Chapter 44: Chapter 42: Returning to the Ancient Capital
When Lu Jiaxin came out of the train station, she looked around at the exit.
Xue Mao noticed she stopped and asked, “Sister, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Xue Mao, let’s go rent a house first.”
Zhao Dajun and Gu Wenfeng were both stunned. Weren’t they here to catch a human trafficker? According to what Lu Jiaxin said, that person was likely to be from Feng County. So why were they settling down in the Ancient Capital?
Gu Wenfeng directly asked, “Miss Lu, when are we going to Feng County?”
“No hurry, let’s get Xue Mao settled first.”
The two men were full of questions, but seeing that Lu Jiaxin did not wish to say more, they did not continue to inquire.
Xue Mao had grown up here and was most familiar with the area. “Sister Xin, for renting a house, let’s ask Uncle Feng for help. He knows a lot of people and should be able to find us a house quickly.”
This Uncle Feng was Father Xue’s childhood friend. With his help, Xue Mao had found a place to stay in a wooden shanty. He always kept this in his heart.
Lu Jiaxin hummed in acknowledgment and then said, “If Uncle Feng doesn’t have any houses available, we can stay in a hostel first.”
Upon seeing Xue Mao, Uncle Feng was so happy that he slapped him on the shoulder, causing Xue Mao to grimace in pain: “It’s only been half a month since I’ve seen you, lad, and you’ve shot up so much. It looks like you’re having a good time!”
Xue Mao grinned and said, “Eating chicken, duck, fish, and meat every day with Sister Xin, and occasionally dining out, it would be hard not to grow.”
After speaking, Xue Mao introduced Gu Wenfeng and the others: “Uncle Feng, this is Brother Zhao, Brother Gu.”
Lu Jiaxin hadn’t visited the Feng family during her time in the Ancient Capital, but Uncle Feng had made a detour to patronize their snack stand when he heard about it. She found his heartfelt effort to be quite rare.
After greeting Gu Wenfeng, Uncle Feng asked with a puzzled face, “Girl, how come you’ve brought Xue Mao back?”
Xue Mao had sought him out before departing for the Forty-nine City, and Uncle Feng, concerned, had offered to accompany them but was declined by Lu Jiaxin. Ever since they left, he had been worried, fearing they might run into trouble on their way. Thankfully, he received a telegram from Xue Mao a few days later, assuring him they were safe.
Lu Jiaxin pulled out an earlier excuse, “After I regained my memory, I went to report the case to the police, but there’s been no news. I can’t sleep peacefully until this human trafficker is caught.”
Uncle Feng’s thoughts were the same as others’—that traffickers were too cunning to be easily caught.
Xue Mao knew that Lu Jiaxin’s decisions were not easily swayed. He said, “Uncle Feng, we’re going to stay in the Ancient Capital for a while and would like to rent a house.”
“How long approximately?”
Lu Jiaxin replied, “About a month. It must be clean and hygienic with cooking facilities.”
Uncle Feng laughed when he heard this and said, “I have an old buddy whose son works out of town. His daughter-in-law recently fell ill, and the elder couple is going over to take care of her. They have three rooms in their house. I’ll ask them for you, see if they’re willing to rent it out. Since you’re renting for such a short period, the rent might be a bit higher.”
“A higher rent is fine as long as it’s clean, tidy, and has cooking facilities.”
Uncle Feng assured them, mentioning that his buddy’s wife was particularly keen on cleanliness and kept the house in perfect order.
Uncle Feng took them there directly, and the owners agreed to a one-month rental after hearing their request. Nowadays, no family was well-off, so earning some extra rent to supplement household expenses was seen as beneficial. Of course, the main reason was Uncle Feng’s recommendation. The owners had known Uncle Feng for decades and trusted that he wouldn’t bring unreliable tenants.
Lu Jiaxin was indeed satisfied with the cleanliness of the house and asked how much it cost.
The other party’s asking price was quite high, a room cost fifteen dollars, but they only rented out two rooms, the room they slept in was not for rent.
Lu Jiaxin thought the price was a bit steep, but it was cheaper than staying at a guesthouse, and the location was convenient for travel. She said, “Uncle, we plan to cook for ourselves and will use your firewood and utilities. I’ll give you an additional three to five dollars, how does that sound?”
Given Xue Mao’s penny-pinching nature, he definitely wouldn’t want to eat out, and she was not willing to use someone else’s utilities and firewood for free.
The couple readily agreed, took the money, and then took a car to their son’s house.
After not bathing for three days and nights, Lu Jiaxin felt like she was almost starting to stink. The first thing she did after renting the house was to wash her hair and take a bath.
Xue Mao put down the luggage and prepared her medicine, then asked Zhao Dajun and Gu Wenfeng to buy rice, flour, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and other necessities.
By the time Lu Jiaxin finished washing and hanging up the clothes, the medicine was just warm enough to drink.
For dinner, Xue Mao made spicy oil noodles, a local specialty. Lu Jiaxin had once eaten it at a small restaurant, which was very authentic, so good that she wanted more. The one Xue Mao made had less flavorful seasonings compared to the ones outside.
Seeing Gu Wenfeng and Zhao Dajun each wolf down two large bowls and still not be satisfied, Xue Mao started to worry. They ate so much, he’d go broke if he didn’t start earning money soon.
After dinner, Xue Mao asked her about her next plans.
Without any urgency, Lu Jiaxin said, “No rush, we’ll talk about it tomorrow. I haven’t studied English for a few days, I’m off to study now.”
Xue Mao couldn’t interrupt her studies, so he returned to the kitchen to clean up.
The following morning, Zhao Dajun and Gu Wenfeng were practicing boxing in the yard when suddenly they heard Lu Jiaxin’s voice reading aloud from inside the house. However, Zhao Dajun couldn’t understand a word.
When he heard Gu Wenfeng say it was English, Zhao Dajun frowned and said, “Brother Feng, why do we need to learn the capitalists’ language?”
Gu Wenfeng replied, “You should open up a bit. In the future, you’ll need to learn new skills for new positions.”
Zhao Dajun didn’t reply.
After Lu Jiaxin finished her morning reading, Gu Wenfeng asked when they would go to Feng County. His task was to accompany Lu Jiaxin back to her hometown to find the human trafficker, but now it seemed like she was in no hurry at all.
Lu Jiaxin smiled and said, “Xue Mao’s biggest dream in life is to own his own house. I plan to buy him a house first, then go back to Feng County.”
Gu Wenfeng’s brows furrowed deeply.
Zhao Dajun said bluntly, “Miss Lu, we came to find the human trafficker, not to accompany you to the Ancient Capital to buy a house. Brother Feng and I have a lot to do, so I hope you can cooperate.”
Lu Jiaxin asked, “Brother Gu, do you have a time limit?”
Gu Wenfeng replied, “I need to go home to see my mother in two months. It’s been five years since I’ve been back, and if I delay, I don’t know when I’ll be able to return.”
Lu Jiaxin wanted him to accompany her to Peng City and felt two months wouldn’t be enough. But the man needed to visit his aging mother, a duty of filial piety, and couldn’t be postponed, “No problem, if my matters aren’t settled by then, you should just go back.”
Gu Wenfeng said earnestly, “Miss Lu, I hope you can be truthful with me, so we can help you.”
Lu Jiaxin felt he was too perceptive and with a stern face said, “Be truthful about what? You make it sound as though I’m deceiving you. If you don’t want to stay, you can leave now, I’m not forcing you.”
Seeing her so tight-lipped, Gu Wenfeng didn’t press further.