Chapter 48**

  Feeling that something wasn’t right, Daniu didn’t approach them. Instead, she carried her bags out of the store and sat down across the street, her mind repying the images of the three. Soon, she realized what was bothering her.

  The little boy had a small widow’s peak on his head, and his eyes were double-lidded. Both parents had straight hairlines and single eyelids, but the boy didn’t. Although their facial features were somewhat simir, they all have long faces; they should not be reted.

  However, Daniu didn’t confront them directly but waited outside.

  After a while, the family of three emerged. The man was carrying the child, while the woman held a cloth bag filled with what appeared to be food. The child was clutching a toy gun, a luxury item in those days, expensive and requiring industrial coupons. Most families couldn’t afford such toys and would at most carve a wooden gun for their children.

  Daniu followed them, observing the family. They seemed to be well-off residents of the county town, judging by their clothing.

  The couple chatted and pyed with the child, who was happily squirming in his father’s arms. The man didn’t seem annoyed and even bounced the child to make him ugh. Daniu followed them for three blocks until they reached a three-story building, one of the better residences in the county. She watched as the family entered a ground-floor apartment and memorized the address.

  She then turned and left. The child likely wasn’t theirs, so she needed to investigate how the child had come into their care.

  "You’re talking about that family? I remember them. I was the one who handled their household registration. The couple couldn’t have children, so they adopted one from the countryside," the local police officer said after Daniu expined the situation. He took her to check the records.

  "Here it is. The child is from Dongshan Vilge. Both his parents passed away," the officer said, handing Daniu a file.

  Daniu looked down and saw that the boy’s parents had a troubled marriage, often fighting. The mother had attempted suicide twice and ter developed mental health issues. The father had been diagnosed with a terminal illness st year and passed away before the New Year. The mother, already unstable, fell in a river a few days after her husband’s death. Because of the cold weather, she was found too te to be saved.

  Daniu sighed. The couple had three sons: the eldest was seven, the second was five, and the youngest—the boy she had seen—was not yet three.

  "The man’s family had two sisters and two brothers, and the mother’s parents were still alive, but none of them could afford to raise the three children. The conditions in Dongshan are too poor," the officer expined. "After discussions with the vilge cadres and the Women’s Federation, it was decided to give the two younger ones to others to raise, while the eldest would live with his maternal grandparents."

  "The second child was adopted by a couple in Harbin. give the two younger ones to others to raise. The couple you saw today are both working in the county town, and the mother is a childcare worker. Their conditions are quite good."

  Daniu nodded and smiled at the officer. "Sorry for the trouble."

  "No problem. You were just pointing out an issue. But Comrade Ma, you’re really impressive. Just from their appearance, you could tell they weren’t biologically reted. The colleague who took them to see the child back then said both sides looked quite simir; that is why they were immediately chosen. Who would have thought there would be such obvious distinguishing features?"

  "It was just a coincidence," Daniu replied without eborating. In truth, she didn’t know much about genetics, but her mind had started to categorize and find patterns in such matters.

  After leaving the police station, Daniu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled to herself. She had initially thought the child might have been bought, but it turned out he was adopted through formal procedures.

  Thinking about the child’s parents, she sighed. They were yet another unhappy couple. In this era, most marriages were arranged through matchmaking. If the couple is suitable in all aspects, they will be engaged. While this was an improvement over the old day's forced arranged marriages, many couples still discovered they were incompatible after tying the knot. Divorce was rare in this era, and many couples simply endured their marriages for a lifetime, often without much happiness.

  As Daniu walked to the bus station, lost in thought, she spotted Zheng Sen standing in the distance. His clean and sharp appearance set him apart from the other young men of the time. Perhaps she needed more time to understand him.

  Zheng Sen took the bags Daniu was carrying. "The bus will be here soon."

  "Where’s Li Hongda?" Daniu asked, noticing his absence.

  "He took the earlier bus back," Zheng Sen replied.

  Daniu gnced at him, smiled, and said nothing.

  Zheng Sen smiled back.

  In a blink of an eye, Da Niu has been working in the commune for half a year. This half year is enough for her to be familiar with the work. Public security was generally good in this era, and most vilge disputes were resolved internally. Her work mainly involved handling trivial matters.

  Over time, Daniu became well-known in the commune as the only female police officer. Many elderly women from the vilges preferred to seek her help, whether it was finding lost items or mediating neighborhood disputes. These tasks were excellent training for her.

  Daniu quickly learned the names of all the aunties and grandmothers in the commune and surrounding vilges. She understood their concerns and could resolve issues efficiently. Her ability to find lost items quickly and handle matters clearly made her increasingly popur. Gradually, the entire commune came to know about the female police officer named Ma Shun.

  Her growing reputation brought an unexpected change: an increase in matchmaking proposals. Young men from the county, the commune, and nearby vilges were frequently introduced to her by matchmakers. It got to the point where Daniu dreaded going home on weekends. Eventually, her mother firmly declined all proposals, saying her daughter wasn’t in a hurry to marry and would wait a couple of years. Only then did the matchmaking slow down.

  The west room in the front yard had been repaired after the three educated youths moved out. The interior was painted white, and stone sbs were id on the floor. The stones were sourced from the nearby mountains, cut, and fitted together, giving the room a clean look. An additional yer was added to the roof for better insution. In winter, with a fire lit outside, the room would stay warm. Dali’s wedding was set for October, and after that, Dayong and Dazhi would move out of his room and occupied this one.

