**Chapter 35**

  The Song family's affairs were old grudges. Daniu and her father stayed at the Song family's house for one night before returning home. Dali had gone back the previous afternoon—his work at the forestry farm was very busy.

  Thanks to the ginseng Daniu had given, the old doctor was very attentive. He took Song Yunshan to the county pharmacy to get medicine. The prescriptions varied depending on each person's condition, and there were specific instructions on how to brew the medicine. This round of medicine would st two weeks, after which they would need to go back for another consultation. It was a bit troublesome, but for the sake of their health, it was worth it.

  Song Yunshan used his connections to exchange the small gold bar for 650 yuan—more than what the bank would have offered. After deducting the cost of the medicine, each family received 200 yuan.

  When Song Yuncheng returned home, he gave the gold to his wife and told her to hide it well. It was best not to reveal such things at this time.

  After the twelfth day of the lunar new year, Daniu's second grandpa and second grandma were preparing to return home. Their children were all at home, and they hadn't spent New Year together, so they wanted to celebrate the Lantern Festival together. Daniu and Dakui saw them off at the train station. Since they lived near the railway, there were many familiar faces on the train, and someone would help them get home safely. There was no need to worry about their safety.

  Dakui was also leaving today, but his train was in the evening.

  "Brother, when will you be back again?" The two siblings sat on the benches at the train station, and Daniu asked.

  "It depends. Our base is too far away. It takes three days and three nights by train to come back, so a week for the round trip. I need to save up some vacation time. Next time, I'll bring your sister-in-w with me, and we'll stay longer," Dakui said. This trip had already been quite long.

  "Alright, write to me if anything comes up," Daniu said reluctantly, knowing she couldn't keep him any longer.

  "Our brother has a job now, so his wedding is probably not far off. You're eight too; it's time to think about your future. Start looking around for someone suitable. I think Grandpa doesn’t want you to leave home, so maybe you should consider finding a live-in son-in-w. Big brother, I, and the younger ones all agree with that."

  "It's too early to think about that. I don’t want to get married so soon," Daniu replied. In their area, girls usually got engaged shortly after turning eighteen, but she had never given it much thought. Even if she never married, it wouldn’t bother her.

  "You’ve always had your own ideas, different from other girls. But people still need to get married. Start looking early, and you might find the right one. I originally thought of introducing you to one of my comrades, but then I realized marrying a comrade would mean you’d have to move far away. Forget it; better to find someone close to home. You can’t just think about not getting married. If you do, Grandpa will be really worried," Dakui said with a ugh.

  Daniu nodded, "Alright, I’ll keep an eye out." She wasn’t exactly against marriage. In her previous life, she hadn’t married because she never found the right person and had grown used to doing everything alone. She didn’t have high expectations for marriage.

  But now that she had been given a second chance at life, she wasn’t opposed to it. Life is about experiencing everything, and this time, her happy family has given her a sense of security, so she has greater expectations for marriage now.

  At noon, the two siblings went to a state-run restaurant for lunch. They had dumplings, fried pork, and a bowl of hot and sour soup. The portions were generous, and they ate until they were full. In the afternoon, Daniu accompanied Dakui to the train station, and in the evening, she saw him off on the train.

  Daniu decided to stay in the county for the night. Instead of booking a guest house, she went directly to Fifth Grandpa’s house. Fifth Grandpa and Great Aunt hadn’t returned yet, and the children were also away. Only Fifth Grandpa’s son, Yun Ting, and his wife, Zhang Li, were home.

  Daniu went to the county security bureau’s residential compound. When she knocked on the door, Zhang Li opened it and was pleasantly surprised. "Daniu! Come in, when did you arrive?" she said warmly, inviting Daniu inside.

  "Seventh Aunt, I came to see off Second Grandpa and the others. It’s te, so I thought I’d stay here for the night."

  "Have you eaten? Let me make you some noodles," Zhang Li said, heading to the kitchen.

  "No need, I’ve already eaten," Daniu replied.

  But Zhang Li didn’t stop. She went to the kitchen and opened the balcony door. The balcony was open to the cold air, serving as a natural refrigerator. She took out a few frozen pears and put them in a basin to thaw.

  "Where’s Seventh Uncle?" Daniu asked.

  "He’s not back yet. The county security bureau has been busy these days. He’s probably working overtime again today."

  "Still so busy even during the New Year?" Daniu asked.

  "Exactly. That’s just how their job is. The busiest times are during holidays. They’re always worried something might go wrong. This year, something did happen," Zhang Li said, pcing the thawed pears on the table.

  "What happened? Was there a big case?"

  "I heard a fugitive came to our area. It happened before the New Year, and they even posted notices. The day before yesterday, someone spotted him, but the fugitive stabbed the person. He is still in critical condition."

  "Really? What did he do to run here?" Daniu asked. Their area was so cold that without retives or a pce to stay, it would be impossible to survive.

  "I’m not sure. Your uncle didn’t talk about it when he came home. I only heard about it from the neighbors. Since we live in the residential area, we get some inside information," Zhang Li said with a ugh. "By the way, Daniu, this is your first time visiting since we moved, right?"

  Daniu nodded. "Yes, it’s my first time. During the New Year, you mentioned you lived right upstairs from Fifth Grandpa’s pce, so I came here directly."

