Chapter 24

"I just thought the child didn't look much like you."

Gu Jinshui bent down and pulled aside the scarf wrapped around the child's face. The child was beautiful, with pale skin, big eyes, and thick, dark lashes.

Then he looked at the woman: thin and sallow-faced. Put them side by side, and who would believe they were mother and son?

"Didn't I tell you he takes after my husband?"

The woman raised her voice. "You little punk, are you trying to harass me?"

At the sound of her voice, everyone on the bus turned to look.

The conductor squeezed over. "What's going on?"

"Comrade conductor, this punk is harassing me! You have to help me. I'm a woman traveling alone with a child. What am I supposed to do if someone has bad intentions?"

The woman burst into tears on cue and pointed at Gu Jinshui, shouting abuse.

Seeing the commotion Gu Jinshui had landed himself in, Song Jianshe folded his arms and watched with a grin.

"What are you doing, comrade?" the conductor asked Gu Jinshui.

Her face hardened. "A big, strapping man like you ought to be ashamed! There's a crackdown on right now. Harass a woman, and they could convict you of hooliganism. You might even end up facing a firing squad!"

Gu Jinshui stayed calm. "Comrade conductor, hold on. Ask the others whether I harassed her. All I did was ask how old her son was. Does that count as harassment?"

The conductor paused and looked around.

An elderly passenger said, "That's what happened. The young man didn't do anything to her."

Without drawing attention to it, he edged away from the woman beside him, afraid he might accidentally be branded a hooligan too.

"Then why would you say something like that?" the conductor asked the woman, at a loss for words.

She had thought some punk was groping women on the bus. It turned out to be a misunderstanding.

"Comrade conductor, I have something to report. I'm afraid the child in this woman's arms was stolen. He cried just now, and she pressed something over his mouth. I saw it with my own eyes!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a thought struck Gu Jinshui.

Could this be the overseas Chinese man's grandson?

The more he looked, the more likely it seemed.

For one thing, a child who looked like this didn't seem to come from an ordinary family. Most people let their children run around outside all day until they were brown as anything. This child was as fair as milk. No one looked like that without careful tending.

"Bullshit! He's my son!"

The bus came to a stop. They had reached the end of the route.

Many of the passengers got off.

The woman hurried toward the door with the child in her arms. Gu Jinshui grabbed her before she could leave. "Wait. You say he's your son? Fine. What's his name? What's his surname?"

His voice rang out. Caught off guard, the woman's mind went blank. Her lips moved, but no answer came.

The conductor had seen enough to know something was wrong. "Everyone, help us! She's a child trafficker!"

Several elderly passengers immediately crowded around and blocked the way.

Hearing the commotion, the driver rushed over. "There's a child trafficker on the bus?"

"Yes, Old Chen. Take us to the police station, quick!" the conductor said.

The driver agreed at once.

The conductor seized the woman's arm, then turned to Gu Jinshui. "Comrade, please come to the station with us. We'll need you to explain what happened."

"Well..." Gu Jinshui watched Song Jianshe get off with the other passengers. Song even glanced back at him smugly. Gu Jinshui grew anxious, but when he saw the sleeping child's furrowed brow, he couldn't bring himself to leave. "All right. I'll go with you."

A life mattered more than any object.

If the Snuff Bottle truly wasn't meant to be his, so be it.

The driver took them to a nearby police station.

The Public Security officers came over as soon as they heard a child trafficker had been caught.

A young officer said, "Wait, didn't the chief say this morning that an overseas Chinese man's grandson had gone missing? Could this be him?"

The woman went white and began trembling all over.

When the chief heard, he immediately made a call. Before long, a sedan pulled up outside the station.

An old gentleman in a crisp suit stepped out. He was smartly dressed, but his hair was in disarray, and he nearly stumbled climbing the steps.

One look at the old man, and Gu Jinshui was certain.

He and the child had exactly the same eyes. No one would doubt they were grandfather and grandson.

"Yes. That's my Lin'er!"

Seeing his grandson's eyes closed, the old man panicked. "What happened to him? Get him to a hospital!"

"Old Mr. Lan, please don't worry. The child is all right. He's only been given something to make him sleep."

The chief hurried to reassure him, privately heaving a sigh of relief.

Lan Yeping was an overseas Chinese businessman with industrial interests in the United States. He had contacted the country last year about investing back home, to everyone's delight. People had been assigned to meet with him and prepare all sorts of projects for his visit.

But that morning, while they were watching the flag-raising in the square, his grandson had been stolen. Old Mr. Lan had fainted on the spot. Senior officials had been frantic and ordered everyone to search for the child.

Lan Yeping could hardly rest easy. "I'm taking my grandson to the hospital. And the trafficker? Have you caught her?"

"We have, thanks to this young comrade!"

Eager to save face, the chief brought Gu Jinshui forward. "There are plenty of kindhearted people here. This young comrade noticed something was wrong on the bus and caught the trafficker. That's how we found your grandson."

"Thank you. Thank you so much!"

Lan Yeping gripped Gu Jinshui's hand and nodded emphatically.

Gu Jinshui glanced at the clock on the wall. "No need to thank me. I have something urgent to attend to. Could you let me go? I don't think there's anything else you need me for."

The chief blinked.

Lan Yeping made the decision. "Of course. Go ahead. I'll bring my grandson to thank you properly another day."

The chief relaxed and gestured for the young officer to see Gu Jinshui out.

The officer was friendly. "What's so urgent? Could you use a hand?"

