Halfway through, everyone looked at us, and Shi Jingxia felt embarrassed to continue in front of everyone.
Zhang Ling looked at me, seemingly awaiting my response.
I nodded.
"Well, that's it then. The first bite of the melon is the sweetest, and I missed out," Zhang Ling shrugged, seeming indifferent. She had experienced this kind of thing many times and wouldn't cry, make a scene, or even contemplate suicide like an ignorant young girl.
Then, Zhang Ling raised her glass and turned to Shi Jingxia. "So, you must drink this toast with me. It's the first time someone I set my sights on was taken by someone else."
"Ling Jie, Balang is mine. You shouldn't be thinking about him in the future," Shi Jingxia said, clinking glasses with Zhang Ling and drinking together.
On the side, everyone looked shocked, and Duan Huairen even discreetly gave a thumbs-up. I, on the other hand, felt incredibly awkward, wishing I could find a hole to hide in.
On the way back, I recounted the grievances between Jiang Erwa and Lao Jia to Shi Jingxia. Unexpectedly, she decided to bestow the title of "Balang" upon me, probably to deliberately provoke Zhang Ling. After all, I'm at most sixth in line, and it's almost laughable.
As we talked more candidly, Lin Canghai's face darkened, and he coughed.
Something came to mind.
The Skinny Monkey once mentioned hearing "papapa" sounds on the sunken ship. I pondered it for a long time afterward, unable to understand the reason behind it, so I brought it up.
"Lin Lao, you have vast knowledge and experience. Do you know what that could be about?"
Lin Canghai pondered for a moment, looking troubled. "Oh, I'm not sure about that, but I know someone who might."
"Who?"
"Pang Zhiwei."
Pang Zhiwei, originally from Hejian City, Hebei Province, was descended from eunuchs who served in the Forbidden City. One of the most trusted individuals of Eunuch Supervisor Li Lianying.
After the Eight-Nation Alliance captured Beijing in 1900, Empress Dowager Cixi fled west with Emperor Guangxu, with Li Lianying accompanying them, including Pang Zhiwei's grandfather.
After arriving in Xijing, Pang Zhiwei's grandfather thought it was a permanent move and bought land, but unexpectedly, Empress Dowager Cixi returned to the Forbidden City, and Pang Zhiwei's grandfather followed suit.
Later, Emperor Xuantong, also known as Puyi, abolished the eunuch system, and over a thousand eunuchs were expelled from the palace. Pang Zhiwei's grandfather returned to Xijing again, where he settled down and started a family.
Though he was a eunuch, he still had a fondness for women and married several wives. The specifics of his conduct are varied and debated, becoming a long-lasting topic of discussion.
In his later years, he adopted an abandoned infant, who was Pang Zhiwei's father. By the time of Pang Zhiwei's generation, the family's fortunes had declined, and they relied on beekeeping for a living.
It was now the third month of the lunar calendar, and April on the Gregorian calendar, with spring in full bloom. Walking along the rural path, tall locust trees formed dense forests, and the air was filled with the fragrance of locust flowers. Bees buzzed around.
People had shed their heavy winter clothes and donned lightweight spring attire.
Today, Shi Jingxia was wearing tight-fitting pants, a knee-length skirt, and a pair of black mid-heel shoes, very eye-catching for that era.
Villagers sat on small stools in the corner, basking in the sun. Some played cards, some played chess, and some stood with their arms crossed, watching the commotion with their bowls and chopsticks in hand.
Several old ladies shielded their eyes and watched us, gossiping and gesturing animatedly, expressing a wide range of emotions.
In the blink of an eye, our reputations were ruined!
I approached an old man who was smoking, with only a few cigarettes left in his pack.
"Excuse me, sir, could you tell me how to get to the Pang family's house?"
"Just keep going straight, then turn left and right. You'll see the beehives."
Sure enough, we walked over and saw dozens of beehives neatly arranged on an open space.
A man in his sixties, wearing a special sun hat, was collecting honey.
"Mr. Pang."
The man turned to look at us, thinking we were there to buy honey. He insisted we try some and casually plucked two stalks of wheat from the wheat field to use as straws.
Shi Jingxia was afraid of being stung by bees, so she stood on the outskirts, unwilling to enter. I went over to taste the honey.
"Sweet, isn't it?" Pang Zhiwei asked.
I nodded. "Hmm, it's really sweet!"
"This is honey from tall trees, untouched by pesticides, completely natural, eco-friendly, and suitable for all ages."
Curious, I asked, "What is honey from tall trees?"
Pang Zhiwei explained, "It's honey collected from places where human hands can't reach, like the honey from locust trees, for example, which belongs to one type of tall tree honey."
Just as in ancient times Wang Po sold melons, now Pang Zhiwei was selling honey. After a bit of self-promotion, we got down to business.
"How much do you want?"
"I'm not here to buy honey, I'm..."
Before I could finish my sentence, Pang Zhiwei ignored me and continued with his work.
"Sir, how much per kilogram?"
Pang Zhiwei's face darkened. "Twelve. I don't sell cheaply."
"I'll take one hundred kilograms."
At these words, Pang Zhiwei's hand trembled, and a swarm of bees scattered, frightening me into stepping back several paces.
"Young man, can you finish eating so much?"
"You don't need to worry about that. Will you sell it or not?"
"I will. How about this, I'll give you a discount. Just a thousand will do."
I didn't let him give me a discount. I paid twelve hundred yuan for one hundred kilograms of honey. Pang Zhiwei was overjoyed.
"Oh, I didn't realize, you're a boss after all. No wonder you're not buying honey. You're a big shot. Wait a moment, let me see if I have enough."
"Just give me whatever you have."
"Alright, alright."
Pang Zhiwei opened a box neatly filled with many bottles of honey, one kilogram each, and began counting.
I made up a reason, saying I saw a news report online about a diver discovering a sunken British warship in the Bohai Sea, where strange sounds were heard, and he recorded audio. Experts debated, relating it to cosmic mysteries.
After hearing this, Pang Zhiwei scoffed, "Believing in ghosts rather than experts with their broken mouths."
Seeing an opportunity, I pursued, "It seems you know what's going on?"
Pang Zhiwei sighed and said ruefully, "Nonsense about cosmic mysteries. It involves many innocent lives."
"Sir, you're quite amusing. I must say, you're more of an expert than the experts themselves."
"Son, why are you insulting people?"
"Please don't misunderstand. That's not what I meant, but what you said was quite unbelievable."
"If you don't believe it, fine. Come with me."
In a dimly lit room, Pang Zhiwei pulled a cord, and a dim light bulb flickered to life.
He retrieved a key from under a bed mat, unlocked the iron general guarding the horizontal cabinet, and took out a quaint and heavy wooden box made of rosewood.
"This box looks good, with a lot of history."
"That's right. It was passed down from my ancestors."
"Oh, are you selling it?"
Pang Zhiwei waved his hand. "I won't sell it for any amount of money. This box is used to hold the ancestral bags of my ancestors. After they passed away, their bags were buried with them, ensuring their whole body remains..."
At this, I felt nauseated and remembered Lao Jia's "drip, drip" sound, walking like a crab. I couldn't help but shiver.
"Let's not talk about it. This item is precious and spiritual. Let's keep it."
As we spoke, Pang Zhiwei took out several sheets of rice paper from the wooden box. When he spread them out, they were covered densely with characters.