Chapter 7: The Value of Mackerel Chunks

At this moment, the village chief, Wang Depin, was on duty, his eyes fixed on the landline.

Glancing at the ancient wall clock, it was ten o'clock in the evening. He hesitated over whether to call Tian Xiaoyun, Chu Xuan's mother, again.

The last time Tian Xiaoyun had returned to visit relatives, Chu Xuan and her brother had refused to see her, so she had left her phone number with Wang Depin.

At that time, she had specifically requested that if the siblings encountered any difficulties, Wang Depin must call to inform her.

However... Wang Depin had called at different times, but no one had ever answered.

With a sense of "giving it one more try," Wang Depin dialed the number again.

He finally reached someone.

Wang Depin hurriedly and concisely explained what had happened that afternoon.

"Xiaoyun! Xiaoxuan broke the Imperial Jade ornament belonging to the jade recycler, One-Eyed Dragon. She signed an IOU for three thousand yuan. Out of respect for me, One-Eyed Dragon is allowing her to pay back one hundred yuan a month. Because of this incident, Xiaoxuan and Xiaofeng have been separated from your former mother-in-law and have severed ties with the family; they are currently living in the old house..."

As soon as Tian Xiaoyun heard the nickname "One-Eyed Dragon," she fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly, "Uncle Wang, thank you for telling me. As for the three thousand yuan debt, please tell Xiaoxuan that she can pay whatever she can afford each month, and I will take care of the rest. Also, I sent her a sum of money a few days ago; it should be arriving soon."

They chatted for a few more sentences before hanging up.

Wang Depin let out a long sigh of relief. In the past, Chu Xuan always thought Tian Xiaoyun had abandoned her children to remarry, and no matter how Tian Xiaoyun explained, she wouldn't listen. Now that they had gone through this debt ordeal, perhaps their mother-daughter relationship could soften...

Just as One-Eyed Dragon was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open and was preparing to rest, the telephone in his house rang.

He answered it.

A voice that haunted his dreams came through the receiver, "Brother Long, it's me."

One-Eyed Dragon's sleepiness vanished instantly. He gripped the receiver excitedly, "Xiaoyun, it's you. Are you calling because of an emergency?"

Tian Xiaoyun got straight to the point, "It's about my daughter Xiaoxuan's three thousand yuan debt to you. I will pay it; please don't make things difficult for my daughter..."

One-Eyed Dragon hurriedly said, "Xiaoyun, you are my lifesaver. Even if your daughter truly owes me three thousand yuan, I wouldn't actually make her pay it back."

Hearing this, Tian Xiaoyun realized something was amiss.

Years ago, she had saved One-Eyed Dragon's life, a fact no one knew.

Later, after Chu Xuan's father passed away unexpectedly, she had quietly told Chu Xuan before leaving that One-Eyed Dragon owed her a favor, and that she could use it if she ever encountered extreme hardship.

Had her daughter used that favor?

"Brother Long, tell me more clearly."

One-Eyed Dragon explained with immense excitement, "Xiaoxuan doesn't actually owe me three thousand yuan. She just asked me to help her put on an act. She wants her brother to see the true colors of the Chu family, and use the opportunity to split the household and sever ties. Don't worry, Xiaoyun! How are you doing living elsewhere? Is your current husband good to you? If not, come back. I'll marry you! I'm still single..."

Tian Xiaoyun massaged her temples, feeling somewhat helpless. This guy was already in his forties and was still so unprofessional. "Stop. You are not allowed to continue. My husband treats me very well. Thank you for helping my daughter with the act, and please continue to play along for a while so the Chu family doesn't try to target my daughter again."

One-Eyed Dragon immediately promised, "No problem!"

Tian Xiaoyun wanted to go back for a visit, but she couldn't get away for the time being. "I'll send you some local specialties another day. I have things to attend to here, so I'll hang up first."

If she didn't hang up now, Brother Long would probably start talking about marriage and weddings again.

Hearing the sound of the line disconnecting, One-Eyed Dragon held the receiver for a long time without putting it down.

