Last Bus of Route 13 - Chapter 165 - Stirring Up Trouble on Tai Sui's Head
After Piliu Village, I became extremely sensitive to all short people, feeling like every short person was a witness!
That casual remark from Bun Hairstyle gave me a huge shock. Tang Yao wasn’t very tall, and it seemed her family lived in either Huyaoshan or Tangwazi!
I was getting a bit paranoid. Bun Hairstyle saw me staring intently at Tang Yao and slapped me, scolding:
“Hey, hey, that’s enough! Stop staring already, you have Bai Fan!”
I snapped out of it and sneered, suddenly a bit interested in this Tang Yao.
My encounter with Tang Yao was quite dramatic-she tried to drown herself in the reservoir in the middle of the night, and both Xiao Liu and I saved her one after the other.
At that time, I was caught up in a trust crisis and didn’t have time to think about her. Looking back now, this Tang Yao really isn’t ordinary, but ten years ago she was only in her teens, so she probably wasn’t the witness!
Not long after, we all went our separate ways.
After staying up all night, I went back to the dormitory and slept until three or four in the afternoon.
To avoid the crowds and prying eyes during the day, I quickly tidied up after waking and set out for Huyaoshan!
Huyaoshan Village really is a place where secrets gather. Here, I learned about the camaraderie between Old Wu, Old Tang, and Liu Yunbo. Here, two copper coins and a book were unearthed. And it was here that I learned of the existence of the fourth driver!
I chose to come to Huyaoshan first after much consideration. Most of the people who died in Old Tang’s accident back then were villagers from Huyaoshan. Logically, if the witness was a bereaved family member, there’s no way they’d just watch the culprit driver Old Tang escape and let the city leaders cover up the whole thing without making a fuss!
So first, I needed to check which family in the village made the biggest scene after the accident, to see if I could piece together any clues about the witness!
I’ve been to Huyaoshan Village many times. Once in the village, I headed straight for the village chief’s house. The village chief died because of me, and even after several months, I still felt very guilty.
Huyaoshan is different from Piliu Village-it’s very sensitive here, and there might still be people from the city leaders in the village, so I had to keep a low profile this time.
After spending the night at the village chief’s house, I acted as if nothing had happened and went to the convenience store at the entrance of the village to buy breakfast. Breathing in the fresh village air, I was in a pretty good mood.
I was just thinking about whether to pay a visit to the new village chief when suddenly someone called out to me from behind:
“Young man! Why are you here again?”
I turned around and saw it was a hunched old man, with a seven or eight-year-old little girl beside him.
I’d met the two of them a few times and remembered them well. They were the grandfather and granddaughter I gave a hundred yuan to for a schoolbag after their yellow cattle died.
I burped, smiled, walked over to pat the little girl’s head, and greeted the old man:
“Old man, how have you been lately?”
The old man didn’t bother with pleasantries and asked in a low voice:
“I’m fine. Why are you here again?”
Ever since I met this old man, the thing he said to me most was to urge me to leave quickly and ask why I was back again.
I remember last time, when I was staying at the village chief’s house with Old Liu, we happened to run into the old man passing by. He was the one who told me about the existence of the fourth driver on the Route 13 bus, and told me I could visit him at the west of the village if I had time. Unfortunately, I was busy then and never made it. Thinking back now, this old man has helped me quite a bit!
“The company is on holiday, so I came to pay respects to the old village chief!”
The old man leaned in and whispered:
“I’ve seen you come two or three times now. Doesn’t seem that simple. It’s not convenient to talk outside. If you’re free tonight, come have dinner at my place! West of the village, there’s a big willow tree in the yard!”
Seeing how warm-hearted the old man was, I happily agreed. After a few more words, he took the little girl home.
Just now I was feeling friendless and planning to approach the new village chief, but I didn’t expect to get a lead just by taking a stroll. I’ve always been grateful for the old man’s generosity, and from his persistent efforts to persuade me, it’s clear he knows a lot!
I had to seize this opportunity. So I went to the convenience store and bought four kinds of fruit, then waited until dark to go to the old man’s house for dinner.
