Chapter 11
Chapter 11
“Do you need a break?”
“No.”
“Then shall we continue?” Officer Dong lit another cigarette.
“Okay.”
After the funeral, my mother took me and moved out of the village.
Using the money Fu Mingshan had given her, she bought a small apartment in the county seat.
Everything seemed normal, except for the fact that she often cried in the middle of the night while clutching my father’s photograph.
I attended middle school in the county seat and later went to the provincial capital for high school.
Since I boarded at the high school, the number of times my mother and I saw each other decreased significantly.
She opened a supermarket in the county seat called Yufen Supermarket. It didn’t make much money, but it was enough to keep us fed and clothed.
This continued until I graduated from high school and got into university.
After graduation, I wanted to return to my hometown, but my mother wouldn’t agree. She said there wasn’t much room for development in a small county town and hoped I would stay in the big city.
She said if my father were still alive, he would definitely want me to stay in the big city too.
I couldn’t win the argument, so I stayed to build a life in the city.
At first, I wrote news drafts for a newspaper, but later, due to health reasons, I couldn’t conduct on-site interviews like my colleagues.
I had no choice but to resign and start my own self-media business. Fortunately, I managed to earn enough to get by.
Last year, my mother was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer. She passed away last month.
Since her death, I’ve stayed in the small county seat, living in that same small apartment we bought years ago.
“Mr. Lin, your mother has been gone for a month now, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then why haven’t you left this past month? Who are you waiting for?”
His gaze was like a needle, piercing my skin and stabbing straight into my heart.
It felt as though if I dared to tell a single lie, he would detect it instantly.
“Then why have you stayed behind?”
I wiped the sweat from my forehead.
“I work in self-media. It’s the same no matter where I work. Going back is a hassle and a lot of trouble. Besides, I miss my mother. Is there something wrong with wanting to stay and spend more time with her?”
Officer Dong smiled, a smile that frightened me.
“That’s the second time you’ve answered my question with a question.”
“Is that not allowed?”
“That’s the third one.”
I fell silent.
“Some people ask questions back when they’re lying. It’s a little interrogation trick.” He stubbed out his cigarette. “I’m not saying I’m interrogating you, mind you. I’m just giving you a bit of a lesson.”
I remained silent.
“By the way, where is your father’s grave? We looked into it but couldn’t find it.”
I slowly shook my head.
“I don’t know.”
“As his son, you don’t even know where your own father is buried?”
“I really don’t know.”
I wasn’t lying about this. After my father’s funeral ended, my mother locked me in the house alone.
She found a random place to bury my father’s ashes.
No one but her knew where his ashes were.
I had asked several times back then, only to be beaten by her.
I asked many more times after I grew up, but every time I did, she remained tight-lipped.
Now that my mother is dead, there is absolutely no one left who can find my father’s ashes.
“One more question. Your mother took you to the county seat back then, right?”
“Correct.”
“Did the supermarket make money?”
“No.”
“She didn’t think about finding a different job?”
“As I said before, there aren’t many job opportunities in the county seat. Besides, our area is quite patriarchal; it’s very difficult for women to find work.”
“Then it’s strange. Since she was planning to move away from the village anyway, and your mother wasn’t that old… why didn’t she go to a big city? Somewhere less patriarchal, where she could work and earn money?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“That 500,000 shouldn’t have been enough for the two of you to live on for a lifetime. Even if your condition doesn’t require a cure, your annual rehabilitation exercises must cost money.”
“It really wasn’t enough.”
“Then tell me, do you think her refusal to move far away might have been because she was waiting for someone?”
My whole body shuddered, but I didn’t speak.
“For example, waiting for your father to return.”
“Your mother didn’t leave the county seat because she was afraid your father wouldn’t be able to find her. She even used her own name for the supermarket. Isn’t that obvious enough?”
My eyes turned bloodshot as I stared intently into his.
“Officer Dong, my father is dead.”
He didn’t press the issue further.
Instead, he pulled another photo out of the folder.
“Do you recognize this person?”
I looked at the photo. I knew this man; he was a coworker of my father’s. He had come to our house for dinner a few times and had even brought me small gifts.
“I recognize him. That’s Uncle Fang.”
“Correct. This man is Fang Chuan. He disappeared on the night of the coal mine explosion.”
I looked into Officer Dong’s eyes. “What are you implying?”
“This man’s height and weight were similar to your father’s. He went missing, and he has never been found to this day.”