In the east wing, Wu Shuhui sat on the edge of Xu Xiaobo’s bed. Staring at the son she so doted on, she began to cry. "How could you be such a disappointnt? Have I ever let you go hungry or without clothes? You refuse to learn anything good and instead learn to steal from others. You’ve utterly humiliated ."
"You’re so annoying! Aren’t you tired of nagging? My ears are. Why don’t you just let Lin Lan go to the police and have arrested? That would solve everything." Xu Xiaobo pulled the blanket over his head, ignoring her completely.
His words left Wu Shuhui speechless. She just sat there, dumbfounded, wiping her tears.
After a long night, dawn finally broke. Wu Shuhui decided to wake Xu Xiaobo, who was curled up in a ball under the covers. Mother and son packed their bags and headed out.
"Shuhui," Wu Shufen called out as she opened her door, handing her a bag. "There are so pastries in here for the road."
Wu Shuhui hesitated for a mont before taking the bag. She then added worriedly, "Second Sister, when you go back, please don’t tell anyone about what happened last night."
Wu Shufen looked at her, exasperated. "Don’t you worry about that. The important thing is for you to go ho and keep a tight rein on Littlebo. Besides, Littlebo was the one who got people to try and steal from Little Lan. If I told anyone, I’d lose face too."
Wu Shuhui sheepishly slapped Xu Xiaobo. "It’s all this little curse’s fault. He’s completely humiliated ."
Xu Xiaobo impatiently turned and stalked off. Wu Shuhui hurriedly chased after him, pastries in hand.
Watching their retreating figures, Wu Shufen shook her head to herself.
Xu Xiaobo ignored Wu Shuhui calling for him to wait and marched straight to the bus station without stopping. Just as he boarded the bus to Dashiqiao Commune, he saw Boss Jiang and a round-faced man sitting in the back row, staring at him coldly.
Boss Jiang looked at him and mouthed silently, ’You son of a bitch. You just wait.’
Xu Xiaobo knew that the only way to escape retaliation from Boss Jiang’s crew was to stay in East Market. But given the circumstances, Lin Lan would never let him stay. Besides, he didn’t want to, not after being worked like an ox from dawn till dusk.
Forcing a calm he didn’t feel, Xu Xiaobo sat down in the front row. He only breathed a sigh of relief when Wu Shuhui finally boarded.
When the bus arrived at Dashiqiao Commune and stopped, the doors opened, and passengers began to disembark.
As Wu Shuhui picked up her luggage to get off, Xu Xiaobo quickly grabbed her. "Mom, let them go first."
He wanted to wait until Boss Jiang and his n had crossed the river before they headed ho.
Wu Shuhui glanced at Boss Jiang and his companion, who hadn’t moved from the back row, and pursed her lips. "This is a new society. What’s to fear from a couple of punks?"
Boss Jiang shot the mother and son a nacing glance, then got up with the round-faced man and headed for the door. As they passed, he let out a cold snort and got off the bus.
His expression startled her, and she suddenly regretted coming back so early. She should have waited to travel with Wu Shufen.
Seeing that the bus was empty, Li Hongi said to Wu Shuhui, "Hurry and get off. We need to close the doors."
Wu Shuhui nodded repeatedly. "Okay, okay, we’re getting off now."
The mother and son got off the bus and dawdled at the station for a long ti before heading toward the riverbank. By the ti they reached Banzhu Forest, they still hadn’t seen Boss Jiang or his man. Xu Xiaobo breathed a sigh of relief.
Wu Shuhui glanced around. "Littlebo, looks like those wretches are gone."
Xu Xiaobo walked forward without a word, his eyes nervously scanning his surroundings. Even by the ti they reached the ferry crossing, he still hadn’t seen Boss Jiang or Round-face.
He breathed another sigh of relief. He figured if he just went ho and lay low until after the New Year, Boss Jiang and Round-face would probably leave him alone.
Mother and son boarded the ferry together, sat down on a long wooden bench by the railing, and waited for it to depart.
