Mu Dai dawdled until the next morning before hesitantly telling Zhang Shu about her desire to leave.

Zhang Shu didn’t respond for a long time. After a while, he said, “Mu Dai, come over here. I need to have a word with you.”

He led Mu Dai to the back of the bar where there were two bench seats. Cao Yanhua was practicing running in circles not far away, still huffing and puffing with sweat streaming down his face, but compared to a few weeks ago when he would act like he was dying just from sweeping the floor, he had clearly made progress.

Zhang Shu instructed Mu Dai: “Sit down, sit.”

The atmosphere seemed too formal, and Mu Dai sat down anxiously.

Zhang Shu said, “Your Uncle Zhang has watched you grow up. My words might not be pleasant to hear, but they’re for your good. If I didn’t care for you deeply, I wouldn’t bother saying these things to you.”

“Mu Dai, you were adopted by Huo Zihong. Because the age difference isn’t that great, you call her Auntie, not even Mother.”

There was a buzzing in Mu Dai’s ears. She vaguely knew what Zhang Shu was about to say.

“Even biological children can be driven out if they displease their parents or go against their wishes, let alone someone in your situation.” Zhang Shu sighed. “Look at this house—every brick, every tile belongs to the boss lady. In other words, it’s someone else’s property. Though she’s said it’s all yours for now, what would you have if she changes her mind one day?”

Mu Dai gave a soft “mm” and looked up at the roof tiles without speaking. If Huo Zihong were to truly abandon her one day, she wouldn’t even have the right to leave empty-handed. She had accumulated so much debt—all these years, the food she ate, the things she used, the clothes she wore—all of it was debt.

She wasn’t unaware of this, but perhaps Huo Zihong had been too good to her, causing her to forget it from time to time.

“You’re grown up now, able to work. I’ve been privately hoping that you’d do something proper for yourself, earn your income. With money in your hands, you can stand tall. Not to mention others, just look at Yi Wansan—as shifty as he appears, and though I don’t like him either, at least he’s working and earning money.”

Yes, and not just Yi Wansan. Even Cao Yanhua eagerly helped around the bar every day, earning a meager wage. Only she would serve dishes or take orders when the mood struck her, and walk away when she wasn’t feeling happy.

After moving to Lijiang, the leisurely, peaceful days had eroded her memory of the anxiety that had kept her awake during her earlier years.

Tears seemed about to come again, but she smiled and held them back.

Zhang Shu kept his eyes on Mu Dai.

Even the most innocent and kind-hearted people have their little schemes. Did Mu Dai not have any? Of course she did.

Zhang Shu remembered when Huo Zihong first wanted to adopt a child, she hadn’t immediately set her sights on Mu Dai. But Mu Dai had been well-behaved, standing quietly alone with her finger in her mouth. Whenever Huo Zihong glanced at her, she would smile.

Huo Zihong later said, “She smiled so much that I felt embarrassed.”

When finally taken in, she had been cautious and meticulous, doing whatever she was told. She would sweep the floor with a broom taller than herself. When Zhang Shu moved a box, she would insist on helping, her face turning red with the effort. This was especially evident at mealtimes—if Huo Zihong mentioned that a dish was delicious, she would immediately stop taking it, and never helped herself to meat.

Once, Zhang Shu called her into the kitchen and filled a bowl with reserved spare ribs for her. She looked anxiously at the bowl, then at Zhang Shu, finally breaking into a grin and happily picking them up to eat.

So she did like meat after all.

When they became more familiar, Zhang Shu secretly asked her why. She regarded Zhang Shu as one of her own and quietly shared her little secret: “Auntie taught me that when you go to someone else’s home, you should be diligent and not eat too much meat. Meat is expensive. If they think you eat too much, they might send you back.”

Those few sentences made Zhang Shu sad for a long time. Such a small child—why did she have to humble herself so? It was forced upon her. If she had been born into a middle-class family with caring parents, would she have been so cautious?

Sometimes, thinking about it, people aren’t born equal. From the start, you have less than others and must work for it with caution and a smile.

Zhang Shu said, “Do you remember what you told me? You said your mother didn’t want you anymore, and you didn’t want Hong Yi to abandon you, too, so you had to be very good. But Mu Dai, when you depend too much on one person, there’s always a risk of being abandoned. You need to stand on your own. That way, if the boss lady doesn’t want you anymore and kicks you out, you won’t stand crying in the pouring rain. You’ll walk back to your own house, still having a roof over your head.”

“I can see you’re not interested in the bar’s affairs either, but you need to think carefully about how to establish yourself. This is a major life decision. Of course, you can go to Guangxi if you want. I’m telling you all this not to make you unhappy, but because I’m afraid you’ll get carried away and won’t be able to come back.”

