Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Shanghai Farewell (I)

The thick fog began to disperse from the You family, spreading across the old mansion of the Yu family. In the night, there were two clusters of burning firelight reflecting against each other. The wooden houses were already highly flammable, and with the addition of fire oil, they collapsed like withered trees. Even from several streets away, the sound of roof beams crashing to the ground could be heard.

The farther Yu Manyi walked, the closer those two firelights merged into one. The thick smoke was torn and rolled into the sky, mixed with the screams of the You family seeing ghosts. The stone bridge, the blue stone tiles, the art studio, the fabric store, the school, even the girls' graveyard outside the city... all faded into the distance, all disappeared at the end of the canal. The blazing flames in Yu Manyi's eyes finally slowly withered and extinguished, scattering into the wind, turning into the ashes of the past, leaving only the pungent smell of burning.

Yu Manyi opened her eyes in that burning smell, hearing the clamor of people outside. She pressed her brow, suddenly feeling a sinking sensation in her heart: "It's on fire!"

The curtain of the boat was pulled aside, and the smell of burning became even sharper. A beam of light slipped into the cabin. She squinted and saw the little postal worker squatting outside the curtain, saying, "Miss Manyi, come out and have something to eat."

She climbed out confusedly, her body swaying with the boat. When she finally stood straight outside the cabin, she looked up and saw a bridge ahead, with a lock underneath. The canal had reached its dead end. Looking up, she saw a massive bronze incense burner on the bridge, filled with ashes from incense, with thick smoke drifting from the top. This was the source of the burning smell.

Behind the incense burner, there was a busy City God Temple with a wooden sign that danced with dragons and phoenixes: West Xing City God Temple.

West Xing...

Yu Manyi rubbed her forehead and suddenly remembered. The last time Song Qi took her to register, they changed boats at the West Xing Wharf, then took a train across the Qiantang River.

The water was crowded with boats from eastern Zhejiang. People helped each other disembark. She hugged her arms and looked back. The little postal worker squatted on the boat, handing her a bag of food wrapped in oil paper.

Yu Manyi took the package in her hand. It was unnaturally heavy. But having just narrowly escaped death, she couldn't think of much.

"Miss Manyi, I have to go back," the little postal worker said. "I don’t know what they’re saying about the two fires you started. You don’t have to tell me where you’re going; that way, if anyone asks me later, I won’t have to lie."

She held the package in her hands, nodded silently. The bundle was strapped to her back. She intended to give the little postal worker the money for the boat rental and the purchases, but he simply shook his head, helped her off the boat, and quickly jumped back onto it.

"Miss Manyi," he said, "until we meet again."She did not expect the separation to come so suddenly, and so quickly. Several boats dodged each other as they left the river, and she watched as the black awning boat the little postal worker was on disappeared. Only then did she realize how unusually heavy the food in her hand was. She reached into the oil paper and suddenly felt a bit of sadness in her heart.

He had given her a watch, along with some money. Everything was packed into a money pouch embroidered with osmanthus flowers. Yu Manyi could tell that this was the fabric shop owner's belongings.

This was the last kindness her hometown left her, and this kindness did not come from the Yu family, but from two people who had nothing to do with her. Yu Manyi wiped her tears with her sleeve and poured her own money into the embroidered osmanthus pouch. She no longer had to worry about her belongings being discovered by the Yu family, and finally, she could throw away the cotton fluff.

When she emptied the pouch, she found an IOU. Yu Manyi opened it and read the words on it, then folded the note and shoved it to the very bottom of the new money pouch.

After doing all of this, Yu Manyi sat down on a threshold beside the decapitated river, finished the food the little postal worker had left her, and then got up to find a boat to cross the Qiantang River.

Last year's registration had set the stage for what Yu Manyi was about to do today, but when it came to actually negotiating for herself, it was a completely different experience. The docks were full of boats transporting people and cargo across the river, with wooden doors opening and closing, and burly boatmen coming in and out. She stood at the door, dressed in a lady's gown, sneaking a glance inside. Eventually, she was impatiently pushed in by those waiting behind her.

The person handling the paperwork behind the counter, compared to the boatmen, was somewhat more refined, but the refinement was limited. Yu Manyi struggled to describe her need to cross the river, and she heard the other person say, "Two dimes per person."

Two dimes were within her budget. As Yu Manyi bent down to rummage in her money pouch, the person asked again, "Where's your man?"

She said "Ah," and looked up at him in confusion.

The clerk, seeing enough people in his day, quickly deduced that Yu Manyi was alone, without a husband or brother accompanying her. He tapped the abacus beads with his finger and said, "You're alone? Then it's three dimes."

"Why?" The matter concerned her money pouch, so Yu Manyi immediately raised her voice.

"There's a crosswind today," the clerk said, "The passengers need to help row the boat. If you have no man, then no one will help with the work. The boatmen are already tired, so we need to charge more."

