WSSAPF chapter 7

The rain poured all night.

Around 7 am, Li Zhuoyao woke up and looked outside. The rain had lessened a lot, but it was still continuous.

Zheng Nanyun’s call suddenly came at this time. Somehow, Li Zhuoyao had a feeling that something was not right.

“Hello? Nanyun, what’s the matter?” His tone was urgent.

“Bad news. It rained all night, and there was a mudslide on the mountain. The road leading up is washed out. The truck can’t go up the mountain. What should we do with our stuff?”

Li Zhuoyao pondered for a moment and then said, “Don’t worry for now. Let’s go up the mountain later and assess the situation.”

………..

The rain hadn’t stopped, and Li Zhuoyao drove slowly. By the time they reached the mountain, it was nearly 9 am. About 2 kilometers from the mountain top, the road had collapsed.

The village Chief Qi Zhenquan, looking anxious, approached immediately when he saw Li Zhuoya.

“Director Li, don’t worry. The town has arranged a construction team to repair the road, and they are on their way up.”

“Thanks, appreciate it. How long will it take to fix the road?”

“It’s estimated to take about four or five days.”

“That won’t do. The program is starting in less than 10 days.” Zheng Nanyun said anxiously.

Li Zhuoyao contemplated for a while, then turned to Qi Zhenquan.

“Chief Qi, we have a batch of items that need to be transported into the villa. They are not particularly heavy, mainly tables, chairs, and home decorations. Can you arrange some villagers to help us carry these things up? It might be a bit tough, as they’ll have to walk up with the items. Don’t worry about the money; we’ll pay them on a daily basis.”

“That’s no problem. We have many people here making a living by carrying things up the mountain for tourists during idle farming seasons. I’ll arrange it.”

“Great, thank you.” Li Zhuoyao breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Zheng Nanyun, who was still on the phone.

“The road is damaged, and the truck can’t get up the mountain. The stuff will be carried up by villagers, but it might take a day or two longer than originally planned.”

“Whose call was that? Gao Jun’s?” Li Zhuoyao asked.

Zheng Nanyun nodded, continuing her conversation with the person on the phone.

“Wow, you two got so close so quickly? Someone didn’t even remember your name yesterday!” Li Zhuoyao walked a few steps closer, intentionally saying loudly while Zheng Nanyun was on the call. A hearty “get lost” came through the phone from Gao Jun, and Li Zhuoyao laughed and walked away.

He felt a bit relieved; fortunately, the collapsed road was not too far from the mountaintop. The villagers could still carry the items by foot. If the road had collapsed halfway up the mountain, it would have been a big problem.

Chief Qi quickly arranged things. Early the next morning, he brought dozens of villagers to the mountain, each carrying a shoulder pole and hemp rope.

“Come, everyone, unload the things from the truck first, and then carry them up. Make sure to tie them securely with the hemp rope; these items are precious.”

“What if I accidentally damage something? Do I have to pay for it?” A middle-aged man asked cautiously.

“Don’t worry. The road is still wet, with a lot of mud. It’s not easy to walk up with the items. Let’s take it slow; safety first. Try to protect the items as much as possible. Director Li will pay you daily wages.”

“Everyone, work hard. Follow me, and we’ll deliver the items to the doorstep of the villa on the mountaintop.” Zheng Nanyun shouted to the crowd.

The villagers began to unload the cargo enthusiastically and then used hemp ropes to secure the items to the shoulder poles.

Li Zhuoyao squatted on a rock by the roadside, drinking water. After shouting for half a day, his throat was dry. “Gulugulu,” a few sips, and the entire bottle of mineral water went down. He stood up from the rock, ready to throw the bottle into the snake-skin bag for garbage when he suddenly saw a familiar figure in the crowd.

It was Zhou Chulan.

He was shirtless, facing away from Li Zhuoyao, his bronze skin somewhat rough. Wearing fishing pants and a pair of long black rain boots, he was busy using hemp rope to tie a chair to a shoulder pole. He wound many loops of rope, added a live buckle, and then pulled it to ensure its firmness.

“Why are you here?” Li Zhuoyao walked towards him, realizing that his own voice was trembling.

Zhou Chulan turned around, looking at him with a calm expression.

The shoulder pole still hung on his shoulder, with a chair tied on each side. It was not light, and the part of the shoulder pole in contact with his skin was already rubbed red.

“The village chief asked me to come and help with moving things.” Zhou Chulan said, speaking in a calm manner. While talking, he stood tall and straight, as if the weight on his shoulders didn’t exist.

Li Zhuoyao’s lips moved, and he stared blankly at Zhou Chulan. He wanted to say something but found that he couldn’t utter a single word.

“Alright, get ready to go. Everyone gather on my side, we’ll form a line and head up the mountain,” Zheng Nanyun’s voice sounded from the side.

“I’ll go ahead.” Zhou Chulan picked up his things and walked towards Zheng Nanyun. After a night of rain, the road was very slippery and muddy. His black rain shoes sank into the mud with the first step, and it seemed like he struggled to support the weight. His knees bent, and his forehead frowned momentarily.

