Chapter 8: What is the Three Nos?

Zhao Chuxi had his own principles and bottom line. Although over twenty thousand yuan was a huge temptation, a person must be able to control their desires. A long dike can be destroyed by an ant's hole; one must nip such desires in the bud from the very beginning. Otherwise, over time, you will be slowly consumed by your desires, eventually falling at their feet.

In the afternoon, Zhao Chuxi and the fool Er Pang both took half a day off, but they still received their wages. At least for now, Old Wang didn't dare to cause any trouble. The fool Er Pang took his money and went somewhere, but Zhao Chuxi didn't bother to care. He asked Han Sanqiang to take him to the nearest postal savings bank. Sitting in the postal hall, Zhao Chuxi thought long and hard and finally decided to keep two hundred yuan for himself and send the remaining two thousand eight hundred yuan to Li Qingyi. This was his promise to Li Qingyi and the condition for her to continue staying in Phoenix Village. Besides Li Qingyi's salary, the rest was for the children to buy necessary school supplies like chalk, notebooks, pencils, and erasers.

Who would understand the lofty ideals of an unknown migrant worker in some corner of this city? He had the most vulgar thoughts, wanting to earn more money. He left the mountains and came to the city, but not for himself. It was for those twenty-odd children to have the chance to go to school, to one day leave the mountains and see the wonderful world beyond, to change their fate through knowledge, rather than like Xiao Ping'an, who would never have that chance again. This might sound like a fairy tale, but apart from being from the same village, he had no other connection to those children. Yet, this was the motivation for a stubborn man to survive in this city.

Zhao Chuxi lowered his head and calculated his savings plan. In the two months he had been in Xi'an, he had only spent three hundred yuan. The money he brought with him still had four hundred yuan left. He didn't need to spend money on food and accommodation, as everything was provided on the construction site. Now, he didn't even need to pay for cigarettes and alcohol, as the people under him would offer them. If he didn't go out to play, such as solving his physiological needs in the alley behind the construction site, or buying daily necessities, he would spend almost no more than two hundred yuan a month. Six hundred yuan was enough to deal with any unexpected situations, including treating Old Wang to a meal.

Han Sanqiang watched as Zhao Chuxi sent two thousand eight hundred yuan and kept only two hundred for himself. He didn't understand why Zhao Chuxi did this, perhaps his family was in a difficult situation. When Zhao Chuxi came out, Han Sanqiang kindly suggested, "Brother Zhao, you should get a bank card for your family. It will be more convenient for you to send money and for them to receive it."

Zhao Chuxi thought about it and found the idea quite practical. He smiled and said, "I'll talk to her later."

Han Sanqiang nodded happily, looking like a sycophant. He spent all his monthly salary on eating, drinking, and gambling, never leaving anything for his family. Honestly, it was a bit sinful.

"By the way, Sanqiang, where is the nearest public phone? I need to make a call," Zhao Chuxi asked, coming back to his senses. Everyone on the construction site, except for him and the fool Er Pang, had mobile phones, the worst being old Nokia models.

Han Sanqiang quickly flattered, "Brother Zhao, why look for a public phone? Use my phone. How much can it cost? Not even enough to buy you a pack of cigarettes."

"Never mind, I'll find a public phone. I'm not used to using a mobile phone," Zhao Chuxi wasn't unfamiliar with mobile phones; he had never used one. He hadn't thought about buying the cheapest old Nokia model they recommended, which cost about a hundred yuan, because he would have to get a SIM card and pay monthly fees. Most importantly, he couldn't think of anyone else to call besides Phoenix Village, and he only dared to call Li Qingyi after sending the money each month.

Han Sanqiang smiled awkwardly, feeling that Zhao Chuxi still treated him as an outsider. He didn't insist and took Zhao Chuxi to a public phone. The owner was a big man with dirty feet. He asked if it was a local or long-distance call. Zhao Chuxi said it was long-distance, and the big man pointed to a red landline nearby, saying, "Go ahead, fifty cents a minute." Zhao Chuxi cursed inwardly at the high price but eventually haggled it down to thirty cents. The back-and-forth negotiation made Han Sanqiang sweat.

