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Chapter 6: The Great Ones
“Tell your friend, or anyone in the town if you want.”
Chen Maidong frowned. “My friends don’t even know you.”
“Isn’t that easy to fix? You meet once and you know each other. We’re all from the same town anyway—say a couple of words and you’re friends. My family’s not available, otherwise I wouldn’t have to ask you.”
Chen Maidong looked at her curled-up leg and figured she was probably hurt badly. After a long pause, he finally said, “We came in a unit vehicle. It’s parked up there.”
Zhuang Jie didn’t respond, just waited for him to finish.
He added, “It’s a hearse.”
……
“Thanks. Sorry for bothering you.” Zhuang Jie lowered herself carefully and sat down again. “I’ll just wait for my little brother.”
Chen Maidong returned to the barbecue area. From a distance, he saw her sitting under a willow tree, and for some reason felt a trace of sympathy. He borrowed a motorcycle nearby and rode over.
Zhuang Jie got on the back. “Thank you so much.”
He didn’t reply.
She lightly steadied herself on his waist and commented, “Your body’s really solid.”
Chen Maidong stiffened at the warmth of her touch. “Hold onto my clothes instead.”
Zhuang Jie grabbed his shirt and, as if they’d known each other for years, casually asked, “How many years have you been working in Beijing?”
“Four or five years,” he answered.
“That’s impressive. People in your line who can last four or five years are already really something.” She looked genuinely curious. “Why didn’t you switch careers?”
She knew a couple of people who worked in funeral homes—none of them stayed long. If they had any chance at all, they all left. Especially people of marriageable age; if they didn’t quit on their own, their partners usually made them.
“I don’t plan to change jobs.”
“You’re pretty amazing,” Zhuang Jie said sincerely. She meant it—especially since he had come back to the town to take care of his grandmother.
She couldn’t do that. Her goal had always been to settle in Shanghai. If she ever had the ability, she’d bring her younger siblings there too. As for Liao Tao and Uncle He, forget it—they thought big cities were too cold and impersonal.
To Chen Maidong, she just felt noisy. Her voice carried too much confidence, and the heat of her breath brushed his neck uncomfortably.
Completely unaware, Zhuang Jie kept talking, looking around and sighing about how much the town had changed. She said places like this weren’t good for staying long—stay too long and it wore down a person’s ambition.
Chen Maidong finally reached his limit. He turned his head. “Do you always talk this much?”
……
In truth, Zhuang Jie wasn’t usually talkative. She only became like this in comfortable situations. When she worked sales before, she barely spoke outside the hospital. The moment she left that place, she preferred silence. Even just staying in hospitals made her throat feel dry.
“Are you like this with all men?” Chen Maidong asked.
“Like what?”
“So familiar with everyone.”
“What do you mean by that?” Her tone sharpened.
He didn’t answer.
“Stop.” Zhuang Jie patted his back. “Do you think I’m trying to hit on you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. What part of you would make me interested?”
“I just think you’re a decent person, and we were classmates…” She paused, then added honestly, “Fine, I admit it—on the high-speed train I did think you were kind of interesting at first. Kind of… clean, in a different way—”
Before she could finish, Chen Maidong drove the motorcycle straight into a peach grove.
Chen Maidong had been watching for a while. An old widower had lured a mentally challenged girl into the peach grove.
He dragged the man out before anything happened. Before he could even strike, the man collapsed on the ground and started shouting, “He hit me! He hit me!”
Chen Maidong glanced at him coldly. The man immediately quieted down.
Zhuang Jie still didn’t understand what was going on—until she saw the girl standing nearby, eating a lollipop with a blank, childlike expression. Then she understood instantly.
The girl was around fifteen or sixteen. She had suffered brain damage from a fever when she was young and had remained mentally impaired ever since. She couldn’t read, had never been to school, and spent her days wandering the village. Two years ago, it was discovered she was pregnant. Her grandmother cursed over the town loudspeaker, not even knowing who to blame—so she cursed all the men in town.
The old widower was in his sixties or seventies, a lifelong bachelor who wandered the streets in a filthy state.
