tkworld #574 - Qin Family Background
#574 - Qin Family Background
Dusk deepened, painting the sky outside the window a dark gray. Tang Yin was about to continue questioning when he was drawn to the movement outside.
One after another, figures passed slowly through his field of vision, like puppets on strings.
He squinted, observing carefully, and realized it was a group of villagers crossing the path in front of the police station from right to left. Their gait was strange and uniform, their heads all lowered, as if pulled forward by invisible ropes. He couldn't make out their expressions in the dim light, but their listless appearance was particularly jarring.
A strange feeling arose in Tang Yin's heart; the scene felt like the prelude to some bizarre ritual.
"Wh-what's going on?" he couldn't help but ask, his voice trembling slightly.
"They're going to the water field," the police officer replied blandly, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
"Water field...?" Tang Yin repeated the unfamiliar term.
"That's the cafeteria. People here eat all three meals a day in the cafeteria," the officer explained, a hint of complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
So that was one of Baifeng Village's secrets.
"What a strange custom," Tang Yin said, feigning surprise.
"Yeah, I heard there was a fire in the mountains a long time ago, and they banned open fires. They only light fires secretly at the water field." The officer sighed and continued, "People here are used to not cooking at home anymore; they all eat at the water field. And the Qin family, one of the four elder families, is in charge of the food."
Just then, the door to the police station was suddenly pushed open. A gentle male voice interrupted their conversation: "What about our family?"
Tang Yin and the officer turned simultaneously, only to see a middle-aged man in a dark gray suit standing in the doorway. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, a polite smile on his round face, and was of medium height and build. His every move exuded a composure characteristic of scions of established families.
"...Nothing, Little Qin," the officer's tone became noticeably more restrained.
A member of the Qin family, one of the four elder families? Tang Yin wondered inwardly. He thought of Chen Xiang's plight—this woman who had married into the Qin family from out of town and was relegated to Misty Hidden Village after her husband's death. Could this seemingly gentle man be a relative of Qin Ming or Qin Yi?
Judging by appearances, it was hard to connect this well-dressed middle-aged man with those tragic events. But Tang Yin knew that deeper secrets often lay hidden beneath the surface.
This brief conversation had provided him with crucial information: the people of Baifeng Village had to eat in a cafeteria called the 'water field,' and the Qin family had controlled the food supply here for generations. This seemingly simple system actually gave the Qin family enormous power—they gained significant economic benefits and social status by controlling the villagers' meals.
The flow of people outside the window continued, moving silently towards the water field as if in a soundless procession. The night deepened, enveloping the village in a mysterious atmosphere. Tang Yin felt as if he had touched one of the most central secrets of this ancient village.
Tang Yin gazed at the slowly moving crowd outside the window, a key realization flashing through his mind: people couldn't live without food, and a group without cooking skills or tools couldn't even afford to think about cooking for themselves. Behind this survival mode lay a huge power network.
The Qin family monopolized the entire food industry of Baifeng Village, an influence that far exceeded the apparent economic benefits. Like an invisible net, it controlled the lifeblood of all the villagers. Thinking of this, Tang Yin thought of Chen Xiang's situation.
Her position managing the cafeteria in Misty Hidden Village was probably no accident. This once-prominent Qin family daughter-in-law had perhaps been carefully arranged to be there, bearing some special mission. In this light, the situation of Misty Hidden Village was even more intriguing—it wasn't simply being abandoned and forgotten, but being continuously controlled by Baifeng Village in a hidden way.
Just as Tang Yin was immersed in these deductions, the round-faced man with glasses suddenly spoke.
"Everyone's talking about it. Who is this?" His tone was gentle, but with a hint of imperceptible probing.
The officer introduced him somewhat awkwardly: "...Ah, this is Tang Yin. He's had a lot of misfortune and was planning to kill himself, and then he ended up here."
"Oh...that sounds really tough," the round-faced man said, showing just the right amount of sympathy, a warm smile on his face.
Tang Yin quickly lowered his head and apologized: "No, I was just being willful and causing trouble for everyone."
"It's nothing, don't worry about it," the officer consoled him.
"I see," the round-faced man nodded. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Qin Zhi, sort of the general affairs manager of Baifeng Village."
"Um, hello, I'm Tang Yin."
Qin Zhi sized Tang Yin up, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes: "Very fashionable clothes. And handsome too."
"You flatter me," Tang Yin replied modestly.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Qin Zhi's tone was concerned.
The officer seemed to sense something and quickly interjected: "...We were just about to eat. Maybe you can talk later?"
"Is that so? I thought you always cooked your own meals. Oh, right..." Qin Zhi suddenly turned to Tang Yin. "Tang Yin, you haven't had breakfast yet, have you? How about we go to my family's cafeteria? My treat."
His voice grew even gentler: "If you don't mind, I hope you can tell me what happened, just to help everyone out. After all, this is part of my responsibility."