  After fixing up the house, Daniu used the empty space opposite the west room, where the horse cart used to be parked, to build a wooden frame. She dug up two wild grapevines from her third granpa’s house and pnted them there. Although they didn’t bear much fruit that year, the area beneath the vines became a cool, shaded spot.

  In August, the days were long, and the family often gathered under the grapevine trellis in the evening. A small wooden table held sliced watermelon, which Zheng Sen had brought over at noon. Now it was hot, and people went to work from 5 am to 6 pm, with a three-hour break at midday. Recently, Zheng Sen had been visiting frequently, bringing gifts, which made the family suspect something was going on. However, since Daniu didn’t mention anything, they didn’t ask.

  Behind the scenes, Ma Hongmei expressed her concerns to Song Yuncheng. "Zheng Sen is an educated youth, and he might go back at any time. What will we do if they are together then?"

  Song Yuncheng agreed it was an important issue, but neither of them felt comfortable bringing it up with Daniu. After all, Zheng Sen seemed like a decent young man.

  Unaware of her parents’ worries, Daniu wasn’t thinking that far ahead. The watermelon, chilled in well water, was refreshing and helped cool everyone down after a hot day.

  As they ate, Meizi shared some gossip. "That educated youth, Zhang Xiaoran, got married."

  Xiaocui dropped a bombshell. "Who?" Daniu asked, surprised.

  "The one who used to live with us, Zhang Xiaoran," Meizi expined.

  "How do you know?" Daniu asked.

  "I heard it from Sister Hua," Meizi said. Sister Hua was the daughter of Uncle Song, two years older than Meizi, and the two were close.

  "Sister Hua knows someone from the forestry station who told her."

  "Who did she marry?" Xiaocui asked.

  "Liang Wen, from the Liang family in Shuangmiao vilge," Meizi said while munching on watermelon.

  Daniu nearly choked. "Cough—Liang Wen from Auntie Zheng’s family?"

  Meizi nodded. "Yes, him." She wasn’t aware that Liang Wen had once sent a matchmaker to propose to her sister.

  Daniu hadn’t heard anything about Liang Wen in a long time. The news came as a surprise. Could Zheng Sen have something to do with it?

  The next day, Zheng Sen showed up at noon, carrying another rge watermelon. He went straight to the well, drew some water, and headed to the small room on the west side of the house, which had been converted into a shower room for summer use.

  A short while ter, he emerged, his hair and face wet. "Whew, it’s really hot today."

  Daniu handed him a towel.

  Zheng Sen wiped his face and hair haphazardly. "It’s fine up in the mountains, but down here, it’s sweltering."

  "I’ll soak the watermelon in the well water, and it’ll cool down in no time," Daniu said.

  "No need, I’ll be leaving soon. Are you going to the movie screening at the forestry station tomorrow night? If you are, I’ll save you a seat," Zheng Sen offered.

  "What’s pying?" Daniu hadn’t seen a movie in a while.

  "*Tracks in the Snowy Forest*."

  "I’ll go. It’ll be after dark, right?"

  "Yeah, it’s too bright in the day to see anything."

  "Then we’ll go after dinner." Daniu knew her siblings would be thrilled at the idea of watching a movie. She pnned to ask Uncle Song if they could borrow his cart.

  Daniu cut open a watermelon that had been chilled for a while. A bite of the cool, refreshing fruit instantly dispelled the summer heat.

  "By the way, I heard Liang Wen and Zhang Xiaoran got married. Is it true?" Daniu asked curiously.

  "Yes, it happened st week."

  Daniu thought for a moment and then asked, "Does this have anything to do with you?"

  Zheng Sen chuckled. "It has nothing to do with me, but it does have something to do with you."

  Daniu was puzzled. "What does it have to do with me?" She hadn’t provoked either of them.

  "Xie Yun has been bullied by Zhang Xiaoran for a long time. Later, Xie Yun was transferred to feed the pigs and take care of the livestock. She lived near the animal pens, and although the conditions were poor, the work was retively easy, and she was farther away from Zhang Xiaoran. After that, I didn’t pay much attention to the situation. But then I noticed that Zhang Xiaoran went to the county town several times, and Liang Wen came to our forestry station to look for her. I found it strange—how did these two unreted people end up together?" Zheng Sen had initially thought it was just a coincidence.

  "Who would have thought that Zhang Xiaoran couldn’t handle the hard work and wanted to find a husband so she wouldn’t have to earn work points like the other forestry workers? Knowing her intentions, Xie Yun told someone how good Liang Wen was, how he had a stable job, and how he came from a good family. She also said..." At this point, Zheng Sen gnced at Daniu.

  "Go on," Daniu said, already sensing it wasn’t anything good.

  "She even said that you had taken a liking to Liang Wen."

  Daniu scoffed. People really can say nonsense.

  "Zhang Xiaoran overheard this, and she believed it without question. Once she saw Liang Wen’s conditions, she set her sights on him."

  "But did Liang Wen’s mother agree to this marriage?" Daniu asked.

  "Zhang Xiaoran is quite clever. She acted first and sought approval ter. Liang Wen’s mother didn’t want her son to get into trouble, so she had to agree. Otherwise, how could they have gotten married so quickly?"

  "Wait, that is not right. How do you know so much?" Daniu asked, puzzled.

  Zheng Sen shrugged. "You’ll have to ask Li Hongda about that. I heard it all from him."