Edited by musk
The twelfth plane, H village
The morning breeze was cold and refreshing, yet it carried with it the heavy humidity unique to the south-western provinces.
Here, in this underdeveloped corner of the country, it could be called quite the wonder if certain bigger villages even had their main roads asphalted, and it would be even more uncharacteristic if the beaten paths that led towards the even more rural areas could receive the same treatment.
The sun had barely risen, and there were hardly any people who would think of leaving the comfort of their homes this early in the morning if they didn’t have to.
Although things were like this, when Ms. Mo saw a familiar figure approach, she didn’t appear the least bit surprised. She gently placed the still half-full watering can near her feet before calling out as she smiled, ‘Ah Yi! Darling child!’
Wu Jiayi waved at her from where he stood and didn’t begrudge her the time to walk over. He grasped the strap of the heavy bag on his shoulder as if he was afraid of it falling, but his smile was still just as careless and youthful without even a hint of anxiety as on any other day.
‘Auntie Mo, good morning. I didn’t even realise it was already this late; I see those seedlings have already been planted out for some time now? It seems that I’m the one who’s late, as always.’ His words contained some laughter, but in reality he was only praising the little plants.
Ms. Mo’s smile grew a bit gentler as she heard him, ‘You’re seeing it wrong! I planted these merely yesterday. But they indeed look tender and healthy.. This one will definitely be a good year.’
‘Just yesterday?’ Wu Jiayi sounded genuinely impressed. ‘Then Aunt’s skills are even better than I had thought. Right, Auntie Mo, I wanted to give you something just now, but I didn’t know if I would see you today. Fortunately you noticed me first.’
He fumbled for a moment as he reached inside his bag before grabbing ahold of a plastic bag. He tugged on the strip of his bag as he leaned to hand the bag over when the woman’s hands stopped him.
‘Ah Yi, you shouldn’t have.. You know that I can’t accept this!’ Her words were filled with reluctance, yet her voice only revealed her longing. Wu Jiayi smiled at her apologetically, but he didn’t say anything.
After a couple moments of inner struggle, Ms. Mo finally sighed and accepted the bag. She opened it slightly to peer inside before closing it quickly. ‘Thank you, I would really have forgotten to get them if you hadn’t.. But I’m curious, how did you manage to buy them at this time?’
It should be known that the seeds in that bag could only be imported from beyond the great mountain range, and purchasing them in the spring was also quite troublesome.
Wu Jiayi only waved dismissively, ‘It really isn’t too much trouble. I have a friend who has the connections, and it was only natural that I thought of Aunt too when I asked him to buy some for me. I hope it won’t be found useless.’
Ms. Mo was so overjoyed she had even forgotten about why she was in the garden so early in the morning. She hurried to assure the man, ‘It won’t, it definitely won’t! Dear, you’re already here this early during the day, you must be very busy today. Do you want to come in for a cup of tea before getting to the rest?’
She scrutinised his frame for a moment before saying, ‘You’ve only gotten thinner again.. I didn’t even notice just now when I saw you. Are you eating enough? Have you had breakfast yet?’
Wu Jiayi laughed, ‘It’s true that I haven’t eaten yet, but it’s only because I had to leave early to pick up some things from the other village. Aunt doesn’t need to worry, I know that I have to take care of myself after all.’
‘As long as you know. But I’d still like it more if you came in to have something.. So that I really wouldn’t have to worry, how about that?’
Wu Jiayi couldn’t reject her again after the woman had already said it like that. He thought his plans for the day through before finally agreeing, ‘Auntie knows best. But I really can’t stay for too long..’
Ms. Mo nodded, ‘Of course, I won’t hold you back.’ She dusted her hands off as she took her gardening gloves off, leading the way inside the tall house as she asked, ‘You haven’t been around for a while, how are things going with your parents?’
Wu Jiayi didn’t reply at first. He sat down at the kitchen table without paying much attention to his surroundings, putting his heavy bag down to his feet directly. He only spoke when he noticed the woman’s inquiring gaze directed at himself.
‘Everything is, well, as usual. They moved to the countryside when I retired, and nothing’s really changed in the town since.. It’s one of those places that just stay the same no matter what.’
His answer didn’t reveal anything, and yet it still managed to remain polite. Ms. Mo nodded without asking any more, and quickly found another topic she was interested in.
Time passed in a flash, and soon it was time for them both to return to their daily tasks. Wu Jiayi expressed his reluctance to leave, but still didn’t hesitate to leave in the end.
It didn’t take a long time to walk through the small village and soon even the last house was left behind.
