"My wife ran away, and my dad’s been yelling for people to chase her. You’re fast on your feet, hurry and help out..." Little Ganzi sniffled, "My dad said, this time if we catch her, we’ll chain her up..."
"I..." Lin Xiwang hesitated.
"Go." Yang Ruxin came out, "I’ll wait for you to come back."
Little Ganzi immediately widened his eyes.
"She’s my wife," Lin Xiwang quickly stepped in front of Yang Ruxin and grabbed Little Ganzi, "Come on, I’ll join you in looking for your wife..."
"It’s not..." Little Ganzi shook off Lin Xiwang’s hand and walked up to Yang Ruxin, looking her up and down, "When did you get such a pretty woman in the house?"
Yang Ruxin’s clothing was of fine material. Although it was torn in many places after a night’s trek and had become quite dirty, even her face, her demeanor was still unmistakable. She clearly had seen the world.
"She..." Lin Xiwang swallowed nervously, glanced at Yang Ruxin, "She got lost coming in from outside, just like my mother did, but like my mother, she’s willing to stay..."
Little Ganzi laughed, "You’re really something. You and your dad are both so lucky..."
"Let’s go quickly. If it gets any later, it might be impossible to find your wife..." Lin Xiwang looked at Yang Ruxin, relieved when he saw she wasn’t angry, and hurriedly pulled Little Ganzi along.
"Hold on, I need to make sure my wife is well-fed, or she might run off too..." Lin Xiwang shook his head, "You’ll have to wait a moment for me."
"Then be quick," Little Ganzi didn’t insist anymore. These days, it wasn’t easy for a man in the mountains to find a wife.
Lin Xiwang lit a fire, reheated the cooled sweet potatoes, then handed them to Yang Ruxin, lowering his voice, "Eat first, Ru Xin. Rest after you’re done, and when I return, I’ll guide you out of the mountains..."
"Xi Wang, which way did the woman run off to?" Yang Ruxin also kept her voice low.
"East," Lin Xiwang didn’t understand Yang Ruxin’s intention, but still whispered the direction, "Don’t you go there. Just rest after eating, and I’ll take you out when I come back..."
"Okay," Yang Ruxin nodded, smiled at him. She had come across a kind-hearted person.
Lin Xiwang scratched his head shyly, then turned and ran off, pulling Little Ganzi with him.
Still, Yang Ruxin stealthily followed them. She needed to know the location of Old Ganzi’s home.
During their conversation, Lin Xiwang had mentioned that Bone Village had over twenty households, mostly surnamed Lin and Sun, scattered throughout the valley. Each family’s home was about a fifteen-minute walk from the next.
Old Ganzi was the village head of Bone Village, with the surname Sun. He had four sons, known as Big Ganzi, Second Ganzi, Third Ganzi, and Little Ganzi. Big Ganzi was twenty-two this year, and Little Ganzi was twelve.
Old Ganzi’s father once had a wife who died after giving birth to Old Ganzi. Father and son never spoke of getting married again. Later, Old Ganzi’s father stole a woman from somewhere, locked her up on the Kang and made her their shared wife. The woman was prolific, giving birth to two sons in one go, and of course, it was unclear whether they were sired by Old Ganzi or his father. But it didn’t matter; either way, they were of the Sun family seed. After giving birth to Third Ganzi, the old man died, and then she had Little Ganzi.