Last Bus of Route 13

The little boy with the red belly pocket wiggled his way out of sight, leaving me holding the red thread with a silent grin.

After a while, the boy had run beyond my view, and the thread stopped extending. Had the ginseng doll turned back into ginseng? My excitement was palpable as I reeled in the thread, moving forward with anticipation.

Suddenly, the thread went taut, and I thought to myself: Oh no, the ginseng has turned back into a doll and is trying to escape! With that thought, I dashed along the thread.

Rounding a bend in the mountain path, I saw the little boy at the end of the thread, standing to the side, relieving himself. I took a deep breath, knowing I couldn’t let him transform back into ginseng. With a swift move, I lunged at him, pinning him beneath me.

The ginseng doll, startled by my sudden tackle, let out a loud cry!

Oh, it can cry? It really is something extraordinary.

Just as I was about to tell him to hush, I felt someone grab the back of my collar with tremendous force, lifting me before I could turn around.

I stood up, terrified, and turned to see a Fat Woman with a broad face and large ears. She had lifted me with one hand.

“What the heck are you doing? Bullying my kid?” Her eyes were wide with anger, her eyebrows raised in fury, and she didn’t wait for me to respond.

With a swift slap, she sent me flying.

It wasn’t that I was unwilling to fight back against a woman; it’s just that this Fat Woman didn’t look like any ordinary woman. Her waist was as wide as a gas cylinder, her arms as thick as a bowl, and she could easily fit two of me.

Her slap left me seeing stars. The ginseng doll, seeing me knocked down, quickly ran to the Fat Woman, calling out “Mommy” as he went.

Seeing this, I finally came to my senses. Damn it, I had grabbed the wrong one!

It turned out to be a child from the village below, and I had mistaken him for a ginseng doll!

The Fat Woman pulled out the red thread needle from the boy’s red belly pocket, cradling him and soothing him, “Don’t cry, don’t cry, are you hurt anywhere?”

The boy, instead of calming down, cried even harder.

Seeing her son inconsolable, the Fat Woman glared at me again and said, “Is it this guy who bullied my kid? I’ll give him a beating.”

With that, she walked towards me, holding the child.

Another beating?

I got up from the ground, swallowed hard, and apologized, “Sister, I’m sorry, I… I’m really sorry, it was a misunderstanding.”

As I pondered whether to make a run for it, I heard Shuilian calling from behind, “Brother Li, why did you come here?”

Shuilian’s arrival was a relief.

The Fat Woman frowned upon seeing Shuilian and asked, “What’s up, girl? You know this scoundrel?”

Shuilian walked over, looked at the child in the Fat Woman’s arms, then at the red needle thread on the ground, seemingly understanding the situation. She smiled and said, “Sister Zhou, I’m sorry, my older brother just arrived from the city. Was there a misunderstanding?”

The Fat Woman, hearing this, gave me another disdainful look and muttered, “So he really is your brother, huh? Shuilian, don’t blame me for speaking bluntly, but having such a brother is a waste of your good nature.”

With that, the Fat Woman gave me one last fierce glare and headed down the mountain.

Seeing the Fat Woman walking away with the child in her arms, I finally let out a long sigh of relief.

The confusion had escalated more than I expected, and thankfully, it was only a red thread needle. If it had been a knife, I might have really hurt her child.

Shuilian saw the sweat on my forehead and burst out laughing. She said:

“Brother Li, how can you be so funny? Did you mistake her child for a ginseng doll?”

I realized I had acted foolishly and, feeling embarrassed, I nodded and headed up the mountain.

Shuilian seemed to consider my pride and didn’t bring it up again. Instead, she just chatted with me casually as we walked.

We wandered around the mountain until about ten o’clock. We didn’t see a ginseng doll, not even a single ginseng root.

Exhausted, I leaned against a large tree to rest and asked:

“Shuilian, the mountain is so vast. Do you really search aimlessly every day?”

Shuilian sat down next to me, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and said:

“Yes, I search every day. I know the chances are slim, but even if it takes me five more years, ten more years, as long as I can find it, all this effort will be worth it.”

Looking at Shuilian speaking so earnestly, she seemed especially endearing. I comforted her by saying:

“Shuilian, really, even with that birthmark, it doesn’t hinder anything. You are beautiful enough as it is.”

Flattered by my compliment, Shuilian’s face broke into a smile. She stood up, dusted herself off, and said:

“Brother Li, you really know how to make someone feel good. I’ll make you stewed meat for lunch today. Let’s go, let’s head down the mountain.”

I nodded with a smile, stood up, and followed Shuilian down the mountain.

As we were walking home along the lake, we met an old lady with a stooped back and a red scarf wrapped around her neck. I hadn’t seen this old lady before, but she seemed vaguely familiar.

