Chapter 41: Only a Step Away from Clearing the Debt

By the riverbank.

The morning breeze cut briskly across their faces.

Wang Qiang peered carefully, trying to see who it was. It would have been better not to look—for as soon as he saw, he was rendered speechless. It was that brother and sister.

He knew them: Lu Wei and Lu Junjun.

To speak of them was to speak of hardship. Orphaned young, they had struggled under the care of their grandmother just to reach their mid-teens. If he recalled correctly, their grandmother had passed away not long ago as well. To say they had no one left to rely on was no exaggeration.

Lu Wei was short and stocky, notorious for his boldness. He was always grinning and joking, but when it came to his sister, he never uttered a complaint. He had gotten into high school but never attended, choosing instead to labor tirelessly so that his sister could finish university.

Lu Junjun, for her part, was strikingly beautiful. Yet, in the end, she failed to live up to her brother’s devotion. Perhaps worn down by poverty, she allowed herself to be kept by a wealthy man during her university years. Just a year after graduation, she was cast aside and, unable to bear it, took her own life by jumping from a building.

Ah, these two ill-fated siblings.

Wang Qiang didn’t know what to do about them.

As he pondered, his mother’s sharp voice snapped him back to reality. “Lu the Rascal, up to your thieving tricks again? And now you’re stealing our fish trap?”

Lu Wei and Lu Junjun, who had been terrified thinking they’d seen a ghost, relaxed visibly at the sound of a human voice.

Catching his breath, Lu Wei forced a sheepish grin. “Auntie Cheng, we...” His eyes darted as he spun a lie with practiced ease. “We didn’t know this fish trap was yours. My sister tripped on it, so I pulled it up, didn’t expect it to be a trap. I was just telling Junjun we should toss it back in the river.”

Lu Junjun, still shaken, patted her chest in relief and nodded emphatically to back up her brother’s story.

But Wang Qiang’s mother wasn’t fooled. “You think I didn’t hear you? Want me to tell your third uncle?”

Wang Qiang knew a bit about their third uncle—he was their only living relative, but had never offered them any help. Quite the opposite, in fact; he’d nearly snatched away even the little land they had.

At the mention of their third uncle, Lu Junjun immediately grew anxious, waving her hands desperately. “Please, Auntie Cheng, don’t tell him! He’ll beat me and my brother.”

Wang Qiang’s mother had always disliked the siblings—perhaps due to Lu Wei’s petty thieving. In fact, neither Wang Qiang’s village nor Lu Junjun’s across the river held any fondness for the pair. Only after Junjun’s suicide, when Lu Wei drunkenly poured out his grievances, did people realize his thefts had been to pay for his sister’s schooling.

Two siblings with no source of income, no support, nothing but a patch of land—what else could they do? Life had forced their hand.

His mother’s disgust was clear. “You’re stealing—”

“Ma.” Wang Qiang cut her off. “Let it go. The trap’s still here.” He sympathized with their plight and didn’t wish to pursue such a trivial matter.

Lu Junjun shot him a grateful look.

“But—” his mother started to protest.

He shook his head at her. He knew his mother had a strong sense of right and wrong and loathed thieves, but every family has its struggles. Lu Wei had simply run out of options.

“How about this: I won’t blame you.” Wang Qiang turned to Lu Wei. “Help me carry the trap home, both of you. All right?”

Lu Wei hung his head. “Okay.”

Lu Junjun sighed in relief, nodding eagerly. “Alright, alright.” She quickly grabbed the fish trap.

Wang Qiang picked up the net, not bothering to check what fish were inside, though it felt heavy. Originally, he and his mother would have had to make two trips, but with the siblings’ help, they got everything home in one go.

...

At home.

Wang Qiang dumped the catch into a wooden basin, picked out the crayfish and tossed them aside, then finally had a chance to take stock. As usual, most of the haul was crucian carp, along with seven or eight silver carp. What pleased him most, though, was that he’d caught three snakehead fish—two large and one small. The smallest was barely a pound, but the biggest weighed seven or eight, and the other about six—quite a decent haul.

The siblings stood awkwardly to the side, not knowing whether to sit or leave, as if awaiting judgement.

His mother was serving breakfast; after they ate, she’d have to head into town.

Wang Qiang shook the water from his hands, glanced at the siblings, and called to his mother, “Ma, serve two extra bowls of porridge.” He had deliberately made them carry the trap home so he could offer a little help. He’d heard from Lu Wei that since their grandmother’s death, they often went hungry. He wasn’t sure if they still had food now, but he wanted to help however he could.

His mother was reluctant. “What for?”