It was still early in the morning, but the sun was already high up in the sky. The sunshine heated up the humid air and the wind only brought further warmth. Soon, it was starting to feel more and more uncomfortable to even breathe.
The weather was already like that, but the pressure in the air was also irritatingly high. There was a storm coming.
Wu Jiayi felt somewhat breathless already, even though he had only been walking for ten or so minutes. It was a stifling feeling, caused not by the exercise but the density of the air.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
There wasn’t a board indicating the end of the village, nor one signifying its front. It was as if no matter what they put out here, there wouldn’t be anyone to see it so the local government simply hadn’t bothered with anything of the sorts.
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He quickened his steps. After all, no matter where one was, it wasn’t a good thing to get drenched this early on.. He felt that it would definitely ruin his day.
Although the rainfall had already started, the sky didn’t darken much. The sun peeked through from in-between the flowing clouds from time to time, washing over the trees’ crowns with its golden glow.
The forest itself didn’t have any designated paths that led through it, and reaching any allotted destination within its area required accurate knowledge regarding the terrain.
Of course, these matters didn’t concern Wu Jaiyi in the least. He had become a local throughout the passing of years and didn’t have to worry about not finding his way around.
The rain was getting stronger. His steps became somewhat more hurried as he pulled his worn windbreaker over his head and hugged his bag in front of his chest.
More than fifty years ago, the first time he had entered this forest, he was just as disadvantaged as any other poor devil who got lost in there, wandering around the mounds and almost getting trapped in the marshlands forever.
When he found his way out on the other side of the valley, he was met with the sight of an old, visibly decaying wooden mansion.
He had spent that day, week, month and year running around the country like a headless chicken, never able to settle down anywhere for more than a couple of weeks before he had to pack up his belongings all over again and run before he could be caught.
As he stared up at the dilapidated building back then, a strange feeling grew in his chest.
With time, he slowly rebuilt and renovated the house, hoping that it could be enough to keep the Bureau away even if only temporarily, and that it could one day become something similar to a home in his heart.
Only after years had passed did he realise that something wasn’t right. It hadn’t been an issue of danger, or to word it differently, it was very much the lack of it instead.
It turned out that this region was truly too good. Even after a long time, there was no one coming to knock on the villagers’ doors looking for him.
And for the first time after many years, he had to admit to himself that living like that.. It didn’t mean much.
Even though things were already like that, when the time to return came the second time around, he didn’t hesitate for even a moment.
Now, he had already spent more than a decade here.
He couldn’t help but feel that the time to leave was nearing again.
As he was thinking, he was already close to reaching the house in the valley. He fumbled around in his pockets, looking for his keys, but he was interrupted before he could pull them out.
A man with easily forgettable features stood under the eaves.
It was clear that he had been waiting there for a long time from even a glance at the way his cheap suit clung to his body wetly, having given up on any basic principles a proper suit should hold. It did not only look rather uncomfortable, but it made its wearer look an awful lot like a drenched rat too.
It appeared as if he himself didn’t realise his own state though. When he noticed the approaching Wu Jiayi, his gaze brightened up and it seemed as if he couldn’t wait to hurry to talk to him.
Just as he was about to take a step towards the other though, it appeared that he had changed his mind suddenly.
During the last half an hour, the rainfall had only gotten stronger and stronger, the drops colder and colder. It wouldn’t be good to get even more drenched.. Although, the rain fell under the pent-roof just the same.
He could only yell in hope that the other wouldn’t ignore him, ‘Mr. Wu! Mr. Wu, I’m sorry to disturb you at this time..’
He started coughing before he could finish the sentence.
When Wu Jiayi got close enough to the house to see the man’s features, he inadvertently let out a sigh.
Of course, it wasn’t that difficult to place his identity. Not many people came to this area after all, and even less wore such eye-catching clothes when doing so.
This man, a rookie real estate agent in the region, could be called a frequent visitor at Wu Jiayi’s house. With emphasis on the word ‘at’, because he had never had the chance to actually step inside the house.
His name was Wei Sizheng, and for some incomprehensible reason, he was hell bent on purchasing the property the house had been built on.
This so-called ‘incomprehensible’ reason naturally made sense to Wei Sizheng himself, but Wu Jiayi couldn’t wrap his mind around it.
After all, the area was undeveloped, there wasn’t even gas or a proper water system that could go with it, and the property was unreasonably difficult to access.
It was needless to say that there were countless places with better resources or even options of public transport.
