mijobooks Chapter 9 He's gone...
Chapter 9 He's gone...
David rubbed his eyes, startled, and sat bolt upright in bed: "Who did you say you were?"
"I'm the daughter of the grandfather you just recognized." The woman on the other end of the phone said, and even she herself felt a little confused after saying it.
Judging from the woman's voice on the phone, David estimated that she was in her early thirties.
He immediately remembered the photo album that Old Wang had left him, so he quickly turned on the lamp, took the album out of his bag, and opened it to take a look.
The first few pages of the album featured a little girl, so Dawei flipped directly to the last few pages.
The woman in the back looks like a mature woman.
She has an oval face, the background is overseas, her clothes and dressing are very tasteful, she is tall and has a great figure in all the right places, she is simply amazing.
At the same time, David didn't ignore the woman on the other end of the phone: "Hello..."
David didn't know how to address the person.
According to seniority, I should call her "Mom".
Judging from the photos and voice, the woman appeared to be only in her thirties, a few years older than him.
Isn't that a bit abrupt?
"You're looking for me...?" David suppressed his random thoughts and got to the point.
It's this late, and it sounds like something happened; the woman seems to have just been crying.
David couldn't help but feel a little worried.
The woman on the other end of the phone let out a soft breath, her voice becoming weak and tinged with sadness.
"Dawei, your godfather... Old Wang, he..."
"What's wrong with him?"
"He's gone... Waaah..." the woman cried out.
David felt a loud bang next to his ear.
That's all?
What does that mean?
So he's dead?
David was somewhat incredulous.
Last night, when he went to the hospital to see Old Wang, the old man was wearing an expensive suit and looked to be in good spirits.
"How could that be? I just saw him last night, and he was perfectly fine then!"
The woman on the other end of the phone sniffed, trying to calm herself down.
"Perhaps this is a final burst of energy before death?"
He seemed to know I was leaving, so he called and told me to come back to China.
I had a bad feeling at the time, so I immediately bought a ticket for the earliest flight back.
I just didn't expect...
My daughter and I really didn't have a deep connection.
He died right after my plane landed; I didn't even get to see him one last time.
David felt a lump in his throat, a tightness in his chest, and his expression became somewhat dazed: "Then, then what about him now...?"
"There's a will that forbids a big funeral. We're planning to cremate him the day after tomorrow. If you have time, come over; he left some things for you."
"Okay, I'll book the tickets right away."
"Okay, this is my phone number. After you book your ticket, send me the flight information and I will arrange for someone to pick you up."
The woman hung up the phone.
David stood in front of the desk, stunned for several minutes.
Just then, another call came in. It was from Xiao Lili, the leader of the Veteran Cadre Bureau. Dawei was in a very irritable mood, and after answering, he shouted, "What?"
"Hey!" Xiao Lili's mouth twisted with anger.
She was lying on her large Simmons mattress at home, and it was late at night, but she couldn't sleep.
I thought Dawei was a rare talent, and if he stayed in the old bureau, he might be able to make some contributions to Yuanshan County in the future.
She would feel guilty if she were forced to leave like this.
But I also dislike Chen Dawei's stubborn temper.
So I wanted to give Chen Dawei one last chance, if he knew how to be flexible.
I hope you can come over tonight and give her a good coaxing.
They should also learn from others and use connections or something.
She was willing to give Chen Dawei a chance and would protect him from now on, taking on the pressure from above.
Unexpectedly, David's tone was like this when he answered the phone.
This infuriated her.
"Are you out of your mind or what? Why are you yelling like that?"
David pursed his lips, feeling quite annoyed. He knew that this woman was up to no good so late at night.
"Just tell me what's wrong, I'm busy."
"You're someone who's about to resign, what's there to be busy about?"
"I'm busy looking for jobs online."
"Are you really going to resign?" Xiao Lili suddenly became anxious again.
"You forced me to do this!" David retorted irritably.
Xiao Lili's tone softened a bit on the other end of the phone: "Okay, okay, let's not talk about that anymore. I'm calling you because I need your help. The drain in my bathroom is clogged, could you please come over and unclog it?"