Long after Zhang Shu had left, Mu Dai still sat on the bench. A person’s body naturally grows gradually, but thoughts don’t. Thoughts can suddenly mature at certain moments, prompted by certain intentional or unintentional words, or even random scenes glimpsed in passing, like being jolted awake by a lion’s roar, like an epiphany poured into one’s mind.

Luo Ren was doing it for Pin Ting, Yi Wansan was returning home, but what about her? Just to help? What a good-hearted person she was. Mu Dai sighed: indeed, from every perspective, tagging along seemed inappropriate.

She beckoned to Cao Yanhua, who huffed and puffed his way over, sweat streaming down his cheeks, making him look even fatter.

Indeed, even Cao Fatty was better than her. Initially, she thought his desire to learn martial arts was just talk, but unexpectedly, he had persisted day after day with great effort.

Mu Dai felt she should look up to him now.

“Cao Fatty, if I wanted to earn money, what do you think I should do?”

Cao Yanhua thought she was teasing him: “Little Master, are you joking? Do you even need to earn money? You have such a big bar, and if you marry a rich man, money will flutter toward you with wings, you know?”

As he spoke, he flapped his arms. With iron plates strapped to his arms, his range of motion was limited, making him flap like a clumsy, fat goose.

Mu Dai’s expression told him she wasn’t joking.

Cao Yanhua finally took her words seriously and thought about it: “Little Master, I think suitable people should be placed in suitable positions. One should do work that maximizes their strengths. Like me, with my current skills, I’m suited to be a thief…”

Mu Dai glanced at him.

Self-aware, Cao Yanhua changed the subject: “Little Master, your martial arts skill is your trademark. You could open a training class and accept disciples. Then I would be the senior disciple…”

Imagining a scene of beautiful, charming little junior female disciples surrounding him and calling him Senior Brother, Cao Yanhua felt a wave of excitement.

Do what you’re good at?

Mu Dai was thoughtful.

Though they had said “as soon as possible,” it was already afternoon by the time Luo Ren finished his preparations.

He gave many instructions to Uncle Zheng. Time was limited, so the conveyor belt couldn’t be installed, but infrared sensors, reinforced doors and windows, and other details were meticulously covered. The sensor screen was in Uncle Zheng’s room. Luo Ren taught him how to monitor it and how to send videos to himself when necessary.

He also gave him a phone number, instructing that if Pin Ting’s condition worsened, he must call the doctor to administer injections.

With so much happening, even without knowing all the details, Uncle Zheng understood about seventy to eighty percent and felt quite distressed. Finally, he said: “Luo Xiaodao, please.”

Those two words—”please”—weighed a thousand pounds. After all, they weren’t family. Uncle Zheng, representing Luo Wenmiao and Pin Ting, was pleading with him.

Luo Ren said, “I’ll do my best.”

Near evening, he finished his preparations and drove to the agreed meeting place. Both Yi Wansan and Mu Dai were there, but only Yi Wansan had brought luggage.

Luo Ren’s heart stirred.

Sure enough, as Yi Wansan got into the car, Mu Dai stood motionless. Luo Ren knew she couldn’t bring herself to speak and smiled, giving her a way out: “I know Zhang Shu definitely wouldn’t allow it. You should be more diligent these days.”

Having insisted on going but backing out at the last minute, Mu Dai felt quite embarrassed. As if to compensate, she said: “If anything happens, call me.”

“Call you to quickly come and climb over the door to help?”

Mu Dai couldn’t smile. She instructed Yi Wansan: “Behave yourself on the road. Don’t cause trouble or deceive people again.”

Yi Wansan snorted: “Did you take the wrong medicine? Suddenly so mature, just like my mother…”

He seemed about to complain about her nagging, but suddenly stopped.

Luo Ren glanced at him discreetly. Before driving off, he said to Mu Dai: “I’ll bring you a pearl necklace when I return.”

Mu Dai nodded and thought for a moment before saying, “Don’t get an expensive one, just something for fun. If it’s too expensive, I won’t be able to afford it.”

Long after the car had driven away, Luo Ren was still thinking about her words. This seemed to be the first time Mu Dai had been so serious about the question of expense.

In the rearview mirror, Yi Wansan was sprawled across the seat in boredom. He asked: “Got any cigarettes?”

Luo Ren rarely smoked but always kept some on hand for others. He tossed a cigarette to Yi Wansan and casually asked: “That final beast—why did you knock it off?”

Yi Wansan opened the window, lit the cigarette with a click, took a deep drag against the wind, and blew out the smoke: “Because when my father died—oh, I haven’t told you about that, have I? When my father died, the old clan leader saw it and didn’t save him.”

He had overheard this during his mother’s funeral preparations.

