Chapter 151: A Coffin for the Funeral Rites

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After leaving the courtyard, Wen Mubai set off without hesitation in a particular direction. He knew Pingcheng like the back of his hand, and after winding through several turns, he arrived at a neighborhood office.

It stood on a remote little street and had only two employees in all.

He had barely reached the entrance when the door was suddenly pulled open from within. A young man wearing a dog-fur hat and keeping his hands tucked into his sleeves came out, cursing under his breath. After taking only a few steps, he abruptly stopped.

“Yuan’er?”

“Shi’er!” Wen Mubai said with a smile.

“It really is you!” the man exclaimed delightedly. He strode over to Wen Mubai and turned him this way and that, his hands still tucked into his sleeves. “You’ve grown even prettier, you little rascal!”

The boy had been good-looking since childhood. Even when hunger had left him sallow and gaunt, and he was dressed like a little beggar, he had still been the best-looking one of them all.

“Didn’t you go to the countryside?” the man asked, a wistful look crossing his face.

They had known since childhood that Liang Yuan was a child without a home. His mother beat and cursed him in all sorts of ways and often refused to feed him. Only later did they learn that Liang Yuan was not her biological son.

Wen Mubai acted as though he had not seen the sympathy in his eyes. “Stop talking nonsense. Give me two blank letters of introduction with the official seal.”

He had never felt that there was anything about him deserving of pity. Every hardship he had endured as a child had been for the sake of meeting his wife.

The young man did not hesitate. He went back inside, fetched two letters of introduction, and handed them over before asking, “What do you need these for?”

Wen Mubai casually stuffed them into his pocket. “You’ll know tomorrow.”

Then he waved a hand. “I’m off. Until we meet again.”

With that, he strode away in a carefree manner. Behind him, the young man watched his retreating figure, his expression complicated.

Meanwhile, after successfully obtaining the letters of introduction, Wen Mubai went to a privately run little restaurant in another alley, packed up several dishes, and carried them back to the small courtyard.

Hou Xingyun had waited until he was practically wilted. At the sound of the door opening, his first reaction was to hide.

Only after seeing that it was Wen Mubai did he relax and spring out, staring at him eagerly.

Wen Mubai raised the lunch boxes in his hand. “Eat. Once you’re finished, we’re leaving.”

“Already?” Hou Xingyun asked, wolfing down his rice. The sight was truly beyond description.

By comparison, Wen Mubai, seated across from him, looked far more elegant, though he was hardly eating slowly either. “The longer we wait, the more trouble we invite.”

If he got this mutt to Beijing quickly, he could rid himself of one enormous nuisance.

Naturally, he would never say that aloud. He finished the last bite of steamed bun at an unhurried pace, then glanced at Hou Xingyun. “Let’s go. To the railway station.”

The two of them were traveling light.

At the station, they bought two second-class tickets to Beijing, boarded with the crowd, found their seats, and sat down...

On the other side, Wen Mubai had come and gone from Pingcheng in a great hurry. He had stayed no more than five hours, yet he had turned several households in the city upside down...

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Take Qian Meining, for instance, who had just been presented with a coffin.

At the entrance to the food factory, four sturdy men carried a coffin toward the gate, drawing a large crowd of onlookers.

The four men were honest, straightforward fellows. They had been paid to carry out Wen Mubai’s instructions to the letter, and the moment they arrived, they loudly announced that the coffin was a gift for Comrade Qian Meining—that her son had come to pay his respects and see her off in death.

Anyone who did not know the truth would surely have assumed that she had an extraordinarily filial son.

The security captain came rushing out after receiving word that someone was causing trouble.

...

Was Qian Meining dead? How had it happened so suddenly?

“Comrade, this...”

Before he could finish, the four men shouted in unison, “Comrade Qian Meining, may you rest in peace!”

Then, with a resounding thud, they set the coffin down, bowed three times, and left at a brisk pace. In no time at all, they had vanished.

All that remained were the spectators and the bewildered workers inside the food factory.

“Ahh! Which heartless bastard did this?!” Qian Meining came out in her little leather shoes, walking with a delicate sway. When she heard the four men’s booming voices, loud enough to shake the heavens, she froze for a moment before letting out a shriek like a slaughtered pig.

