Wufu was not aware that she had been judged and talked about, and even if she did know, she would not care, as she was never one to concern herself with the opinions of others.
After leaving the Hundred Treasures Silver Building, she first went to the Cloth Shop to get two lengths of fine cloth as instructed by Madam Zhou and bought some pastries as well. She then left the town, and following directions given by passersby, she made her way towards Old Man Shen’s house.
Old Man Shen’s house was in South Town Village. It would take a little over a Shichen to walk there from the town. Wufu ran there just as she had done before, and in less than a Shichen, she arrived at the archway of South Town Village.
The archway, constructed at an unknown time, bore the characters for "South Town" in red paint that had peeled off, leaving them blurry. The tall pillars were also flaking, showing the age of the archway.
Under the archway, a few children in patched clothes were playing blind man’s bluff. Wufu stepped forward and pulled out a handful of candy: "Hey, kids, who can tell me how to get to Old Man Shen’s house? If you lead me there, I’ll give you some candy."
Candy was a treat no child could refuse. Seeing the colorful candy wrappers in Wufu’s hand, a few of them jumped up as if crazed: "Me, I know where it is."
Wufu smiled and said, "Lead the way then!"
So she followed them, strutting forward with confidence, like the king of the kids.
In no time at all, she stood before Old Man Shen’s house.
"Is this it?" Wufu frowned as she looked at the mud-brick house before her.
"This is it." The children snatched the candy from her hand and ran off screaming, swarming like bees.
Wufu took a moment to observe the house before her, furrowing her brows tightly. The house was too dilapidated, surrounded by a mud-brick wall, but that was not what caught her attention. What made Wufu frown were the two white lanterns hanging outside the door, swaying in the wind.
Even if Wufu did not understand etiquette and customs, she knew what white lanterns in front of a house meant—it signified that someone had passed away.
Old Man Shen’s house had become a house of mourning, signified by the white lanterns—a sign that someone had died.
Who passed away? For whom were these lanterns hung?
"Is anyone there?" Wufu called out from outside, but no one responded.
She hesitated for a moment, then pushed open the gate to the courtyard. It was unlocked and swung open easily.
Standing in the courtyard, she saw the white Mourning Money scattered on the ground and couldn’t help but purse her lips.
She called out several times, but still no one appeared, so she thought she should ask the neighbors about what happened to this family.
As she turned around, she saw a little girl standing at the door, holding a wooden basin containing a few wet garments, while she herself wore a patched linen dress. Her sparse, yellowish hair was carelessly tied with a blade of grass, and she had a little white flower pinned to it.
Wufu’s heart skipped a beat. She had heard that Elder Shen only had a little granddaughter. Could this be her?
"Who are you?" The little girl, who looked to be about ten years old, had eyes that seemed particularly large due to her frailty. At that moment, she watched Wufu warily.
Wufu forced a smile and said, "Hello, my name is Wufu. I’m here looking for the owner of this home; we had an arrangement."
"Wufu?" The little girl walked in, put down the wooden basin, and upon recollecting something, asked, "Are you looking for my grandfather?"
Wufu nodded: "Is Elder Shen your grandfather? Where is he?" she hoped it wasn’t as she feared.
The little girl’s thin face darkened slightly, and something flickered in her eyes before she looked away and said, "Follow me."
Wufu was puzzled but followed her into a dimly lit room, standing in front of a desk, she froze.
"Here, the person you’re looking for, he’s here," the little girl said indifferently, stretching out her finger to point.