Chapter 149: Laughter Amidst Mourning

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Wen Mubai followed the members of the Revolutionary Committee and saw them enter the committee building; he waited outside. After a short while, the group finished work, and Wen Mubai, after some thought, trailed the man he had seen twice before. He watched as the man returned home and then stayed inside for a long time without coming out.

Wen Mubai was not in a hurry and waited outside, but it wasn’t until dawn that the lights inside finally came on. The man went through his morning routine—washing, eating breakfast, and heading to work—as ordinary as any day.

Not long after starting work, he led a team to another village, conducting door-to-door searches. Wen Mubai quietly followed along, observing from dusk till dawn—this man’s life was remarkably regular.

After trailing him for three full days, Wen Mubai finally gave up; it seemed he had been mistaken. He went to the town’s state-owned restaurant for lunch and bought two meat buns for his dog before heading back up the mountain.

Hou Xingyun was still in the cave; compared to a few days ago, his complexion looked much better. Hearing the noise, he cautiously propped himself up and stared sharply toward the cave entrance.

Wen Mubai bent down and entered the cave, tossing the buns to him. “Roast these yourself.”

After eating roasted sweet potatoes for three days straight, Hou Xingyun looked at the buns with tears welling up. He shakily got out of bed, built a fire, and carefully roasted the buns. “Why were you gone so long?”

“When I came down the mountain, I saw the Revolutionary Committee searching house by house. I wanted to see who was behind it, so I followed them for a while.” Wen Mubai added two more sweet potatoes to the fire.

“Found nothing,” Hou Xingyun said firmly.

“Yeah,” Wen Mubai didn’t hesitate to admit. “I’m inclined to think the Revolutionary Committee is being used.”

Perhaps there were high-ranking officials within the town’s committee, but they were keeping a low profile.

Hou Xingyun nodded. “Once we get back to Beijing, it’ll be easier.”

Back in Beijing, they could have the organization investigate; it was better than them wandering around blindly like headless flies.

“Mm,” Wen Mubai responded, leaning against the cave wall and closing his eyes to rest.

They spent another two days in the cave.

That day, Wen Mubai went out as usual to check the situation and found that the committee members had quieted down, but a group of strangers had come into the mountains, bringing along wolf dogs.

To avoid being detected by the dogs, he didn’t approach too closely. After roughly observing their route and number, he returned to the cave. “Dog, we can’t stay on the mountain anymore. Someone is searching the mountain.”

It seemed that after failing to find the person in the village, they turned their attention to the mountains.

Hou Xingyun got up, extinguished the fire, and Wen Mubai covered the ashes with soil to erase any traces, then cleaned the cave of any signs of habitation. Carrying a backpack and supporting the limping Hou Xingyun, they took a detour down the mountain.

After descending, he settled Hou Xingyun at home. “I’ll find a way into Beijing city. You stay hidden here and don’t get discovered.”

With his injury, Hou Xingyun had to rely on Wen Mubai for everything. He nodded. “Be careful and stay safe.”

Wen Mubai waved his hand and climbed over the wall to leave the yard.

Taking the train was definitely impossible now; someone must be watching the station.

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After some thought, he went to find Chen Gang. “Brother Gang, is your factory heading back to Pingcheng soon?”

Chen Gang worked at a food factory, which was a branch of Pingcheng, and most orders came from that area, so Wen Mubai asked. The urgent task was to get out of the county town, then take transport elsewhere to get back to Beijing.

The difficulty was that Wen Mubai had no letter of introduction, so he wouldn’t even be able to buy a train ticket. He planned to hitch a ride with Chen Gang to Pingcheng first.

Once in Pingcheng, a sly smile appeared on his face—that was his turf. Getting a couple of blank letters of introduction would be easy. Moreover, since his dog was limping, it would be too conspicuous to stay here; Pingcheng was a better place to lay low.