Her still-attractive face turned a mottled green with rage, and her venomous gaze followed the four men until they disappeared.

“What are you standing around for? Go after them!” She turned and berated the security captain. “Can’t you see they came here to cause trouble at the food factory? What exactly are we paying this security team for?”

The captain’s expression darkened. Seeing Qian Meining in such a state, he did not bother humoring her.

“You’re not dead yet?”

“What do you mean by that?” Qian Meining’s hair practically stood on end. “Are you hoping I’ll die? Are you in league with that little bastard?”

That little bastard had gone to the countryside and still refused to let her live in peace!

Qian Meining relied on her position in the factory administration and her pretty face to hold her head high. She had always looked down on everyone else and was deeply unpopular.

Now that she had suffered such a humiliating spectacle, everyone was content to watch the entertainment. Not a single person stepped forward to help her.

After fuming helplessly for a while, Qian Meining finally regained her composure. Hearing the faint whispers and sensing the eyes watching her for amusement, she drew a deep breath and smoothed her hair. Once again, she became the lofty Qian Meining everyone knew.

Her tall, phoenix-shaped eyes swept across the crowd. She silently memorized the faces of those enjoying her misfortune, gave a cold snort, and turned to leave.

“Wait!” someone called, stopping her. “Take your things with you. Leaving them at the factory entrance damages the factory’s image.”

A stern-looking woman in a Lenin-style suit pointed toward the coffin.

“Have it taken into the workshop and burned,” Qian Meining said irritably.

“Absolutely not.” The stern woman refused without hesitation. “Our food factory is a major establishment. We would never take so much as a needle or thread belonging to the people.”

“Secretary Zhu is right. Old Qian, you should take the coffin home yourself. After all, it’s your son’s filial gift!”

Someone in the crowd chimed in.

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The moment those words were spoken, everyone burst into laughter. They had been handed the chance to see the woman who carried her eyes in the heavens make a fool of herself, and they were delighted.

As a result, not one person spoke up for Qian Meining.

After a brief standoff, Secretary Zhu showed no sign of backing down. Qian Meining nearly ground her teeth to powder. Did they think she did not know that Secretary Zhu’s younger son had always been close to that little bastard?

They were deliberately helping that little bastard humiliate her!

She endured it again and again, but in the end swallowed her anger. Only after spending money to hire people to haul the coffin to the recycling station did she finally free herself from the mess.

All the way home, her fury only grew. Then she abruptly changed direction and went to the educated-youth office.

“Have you still not found out where that little bastard was sent?”

The director of the neighborhood educated-youth office received her personally. His tone was familiar, and his manner was far too bold.

“You still don’t know? That brat is clever. He registered directly with the central office. I’ve gone there several times myself, but I still couldn’t find out where he was sent.”

As he spoke, the director’s large hand slid onto Qian Meining’s waist.

“The old tigress isn’t home tonight. We could...”

Qian Meining cast him a sidelong glance with her phoenix eyes. “No. I have something to do later.”

She needed to mail a letter to her son.

Meanwhile, Secretary Zhu returned home and recounted the day’s events to her family as an amusing story.

The young man—Zhu Shilei—finally understood what Liang Yuan had been up to after hearing his mother’s account.

That boy! He was vicious!

No wonder he had asked for letters of introduction. He had done something shameful and was preparing to run!

“Shitou, you knew Liang Yuan had come back?” Secretary Zhu asked.

Zhu Shilei nodded. “I saw him. I gave him two blank letters of introduction.”

Secretary Zhu sighed. “That child has not had an easy life. If you see him again, don’t tell anyone.”

Zhu Shilei nodded.

Wen Mubai, meanwhile, knew nothing about any of this, though he could easily imagine the chaos he had caused.

That was why he sat on the train in such a good mood that even Hou Xingyun found it puzzling.

“Did you find money?”

Wen Mubai ignored him. A smile played at the corners of his lips as he watched the scenery flash past outside the window.

“Shut up!”

Don’t ruin his good mood...

He was still enjoying himself when the train pulled into the station.

They had arrived in Beijing.

But both Hou Xingyun and Wen Mubai knew that reaching Beijing meant they still had a tough battle ahead...