Notes on Living Abroad

Chapter 4 Plan to escape

With that, Chen Jiumei slapped down a receipt and said to Chen Xing, who had just come in:

“Five thousand for buying her, plus three thousand that b***h stole—total eight thousand. If you can’t find her, pay up! Don’t blame me, Chen Jiumei, for being unreasonable.”

All eyes turned to Chen Xing then. He clearly feared Chen Jiumei—he flung his pipe stem to the ground, his lips trembling, his face flushing red as he forced out a few words: “Find her! f*****g find her!”

After that, the whole village lit torches and headed out of the mountains to search. Zhang Wei met Granny Chen’s hostile glare and knew she had to leave quickly.

Watching the courtyard grow dark again, a thought suddenly struck her—maybe she did have a way to get through that cliffside path!

Tonight was out of the question, though. Everyone was out searching, and the roads would be swarming with people.

By the next morning, Chen Jiumei still hadn’t returned. Granny Chen had cursed all night without stopping, and in the morning, she stood guard to block Zhang Wei from entering the kitchen. Today, she wouldn’t even get a sweet potato.

Luckily, Zhang Wei had her stockpile. She ate some of the hidden roast chicken, then climbed through a window into the grain store to steal a few more sweet potatoes—this put her mind at ease.

By noon, a strange woman arrived. She spoke Mandarin and was dressed noticeably better. As she entered the village, her eyes unabashedly scanned the playing children.Zhang Wei watched her head for the Chen household, then hid to see what she was here for.

Unexpectedly, Granny Chen, who was usually so harsh, was actually polite to her—she even brewed her brown sugar tea, speaking in broken Mandarin with a hint of deference:

“Third Aunt Li, thank you for coming. About my daughter-in-law—”

Before Granny Chen could finish, Third Aunt Li raised her hand to cut her off, frowning as she took a sip of tea:

“Jiumei told me. It’s your own fault, really. What family buys a wife and doesn’t keep her locked up properly? Only yours has such a soft heart?”

“I fell for that seductress’s tricks!” Granny Chen said, filled with regret, then hesitated before adding,

“About that five thousand yuan for—”

Third Aunt Li’s eyebrows shot up: “I’ll call you Sister Chen, but you need to be reasonable. The money was paid, the goods delivered—it’s a done deal. Your son knows how to be reasonable, otherwise I wouldn’t have come today!”

So this woman was a human trafficker—no wonder her eyes were so restless. Then why had she come? To buy another one, or... to sell her off?!Zhang Wei couldn’t help but think the worst. Her palms grew sweaty, and as soon as the thought took hold, she wanted to grab her bundle and flee immediately. But for now, she forced herself to stay patient and keep listening.

“And why are you here, Third Aunt?”

“Your Jiumei says I’m good at picking people. If Qin Yuan can’t be found, he wants me to find another for him. But he doesn’t want that little girl of yours anymore—he’ll sell her to cover part of the cost. I was passing by today, so I thought I’d check out the goods in advance.”

Zhang Wei caught her meaning—since Third Aunt Li had come, it meant whether Qin Yuan was found or not, she was definitely going to be sold!

Damn it! Neither this mother nor son was any good. Zhang Wei figured, given Qin Yuan’s skills, they’d never find her. No matter what, she had to leave tonight...

Thankfully, she was mostly ready.

Zhang Wei returned to the Chen household before dusk fell. Third Aunt Li had already left. Perhaps figuring she could fetch some money, Granny Chen had boiled a few extra sweet potatoes and reheated leftovers from the wedding feast. Zhang Wei didn’t hold back—she ate until her stomach was stuffed.

By the time it was completely dark, sure enough, Chen Jiumei and the others hadn’t returned. Zhang Wei knew they wouldn’t give up until they’d searched for three or four days.

Granny Chen, who’d stayed up all night the day before, started snoring as soon as she lay down. Zhang Wei slipped quietly out of her room.There were only two locks in the entire Chen household: one on that box, and the other locking the grain store. So Zhang Wei sneaked into Chen Jiumei and Qin Yuan’s room again, planning to rummage for more useful things.

She went in, shining the flashlight she’d stolen earlier. The box was still open; Qin Yuan’s clothes were still in the wardrobe. Otherwise, the only thing of any use she found was a lighter by the bedside—nothing else valuable.

In the end, Zhang Wei slung a backpack made from a urea bag strung with rope over her shoulders. Inside were a few sweet potatoes, half a chicken that was almost going bad, and sixty yuan. Barefoot, she groped her way to the village entrance in the dark.

Unfortunately, the only presentable clothes she’d managed to find were the ones she wore: an undershirt with stretched-out elastic underneath, and a school uniform jacket with a missing zipper pull—the characters on it were worn beyond recognition, and it reached her knees. The pants were too long, so she’d rolled them up several times, but at least they didn’t get in the way of walking.

Someone was guarding the path at the village entrance, with a fire burning nearby. A man sat on the ground dozing off.

Zhang Wei glanced toward the cliff. Sure enough, she could see nothing. Her confidence in making it across grew a little.She stared at the dozing man, then sneaked quietly to the path, her bare feet making no sound on the ground. She groped her way forward, hands brushing the stone wall—without seeing the drop below the cliff, it somehow felt less terrifying...

Zhang Wei had secretly observed several times during the day: once she passed the first stretch, the rest would be ordinary mountain trails. Her hands pressing against the cold stone, she hurried forward as quickly as she could. There was no moonlight, and she didn’t need light anyway.

She counted silently in her mind as she walked. By the time she reached five thousand three hundred, she finally felt soil under her fingers. Only then did she realize her undershirt was soaked with sweat...

Flicking on the flashlight, she saw she’d actually made it across. But the road ahead was unfamiliar, so she kept going, the beam only shining on the ground in front of her, not into the distance—she feared running into someone.

Years of living independently had left Zhang Wei with few fears. In the silent night, she stayed calm; beneath her feet lay the path to freedom. But what came after dawn, she hadn’t fully figured out yet.

She had no idea how long she’d walked. Her feet had long since gone numb, and her hands, scraped raw while crossing the cliff earlier, were swollen and red. She couldn’t tell how far it was till dawn, but when she pricked up her ears, she heard the sound of running water. She wanted to rest.Following the sound for a while, she stepped onto smooth stones. Zhang Wei found a flat riverbank, far enough from the road that she felt safe. She gathered some dry firewood, lit a fire, and sat by the flames—her sense of security surged. She decided to wait for dawn before continuing.

Before long, dawn broke, and the fire died out. Dew had dampened Zhang Wei’s clothes. Opening her eyes, she saw farmland and houses not far off—she must be close to the town.

She splashed water on her face at the river, warmed up the last half of the chicken over the embers, ate her fill, and pressed on. But from here, she’d have to be extra careful: Chen Jiumei and many villagers were in town searching for Qin Yuan. If caught, all her efforts would be for nothing...

So she hurried toward town while the sky was still dim, planning to scout the situation. If she could find a vehicle to escape quickly, that would be best. She hoped everything would go smoothly.

“Gurgle—ptui!”

In a courtyard in town, Chen Jiumei was already up. With a dark scowl, he spat out his mouthwash—and it landed right on Chen Xing, who had leaned over to speak to him.Chen Xing’s expression flickered, but he stifled his irritation, merely wiping off the spittle and asking in an ingratiating tone:

“Brother Jiu, are we heading to the county town again today?”

He’d made a terrible mistake, so these past few days he’d stuck close to Chen Jiumei, toiling away without a word of complaint.