“You’re going to Pingcheng?” Chen Gang disapproved. “Why would you go back? You barely got away from that family. Mubai, you can’t soften up now!”

“No,” Wen Mubai shook his head. “I have some things left in Pingcheng. I want to get them while my wife’s not there, and then never return.”

“Your sister-in-law isn’t there?”

“She went back to her parents’ home,” Wen Mubai explained.

Chen Gang nodded. “There is a vehicle, but I don’t know if the factory will agree.”

“No problem. I can pay,” Wen Mubai said.

Chen Gang was puzzled. “Then why not take the train?”

Wen Mubai smirked. “Because the things I’m carrying are too big; they’re not allowed on the train.”

“Is it a gift for that family?” Chen Gang asked curiously.

“Of course,” he answered matter-of-factly.

Just as Chen Gang was about to speak, Wen Mubai leaned close and whispered a few words into his ear. Chen Gang’s expression changed to speechless. “You’re serious?”

“Absolutely,” Wen Mubai said, hands in pockets. “This is my way of showing filial piety.”

“I just don’t know if the factory will want to take this job,” Chen Gang smiled, looking harmless.

“I’ll try to get it arranged,” Chen Gang finally agreed.

No choice—he just liked this guy’s style.

After thanking Chen Gang, Wen Mubai turned and left, saying, “I’ll come find you again tomorrow, same place.”

Instead of going directly back to the village, he went to another village on the other side of the county town. With a choked voice, he went door to door asking if anyone had a coffin for sale, saying he was willing to pay.

When you’re out on your own, your identity is what you make of it. He said he and his father were on a business trip but had a sudden emergency and weren’t prepared for anything.

He wanted to bring his father home with dignity, so he was following advice to ask around the village for a coffin.

In the countryside, elderly people often arranged their own coffins early—both to avoid being caught unprepared and to ensure their children wouldn’t be unfilial and refuse to pay for it.

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Wen Mubai’s tearful story and apparent wealth sparked competition among several households.

In the end, he selected a coffin that looked relatively comfortable, had locals carry it to the designated spot, paid the coffin and labor fees, then sent them home.

He hid the coffin himself, clapped his hands, and went home.

The next day, he went to see Chen Gang again. Chen Gang said the factory agreed but the cost was not cheap.

“No problem,” Wen Mubai smiled happily. “My wife left me money before she left.”

Chen Gang twitched his mouth, unable to look him in the eye. “Mubai, our factory will be hiring temporary workers after the New Year. Want to try?”

You can’t always rely on others—that’s not how a man should be.

Unexpectedly, Wen Mubai declined decisively. “No, I can’t leave my wife.”

Chen Gang was speechless.

A grown man saying something like that—no shame at all!

“Why not have your sister-in-law come too? The factory has dorms,” Chen Gang sincerely suggested.

If the couple worked together and got permanent positions, he could find connections, and it would be natural for them to become workers.

“If you’re afraid of being apart from your sister-in-law, you can rent a place. I have space at my house; you can just pay a little rent,” Chen Gang earnestly coaxed.

With things laid out like that, it would be rude to refuse. “When my wife comes back, I’ll talk it over with her.”

Chen Gang nodded in satisfaction. “I’m off. You should get home early too.”

“Okay.”

Watching Chen Gang’s retreating figure, Wen Mubai’s eyes softened slightly. Warmth was rare for him, and Chen Gang was one of the few.

He knew that Chen Gang must have pushed hard behind the scenes to get the factory to agree to transport a coffin. He would remember this favor well.

Afterward, Wen Mubai packed some food from the state-owned restaurant and returned to the village.

“We leave in five days,” Wen Mubai told Hou Xingyun.

Hou Xingyun grinned, “Not bad, you wolf cub, quick efficiency.”

Wen Mubai smiled slyly. “Hope you’ll still say that then.”

“What do you mean?” Hou Xingyun asked warily. This wolf cub was no saint.

“You’ll see.”