If someone wanted to reach this place, they either needed to take a peripheral bus line or drive for more than an hour even from the nearest bigger city.
Wei Sizheng continued talking after his coughing subsided, clearly not aware of his own limits. ‘Mr. Wu, can we go inside to talk?’
Wu Jiayi glanced at him as he opened the front door’s lock, looked down to push the door in and then glanced back again.
At other times, his answer would most likely be an extremely obvious ‘no’. But he couldn’t just send this guy all the way back at the very beginning of a storm, could he now?
He held onto the door after walking in and gestured for the man to step inside too.
Wei Sizheng’s awkward smile got somewhat wider. After all, what could be called advancement if not this?
Although he would most likely spend some time with a stuffy nose and maybe even a little fever, how could that price be compared to finally being able to sit down with this person and talk seriously?
He was excited to speak up, but Wu Jiayi cut him off before he could get even one word out, ‘I do not plan on discussing business today.’
He led the man into the small kitchen and switched to a slightly more polite tone, ‘Does Mr. Wei prefer drinking tea, coffee, or plain water?’
Wei Sizheng sat down at the dining table before replying, ‘Anything is fine as long as it’s warm.’
Wu Jiayi nodded and turned to prepare the tea. He didn’t say anything else, clearly signaling that the other wasn’t actually welcomed here, and he had only let him inside because of the inevitable circumstances.
Wei Sizheng was, of course, aware of this. After all, what proper host would bring their guest straight to the kitchen instead of the living room?
He didn’t think to bring the issue up though. In his mind, he had way more pressing issues to take care of at the moment.
He was just about to speak when Wu Jiayi placed the cup in front of him.
‘Mr. Wei, could I trouble you to tell me why you still want to purchase the estate even after having discussed the issue with me so many times?’
Wei Sizheng coughed and reached into his pocket out of habit. He could only lower his hand regretfully when he found that the pack of cigarettes he was used to keeping there had been completely soaked through.
He asked instead of answering, ‘Mr. Wu doesn’t happen to have any cigarettes on himself, right?’
Wu Jiayi shook his head as he said, ‘I don’t smoke.’ There was a moment of awkward silence between the two.
Wei Sizheng was busy trying to squeeze the wet cigarette back into the box, while Wu Jiayi was still waiting for his answer.
‘Khm. It isn’t that it would be difficult to say, but that Mr. Wu just never asked about it.. Of course, I have my reasons.’ Wei Sizheng sighed, ‘It’s a potentially big project by some developers from abroad. Is Mr. Wu perhaps thinking about..’
Wu Jiayi shook his head as he heard him, ‘You’re thinking too much. I was just asking.’
Wei Sizheng was hoping to goad his curiosity by mentioning these things. It appeared though that he really had been thinking too beautifully.
But.. He had already begun talking about it. If he left the topic behind only after so much, could he still look into the mirror after going home?
‘Then just count it as small talk.’ He managed to take his suit jacket off after extorting a significant amount of effort. ‘As Mr. Wu probably knows, in the past few decades, the southern V country’s principles regarding the matter of exporting raw materials have been relatively stable, stiff even.’
‘Although the country is rich in timber, most logger companies prefer partnering with domestic manufacturers and only a few work with foreign businesses, which is to say that securing such a partnership is a rare opportunity only those with serious connections can get.’
‘It is only natural that these opportunities are treasured, and the projects are treated with utmost sincerity. Mr. Wu can probably see where I’m going with this.’
‘Because these co-operations receive such close attention, they typically tend to be rather fruitful, which causes the partner-corporations to rely on them more and more for the sake of profit. Obviously, the domestic market‘s selling prices are more restricted than those abroad due to overproduction.’
‘It’s easier to earn more through exportation, which is why V country’s government has always attached great attention to the number of companies involved with foreign trade. The regulations therefore are significant, and there are countless laws with the purpose of ensuring that the main market would be the domestic one.’
‘The government has the right of preemption and is therefore in an advantageous situation. Recently, there have been plans of the nationalization of certain companies, which would be followed by the development of numerous factories and the construction of new ones, not only in V country, but also in other countries.’
‘This, of course, can only be done now that the leadership has changed. The new people in charge have their own ideas and capitalizing on their advantages is clearly one of them.’
‘This estate fits the requirements the delegated developers have. It is rather close to the border and the price of the entire valley isn’t much compared to other options.’
Wu Jiayi couldn’t listen anymore. What ‘building a factory in a wetland’? What ‘fitting the requirements’? These developers could be anything but sane.
