"Miss, are you sure you're not joking? Your brother is a dead person?" I was so shocked that I almost sprayed the tea out of my mouth and asked.
The policewoman looked at me and nodded.
"Doesn't seem so simple, right?" I asked, certain that being a dead person is not that simple. This policewoman doesn't seem like a crazy person; how could she ask someone to cure a dead person? Fatty is indeed a geomancer, but he's not a deity!
However, no matter what I asked, the policewoman was tight-lipped. According to her, family matters are private, and she wouldn't say anything unless Fatty was willing to help.
I was at my wit's end, she just used a secret to tease me a little, but she wouldn't tell me anything. Neither Lin Sanshui nor I could promise her anything regarding Fatty's involvement. After chatting for a while, Lin Sanshui ordered the police to leave as this was a private matter between us.
"Don't tell me to leave just because you're going to do something shady?" the policewoman asked. Although she said that, she still walked out, closing the door behind her. When this girl was quiet, she wasn't bad, was she?
But with only Lin Sanshui and me left in the room, I felt guilty. Who wouldn't? Even though I knew about me and Wu Miao's affairs, the likelihood of Lin Sanshui knowing was very small. According to his temper, if he found out, he would have fought me with a knife a long time ago.
As expected, he said, "Xiaofan, both of them don't like Fatty and are living in your house; you've caused me trouble. As for your affairs with Xiaoyao, I know that she's causing you a lot of distress now. Once Mr. Liu gets Xiaoyao's face restored, we'll deal with your matter."
"I'm not causing you trouble, Uncle, we're all one family, so you're being too polite," I said.
Lin Sanshui handed me a cigarette and said, "Xiaofan, among the youth in the village, I only find you pleasing; steady and intelligent. In this society, those with brains make big things happen. Let's not talk about anything else; how about that Lin Erda? He's physically strong, but so what? He won't amount to much. Have you heard? Last night, he made a lot of noise while having sex with Bai Zhenzhu in bed. Half of the village heard it, like slaughtering pigs. In the end, the bed collapsed. Tell me, with such strength, what else can he do other than use it on his fat wife?"
This time I was truly shocked and said, "There's also that? But with Erda's strength, I'll agree with you, I doubt Bai Zhenzhu can handle him."
"Who wouldn't agree? In the morning, I quickly went to buy vegetables and saw Erda's mother at the market. It used to be Bai Zhenzhu doing the shopping, and I asked Erda's mother what's wrong with her daughter-in-law. She said she's sick, looking very strange. As far as I'm concerned, that damn bastard probably made her unable to get out of bed," Lin Sanshui said, with the smile that every man would have on their face when mentioning this.
Seeing his smile, I felt uncomfortable.
"Uncle, you and Auntie aren’t old, are you planning to have another child?" I asked a tough question. In fact, I asked on purpose, if Lin Sanshui didn't touch Wu Miao after I was with her, wouldn't the matter be exposed?
Lin Sanshui's smiling face suddenly turned dark, and he puffed on his cigarette a few times, extinguishing it on the ground and exhaling the smoke, enveloping himself in a cloud of smoke. He didn't speak, and I didn't know what to say. It seems that just mentioning Wu Miao would cause a cold atmosphere.
"Wu Miao is a good woman. When I married her, I promised her that I would let her live the life of a city dweller. For several years, she sold vegetables in the greenhouse and had some savings. But at that time, your grandmother was still alive and didn't treat her well. After your grandmother passed away, no one dared to say she couldn't give birth. My luck wasn't good, and despite the land being valuable, I'm just a spendthrift. Now I've found another one in town, she's swallowing her anger. I didn't give her a good life," Lin Sanshui spoke softly.
After speaking, he even wiped the corner of his eye.
I had brought up the topic on purpose, but right now, I wanted to just smack myself on the ears. why did I provoke the issue unnecessarily? The problem was that it made me very uncomfortable.
"Uncle, Wu Miao seems quite happy," I could only offer this as comfort.
