The two of them got up and squatted in the yard to brush their teeth and wash their faces together. After finishing their morning routine, they enjoyed a delightful breakfast together. Then, relatives from the Yin family came to visit.
Unexpectedly, a couple, Yin Yue and her husband, also made an appearance. Compared to other relatives, this young couple only brought a fish with them, which seemed a bit simple. However, the Yin family was aware of the financial difficulties this couple faced, and they didn’t mind the modest gift.
On the other hand, Qin Mao felt quite awkward. He touched his nose and sat there very reserved. Although he was the son-in-law of the Yin family, their marriage was initially opposed by the Yin family members. Moreover, the Yin family disapproved of his behavior of boarding the vehicle before purchasing the ticket. So, when the two families met, there was not much warmth. A nod and a passing glance sufficed.
His wife, Yin Yue, didn’t mind this awkwardness. After leaving the gift, she promptly departed, leaving her husband behind, facing the disdainful looks and scrutiny of the crowd.
This made Qin Mao uneasy, sitting there as if on pins and needles, unable even to drink the tea in his hand. He had no idea why his daughter-in-law had left him behind. Just the day before, they had a little quarrel, and now, the next morning, she was treating him as if nothing had happened, smiling and speaking amicably.
Honestly, in the midst of winter, that somewhat sweet smile sent shivers down his spine, giving Qin Mao goosebumps. Then, his wife said, “Qin Mao, accompany me to visit my parents.”
He originally wanted to refuse, but Yin Yue had already made up her mind. Unable to resist, he reluctantly went along. However, once they arrived, Yin Yue slipped away on her own, leaving him alone. Sitting there doing nothing, he felt quite useless.
Thinking about this, Qin Mao felt a bit resentful, wondering why he was called over if he wasn’t needed.
This year, the Yin family thrived, everything went smoothly, and when the head of the family, Grandma Luo, and others entertained guests, they all looked radiant. Although there were wrinkles on their faces, their spirits seemed to have rejuvenated by several years. The Yin family had numerous guests, whether it was the employees and their families from the upcoming factory or relatives and friends, the vast Yin family was crowded with people, making it feel congested.
Not to mention the two bathrooms, where there was often a queue. Those waiting for their turn to use the restroom engaged in conversations.
The lively atmosphere of these people highlighted the loneliness of Qin Mao, who felt out of place in this setting. He could only sit quietly and observe the group of children around him.
The children’s voices were lively, and they ran around, making it impossible for them to stay quiet. Among them, Yin’s little treasure was the most conspicuous, dressed in a bright red outfit that accentuated his fair skin. What was the child so absorbed in, not even lifting his head?
Busy shelling melon seeds.
After peeling a whole pile of small mountain peaks, it seemed like the task was completed. The child tugged at the sleeve of a nearby teenager, showing off his melon seed mountain, while squinting his eyes into crescent moons.
The teenager smiled and pinched the child’s tender face.
After the show-off, the child lowered his little head again, picking up the melon seeds one by one from the mountain and eating them. During the process, his long eyelashes gently moved, resembling two small fans. He politely greeted people, saying “hello,” “goodbye,” and “come again next time” in a tender voice that made everyone want to give him a kiss.
Qin Mao became fascinated, imagining how wonderful it would be in the future if he had a soft little kid with baby teeth, and he could peel sunflower seeds for him at home. After snapping out of his thoughts, his fondness for Xiao Bao deepened, and he became somewhat confused about Yin Yue’s preferences.
To be fair, he was just an outsider, and everyone liked Xiao Bao. As a legitimate relative, why wouldn’t Yue’er like Xiao Bao, her own cousin? Even in the early morning, she cryptically told him, “You say you like Xiao Bao, then I’ll let you know, there’s nothing likable about Xiao Bao. In essence, he’s a bad kid with anti-social tendencies.”
Qin Mao: “???” At that moment, he felt that Yin Yue must have had a strange dream at night, or else how could she spout nonsense out of the blue, especially badmouthing her cousin from her natal family.
He regretted bringing up Xiao Bao for no reason, his wife got angry about it, clearly taking it to heart. He complained incessantly and could only say, “Alright, alright, Xiao Bao is a bad kid. I don’t like him anymore, okay?”
