, saying they should save them to eat slowly.

Chen Mo picked up a bun and broke it open; the inside was dry, hard, and coarse. He forced himself to eat one before looking at Chen Dachuan. "Dad, is there enough grain at home?"

Chen Dachuan kept his head down, drinking his porridge, and replied vaguely, "Enough. We just bought some the day before yesterday. If we mix it, we can get by."

He didn't mention whether the money used to buy the grain had come from the silver dollars hidden in the cellar.

Chen Mo didn't press the matter, turning instead to ask, "It seems like new neighbors moved into the house next door? I heard some movement this morning."

Chen Dachuan's movements paused, though he didn't even lift his eyelids. "Mm, they've been there for seven or eight days. They're very secretive; you rarely see them during the day, but there's the occasional noise at night."

"Don't get involved with them, so as to avoid trouble."

The warning in his tone was unmistakable.

Chen Mo nodded and stopped asking.

After the meal, Chen Dachuan packed up his carpenter's tools and said casually, "The sun is decent today. Take Yuanyuan out for a walk in town. The child has been here for days and hasn't really been out yet."

He glanced at Aunt Liu, who was silently washing the bowls. "You take a break, too."

Aunt Liu quickly wiped her hands. "No need to trouble Xiao Mo, Yuanyuan is fine at home..."

"Go on. It's not good to stay cooped up all the time."

Chen Dachuan's tone allowed no room for argument, then he added to Chen Mo, "Buy a bag of sugar while you're at it."

Chen Mo nodded and reached out a hand toward Yuanyuan.

The little girl hesitated for a moment, wiped her hand on her old clothes, and then timidly placed it into Chen Mo's palm.

The streets of Linshui County were not lively these days; the shops on both sides were only half-open, exuding an air of desolation.

Inside the shops, the shopkeepers and clerks were mostly listless.

Yet, there were many people on the street—or rather, it was crowded with them.

Most were dressed in rags, carrying tattered luggage, either leaning against walls or lying directly on the ground.

These were refugees.

Yuanyuan's small hand tightened in Chen Mo's palm, and she subconsciously leaned against his leg.

Chen Mo pulled her closer to his side, avoiding the people sprawled across the ground, and slowed his pace further.

Occasionally, a peddler carrying a pole with crude food would pass by, only to be immediately surrounded by refugees, who would either pull out dirty copper coins or simply reach out to beg.

A woman used her last few copper coins to trade for two hard, black, mixed-grain cakes, only to be immediately eyed by several people nearby with green, hungry glares. She hurriedly stuffed the cakes into her bosom, clutched them tightly, and stumbled away to a corner further down the wall.

The general store at the street corner that used to sell needles and thread now had a broken pot set up at the entrance, boiling thin vegetable porridge.

The shopkeeper held a long ladle, impatiently driving away those who crowded too close. "Line up! Everyone line up! Money! If you don't have money, get lost!"

Chen Mo watched in silence.

This was not the Linshui County of his memories.

The world had become even worse than before.

He sighed inwardly, holding Yuanyuan's hand as they walked slowly, pointing out the shop signs they passed.

The little girl, initially reserved, gradually had her eyes brighten, and she asked in a small voice, "What is that?"

As they neared the end of the street, a female student walked gracefully toward them from the opposite direction.

She wore a blue cloth top, a black skirt, and had hair cut to her ears, carrying a rattan suitcase. It was Li Siqing, Widow Li's daughter.

She seemed to have just gotten off a boat and looked weary, yet she still carried a fresh, scholarly air about her.

Li Siqing saw Chen Mo at this moment, her footsteps clearly faltering, and her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Her gaze swept over him and then landed on Yuanyuan, whom he was holding. A flash of surprise crossed her face, followed immediately by an even deeper coldness.

As they brushed past each other, Chen Mo nodded slightly as a greeting.

Li Siqing, however, acted as if she hadn't seen him and walked straight past, leaving behind only a clean scent of soap mixed with ink.

Yuanyuan looked up at Chen Mo, then back at Li Siqing's retreating figure, and asked in a whisper, "Brother, is that sister unhappy?"

Chen Mo withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "No, that person is just strange."

He remembered that the two of them had once been high school classmates; why did it feel like he owed her money he hadn't paid back?

He led Yuanyuan to the quieter end of the street, where a small general store was still open.

The shop owner was a thin, withered old man, listlessly flicking dust off the counter with a feather duster, his eyes watching the street outside with vigilance.

"A bag of sugar," Chen Mo said.

The old man looked at his neat attire and Yuanyuan beside him, his expression softening slightly as he fished a rough paper parcel from under the counter: "One silver dollar."

So expensive?

Chen Mo was surprised, but he paid the money nonetheless.

He remembered it only costing three hundred copper coins before.

Yuanyuan looked at the bag of sugar and licked her lips, but she didn't ask for any.

Walking out of the shop, Chen Mo unwrapped the paper and picked out a piece of rock candy to hand to her.

The little girl happily tucked it into her mouth, the sweetness melting on the tip of her tongue; she squinted her eyes, and a touch of childlike satisfaction finally appeared on her face.

"Is it sweet?" Chen Mo asked.

"Mm." Yuanyuan nodded vigorously, then asked in a small voice, "Brother, do those people lying on the ground... not have food to eat?"

Chen Mo looked at the crowd, still congested and chaotic at the end of the street, where faint sounds of arguing and crying seemed to drift from afar.

He raised his hand and gently ruffled Yuanyuan's hair.

"Mm," he replied, his voice flat, "many people have no food to eat."

Back home, just as they entered the courtyard, they heard the voice of Widow Li rising from next door, laced with a sobbing tone: "...You've grown wings now! Have you forgotten that if Master Chen hadn't gritted his teeth to lend us that money, would you be where you are today? Was university for nothing? Has your conscience been soaked away by ink?"

Then came Li Siqing's clear response, the stubbornness audible even through the wall: "Mom! Those are two different things! I remember the favor of the loan, and I will pay it back once I earn the money! But my marriage cannot be traded for this!"

"I've already said it, it's impossible for me to marry Chen Mo! I... I already have someone I like!"

"You! Can the person you like put food on the table? Can he help you stand firm in this world? What is wrong with that boy Chen Mo? He's steady!" Widow Li's voice was filled with anger and anxiety.

"No matter how good he is, I don't like him!" Li Siqing's voice carried a sense of finality, "What era is this now? I will walk my own path! Don't bring this up again!"

On this side of the courtyard wall, Chen Mo gave Yuanyuan another piece of candy.

The little girl held the candy in her mouth, looking blankly at Chen Mo, who wore a strange expression.

Chen Dachuan had appeared before them at some point, holding a plane in his hand, his face somewhat dark.

He glanced at Chen Mo, then listened to the argument next door, his tone carrying a hint of frustration at his lack of ambition.

"Useless thing, your wife is gone!"