◎ Where Did the Remittance Go? ◎

Upon hearing that Gu Qiao was about to start working, Lou Deyu took another look at himself, and all the emotions he had been suppressing came flooding back. *Damn it* — in the years when he had money, even if he resented Gu Jinghui for being a snob, he should have visited her more often and shown this family what a prosperous man looked like. Now that he’d fallen on hard times and turned up like this, in their eyes he would forever be that same sorry figure.

Setting aside for now how Gu Jinghui’s Luo family members saw him, what mattered most was Gu Qiao. In the past, Gu Qiao had been more eager than anyone in the family to hear about his adventures out in the world; in those moments, he had felt the child genuinely admired him. But now she had come to the big city with her own eyes and seen everything for herself — she could see this small-aunt of hers who could get her a job, and then she could look at him in his current state. Would she still have any respect left for her own father? He could endure contempt from anyone else, but the child he had raised looking down on him — he wasn’t sure he could bear that, not just yet. Thinking this, Lou Deyu said: “Where’s the bathroom?”

Lou Deyu had only two yuan in his outer pocket. He still had a small amount saved from his work as a porter, but it was sewn into his clothing — pulling it out in front of people would look terribly undignified.

Lou Deyu caught his own reflection in the bathroom mirror and couldn’t bear to look. He hurried out and pressed two hundred yuan into Luo Peiyin’s hand: “Give this to Gu Qiao, say I left it for her.” This wasn’t the countryside — everything here cost money, and Gu Qiao had no salary yet. But things back home needed money even more desperately, so this was the most he could manage.

Luo Peiyin showed no sign of taking it. Lou Deyu thought to himself: *This kid can’t possibly think my hands are dirty. I washed them just now.*

“Wait a little longer — she should be back soon. It’s better if you give it to her in person.” Luo Peiyin repeated again: “Gu Qiao has been looking for you the whole time.” If it weren’t for that, there would have been no need for a letter of thanks in the newspaper.

“I can’t wait — I have an urgent matter to attend to. Just tell Gu Qiao her father came to see her, and that I’ll sort out the business with the house back home.”

Lou Deyu was so determined that even Luo Peiyin, in his position, had no grounds to detain him. Just then Zhao Yue came to find him, and Luo Peiyin asked: “Did you bring the car?”

“I did.”

“Lend it to me for a bit. You stay here — I’ll drop off a relative and come straight back. When Gu Qiao gets home, beep me.”

Zhao Yue gave a meaningful reply: “Peiyin, which relative is this? You’re not going to introduce me?”  He smiled at Lou Deyu and said: “Hello, I’m Zhao Yue. And you are?” Looking Lou Deyu over, he thought to himself: *Old Luo’s got quite a comprehensive set of relatives these days — something from every walk of life.*

Knowing full well what kind of mouth Zhao Yue had, Luo Peiyin didn’t bother with any detailed introduction. He turned to Lou Deyu instead: “Since you insist on leaving, I’ll see you off.”

Upon hearing the name “Peiyin,” Lou Deyu immediately connected it to the letter of thanks. He had paid extra attention when he saw the surname Luo in that letter, but his mind had been so preoccupied with other things that he hadn’t thought to wonder whether this Luo might be from the same family. So this young man had been a little too attentive toward Gu Qiao — and now he was even offering to see him off. He couldn’t even bring himself to say “Uncle-in-law” — how much genuine affection could he have for this old man like himself? Unless… God forbid Gu Qiao had gotten herself into some kind of trouble while coming to the city to find him. Thinking this, he said: “I’m heading to Zhenjier Alley. Take me there if it’s convenient.”  He put the two hundred yuan back in his pocket and gripped it tightly.

Lou Deyu got into the car. He had always dreamed of earning enough to buy a car just like this. And now this little brat had one at such a young age. What a life.

He had only said he’d come tomorrow as something offhand, but now, having seen all of this, he felt he couldn’t leave so soon. Gu Qiao was new here, and a pampered young man who looked like that was being awfully attentive toward her while they were living under the same roof. If he truly had bad intentions toward her, she might not be able to resist. Young girls had no idea that a handsome face didn’t necessarily mean a good heart. If anything really happened, Gu Jingshu would fight him to the death!

