Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
I don't like to talk, but I have a strong temper.
I know that people don't have a good opinion of me. I can accept you silently saying all kinds of bad things about me in your heart, but I absolutely cannot accept you saying bad things about me in front of me. I won't ignore it.
Later, I learned another skill, which I secretly picked up when I had nothing to do - fishing. Instead of working for others or watching over their stalls, I decided to set up my own stall and sell fish. I sold the fish cheaper than others, and the few fish I had would sell out early every day. I would then take the cash back home, and my mother-in-law and I could have a hot meal. In those difficult days, all I wanted was to fill our stomachs and survive. I didn't care about making a lot of money, as long as we had enough to eat and drink every day.
Other children played by the river while fishing, but I was not playing - I was trying to make a living. I had mentioned that I didn't want to interact with others, I just wanted to do my own thing and live my own life. Life went relatively smoothly until one day, I did something that disrupted the peace I should have had, and from then on, I also left my mother-in-law.
One day, as usual, I went to the riverside early in the morning to fish. It had rained heavily the night before, and the river water had risen high as if it had been attacked by a storm. The river had been churning all night, and some fish fry had been washed up onto the shore. Today, the fish in the river must be the most active. I happily began my work for the day.
"One fish, two fish, three fish..."
"The fish today is so big, I've never caught such a big fish before. It looks like I'll have a good income today!" I said to myself happily.
Without realizing it, I stayed for almost an hour longer. I noticed the sun was higher than usual. I should go set up my stall. As I was packing up, I heard the voices of other children, and they mentioned me.
"Look, isn't that Zhang Xiaobei? The unlucky star. How did he end up here? Come on, let's go take a look!"
A group of children ran towards me...
"We better not provoke him. He's a quiet and unsociable person. It's asking for trouble to provoke him. Let's just mind our own business and play by ourselves," one of the children said.
"What's there to be afraid of? He's just an outsider, a child that nobody wants. We have all been his caregivers, taking care of him and that old lady. Don't be ungrateful and pretend to be tough. Who are you trying to impress? Let's go over and take a look!"
"Zhang Xiaobei, who allowed you to fish here? Hey, look, there are quite a few fish in the bamboo basket, and this one is the biggest! Can I have this big one as a gift?"
Heizi is a doll head among the children. His family has business dealings with Russia at the border, importing and exporting livestock meat. They are considered wealthy here. You can often see some warlords coming in and out of his house, so it seems that his family has some background. This has also boosted Heizi's arrogance. He doesn't put his peers in his eyes, and the other children all listen to his orders without daring to say no.
"Put it down. I'm selling this fish, not giving it away! If you want it, you can pay for it!" Zhang Xiaobei said, staring at him without blinking.
"What's the matter, you want me to pay for it, huh? Today, I won't pay a dime, I'm taking this fish. What are you going to do about it, you jinx? Have you forgotten how you begged on the streets? I even gave you a big coin, enough to buy this whole box of fish! Who do you think you're arguing with here!"
" Heizi brother, stop calculating. He's not easy either, so don't bother with him. I'll go back and get the tools. We can catch bigger fish than him ourselves." Hua Zi said as he ran to get the tools.
"You're back. Did I ask you to go back and get them? Why not eat the ready-made fish? Why bother catching them ourselves! You want one but won't take it, huh? Fine, I'll change the rules. One fish won't be enough for all of us. You all come over here and take this basket of fish away!"
Everyone was looking at Heizi without saying a word.
"What are you all doing? Didn't anyone hear me speaking? Hurry up and take away this basket of fish, I told you to sell them!" Heizi said sternly.
Several children clumsily dragged a bamboo basket forward, but they were stopped by Zhang Xiaobei.
"Heizi, don't bully others just because you have the upper hand. I didn't provoke you, why do you want to snatch my fish? Just because you have money doesn't mean you can disregard others. I may be poor, but I'm not as unreasonable as you. Whoever dares to touch my things, I'll fight you."
Zhang Xiaobei glared at them angrily, pretending to be ready to fight.
"Hey, where did this wild child come from? Nobody wants you here. So uncivilized. Are you trying to scare me to death? Go grab his stuff and let's go!"
