Chapter 7: The Value of the Mackerel Chunks

At this moment, the village chief, Wang Depin, was on duty, his gaze fixed on the landline phone.

He glanced at the ancient wall clock—it was ten in the evening. He hesitated, wondering whether he should call Chu Xuan’s biological mother, Tian Xiaoyun, again.

The last time Tian Xiaoyun had come back to visit, Chu Xuan and her younger brother had refused to see her, so she’d left her phone number with Wang Depin.

She had specifically asked Wang Depin that if the siblings ever ran into trouble, he must call and let her know.

But… Wang Depin had tried calling at different times, and no one ever answered.

Still, holding on to a sliver of hope, Wang Depin dialed the number once more.

This time, someone finally picked up.

Wang Depin quickly and concisely explained what had happened that afternoon.

“Xiaoyun! Xiaoxuan broke the imperial jade ornament belonging to the jade recycler, One-Eyed Dragon, and signed an IOU for three thousand yuan. On my account, One-Eyed Dragon agreed to let her pay it back at a hundred yuan per month. Because of this, Xiaoxuan and her brother Xiaofeng were kicked out by your ex-mother-in-law and cut off from the family. They’re living in the old house now…”

When Tian Xiaoyun heard the nickname “One-Eyed Dragon,” she fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly, “Uncle Wang, thank you for letting me know. As for the three thousand yuan debt, please tell Xiaoxuan that she can pay whatever she can each month—the rest, I’ll cover. Also, I sent her some money a few days ago; it should arrive soon.”

They chatted a bit more before hanging up.

Wang Depin let out a long sigh of relief. Chu Xuan had always believed Tian Xiaoyun had abandoned her children to remarry, and no matter how Tian Xiaoyun tried to explain, she wouldn’t listen. After this debt incident, maybe their mother-daughter relationship could finally improve…

Just as One-Eyed Dragon was about to fall asleep, the phone at home rang.

He picked up.

A voice he’d dreamed of for years came through the receiver, “Brother Long, it’s me.”

One-Eyed Dragon was instantly wide awake, gripping the phone excitedly. “Xiaoyun, it’s you. Is something urgent?”

Tian Xiaoyun got straight to the point. “It’s about the three thousand yuan my daughter Xiaoxuan owes you. I’ll pay it back—please don’t make things hard for her…”

One-Eyed Dragon hurried to say, “Xiaoyun, you saved my life! Even if your daughter really owed me three thousand yuan, I’d never make her pay it back.”

Hearing this, Tian Xiaoyun realized something was off.

Years ago, she had saved One-Eyed Dragon’s life—no one else knew about it.

Later, after Chu Xuan’s father died unexpectedly, she quietly told Chu Xuan before leaving that One-Eyed Dragon owed her a favor, and if she ever faced serious trouble, she could call it in.

Could her daughter have used that favor?

“Brother Long, tell me exactly what happened.”

One-Eyed Dragon, barely able to contain his excitement, explained, “Xiaoxuan didn’t really owe me three thousand yuan. She just asked me to help her put on an act—she wanted her brother to see the true colors of the Chu family, and to split from them and cut ties. Don’t worry, Xiaoyun! How are you doing out there? Is your new husband treating you well? If not, come back. I’ll marry you! I’m still single…”

Tian Xiaoyun massaged her temples, a little exasperated. This guy was over forty and still so unserious. “Enough, stop right there. My husband treats me well. Thank you for helping my daughter with the act. Please keep it up for a while, so the Chu family doesn’t get any more ideas about her.”

One-Eyed Dragon immediately promised, “No problem!”

Tian Xiaoyun really wanted to come back for a visit, but she just couldn’t get away for now. “I’ll send you some local specialties another day. I have something to take care of here, so I’ll hang up now.”

If she didn’t hang up, Brother Long would probably start talking about marriage again.

Hearing the click on the other end, One-Eyed Dragon held the receiver for a long time before putting it down.

