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You'Ve Got Mail: A Cautionary Tale: - The Affairs of Adviser Wu
You'Ve Got Mail: A Cautionary Tale: - The Affairs of Adviser Wu
“What? You cheated a man instead? Xingzi! How, how did you become like
this? Auntie had told you long ago, you’re no longer young. Whether it’s a
male or a female, it’s good to have someone by your side, but you… Hai, you
even started cheating people… Hai…”
These past thirty-odd years, how big of a failure had he been?
“Auntie, you’re thinking too much. Xingzi didn’t cheat anyone, nor did anyone
cheat me.” Wu Xingzi rubbed his face helplessly. Hunching his shoulders, he
looked around and lowered his voice, “Auntie, what I’m telling you now, please
don’t tell anyone else.”
“Go ahead, I would definitely not repeat it to anyone.” Auntie Liu nodded her
head vigorously, her eyes shone as she clasped onto Wu Xingzi’s hands.
After some hesitation, Wu Xingzi finally continued quietly, “Auntie, I’ve
recently made some penpals through the pigeon express.”
“Penpals through the pigeon express?” Auntie Liu stared at Wu Xingzi, her
face troubled.
“Ah, yes.” Wu Xingzi rubbed at his cheek, and spilled everything, “Auntie, you
also know that I’ll be forty next year. At this age, I have no prospects nor
money, and also like men. It’s really not easy to find someone to accompany
me.”
“That’s true…” Auntie Liu nodded her head knowingly. Wu Xingzi’s face
became pale, and he felt even more hopeless about his future.
“So, through the pigeon express, I thought I might be able to find a partner…”
Wu Xingzi silently wiped away the blood from his wounded heart, his tone light
as though he was talking about someone else.
“That’s possible…” Auntie Liu nodded again, then asked. “Is it safe to make
friends through the pigeon express?” This was something new to her, and
Auntie Liu did not understand it. In Qingcheng county, pigeons were food.
They were so poor that they were about to starve, who would have the energy
to raise pigeons for penpals? Pigeons were so delicious, fat and tender, after
braising them they were… Saliva pooled in Auntie Liu’s mouth.
“Uh, it should be safe.” Wu Xingzi nodded, his ears blushing faintly. “These
days, I’ve been going to Goose City to collect mail from the pigeon express.”
“Oh, it’s like this…” Auntie Liu muttered. “Xingzi, Auntie doesn’t know much
about such matters, but it’s still somewhat worrying that you’re not able to see
the other person’s face. You have to be careful, if you really want to look for a
partner, Auntie can help you ask around as well.”
“No need to trouble yourself for me, Auntie.” Wu Xingzi patted the back of
Auntie Liu’s hand in placation. He looked up at the sky, the sun was already
high up in the sky. It was too late for him to make his way to Goose City, and
he looked a little desolate. “Uncle Liu, I’ll trouble you to drive me to Goose City
tomorrow again.” Old Liu did not say anything, he puffed at his pipe, and
nodded his head faintly.
Wu Xingzi planned to go to the magistrate’s office to work after the
conversation. Qingcheng County was small, and the conditions were harsh.
Even robbers would avoid coming to the county, other than the occasional
squabbling within families and neighbours, there was really nothing much to
handle in the magistrate’s office. As such, Wu Xingzi was able to run off to
Goose City every other day without the county magistrate showing any
disapproval.
Getting the information she wanted, Auntie Liu also did not hold Wu Xingzi
back. Stuffing a basket of steamed bread in his arms, she waved him off.
Once she was sure that Wu Xingzi was a distance away, she picked up a
basket of mountain vegetables and ran to Zhang Ahniu next door for a chat.
Within a few days, the affair of Wu Xingzi making friends through the pigeon
express, again spread through half of Qingcheng county. For some reason, it
brought about a trend of raising pigeons to deliver mail, but that was another
story.
Unable to go to Goose City to collect mail, Wu Xingzi was a little disappointed.
This penpals through the pigeon express, it started from a month ago.
As a person, there was no issues with his looks. His eyes flanked his nose,
his eyebrows tilted down, his nose fleshy and a little round, his short philtrum
causing his mouth and nose to look too close to each other. However his lips
were plump and full, according to face reading, that was a sign that he would
lose wealth easily.
Although Wu Xingzi’s looks were far from handsome, but he looked very
approachable. It was because of his approachable looks, he landed the job of
being the adviser to the magistrate.
When Wu Xingzi was about sixteen or seventeen, all his family members had
died, leaving him with nothing.
His father was once a scholar who had passed the country’s imperial
examinations. However, his progress stopped there. One reason being that he
did not have the money to continue with the examinations, and the second
reason was that he was not talented enough to achieve higher honours.
However, Father Wu was a practical person, he decided to open a private
school in his hometown instead, and managed to take care of his family with
that.
Since young, Wu Xingzi’s talents were average, he neither stood out nor fell
back. After passing the apprentice exams in the district, he then… Then,
nothing.
The Wu family always had only one son each generation, after Wu Xingzi’s
grandparents passed away, only the three of them were left. His mother had
very few family members as well, they had left Qingcheng County long ago,
and no one knew where they moved to. Hence, he was left all alone after the
massive flood that happened when he was sixteen years old.
As there were not many people who could read or write in the county, Wu
Xingzi could be considered heads above the rest. With his reading and writing
skills, along with the magistrate’s sympathy for him, he hired him as his
adviser. Although the salary was not high, but it was enough for him to live on.
Magistrates who were assigned to Qingcheng County also tended to be free
from corruption, and usually were unable to bring along their own advisers. As
such, Wu Xingzi’s position as the adviser was unshakeable, and he had
continued remaining as the adviser till now.
Wu Xingzi never found a problem with his way of living. However, as years
passed one after another, as he slowly progressed from his youth to
becoming middle aged, both his pockets and his house were still empty. One
day, he suddenly felt that his life was too boring, and wondered why should he
continue living his life aimlessly.
Once this thought surfaced, he could not stop thinking about it.
So, after staring blankly at his walls for a day and a night, Wu Xingzi decided
to commit suicide on his fortieth birthday.
With this decision, Wu Xingzi felt free like a bird. After a meal and a good
night’s sleep, he started thinking about the least alarming ways to die.