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This wasn't like English. Everyone understood some English. Even if they weren't good at it, they could listen to a recording a few times, slow it down a little, and understand most of it.

They didn't know the first thing about Romani. Even if they played the recording on loop all day, they still wouldn't understand a word.

They stood silently in the living room, surrounded by an incomprehensible language, utterly at a loss.

After the passage had played a dozen or so times, someone suddenly snapped their fingers.

Everyone snapped back to attention. "Who was that? What is it?"

The one who had snapped his fingers was actually Mike.

His mouth hung open as he listened motionlessly to Black Granny's last two sentences, then he cried out in excitement.

He spoke so fast that it sounded like gibberish too.

Old Yu and the others stared blankly for a while, then turned to You Huo. "What did he say?"

You Huo frowned. "He said Black Granny's Romani has Persian and Russian words mixed in."

He turned to Mike. "Are you sure?"

Though Mike's appearance didn't do justice to his heritage as someone of four nationalities, he did have a grounding in languages. He slowed down and explained that his maternal grandfather was from Russia. Though he wasn't fluent in Russian, his vocabulary was decent. As for Persian, he had taken it as an elective on a whim in college.

During their migrations, Romani people were often influenced by the people in the places where they lived, so their language frequently incorporated foreign words.

They also learned the local language, just as Black Granny could understand the Chinese spoken by the examinees.

The village chief had said that Black Granny had come here with Russians to escape the war. Presumably, her Russian companions had influenced her, mixing other words into her speech.

Perhaps even she hadn't noticed it herself.

Hearing this, everyone immediately perked up.

Yu Wen stared at Mike like an eager dog. "Come on! Quick, tell us! What did you hear?"

At the question, Mike looked a little embarrassed again.

His slightly chubby face turned pink. After several hesitant "uhs," he finally managed to squeeze out a few words.

"Grave."

"Flower."

"Needle."

"Sun."

You Huo looked at Mike, then turned to the others. "That's all."

Everyone: "..."

"What were the questions again?" Old Yu asked.

Expressionless, Yu Wen said, "One, what's Black Granny's name? Two, where is her family? Three, how many people are in her house?"

Which of those four words could answer any of them...?

The hope they had finally managed to kindle went out with a puff.

Everyone drew back their craned necks, their faces downcast.

Before they knew it, the sun had slanted westward and disappeared behind the woods, casting a dim afterglow.

Yu Yao, who was sitting by the window, suddenly lifted the curtain and said softly, "Villagers..."

"Huh?" Yu Wen leaned over. "What villagers?"

Yu Yao pulled the curtain all the way open and pointed through the small, round stone-framed window. "Someone's come out and is moving around across the river. They must be villagers, right?"

A sheen of light lay over the frozen river in the evening. On the other side of that light, two or three figures were emerging from their houses, baskets on their arms, carefully making their way toward the river.

"They really are," Chen Bin muttered. "The village chief said they'd come out and move around in the evening, so it'd be livelier with more people, right? But..."

How were two or three people lively???

In any case, wherever there were people, there were clues.

You Huo put on his black down jacket and zipped it up to his chin, covering the lower half of his face, then stepped outside.

The others followed him out one after another.

Qin Jiu walked unhurriedly beside You Huo, half a step behind him.

"Clothes bought with points?"

You Huo narrowed his eyes and glanced at him through the slits.

"Even though you've given me a few big presents, I'm a very magnanimous person. I don't mind offering you a few words of advice."

With both hands in his coat pockets, Qin Jiu walked slowly across the frozen river alongside him. "In this exam, you can count the people who pass on one hand. Anyway, I've been an invigilator for so long, and I haven't seen many. For ordinary examinees, it's best not to spend points recklessly early on."

The tip of You Huo's straight nose was hidden beneath his collar, but his breath still formed clouds of white mist.

He reached the opposite bank, his pale eyes shifting to a middle-aged woman not far away.

The woman was dressed in the typical fashion of the borderlands in the dead of winter. Her long winter coat wrapped her from neck to feet, and her large scarf nearly buried her entire head.

She crouched awkwardly by the river and called to the man beside her, "Come on, break the ice."

You Huo watched for a while, then tossed Qin Jiu a remark. "Save your advice for ordinary people. I don't need it."

With that, he walked over to the two villagers.

The two villagers were slightly startled when they saw You Huo. Then smiles slowly spread across their frozen faces. "Are you one of the new guests? The village chief mentioned you to us."

You Huo glanced toward the village chief's house. Its doors and windows were shut tight.

"Yes, we just arrived this morning," he answered.

The villagers nodded, not particularly warm. "You're staying on the other side of the river?"

"Yes."

Villagers: "..."

The man and woman fell silent for a while, then couldn't hold back. "Don't you have anything you want to ask us? You must not be used to the village, having just arrived, right?"

You Huo raised his eyes. "It's all right."

The two of them: "..."

They exchanged looks for a moment, then crouched down again to dig into the ice on the river. After a couple of strikes, they glanced at You Huo.

"Did you go to Black Granny's?" the middle-aged woman couldn't help asking.

You Huo nodded. "Yes, we spent the afternoon there."

"Oh... did you do anything?"

You Huo said, "We made a few dolls. I don't know if you've seen them."

The two villagers paused, shrinking back a little.

You Huo added, "A few people didn't make any, either."

To his surprise, the villagers shrank back again.

A moment later, the woman looked up and said, "No. Usually only guests visit Black Granny. We rarely go to the other side of the river."