Wei Sizheng saw the hint of ridicule in the other’s gaze and followed up quickly, ‘I know what Mr. Wu must be thinking. Of course, the factory itself wouldn’t be built here.’
‘The valley is framed by mounds to the east and the northwest. The eastern brae is what caught their attention as a possible location for the buildings. I’m sure Mr Wu is clear on the qualities of the terrain in the valley. While it is true that some of it is under water for a great fraction of the year, that isn’t true for the estate the house is on.’
‘The terrain here is slightly elevated and it’s just the right place for what could become the housing of the workers. The current house would naturally have to be demolished though.’
In fact, this plan wasn’t as much of a new idea as Wei Sizheng had introduced it as.
V country’s government had planned the expansion of their timber industry since long ago, and the change of regime was nothing more than a good reason to begin the execution of the project.
Wu Jiayi’s expression changed gradually. He wasn’t thinking about what Wei Sizheng had told him – no, he had his own ideas.
‘Guessing from what you’ve told me, and from your persistence over.. However long this has been going on, the developers are pretty much set on the location?’ He asked in this roundabout way as if he didn’t want to reveal his actual intentions.
Wei Sizheng was stunned. It couldn’t be that he had really managed to convince the man with just that much? He nodded quickly, ‘The developers want this place. This exact property isn’t necessary, but it would mean a natural advantage when designing the park. Which is to say that they are willing to pay way above the market price..’
He left the sentence unfinished while glancing at the other from the corner of his eye. The bait was out, now the only remaining question was whether this fish would bite it or not..
After a few moments of silence, Wu Jiayi asked tentatively, ‘Roughly speaking..’ Wei Sizheng smiled at him as he waited for the follow-up, ‘how much are we talking about?’
Wei Sizheng told him the amount and Wu Jiayi nodded. His gaze held some interest.
‘If Mr Wu is interested, why don’t I come back in a few days with the detailed information?’
Wu Jiayi thought for a moment, glancing towards the open door of another room. A couple days.. Might already be too late for him.
He shook his head slowly, ‘I’m willing to sell. What’s the earliest date you can come back by?’
If Wei Sizheng had only been moderately surprised earlier, he felt absolutely dumbfounded now. This.. The client wanted to sell, and he wanted to sell as soon as possible? Without even having reviewed the plans?
‘I.. I can come back tomorrow?’ Was this what they said about blood, sweat and tears? Or in this sense, persistence, the power of words and getting caught in a storm? ‘Or, no. Tomorrow isn’t good, I’ll be here the day after tomorrow!’
Wu Jiayi stood up, ‘It would be good if Mr Wei could send it to my lawyer first. This should be done as soon as possible. Whatever he agrees to, I agree too. I’ll get his contact information for you in a moment.’
After all, if he could also sell the house, why not sell it? And even if he couldn’t use the money.. There was someone who could.
‘If Mr Wei is heading back today, I’d trouble you with a small matter. You see, I won’t be leaving here for some time, but there is a letter that needs to be sent to someone..’ And another one that needs to be written. ‘If I could trouble you to drop it by the nearest post office.’
The author has something to say:
I’m thinking about WJY’s backstory now.. I think I was watching the 長城 mv from Beyond when I came up with all that. It should be a very generic campus love story with a musical background, but then stuff happens and WJY joins the FB and things turn rather tragic. Of course, these are just rough outlines, people, rough outlines.
Anyhow, the storyline itself should be centered around a band WJY joins, they change genres and then start on the road towards success. Then whatever happens happens, the band breaks up and WJY ends up as a fed(I do find calling FB employees that funny, because, well.. technically that’s what they are), the ml.. We’ll see what he’s up to soon enough, and the other three members all start their own careers. I have this image of one of them becoming a dj in my mind.. Maybe I’ve just been watching way too many razz concerts.
Even though we’ll definitely see more of this storyline later, it’s not going to be in the near future. At least until ZXY’s current instance ends, we only have TXH’s as well as another character’s sideplots. After that, I’m not sure.
One last thing. And imagine that this is in brackets because I don’t exactly remember the rules anymore, it’s been a while since I’ve last read them. So, there’s this novel I’ve been obsessed with lately. The contents, eh, that too, but mainly the writing style. And the translation is extremely well done too.. It’s called The Emperor’s Runaway Lover. I have so much love for the way the author writes the details on all of those tiny things.. It’s so well done, but for some reason, reading it still leaves me with a slight sense of loss. It’s like, it’s perfect, but only almost. There’s something missing and I can’t figure out what it might be.
thanks for the chapter <3