Episode 2 recap: The debt collection trip brought about a change in Li Wen Xiu.
Zhang Feng Xia's convenience store was the liveliest place on the grassland, with villagers of all kinds coming and going, and many of them had outstanding debts. Su Litan's eldest son, Mulati, was addicted to alcohol and never paid when he bought things. Initially, Zhang Feng Xia didn't allow him to come anymore, but he instructed his wife, Tokun, to go to the convenience store, and in the end, he ended up getting drunk and freezing to death outside.
In the morning, when the store opened for business, Li Wen Xiu took care of the convenience store for Zhang Feng Xia. Although she was a bit flustered, she managed to sell some items. Su Litan rode past the convenience store on a horse with Ba Tai, attracting the attention of the people around. A well-meaning aunt learned that Zhang Feng Xia and Su Litan were in the same line of business and couldn't help but gossip about Su Litan's cruelty and the fact that there was a shotgun in his house.
While going through the account book, Li Wen Xiu unexpectedly discovered that the villagers owed a considerable amount of money to the convenience store. She discussed with Zhang Feng Xia and proposed that she would take charge of collecting the debts in the village as a way to raise funds for her return to the county town to pursue her writing career. However, there were some twists and turns in the process of collecting the debts. Li Wen Xiu mistook Gana'er for Jiang Buer and called A Yao as A You (dog bear), which greatly angered the other party.
During this period, Li Wen Xiu was attacked by a fierce dog and ran all the way to a small grove. On her way back home, she encountered Ba Tai and was teased by him, which resulted in her falling into the river and returning home in a sorry state. The convenience store was crowded with many villagers, but Li Wen Xiu stayed by her grandmother's side in a bad mood. Zhang Feng Xia advised her to give up on collecting the debts, but Li Wen Xiu had the determination to never give up.
Without even having lunch, Li Wen Xiu set off again to collect the debts, gathering information from the neighbors about the nearby situation. Since this place was a settlement from the Spring and Autumn periods, and now, apart from Su Litan's family preparing for their anniversary ceremony and A Yibieke's horse giving birth, most people were not at home. So Li Xiuzhen decided to first visit Su Litan's house, where the most debts were owed.
At this moment, Su Litan's family was slaughtering sheep and hosting a banquet, and it was quite lively. Beike, who was the village chief, told Su Litan to keep the shotgun safe and not to think about going hunting in the mountains anymore. Because Ba Tai wanted to return to the horse farm and asked Beike to talk to his father on his behalf, Beike hesitated and said he would bring it up after the summer season.
Li Wen Xiu was recognized by Beike, who mentioned her deceased father, Li Shan.
The aunt of the villagers brought Li Wen Xiu into the house, and as a result, the account book was read aloud by a child, causing astonishment among the people present when he read the part about condoms. Beike, who understood Chinese, helped translate Li Wen Xiu's purpose of visit, and everyone learned that Mulati owed the convenience store over two thousand yuan. They criticized Tokun for hiding it for over a year and insisted on waiting for the creditor to come knocking.
Zhang Feng Xia hurriedly arrived, seeing the chaotic scene, and she had her daughter identify Gana'er and Jiang Buer, and she made her apologize to Gana'er and A You. Previously, Zhang Feng Xia thought that the villagers were exaggerating when it came to Su Litan, but when she saw his fierce appearance, as if he really could kill someone, she grew fearful and took the initiative to discuss with Beike about transferring the business. She hoped that Beike would take her with him to avoid traveling with Su Litan.
However, Su Litan had his son stop Zhang Feng Xia and her daughter from leaving, which frightened them. But the next moment, he actually led a camel over, indicating that they didn't have enough money at home to repay the debt, so he would use the camel as collateral instead. Zhang Feng Xia understood Su Litan's intention, and her hanging heart finally dropped. She accepted the camel somewhat embarrassedly, happy that having a camel would make the transfer easier.
Through this incident, Li Wen Xiu had a different perspective on the place where she lived. In this remote mountain society, seemingly far from modern civilization, there was still a moral order that governed people's behavior. The instinctive needs and constraints between people and nature were limited but sufficient.
On the day Su Litan's family held the funeral, more than a dozen men rode by on tall horses, and the villagers mourned deeply. That night, Grandma, in a rare moment of clarity, gave her accumulated money to Li Wen Xiu, but Li Wen Xiu refused to accept it. Instead, she made up her mind to follow her mother to the Xia Ranch. Suddenly, she felt that this place was better than she had imagined, at least making her feel comfortable staying there.
Comments(Episode 2)