Zhao Chuxi remembered the phone number clearly. The entire Phoenix Village had only one phone, which was originally at the old village chief's house and later moved to the school to retain the only teacher, Li Qingyi.

Zhao Chuxi's hand holding the phone was sweating, feeling nervous. His heart raced with each ring. This was the first time he had called Li Qingyi in two months, and he was filled with mixed emotions. After several rings, the call was finally answered, and the man who had once single-handedly taken on Han Sanqiang and his gang was now too scared to speak.

Thousands of miles away in Phoenix Village, a woman in a simple T-shirt and jeans held the phone, amused. How could she not know who was calling?

"Two months, Zhao Chuxi, you finally decided to call me?" The woman with a ponytail and a natural beauty said deliberately, but Zhao Chuxi still didn't dare to speak. The woman, displeased, said, "Zhao Chuxi, is this still you? You're not afraid to talk to me, are you? If you don't speak, I'll hang up."

Zhao Chuxi quickly replied, "Don't hang up, it's thirty cents a minute."

"Your voice sounds alive, you're not dead, that's good," the woman said sarcastically.

Zhao Chuxi said with a sad face, "Do you really hope I die?"

"Get to the point, it's thirty cents a minute," the woman mimicked Zhao Chuxi's tone seriously.

Zhao Chuxi took a deep breath and said, "I'm not in Xining. Something happened in Xining, and I'm now in Xi'an, working on a construction site. I earn three thousand a month. The foreman saw how hard I work and will give me a raise next month, so I'll earn four thousand. I got paid today and sent you two thousand eight hundred, keeping two hundred for myself."

"Xi'an? Not bad, better than Xining. You haven't disappointed me. You chose a job that's tiring but pays well. If you had gone to a restaurant to wash dishes, I would have looked down on you. You're different from others; you need to understand what you carry on your shoulders. Is two hundred a month enough for you?" The woman didn't ask why something happened in Xining, only about his current situation.

"Food, drink, and accommodation are all provided on the construction site, so it's enough," Zhao Chuxi scratched his head and replied.

The woman didn't continue asking and fell silent. Zhao Chuxi also remained silent, and for a moment, neither knew what to say.

After a long pause, the woman asked, "Is there anything else you want to say? If not, I'll hang up."

Zhao Chuxi thought for a moment and replied, "Is everything okay in the village?"

"All is well."

"Do people miss me?"

"No, they all say it's one less trouble."

"Oh, are those little brats behaving? If they misbehave, tell them I'll come back and beat them."

"No, they're all well-behaved."

Silence...

"Anything else?"

"Get a bank card. When you receive the money, call this number and give me the card number. I'll send the money directly to your card next time." Zhao Chuxi then gave the woman Han Sanqiang's phone number.

"Okay."

"Nothing else."

"Then I'll hang up."

"Okay."

The woman hung up immediately, and the phone was already dead, but Zhao Chuxi didn't put it down until the big man with dirty feet angrily demanded payment and told him to leave.

On the way back with Han Sanqiang, Zhao Chuxi seemed a bit dazed. He felt that after two months, his relationship with Li Qingyi had become somewhat distant, which made him a bit depressed. But then he thought, what difference did it make if they were distant or not?

They went to a Sichuanese restaurant outside the construction site for a meal to reward themselves, spending about fifty to sixty yuan. Han Sanqiang bought a few packs of cigarettes for both of them. For the rest of the afternoon, Zhao Chuxi just lay in the shabby pigsty on the sixteenth floor, reading old newspapers. Reading newspapers was his only way to understand the city and the world. Every noon and evening, Zhao Chuxi spent his time reading these newspapers. In nearly two months, he had read through several thick stacks of old newspapers.

In the evening, the fool Er Pang, who had been gone for half a day, returned. The two thousand yuan he had been carrying was gone, and he had changed into a slightly small set of clothes. He walked straight to Zhao Chuxi and, with a hesitant look, smiled and said, "Chuxi, let's go."

Without waiting for Zhao Chuxi to follow, he turned and left. Zhao Chuxi put down the newspaper, got dressed, and followed him. The fool Er Pang seemed to be in a good mood, laughing happily and greeting everyone they met. Zhao Chuxi felt a bit like a tiger riding a fox, worried that if the fool Er Pang were gone, these people might play a trick on him. The thought made him shudder.