“They helped us carry the fish. Let them eat with us,” Wang Qiang said.

Lu Junjun couldn’t help licking her lips, craving food. There hadn’t been a single grain of rice left in the jar since yesterday. She’d tried to tough it out through the night, but by three in the morning she was so hungry she tossed and turned in bed, waking her brother. That’s why they’d crept out in the early hours to find something to eat. Her brother had suggested wading into the river to catch a couple of fish, but they’d stumbled upon the fish trap—hence the earlier commotion.

His mother grudgingly ladled out two more bowls of porridge and set them on the square table.

“Eat,” Wang Qiang said, sitting down and gesturing to the bowls with his chopsticks.

Lu Junjun’s eyes shimmered with gratitude. “Thank you.”

Lu Wei echoed her thanks.

The four of them sat around the table, eating quietly.

Ten minutes later, breakfast was finished.

The siblings expressed their gratitude several more times before leaving.

Watching their retreating figures, Wang Qiang shook his head helplessly. He was no saint, but seeing such wretched siblings, he couldn’t help but feel sympathy. Still, this was all he could do. Sometimes, helping someone in need might mean that, in days to come, when you’re in trouble, others will help you in return.

Of course, Wang Qiang had never expected the siblings to repay him. His kindness was simply out of pity.

...

At the entrance to the market.

The morning sun had fully risen, and the heat was building.

After greeting Uncle Zhai, Wang Qiang and his mother set to work.

Thanks to the good reputation they’d built selling fish in recent days, returning customers were already appearing.

The first was the same woman in the blue blouse he’d seen before, wearing the same shirt.

Wang Qiang called out, “Ma’am, back again to buy fish for your daughter-in-law’s soup?”

Delighted to be recognized, she laughed. “Oh, young man, you remember me?”

“Of course,” Wang Qiang replied, flattering her. “You have such a presence; I recognized you at once.”

She beamed. “You sure know how to talk! Alright, give me two crucian—” She scanned the basin, then changed her mind. “Give me that small snakehead.”

“Sure, let me weigh it for you.” Wang Qiang scooped up the fish, took the plastic bag and scale his mother handed him, and weighed it. “Two pounds, five yuan,” he told her after checking the scale.

She cheerfully handed over five coins.

His mother accepted the payment, smiling. “So your daughter-in-law’s given birth? Boy or girl?”

“She gave me a big, healthy grandson!” The woman grinned from ear to ear—here in the countryside, sons were still highly prized.

Squatting, Wang Qiang quickly gutted the fish, pulled out the innards, rinsed it, and, with the fish’s bladder intact, slipped it into a plastic bag before handing it over.

After a few more words with his mother, the woman went on her way.

The next customer arrived quickly—a man in his forties, with a close-cropped haircut and an efficient air.

“Hey, I haven’t seen you before.”

“We’ve only just started setting up here.”

“Oh? How much for the crucian carp?”

“A yuan and a half per pound. If you buy, my son can clean it for you.”

“You’ll clean it too?”

“Of course. Would you like two?”

“Alright, pick out two big ones.”

Watching his mother handle customers with increasing confidence, Wang Qiang smiled. After two outings, she was clearly getting the hang of things.

Perhaps because it was Sunday, business was especially brisk today. With the Jin Gong Machinery Factory closed for the day, he didn’t have to go to work and could help his mother sell all the fish.

How good was business? No sooner had one customer left than another would step up.

“Weigh me a silver carp.”

“Sure.”

“I’ll take four crucian.”

“That’s three yuan and twenty.”

“That’s a big snakehead. How much?”

“Two and a half per pound.”

He barely had time to chat with Uncle Zhai; before he knew it, it was already 8:40, and both he and his mother were exhausted. All eighty pounds of fish had been sold.

With nothing left to sell, Wang Qiang and his mother bid Uncle Zhai farewell and started pushing their cart home.

They had barely gone a few steps when his mother, beaming, told Wang Qiang they’d made a hundred and thirty-two yuan today. Clearly, she’d kept track while selling.

Wang Qiang was both amused and helpless, shaking his head.

With today’s earnings, they were one step closer to paying off the family’s debts. He did a quick tally in his mind: his mother had about fifteen hundred yuan, and with today’s takings, it would be seventeen hundred. On Wednesday, the deadline he’d agreed upon with Lu Dahai would arrive, and they’d get another seven hundred yuan. After repaying their debt, there should be a little left over.

He could hardly wait for Wednesday to come.

Once the debt was cleared, he’d sit down with his mother and try to convince her not to force herself to keep sending him to school. Then he could finally devote himself to earning a living and improving their lives.