If Gu Qiao was truly going to stay in the city and work, she couldn’t keep living at the Luo household.

As Lou Deyu gave directions, he made conversation with Luo Peiyin: “I have a good friend who lives in Zhenjier Alley. This friend of mine has a son — excellent student, got into Z University. You’ve probably heard of Z University.”

Luo Peiyin gave a sound of acknowledgment.

Lou Deyu made a point of emphasizing: “Ordinary family, no connections at all. The kid got in entirely on his own merit.” The implication being: unlike families like yours — even if you got in, you probably pulled strings.

This time Luo Peiyin didn’t take the bait. Lou Deyu continued: “Gu Qiao is clever — she just never put that cleverness toward exam preparation. The Chen family boy is around the same age as Gu Qiao, and her Chen-uncle and I thought it would be a good match, so we informally arranged a betrothal between them.” This had really been nothing more than words spoken over drinks, and he didn’t think young people necessarily had to follow what their elders decided, but he felt it necessary to say it in front of Luo Peiyin.

“Could we take a detour just up ahead? I’d like to pick up something for my old friend.” Lou Deyu mentioned an old established confectionery shop and asked Luo Peiyin to take him there — which was hardly “just a detour” but quite a substantial detour. He genuinely did want to buy something, but he also hoped that Luo Peiyin would lose patience and drop him off on the side of the road. He wasn’t keen on being indebted to this young man. He hadn’t counted on the young man actually agreeing to take him.

Lou Deyu gazed out the window, and suddenly he spotted someone at an intersection who looked remarkably like Gu Qiao, except this girl had short hair and was wearing clothes he’d never seen on her. She was also holding a small boy’s hand.

He asked Luo Peiyin: “Does Gu Qiao have long hair or short hair these days?”

Without answering, Luo Peiyin simply pulled over to the side of the road. He rolled down the window and said to the girl and the child outside: “Get in!”

What a coincidence. Midway through the ride, Gu Qiao and Luo the fourth child’s driver had suddenly told them his stomach hurt too badly to continue and let them out, saying they could find another cab and he wouldn’t charge them. This was Gu Qiao’s first time taking a taxi, so she didn’t know this was just the driver’s excuse to ditch a short fare — someone at that moment had flagged him down headed for the airport, and while the driver hadn’t explicitly agreed to take them yet, he had his eye on the better-paying fare. Gu Qiao, genuinely believing his stomach hurt, had paid him the metered amount and even suggested he go to the hospital if he was really feeling poorly. The driver paused when he accepted the money and told them the destination wasn’t far and they could easily take the bus — for such a short distance, it wouldn’t be easy to catch another cab anyway.

Since Luo Madam had previously declared that Luo the fourth child was not to take the subway, and had insisted they take taxis, Gu Qiao didn’t make the bus her first choice this time. She stood at the roadside trying to flag down a cab, mimicking how she’d seen others do it. A few cars stopped, but all turned them down once they heard where they were going. Just as Gu Qiao was about to give up and head to a bus stop, she spotted Zhao Yue’s Ford.

Luo the fourth child’s first thought upon seeing the man in the passenger seat was: *this person is very dark.* Seeing him sitting next to Second Brother, he whispered to Gu Qiao: “Cousin Qiao, who’s that dark uncle?”

“My dad.”

“Dad!” Gu Qiao had recognized Lou Deyu the instant she set eyes on him, though he had changed greatly from a year ago. From his appearance, he’d clearly had a rough time of it lately. If he’d had it easy — if he’d been hiding out somewhere, eating well, getting fat and pale — she wouldn’t have given him the time of day.

Lou Deyu let out a dejected sigh. He looked Gu Qiao over and found her entirely intact — just with shorter hair, which didn’t look bad compared to her long hair, and not the slightest hint of hardship about her. She was even carrying a shopping bag with something her aunt had apparently bought for her. He was still squeezing the two hundred yuan he’d meant to give her, nearly squeezing it damp.

“Get in! We can talk once you’re inside.”

Gu Qiao had so much she wanted to say, but in that moment couldn’t decide what to ask first.

It was Luo Peiyin who provided a brief summary of events: “Your father came to the house looking for you. He waited half an hour, had an urgent matter to attend to, and was about to leave — I happened to be free, so I drove him.”