When he finally snapped out of it, he smacked his lips. “Why did I have to bring up marrying Xiaoyun again? I could have chatted with her a bit longer.”

He consoled himself—at least Xiaoyun would send him some local specialties.

That cheered him up a lot.

The Chu Dashan couple and that Chu Zhi were no good. Even if the siblings had cut ties, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t cause more trouble. One-Eyed Dragon decided he’d look after Chu Xuan and her brother more in the future. That way, Xiaoyun would send him local specialties more often…

At around two in the morning, Chu Xuan, lying on the kang bed, opened her eyes.

There was movement outside.

She quietly got up and peered through the broken window, spotting a sneaky figure.

Even with his face covered, Chu Xuan would recognize him anywhere—it was Chu Zhi.

Chu Zhi swallowed nervously and headed straight for the big chunk of mackerel hanging under the eaves.

Just as he reached for the fish, he heard a noise behind him. Startled, he quickly pulled back and tried to run.

“Hey, brother, don’t be scared—we’re on the same side. All for the king mackerel, right? I know you’re Chu Zhi, so why bother covering your face? In this line of work, you need guts. Look at me, I don’t even bother with a mask.”

Qiu Daguang deliberately lowered his voice.

For him, the door bolt was just for show.

Chu Zhi recognized the voice and, clutching his chest, let out a long sigh of relief. “You scared me to death! Since we both want the king mackerel, let’s take it to my place and split it in half!”

Qiu Daguang’s eyes darted around. Thinking of the Chu family’s reputation, he shook his head. “No way. Let’s take it to my place and split it there!”

Chu Zhi didn’t trust him. “Why not just split it here?”

Qiu Daguang glanced toward the bedroom. “Chopping up the fish will wake up Chu Xuan and her brother. If that happens, we might not be able to handle the two of them…”

Chu Zhi grew impatient. “This won’t do, that won’t do—so what do you suggest?”

Qiu Daguang pointed toward the county. “At six in the morning, the village tractor goes to the county to pick up red bricks. We can put the fish in a sack and ride the tractor…”

Before he could finish, Chu Zhi got the idea—they’d sell the fish and split the money.

In the end, money won out over appetite. “Alright! Let’s sell the fish in the county! In fact, let’s go all the way—let’s steal the mackerel tail from the village chief’s house too. I heard it’s over ten jin! They haven’t eaten it yet. We could probably get another twenty or thirty yuan for it! And we’ll grab a sack from his place to carry the fish.”

“Deal!”

The two thieves hit it off immediately.

Qiu Daguang volunteered to carry the big chunk of mackerel. “This must weigh over thirty jin, right? If we sell it to a hotel, it’ll really boost their image! We could probably get eighty or ninety yuan for it.”

“Absolutely! Let’s go!”

Chu Zhi followed behind him, swaggering out of the yard.

Inside, Chu Xuan wore a cold smile—the fish had taken the bait.

Once they’d gone far enough, she went to knock on her little brother’s door.

Chu Feng woke up groggily. “Sis, are we catching thieves?”

“That’s right! Chu Zhi and Qiu Daguang just stole our fish, and now they’re after the mackerel tail at Grandpa Wang’s house. Grandpa Wang is on duty tonight—you go to the village office and tell him to come home. I’ll go to his house and catch the thieves.”

After giving instructions, Chu Xuan grabbed a kitchen knife and ran out.

Chu Feng hurriedly put on his shoes and went to call Grandpa Wang.

Ten minutes later, Chu Zhi and Qiu Daguang succeeded, even managing to grab a sack from the Wang family to carry the fish.

Chu Xuan’s piercing voice rang out, “Thieves! Someone stole my fish! After robbing my house, they hit the village chief’s! Thieves!”

Chu Zhi and Qiu Daguang panicked, dropping the sack in their haste.

At that point, they didn’t care about the fish—they just wanted to escape.

They ran off in different directions."