Once he snapped out of it, he slapped his own mouth, "This mouth of mine really doesn't know how to talk! Why did I bring up marrying Xiaoyun again! I could have chatted with her for a few more sentences."

He comforted himself, thinking that Xiaoyun would send him local specialties.

His mood improved significantly.

Chu Dashan and his wife, as well as that Chu Zhi, were no good people. Even with the family ties severed, they might still cause trouble. One-Eyed Dragon planned to look after the Chu siblings more in the future; that way, Xiaoyun would surely send more specialties...

At around two in the morning, Chu Xuan, lying on the earthen kang, opened her eyes.

There was movement outside.

She quietly got up and, looking through the dilapidated window, saw a suspicious figure.

Even though the person was masked, Chu Xuan would recognize him even if he turned to ash—it was Chu Zhi.

After swallowing hard, Chu Zhi headed straight for the large mackerel chunk hanging under the eaves.

Just as his hand touched the fish, he heard movement behind him. Terrified, he quickly pulled his hand back, intending to flee.

"Brother, don't be afraid. We're on the same side. We're both here for the King of Mackerel! I know you're Chu Zhi, why the mask? If you're in this business, you need guts; look at me, I don't wear a mask."

Chou Daguang deliberately lowered his voice.

The door bolt was nothing more than a decoration to him.

Recognizing who it was, Chu Zhi clutched his heart and let out a long breath, "You scared the life out of me! Since we both have our eyes on this King of Mackerel, let's move it to my house and split it!"

Chou Daguang's eyes darted around. Thinking of the Chu family's character, he waved his hand in refusal, "No. Let's move it to my house first before we divide the loot!"

Chu Zhi did not trust him, "Let's just split it right here!"

Chou Daguang glanced toward the master bedroom, "The sound of chopping fish will wake up the Chu siblings. If that happens, we might not be a match for them..."

Chu Zhi grew irritable, "This won't work, that won't work. Then tell me, what should we do?"

Chou Daguang pointed toward the county town, "At six in the morning, the village tractor goes to the county to pick up red bricks. We'll put this fish in a sack and ride the tractor..."

Before he could finish, Chu Zhi understood—he meant to sell it and split the money.

Ultimately, greed for money triumphed over the hunger for fish. "Fine! Let's go to the county to sell the fish! In fact, let's go all the way and steal that mackerel tail from the village chief's house. I heard it's about ten pounds! His family hasn't even bothered to eat it yet. It should fetch another twenty or thirty yuan! We can grab a sack from his house to pack the fish at the same time."

"Deal!"

The two thieves reached an agreement instantly.

Chou Daguang volunteered to carry the large mackerel chunk, "This must be over thirty pounds, right? We can take this piece to a hotel to boost their prestige! It should sell for eighty or ninety yuan, right?"

"Absolutely! Let's go!"

Chu Zhi followed behind him, swaggering out of the courtyard.

Inside the house, Chu Xuan wore a cold smile; the fish had taken the bait.

Only after they had walked a distance away did she go to knock on her younger brother's door.

Chu Feng woke from his sleep and asked groggily, "Sis, are we catching thieves?"

"That's right! Chu Zhi and Chou Daguang just finished stealing from our house and are now eyeing the mackerel tail; they're on their way to Grandpa Wang's. Grandpa Wang is on duty today, so go to the village duty room and call him home. I'm going straight to his house to intercept the thieves."

After giving her instructions, Chu Xuan grabbed a kitchen knife and ran out of the courtyard.

Chu Feng hurriedly put on his shoes and went to call Grandpa Wang.

Ten minutes later, Chu Zhi and Chou Daguang had succeeded, and they had indeed swiped a sack from the Wang family to pack the fish.

Chu Xuan's piercing voice rang out, "Thieves! Someone is stealing my fish! They stole from my house and now they're stealing from the village chief's! Catch the thieves!"

Both Chu Zhi and Chou Daguang panicked and lost their way, dropping the sack in their hands.

At this moment, they didn't care about the fish; they only wanted to escape.

They ran off in two different directions.