Chapter 2: The Legend of Guida Bay (I)

October 1956.

In a poor town in the northwest of the Yellow River, the winter air was already in the air.

Due to soil erosion, the outskirts of the town were covered in yellow soil. The dust kicked up by the chilly autumn wind also blew into the town. At this time of dusk, the whole town looked especially desolate and lonely.

It was on such an afternoon that Lin Jianjun finished his work for the day and returned to the town.

At the edge of town, he had a simple shack where he lived in peace. Although it was drafty at night and leaked in the rain, it was much worse than the wooden dormitory at the timber depot, but he still preferred to live there.

“Old Lin, why would you want to live in a broken shack with no one around? Isn’t our dormitory good enough? I heard that we’ll be getting brick and tile houses at the end of the year, with electricity, and by then, those white-walled, black-tiled houses… gee… will be better than the best houses in town. Why don’t you come live here?”

“No, I’m used to living in a shack.”

“Lao Lin, what’s wrong with you? You don’t want the house we’ve assigned you, but you must live in the town? We’re not far from the town… Tell me the truth, do you have a girlfriend in the town?”

“Pah… I live in the town because it’s lively, but I don’t have a girlfriend. I’m at home, but…” Lin suddenly stopped talking.

His colleague, however, did not pay attention to this detail and just listened to Lin’s story with a smile. The colleague could not help but tease Lin again: “You always say that the town is lively, but what good does it do? Can you trade it for a bowl of noodles?”

“This popularity is good, but there are many benefits. There are many people, and the yang energy is strong. Yang energy protects the body, so you won’t get involved in evil things, and bad luck won’t happen to you. You have to have people’s energy to protect your body when you work here.” Old Lin still said this seriously.

As a result, the workers who were watching burst into laughter at hearing this familiar rhetoric. Some even started to tease and “educate” Lao Lin: “In this new China of ours, we don’t believe in this feudal superstition. Chairman Mao said that we should believe in science… You say that this kind of popularity can’t be felt or seen… that’s feudal superstition. Lao Lin, you’re a backward thinker… I say this is advanced, but you’re never going to be one.”

Although it was a joke, it was already quite unfriendly. In an era when everyone was pursuing advancement, it was not a good reputation to be backward.

But Lin Jianguo was not annoyed. He just laughed a few times and ate a few mouthfuls of noodles in the lunch box, which were almost the same as boiled noodles with water. The workers felt bored and dispersed.

It was always like this. They would always tease him for no reason. Is it fun? No fun… Walking through the dusty town, Lin Jianguo thought about what happened during the day and spat out a mouthful of sand-covered saliva, muttering angrily, “A bunch of idiots who don’t understand anything!”

Working at a lumber yard, you can often find corpses. How can you not be in a lively place? In the future, if something evil comes knocking on your door, you won’t be able to hide… Do you really think there is no evil? Some people just haven’t encountered it in their lives… But as the saying goes, you’re not afraid of ten thousand things, you’re just afraid of one!

It’s like the things that happened in my hometown… Thinking about this, Lin Jianguo shivered in the chilly autumn wind, not daring to think about it anymore. He just wrapped himself up in his clothes and continued walking in the cold wind, muttering again, “This ghostly weather, it’s not even winter yet, and the wind is as cold as a cold knife.”

In the midst of his cursing, Lin Jianguo finally reached the edge of the town, where a shack stood alone. The nearest house to the town was more than 100 meters away, which was Lin Jianguo’s temporary “home,” the broken shack that his co-workers called it.

After opening the large iron lock with some rust, Lin Jianguo pushed open the door of the shack with a “creak.” In fact, in those newly liberated years, people were exceptionally simple, so where would there be any thieves? Not to mention Lin Jianguo’s broken shack, even if the big house with red walls and white tiles didn’t lock the door, there wouldn’t be any thieves.

There was nothing of value in the house, except for a little food and some pots and pans and other household items. Since Lin Jianguo was alone, these things were all “broken” goods, many of which were given to him by kind people in the town who didn’t want them. In this shabby home, there was no need to lock the door.

But Lin Jianguo felt it necessary because he had secrets!