Suddenly, I remembered. The night before last, on the highway, I dimly saw Old Wu talking to an old lady outside the car. I didn’t see the old lady’s face, but I distinctly remembered the striking red scarf, which must have been hers.

Shuilian greeted the old lady with a smile:

“Old Lady Qiu, are you going out?”

The old lady with the red scarf smiled and nodded:

“Yes, I’m going to check on the seedlings.”

After speaking, she gave me a meaningful glance.

Somehow, that glance from the old lady sent a shiver down my spine.

The old lady didn’t stop walking and quickly passed by us.

I looked back in confusion and asked Shuilian:

“Shuilian, it’s so hot today, why is the old lady wearing a red scarf?”

Shuilian laughed and said:

“She’s the Old Lady Qiu I told you about, who knows about the ginseng doll. Ever since I can remember, she has always worn that red scarf. It’s said that no one in the village has ever seen her neck.”

Seeing me staring blankly at the old lady’s figure, Shuilian continued:

“There are many legends about Old Lady Qiu in our village. Do you want to hear them?”

I turned to her and replied:

“Tell me, I love hearing these rural legends.”

Shuilian looked around to make sure no one was listening, then leaned close and whispered:

“There’s a saying in our village that Old Lady Qiu’s neck is over a meter long. She usually wraps her neck in several layers and then covers it with the red scarf.”

Hearing this, I was instantly astonished.

“A meter-long neck?”

Shuilian laughed so hard at my shocked expression that she nearly doubled over. “Oh my, you actually believed it? It’s just nonsense people spread because they’re jealous of Old Lady Qiu’s crops growing so well without her ever working.”

I scoffed and continued walking with Shuilian.

“But Old Lady Qiu does have some skills. Whenever someone in the village has a headache or catches an evil spirit, they all go to her for treatment.”

Shuilian continued, “By the way, Old Lady Qiu loves raising geese. She treats them like her own children. If you ever see a goose in the village, don’t mess with it, okay?”

Her warning felt a bit patronizing. I’m not the type to pick fights with geese, after all.

“Alright,” I replied reluctantly.

After reaching the old house, Shuilian took the bowl she had brought in the morning and headed home.

Inside, I collapsed onto the bed, thinking about how Xiao Liu and Bun Hairstyle would laugh their heads off if I told them I’d spent the morning searching for a ginseng doll.

Feeling bored after lying there for a while, I got up to tidy the place. Old Wu had left me here to hide out, and who knows when he’ll come to get me. I’m not exactly a neat freak, but I can’t live in filth.

I washed some cloths and started cleaning. By the afternoon, I’d scrubbed the entire room and kitchen.

Standing at the door, I stared at the west room, wondering whether to clean it too. Old Wu had warned me not to enter it, only saying it was an ancestral instruction.

I tossed the cloth aside, deciding not to bother. I wasn’t going to meddle. Even if there were gold bars inside, I wasn’t interested.

With that thought, I went to the lake to do laundry.

In the evening, Shuilian came by again with dinner. After I finished eating, she collected the bowl and left, saying she had chores at home and reminding me to get up early tomorrow to search for the ginseng doll again.

I agreed with a chuckle. Since I had nothing else to do, I might as well take a stroll.

After Shuilian left, it started thundering and raining. I shut the windows tight, lit a candle, and lay on the bed playing mobile games.

The storm was fierce, with rain pounding outside. Old Wu’s house was a real mess, with cracks in the walls letting rain in.

Too lazy to deal with it, I kept playing, focused on my mobile phone. Suddenly, I heard a little girl’s voice beside me:

“Uncle, what are you playing? Is it fun?”

Startled, I turned to see a little girl in a red dress standing by my bed, watching me.

She had big eyes, double eyelids, and wore her hair in two braids-adorably sweet.

I looked at the tightly closed door and asked, “When did you come in?”

The little girl blinked and said, “It’s raining outside, so I came in to hide from it. I’ve been here for a while. What are you playing? Is it fun?”

Seeing her clothes were indeed wet from the rain, I relaxed and said, “This is a mobile phone, used for calling. Here, take a look.”

I handed the phone to her.

Excited, she started pressing buttons randomly.

“It’s late. Why are you out here alone? Do your parents know?”

She kept her head down, pressing buttons, and replied, “They know. I snuck out to play. I’ll go back soon.”

“Alright, it’s getting late. Play for a bit and then head home. If you want to play more, come find me tomorrow.”

She didn’t respond, engrossed in the phone.

After about ten minutes, I noticed the storm had eased. I took the phone back from her and said, “Sister, the rain’s lighter now. Let me walk you home. Your parents might be worried.”

She nodded sadly as I took the phone back. “I’ll go now. I’ll come back tomorrow to play.”

With that, she turned and headed for the door. Worried about her safety in the rain, I quickly put on my shoes to escort her.

She had just stepped out, and I followed closely behind, but when I opened the door, I was baffled.

The little girl was gone!!