  "You found it easily," Zhang Li said, adding more coal to the stove.

  Originally, their family had been allocated a new house three years ago, but st year, Fifth Grandpa had a fall. Although he wasn’t seriously hurt, to take care of him, they swapped houses with the family living upstairs from Fifth Grandpa. They ended up with a slightly smaller and older house.

  As they chatted, Yun Ting came in from outside. He was surprised and happy to see Daniu. "Since you’re here, stay for a few more days. Tomorrow, your aunt can take you to the department store. We still have some fabric coupons left. We’ll get you some new clothes."

  "No need, Seventh Uncle. I have enough clothes. Save the coupons for Tian Yu and Tian Qi," Daniu said.

  "Those two rascals! They can ruin a piece of clothing in just two days. They can wear hand-me-downs," Zhang Li interjected. She had given birth to twin boys, who were now at a mischievous age. They had sent the boys back to the vilge for the New Year, giving the couple some peace.

  "Uncle, I heard there’s been a big case in the county?" Daniu asked curiously after Yun Ting finished his meal.

  "Your aunt told you?" Yun Ting tore a small strip of paper from one of his children’s used homework books, rolled some tobacco into it, and sealed it with saliva. He lit it and took a deep puff. "It’s not confidential anymore. The man is from Wuliuhe Vilge in Hualin County. He got into a fight with his neighbor and ended up killing the family of three in their home that night. Then he ran away. Hualin County has been looking for him for a long time, almost half a year. Later, someone said that they saw him here, so we have also issued a wanted order just before the New Year."

  Ma Yunting took out a piece of paper from his pocket and said, "A young policeman from the Tianbian Police Station found him the day before yesterday. The young man was only 19 years old and was a reckless one, so he went to catch him directly. As a result, he was stabbed by him because of his ck of experience. I went to see him just now and just got out of danger."

  "It turns out that the one stabbed was a policeman." The Daniu said in surprise.

  "Well, check and see if you've seen him before." He heard that his niece had a good memory; what if she had seen him before?

  Daniu took the paper, on which was a portrait, not very clear, probably enrged from a one-inch photo, but the technology was just that in those days.

  Hey, Daniu suddenly felt that the portrait looked familiar, and images suddenly fshed in her brain, pushing forward from the people she saw every day. The image fshed automatically, just like a videotape pyed in reverse; all the images that she had thrown into the depths of her memory began to appear again.

  "It's him." Daniu suddenly said, "I've seen this man. It was in our commune. It was in early October st year."

  Ma Yunting sat up straight. "Tell me about it."

  "That day I went to pick up Fourth Grandpa. I saw him in the commune on the way back." Daniu's memory became clearer and clearer. "That man was an outsider, so I paid special attention to him. He was wearing a navy blue top with two pockets on the outside and a sweater inside. His pants were bck, and he was wearing cotton shoes on his feet. Because he wasn't wearing a cotton jacket and a sweater, I guessed he wasn't from our side."

  Ma Yunting nodded. It was cold in their winter. Almost as soon as winter came, they put on cotton jackets, some thin and some thick. Some even wore fur jackets. Few people wore sweaters. On the one hand, sweaters were not as warm as cotton jackets. On the other hand, they had less wool here, and few people could buy it with tickets. Even those who had tickets bought one or two taels and knitted scarves and hats for their children.

  "Seventh Uncle, it was below zero that day, so it is that he was wearing that kind of clothes, and he didn't wear a hat. He probably had a pce to stay nearby. Judging from his expression, he was just strolling outside that day." Daniu went over the details in her mind again and again. Try to find some clues.

  "Your information is very important. Come with me to the station to report this. If he really has a pce to stay in the commune, he might have gone back there after the recent incident," Yunting said, standing up and putting on his coat.

  "Hey, it’s te at night. Why are you dragging Daniu along in the dark?" Zhang Li came out of the inner room, having just finished making the bed for Daniu.

  Daniu put on her hat and said, "It’s fine, Seventh Aunt. I’ll go with him and see if I can help. I’m used to walking at night, and it’s not far."

  Zhang Li shot Yunting a disapproving look, then grabbed a cloth bag, wiped the frozen pears clean, and put them inside. She also took out two pieces of cake from the cupboard. "Take these with you in case you get hungry ter. They are usually busy all night," she compined, then turned to Yunting. "If you don’t need Daniu, make sure to bring her back."

  "Don’t worry, you’re always fussing over nothing," Yun Ting said as he opened the door and walked out.

  Daniu noticed Zhang Li gring at Yunting and chuckled before waving her hand. "Seventh Aunt, we are off."

  "Seventh Uncle, Seventh Aunt is really mad," Daniu said with a smile once they were outside the building.

  "It’s fine. She gets angry quickly, but it passes just as fast," Yunting said, brushing it off.

  Daniu found the couple quite amusing. Perhaps every couple had their own way of getting along. She wondered what her future partner would be like.

  As she thought about it, her memories began to stir again. Faces fshed through her mind, and suddenly, her thoughts stopped on Zheng Sen’s face. Daniu was startled for a moment, then realized with a chuckle that she might actually be a bit of a beauty-loving person, something she hadn't realized until now.