With the sound of the door opening, Lin Jianguo walked into the house. As expected, the dilapidated shack had been blown into the house with sand blowing in from all sides, but Lin Jianguo didn’t mind. Instead, he happily hummed an unknown tune from the Yellow River… He began to clean up the house, first taking the old quilt with patches on the bed and shaking it, then sweeping the bed with a handkerchief…

Everything was done in an orderly manner, and Lin Jianguo was always in a good mood. Every time he returned to this “home,” he was very happy. Although it was a broken shack that no one looked down on, it was said to be in the town, but it was also on the edge of the edge. There was nothing but a stove and a bed, but it was enough.

“Even on the edge, you can still get a sense of popularity.” Lin Jianguo is particularly attached to this sense of popularity.

The reason he likes this shack is not just because of the popularity, but also because it makes him feel safe.

Hmm, safety… After Lin Jianguo finished cleaning the house, he suddenly remembered this phrase, and his brows unconsciously furrowed. He thought of a stretch of the Yellow River’s tidal flats, the yellow, sparse weeds swaying in the wind, the village above the tidal flats, the smoke from the chimneys… a few shouts of the Yellow River, the setting sun, a group of men returning from fishing, the home in the cave…

Who doesn’t have nostalgia? No matter how poor a place is, as long as it is branded as a hometown, it will always be covered with a golden glow in the hearts of every wanderer, and it will shine with a unique beauty in their memories.

However, in Lin Jianguo’s memories, his hometown was always overshadowed by a shadow that lingered on… He couldn’t think about it anymore. Lin Jianguo’s hand shook involuntarily, and he shook his head. He quickly scooped up a ladle of flour from the container next to the stove, and then added a little clean water that had settled for a long time, and began to knead the dough.

“This flour can be exchanged for money in the countryside. Anyway, I’m alone, so I can’t use it. But this water has to be used carefully. When will it rain again?” Lin Jianguo became busy, and not only that, he began to talk to himself. He looked a little lonely and sad, but also a little neurotic.

He had to do this, only in this way could he fill his mind with things, so that he would not think about things he shouldn’t.

Soon, the cold autumn wind blew, the dust in the town flew, and the sun had completely set. Every household lit an oil lamp, but the smoke from the cooking began to rise… At this time, Lin Jianguo was already sitting in the doorway with a bowl of spicy noodles, eating it with a loud slurp.

In this town, the most “rich” people are the workers at the timber distribution office. God blesses them with food. There is a huge backwater here, and although the town is remote, it is close to a port, and the construction of the motherland requires timber… So, the workers here are rich.

So, in comparison, workers who can eat noodles every day for more than half of the month are not rich. Who else can be considered rich? The factory even provides meals, all of which are white noodles and white bread… Not to mention the people in the town, even people from nearby cities are scrambling to get into this timber distribution office.

People couldn’t understand why a farmer from a foreign land, who looked like a refugee, could enter the timber distribution office. However, a few insiders in the town knew the secret. They knew that it was not a coincidence, but for some reason, these insiders never mentioned it. This society no longer mentions it, and it’s better to rot in the stomach.

Liu Er is one of the insiders who knows why Lin Jianguo was able to enter the timber distribution office. On this evening, he finished his dinner early and started to take a stroll.

This is Master Liu’s habit. Except on stormy days, he always goes out for a stroll like this, to digest food and also to exercise… This person is old and always extra careful about his life.

At this time, the wind had stopped, and the dust that had been flying around the town had settled to the ground, making a “soughing” sound. A bright moon hung in the somewhat desolate sky, shining on the vast, desolate land of the Northwest. Master Liu II looked at the scenery in the distance, and then habitually walked to the edge of town, to the shack where Lin Jianguo was.

At this time, Lin Jianguo was squatting in the doorway eating his spicy noodles. When he saw Liu Er come, he looked up, revealing a mouthful of white teeth and a simple smile. No matter how you look at it, he is a harmless old man.

But Liu Er didn’t lower his awe at Lin Jianguo’s smile. As a man grows old, he doesn’t value anything, but he becomes particularly concerned about the things behind him, especially the strange and unusual things, not to mention after learning some secrets.

Lin Jianguo is not a simple person. He is capable and has great insight. This is what Master Liu Er said about Lin Jianguo!