Big Brother / Da Ge / The Unknown

Chapter 20

Xiao Bao spent a whole week in the hospital.

On the day she was admitted, the city was blanketed in heavy snow, but by the time she was discharged, the temperature had risen sharply, hinting at the imminent arrival of spring.

Back at home, Grandma Song cooked a large pot of dumplings.

Xiao Bao noticed a miraculous softening of tensions between her once-strained brother and grandmother. And even though she was still feeling under the weather, Xiao Yuan seemed unwilling to continue their previous disagreements, instead offering her the notes he had taken over the past few days.

In the shabby one-bedroom apartment on the third floor of the old tenement building in the slums, there was suddenly a hint of home.

Le Xiao Dong had passed away, and with him, Wei Qian's lingering hatred seemed to dissipate. His demeanor had changed considerably... though Xiao Pang couldn't quite pinpoint how. He simply felt that the heavy malice was no longer there.

Regardless, it was all for the better.

As they prepared to escort Ma Zi's mother home, Xiao Pang, along with Wei Qian, arrived at Ma Zi's doorstep.

Spitting into his palms, Xiao Pang began to dig beneath the tree. "That Ma Zi, that little scoundrel, he's like a mole, burying everything underground. There must be something left-hey, Qian Ye, could you stop standing there with your hands in your pockets? Could you please come over and use your noble paws to help me out?"

Wei Qian scraped the mud off his shoes, not bothering to lift his head. "Second Junior Brother, Master's giving you a chance to lose weight, so stop wasting your breath and start digging."

With that said, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, then stuck it between his lips before leaning back against the big locust tree, patting its trunk. "It's been a long time since you've had a taste, hasn't it? It's not the best smoke, but make do with it."

The big locust tree stood silently on the side, swaying gently in the breeze, accompanied by the faintly crooked cigarette, rustling softly.

It really was a bit like Ma Zi, always standing there quietly, smiling foolishly at anyone who glanced his way, never uttering a word unless asked.

Xiao Pang quickly unearthed the money Ma Zi had buried underground, along with an envelope sealed in a plastic bag, containing a note explaining that he was about to leave home and had no choice but to entrust his mother to his two brothers... "entrust" was misspelled as "truat" in the note.

Illiterate as he was, this grown man couldn't even write a farewell letter as well as Xiao Yuan, who had only been in school for two months back in the day.

Wei Qian and Xiao Pang deliberated briefly and decided to keep Ma Zi's death a secret, only handing the money and the note to Ma Zi's mother. They agreed on a story to tell her, saying Ma Zi had gone with a group of businesspeople to Cambodia to sell coffee beans, all to save money for her treatment. "Going to Cambodia" was Xiao Pang's idea, fitting the theme of leaving home, aligning with the words in the note.

Ma Zi's mother, with one arm and one leg already amputated, was considered disabled. According to regulations, she could apply for welfare support, but it wasn't as simple as it seemed. It required a lengthy process of obtaining various proofs and going through formalities-a task that Wei Qian could have undertaken back when he was underage, but he lacked the time and energy then.

Now, both he and Xiao Pang were willing and able, yet they still couldn't accomplish it because Ma Zi's mother posed an obstacle they couldn't overcome on their own.

When Wei Qian attempted to broach the subject with Ma Zi's mother, she firmly believed that she already had a son who was nearing adulthood and capable of labor. Even though her son was overseas doing business, providing financial support, she felt it would be dishonest to intentionally deceive the government for a meager subsidy.