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Early the next morning, as soon as Sha Zhouyin arrived at the company, Jin Biao called him to his office via an internal line.

Jin Jing was there too, sitting on the guest sofa with a sour expression. “You actually came to work? I thought you wouldn’t show up.”

Jin Biao scolded her, “Jingjing! Business is business, personal matters are personal. Don’t confuse the two.”

Jin Jing retorted, “What business and personal matters? Isn’t it all family affairs? He’s about to run off with another woman and can still sit comfortably in the position you gave him?”

Sha Zhouyin remained calm. “Jingjing, are you feeling better? Who brought you back yesterday? Remember to thank them.”

At this, Jin Jing deflated a little. “I was drunk and didn’t see clearly. I don’t remember.”

Sha Zhouyin said, “Auntie said it was a company employee, surname Lu. The names and photos of employees are all in the OA system. You can look it up when you have time.”

Jin Jing stood up, raising her voice. “Why are you dragging others into our business? Even if it was a company employee, what’s wrong with bringing the boss’s daughter home? If he really wanted to be a Good Samaritan, he wouldn’t leave his name. He’s probably feeling smug about it!”

“No matter why someone helped you, you benefited in the end. A single girl out drinking at night—not talking about the dangers, but at least it’s inconvenient, right? The person who brought you back spent money on the taxi, at least. Isn’t a thank you appropriate?”

“Fine, I’ll go find this great benefactor right now, give him a banner and a plaque, promote him, give him a raise and a bonus, is that enough?” Jin Jing rolled her eyes, sarcasm dripping from her words. “Stop dodging the issue. How do you explain what happened yesterday?”

Sha Zhouyin was irritated by her spoiled attitude and replied coldly, “What do you want me to explain?”

“You were holding hands with another woman and shopping when I ran into you! And you think you’re in the right?” Jin Jing pointed at him, appealing to Jin Biao. “Dad, look at his attitude!”

“Jingjing, watch your tone,” Sha Zhouyin’s face darkened. “She’s not some random woman. She’s my girlfriend. We’re dating openly and aboveboard. I don’t have to report or explain to anyone.”

Jin Jing was so angry she nearly stomped her feet. “If she’s not some random woman but your legitimate girlfriend, then am I the random woman?”

Jin Biao could see the problem; their conversation wasn’t even on the same wavelength. He stepped over to pull Jin Jing away and comfort her. “All right, all right, both of you stop. Go play on the computer in the next room, and let me talk with Zhouyin, okay?”

He still treated his daughter with the indulgent tenderness he’d shown since she was little, half cajoling, half pushing her to the door of the office’s adjoining lounge. She stormed in and slammed the door behind her.

Jin Biao returned to his desk, pointing at the lounge door in self-mockery. “My daughter’s definitely spoiled rotten by me. Her temper’s something else, no wonder you don’t fancy her.”

Sha Zhouyin’s tone softened. “It’s not that I don’t fancy her. I just never thought about her that way. Jingjing was nine when I first met her, and like you, I keep seeing her as a child. I can’t change that impression.”

“I heard from Jingjing that the girl’s surname is Huang, Huang Qi, right? I remember her. When you dropped out in senior high, she came looking for you at the construction site. I think she’s from Huangsha Town too? You two have known each other since childhood, haven’t you?” Jin Biao shifted gears, “So really, it’s not about how long you’ve known someone.”

Jin Jing, for all her unreasonable outbursts, was simple-minded; talking to her was taxing but not complicated. Jin Biao, on the other hand, was more nuanced. Sha Zhouyin wasn’t sure what he was getting at, so he listened silently.

Jin Biao pulled two chairs together and motioned for him to sit. “Zhouyin, your father did me a great favor. When I first started out and lost money, he let me buy materials on credit from his own yard, otherwise I’d have been crushed by debt. When your father was arrested, I visited him. He said his biggest worry was you and asked me to look after you. I always called your dad ‘Big Brother.’ We’re not related, but I truly treat you as my own nephew. Your father passed early, and I have no son. You’re like a son to me. People say sons-in-law are half sons; watching you and Jingjing grow up, I wanted that more and more.”

