Chapter 115: Chapter 106: Why Is It You Again?

After her bout of delight, an important question suddenly occurred to her: ’This place must cost a lot of money, right? Where did Xiao Man get the money?’

Xiao Man told them it was free. A relative of her teacher had arranged their stay. The little booklet she had just handed over was like the food and cloth coupons of old—it could be used in place of money for a one-night stay.

Only then were Second Granny Qiu and her son relieved.

Uncle Qiu took one room, while Xiao Man shared the other with Second Granny Qiu and Little Ni’er. Little Ni’er hadn’t woken up at all, and Second Granny Qiu was exhausted. After a quick wash of her face and feet with hot water, she fell right asleep. Xiao Man locked the door, turned off the light, and got into bed. She slipped into her personal space and only emerged about an hour later, finally nestling under the covers and drifting off to a peaceful sleep.

Early the next morning, Xiao Feng stopped by the guesthouse before heading to work. Pan Meimei was still on duty from her night shift. She returned his work ID and told him that the girl from last night and her family had already gotten up and left that morning. The girl had come down first and offered to pay for the room, but Pan Meimei had made the call not to charge her.

Xiao Feng nodded. “Keep that in mind. When ordinary people come up from the local areas to report issues or attend delegate meetings, it’s our duty to accommodate them… Let me see the registration book.”

Pan Meimei flipped to the page where Xiao Man had registered. Xiao Feng chuckled. “Mo Dan Ni? A little slip of a girl who looks like a bean sprout chose a name like that? Her temper is something else, though. A real firecracker!”

At that very moment, the “Mo Dan Ni” in question—the so-called firecracker—was rushing toward the bus station. She wore a red, floral-print corduroy jacket and a grass-green messenger bag, her two pigtails bouncing with every step.

With Qiu Xiaobao’s mother there to look after him, there was no need for Second Granny Qiu and Uncle Qiu to stay. They had already agreed at the hospital the night before to head straight to the bus station early in the morning and catch a ride back to the village.

But after leaving the guesthouse that morning and walking for two blocks, they passed two state-run restaurants in a row. These restaurants catered to the general public and naturally served all sorts of food. There were the rice noodles in meat broth and the plain rice favored by locals, as well as the steamed buns and noodles that Northerners preferred. The scent of meat wafted from the wide-open doors. Through the large glass windows, they could see chefs in white uniforms ladling broth from large pots or carrying out stacks of freshly steamed buns. As frugal as Second Granny Qiu was, she couldn’t hold out against her little granddaughter, who was stretching out her hands and wailing for food. In the end, Second Granny Qiu had no choice but to press a one-yuan note into Xiao Man’s hand and ask her to buy a few buns.

But who would have thought that just as Xiao Man entered the restaurant and got in line at the bun counter, Second Granny Qiu, holding Qiu Xiaoni, and Uncle Qiu would follow her inside? A pleasant server invited them to sit and asked if they’d like a bowl of rice noodles. The mother and son both nodded. The result was that by the time Xiao Man returned with the steamed buns, two bowls of steaming hot rice noodles with fresh meat were already set before them.

Eating rice noodles took time. Second Granny Qiu knew she had messed up, but the noodles had already been served. They would have to pay for them whether they ate them or not, and it would be a shame to let them go to waste!

In the end, the mother and son scarfed down their food while Xiao Man ran on ahead, munching on a bun. She would go buy the tickets first, figuring the bus could wait for them for a little while.

Unfortunately, by the time Xiao Man reached the bus station, the bus to Gongdao Village had already departed.

The group had no choice but to trudge dejectedly back to Wancheng Hospital.

Because they had missed the bus, Qiu Xiaohu and Qiu Dan Ni were now home alone without supervision. This led to another furious argument between Second Granny Qiu and Wang Guihua in the hospital ward, which only stopped when a nurse intervened. Fed up, Uncle Qiu told Second Granny Qiu he was leaving and set off to walk home by himself.

Second Granny Qiu would wait with Xiao Ni and Xiao Man to catch the bus first thing in the morning.

Xiao Man fed Little Leopard another bowl of spiritual spring water. Not wanting to watch the two women stew in their anger, she headed into the city to wander around.