Seemingly sensing his perfunctory response, Yin Yue sneered, her laughter cold and mocking, “Just wait and see. I wonder if you’ll still spout such foolish words like ‘having a child like Xiao Bao’ when the time comes?”
Qin Mao: “??? Fine, I won’t say it anymore.” He truly found communicating with Yin Yue exhausting. He clearly didn’t say much, but she insisted on making a big deal out of it. These days were really hard to endure.
The thought of divorce crossed his mind once again. The next event became a significant catalyst pushing him towards divorce. As he bore the brunt of criticism, he regretted deeply, wondering why he didn’t divorce Yin Yue earlier.
The cause was as follows.
With more and more guests arriving, there were not enough chairs in the house. So, the little guy clapped his hands, generously giving up the warm stool under his small butt for someone else to sit on. After finishing his meal, he returned to his room.
Just a few minutes after he had returned to his room, Yin Yue quickly followed him in. Before he could raise an eyebrow and question her about her intentions or even call for someone, this woman, in a sneaky manner, took out a red envelope from her accompanying handbag.
The thick and seemingly substantial red envelope easily dispelled any thoughts the child might have had about calling someone.
Yin Minglu pinched it, not giving any face to Yin Yue, and directly opened the red envelope to take a look—Oh my, a bit stingy. Despite looking thick, it turned out to be all one-cent coins. It wasn’t clear if the total amount added up to even ten cents. In this day and age, even popsicles have increased in price to two cents each. What can you buy with ten cents?
He didn’t hide the disdain in his eyes. Yin Yue noticed it and cursed the little brat in her heart for being so vulgar. However, she justified herself for being frugal, saying, “Xiao Bao, you know, your sister’s money is usually managed by your brother-in-law. If he doesn’t give your sister money, your sister wants to give you, but she is powerless. And don’t complain about the red envelope being too little. Whether it’s a lot or a little, it’s your sister’s heartfelt gesture, after all.”
Alright, she managed to say both good and bad things herself. Yin Minglu rolled his eyes, waved his small hand, and pointed to the door, indicating that he would accept the red envelope, but she should quickly state her business or leave. This was his room, and he wanted to rest.
As it turned out, Yin Yue did have something to say. She discreetly glanced outside, made sure that the other members of the Yin family were busy with the guests and wouldn’t notice them, then reached into her handbag.
Her unusual and sneaky behavior caught Yin Minglu’s attention. He became silently alert, and then he saw Yin Yue take out some videotapes from her bag and placed them on his bed. These items had some weight, almost filling up her handbag.
As she placed the tapes on the bed, she said, “Xiao Bao, your sister knows you’re acting in movies and TV shows now. Since you’re an actor, you need to hone your acting skills, right? Your brother-in-law feels sorry for you, such a young age, acting in movies and still having to study hard. So, he rented some videotapes in the city and specially brought them back as a gift for you. It’s the big New Year, and when you have free time, you can watch them to improve your acting skills. Strive for a smoother and more prosperous acting career. Let everyone praise you, saying how well you act.”
Oh well, flattery and sweet talk had arrived.
Yin Minglu lowered his head to look, and the names of those videotapes were “Young and Dangerous: Life in the Triad,” “Young and Dangerous: The Prequel,” “Tiger Cubs: Bloody Dawn,” “The Conqueror’s Story: Love in the Triad,” “Stormy Seas: Troubled Times of a Superstar,” “Triumph Over Tigers: Hand Concealing the Sky,” and so on. There was even a series.
His eyes subtly flickered, and he immediately understood Yin Yue’s intention.
Many village children were like blank slates, as they hadn’t had the opportunity to leave the mountains and lacked exposure. Once exposed to violent and bloody scenes and negative behaviors from the outside world, they were easily led astray. That blank slate would then be tainted. In the past, at the age of fourteen, the original host went to work in the city for the first time. In that diverse and chaotic place, due to his young age, he quickly lost himself among the flashy individuals, was abducted, and went down the wrong path.
Now it seemed that Yin Yue was dissatisfied with him deviating from the path of his previous life. She wanted him to continue undergoing the influence of these Hong Kong films. Ideally, she hoped he would once again go astray under their influence, stepping onto the path of crime. At the very least, if his character turned bad, that would be acceptable. Surely, this was what she would be pleased to see.