“But I—”

Jin Biao waved his hand to interrupt. “I know, Jingjing is seven years younger than you. When you were a young man, she was still a kid, so you never had the feelings a man has for a woman. But all that romance, that’s something you young people put so much stock in. Our generation didn’t care much for it. Take me and Jingjing’s mom: we were introduced by matchmakers, married soon after meeting. Back then it was almost an arranged marriage, wasn’t it? And we did just fine. You don’t need those fancy feelings to make a good life.”

“Zhouyin, I’ve always treated you like family, never kept you at arm’s length. Let me be frank: Jingjing is my only precious daughter. I worked myself half to death all these years for her—who else? Now I’ve finally made something of myself. When I’m gone, who will I leave this company and wealth to, if not her? She doesn’t know anything about business, and I can’t bear to let her go out and face the world alone. Who should I entrust all this to? Am I clear enough?”

“Zhouyin, I just want a son-in-law like you: capable, mature, good character. If I entrust my business and my daughter to you, I’ll have no worries. I don’t care whether you’re madly in love with her or not. Honestly, a man who’d lose his head over a woman isn’t someone I’d respect. You’ve always been good to Jingjing, patient and considerate. When I’m old or gone, I want you to look after her just as I would. You’ve always kept yourself clean, never messed around. I believe you’re responsible and trustworthy; if you married Jingjing, you wouldn’t let her down. Sometimes I really think Jingjing’s mom must be watching from heaven to send such a good young man our way.”

Jin Biao spoke at length, and Sha Zhouyin listened quietly, not interrupting. When Jin Biao finished, Sha Zhouyin didn’t respond immediately, instead sitting in silence for a while, then turned to look at the desk.

Jin Biao’s desk was meticulously tidy, with only the essentials: computer, phone, files, and two decorations. One was a crystal memento for the tenth anniversary of Jingxiu Group; the other was a photo frame with a picture of Jin Biao’s family.

In the photo, Jin Jing was five or six, her hair adorned with a bright red flower, sitting on her father’s arm, her mother nestled close, their faces touching. The backdrop was a wild field of rapeseed. Their clothes, by today’s standards, were outmoded, nothing suggesting the affluent family they’d become. The photo had faded with time, their features blurred, but the happiness radiating from their faces still shone clearly through the years.

Sha Zhouyin glanced at the photo, then picked up the tenth anniversary memento. Inside the crystal shell was a sheet of pure gold leaf, frosted except for the polished words “Jingxiu Group,” gleaming from within the crystal base. He turned it over in his hands and asked, “Uncle Biao, Jingxiu Group is named after Aunt Jingxiu, isn’t it?”

Jin Biao was ready for a long conversation and nodded. “That’s right.”

“I’ve never met her. By the time I went to your construction sites, she was already... Uncle Biao, tell me about you and Aunt Jingxiu.”

“Jingxiu, she was the best woman I’ve ever known.” Speaking of his wife, gone for over a decade, Jin Biao’s voice was laden with emotion. “There’s not much to tell. Like I said, we were introduced by a matchmaker. She was a high school graduate, good-looking—prettier than Jingjing. Jingjing takes after me. I’d only finished elementary school, was apprenticing as a bricklayer, and my family was poor. She agreed to marry me, and I was overjoyed. At our wedding, I borrowed a bicycle to carry her from her parents’ home. I swore I’d make something of myself, buy her a motorbike, a car one day. That was as far as my dreams went—funny, isn’t it?”

Sha Zhouyin smiled along, but didn’t interrupt.

“Jingxiu and I were together for nine years. We never quarreled, never even raised our voices. Really, it was her temperament—she always yielded, never picked a fight. She was endlessly good to me, helped with the work outside, and at home, I never had to lift a finger. All the best things, she gave to me first. I think even my own mother wasn’t as good to me. Because she was so good to me, I worked harder outside—I couldn’t let such a good woman suffer, couldn’t let her keep enduring hardship, not if I was any kind of man. Finally, I became a contractor, started getting my own jobs, had a bit of money, built a house, bought a small truck. I thought at last she could enjoy some comfort. Who knew…”

As Jin Biao spoke, his eyes filled with tears and his hands trembled as he wiped them away. Sha Zhouyin sensed his agitation and handed him a cigarette from the coffee table.