The ferry’s whistle blew, and Xu Xiaobo finally relaxed. But to his horror, he turned his head and saw Boss Jiang and Round-face, each gnawing on a stalk of sugarcane as they sprinted up the gangplank and onto the ferry.
Seeing the color drain from Xu Xiaobo’s face at the sight of the two n, Wu Shuhui quickly moved to shield him with her body.
She looked at the mocking expressions on their faces and figured they wouldn’t dare do anything to her and Littlebo in broad daylight. The thought cald her.
Hiding behind Wu Shuhui, Xu Xiaobo’s eyelid twitched nonstop. He had a bad feeling that Boss Jiang and Round-face weren’t going to let him off the hook. It was too late to get off—the ferry had already pulled away from the bank.
Half an hour later, the ferry began to dock. Seeing Boss Jiang and Round-face leaning against the engine room, apparently asleep, Xu Xiaobo hurriedly pulled Wu Shuhui past a few other disembarking passengers and made a dash for the gangplank.
Boss Jiang and Round-face let out a cold snort, pushed aside the people in front of them, and gave chase. A savage grin spread across their faces as they cornered Xu Xiaobo and shoved him into the river with one push.
Boss Jiang pointed at Xu Xiaobo flailing in the water. "You bastard! I’m just teaching you a lesson this ti. If you ever dare to cross again, I’ll throw you in to be the River Dragon King’s son-in-law!"
"Help! Murder! Help!" Wu Shuhui shrieked.
Boss Jiang whipped his head around, pointed at her, and yelled, "Old hag, what the hell are you screaming about! If I wanted to kill him, I would’ve done it already."
The people disembarking and boarding the ferry saw the murderous looks on Boss Jiang and Round-face’s faces and didn’t dare intervene.
Round-face planted his foot on Xu Xiaobo’s head. "You bastard! If you ever again dare to say I put you up to that theft, I’ll beat you to death."
Boss Jiang gave Wu Shuhui one last cold glare, then swaggered off with Round-face.
So of the ferry passengers who recognized them began to whisper amongst themselves.
"The one with the shifty eyes is from the Jiang family, Round-face is his cousin, and the one in the water is the Xu family’s youngest son. All three of them are notorious petty thieves in the New Prosperity Team."
"It’s just dogs biting dogs."
"Sirs, uncles, please help!" Once the two were a safe distance away, Wu Shuhui cried out, begging for help to pull Xu Xiaobo—soaking wet and pale with cold—into the ferry’s cabin.
Thankfully, Wu Shuhui had a change of clothes in her bag. She quickly got them out and helped him change. Then, mother and son picked up their luggage, disembarked, and headed for ho.
***
That afternoon, Wu Shufen returned to Shilian. Little Douzi had gone hunting in the mountains with his uncles and cousins.
She told Lin Changyou what had happened with Wu Shuhui and Xu Xiaobo, remarking with relief, "The more I think about it, the more scared I get. I almost brought a nace into the house for Little Lan."
Lin Changyou was also troubled. It was the worst kind of trouble to have with relatives. "Do Shuhui and her husband really not know that Littlebo has sticky fingers?"
"She’s so defensive of him, nobody dares say anything to her! Shuqin told several people in their team had ntioned Littlebo’s stealing to her, asking her to have a word with Shuhui. So she went to talk to her, and guess how Shuhui responded?"
Wu Shufen told Lin Changyou indignantly, "Shuhui claid they were just trying to badmouth her precious Littlebo."
Lin Changyou was speechless for a mont. After a brief silence, he said, "We’ll just have to see if she properly disciplines Littlebo this ti. If she doesn’t, the state will end up taking care of him sooner or later."
Lin Changyou paused, then added, "After Guozhu got back, his youngest maternal uncle’s wife stopped by. She said she has a sister on her side of the family who’s about Guozhu’s age. She’s a teacher in Dashiqiao, and she wants Guozhu to et her."
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