Xiao Lili and Dawei live in the same neighborhood.
This urban garden residential community is located right behind the county government office building, just across the road, making it very convenient for commuting to work.
Many people from the county government have bought houses here.
Upon learning that Dawei had divorced, Xiao Lili began to have some bad thoughts.
Everyone's single now, so we can go all out and have fun without any problems.
"Why don't you try contacting the property management?"
"The property management staff have all gone home."
"Then find a mentor online; I'm not in the county."
Xiao Lili asked curiously, "It's late at night, where are you if you're not home?"
Does becoming single mean you can let loose and be yourself?
You can't do anything reckless, the crackdown on prostitution is really fierce lately.
Hearing this, Dawei knew that Xiao Lili was just being silly and nothing serious.
This woman doesn't have a very good reputation in the county government.
I'd heard people say that Xiao Lili liked to meet with retired cadres in private, and I wondered what she was up to. She was also close to certain men in the county and city.
David didn't want to get involved with these people.
"I'll hang up now, I'm busy."
After hanging up the phone, Dawei immediately called to book a flight, the earliest one at 7 a.m. the next morning.
Meihua City does have a small airport, but there are no direct flights to Kyoto; you have to go to Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, to catch a flight.
It takes six or seven hours to drive from Yuanshan County to Guangzhou.
If we set off now, we'll make it in time.
He immediately called his parents who lived in the county.
"Awei," Chen Shouren, the father, answered the phone.
"Dad, could you please take my black suit out and pack it in my suitcase? I'll be there in about 40 minutes."
"what?"
"Old Wang is gone, I have to go and see him off."
Chen Shouren on the other end of the phone immediately widened his eyes: "Okay, I'll go find it for you right away."
David checked his ID, put the photo album into his briefcase, and then left.
The old house was at the highest point in the village, with only a narrow path less than a meter wide in front of it, so cars couldn't get up there. Dawei turned on the flashlight on his phone and shone it on the dark path as he quickly walked towards the abandoned primary school in the center of the village.
The gatehouse at the elementary school gate has been converted into a small shop, and people still play cards there at night.
That's all the villagers have to do.
David opened the car door and found that there wasn't much stock left in the car. He needed cigarettes to get to Guangzhou on the highway.
He reached into his pocket and found that he had given all the cash he had to Lin Qiufeng.
I braced myself and went to the shop, knocking on the glass window.
"Auntie, get me a Red Five-Leaf Goddess."
Actually, it's a matter of seniority. Women from the same village who share the same surname and are of the same generation as the father, who marry into the village or are married into the village, are called "aunt" but are not necessarily his biological aunts.
"Give."
"Auntie, I left in a hurry and didn't bring any money. Can I give it to you next time?"
"Sure, no problem at all. Come in and have some tea!"
"I'm in a hurry, so fill me up with a cup, make it strong."
The shopkeeper took Dawei's cup and poured him a large cup of strong tea.
He handed over the cup and also gave Dawei two lighters.
That's just how my aunt is—she's genuine and warm-hearted.
Moreover, Dawei's identity is very useful in rural areas.
I lit a cigarette and took a sip of tea.
Drive, let's go.
I drove all the way to my apartment building in the Urban Garden residential complex in the county town.
Chen Shouren was already waiting downstairs with his suitcase.
David got out of the car and opened the trunk.
Chen Shouren put the suitcase into the trunk: "The suit was ironed, and there was a pair of black leather shoes that had been polished. There were also two shirts, and 800 yuan in cash was pressed under the shirts."
"Thank you, Dad." David got into the car.
"Drive carefully on the road..." Chen Shouren watched his son's car drive away with a worried expression.
Dawei drove his gray Passat toward Meihua City. There was no expressway in the county; you had to get on the expressway from the city.
As the car drove to the end of the county's central ring road and was about to leave the city, it saw the brake lights of the car in front of it turn on.
Traffic police are checking for drunk driving.
David also slowed down.