Second Granny Qiu refused to set foot outside again. But since Xiao Man seemed perfectly capable of navigating the city on her own, even late at night, she wasn’t too worried. She just gave her a few reminders to come back early.

This time, Xiao Man went to the post office and bought ten envelopes and a few sets of stamps. Then she stopped by the Xinhua Bookstore, where she bought more than a dozen comic books, some as single issues and others in complete sets. She stashed them in her messenger bag, which she then put into her personal space. She kept one set of any duplicates for herself and planned to give the rest away as gifts to her friends.

She walked and window-shopped, popping into any open stores to browse. Before she knew it, Xiao Man found herself standing at the gate of a large government compound.

She looked up at the tall portico. Several long, white plaques with black lettering hung there, looking stern and solemn. Inside the guardhouse by the gate, a stone-faced gatekeeper scanned every person who passed by.

’I should have grown up in this compound. But by a strange twist of fate, I was taken far away in my last life, never even getting the chance to lay eyes on it!’

’Now that I’ve been reborn, I’ve come here on my own, but I’m still just a stranger passing by!’

Xiao Man’s eyes grew red as tears welled up against her will. She roughly wiped them away with her sleeve, lifted her chin, and continued walking.

’If it had been a simple mix-up at birth, if I hadn’t been so cruelly abandoned, perhaps I would have run in to ask questions right now!’

’But alas, there are no “what ifs”!’

A black sedan pulled out of the compound’s gate. Xiao Feng was at the wheel. In the back seat sat a man with handsome, refined features and a scholarly air—it was Tang Qingyun.

A file and a notebook rested on Tang Qingyun’s lap. As he looked them over, he casually patted his pockets and asked, “Xiao Feng, do you have any cigarettes?”

Xiao Feng quickly hit the brakes. “I—I forgot them too! Secretary, just a moment, I’ll go grab them right now!”

He mentally wiped his brow. ’I finally found a girlfriend I really like, but she can’t stand the smell of smoke. I held off for two days just for our date last night. And she agreed to see me again tomorrow night! In all the excitement, I forgot to put a pack in my pocket today. Now the Secretary is asking for one… What a screw-up!’

Tang Qingyun smiled. “Then you’ll have to run back and get them. I have some in my drawer. Just bring the whole lot. We both smoke, and we can’t make a long trip to the provincial city without any cigarettes!”

Xiao Feng opened the door and got out. After only a few steps, he ran right into Mo Xiaoman. “Well, if it isn’t Mo Dan Ni! You again?”

Xiao Man was in low spirits and hadn’t noticed the sedan. She glanced at Xiao Feng with red, puffy rabbit eyes, then turned her back, clearly not wanting to talk.

But Xiao Feng was a naturally friendly sort. He bent down to get a look at her face. “Were you crying? Did you not find your relatives?”

An idea occurred to Xiao Man, so she simply nodded. “That’s right, I didn’t find them, and I missed the bus today. Could you help me one more time? Otherwise, I’ll be sleeping on the streets tonight!”

Xiao Feng laughed. “Little girl, you’ve got some luck, don’t you? Here, come with me!”

Xiao Man obediently followed him over to the sedan. Tang Qingyun had seen them from inside and rolled down the window before they even got close. “What’s going on?” he asked.

When Xiao Man heard the voice, she looked up. Seeing that face so clearly and at such close range, her eyes flew wide open.

Xiao Feng quickly explained how Xiao Man had come to the city, failed to find her relatives, and then missed her bus. He finished with a grin. “Secretary, remember that night we were stuck in Jiali Village? There was a little girl singing on the highway. You said she had a great voice, that she was a real talent who could try out for a song and dance troupe. This is her!”

Tang Qingyun stared intently at Xiao Man. “You’re the little girl who was singing that night?”

Xiao Man gave a slight nod and lowered her gaze.

“What’s your name?”

“Her name is—”

“My name is Mo Dan Ni, and I live very, very far away!”

Xiao Feng had kindly tried to answer for her, and Xiao Man wasn’t ungrateful. It was just that the address he was about to give was fake, and she felt it was better to handle the lie herself.

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