"I can help row the boat."As soon as Yu Manyi said this, the group of short-dressed helpers behind her suddenly burst out laughing, and the clerk behind the counter even shook his head in amusement. Yu Manyi, furious, turned around and saw them pointing at her sleeves, saying:

"Which family's landlady is this? Wearing this outfit to board a boat, the hem of the skirt will get soaked, and she's going to help row the boat? Don’t fall into the waves while you're at it. We’ll still have to fish you out!"

That extra dime felt like it was targeting Yu Manyi’s life. She was infuriated, immediately stood up, and said, "There are so many ferrymen at this dock. If you won’t ferry me, I’ll ask someone else!"

The short-dressed helpers laughed again, and the clerk rolled his eyes, glancing at her. He said, "Fine, go ahead, ask somewhere else."

Yu Manyi, fuming with anger, turned around, tightened her bundle, and strode out of the ferry office, pushing her way through the crowd of curious onlookers.

An incense stick later...

"Delaying this much..." The same clerk skillfully calculated again, jotting down an entry in his ledger, then rolling his eyes to glance at Yu Manyi, "The other ferry offices don’t take single women. They’ll charge you four dimes. And you’re throwing a tantrum with me... I’m doing this out of kindness."

"Go ahead, there's someone at the door to take you to the boat," he handed Yu Manyi a ticket, "A boat just left, if you go out now, you’ll already be across the river..."

It was the same wooden plank bridge from last time. Yu Manyi, guided by someone, walked from the shore to the ferry. She hugged her arms and curled up in the corner of the boat, hearing someone tell the boatman that this trip had no one to row, which made her even more frustrated, not wanting to talk to anyone. She realized that when her face turned sour, no one came to tease or mock her, so she decided to keep this grim expression all the way to Shanghai.

However, when she bought her train ticket at Nanjing Station, the ticket clerk sitting behind the high counter asked her again, "Are you alone? Where’s your man?"

A surge of anger rose in Yu Manyi’s chest. She immediately snapped, "I’m alone. Can't I buy a ticket by myself? This is a public railway station, and the tracks are already laid. Are you saying—"

"I said if you're alone, you can buy a second-class ticket for six dimes. If you're with someone, there's no room in second class, so you’ll have to sit on the floor in third class, or else buy the most expensive first-class ticket... What are you shouting about?"

Yu Manyi: ...

She gritted her teeth, pulled out six dimes from her money pouch, and handed them to the ticket clerk.Being rolled her eyes at by the ticket clerk hurt Yu Manyi more than the mocking from the ferry office. She held her luggage and waited for the train at the station, finally getting squeezed onto the train as the crowd moved forward. She pushed through several carriages and eventually found a seat by the window.

At first, she thought this spot was better than the others because her seatmates weren’t the short-dressed helpers who would immediately spread their legs, nor were there children screaming and kicking around. There were only a few elderly women dozing off. However, after the train passed through several tunnels, these elderly women suddenly woke up. They seemed to know each other and, in perfect sync, became curious about the young woman sitting among them.

"Miss," one of the women with a Gaozhou accent asked, "Why are you sitting here by yourself? Where's your husband?"

Yu Manyi: ...

"She’s alone," another elderly woman explained knowingly, "She must be going to Shanghai to find her husband."

Yu Manyi: ............

"Poor thing," the third old woman, seeing Yu Manyi’s dusty face, sympathetically wiped her forehead and eyes with her handkerchief, "These young people don’t take responsibility. They make their young wives travel across mountains and rivers by themselves. Why don’t they come back to pick them up?"

"Don’t be sad, miss," the woman with the Gaozhou accent said, squinting her cloudy eyes, "I’ve lived to eighty-three, and the most important lesson I’ve learned is: Don’t depend on men."

The three old women were very sincere, and Yu Manyi found it hard to dodge their words. She nodded, replying, "Yes, you can't depend on them, can’t depend on them..."

After a moment of thought, she slightly changed the topic.

"But there are some, a few, that might still be okay..." she said. "Some should still be... worth depending on."

...

As the train went through more tunnels, the elderly women quickly started to doze off again. When you’re old, it’s like that. Yu Manyi finally got some peace and quiet. And when the surroundings became quieter, her mind began to wander.

For example, at this moment, Yu Manyi suddenly thought that she didn’t even know if Song Qi was someone she could depend on. She asked herself honestly, and she wasn’t sure if she truly wanted to go look for Song Qi... What identity should she present when she stands before him?Was he her student, friend, benefactor, or just an old acquaintance she had shared a summer with? Yu Manyi felt she was very familiar with Song Qi, but whether this "familiarity" was just something she believed in on her own, she wasn’t sure.

If the relationship were measured by the length of time spent, then her connection with Song Qi was shallow. One summer plus ten days in the cellar didn't even compare to an ordinary friendship.

However, if the relationship were measured by mutual debts, then it was deep—he owed her a life, and she owed him much freedom, along with a correspondence diploma that gave her the courage to leave.

As Yu Manyi thought, she took out the small postman's watch from her money pouch and put it on her wrist. The metal strap pressed against her wrist, snapping her consciousness awake. She looked down at the dial and calculated that there were still four hours until her destination. She needed to use these four hours to figure out her next steps.