“Thank you, Cousin!”

Lou Deyu thought to himself: *That ‘Cousin’ came out awfully warm.* But with others present, he couldn’t say anything.

Figuring her father must have already met Luo Peiyin, Gu Qiao introduced Luo the fourth child to Lou Deyu: “This is my aunt’s son. My aunt is having coffee with an acquaintance along with my younger cousin and will be back a little later.” Then she introduced Lou Deyu to Luo the fourth child: “This is my father — your uncle-in-law.” She leaned down and whispered in Luo the fourth child’s ear: “Say it quickly — call him Uncle-in-law and I’ll make you chicken wings tomorrow.”

Luo the fourth child looked up at the man in the passenger seat and promptly produced three crisp words: “Hello, Uncle-in-law!”

“Hello to you too. I came in such a hurry there was no time to bring you anything nice. Here, take this and buy yourself something to eat.” Upon hearing the words “Uncle-in-law,” Lou Deyu reflected that this younger one had more sense than the older one — at least he knew how to greet people properly. He reached back and handed Luo the fourth child a crumpled, slightly damp ten-yuan note from the wad he had been clenching.

The ten yuan was crumpled and slightly damp. Luo the fourth child hesitated over whether to take it — not because the amount was small; it was enough for a standard meal at a fast food restaurant. But looking at his uncle-in-law’s situation, that ten yuan seemed like it really mattered to him.

Gu Qiao took the ten-yuan note from Lou Deyu’s hand. With a few quick folds she turned it into a paper crane and handed it to Luo the fourth child: “Take it. Your uncle-in-law is giving it to you out of kindness.”

Luo the fourth child took the paper crane and immediately said: “Thank you, Cou— Uncle-in-law.”

It was only then that Lou Deyu turned to address Gu Qiao directly: “I need to make a stop at Zhenjier Alley to visit your Chen-uncle. Come along — since you’re planning to stay in the city, it would be good to have someone to look out for you nearby. You don’t know yet that your Chen-uncle’s son got into Z University.”

“I know. On my first day in the city, his place was the first door I knocked on.”

“Does your Chen-uncle know what happened to me?”

“He does.”

Lou Deyu had more to ask, but the presence of others made it inconvenient. As they were approaching the old confectionery shop, Lou Deyu said: “Trouble you as it’s been with the ride, you can drop us here. Gu Qiao and I will get out and pick up something for my old friend. It’s not far from here — we can manage on our own. Head home now.”

Luo Peiyin ignored him and looked at Gu Qiao instead: “Where do you want to go?” People driven to desperation had been known to sell their own children — he didn’t know anything about Lou Deyu’s character. With Gu Qiao living in his household, he had some responsibility toward her.

“I’m going with my father to visit our Chen-uncle. But Cousin, wait for me — I’ll be back soon.”

Luo Peiyin sat in the car and watched as Gu Qiao stepped out and punched Lou Deyu in the shoulder: “Where have you been this whole year! Do you have any idea how hard Mom has had it at home!”

Luo the fourth child happened to catch this and asked Luo Peiyin: “Second Brother, is that dark uncle really Cousin Qiao’s father? How does she dare hit her own dad?” Even Luo the fourth child wouldn’t dare raise his voice too much in front of his own father.

Gu Qiao had real strength behind that punch — Lou Deyu winced and bit down. He burst out: “Those rotten so-and-sos, do they even have a conscience? When they lent me money back then, did I ever seize their property before the year was up? I know exactly how they scraped together their money — and so does everyone else! Even if you’re collecting a debt, what kind of person makes someone vacate their home like that? They were nothing but bullies taking advantage of your mother being kind. That house sits on Gu family land — land that belongs to the Gu family! And your mother — she should have told people I borrowed money and she didn’t know about it.”

“And what good would that have done? As long as Mom doesn’t divorce you, everyone treats us as one family.”  In the village, even if you told people outright you were divorced, if there were children in common, outsiders wouldn’t draw a clean distinction anyway.

“That great-uncle of yours used to come to me all the time, asking me to contribute money to rebuild the Gu family ancestral hall. Now that Gu family land has been taken over by someone else, the old man hasn’t said two words about it.”

