Li Dahe returned home but still felt uneasy.
To maintain his composed demeanor as the commune leader, Li Dahe forced himself to watch Li Xiaoshan unload the bricks, return the cart, chat with Uncle Guan for a bit, and even went to Widow Zhao’s home to tell her that Zhao Zhuangshi had run an errand at the commune.
He had finished all the chores he could do, he even tried to cook for Aunt Li.
Finally, Aunt Li couldn’t bear to watch him and drove him out to receive people.
He was the honored commune leader, why should he go meet some little bastards?
Besides, it was just about asking a few questions at the police station, it was nothing serious, he wasn’t worried at all!
He just wanted to take a stroll around his own front door... or maybe around the Educated Youth Corps... or maybe around the entrance of the village...
Then at the entrance of the village, he ran into Wang Hong, who also seemed to be there to take a stroll.
After that, the two of them were almost scared to death by the shrill screams of those three little bastards, one of the bicycles nearly running over Li Dahe.
Li Dahe swiftly stepped aside, then backed away with his hands behind him, still maintaining that calm demeanor unique to the commune leader: "What’s the screaming for? Can’t even ride a bike properly!"
Lin Nianhe, clutching the corner of Su Yuncheng’s clothes, poked her head out: "Uncle Team Leader, Aunt Wang, are you two... out for a walk after dinner?"
Wang Hong was about to say something, but Li Dahe interrupted her: "What else? A walk after eating too much, is there a problem?"
"Not at all, absolutely fine." Lin Nianhe held back a laugh, jumped down from the rear seat, "It’s getting late, we should head back now."
Li Dahe glared at her and asked, "What did you all talk about?"
"Nothing much then why did it take so long?"
Wen Lan interjected: "Because Hezi was afraid the Public Security officers wouldn’t understand her, she talked with them for nearly an hour."
Li Dahe wiped his face, feeling worn out.
He waved his hand: "As long as there’s no trouble, hurry back and rest."
After saying that, he too ended the long after-dinner stroll, and walked back with his hands behind him.
Wang Hong chuckled softly, whispering: "He’s been waiting here for over half an hour."
"Hmm, so you’ve also been waiting for at least half an hour, Aunt Wang?"
"I just worried too much about you!"
Wang Hong huffed and also turned back.
Lin Nianhe and the others chuckled softly, and instead of riding their bikes, they followed them slowly back.
Li Dahe only stopped when they reached the Educated Youth Corps.
The others also stopped, waiting for the commune leader’s directions.
Li Dahe looked them over thoughtfully, one by one, silent for a while, then asked: "Where’s Zhao Zhuangshi?"
Wang Hong came back to her senses too: "Yeah, where’s Zhao Zhuangshi?"
Yeah, where was Zhao Zhuangshi?
The three girls simultaneously turned to look at Su Yuncheng.
After recalling for a moment, Su Yuncheng answered: "He’s at the health clinic, didn’t come back with us."
Li Dahe immediately tensed: "What happened? Is the injury serious?"
"Not serious." Su Yuncheng shook his head, "It’s too late today, there weren’t enough people to specifically bring him back, so we let him stay at the health clinic for the night. He’ll return tomorrow after the questioning."
"I see," Li Dahe sighed in relief, "That’s fine then."
Wang Hong nodded, then said to Li Dahe: "I’ll drop by his home on my way back, to tell them he’s staying overnight in town, so Widow Zhao doesn’t worry."
In fact, it wasn’t on her way at all, but obviously, this task couldn’t be left to Li Dahe. It was late at night, and since the other party was a widow, it would be very inappropriate for Li Dahe to go.
Li Dahe nodded, "Alright, Hongzi, take care on the streets."
They briefly mentioned Zhao Zhuangshi, then quickly put him out of their minds.
After Li Dahe and Wang Hong left, Wang Shumei dragged Wen Lan back to their courtyard without giving Lin Nianhe and Su Yuncheng so much as a glance.
Lin Nianhe stuck out her tongue at their retreating figures before turning to ask Su Yuncheng, "Brother Yuncheng, shall we eat before you go?"
It was already past eight when they came out of the police station; the State-Owned Restaurant had closed for the night, and there was nowhere else to go for food.
Su Yuncheng shook his head, "I’m not hungry, you should go back and rest."
"But you..." Lin Nianhe didn’t leave, frowning slightly as she looked at him.
Under the moonlight, her eyes were especially bright.
Su Yuncheng hesitated for a moment before saying, "I still have some things to handle, don’t worry."
"Then please be careful," Lin Nianhe said softly.
"Hmm, go back and sleep. The town will probably be turbulent for a while, so try to stay indoors. If something comes up, use the commune’s phone to reach me."
Having said all he had to say, Su Yuncheng hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand to gently rub Lin Nianhe’s head.
"Are you scared?" he asked.
Lin Nianhe blinked, first nodding, then shaking her head, "Not really scared."
Not really scared. So, there was a little fear.
Su Yuncheng frowned slightly, pondering how to console her for this little bit of fear.
Seeing him so earnestly thinking it over, Lin Nianhe couldn’t help but laugh.
"I was just teasing you. With so many of us walking back together, I’m not afraid at all."
With that, she began to retreat into the courtyard, continuing, "I won’t walk you out, just so you don’t worry about walking me back again... Be careful on the way, and be careful if you get into a fight."
Su Yuncheng pursed his lips, nodded, and said, "I indeed have things to take care of today. When... I have some free time, I’ll come to see you."
In fact, he wanted to say, as soon as I’m done with work, I’ll take you to the provincial city.
But then he thought, when would he ever be done with work?
It had been two years since he transferred here, and there was hardly ever a moment when he wasn’t busy.
Thus, he could only come to see her when he found some spare time.
Su Yuncheng felt a bit of nervousness after saying that.
She was so smart, she would surely notice the difference in what he was saying.
So, would she be upset?
Of course, Lin Nianhe wasn’t upset. She nodded and replied, "Alright, come by when you have time. I’ll always be here, anyhow."
Su Yuncheng smiled, and on his way back, even his bike ride felt exceptionally breezy.
Lin Nianhe watched his figure merge into the night and then turned around, only to catch sight of two people by the window staring at her with mischievous smiles.
Lin Nianhe rolled her eyes, lifted her chin arrogantly, and huffed with feigned pride.
She intended to ignore them and head straight to the backyard, but was stopped by Wen Lan’s call, "Hold on, aren’t you hungry?"
As she spoke, Wen Lan handed her a pair of steamed corn bread, "Here, it’s what they left for dinner."
The food was left in the pot, with a note deliberately placed beside it saying it was for the three of them.
Seeing the steamed corn bread, Lin Nianhe didn’t dwell on the fact that they had been peeking, and took them gratefully, "Thanks, I’m off to sleep now."
"Nianhe," Wang Shumei spoke up, frowning slightly in concern, "You don’t think there will be trouble for my brother and Cangzi, right?"
Lin Nianhe took a bite of the steamed corn bread, pondered for a moment, and then shook her head, "No."
Their brief eye contact conveyed mutual understanding.
Only Wen Lan didn’t get it and was still trying to reassure Wang Shumei, "No worries, it’s just a couple of guys fighting and shedding some blood, what could go wrong?"
Lin Nianhe: "Sister Lan, your brain must be incredibly smooth."