“What do you mean?” Jin Qingyan asked.
Dr. Zhang explained, “It all depends on yourself. If you’ve suffered any major emotional setbacks or have any insecurities about your life, you have to sort things out and overcome them. I think it’s possible for you to recover completely. Mr. Jin, is this your first encounter with such symptoms?”
Jin Qingyan answered with a nod, “It’s the first time that that’s happened.”
“Your condition should still be rather mild and easy to control, then, but I’ll need your active cooperation. We’ll try keeping it in control for a period of time. Once it’s in check, you’ll be fine for a long time. The decision lies with you.”
Jin Qingyan felt much more determined upon hearing his words. “I’ll do my best to cooperate with you, Doctor.”
——
It was the wee hours of the night in V Nation when a raid was conducted on the rented house.
Everyone was brought downstairs and were made to squat on the ground with their hands on their head. An Xiaoning and her company were no exception.
An Xiaoning was wearing a long rag-cloth skirt and had a cloth wrapped around her head. She had used some makeup to downplay her features and added some freckles to her face on purpose.
She had also ingeniously turned her big eyes into slitted, narrow eyes with some double eyelid tape. Fan Shixin and Xiao Bai had also put on some makeup to disguise their features. To others, the trio was merely here to look for their relative.
“You, stand up,” said one of the men, pointing his knife at An Xiaoning.
An Xiaoning purposely swayed unsteadily from side to side while trying to stand up.
“What’s your name?”
“Nainai…”
“Nainai, how are these two people related to you?”
“One of them is my husband while the other is my younger brother. We’re foreigners and we’re here to look for my missing mother.”
“Look up.”
An Xiaoning looked up slowly and gazed at the man timidly.
The man did not look again and said, “Squat down.”
She did as instructed.
They managed to pass the raid successfully.
An Xiaoning heaved a sigh of relief once they returned to their room, after which they took turns to shower.
Wringing her hair dry with a towel while sitting on the bed, An Xiaoning said, “They’re not that strict and detailed with their search anyway. I feel like they’re just doing it in a perfunctory manner.”
“I guess they’re rather dense. They don’t even conduct a raid properly when screening both locals and foreigners. But that’s advantageous for us.”
An Xiaoning agreed with him. “So far, things are getting far more complicated than we thought. It’s such a huge mystery. Those people who’ve been searching for the treasure map for so many years probably never discovered this. Or maybe, they were killed after they found out. So, it’s still unknown whether the map really exists or not.”
“Do you hope it exists?”
An Xiaoning glared at Fan Shixin and said, “Of course I do.”
She wrapped her hair inside the towel and lay down in bed. At this point, she had no idea when they could return to S Nation.
It had only been a few days since they left and yet she was already missing Jin Qingyan, Jin Yiheng, and her mother.
The thought of the long arduous days ahead of them made her feel overwhelmed and vexed.
An Xiaoning closed her eyes and smiled upon recalling Jin Qingyan’s words, feeling much more relieved.
The three of them went on to have a peaceful night of sleep. An Xiaoning headed to Fei Niao’s house under the pretense of visiting as a neighbor.
Fei Niao welcomed her warmly and had a chat with her.
“Sis Fei Niao, I’d like to ask you about the men who made us go downstairs last night. Who were they?”
“You probably don’t know since you’re new here. They’re the guardians of our place.”
“Guardians? What guardians?” An Xiaoning asked.
“They’re the leaders of our town. Because of their existence, the people from the other towns haven’t dared to come here to stir trouble. It has been rather peaceful and safe for decades.”
An Xiaoning put on a look of agony and said, “Oh, I see. They seem much bigger and intimidating than the average locals. They seem to be more well fed than us.”
“I’m not too sure about that. Do you have children?” asked Fei Niao, who clearly did not wish to talk about the guardians.
“We just got married a while ago, we’re not planning to have any children yet,” An Xiaoning said bashfully.
“Ah, you don’t have children yet. I have five children. Look how messy our house is. I got married when I was 13 years old.”
“Thirteen years old… that’s too young, you were still underaged,” An Xiaoning said in astonishment.
“It’s common for girls here to get married at younger ages. Both of my daughters are already married and I’m now a grandmother.”
“…”
“Did you manage to find your relative?”
Shaking her head, An Xiaoning answered, “No, we haven’t gotten a clue at all.”
