Chapter 40: A Chance Encounter with Highway Robbery—Old Lady, You're Probably Overthinking It

"What are you doing? What are you doing!"

Just as he finished talking with the bathhouse attendant, Zhang Tiejun stepped out of the entrance only to find Zhang Xiaohua embroiled in a scuffle with several young boys of about her age.

Hurrying over to separate them, Zhang Tiejun looked at Zhang Xiaohua with a face full of concern.

Even when cornered and besieged by four or five boys, Zhang Xiaohua showed not the slightest sign of cowardice; she was even holding her own, pinning one of the small boys right beneath her.

Zhang Tiejun's intervention quickly scared the boys away.

Although they had gotten the worst of it physically, the boys showed no intention of conceding verbally.

"Country bumpkin! Country bumpkin!"

"Say one more word, and I'll tear your mouths apart!" Zhang Xiaohua swung her arms and shouted angrily.

"What is going on here? Such a fiery temper?" Zhang Tiejun crouched down and asked softly, "Who made my precious little sister this angry?"

"Who else but that brat over there." Zhang Xiaohua angrily recounted the whole sequence of events.

It turned out that while Zhang Xiaohua was waiting for Zhang Tiejun, a few school-bag-carrying boys had walked past, holding some spinning tops.

Having never seen such a thing before, Zhang Xiaohua had merely stepped closer for a look when she was met with taunts and ridicule from the boys. Having never been subjected to such a grievance in her life, she immediately flew into a rage and started brawling with them.

"Brother, don't you think they were being too much?" Zhang Xiaohua wiped the dust from her face and said indignantly.

Zhang Tiejun finally realized that Zhang Xiaohua's education needed to be put on the agenda as soon as possible. Turning eight years old this year, Zhang Xiaohua didn't even recognize a handful of characters, and their mother was completely illiterate. If she didn't receive an education now, the best outcome for her entire life would probably be marrying an honest, plodding farmer and living out her days deep in the mountains year after year.

Though people could live their lives however they chose, as an older brother, giving his sister a better option was never wrong.

Zhang Tiejun consoled her tenderly, "They certainly went too far, but Xiaohua, have you ever thought about why they made fun of you?"

"Because I didn't recognize that spinning top!" Zhang Xiaohua said petulantly.

"That's right. If you go to school, you'll learn about many things, make many friends, and even if you get into a fight later on, you'll have people to help you," Zhang Tiejun said.

Although still somewhat hesitant, Zhang Xiaohua began to ask of her own accord, "Then, Brother, you tell me—if I go to school, will I be able to be just like them in the future?"

"Of course. And don't worry, your brother will definitely find a family most suitable to take care of you. I'll come to see you a few times every month and bring you delicious treats," Zhang Tiejun said decisively.

"All right! In that case, I will definitely go to school!" Zhang Xiaohua giggled, her previous displeasure instantly vanishing into thin air. "Then when can I go?"

Glancing at the setting sun, Zhang Tiejun explained, "It looks like it's too late for today. Let's go home first, and after the New Year, I'll bring you to find a school."

The brother and sister continued strolling for another half an hour or so. The empty donkey cart they had arrived in was now packed to the brim.

There were bolts of fabric, vegetables, snacks, and plenty of miscellaneous pots, pans, and bowls.

Zhang Xiaohua remarked from the bottom of her heart that ever since her brother started hunting in the mountains, the Zhang family's life had been getting better and more fulfilling day by day.

"The setting sun over the northern frontier carries its sorrow! Pines and cypresses stand as bridesmaids!"

Driving the donkey cart along the long, winding path of Guandong Mountain, Zhang Tiejun, in high spirits, hummed a Northeastern folk song.

His youthful voice echoed endlessly among the mountain forests, and Zhang Xiaohua listened with deep appreciation.

"I really couldn't tell, Brother—you even have a knack for singing?"

"That's right," Zhang Tiejun laughed. "Your brother has plenty of skills. You'll find out gradually as time goes on."

"Right, and if you could find me a sister-in-law as well, that would be even better!"

"You little rascal, when did you learn to start poking fun at your brother?"

Laughing and frolicking, the brother and sister made their way home. As they neared a crossroads, they spotted a young girl being pestered by an old woman.

"Miss, let me bother you for a moment. My old man fell gravely ill and is in the hospital. He needs money—a lot of money. Our savings are all gone, and our children drove us out. I even had to sell our house. I have a pair of gold bracelets here; take a look. If you like them, keep them, consider it doing me a favor. As for the money, I can let them go for a bit cheaper." The old woman tightly grasped the girl's wrist, her face a mask of entreaty.

Zhang Tiejun drove the donkey cart slowly past them. Initially inclined to mind his own business and hurry away, he turned his head at the last second and realized to his surprise that the girl being pestered by the old woman was someone he knew.

She was the same girl from the state-run bookstore who had asked him to yield the book to her.

What was she doing here? This was Guandong Mountain, after all—a place where wild beasts roamed.

Troubled by doubts, Zhang Tiejun couldn't help slowing down the donkey cart even further.

"Whoa!"

Seeing the cart come to a halt, Zhang Xiaohua asked with mild curiosity, "Brother, why did we suddenly stop?"

"Going to see a friend." Zhang Tiejun leaped down from the donkey cart.

The girl had also spotted Zhang Tiejun and immediately looked as though she had encountered a savior, having been pestered by the old woman for quite some time now.

"Hey! Old lady, what kind of bracelets are these? Let me take a look."

After a brief hesitation, the old woman handed over the bracelet in her hand, her mouth repeating the same plea as before.

"All right, all right, we don't want this bracelet." Just as Zhang Tiejun was about to shove the bracelet back, the old woman spoke up.

"I'm not asking for much, twenty yuan will do."

"Twenty yuan?" The girl was even more startled. "Auntie, you must be joking."

Zhang Tiejun stopped the girl from speaking further, pulled a few coins from his pocket, and jingled them in front of the old woman. "We aren't easy marks. Take your money back and look for trouble elsewhere. It's not easy making a living out here on the road, so don't try to fleece people."

The girl looked at Zhang Tiejun with a face full of question marks. She understood the words, but they sounded so bizarrely phrased.

Seeing this, the old woman immediately let out a sharp whistle. The next second, several burly men wielding axes and firewood choppers surged out from the woods.

The girl let out a startled scream and stood frozen in place.

Zhang Tiejun, however, remained unruffled. "Just because of this little matter, there's no room for discussion?"

"The family really is in dire straits; we're running out of food to put on the table." Although the old woman still maintained a pleading tone, the underlying threat in her words was now unmistakable, and the burly men behind her wore fierce, menacing expressions.

"Then how about this?" Zhang Tiejun drew the Colt pistol from his coat and pointed its dark muzzle straight at the old woman.