Chapter Twenty-Seven: Wood as Hard as Iron and Stone

When Zhang Can returned to Liu Xiaoqin’s apartment upstairs, Liu’s mother was somewhat pleasantly surprised. Although Zhang Can had said what he did earlier, from her experience, whenever the conversation turned to practical matters, most people would simply walk away. No matter how beautiful her daughter was, in their eyes, spending five hundred thousand yuan was clearly not worth it.

In this place, five hundred thousand is no small sum; most rural families would never earn that much in their entire lives.

Before Zhang Can took out the envelope, Liu Xiaoqin’s mother nervously asked, “Xiao Zhang… about Xiaoqin, what… what are your thoughts?”

Zhang Can bit his lip, hesitated for a moment, then replied, “Auntie, I’m sorry, I can’t agree to this for now, I…”

At once, Liu’s mother’s face was full of disappointment. Her voice trembled as she said, “Xiao Zhang… are you blaming… are you angry at Xiaoqin? Really… really, Xiaoqin is a good girl…”

“That’s not it, Auntie, you’ve misunderstood!” Zhang Can shook his head and explained, “Auntie, I know Xiaoqin is a good girl, but feelings can’t be forced. I… I’m truly sorry!”

Liu’s mother’s eyes grew moist; with their family’s situation, she really didn’t know what else to do.

Only then did Zhang Can take out the envelope from his coat pocket and hand it to her, saying, “Auntie, please give this letter to Xiaoqin. Take care of yourself—I’m leaving now.”

Liu’s mother stared blankly at the envelope. She didn’t even notice Zhang Can leaving. Her eyes were wet, filled with both heartbreak and sorrow. Her husband was still lying in the hospital, awaiting death. Her daughter was working desperately to earn money, but her husband’s illness was a bottomless pit. Her daughter made barely over two thousand a month—how could that be enough? It wasn’t even a drop in the bucket.

Lost in tears, her body went limp and she collapsed onto the sofa. She didn’t know how much time passed before dusk settled in. The door creaked open, followed by the snap of a switch, and the lights came on.

It was Liu Xiaoqin who entered. Upon seeing her mother’s state, she cried out in alarm, “Mom, what… what happened? Did something happen to Dad?”

Liu’s mother raised her head, looking at her daughter with a face full of anguish and pain. She handed her the tightly clutched envelope and said, “Xiaoqin, Xiao… Xiao Zhang was here!”

Liu Xiaoqin took the letter, puzzled. “Xiao Zhang? Who’s Xiao Zhang?”

Tears welled up in Liu’s mother’s eyes again as she covered her face, saying, “Xiaoqin, I’m sorry, it’s all your father and I dragging you down, truly sorry!”

“Mom, what are you talking about? I’m your daughter. If children don’t take responsibility for their parents, then who will? Don’t talk about these things anymore.”

“It’s not about your father, it’s about Xiao Zhang—the young man Auntie introduced to you, the one surnamed Zhang. He was here!”

“What?” Liu Xiaoqin was stunned, then exclaimed, “Mom, how did he find this place? You… you didn’t say anything to him, did you?”

Liu’s mother shook her head, tearfully saying, “Xiaoqin, I felt that hiding things from him was unfair to Xiao Zhang, so I told him everything about our family. Xiao Zhang… Xiao Zhang still refused in the end. He asked me to give you this letter, and said… said he was sorry!”

Liu Xiaoqin’s expression changed instantly. She hadn’t expected her mother to reveal everything in the end. Since he’d made his refusal clear, it meant all hope was gone.

After a long silence, Liu Xiaoqin looked down at the envelope in her hand, annoyed. Since he’d already refused, why bother with a letter? She bit her lip and, unable to hold back, intended to tear the envelope apart without reading it.

But as she pulled, she felt something hard inside the envelope that resisted tearing. She opened the envelope and took out the hard object—it was unmistakably a bank card from the Industrial and Commercial Bank.

Liu Xiaoqin was stunned. Seeing the card, she sensed something was off. She quickly took out the letter and opened it in haste.

On the paper were just a few short lines:

“Xiaoqin, I’m sorry. I cannot accept your promise. I cannot accept the reality of someone selling herself for her parents. There are five hundred thousand yuan in the bank card. Don’t thank me; consider it a loan. Also, I hope you can keep this matter confidential. Zhang Can.”

Just those few brief lines. At the end, the card’s password was written: six eights.

Liu Xiaoqin stared blankly. Liu’s mother didn’t know what the letter said, but seeing her daughter’s odd expression, she quickly asked, “Xiaoqin, what did Xiao Zhang say? Are you alright?”

Liu Xiaoqin handed the bank card to her mother, saying bitterly, “Mom, he said he can’t accept marrying me, but he left five hundred thousand yuan.”

“What?” Liu’s mother was stunned, then jumped up and snatched the bank card, examining it repeatedly. But the card itself didn’t reveal if there was money inside. She thought for a moment, then dragged Liu Xiaoqin out the door. Across the street from the alley was a branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank.

Liu’s mother took her daughter to the ATM outside the bank, hands trembling, but still managed to insert the card into the slot.