A group of children grabbed things and left. Zhang Xiaobei went up and pulled them apart one by one. Still feeling angry, he ran up to Heizi and kicked him in the stomach. The kick was so hard that Heizi was forced to sit on the ground.
"Good for nothing, dare to fight with me, all of you, attack him, beat him hard, beat him to death!" With this command from Heizi, Zhang Xiaobei was surrounded by several of them.
Next came a flurry of punches and kicks. Zhang Xiaobei lay motionless on the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"My fish, heaven has eyes, you will face retribution."
He was crawling on the ground, slowly picking up the scattered fish and putting them into a bamboo basket, one by one.
"Who cares about your few broken fish? Let's go. You ungrateful thing, don't let me see you again. If I see you, I'll hit you!"
Hua Zi helplessly glanced at Zhang Xiaobei and followed them away dejectedly.
This incident stung Zhang Xiaobei. He wouldn't just swallow his pride like this. He tidied himself up and didn't go back to the stall. Instead, he went home. His mother-in-law went to worship today and wasn't at home yet. He changed his clothes, cleaned himself up, cooked fish, and waited for his mother-in-law to come back and eat. He was gloomy all day, as if he had lost his soul. When his mother-in-law asked him, he said it was nothing.
In the late afternoon, Hua Zi came to find Zhang Xiaobei. He wanted to see how serious his injury was and felt a bit guilty.
"Why are you here? I'm not feeling well today, and I don't need a friend who is so timid and fearful. If there's nothing important, please leave!" Zhang Xiaobei said.
"This child is acting strange today, throwing tantrums all day. How can I talk to Hua Zi? Were you two together today?" Mother-in-law looked at Hua Zi.
Zhang Xiaobei signaled to Hua Zi with his eyes, "No, mother, we were not together today!" Hua Zi said.
Zhang Xiaobei stood up and pulled Hua Zi by the arm, walking towards the outside of the house.
"Speak up, what's the matter! If there's something, say it. If not, I'll just go back!"
"Don't be like this, Xiao Bei, are you still mad at me because of what happened during the day? I've told you before, don't argue with him. We can't afford to provoke him. Why don't you listen to me?"
"You're afraid of him, I'm not afraid of him!"
"To be honest, I don't have parents either. I've been looked down upon by others, but I don't have your courage. How could I dare to confront them alone when there are so many of them? Aren't you afraid of being crippled by them?"
"You must be happy to see me being beaten by them, right? Aren't you on their side? What are you doing here with me?"
"Xiao Bei I had no choice but to do it. Can't you learn from me? In the world, who doesn't get their feet wet? When it's time to show weakness, you should show weakness. You're only harming yourself by acting this way. I'm doing this for your own good!"
"Is that so? Then I should thank you. You can leave now. It's just a minor injury, nothing serious. It's better for you not to meddle in my affairs in the future, to avoid bringing trouble upon yourself. Heizi humiliated me today, I will definitely repay him twofold!"
"You don't have to hold a grudge against me, I'm also in a dilemma. If I get fired by his family, I'll have to go back to begging again. I just want to tell you to be careful in the future! That's all the good advice I can give. He said he wants me to go to his house tonight to help with some work, and he said he needs to go out for a while, so I have to go! Take care of yourself."
"Let you go to his house? When?"
"Eight o'clock!"
I knew my chance had come. I had to humiliate him in person and show him how capable I am.
At eight o'clock, I took a detour to a place not far from Heizi's house, and from a distance, I watched his every move. I saw Hua Zi go to his house, and I saw many movers loading goods onto trucks; they were going to transport the goods tomorrow. Then I saw him come out, carrying his beloved little dog, and I quietly followed him.
Where was he going? I followed him closely, like a detective.
Zhang Xiaobei is thinking: How can I teach him a lesson to make myself feel better.
I saw the dog in his hand suddenly break free from the rope and run towards the river. It went to the place where I was beaten during the day. I secretly felt happy in my heart. It's a good place, far from the crowd, where I can have a showdown with him alone.
Heizi The dog by my side kept running with its keen sense of smell. It sniffed the fishy smell by the river and indeed found many small fish washed ashore.
"Here we meet again!"
"How come it's you? Haven't you figured out what happened during the day? I just want you to admit your mistake, and then everything will be fine! It seems like you've figured it out!"
