The Obligations of the Elderly - Chapter 6

Leaving the Gong Family, Xi Liu walked ahead, showing no sign of hurrying to catch a bus; his pace was leisurely and unhurried.

When he arrived at the bus stop, the public bus hadn’t come yet-the town’s buses were often late. However, a black car was parked by the roadside. Its exterior was unremarkable, but on closer inspection, it was clearly a luxury vehicle.

Xi Liu walked straight over, opened the rear door, and got in.

The car started up immediately.

Though plain on the outside, the interior was spacious. Perhaps worried that the leather seats would feel cold, a fur cushion had been thoughtfully placed on the back seat. Besides the driver, there was no one else in the car. After getting in, Xi Liu said nothing, leaned back, and closed his eyes to rest.

His home was much farther than Gong Si had imagined, and it wasn’t located on the front hill where everyone in town could easily climb, but on the rarely visited back hill.

At the foot of the mountain stood a small two-story building, as solitary and abrupt as the other houses in town. The car stopped in front of this building.

After parking steadily, the driver jogged around to the other side to open the door for Xi Liu.

“Thank you,” Xi Liu said softly.

“You’re always so polite. It’s my duty, sir,” the driver replied in a low, respectful voice.

Just as he finished speaking, another voice sounded from ahead-

“Sir, you’re back.” The speaker was a middle-aged man in a white shirt, who had been waiting at the door. He stepped forward to take Xi Liu’s backpack and handed him a coat: “Please put on your coat, sir. The nights here are really chilly…”

Xi Liu did not object.

Handing over his backpack, he picked up the coat and draped it over his shoulders, then strolled inside at a relaxed pace.

It was a well-made, robe-style coat, an adaptation of the traditional local attire. It reached below the hips, had wide sleeves, and could be buttoned, tied, or left open at the front. Such clothing was only worn on major holidays or formal occasions; few wore it in daily life, and even then, mostly older people. The one Xi Liu wore was a more casual version, but even so, young people rarely wore it-mostly those of a certain age.

Yet Xi Liu suited this traditional garment perfectly.

Perhaps it was his naturally classical looks, or his calm temperament. Wearing a student uniform underneath and an elderly person’s robe on top, he looked not at all out of place; in fact, it seemed as if he was meant to dress this way.

Crossing the cobblestone path in the courtyard, he entered the two-story building. He didn’t change shoes or go upstairs, but headed straight for the area behind the staircase, where a hidden door stood. Someone was already waiting there; seeing Xi Liu approach, the person quickly opened the door and bowed slightly as Xi Liu passed.

“Good evening, sir.”

Nodding to the person, Xi Liu stepped through the door and said to the middle-aged man behind him, “Ah Qiang, why do I only feel awkward about this today?”

“Ah?”

“It’s not right to forbid you from calling me that, but let’s not use ‘sir’ anymore, okay? Do I look that old? If someone overheard, it’d just sound strange, wouldn’t it?” Outside the door was a dense forest.

If this was Xi Liu’s backyard, then the yard was so vast it seemed to encompass the entire mountain!

And in front of the forest, another car was parked, with people already waiting. As Xi Liu and the others approached, they bowed, the driver entered the driver’s seat, and the other two opened the doors for Xi Liu and the middle-aged man.
Then, to his surprise, the car started moving again.

So the two-story building from before was just a gate after all.

Having passed through that “gate,” Xi Liu realized that the real journey to his actual place of rest was only now beginning.

“I’ll give your orders in a moment and have them change how they address you from now on,” the middle-aged man named Ah Qiang said quietly to Xi Liu. “How are you feeling today? Lengshui Town is about to enter autumn, and the weather is getting colder by the day. Do you need-”

“I feel fine,” Xi Liu cut him off with a single sentence, blocking everything else Ah Qiang was about to say. Xi Liu closed his eyes slightly.

Outside the car, it was already pitch black.

There wasn’t a single streetlight by the roadside; it was impossible to tell how the driver was even navigating. And to think that the so-called back mountain, which everyone in Lengshui Town believed to be nothing but wild, barren hills, actually had a road suitable for cars-if people knew, it would surely shock them.

Inside the car, it was quiet. Ah Qiang turned to his briefcase and pulled out a stack of documents, speaking softly to Xi Liu about various matters.

For the most part, Xi Liu listened quietly, occasionally giving a few instructions, sometimes asking a question or two, and sometimes refusing something.

By the time all the business was dealt with, they still hadn’t reached their destination.

But it wouldn’t be long now.

After putting away all the documents, Ah Qiang turned his head, and with a slightly heavy tone, he spoke quietly to Xi Liu: “By the way, young master, there’s something I need to tell you…”

“Go ahead,” Xi Liu replied calmly, eyes still closed.

“Your… childhood friend, Mr. Wen Ling, he… has passed away.”

Xi Liu didn’t open his eyes. He was silent for several seconds before finally speaking, his voice as calm as ever: “Send a condolence gift, no need to sign my name.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ah Qiang fastened his briefcase and sat quietly for a while. Suddenly, something else occurred to him. He glanced at the young man resting with his eyes closed, hesitated, and spoke again: “There’s one more thing. It’s a small matter, but I thought I should let you know.”

“Go on.”

“It’s about the ingredients we prepared for you earlier…”

“The Black-winged Coldwater Fish… the kind that only grows five hundred meters underground in the central spring of Lengshui Town. You asked me to get some a while ago. I actually managed to get more than you requested-seven in total. I wasn’t sure if you wanted them for display or to eat, so I had them kept in the ‘fish tank’ in your room. But today, when the caretaker checked, there were only four left. Three are missing…” Having botched the task, the middle-aged man forced himself to finish the report.

He expected the young master to be angry, or at least to scrutinize him with those long, narrow black eyes. But nothing of the sort happened.

Those narrow eyes opened, but they weren’t looking at him.

“Oh, is that so?” Xi Liu’s gaze was fixed ahead, landing somewhere unknown.

“Don’t worry, I’ll-”

“No need to investigate. Leave it at that.”

“Eh?!”

“Whoever was supposed to get the fish has already gotten them. I have no idea how he managed it, though.” As he said this, the young man’s tone was unexpectedly light.

“Ah?!”

“The fish tasted pretty good.” As he spoke, he even licked his lips.

Ah Qiang was completely baffled.

Seeing his usually composed butler so at a loss, Xi Liu smiled. “In any case, you don’t need to look into this further. You’ve already done what I asked. That’s all.”

Tilting his head, Ah Qiang finally nodded. “Alright.”