Jin Biao lit it, took a few draws, and calmed down a bit. Sha Zhouyin said, “Sorry, Uncle Biao, I shouldn’t have asked. Let’s drop it.”

Jin Biao exhaled a plume of smoke. “Ah, it’s been over ten years—nothing I can’t talk about. Lots of people know the story. Jingxiu… it was all my fault. I had a little truck; I hauled cement, sand, bricks myself for my contracting jobs to save money—oh, and a lot of the materials I got from your dad back then. Jingxiu went with me to oversee the loads. At the brick yard, she told me to rest under the trees and smoke, and she went to load the bricks herself. She was quick and capable; a load of bricks weighed a thousand pounds, but she and the yard hands took care of it without any help from me.”

“That day was the same. I’d been hauling bricks all day, was exhausted, dozed off under a tree. She finished loading, and as dusk fell, I rushed to drive back. Usually, she could hop onto the truck easily. But this time, a bicycle with ram’s horn handlebars hooked her clothes and dragged her down, right under the wheels. I didn’t notice at all. The truck loaded with bricks… she didn’t make it. We didn’t even have time to call an ambulance; she couldn’t say a word to me…”

As he recounted the tragedy, Jin Biao was in tears. Sha Zhouyin quietly handed him a tissue. Jin Biao wiped his face, took a few more drags, and continued; once he started, he couldn’t stop.

“Jingxiu married me at twenty-five and left me and Jingjing at thirty-four, right at the hardest, poorest, most exhausting time in my life. The next year, I started contracting projects in the city. If she’d lived just one more year, she could have enjoyed a comfortable life. Just one year… Heaven’s unfair. Such a good woman, why couldn’t she live longer? If she’d lived to now, she could be like those wealthy ladies, dressing up, shopping, playing mahjong, carefree and content—that’s the happiness she deserved.”

“A few years ago, when I started to have some money, people came to persuade me: I only have one daughter, I should remarry a young wife and have a son to inherit the family business. It’s not that I’m so open-minded or don’t want a son, just that me, Jingxiu, and Jingjing—we three are a family. Anyone else would feel out of place. Jingjing is my child; even if another woman gave me a son, he’d still be someone else’s son. And with Jingjing’s temper, could she stand a stepmother? I won’t allow anyone to bully Jingjing or Jingxiu’s child.”

“Some say I’m a miser, stingy, won’t even spend money on a mistress. Yes, I’m tight-fisted. The money I have now is the foundation Jingxiu built for me with ten years of suffering, paid for with her life. She never enjoyed a day of it—why should another woman profit from it? I’d rather leave it all to Jingjing; at least she’s Jingxiu’s own flesh and blood. And do those women really love me? I’m just an old man now—they’re after my money. Even if I were young and handsome again, I’d never find another good woman like your Aunt Jingxiu, who was devoted to me.”

“I’m old now, nothing left to ask for, except Jingjing. I’ll keep working a few more years, build up her inheritance, help her find a husband who will cherish and protect her, give me a grandchild, and then I can rest easy and go see your Aunt Jingxiu. So, Zhouyin, if you’re willing to be with Jingjing, it not only paves your way but fulfills my greatest wish.”

After making the rounds, Jin Biao returned to the matter of Jingjing’s future. He finished his cigarette and stubbed it out in the ashtray, his gaze steady as he waited for Sha Zhouyin’s response.

Author’s note: How can three thousand words be so little! I always overshoot without meaning to!

Jingxiu’s story is actually true. It happened when I was in elementary school; their daughter was a bit older than me and a classmate. I attended the funeral; since the deceased was young, her daughter knelt in front of the altar, leaning on a bamboo cane, returning bows to the elders paying their respects. It was heartbreaking… They say her head was crushed, her face covered with cloth so we kids wouldn’t be frightened…

But not long after, the husband remarried. Reality isn’t a novel, sigh…