"Xiaofan, if your uncle divorces your aunt, will I have no conscience?" Lin Sanshui suddenly asked me.
"This matter..." I was at a loss for words.
Lin Sanshui lit another cigarette, deeply inhaled a few puffs, and waved to me, "I'll be honest with you. I kept you here today to discuss two things with you. One of them is this: the woman in town is pregnant again, and Mr. Liu said he can help me save the baby. But the woman said that if I don't divorce Wu Miao, she'll abort the child. Wu Miao is young and pretty, and doesn't have to worry about finding a husband. After the divorce, all the house belongings will be hers, and I, Lin Sanshui, will also not stay at Lin's Village. For the rest of my life, it will be all for the sake of a child."
After Lin Sanshui finished, he took out an already printed divorce agreement from his pocket. His deep love seemed dim.
I don't know why, but I had always hoped that Wu Miao would divorce, and even before, when I thought about Wu Miao and Lin Sanshui sharing a bed, I was extremely jealous. But at the moment when I saw the outcome I had thought about for a long time, I suddenly felt a sense of loss.
"Uncle, are you sure you want to do this? Won't you regret it?" I asked.
"I regret it now, but what's the use of regret? I'll say it again, you're not at my age yet, but when you're there, you'll understand how it feels not having a son," Lin Sanshui said.
"Then, Uncle, I can't help you with this matter. Take this paper to Wu Miao yourself. Since you said that you owe it to her, you should handle this last matter yourself, whether to scold or to hit Wu Miao, it's up to her, okay?" I said, feeling extremely uncomfortable, and even wanted to have a good cry.
Not for anyone else, just for Wu Miao.
I never understood why, in my memory, she, who was dignified and introverted, suddenly changed so much in such a short period of time. Harshly speaking, she had transformed from a gentle lady to a "woman of loose morals," and I couldn't recognize her at all. I always thought that her change was due to her attempted suicide.
But last night, when she spoke of her hypocrisy, why would a woman capable of such tactics just give in to me, and why insist on only doing it once?
Wu Miao is still the same Wu Miao, the woman who panicked when I, an eleven-year-old, accidentally saw her bathing. If not for her and Wu Miao's inability to bear a child, if Lin Sanshui hadn't found a young lover in town, and if she didn't know that Lin Sanshui was determined to divorce her, then she wouldn't have acted so brazenly towards me.
She wouldn't have tried to seduce me.
—I used to understand Lin Xiaoyao's feelings toward me, but I couldn't understand Wu Miao's feelings toward me until they came so abruptly.
Now suddenly, I understand everything.
The extent of her transformation is how much she doesn’t want to leave Lin Sanshui. Her transformation, her change, is only because she doesn't want to leave Lin Sanshui, and she wants to save her marriage.
I, Lin Xiaofan, everything I've done to Wu Miaoke is just taking advantage of her vulnerability!
"Uncle, Auntie is a good woman. I advise you again, think twice!" I said firmly to Lin Sanshui.
He looked at me with determination, his eyes filled with incredulity.
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment, both of us lost in thought, two old men silently smoking.
"Liu Pangzi said, you can't have a son, is it Auntie's problem?" I suddenly asked Lin Sanshui.
His eyes became a little bewildered, wanting to nod, then wanting to shake his head, he said, "Mr. Liu didn't say that, but Xiaofan, I've been with that girl once or twice and she could get pregnant. But with your auntie, all these years, her stomach has been quiet. This is not your fault, it's mine, right?"
After that, Lin Sanshui pinched his eyebrows and said: "Let's not talk about this matter. I will find an opportunity to talk to your auntie. Xiaofan, don't try to persuade me. I owe your auntie in this life. In the next life, I will come back as an ox or a horse to repay the debt. Let's talk about another matter, that red coffin in the ancestral hall, it needs to be taken care of quickly. Mr. Liu doesn't know how long he will stay in the village. Let's take care of it before it's too late. What do you say?"