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Chapter 41
The gentle breeze blew softly as the rays of the sunset radiated across the land. It was truly a lovely day.
ZhiXia had just opened the door when her grandfather called out, "ZhiXia, are you going out?"
"Yes, I'm going to the literacy class. Dad said I should try to learn as many words as I can," ZhiXia gently replied.
"Your dad just wants the best for you. Go on then, but remember to come home early. It doesn't matter if you can't learn everything - when you get back, grandpa will teach you," the old man affectionately reminded her.
The literacy class was held in a fixed location, with one session after lunch and two after dinner every day. Attendance was optional and no one kept track.
However, ever since ZhiXia started going, she hadn't missed a single session, attending twice daily without fail.
Today was no different.
But after leaving the literacy class, she didn't hurry home. Instead, she walked further and further in the opposite direction.
"ZhiXia, are you going home?" Zhao Jingyun, the literacy teacher, called out to her. She was in her 30s and in poor health, forcing her to quit her job. But staying home all day was boring, so she volunteered to teach at the literacy class, working without pay. The teachers took turns, so she only came occasionally, just enough to relieve her boredom without taxing her health.
Hearing someone call her name, ZhiXia looked back to see Zhao Jingyun sitting on the back of a bicycle, her husband braking to a stop beside her.
"No, I'm going to Locust Alley to take care of something," ZhiXia replied. "Teacher Zhao, are you going home?"
Zhao nodded. "Yes, my husband came to pick me up. What a coincidence - we also live near Locust Alley. Shall we give you a ride? It's quite far, who knows how long it would take you to walk there alone."
"Wouldn't that be too much trouble?" ZhiXia regretted not knowing how to ride a bike. She had poor balance - whenever An ZhiAng let go, she felt like she would fall. Luckily, she didn't usually go far. An ZhiAng accompanied her when she needed to travel.
"No trouble at all. You can sit on the back," Zhao said, pinching her husband's waist as if to scold him for hesitating.
"Thank you, Teacher Zhao. Please excuse the imposition, sir," ZhiXia finally sat on the bike's rear rack, gripping it tightly without touching the people in front.
Luckily the road was flat and the ride smooth without incident.
"ZhiXia, what business could you possibly have in Locust Alley so late, alone without family?" Zhao's petite figure was hunched over the handlebars, tilting her head down without obscuring her vision.
ZhiXia's eyes flickered nervously, but no one noticed. "I'm going to see Supervisor Liang about something."
The silent man suddenly braked, planting a foot on the ground to stop the bike.
ZhiXia quickly jumped off, looking confused and innocent, as if unsure what she had done wrong.
Zhao dismounted as well, standing perplexedly before ZhiXia. "Why are you looking for Supervisor Liang? The Supervisor Liang from the Thought Committee?"
ZhiXia nodded timidly. "I... Can I not say?"
The man scoffed at her mouse-like cowardice. "Which family are you from? Who told you to come looking for me?"
"You're Supervisor Liang?" ZhiXia looked shocked.
Under her astounded gaze, the Liangs glanced at each other, both finding the girl quite amusing.
After ZhiXia nodded, she became even more flustered. "I... I heard that Supervisor Liang's wife is ill and needs ginseng to nourish her health. I happen to have some, so I thought... I thought..."
She ducked her head, swallowing nervously, unable to get the words out as she shrank back timidly.
"You have ginseng? What year?" A hint of excitement flashed through Liang Zhiwei's eyes before he became guarded again. "Also, who told you I needed ginseng?"
"My third brother, a doctor at the hospital on Peace Road - An ZhiXian. He was helping someone look for ginseng," ZhiXia looked at them beseechingly. "Teacher Zhao, are you the one who needs ginseng to recover your health? Please don't tell my brother about this. I snuck out without telling my family."
The Liangs exchanged another look, both with disbelief in their eyes.
"Little girl, you snuck ginseng from your family to give to us. Are you sure you won't get beaten when you go back? Also, if An ZhiXian is your brother, why keep it from him? You're not plotting something, are you?" As Supervisor Liang, he couldn't let anyone try to deceive him. That would just be handing him an achievement.
"I'm not plotting anything, really!" ZhiXia widened her eyes. To convince them, she revealed her entire background, including how An MeiYun had mistreated her, forcing her to move out.
Of course she embellished parts to give a completely different impression.
"I'm really not plotting anything, believe me. I dug up that ginseng myself when I lived in the countryside. It's mine - I haven't told anyone. I... I don't want to go back to the countryside. I heard from the alley aunties that I could trade ginseng for a job, so when I heard my brother was looking for ginseng, I... I kept it in mind..."
She left the rest for them to imagine.
As for how she knew about this couple's circumstances, that was thanks to her memories from her past life.
Recently, she had thoroughly sorted through those deep memories, clarifying many nearly forgotten events - including those about Zhao Jingyun and Liang Zhiwei.
"Do you want it? If not, I'll take it to the purchaser." ZhiXia mumbled, "I just don't know how much money the purchaser will pay - will it be enough to get a job?"
Liang Zhiwei had also heard things lately, about the An family's circumstances already spreading through their social circle.
Some ridiculed An JingZhi and his wife for being so stupid they didn't realize their child had been switched. Others angrily condemned the Gao couple for their cruel hearts.
But most were more concerned with what would become of the adopted daughter now that the biological one had returned.
Preoccupied with his wife's illness, Liang Zhiwei hadn't paid it much attention. But he had heard things, and secretly cursed An JingZhi for lacking human decency towards his wife.
At the same time, he envied the world's unfairness.
Some people with many children didn't care at all, while he and his wife had spent years taking medicines and seeing doctors just to have one child, only damaging his wife's health with nothing to show for it.