"Let me admit my mistake to you, alright. Stand still, I'll admit my mistake to you right now!"
I pushed him down fiercely, and he immediately fought back. I knew he couldn't swim, so I deliberately led him towards the river. We ended up fighting in the water up to our shins.
After several rounds of struggling, we were both clearly getting tired. When I wasn't paying attention, Heizi kicked me in the back, causing me to fall into the water and almost choke. As I turned to look at him, he stood there laughing and cursing triumphantly.
"Sangmenxing, you want to oppose me? Grandpa will let you know how powerful I am. Quickly kowtow and apologize to me!"
This further ignited my anger. I suddenly stood up, reached out and grabbed his neck with my arm, using all my strength to drag him towards the middle of the river. I wanted us to perish together.
The water is already below our shoulders, our bodies clearly have buoyancy, and it's hard to control. I never let go, I want you to taste the saltwater. I forcefully press his head and body into the water, not letting him surface. I feel his limbs flailing wildly. "Damn it, I'll make you know how powerful I am. Let's see if you dare to bully me again!"
I let go, ignoring him. Watching him flail around in the seawater, unable to swim, is really satisfying.
"Afterwards, 'Water from different wells does not mix.' Can you do it?" I shouted at him in frustration.
"Disaster star, wild seed!" he struggled to shout.
It seems like you still haven't had enough to drink. I exerted all my strength to push him down, back and forth, countless times, but he still wouldn't say anything nice to me. I suddenly pulled his head up, looked at his cowardly expression, and kicked him away.
At this point, his dog kept barking, and I was worried that someone might come over. I quickly paddled to the shore, ready to end this matter.
However, I never expected that Heizi didn't make it to shore and died in the water.
The next day, just as the sky was getting light, I left for work and passed by Heizi's house. I ran into Hua Zi, who looked exhausted. Hua Zi told me that Heizi always played tricks on him, and yesterday he didn't come back all night. Hua Zi had been helping him with work, and it seemed like he had earned a lot of money that night. As long as he didn't lose out on his wages, it was fine. Hua Zi chuckled foolishly.
Hua Zi's words surprised me, and I ran frantically towards the direction of the river.
The river was calm, and from a distance, I saw the dog Heizi had brought out, crouching on the bank, its eyes fixed on the rushing water, lost in thought, looking into the distance, waiting for its owner to come ashore.
I understand. After I got ashore, he didn't make it ashore...
I ran home like crazy, I was extremely scared, didn't dare to go out, couldn't believe that I had personally sealed his fate.
I never thought about taking his life, but I never expected his life to be so fragile...
I stayed in the house, not knowing what to do. In this era, it's normal for people to die. When a poor person dies, it's just death, and no one will ask about it. Heizi is different. His family has status and influence. If someone from their family dies, there will be an investigation.
I blankly waited for my mother-in-law to come back, hoping to hear some news.
My mother-in-law said, " Heizi has gone missing. His family is looking for him. Last night, Heizi went out with a dog and neither of them returned. If they can't find him soon, they say they will file a case."
At night, I become even more afraid. If I am exposed, I am finished. I didn't mean to, I just wanted to teach him a lesson. I couldn't help it, I turned off the lights in the room, quietly crept to my mother-in-law's ear, and told her everything. My mother-in-law is the only person I trust, she won't harm me.
"Xiao Bei, why are you so confused, this is all fate, this is all fate!" Two deep tears ran down my mother-in-law's old face.
"This is heaven taking you away from me! My poor child, why are we so unlucky!"
"Grandmother, I will not leave you. Even though you are of the age of my grandmother, you have given me life, and I will never be separated from you, whether in life or in death." Zhang Xiaobei tightly hugged his grandmother, leaving tears behind.
"Silly child, your grandmother is already at this age, having lived long enough. You are still young, with a long life ahead of you. You must live well, live on!" We hugged each other, not knowing how long we cried, it seemed like our tears were about to dry up.
My mother-in-law asked me to travel at night, prepared my luggage for me, and gave me all the savings she had. She told me to keep heading north, as far as I could go. Never look back, never return to this place.
From the moment I stepped out of the house, I knew that I would have to rely on myself for the road ahead. The future path is even more full of thorns.
Comment 0 Comment Count