“No, no. There’s no problem.” Changsheng hurriedly shook his head and said, “It’s just that last time, I only earned about 30 yuans by selling these chicken eggs. How did we manage to earn so much this time?”
He only earned 30 yuan from it last time? Thinking of how she had painstakingly collected that basket of chicken eggs, Yan Huan shuddered at the thought of just how many heads of hair she would have to cut in order to earn 30 yuan.
A mere 30 yuan. Yan Huan was worth a few hundred million, yet now all she could earn was a measly 30 yuan. As she thought about it, it did feel extremely ironic.
Then, she continued to search repeatedly along the road for somewhere to make a phone call. Soon, she found out that there was a public phone inside a shop, so she hastily made her way there. Changsheng was still carrying the money, and felt that the basket on his back was quite heavy. For some reason, it felt as if the basket was still loaded with eggs.
“Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan…” When he raised his head to look for her, he realized that Yan Huan had already disappeared from his side. Immediately, he stood up and rushed toward her, asking “Xiao Yan, what are you going there for?”
“I need to make a phone call,” Yan Huan said to the shopkeeper. After taking the phone from him, she began to dial Lu Yi’s number. No matter how much time had passed or pain she had suffered, she would never forget this number.
At this moment, her entire heart was filled with anxiety and her hands had become damp with sweat. As she pressed on the numbers, she could almost hear her heart racing wildly in trepidation… Thump, thump…
It felt as though it might leap out of her chest at any moment.
She brought the telephone receiver to her ear, wanting to say something. However, she felt that she could not find her words…
If the person on the other end picked up.
What if Lu Yi answers me with a ‘Hello?’
What if he asks another question, “Who are you?”
Can someone please tell me, what should I say to that?
She anxiously opened her mouth, irregularly taking in deep breaths. She was afraid that if she became too nervous, she might not even be able to say anything at all later.
However, when she had dialed the number and was anxiously waiting for the call to be connected, all she heard was a cold robotic voice.
“Sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service…”
The number is not in service? In utter disbelief, Yan Huan desperately tried to call the number again. Maybe I pressed something wrong just now? She meticulously keyed in each digit, one by one, as she carefully called again. However, after this series of numbers were keyed in, she still received the same reply that informed her that the number was not in service.
But, how can it be? Lu Yi would never change his number. It’s impossible. His mobile number has remained the same ever since he had his first phone. Throughout all the years, it has never changed. But now, why is the number not in service?
She tried calling again, to no avail. Her fingers suddenly loosened, nearly dropping the receiver onto the ground. She quickly tightened her grip around it, and tried calling other numbers. However, all of them were not in service as well, even Yi Ling’s.
Her red lips trembled violently as she tried to take it all in. She was in a daze and could not figure out what had happened that caused everyone to change their numbers.
She picked up the receiver again, wanting to continue calling those numbers again. She could not believe that everyone would change their numbers after using them for so long.
“How long are you planning on using the phone?” The shopkeeper’s face had a displeased grimace as he said, “Do you even know how to use a telephone? It’s already been half an hour and not one of your calls has gotten through. Are you making prank calls? I didn’t install a telephone here just so you could play with it like a toy. With you here in my way, just how do you think I can continue with my business?”
As he had said this, he took the receiver away from Yan Huan. However, the telephone cable was still intertwined with Yan Huan’s fingers. Yet, he forcefully pulled it, strangling and hurting Yan Huan’s fingers.
Yan Huan’s hand trembled in pain and she quickly placed it to her mouth. Her fingers were wounded, just like her shattered heart. The violent struggle caused a bloody streak to appear on her frostbitten fingers.
“Xiao Yan, are you alright?” Changsheng worriedly asked as he approached her.
Yan Huan raised her head to look at him, her usually bright and clear eyes were now swimming with tears. This was the first time that Changsheng had seen Yan Huan cry. After all, she had never shown her tears to other people, as she always did it secretly. Whether it was soundless sobbing or bitter wailing, she had never cried in front of someone else before.
She could smile, become angry, or even appear emotionless, but she had never cried in front of others before.
“Xiao Yan, what’s wrong?” Changsheng was so shocked that he did not dare to randomly touch her to console her, asking, “Why are you crying?”
Yan Huan opened her mouth as if to reply, but it eventually turned into a smile. Then, she shook her head and merely uttered, “Nothing’s wrong, it’s just too windy here.”
That’s right, it’s too windy here. The wind was so strong and cruel, it had ripped off the corners of her eyes and caused the tears to gush from them. It was so powerful and unyielding, it had blown her away, carrying her through the clouds aimlessly. It was as if she was uprooted and floating about, like drifting duckweed. Even until now, she still did not have a home.
“Let’s go,” she said as she stifled the tears in her eyes. Meanwhile, the sky was becoming dark and the sun was sinking over the horizon. If they did not leave now, they would have to stay in this town. They would be forced to find somewhere to take shelter tonight in the bitter cold of December.
Changsheng clearly knew that something might have happened to Yan Huan, but he was not very articulate. Thus, he was hesitant to console her, and simply scratched his head repeatedly as he thought to himself. What exactly is wrong with Yan Huan?
Not long after they had left, another person came to the shop to make a telephone call. After trying to call for a long time, the only response he received was that the number was not in service. That was impossible, as he had called the same number from somewhere else just moments ago.
“Is your telephone broken?”
He asked the shopkeeper, “I’ve been calling for so long, but why did none of them go through?”
“This telephone was installed recently, how can there be any problems?” The shopkeeper quickly hugged the telephone away. The telephone costs so much, if you don’t know how to use it, you shouldn’t pretend that it’s the telephone’s fault. Everything was fine before this.
The caller turned to leave and went elsewhere to make his call.
After the person had left, the shopkeeper felt something was amiss as well. This entire day had been unusual, as every single call was not connected. Could it be that the telephone really malfunctioned? Even in disbelief, he still used the telephone to try calling home. After a few seconds, the response that he had was that the number was not in service. It’s just like what the others said!
His eyes widened in despair. It’s really broken, but it’s brand new! Everything was fine before, why is it broken now?
Sadly, Yan Huan was oblivious of the broken phone. After purchasing some oil and salt, the two of them returned to the assembly point of the villagers. Every one of the villagers who came today had to return. If someone was not there yet, the rest would not leave and would wait for the missing villager. When Yan Huan arrived, the villagers had just finished packing and were ready to return.
Somehow, everyone’s business was poor today. Some people could not sell any of the chicken eggs that they brought, thus they had to bring all of them back. After that, it would be quite some time before the next trip here. By then, the eggs would no longer be fresh and would definitely sell even more poorly.
“Changsheng, did you sell all of your eggs?”
