Shen Linzhou raised a hand and pointed at Sun Wenbin. “Uncle Manfu, this man is seriously injured. We can’t let him die. We need to find a doctor to stop the bleeding and treat his wounds first.”
He ignored Uncle Manfu’s teasing. After what had just happened, there was no way to explain it clearly to the villagers; doing so would only fuel more wild speculation. It was better to focus everyone’s attention on the urgent matter at hand.
Only then did Uncle Manfu notice the injured man, whose wound was still oozing blood.
“Dongzi, go find the barefoot doctor in the village and have him wait at the foot of the mountain.”
A young man answered and took off running, quickly disappearing into the night.
The group headed toward the village. As they neared the foot of the mountain, Xiao Mandong’s gaze fell on a low, dilapidated adobe house with a layer of withered yellow thatch covering its roof. This must be the cowshed.
Her family was right there, so close, yet she couldn’t go and see them.
Suppressing the emotions surging inside her, she looked at Shen Linzhou. “It’s so late. Should we stay in the village for one night and go back tomorrow?”
“Yes.” Shen Linzhou nodded. “It’s too late. I’ll call the army later and have them send a vehicle to pick us up tomorrow. It takes more than an hour to cross the mountains from here to the Red Flag Brigade, and two hours if we take the main road, so we can only rest in the village tonight.”
Xiao Mandong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, along with a faint thrill of delight. She lowered her voice and asked Shen Linzhou, “Then… where will we stay?”
Shen Linzhou noticed the expectation hidden in her eyes. They had hurried down the mountain, leaving her small face flushed, the tip of her nose tinged red.
Something seemed to give his heart a light prick. Seeing her still trying to conceal the ripples in her eyes, the corners of Shen Linzhou’s lips curved ever so slightly, a mischievous glint flashing in his eyes. He deliberately drawled, “It’s so late. I have an empty room at my place. Do you want to stay at my house, or make do at Uncle Manfu’s with his daughter?”
Just as Xiao Mandong was struggling with what to say, Uncle Manfu happened to hear their conversation and chimed in boldly.
“Stay at my place. My son is living in the city, and my two daughters aren’t married yet. There’ll be plenty of room.”
Xiao Mandong was still calculating which place would make it easier for her to sneak out. Since she had taken such a huge risk to come here, she had to see her family before she could feel at ease.
Just then, seeing that the brigade captain and the Party secretary were already waiting at the foot of the mountain, Shen Linzhou immediately wiped the smile from his face, straightened his back, and walked over to greet them.
“Uncle Cao, Uncle Li, I’m sorry to trouble you at such a late hour.”
“This man is a suspect, and he’s injured. He needs to be kept under strict guard. My comrades and I will spend the night with him in the brigade warehouse. Please arrange for the doctor to go directly to the warehouse and treat his wounds. I’ll cover the cost of the medicine.”
He paused, then shifted his gaze to Xiao Mandong, his tone remaining calm.
“As for this female comrade, she came to help us. It’s late, and it wouldn’t be convenient for a young woman to stay in anyone’s home. I seem to recall that there’s an empty room near the cowshed. Let her make do there for the night.”
When Xiao Mandong heard Shen Linzhou mention the cowshed, she froze as though struck still. Her lashes trembled violently, and a look of disbelief flashed through her eyes before she quickly lowered her head, doing her best to conceal the wild joy inside her.
“How can we let her do that?” the brigade captain hurriedly objected. “The people sent down for re-education live in the cowshed. There are mostly men there—it isn’t safe or appropriate. If something happens, we won’t be able to answer for it!”
The brigade captain felt that those people who had been sent down were not as familiar or trustworthy as the villagers.
His words were like a basin of ice water poured over Xiao Mandong, chilling her to the core.
She was just about to protest when Shen Linzhou continued, “Uncle Cao, she prefers peace and solitude.”
Since he had put it that way, the brigade captain no longer objected and agreed. He only felt that this girl had no idea what was good for her.
Shen Linzhou had known for a long time that Xiao Mandong’s family had been sent down to this village. When the army decided to cooperate with her, they had thoroughly investigated her background. Her family origins, her experiences, and even the reason and location of her family’s exile—he knew all of it clearly.
Having obtained the result she wanted, Xiao Mandong was overjoyed. She carefully regulated her breathing, trying to keep her voice steady. “All right. Thank you, Deputy Commander Shen.”
The corners of Shen Linzhou’s lips lifted almost imperceptibly, so quickly that it could have been an illusion. The expression vanished beneath his deliberately taut jawline the next moment. He then instructed Zhou Qichuan to take Sun Wenbin to the brigade office’s storage room.
He himself borrowed a straw mat and a quilt from Uncle Manfu, then personally escorted Xiao Mandong to the cowshed.
The room was run-down and filthy. Shen Linzhou wiped the dust from the brick bed, spread the straw mat over it, and then laid the quilt on top.
“Make do for one night. Tomorrow, you’ll return with the vehicle from the army. You still need to give a statement.”
Under normal circumstances, Shen Linzhou would have been willing to find an excuse to let Xiao Mandong stay another night and spend some time with her family. But he had a mission to complete, and he had to take her back tomorrow to record her statement. He could only look for another opportunity next time.
Before leaving, Shen Linzhou held out his hand to Xiao Mandong.
She stared blankly for a moment, failing to understand.
“The gun belonged to Old Kai, didn’t it? Give it to me. Firearms have to be turned in.”
That girl certainly had a lot of nerve. When he had crouched down to carry her down the mountain moments ago, her legs had been too weak to stand. Yet in the confusion, she had still managed to grab the pistol.
Xiao Mandong’s cheeks grew hot. She hadn’t expected Shen Linzhou to notice that she had hidden the gun.
Pressing her lips together, she obediently took it out and handed it to him.
Shen Linzhou accepted the weapon, removed the bullets, and tucked the gun into his waistband. Then he casually praised her.
“Not bad. You’re brave, and your aim is good, too.”
Xiao Mandong’s heart skipped a beat. Was he suspicious of her?
“I… I used to go up the mountains with my grandfather to gather herbs when I was little. We carried a hunting rifle in case we ran into wild animals, so I know how to use one. And I only fired the gun because I had no choice. You saw that yourself.”
“Mm.” Shen Linzhou nodded. “Get some rest. Don’t wander off.”
With that, he turned and walked out of the cramped room, gently closing the door behind him. He felt that if he stayed any longer, Xiao Mandong might actually chase him away.
Through the crack in the door, Xiao Mandong watched Shen Linzhou’s retreating figure. She drew a deep breath, then patted her chest, trying to calm her wildly pounding heart.
Xiao Mandong opened the door a crack and cautiously looked outside. After making sure no one was around, she slipped out and carefully surveyed the courtyard. A pile of animal manure and dried fodder lay in one corner. Mixed with the damp earth, it gave the entire courtyard a strange, pungent odor.
There were seven adobe rooms in a row, and she had no idea which one she should knock on.
Just then, one of the doors creaked open, and a man stepped out. Xiao Mandong instinctively hid behind a haystack. Another person then emerged from the room.
“Third Uncle, you must have seen wrong. There’s no way it could have been Little Sister.”
Xiao Jingping hesitated. When he had just peered through the crack in the door, the voice and figure had been exactly like his daughter’s. Could it be that he missed her so desperately that he had imagined it?
Xiao Mandong recognized the speaker’s voice—it was Xiao Siyuan, her second cousin, the second son of her eldest paternal uncle.
So the “Third Uncle” he had addressed was her own father.