When the screen prompted for a password, Liu’s mother hurriedly said, “Quick, enter the password!”

Liu Xiaoqin, still dazed, keyed in six eights almost unconsciously. After confirming, the screen displayed a balance: a five followed by a string of zeros.

Liu’s mother counted with shaky fingers, “Ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, one hundred thousand… Oh my god, Xiaoqin, it really is five hundred thousand…”

Liu Xiaoqin was equally stunned, unable to fathom why Zhang Can would give her so much. Although the letter said it was a loan, with her earning power, even if she saved every penny, she could only put away thirty thousand a year. Five hundred thousand would take nearly twenty years to repay, and that’s assuming she spent nothing.

All those men before, like wolves hungry for her, wanted nothing more than to devour her, yet none were willing to part with five hundred thousand. Zhang Can had struck her as different from the others at first sight—and now, even more so.

Liu Xiaoqin was certain that of all those who ever schemed for her, none would give her five hundred thousand and then refuse her, asking nothing in return. It was inconceivable.

Mother and daughter stood dumbstruck at the ATM. After a while, Liu’s mother withdrew ten thousand, then pulled her daughter home, planning to settle some medical bills at the hospital.

Zhang Can, carrying one hundred thousand in cash, took the bus home, troubled throughout the journey, unsure how to explain things to his parents, brother, sister-in-law, and younger sister. The matter of giving away five hundred thousand was certainly not to be mentioned, but the key issue was that he had clearly refused Liu Xiaoqin’s marriage in the letter. His family knew, and the day after tomorrow they were supposed to meet her, with the wedding set for mid-month. If she didn’t show up, what would happen then?

After changing buses in town and finally getting off at the village entrance, Zhang Can made up his mind. He pulled out his phone and called Zhu Senlin, asking him to come first thing in the morning to handle the golden nanmu business, before things changed. Although most of the profit from the four logs would go to Zhang Can, Zhu Senlin would still earn a million. Compared to his usual shop profits, a million was no small sum.

Zhu Senlin agreed happily, naturally without complaint. Even though Zhang Can would take the lion’s share, how much wealth had Zhang Can brought him? He’d earned at least thirty thousand from Yu Ji’s painting, and then, after their business in the suburb, Zhang Can had acquired an ivory micro-carving that Wang Qian bought for ten million, with Zhu Senlin getting five hundred thousand. Now Zhang Can had returned home and still brought him business, another easy million in profit. Compared to Old Su, who earned him just about a million a year, Zhang Can had brought him six or seven million in pure profit in less than ten days. Comparing people was truly maddening!

When Zhang Can arrived home, he found his mother, younger sister, and sister-in-law bustling about preparing food. In the main room were three black wood columns, each over four meters long—they were the golden nanmu logs from the riverside.

Zhang Can hurried out towards the river, but before reaching it, he saw his father, eldest brother Zhang Jiye, and seventeen or eighteen strong men from the village, all laboring to carry the golden nanmu logs back, with the village chief shouting and directing at the front, loudly and enthusiastically.

Upon seeing his son, Zhang Guonian called for a break, saying, “Everyone, take a rest! Take a rest!” Then he asked Zhang Can, “Son, did you get the money?”

Zhang Can nodded. Zhang Guonian immediately waved, “Alright, give it to your uncle. He’s organizing the local labor to repair the road and pay wages.”

Zhang Can was inwardly pleased. Although his father seemed honest, honest men inspire trust. The village chief was a relative of Zhang Guonian’s generation, whom Zhang Can called uncle. By asking Zhang Can to hand over one hundred thousand to the chief, he was ensuring the chief would earn a little extra. One hundred thousand wasn’t much, but the chief could easily pocket several thousand or more. For such a poor village, earning that much was like manna from heaven. The chief was delighted and promptly called the strong men to follow Zhang Guonian’s instructions.

Zhang Guonian’s rationale was simple: since they were spending money to replace the wooden railings with concrete posts, the four logs could be brought home for firewood or cooking; throwing them away would be wasteful.

The chief and the villagers didn’t know the real value of the logs, and besides, Zhang Can was funding the road repairs himself—a good deed for the whole community. Anyone else, even if they’d struck it rich, would likely never do such a thing!

Zhang Can handed the bag to the chief, smiling, “Uncle, here’s one hundred thousand yuan—I just withdrew it from the county.”

Seeing the seventeen or eighteen men resting, he quickly pulled out another two hundred yuan and handed it to the chief, “Uncle, please buy some drinks for everyone—they’re tired and need something to quench their thirst.”

The chief took the money, but protested, “This… surely two hundred is too much?”

Zhang Can replied casually, “Buy plenty. If there’s any left, buy some candy for your grandson.”

The chief’s daughter-in-law ran the village shop, and his grandson didn’t need to pay for candy, but Zhang Can’s words made the chief smile and he accepted without objection, heading off cheerfully.

Among those carrying the golden nanmu logs were Zhang Guoxing and Zhang Guocheng, two of Zhang Can’s uncles. Zhang Guoxing exclaimed, “Guonian, why are these rotten logs so heavy? Like stone! Each one must weigh over a thousand jin. With seventeen of us carrying it, it’s still tough. What kind of rotten wood is this?”