Eastern Tomb Expedition Chronicles

Chapter 10: Li Jing

"Mom! I'm back," Li Jing said, leading me into her home as if I were a small dog on a leash. Although her mother was only in her forties, her hair had already turned significantly white, and her forehead was lined with wrinkles, giving her a weathered look. "Little Jing... who is this? Is he your classmate?"

"No, mom," Li Jing replied, gripping my arm. "Mom, I caught this guy by the city moat. He was sneaking around and definitely up to no good. I think he was electric fishing."

"Electric fishing?" her mom asked, puzzled. "Young man, were you electric fishing?" I hurriedly explained that it was all a misunderstanding and that I was not involved in electric fishing. Li Jing's mom, looking at me kindly, shook her head and chuckled, "I don't think this young man would do something like that. Little Jing, you've made a mistake this time, and you've even brought him here. Apologize to him."

I later understood why Li Jing was so intent on catching electric fishers. The local forestry department was offering rewards because the aquatic ecosystem of the Yangtze River was severely damaged, with species like the Chinese sturgeon and the Yangtze River dolphin nearing extinction. The authorities were determined to protect the inland water environment, and this initiative extended to Shunde. Anyone who caught someone electric fishing could claim a reward of five hundred yuan per person! So, Li Jing was clinging to me because she thought I was an electric fisher and she wanted to turn me in for the reward money... because her family needed the money.

Under her mother's firm insistence, Li Jing reluctantly apologized to me. "Sorry, classmate," she said. Her mother, ever hospitable, offered me lunch as a gesture of apology. It was nearly two o'clock, and I was quite hungry, so I accepted. We had plain rice with three dishes: stir-fried chives and eggs, zucchini with green beans, and cold lotus root slices—homemade and delicious. As I tucked into my meal, Li Jing watched me coldly, occasionally banging her chopsticks on her bowl to create a loud noise, which made her mother frown repeatedly. She seemed to resent me eating their eggs.

Her mother scolded her, "Little Jing, how can you be so rude? What has this young man done to you?" Li Jing bit her chopstick and pouted, "He hasn't done anything, but I just don't like the look of him." I was also getting irritated. Although I came from a humble background with no parents and lived in a dilapidated house, I had my pride. I put down my utensils and stood up to leave. "Who cares about eating your eggs," I thought angrily.

Just as I reached the door, I was pushed back by a group of people. There were six or seven young men in their twenties, carrying paint cans and some wielding sticks. "Where's Li Dequan? Li Dequan, get out here!" "Come out, or I'll kill your wife and child!" They looked menacing, and I was frightened by their appearance, as were Li Jing and her mom, who turned pale. One of the men walked into the house with a paint can and, seeing the food on the table, sneered, "Damn, still got money to eat eggs! Got money for eggs but not to pay me back?" "Eat this!" He tipped the paint can, spilling red paint all over the table. The smell of paint was pungent and unpleasant, covering the dishes. Li Jing's mother looked terrified, and Li Jing kept her head down.

"Heh, like eggs, huh? No money, right?" The man pushed the paint-covered fried eggs towards Li Jing with his stick. "Eat up, eggs are tasty, right? Just finish this dish, and we'll leave, ha-ha." The others laughed along.

"What are you doing!" I couldn't stand by and watch this bullying. "Oh, and who are you?" one man sneered at me. I took a deep breath and said, "I'm Li Jing's classmate. If you dare cause trouble, I'll call the police!" "Ah? Call the police?" They burst into laughter. "Paying debts is only natural! You little brat, you dare call the police?" He swung his stick at my head. I tried to block it with my arm, but I was too slow. The stick hit my head solidly, and when I touched it, I felt blood. Everything started spinning.

"Stop hitting him!" Li Jing suddenly raised her head, her eyes red as she shouted. Her mother continuously wiped her tears. With desperation, Li Jing grabbed the eggs from the plate and shoved them into her mouth. The eggs were covered in paint, giving off a harsh, pungent smell. After taking one bite, Li Jing retched it out. "Haha, you can't handle it, huh? Eat all of it! Did you hear me? All of it!" The man laughed as Li Jing, compelled by the situation, continued to stuff the eggs into her mouth. After five minutes, the plate was empty.

"Heh, that was interesting. Well, it wasn't a wasted trip after all. We got a good show," the man said mockingly as he and his cohorts prepared to leave. "And remember to tell Li Dequan, we'll be back. If there’s no money next time, things will get much worse." With those words, they left, cursing as they went. My head was bleeding from the strike, and I lay on the floor feeling miserable.

"How are you feeling?" Li Jing carefully helped me up, wiping the paint from her mouth. Her mother fetched some gauze and hastily bandaged my head. I lay in their bed for over an hour before I started to feel a bit better.

"I'm so sorry, young man, that you got hurt," Li Jing's mother said, her face filled with guilt. "Auntie, what do these people do?" I asked, my head still throbbing. "My father failed in his business and owes them a large sum of money," Li Jing explained.

"Failed in business? How much does he owe?" "Ah..." her mother sighed deeply, "Fifty thousand yuan."

"Fifty thousand! That much!" I was shocked by the amount; it was a sum that wouldn’t be easy to repay, even if they scrimped and saved for years. "You should either go back to school or to the hospital; we'll take you," Li Jing's mother insisted apologetically.

"No, no, I don't need to go to school. I can walk on my own now," I said as I got ready to leave. Li Jing came out to see me off. "Hey, I'm really sorry about earlier," she said, her head lowered in an apology. "It's okay, it's all in the past," I said generously, waving my hand with a smile. "You're not from our school, right? Which school do you attend? I might come to visit you," Li Jing suddenly asked.

"Ah, this... this..." I lied, saying, "I'm a sophomore at First High School." "First High? Then you must be really good at your studies," Li Jing said with a smile. My face turned red as I didn't dare to respond; my academic performance was consistently among the bottom three, a fact that was all too stable. At that time, little communicators had just become popular, and ordinary students couldn’t afford mobile phones, so naturally, I didn't leave a phone number. However, Li Jing asked me to visit when I had the time and even suggested I could tutor her in her studies.

When I returned to the inn, Boss Wang was having tea. He almost spit it out when he saw my bandaged head. "Yunfeng, what happened to you? Did you fall into a pit while scattering the soil?" I said somewhat awkwardly, "Boss, I got beaten up."