Having suddenly lost both parents, the funeral arrangements were handled by the old clan leader and others. The ancestral hall, apart from ancestor worship, only opened for weddings, funerals, birthdays, and celebrations. In just one month, he had entered it twice.

It was a quiet evening, a full moon night. Villagers were gathered noisily in the ancestral hall courtyard. His mother’s body lay on a bamboo bed to one side, covered with a white cloth, only a few strands of hair visible.

People were discussing in small groups.

—”How could a perfectly good boat capsize so suddenly…”

—”No wonder they say women shouldn’t go to sea. Could it be that the sea dragon beneath flipped the boat…”

Dragon, dragon—generations had talked about the sea dragon as if someone had seen it.

Someone else said, “For several years now, fewer and fewer pearls have been produced. I hope the village doesn’t stop producing pearls altogether…”

After all, it wasn’t their people who had died. Two lives were worth less than a few pearls.

Yi Wansan squatted beside the bamboo bed, his ears filled with noise. All those moving mouths and chattering faces looked hateful and disgusting. He stood up neurotically, covering his ears, and walked into the ancestral hall where the memorial tablets were enshrined. The yellow curtain of the altar hung to the ground, and he slipped inside by lifting it.

It became much darker, and the world suddenly grew quieter.

But the humming voices still drifted in. After some time, a jumble of footsteps entered, followed by the creaking of doors. Whenever the old clan leader and others had important matters to discuss, they would do this: keep the common folk outside, allowing only those with a say to enter the ancestral hall. Even in such a small village, they maintained such a strict hierarchy.

He heard the old clan leader clear his throat: “Let’s discuss what to do about Jiang Zhao. After all, he still needs to eat and go to school, not a small expense. I suggest we take turns providing meals, one family at a time. As for money, each family can share the cost.”

Several people next to him agreed. He recognized most of their voices. Strangely, apart from the old clan leader, the others weren’t usually decision-makers.

After a pause, the old clan leader said, “What about you, Jiang Six? Express your opinion.”

Ah, Jiang Six, the notorious miser of the village.

Jiang Six finally spoke up, surprisingly not out of stinginess: “I don’t mind contributing money and effort. But I’m… uneasy. You caused someone’s death, yet you have his son in front of your eyes every day!”

The old clan leader reprimanded him harshly: “Nonsense! He fell in by himself!”

After being shouted at by the old clan leader, Jiang Six’s voice immediately dropped eight notches: “He did fall in by himself, that’s true, but when he was convulsing in the water, several of us… saw it…”

Someone else came forward to smooth things over: “Didn’t we already say that even if we tried to save him then, it might not have worked? Besides…”

His voice suddenly lowered: “It wasn’t a sacrifice in vain… we’ve secured this part of the sea…”

Yi Wansan’s mind went blank.

It took him a long time to understand what had happened: his father had fallen into the water and had a sudden cramp. While struggling, despite the chaotic scene, the old clan leader and several others had seen him but had exchanged glances, silently making a deal. Or perhaps their hesitation due to selfish calculations had made the situation irreversible.

Two villages were fighting over the sea. If someone fell into the water, it would be blamed on someone from the other village pushing him in. With a death, the neighboring village would have to take responsibility, their morale would be severely hit, and this part of the sea would finally be firmly in Five Pearl Village’s grasp.

The old clan leader’s voice was excited: “We might not have been able to save him at the time, anyway! Besides, he didn’t die in vain. He’s a hero of our Five Pearl Village. If we take good care of Jiang Zhao, we’ll let old Jiang rest in peace.”

…

The conversation didn’t continue because suddenly someone began banging on the ancestral hall door, interspersed with an excited voice: “Clan Leader! The old clams are basking in the moonlight! That patch on the beach, more than a dozen of them!”

…

According to legend, clams nurture pearls deep underwater. Whenever the full moon is high in the sky, they open their shells to receive the moonlight, absorbing its essence, which transforms into pearls.

Five Pearl Village called this scene “old clams basking in the moonlight.”

But in recent years, clams had become increasingly scarce, and this sight had become increasingly rare. Even the elderly had seldom seen it, let alone “more than a dozen of them.”

The sound of footsteps rushing outside, and the once noisy ancestral hall suddenly became as quiet as a ghost town.

Yi Wansan crawled out from under the yellow curtain and walked unsteadily into the courtyard of the ancestral hall. The courtyard was already empty. Someone had rushed off in such a hurry that they had pulled away the white cloth covering his mother’s body. Half of her face was exposed, the corners of her mouth sagging, yet the longer he looked, the more it resembled an eerie smile.

Yi Wansan stood in the empty courtyard, suddenly stiffened his neck and cursed: “F**k your basking in the moonlight!”