An Xiaoning pretended to be mysterious and continued, “Sis Fei Niao, frankly speaking, my mother came here previously because she had heard about the treasure map. She hasn’t managed to find anything even after all these years. There seems to be lots of foreigners in this town, is that because of the treasure map?”
Fei Niao gazed at her with a look of sympathy and said, “Nainai, did you say that your mother had come here for the treasure map?”
An Xiaoning nodded and said, “Yes, please don’t tell anyone, though. I want to find my mother and bring her home.”
“Foreigners used to come to our town in large groups. Back then, we would thrive in whatever business we do. However, there are much fewer foreigners now compared to the past. I suggest you search for her in other towns. Your mother might very likely not be in this town anymore.”
An Xiaoning understood what she was implying. Noticing how reluctant Fei Niao was to talk about the matter, An Xiaoning took a wad of cash from her pocket and handed it to her. “Sis Fei Niao, please accept this.”
“Ah, Nainai, what are you doing?” Fei Niao asked in surprise. She had never seen so much money before.
“I’d like you to tell me more about this town, Sis. After all, we’re unfamiliar with this place and we’re practically clueless. We’ve been searching for her for days but we haven’t gotten a single lead at all.” An Xiaoning stuffed the money into her hand and said, “Take it.”
Fei Niao gave in to temptation and accepted the money. “I’ve never had much money. My husband gives me a fixed amount of monthly allowance, which is just enough to cover our living expenses.”
“Sis Fei Niao, your life is so tough.”
Fei Niao put on a lopsided smile and said, “After all, he’s the sole breadwinner of the household and it’s tough for him to provide for two families. I’m his first wife and I’ve given birth to five of his children. He has another mistress who gave him two other children. I’m already contented as long as he gives me enough to feed myself and my children.”
“I wouldn’t want my husband to get a mistress in the future.”
Fei Niao chuckled and said, “Women here hold a lower status compared to men, and we rarely go out to work. Men are usually the ones in charge of bringing home the bacon. Although the law allows each man to have only one wife, they’re also given the option to have more than one. Those wealthy men must have multiple wives. Actually, it’s not that big of a deal. Men call the shots at home. There’s nothing too unacceptable about them having a few wives.”
“What do you mean?” Jin Qingyan asked.
Dr. Zhang explained, “It all depends on yourself. If you’ve suffered any major emotional setbacks or have any insecurities about your life, you have to sort things out and overcome them. I think it’s possible for you to recover completely. Mr. Jin, is this your first encounter with such symptoms?”
Jin Qingyan answered with a nod, “It’s the first time that that’s happened.”
“Your condition should still be rather mild and easy to control, then, but I’ll need your active cooperation. We’ll try keeping it in control for a period of time. Once it’s in check, you’ll be fine for a long time. The decision lies with you.”
Jin Qingyan felt much more determined upon hearing his words. “I’ll do my best to cooperate with you, Doctor.”
——
It was the wee hours of the night in V Nation when a raid was conducted on the rented house.
Everyone was brought downstairs and were made to squat on the ground with their hands on their head. An Xiaoning and her company were no exception.
An Xiaoning was wearing a long rag-cloth skirt and had a cloth wrapped around her head. She had used some makeup to downplay her features and added some freckles to her face on purpose.
She had also ingeniously turned her big eyes into slitted, narrow eyes with some double eyelid tape. Fan Shixin and Xiao Bai had also put on some makeup to disguise their features. To others, the trio was merely here to look for their relative.
“You, stand up,” said one of the men, pointing his knife at An Xiaoning.
An Xiaoning purposely swayed unsteadily from side to side while trying to stand up.
“What’s your name?”
“Nainai…”
“Nainai, how are these two people related to you?”
“One of them is my husband while the other is my younger brother. We’re foreigners and we’re here to look for my missing mother.”
“Look up.”
An Xiaoning looked up slowly and gazed at the man timidly.
The man did not look again and said, “Squat down.”
She did as instructed.
They managed to pass the raid successfully.
An Xiaoning heaved a sigh of relief once they returned to their room, after which they took turns to shower.
Wringing her hair dry with a towel while sitting on the bed, An Xiaoning said, “They’re not that strict and detailed with their search anyway. I feel like they’re just doing it in a perfunctory manner.”
“I guess they’re rather dense. They don’t even conduct a raid properly when screening both locals and foreigners. But that’s advantageous for us.”