Chen Maidong checked the tag hanging around the girl’s neck. It had her grandmother’s phone number. He dialed while glancing at Zhuang Jie. “Wait a moment.”
“No rush. This matters more,” Zhuang Jie said, already trying to talk to the girl—but the girl only smiled foolishly, not understanding anything.
They waited until her grandmother arrived, then handed the girl over and left.
Neither of them spoke on the way back.
When they reached Zhuang Jie’s house, Chen Maidong turned back and asked, “You said you like me?”
Zhuang Jie froze for a second, then laughed. “Yeah, I like you.”
After what had just happened, saying it didn’t feel like a big deal. She turned and walked inside with bold steps. Before going in, she even blew him a flying kiss.
Chen Maidong’s eyes followed her legs.
Zhuang Jie noticed, lowered her gaze, and tried to explain—but he didn’t give her the chance. He revved the engine and left.
Now it really looked like she’d been deliberately trying to seduce him.
Zhuang Jie liked beautiful people—men or women. As long as they were good-looking, she couldn’t help but strike up a conversation.
She leaned against the wall and called out, “Zhuang Yan! Zhuang Yan!”
Zhuang Yan came out. “Quick, give me a pair of crutches.”
“What happened to your leg?”
“My prosthetic…” She stopped mid-sentence when she noticed a girl inside and turned to Zhuang Yan.
“This is my classmate, Wang Shuting,” Zhuang Yan said.
“Hello, sister,” the girl greeted politely.
“Hi.” Zhuang Jie looked at the big white goose in her arms.
She handed the goose to Zhuang Yan and gave a few instructions before leaving.
While sitting down and removing her prosthesis, she asked, “Is the goose a love token?”
“No, her mother was going to cook it, so she secretly brought it here for me to raise.”
The goose stretched its neck and let out a loud cry. Zhuang Jie winced. “I’d cook it too.”
“It’s called Jishan Goose. It’s a pet breed, not meant for eating.”
It was clearly just an ordinary goose.
Zhuang Jie replied lazily, “Then I’ll name my chickens ‘Jisan Chickens.’ That makes them noble too.”
Zhuang Yan said she didn’t understand anything and went upstairs with the goose.
Her residual limb was slightly swollen. Zhuang Jie leaned on crutches and went upstairs to her room. Hot water was already prepared by Zhuang Yan, placed on a low stool. She soaked her residual limb and slowly splashed water over her thigh.
Zhuang Yan brought a towel and ointment.
“Are Mom and Uncle He still at the factory?” Zhuang Jie asked.
“Yeah. I cooked dinner for them tonight,” Zhuang Yan said.
“Wow, little gentleman,” Zhuang Jie smiled. “Where’s Niaoniao?”
“She rode an electric bike—”
Before she finished, the gate slammed. He Niaoniao rushed into the courtyard, bike and all, then ran upstairs angrily.
She pushed open Zhuang Jie’s door, fuming.
Zhuang Jie immediately understood—she must have fallen into a ditch in Xi Village while trying to pick her up.
“You came to pick me up?” she asked carefully.
He Niaoniao was furious. She had crashed her bike into the ditch, struggled out, and only managed to get it back with adult help. Then she had circled around for ages without finding Zhuang Jie.
She stormed into her room and lay face down on the bed.
Zhuang Jie went over to apologize, saying she truly didn’t know her sister had come to pick her up. She even invited her to sleep together that night.
He Niaoniao softened, took her clothes, and went to shower.
Zhuang Yan cleaned her scratches with iodine.
“I want to sleep here too,” Zhuang Yan said.
“Fine, we’ll all sleep sideways then,” Zhuang Jie laughed. The bed was two meters wide.
The sisters lay down happily, watching Zhuang Jie try on a spare prosthetic from the closet.
Zhuang Yan asked when she was returning to Shanghai.
“On the 10th,” Zhuang Jie said.
He Niaoniao asked, “So you won’t come back until Spring Festival?”
“Yeah. So you two better study hard. I’ll be waiting for you in Shanghai.”