She even put on a seemingly caring elder sister face, and she shifted the blame onto her own husband. Yin Minglu sneered inwardly, his mind working quickly to come up with a plan. He pretended not to be aware and happily accepted those videotapes, promising to watch them whenever he had time.
Yin Yue nodded in satisfaction, and before leaving, she reminded him, “Remember to watch them. Your brother-in-law means well; he just wants you to watch what others act and see if it can be beneficial for you.”
Ignoring her, Yin Minglu opened one of the videotapes and inserted it into the newly acquired VCR in the Yin family. In this era, watching videos was a popular form of entertainment for both urban and rural households. At this time, not many families owned a VCR, and if ordinary citizens wanted to watch a video, they had to spend several dollars to go to a specialized screening room. Sometimes, it was challenging to secure a good seat, especially for popular movies. Having a home VCR was convenient, as one could directly rent video tapes for viewing.
It was quite a challenge for Yin Yue, who couldn’t afford to be in debt herself, to specially rent these video tapes to cause trouble for him. If he didn’t reciprocate, how could he face it? If Yin Yue didn’t want to live, then he would fulfill her wish!
As the videotape was inserted into the machine, the screen quickly displayed a scene featuring a skinny black-haired teenager. His gaze was fierce, like a wolf with cold and intense eyes. Covered in scars, he licked his wounds in the dark night. He appeared lonely, unyielding, and handsome, easily capturing the attention of children who found him somewhat cool. Soon, the young man picked up a knife, its blade gleaming in the cold light. The edge of the knife was bathed in blood, the blood of his enemies. A glass bottle smashed on the head of an adversary, blood splattering wildly. This was a battle fought for brothers.
Seeing the child enthralled, Yin Yue left satisfied, thinking that as long as the child idolized the violent and male-charismatic gangster movies, his descent into wrongdoing was only a matter of time. Moreover, a child’s transformation into delinquency would be gradual, progressing from fascination to imitation. It would take a while, and no one would suspect her involvement.
That was her belief, but the next day, a sharp scream from the Yin family shattered the dawn, jolting her awake.
Elderly people tended to sleep less, so the first to wake up in the house was Grandma Luo. Holding a winnowing basket, she intended to clean the chicken coop early in the morning and feed the noisy chickens with grains. However, when she saw a pool of blood outside the chicken coop, she sensed trouble. Fearful that wild animals like wild boars or monkeys from the mountains might have invaded the guesthouse, she quickly woke up the others.
Later, they discovered that something was amiss. There was one less chicken in the coop, and the fence was undamaged. It didn’t seem like the work of untamed animals from the deep mountains. If it were, those hungry animals might even eat a person, let alone just snatch a chicken. Moreover, the bloodstains gradually spread, like tiny red plums imprinted in the snow, glaringly red, and even extending into the courtyard.
Everyone’s hearts sank, and their footsteps quickened. They initially thought it might be a weasel taking a chicken, but they encountered the waking teenager, wearing a coat and walking over with a cold expression. He nervously said, “Xiao Bao is missing.”
The usually calm tone of the teenager was trembling. He couldn’t describe the feeling when he woke up and found the other half of the bed empty, devoid of warmth. He quickly searched, first in the bathroom, not finding the little guy with a constipated face, then in the kitchen, not seeing anyone raiding the cabinets for food. After patrolling around, he hurriedly called for help.
Upon hearing this, everyone became even more worried. They ran to the courtyard following the bloodstains. Shen Qiuyi, still in shock, covered her mouth with a variety of expressions, as if she had flashed through many unfavorable guesses in her mind.
Instead of finding a weasel, they saw a humanoid little wolf. The round and delicate eyes sparkled with a “fierce” light, and the slightly bloody white face held a small vegetable knife, waving it at the weak chicken in front of it, saying, “Get lost, you!”
Everyone was instantly stunned in place, looking a bit foolish.
Then, still comfortably sleeping in the warm bed, Yin Yue was awakened by the entrance of Grandma Luo and the others. After receiving a resounding slap, she was fiercely dragged out by her ear.
Author’s note: The years of these videotapes are intentionally blurred, it’s a fictional setting, so just enjoy the fun.
Well, these Hong Kong films are actually quite entertaining, but… it’s probably better for young kids not to watch them. Otherwise, with a light impact, they might become a bit delusional, and with a heavier impact, they might end up admiring some big brothers.
Do you sense my survival instinct?
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