"Urgent as can be. A hand would help. Got a bicycle I could borrow?"

Gu Jinshui didn't stand on ceremony. Sweat had broken out across his forehead.

The young officer paused, then smiled. "As it happens, I do. You can borrow mine."

"Thanks." Gu Jinshui followed him to get the bicycle. Once he had mounted it, he asked, "Comrade, what's your name?"

"Tang Renjian. You can call me Little Tang."

Tang Renjian seemed easygoing.

Gu Jinshui gave a faint smile. "All right. One more thing: I think that trafficker had an accomplice. She kept looking at someone on the bus. Everything happened so fast that I couldn't tell who it was, but ask her about it. Don't let them get away."

That was an important lead.

Tang Renjian glanced at him and understood that Gu Jinshui had done him a favor. Pleased, he patted Gu Jinshui's shoulder. "Don't worry. We won't let a single criminal get away."

The Twenty-Eighth Day of Being Overheard

Cycling was certainly faster than walking, but Gu Jinshui knew he had probably missed his chance at the deal.

He didn't give up, though. There was something he still needed to tell Elder Guan.

When he reached the Guan family's home, he had barely stopped the bicycle before Auntie Guan heard him and came out. She waved him in. "Young man, come inside!"

Gu Jinshui paused. Behind her, Song Jianshe was glaring at him.

Through clenched teeth, Song Jianshe said, "Gu Jinshui, you've got some nerve. They both insisted on waiting for you before discussing the deal."

Gu Jinshui understood at once.

Warmth rose in his chest as he looked at Auntie Guan. He got off the bicycle and hurried into the courtyard.

Auntie Guan looked a little sheepish. She beckoned him in. "Come along. If you keep your elder waiting, he gets impatient."

"What nonsense. Who's impatient?" Elder Guan's rough voice called out.

Gu Jinshui entered with a smile. "Sorry I'm late. Something held me up on the way. I'm really sorry."

Elder Guan glanced at him without comment. He picked up the cloth-wrapped Snuff Bottle from the table, slowly unwrapped it, and set it down. "Here it is. Inspect it."

Gu Jinshui examined it carefully. It was the same Snuff Bottle as before.

He nodded. "It's the right one. And the price is still twelve hundred yuan?"

Song Jianshe cut in. "I don't need to inspect it. I trust you."

Elder Guan ignored him and cradled a coarse porcelain tea bowl in his hands. "Yesterday I said at least twelve hundred. It goes to whoever offers more."

"Of course. A fine piece like this shouldn't go cheap," Song Jianshe said.

He pulled a bundle from his coat and opened it. Inside was a little under half a small gold bar. A whole bar weighed one liang, about thirty-one grams, so this piece was around fourteen grams. At the current price of eighty-four yuan per gram, it was worth roughly thirteen hundred yuan.

Elder Guan paused at the sight. He picked it up and bit it. Real gold!

"That shows I'm serious, doesn't it?" Song Jianshe said.

"You'd get at least thirteen hundred for it on the Black Market. Enough to see the two of you through your old age."

Elder Guan's lips moved. He was tempted.

Auntie Guan coughed.

After a moment's silence, Elder Guan put down the gold and looked at Gu Jinshui. "What's your offer?"

Song Jianshe looked at Gu Jinshui with complete confidence.

He was sure Gu Jinshui hadn't prepared nearly as well as he had.

At best, Gu Jinshui had brought twelve hundred yuan.

With a difference of over a hundred yuan, Elder Guan would have to be out of his mind to sell it to Gu Jinshui.

"I brought twelve hundred yuan and a sewing machine coupon."

Gu Jinshui took a thick stack of cash and coupons from his pocket.

Elder Guan opened his mouth, looking conflicted.

A sewing machine coupon was valuable, but only worth a few dozen yuan.

"Come on, sell it to me," Song Jianshe said cheerfully. "With this money, what coupon couldn't you buy on the Black Market?"

He reached for the Snuff Bottle.

He had it all planned out. Director Chen loved collecting snuff bottles. If Song Jianshe brought him this one, he could make money and apologize for his earlier mistake at the same time. Surely Director Chen would lift his punishment and give him a little something for his trouble.

"Hold on!"

Gu Jinshui stopped him.

A smile tugged at his lips. "I have another offer. I can provide a job as a worker at a garment factory. It pays at least thirty or forty yuan a month. Would your granddaughter be interested?"

Elder Guan and Auntie Guan both froze.

"Yes, yes!" Auntie Guan said quickly. "Our Da Ya is good with her hands. She can use a sewing machine and make clothes for men and women alike."

That was a pleasant surprise.

Gu Jinshui had thought that if Da Ya was a beginner, he could have her learn from Liang Ying for a while.

Liang Ying was wonderfully deft with her hands and could make any sort of clothing. She had sewn everything the family wore on her machine.

She never wasted a scrap of fabric. Everything came out just right.

"All the better," Gu Jinshui said.

Seeing that Elder Guan was interested, Gu Jinshui stepped forward as if they were old friends and poured him some water. "I haven't known you two long, so forgive me for speaking frankly. Your granddaughter is a good person. She may have a physical disability, but she has character, and she's hardworking. If she stays in the countryside, she'll spend her whole life farming and raising children. If she works in the city, things will be different."

"How different? She'll still marry and raise children in the city." Elder Guan's tone was stiff, as though he felt stung.

Gu Jinshui wasn't offended. He chuckled. "But it matters who she marries, doesn't it? Don't"