There’s a big willow tree in the yard at the west of the village, so the old man’s house was easy to find. When he saw me carrying things, he grinned from ear to ear and quickly welcomed me in with his family.
Besides the old man and the little girl, there was also a middle-aged couple at dinner-his son and daughter-in-law.
After eating with this warm family, I suddenly felt a bit homesick.
The old man and the little girl lived in a separate room. After dinner, he called me over to chat. For me, the real feast was just beginning!
I followed him into the room and closed the door. The old man sat on the kang, lit a cigarette, looked at me for a while, and finally said slowly:
“Young man, I’ve told you several times this village isn’t for you. Why won’t you listen?”
I smiled and replied:
“Old man, every time I’ve come and gone in a hurry, I haven’t had time to ask you many questions. How did you know I was the Route 13 bus driver?”
The old man chuckled and said:
“After your first visit, the village chief told me!”
So it was the village chief. Thinking of the chief’s tragic end, I hesitated-should I keep asking about the accident? After all, it’s risky!
The old man saw my expression and smiled:
“You don’t drive your bus properly, always running to Huyaoshan. What are you trying to find out?”
I sighed, embarrassed, and grinned:
“Old man, there’s a lot I want to know, but I don’t know if I should ask!”
A look of melancholy appeared on the old man’s face as he said slowly:
“You’ve come here several times, probably all for the accident ten years ago, right?”
I thought it over carefully and decided to trust him, nodding:
“Yes, old man, this is a big deal. You mustn’t tell anyone!”
The old man waved his hand.
“Ai, I’m half in the grave already, I know what’s important!”
“But I really don’t think you should look into this. Ten years have passed, and even the bereaved families haven’t asked for justice. Why are you stirring things up?”
I curled up my legs and said seriously:
“To be honest, I came this time to look into those bereaved families. You’re an old resident-back then, were there any families who made a big fuss?”
The old man sighed deeply and said meaningfully:
“There were. Someone died at home, but the news and newspapers didn’t dare report it. At first, several families wanted to file a joint complaint!”
“And then what happened?”
“The ones who made the biggest fuss were the Zhou family. The man of their house died in that car accident. It’s been tough for the widow and orphan, but after a trip to the city, she stopped making a scene when she came back!”
I asked in confusion,
“Why did she stop?”
The old man shook his head and said,
“Not sure about the details. Everyone knows what’s going on, just afraid of bad influence, so it was forcibly suppressed from above! Even the compensation was negotiated privately!”
This was really strange. Why did the Zhou family’s daughter-in-law stop halfway through her complaint? Was she threatened in the city?
Seeing me lost in thought, the old man smiled and said,
“Instead of driving properly, you just had to get involved in this mess. The Zhou family’s daughter-in-law changed completely after coming back from the city. It’s a heartbreaking matter, so don’t go asking her about it. Her family is looking for people to build a new house these days. If you’re bored, you could go help!”
Building a house-wasn’t that the perfect chance to get close to her? I quickly agreed,
“Sure, I happen to have nothing to do. I’ll go help her build the house tomorrow! I can’t do tiler work, but I can carry bricks and lend a hand!”
After chatting with the old man for a while, I got ready to head home!
The next day, I got up early and hurried over to offer my help!
I had no impression of the Zhou family’s daughter-in-law, but she recognized me from the village chief’s funeral. When she heard I was a distant relative who came to sweep the village chief’s grave and was just helping out with the house since I was free, she was naturally very happy.
To save money, the Zhou family’s daughter-in-law only hired two people. Including her fifteen or sixteen-year-old son, the five of us handled all the cement mixing and labor work!
Today was the day to lay the foundation for the house. Each of us grabbed a shovel and circled the marked plot, starting to dig. Luckily, the soil here was thick and there were no stones, so it wasn’t too hard to dig. The Zhou family’s daughter-in-law worked with us from eight in the morning until after ten, then went to prepare lunch.