An Xiaoning agreed with him. “So far, things are getting far more complicated than we thought. It’s such a huge mystery. Those people who’ve been searching for the treasure map for so many years probably never discovered this. Or maybe, they were killed after they found out. So, it’s still unknown whether the map really exists or not.”
“Do you hope it exists?”
An Xiaoning glared at Fan Shixin and said, “Of course I do.”
She wrapped her hair inside the towel and lay down in bed. At this point, she had no idea when they could return to S Nation.
It had only been a few days since they left and yet she was already missing Jin Qingyan, Jin Yiheng, and her mother.
The thought of the long arduous days ahead of them made her feel overwhelmed and vexed.
An Xiaoning closed her eyes and smiled upon recalling Jin Qingyan’s words, feeling much more relieved.
The three of them went on to have a peaceful night of sleep. An Xiaoning headed to Fei Niao’s house under the pretense of visiting as a neighbor.
Fei Niao welcomed her warmly and had a chat with her.
“Sis Fei Niao, I’d like to ask you about the men who made us go downstairs last night. Who were they?”
“You probably don’t know since you’re new here. They’re the guardians of our place.”
“Guardians? What guardians?” An Xiaoning asked.
“They’re the leaders of our town. Because of their existence, the people from the other towns haven’t dared to come here to stir trouble. It has been rather peaceful and safe for decades.”
An Xiaoning put on a look of agony and said, “Oh, I see. They seem much bigger and intimidating than the average locals. They seem to be more well fed than us.”
“I’m not too sure about that. Do you have children?” asked Fei Niao, who clearly did not wish to talk about the guardians.
“We just got married a while ago, we’re not planning to have any children yet,” An Xiaoning said bashfully.
“Ah, you don’t have children yet. I have five children. Look how messy our house is. I got married when I was 13 years old.”
“Thirteen years old… that’s too young, you were still underaged,” An Xiaoning said in astonishment.
“It’s common for girls here to get married at younger ages. Both of my daughters are already married and I’m now a grandmother.”
“…”
“Did you manage to find your relative?”
Shaking her head, An Xiaoning answered, “No, we haven’t gotten a clue at all.”
An Xiaoning pretended to be mysterious and continued, “Sis Fei Niao, frankly speaking, my mother came here previously because she had heard about the treasure map. She hasn’t managed to find anything even after all these years. There seems to be lots of foreigners in this town, is that because of the treasure map?”
Fei Niao gazed at her with a look of sympathy and said, “Nainai, did you say that your mother had come here for the treasure map?”
An Xiaoning nodded and said, “Yes, please don’t tell anyone, though. I want to find my mother and bring her home.”
“Foreigners used to come to our town in large groups. Back then, we would thrive in whatever business we do. However, there are much fewer foreigners now compared to the past. I suggest you search for her in other towns. Your mother might very likely not be in this town anymore.”
An Xiaoning understood what she was implying. Noticing how reluctant Fei Niao was to talk about the matter, An Xiaoning took a wad of cash from her pocket and handed it to her. “Sis Fei Niao, please accept this.”
“Ah, Nainai, what are you doing?” Fei Niao asked in surprise. She had never seen so much money before.
“I’d like you to tell me more about this town, Sis. After all, we’re unfamiliar with this place and we’re practically clueless. We’ve been searching for her for days but we haven’t gotten a single lead at all.” An Xiaoning stuffed the money into her hand and said, “Take it.”
Fei Niao gave in to temptation and accepted the money. “I’ve never had much money. My husband gives me a fixed amount of monthly allowance, which is just enough to cover our living expenses.”
“Sis Fei Niao, your life is so tough.”
Fei Niao put on a lopsided smile and said, “After all, he’s the sole breadwinner of the household and it’s tough for him to provide for two families. I’m his first wife and I’ve given birth to five of his children. He has another mistress who gave him two other children. I’m already contented as long as he gives me enough to feed myself and my children.”
“I wouldn’t want my husband to get a mistress in the future.”
Fei Niao chuckled and said, “Women here hold a lower status compared to men, and we rarely go out to work. Men are usually the ones in charge of bringing home the bacon. Although the law allows each man to have only one wife, they’re also given the option to have more than one. Those wealthy men must have multiple wives. Actually, it’s not that big of a deal. Men call the shots at home. There’s nothing too unacceptable about them having a few wives.”