Her great-uncle had said a few words, but no one had listened. He’d even commented that if Lou Deyu had put money toward the ancestral hall earlier, none of this would have happened.

“It’s not as if he can pay back the debt for you — what good would his saying anything do? If you don’t move out, the creditors will come making trouble every day. Moving into the earthen-walled house at least gives you some peace.”

“Don’t worry — once I get back, I’ll reclaim that house!”

“And how exactly will you do that? Can you come up with the money to repay the debt? They did wrong by you — but if you’d been cheated out of your money and come home right away, people would have known the debt would eventually be paid, and they wouldn’t have gone to such extremes. Dad, earn the money honestly. Pay off the debt first.”

“Is that why you came looking for me? To bring me home to reclaim the house?”

“I came looking for you so you’d stop this and go home to pay back what we owe! Mom is working herself to the bone alone at home — she’s caring for Grandma and my little sister and still trying to earn money. If you come home, at least she won’t be so exhausted.” When Gu Qiao had been at home, her mother had someone to share the burden — but she couldn’t stay home indefinitely without going out to find ways to earn money!

“How did you end up finding your aunt’s place?”

“I read it in the newspaper. Is Luo Peiyin…”

Both of them had a great deal more to ask, but Gu Qiao, mindful that Luo Peiyin was waiting, said: “Dad, how much money do you have on you right now?”

Lou Deyu lowered his voice and told her a number.

When buying the pastries, Lou Deyu was in a generous mood because he had in mind to ask Gu Qiao to stay at the Chen household. Gu Qiao asked the shop assistant to pack the pastries into two boxes. Once they were outside the shop, she said to Lou Deyu: “One box is for Chen-uncle and one for my aunt. Whether or not they eat them is beside the point — it’s the thought that counts. It also lets people know you came by and that you kept them in mind.”

Lou Deyu realized Gu Qiao had a point — how had he forgotten about the Luo family? It would look terribly rude, especially since they’d arranged Gu Qiao’s job. He said: “This seems a bit too little. Let me go and buy something more.”

“Everyone already knows our situation. Something modest that shows the thought is enough. Anything too much and they’d feel awkward accepting it.”

Gu Qiao handed the box to Luo Peiyin with a smile: “Cousin, thank you for bringing my father here. This is something my father brought for all of you. Please take the fourth one home now. Tell my aunt for me that my father is here and that he’ll behave himself this time and go straight home. I’m spending today with him at his friend’s place, and I won’t be back for dinner.”

“Get in — I’ll drive you.” Seeing Gu Qiao hesitate, Luo Peiyin added: “I have time.”

“Thank you, Cousin!”

It wasn’t Luo Peiyin being called “Cousin” — that much was clear to Lou Deyu. He might have been proud that his daughter had such good manners, but right now no matter how he heard it, it didn’t sit well with him.

Luo Peiyin called Luo the fourth child to the front passenger seat and supervised him in buckling his seatbelt, leaving the Gu family father and daughter to sit in the back where they could talk.

Even with others present, Lou Deyu couldn’t contain himself. He lowered his voice and asked Gu Qiao: “That money I sent you — did you use it to pay off the debt too?”

“You sent me money?”

Lou Deyu felt as though his head had struck a stone — dizzy waves washing over him: “You never received the money I sent you?”

“When did you send me money?”

“The nineteenth of May. I sent it to your school address.”

Not long after that date, people had come to collect on the debt back home. A neighbor had come to the school to find Gu Qiao and bring her back. From that point on, she had never returned to school.

“You didn’t sit the university entrance examinations?” He had assumed Gu Qiao had sat the examinations but failed to get in.

Gu Qiao was focused on the money: “You really sent me money?”

“If I were going to deceive you with something like that, I’d be less than human. You truly didn’t receive it?”

“How much did you send?”

“One thousand five hundred and fifty yuan.” He had wanted to round it up, but simply couldn’t scrape together any more.

“One thousand five hundred?” Gu Qiao’s thoughts were entirely on the money. While this sum wouldn’t make much of a dent in the debt, it was enormously important to their family right now.

She couldn’t help raising her voice as she asked Lou Deyu: “Which post office did you send it from?”

If the money hadn’t been collected, it should have been returned to the sending post office by now.

—