As soon as she left, the two hired helpers obviously slacked off, chatting and lazily swinging their shovels. They were paid by the day, and I knew they were just loafing around!
I wanted to say something to them, but as an outsider, it wasn’t my place.
Taking money and not working is just heartless. Thinking of the Zhou family’s daughter-in-law raising a teenage child alone, I knew it wasn’t easy for her. Even though I wouldn’t be here long, I wanted to help as much as I could.
With that in mind, I ignored the others and dug in with all my might, soon working up a sweat. Suddenly, I heard her son shout in panic.
Startled, I thought he’d hurt his foot and rushed over to check, but saw the boy was unharmed, just dropped his shovel and was staring at something on the ground, trembling!
I went over to look. In the pit the boy had dug lay a lump of orange stuff. I didn’t know what it was, but it looked fleshy and really disgusting!
The two tilers who’d been slacking off also ran over when they heard the shout. When they saw the thing, they frowned in alarm and sighed,
“This is bad. The house can’t be built now!”
I glanced at the tiler and asked,
“Why can’t we build it? What is this thing? Just use a shovel to scoop it out and toss it, right?”
The tiler quickly waved his hands and said,
“Oh my god, don’t say that! That’s Tai Sui! Digging on top of Tai Sui-are you tired of living?”
While we were studying it, the Zhou family widow heard her son’s shout and ran over from the house. When she saw what was in the pit, her face immediately darkened.
The tiler pondered for a while and said,
“Digging up Tai Sui is a bad omen. Hurry and get the oldest elder in your village to see how to handle this, or your kid will have bad luck!”
The Zhou family’s daughter-in-law nodded repeatedly and ran off to get someone.
The few of us waited around the big pit for over twenty minutes before the Zhou family’s daughter-in-law came back, leading an old man who walked with a tremble.
The old man glanced into the pit, frowned, and rasped,
“That’s right, it’s Tai Sui. Zhou family’s daughter-in-law, go buy Baijiu, lots of it, five or six jin at least. We need to soak the Tai Sui in liquor right away!”
The Zhou family’s daughter-in-law didn’t dare delay and hurried out to buy Baijiu. Soon she was back, and the old man asked for a big washbasin, poured all the Baijiu in, and told us to carefully dig out the huge Tai Sui and put it in the basin.
I didn’t feel anything, but the tilers were clearly reluctant to touch the Tai Sui! They wouldn’t budge until the Zhou family’s daughter-in-law anxiously promised more money, and then they finally agreed through gritted teeth.
When we got the Tai Sui out-
Good grief, it weighed forty or fifty jin! It was my first time seeing one, and I couldn’t tell if it was animal or plant, but it looked yellowish and fleshy.
Once the Tai Sui was safely placed in the basin full of liquor, the old man finally let out a sigh of relief.
I’d only heard that digging on top of Tai Sui was unlucky, but I didn’t know what soaking it in liquor meant.
We all stood around the basin, staring at the unmoving Tai Sui for a long time. Finally, the tiler asked the old man what the trick was. After a while, the old man sighed and said,
“Digging on top of Tai Sui is the biggest taboo. You have to dig it out right away, soak it in liquor to get it drunk, make it forget what happened, and then put it back at night. That way, Tai Sui won’t blame the child!”
The Zhou family’s daughter-in-law was already crying her eyes out in fear. Hearing this, she nervously hugged her son tight.
Now that the Tai Sui was soaking in liquor, according to the elder, we just had to wait until dark to quietly bury it again!
The house couldn’t be built anymore. The two tilers refused to stay until night to help bury the Tai Sui. The Zhou family’s daughter-in-law begged them for a long time, but it was no use. She had to pay them and they hurried off with the money.
I hadn’t studied much, but I’d read some reports about Tai Sui. Supposedly, it was quite valuable! I wasn’t scared and decided to stay and help!
The Zhou family’s daughter-in-law finished cooking and called me and the old man to the kitchen to eat. The old man went first. I planned to move the big basin with the Tai Sui aside. As I bent down to reach for it, I suddenly got a huge fright.
The Tai Sui actually moved!!
