Chapter Ten: The Mysterious Package

The sun blazed overhead. At this early summer noon, the sunlight shone with full intensity, the scorching sun mercilessly roasting everything on earth. The ground was charred and burning, as if enclosed within a giant furnace, suffocating anyone beneath its glare. Even the wind seemed to have vanished without a trace. Across the endless blue sky drifted patches of white clouds: some clustered together like rolling silver waves in the ocean, others layered upon one another like distant mountains rising and falling.

At this time every year, Beijing entered what locals called the "pig cage" days—stiflingly hot, dull, and oppressive.

Zhang Qinglin was dozing atop the tea table. Earlier that morning, after Cheng Che arrived and they’d had lunch, he had accompanied Jiang Xinyue to the watch shop for repairs. Sister Zhou had called to ask for leave due to an urgent matter, leaving only Zhang Qinglin at “Waters and Clouds Beneath the Blue Sky.” He had read for a while before drifting off to sleep.

“Hello! Is Jiang Haiyan here?” A man in a white shirt entered through the door.

The deep, resonant voice startled Zhang Qinglin awake. He scrambled up from his chair and hurried to the entrance. There stood a man in his forties, dressed in a crisp white shirt and black trousers, his neatly combed hair pulled back, holding a parcel wrapped in a nylon bag.

After a quick glance, Zhang Qinglin asked, “He’s not here. Do you need something from him?”

The man, noting Zhang Qinglin’s youthful, friendly demeanor, smiled gently. “This is a package for Jiang Haiyan. The address was written incorrectly. I came all the way from the shop to deliver it personally. Please hand it over to him for me.”

Zhang Qinglin accepted the package, which was not heavy, and checked the delivery slip—indeed, the address was wrong. “Thank you! Please, come in and have some tea!”

“No, thank you. I’ve got other things to attend to. I’ll be on my way.” The man turned and left in a hurry.

Seeing how rushed he was, Zhang Qinglin didn’t press him to stay. “Take care!” he called after him, then carried the parcel over to the tea table.

A package for Uncle Jiang? In all these years, no one had ever sent anything to him. Zhang Qinglin eyed the package curiously.

“Qinglin, what are you looking at? Whose package is that?” Jiang Xinyue and Cheng Che stepped in from the doorway.

“Here, it’s Uncle Jiang’s.” Zhang Qinglin handed the package to Jiang Xinyue, then asked, “How are you two back so soon?”

Cheng Che, looking relaxed, poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip. “That repair guy is a real pro. Fixed it in less than twenty minutes. We also dropped by Grandma Liu’s place.”

“My dad’s package? What’s inside? Who sent it?” Jiang Xinyue bounced the parcel in her arms, frowning.

“Isn’t the sender listed on the label? Just open it and see what’s inside,” Cheng Che set his tea down and snatched the package from her hands.

“Wuzhou, Siyue County?... Isn’t Siyue County the same as Maple City?”

Jiang Xinyue pouted and snatched the package back. “I’ll wait for my dad to come home and let him open it himself.” With that, she turned to go upstairs.

“Xinyue, Uncle Jiang probably ordered some fine tea. Why don’t we take a peek? We’ll have to open it eventually,” Cheng Che reasoned, glancing at Zhang Qinglin.

“That’s right, Yueyue. Business hasn’t been great lately—if it’s good tea, we could use it to help out,” Zhang Qinglin added.

Jiang Xinyue blinked at them, considering their words.

“Alright then!” The three of them gathered around the pearwood tea table.

Jiang Xinyue took a pair of scissors and cut open the bag. Inside was a black paper box, unmarked. She set the scissors down, suspicion clouding her gaze, and lifted the black lid. Inside was an old-fashioned lighter.

It was made of iron and silver, vintage in style. Jiang Xinyue slowly took it out, examining it in surprise. “This is my dad’s lighter!”

Both Cheng Che and Zhang Qinglin recognized it. Jiang Haiyan always carried this lighter; it was never out of his sight. The character “Yun” was engraved at the base. It was a gift from Jiang Xinyue’s mother, given to him with her own hands, and he had kept it by his side all these years.

“My dad’s in trouble… Something’s definitely happened to him. This lighter has never left him before.” Jiang Xinyue gripped the lighter tightly, looking anxiously at the other two.

Ever since the strange package arrived, Zhang Qinglin had felt something was wrong. Now his doubts were confirmed—something was amiss.

As soon as Jiang Xinyue finished speaking, she pulled out her phone to call Jiang Haiyan, but there was no answer.

Her panic grew. There was no use calling the police; these were only her personal suspicions, so the authorities would not take the case.

“Yueyue, I know you’re worried about Uncle Jiang. I am too. How about this—you keep calling him, and Cheng Che and I will go to Fu’s Teahouse to ask around.” Zhang Qinglin remembered that Jiang Haiyan had gone to buy tea with Second Master Fu from Fu’s Teahouse, so he grabbed Cheng Che and hurried over.

By the time the sunset faded, the two returned. Jiang Xinyue had spent the entire afternoon making calls, all to no avail.

They had found Second Master Fu, but he had returned to Beijing a week ago due to family matters. Jiang Haiyan had found a good seller and planned to bring back a batch of fine tea for Fu as well.

So many days had passed already—Uncle Jiang was surely in trouble.

The three discussed it and decided to leave for Wuzhou at dawn.

At first light, as the East began to pale…

Cheng Che arrived with three train tickets. With only simple luggage in tow, the three of them boarded the train to Wuzhou.

To their surprise, Cheng Che had bought tickets for a slow train, with more than thirty stops along the way at both large and small stations, taking nearly two days to reach their destination.

They took seats by the window. Cheng Che let Jiang Xinyue sit first, then settled beside her, while Zhang Qinglin sat down and opened a book.

The train from Beijing Station was crowded—though not the departure point, the holiday rush had filled even the aisles with people.

Just as the train was about to depart, a figure hurried aboard, pushing through the congested aisle with a travel bag, making her way towards their seats.

“Excuse me!” The voice belonged to a woman.

As she placed her bag on the vacant seat beside Zhang Qinglin and sat down…

“Wanqing!” Cheng Che exclaimed in surprise.

Zhang Qinglin closed his book and looked up, equally astonished. Wanqing was dressed in a light pink chiffon dress, her makeup subtle, hair cascading softly over her chest.

“Oh! Cheng Che, Zhang Qinglin! What a coincidence…” Wanqing said, her face a picture of surprised delight.

(The pace is a bit slow at the beginning, but please bear with me—laying the groundwork takes time, and my shovel isn’t the best, so things are a little sluggish. It’ll get more exciting later on. If you’re able, I hope you’ll bookmark the story or show your support—thank you!)