“What’s wrong with your leg?”

Li Zhuoyao hurriedly ran over, trying to help him lighten the load on one side of the carrying pole.

“It’s fine, an old problem.”

Zhou Chulan said indifferently, then turned his head to look at Li Zhuoyao, adding, “Let go, it’s not good if the weight on both sides is uneven.”

“Oh, sorry.” Li Zhuoyao immediately let go, and the chair wobbled in the air.

These chairs were specially made by Gao Jun according to the drawings. They were all made of solid wood and quite heavy, nearly 30 pounds each.

“Is it heavy?”

Li Zhuoyao asked gently. At this moment, he felt uncomfortable, like turning over a bottle of seasoning.

“It’s okay, not heavy.”

“But your shoulders are red.”

“It’ll be fine in two or three days.” Zhou Chulan lifted his head, quietly looking at Li Zhuoyao’s face.

“Let me carry it for you.”

Li Zhuoyao immediately offered, his tone carrying some sincerity.

He had been pampered since childhood, not doing any manual labor. Before going to college, he hadn’t even washed a piece of clothing. After graduating and starting to work, he rarely did household chores, hiring a cleaner to do a thorough cleaning of the house every two weeks.

Looking at Zhou Chulan’s calm face, straight back, and the red marks on his shoulders from the weight, Li Zhuoyao’s heart, in this hot weather, felt like it was flipping over like a seasoning bottle.

“I’ll carry it.” He repeated, reaching out to Zhou Chulan.

“Don’t. It’s dirty here; you go back.”

Zhou Chulan took a step back after carrying his things, lowering his head to look at Li Zhuoyao’s toes. Following his gaze, Li Zhuoyao found that his sports shoes were already covered in mud.

“Let’s go,” Zheng Nanyun’s voice sounded again.

Zhou Chulan turned around, carrying two chairs, walking on the muddy road up the mountain.

Li Zhuoyao stood still, feeling a little distracted.

“Director Li, Director Li…”

Village chief Qi Zhenquan‘s voice sounded behind him.

He snapped back to reality, turning to look at Qi Zhenquan.

Qi Zhenquan hesitated, stammering and hesitating.

“Director Li, I have something to ask you.”

“.. You seem to have a good relationship with Zhou Chulan?”

“It’s okay. He’s a good person. I filled up gas at his place before.”

“Oh… There’s something I think you should know about him…”

“What is it?” Li Zhuoyao walked closer, staring at the chief’s face.

“… Zhou Chulan, he has killed someone before…”

“What?”

Li Zhuoyao’s brain was roaring, like a thunderclap in the clear sky.

“Could you please clarify what happened…” He struggled to maintain a steady tone.

Qi Zhenquan sighed. “This kid from the Zhou family is so unlucky. When he was out playing one day, he encountered a robber. His wallet was stolen, and he got angry and killed the man who tried to steal from him . He said he stabbed the guy more than a dozen times in a row… He spent over four years in prison, and he was released only a couple of years ago.”

Li Zhuoyao found his legs trembling to the point where he could barely stand. He took a small step back, tightly gripping a nearby pine tree, veins bulging.

“Oh, this kid is so unlucky. His mom died early. He was raised by his dad from a young age, studied fine arts, but that stuff costs money. He always lived a tight life. Finally, he got into a top university, and then he acted so impulsively…”

Qi Zhenquan continued speaking, noticing that Li Zhuoyao remained silent. He added more details.

“Director Li, you must find it scary too. A high IQ artist, those hands are meant for painting. But when he stabbed someone, he didn’t even tremble. There’s a term for this, right? High IQ crime. Let me tell you, people like him, who usually stay quiet, are the most prone to extremes… If I weren’t worried about not having enough manpower today, I wouldn’t have called him over…”

“That’s enough.” Li Zhuoyao interrupted Qi Zhenquan‘s words, realizing that his tone had become a bit harsh and forcing himself to calm down.

“Chief, don’t tell anyone else about this for now.”

“I won’t say anything. If I did, those girls from your program team would probably be scared, affecting the work.”

Qi Zhenquan went to rest on the side. The enormous shock made it difficult for Li Zhuoyao to breathe; his chest was heavy, as if someone had stuffed a piece of gauze inside.

Zhou Chulan? Killed someone? Stabbed more than a dozen times in a row?

In social news, there are sometimes reports of crimes of passion, where the perpetrator loses control and kills the other person. But Li Zhuoyao’s intuition told him that Zhou Chulan was definitely not that kind of person. This man always carried a heavy and mysterious aura because he bore too much and was habitually restrained.

What exactly happened to him back then?

Squatting in the muddy ground, Li Zhuoyao smoked one cigarette after another. His mind was chaotic, with too many unresolved mysteries. He had never smoked so heavily before, and the thick smoke enveloped him, nearly bringing tears to his eyes.