On the way, Zhao Chuxi asked the fool Er Pang questions, but he didn't answer. They left the construction site, turned right onto the ring road, and walked straight for five minutes. At the Peace Gate, they turned left and entered the Peace Gate. They stopped at an old residential area right next to the Peace Gate wall. Zhao Chuxi and Er Pang finally stopped.

They turned and twisted through the residential area to a unit that was already marked for demolition. The hallway was pitch black, and Zhao Chuxi could only follow closely behind. They stopped on the sixth floor, and the fool Er Pang pushed open the door on the right. The room was instantly bright, and Zhao Chuxi saw an unexpected person.

It was the old lady who had been humming the Peking Opera "The Fourth Son Visits His Mother" and embroidering Shu and Su embroidery under the archway at the Peace Gate that morning. Zhao Chuxi was stunned.

The fool Er Pang pointed to Zhao Chuxi and said to the old lady, "Grandma, Chuxi."

Zhao Chuxi was even more shocked. The old lady, dressed in a well-tailored coarse linen robe, turned out to be the fool Er Pang's grandmother. Life was full of drama.

"Surprised, Chuxi?" The old lady had already prepared a sumptuous dinner, with fish and meat, all beautifully presented and appetizing. She asked calmly.

Zhao Chuxi nodded with a bitter smile.

The old lady said with a meaningful smile, "Meeting you this morning was intentional. I wanted to see if we had a connection. As the Buddha says, those with a connection will naturally come together. You and Sanwu have a connection, so I assume you and I are not far off."

Zhao Chuxi was even more puzzled.

The old lady waved her hand and said, "Sit down. It's just a home-cooked meal. Sanwu invited you here, so don't be拘束, just treat me as your grandma."

Zhao Chuxi sat down reluctantly and looked at the fool Er Pang, who was no longer smiling and was sitting upright, waiting for the meal to start. Zhao Chuxi took the opportunity to look around the room. It was ordinary and clean, with only the essentials. The most eye-catching feature was a bookshelf that covered an entire wall, filled with books, densely packed. Zhao Chuxi, like discovering a new world, couldn't take his eyes off it. Besides the bookshelf, there was a historical erhu (Chinese two-stringed fiddle) leaning against it.

"Grandma already knows about you and Sanwu. You're a good boy; otherwise, she wouldn't have let you in. One day, you'll understand what it means to enter the Lin family's door. I'm not boasting; it's just a bet," the old lady said with a powerful presence, each word carrying its own weight. The atmosphere was completely controlled by the old lady, and Zhao Chuxi just listened.

"From now on, this is your home. Come often. If you want to eat something, I'll cook it for you. Treat Sanwu as a brother, and I'll treat you as a grandson. In all these years, you're the first person Sanwu has brought home," the old lady continued, "Come on, don't just stand there. I'm not a witch who eats people. The food is getting cold; let's eat."

Zhao Chuxi hadn't picked up his chopsticks yet, but the fool Er Pang had already started. The old lady was skilled at setting the mood, talking about the fool Er Pang's trivial matters. Gradually, Zhao Chuxi relaxed and, like Lin Sanwu, began to eat voraciously. The old lady watched with pleasure, and indeed, her cooking was exquisite, comparable to a master chef's.

After the meal, the old lady started embroidering and casually asked the fool Er Pang to play the erhu. He picked up the erhu, sat on the balcony with a composed demeanor, and exuded a sense of maturity and dignity. He took a deep breath and entered his own world.

Zhao Chuxi, who had heard little erhu music, couldn't identify the piece but found the melody and rhythm pleasant, though he couldn't fully understand it.

With nothing else to do, Zhao Chuxi got up and started browsing the books. From top to bottom, he suddenly came across a familiar Buddhist scripture, the "Surangama Sutra," which the old monk often recited. Zhao Chuxi seemed to have a realization and suddenly turned to look at the fool Er Pang, his face full of disbelief.

The "Surangama Sutra" says, "Great compassion has no tears, great enlightenment has no words, great laughter has no sound." Lin Sanwu...