She hadn’t thought about this when she was at the Yu household. Back then, her mind was filled with hatred and the urge to escape, like a rabbit being hunted by a hunter. All she could think about was finding a way to survive. However, this train to Shanghai had unexpectedly become her first safe haven after escaping danger. It rumbled forward on the tracks, marking the geographic movement that signified the new life she was about to begin.

Yu Manyi placed some animal bones on her bed and tied them together with rope. After the big fire, others would simply think that Yu family was up to no good—locking the young lady in her room to prevent her from running away, and causing her and the rest of the family to perish in the flames.

Moreover, as for the remaining people in the Yu family—an aunt who was already driven mad by resentment, an uncle and aunt who just wanted to save themselves... no one would bother investigating the truth behind the fire. As for the servants who didn’t leave, their faces would reflect the nature of people who abandon the weak to save themselves.

The second hand ticked away, and Yu Manyi stared at her wrist as she continued to plan.

With the money she had left, plus the eighteen silver dollars the small postman had given her, she now had enough to survive. She took out a silver dollar for the train and crossing the river, leaving her with seventeen, which was enough for her until she found work. She had a diploma, and finding a job wouldn’t be something terribly difficult or requiring help from others, unlike that aunt from the Yu family, who needed her uncle’s help after going to Shanghai... she didn’t need that.

Yu Manyi realized she just wanted to find Song Qi. She no longer needed him to do anything for her, nor did she “depend” on him like the elderly women had said. She simply wanted to see him again. If he happened to not be in a romantic relationship, she could talk to him a little longer... Was Song Qi in a relationship? Most college students had romantic relationships, like her cousin.

Yu Manyi suddenly felt a little irritated and scowled.

She didn’t know why the thought of Song Qi possibly being in a relationship made her so angry, but she just suddenly became very irritable. She pulled the IOU from her money pouch and thought, "He still owes me for tricking me about Qi Song!"

Well then, she could use this IOU to get Song Qi to take her out for a very expensive meal. Even if he was in a relationship, she could still use the IOU as an excuse to ask him to accompany her for a meal. That wouldn’t be too much to ask, would it?

And so it was decided.After realizing this, Yu Manyi immediately woke up the elderly woman beside her, who had dozed off again, and asked if she had a comb with her. Half-awake, the elderly woman took out a wooden comb from her clothes, helped Yu Manyi undo her hair, and then neatly combed it back, parting it in the front and securing it with a hairpin at the back of her neck, rather than tying it into a bun. Her hair, already thick and black, now looked elegant and neat.

“If you’re going to meet your beloved, you have to look presentable, not shabby,” the elderly woman said, her mouth drawn and thin from missing teeth.

Yu Manyi, exhausted from fleeing all night, was a bit drowsy and didn’t have the strength to argue. She let the old woman arrange her hair. When the train passed through a tunnel, Yu Manyi looked at herself in the window, feeling a little unaccustomed to the style. But the elderly woman assured her, saying that young girls in Shanghai wore their hair like that now, a style made popular by a movie star. “If you perm it, it’ll look even better.”

“Our neighbors say people who perm their hair are fox spirits,” Yu Manyi couldn’t help but remark.

“Feudalism is dead,” the old woman pursed her lips, not looking at her anymore.

There was a small compartment near the connection between the first-class carriages where the door could be closed. Just before she was about to get off the train, Yu Manyi slipped into the compartment and changed into the student outfit and pleated skirt she had previously modeled after Fang Qian’s suggestion. When she returned to her seat, the three elderly women all agreed, "This one looks much better."

After a long day of traveling, changing her hairstyle and clothes, Yu Manyi finally arrived at Shanghai Railway Station. She still tightly clutched her bundle and the money pouch tied around her waist, looking around anxiously, recalling the memories from her last visit.

She wasn’t directionally challenged, but she didn’t know how to get directly to Song Qi’s house from the station. So, she decided to first head toward Ji’an Road, where she had previously registered for the painting class, and then take a detour toward the alley where Song Qi lived.

The closer she got, the more nervous she became. With every step, her courage, sparked by the IOU in her hand, seemed to drain a little more. She hesitated and nervously made her way toward the alley, mentally rehearsing her opening line for meeting Song Qi again, only to bump into an auntie coming out of the alley with a basket of vegetables.

"Ah yo!" the woman exclaimed, almost dropping her things.

Yu Manyi didn’t recognize her face, but the voice was so familiar. The night she had stayed at the house, they had heard each other through the door. Every Shanghai auntie had a recognizable "ah yo."

In addition, every Shanghai auntie was very sensitive to unfamiliar faces and very cautious. The woman sized Yu Manyi up from head to toe and then asked the inevitable question: “Who are you?”

Yu Manyi didn’t know how to introduce herself. She could only take a deep breath and say, “I’m here to find Song Qi...”"Song Qi?" The landlady said in surprise, "He moved out a long time ago. He doesn't live here anymore."