Volume One, Chapter 14: The Ambush

In the early hours, after seeing Wang Cui and the child sound asleep, Xia Nannan armed herself fully, clutching a stick and holding Da Mi as she hid beneath the eaves.

By all logic, since Yu Mingliang had failed to find anything during the day, he would surely return at night, likely taking advantage of the deep sleep humans enter in the latter half of the night.

“Soon, scratch at that face, understood?”

Da Mi seemed to comprehend, meowing softly before nuzzling against Xia Nannan’s arms, settling into a comfortable position and beginning to purr.

The woman and her cat hid under the eaves for nearly twenty minutes. Just as they thought Yu Mingliang wouldn’t come that night and were preparing to return indoors to sleep, a strange sound suddenly echoed through the darkness.

Xia Nannan pricked up her ears, listening carefully to pinpoint the direction. Then, a shadow appeared on the wall. Perhaps he was wearing too many layers, making his climb over the wall awkward. Luckily, since she had marked the spot during the day, he avoided landing on the pile of firewood in the corner when he jumped down.

Watching Yu Mingliang grunt as he rummaged through the woodpile, Xia Nannan’s curiosity deepened.

Money?

Ration coupons?

Or maybe a love letter from some girl?

Before she could figure out what the treasure was, Yu Mingliang’s movements slowed down. Carefully, he pulled out a crumpled paper roughly the size of a fist from the innermost part. Before he could pocket it, Da Mi leapt forward, slapping his face with a swift paw.

The motion was so quick that Yu Mingliang didn’t even have time to react, his face scratched several times by Da Mi.

Seizing the moment, Xia Nannan picked up the dropped paper, slipped it into her pocket, and stepped back under the eaves. Pretending to have just come out, she wrapped herself in her clothes and called out groggily, “Who’s there? What are you doing?”

Yu Mingliang, caught, yanked Da Mi away, covering his face and limping off towards the courtyard gate without looking back. His limp fully revealed his identity.

Xia Nannan pretended to stomp her feet behind him, as if about to give chase. Hearing footsteps, Yu Mingliang quickened his pace, nearly stumbling as he hurried through the door.

Once he left, Xia Nannan closed the door securely and returned to the yard. She crouched to examine Da Mi’s paws—there was blood, indicating the scratches were deep. She then stroked Da Mi’s head and took out a small piece of cooked wild boar meat she had prepared earlier, placing it in front of the cat as a reward.

Widows’ homes attract much trouble. If she were to call people out, who knew what disgusting excuses Yu Mingliang might concoct in desperation.

Back inside, Xia Nannan unfolded the paper by the firelight to read what was written.

The text was disjointed and nonsensical, a jumble of English letters that didn’t form any coherent words.

Frowning, she—who could speak five languages—felt dumbfounded at the patchwork of letters that made no sense.

Just as she was about to give up, an idea struck. She picked up a stick by the stove and began to write on the ground.

By inserting a few letters into the cluster of English letters, the text suddenly became coherent.

Damn it, this wasn’t English at all—it was clearly French!

Combining this with Yu Mingliang’s furtive behavior, it was hard not to think of those two words.

If her guess was correct, it was very likely he was connected to the military.

As the saying goes, the most dangerous places are often the safest.

What puzzled her, however, was why Yu Mingliang chose Wang Cui’s house as a contact point. Was he alone or part of a group? Why send someone with a limp to fetch things? Was he not afraid of being discovered?

Calming down, Xia Nannan quickly copied everything from the note into her inner garment’s pocket, then folded the paper neatly and tossed it into the woodpile in the yard.

She couldn’t let Yu Mingliang know his identity had been exposed, nor did she want the widow and her child to become targets.

The next morning, sure enough, the item was gone. The disordered firewood pile was evidence of the previous night’s events.

After breakfast, Xia Nannan took a rope and left. The French phrase on the paper mentioned the back mountain; she had to check it out.

If her suspicions were true, she would have to inform Gu Nanzhou and the others. If it was a misunderstanding, she could only admit her curiosity got the better of her.

Before she reached the village entrance, she spotted several men approaching from afar, walking in her direction. No matter which way she turned, they followed, clearly intent on causing trouble.

Her guess was right. About five or six meters away, the leader—a man wearing a black knit hat and holding a branch—tilted his head and shouted at her.

“Hey! You’re related to that family, right?”

Receiving no answer, Yang Xiangdong’s face reddened with embarrassment.

Xia Nannan ignored him and tried to walk around, but the man deliberately blocked her path with the branch.

“My name’s Yang Xiangdong. Because you took two hundred yuan from my family, my brother’s marriage was ruined, and the girl my old man had just promised ran off,” Yang Xiangdong stepped back two paces, sizing up Xia Nannan, who was more beautiful than any of the village’s young women. “So, you’ll just have to be my wife.”

Ha ha ha!

Xia Nannan’s expression shifted slightly as she looked at the men grinning wider than a donkey happy at the production team.

“Do you own a house in the city?”

“Do you have a car?”

“Do you have a stable job?”

“How much do you have in savings?”

“Are you at least 1.88 meters tall?”

“……”

With a rapid-fire volley of questions, Yang Xiangdong’s face drained from red to white, lips pressed tight, unsure which to answer.

The others were even more embarrassed, not knowing where to look.

Xia Nannan chuckled softly, mentally scolding them as cowards. Before leaving, she glanced back mockingly.

“You have nothing, yet you want to marry me. Let me give you some advice: if you’re incapable, don’t waste your time daydreaming like educated folks.”

Pfft!

Nearby, Wang Hu in the jeep nearly burst from holding in his laughter. It was the first time he’d seen someone so bluntly hit people where it hurt—and leave them speechless.

Take the first question: not only the village men but even his ancestors’ graves wouldn’t meet that standard.

Wang Hu glanced at Gu Nanzhou in the back seat through the rearview mirror, thinking that probably only their team leader fit all of Xia Nannan’s criteria.

Unfortunately, their leader was married. He’d heard the young wife was just eighteen, barely literate, with questionable character. She even tried to jump from a building to marry her brother-in-law—such shame!

How could such an outstanding man settle for that kind of woman? Life was just too unfair.