“I don’t like Shanghai. I like Beijing,” He Niaoniao said. “Beijing has Tiananmen, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Tsinghua, Peking University.”
Zhuang Jie laughed. “And so?”
“Tiananmen means Beijing is bigger than Shanghai.” She sat up and gestured. “It means it’s number one. Everyone has to listen to it. I’m going to the biggest place.”
Zhuang Jie burst out laughing. The logic wasn’t wrong.
Zhuang Yan said, “You’re being silly. That’s not how it compares—Shanghai is the window to the world…”
“Then Beijing is the gate to the world!” He Niaoniao shot back. They’d been arguing about this since yesterday. “Beijing said: ‘Open wide the gate… Beijing welcomes you!’”
“Alright, alright, you’re right,” Zhuang Yan gave up.
“I was right in the first place,” He Niaoniao stuck out her tongue.
—
Chapter 6 (continued): The Town’s Invitation
In the following days, the roasted chicken shop’s business exploded. They received up to 1,300 vacuum-packed chickens a day, not counting the freshly roasted and fried ones in-store.
Zhuang Jie knew a livestream influencer who helped promote them. But she hadn’t planned for logistics properly—orders came in, but the whole family stayed up all night writing shipping labels until their faces turned pale, fingers cramped, and they nearly broke down.
Previously, tourists bought the vacuum-packed chickens directly. They had never handled orders on this scale.
Liao Tao tasted success and decided to learn e-commerce professionally—product photography, livestreaming, everything.
On the day before the holiday ended, Zhuang Jie received an unexpected invitation from the town government. The mayor wanted to meet them for tea.
It came suddenly—received at 7 a.m., meeting at 2 p.m.
Zhuang Jie thought it was serious. She searched her conscience but couldn’t think of anything she had done wrong. She was just an ordinary citizen—why would the mayor invite her?
She dressed formally and went to the government building.
Inside the reception room, people were seated around a table. She immediately spotted Chen Maidong and naturally sat next to him.
“What’s going on?” she whispered.
She quickly scanned the room—young people from the town, most working outside or running businesses. All seemed relatively successful.
Chen Maidong didn’t answer. Someone beside him spoke instead.
“Probably wants us to contribute to the town. I’m Wang Xian. Are you Uncle He’s daughter?”
“Yes.” Zhuang Jie chatted briefly, and soon the whole table started talking. They introduced their work and added each other on WeChat.
Chen Maidong watched as Zhuang Jie, like a butterfly in full flight, added everyone.
Before long she even said, “Let’s stay in touch. Reach out anytime.”
He had never seen someone with such strong social skills. Before she arrived, the conversation had been restrained—no one added contacts because they barely knew each other.
But after she came in, she immediately pulled out her phone. “Come on, let’s be friends. More friends, more paths.” Then bluntly, “We’re all from the same town—if anything comes up, we can help each other.”
Finally she looked at Chen Maidong. “What about your WeChat?”
“Forgot my phone.”
He had left in a hurry and forgotten it at the funeral home.
She didn’t mind. Instead she casually asked, “Why are you here? I thought this was only for people working outside—”
The door opened. Several people came in carrying flower tea and delicate pastries.
……
The mayor followed behind, smiling warmly. He introduced himself, then spoke in a relaxed tone.
“Everyone, please relax. Today I’m not here as mayor—I’m here as an elder to chat with you.”
“I’ve wanted to meet you all for a long time. I originally planned it for Spring Festival, but since everyone is back for National Day, we just went with fate and chose today. I even skipped an important meeting for this.”
He laughed lightly.
Then he got to the point: the town’s situation, struggling villages, the pharmaceutical factory possibly relocating to the city, which could leave thousands unemployed. Tourism was unstable, agriculture products were hard to sell, industry needed development, empty factory zones were wasted opportunities.
He asked if anyone had resources, ideas, or channels to help sell local products, or suggestions for new industries.
He spoke emotionally and logically, even quoting Mencius—“When poor, perfect oneself; when successful, help the world.” A PPT followed, showing detailed images of Nanping Town.
Some people in the room were visibly moved.