Tang Yin noticed Qin Zhi's eyes flickering behind his glasses as he spoke, and a certain depth hidden beneath that amiable face. As the representative of the Qin family, what was the agenda behind his proactive gesture of goodwill? In this village where the Qin family firmly controlled the food supply, a simple breakfast invitation might hold deeper meanings.
"I have to understand everything that happens in Baifeng Village, big or small. That's just how it is." Qin Zhi still had that gentle smile on his face, his voice as soft as if he were talking about the most ordinary thing.
Tang Yin silently studied the man before him. On the surface, Qin Zhi did indeed give off an approachable feeling, his every move exuding the refinement characteristic of intellectuals. But it was precisely this gentle exterior that hid qualities that made one wary.
In the conversation just now, Qin Zhi was able to nonchalantly ask the officer, who had a public authority background, to disclose information. This matter-of-course attitude was enough to illustrate the true power structure of Baifeng Village - here, the four families' right to speak even superseded the law enforcement departments.
Tang Yin secretly winked at the officer, hoping to get some hints. However, the officer was unusually silent, as if he had suddenly turned into a silent statue. According to the previous conversation, the officer and his wife should have invited him to breakfast, but after Qin Zhi made the invitation, the officer was as silent as if he had been muted.
This strange atmosphere made Tang Yin realize that perhaps here, even if someone wanted to oppose the Qin family's wishes, they could only choose silence in the end.
"Really?" Tang Yin asked tentatively, glancing intentionally or unintentionally at the officer.
The officer seemed to force himself to speak, his voice a little dry: "...Can you let him come back after the meal? There are still a few things I need to ask him."
This sentence further confirmed Tang Yin's guess - in Baifeng Village, probably no one dared to talk directly to outsiders in Qin Zhi's presence.
"Sure, sure, of course," Qin Zhi agreed readily.
Just like that, the breakfast arrangement was easily settled.
The early spring sun was so bright that it was almost blinding. Tang Yin followed Qin Zhi down the streets of Baifeng Village. Along the way, Qin Zhi introduced him to the basic situation here. It turned out that the population of Baifeng Village was close to a thousand, and to meet the dining needs of such a scale, the cafeterias were not concentrated in one place, but distributed in several key locations in the village.
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They walked into one of the cafeterias. The moment they pushed open the door, the rich aroma of food rushed towards them. Although the room was already crowded, it was strange that when Qin Zhi appeared, everyone nodded neatly as if they had been trained, and then tacitly made way.
The villagers' actions seemed respectful and courteous, but they revealed an uncomfortable deliberateness. And when they noticed Tang Yin's strange face, they all cast wary and inquisitive glances, as if looking at an invader.
Fortunately, Qin Zhi's tall figure was blocking the front at just the right time, like a moving barrier, blocking those scrutinizing gazes out. Through the gaps, Tang Yin observed the scene inside the cafeteria. Except for the somewhat cold attitude towards outsiders, the people here behaved and spoke no differently from ordinary rural residents. They laughed and talked, discussing the crops in the fields and the mundane affairs of their families, as if this unified way of life had long become a habitual routine.
But Tang Yin knew that beneath the seemingly calm appearance, there must be hidden undercurrents. And he was stepping step by step towards the core of this mystery.
Tang Yin carefully looked at the villagers coming and going in the cafeteria. Their faces were full of vitality, completely different from the listless appearance when he met them on the street just now, making him wonder if his previous impression was just his own illusion. After all, even city dwellers look sleepy in the early morning.
The cafeteria was crowded with people coming and going. Most of the villagers wore farm clothes stained with the smell of dirt, and a few people who looked like office workers in suits hurried past. Several students carrying schoolbags walked together, their uniform styles exactly the same as those of the students in Misty Hidden Village, giving Tang Yin a subtle sense of familiarity.
This cafeteria was a typical wooden structure building. Although it had a strong sense of age, it was much more spacious than the cafeteria in Misty Hidden Village. Although the carvings on the wooden beams were not exquisite, they had a unique and rustic charm. The original wooden beams and columns had been polished by the years, emitting a warm luster, making people feel the solidity and heaviness of the building.
A row of trays was neatly placed near the entrance, and several aunts in white cooking uniforms were busy distributing rice bowls and soup bowls. This scene reminded Tang Yin of the student cafeteria in his university days, except that there was no option to order food here, but if there were dishes that were not to your liking, you could choose not to take them.
"Ah, it's okay, I can take care of him." Qin Zhi said gently to several aunts. He greeted each aunt familiarly, like an amiable big brother next door. Under his mediation, those doubtful gazes towards Tang Yin gradually dissipated.
To Tang Yin's surprise, they took their trays and left without any payment. Presumably these expenses would be uniformly included in some kind of organizational membership fee, which was very much in line with the characteristics of collective life.
Passing through the crowded crowd, the inside of the cafeteria opened up. Several rows of wooden tables were neatly arranged, and Qin Zhi took him to find an empty seat in one of them.
"Sorry it's a bit crowded here. Please enjoy your meal." Qin Zhi made a gesture of invitation.
Tang Yin looked at the food in front of him, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart. Being able to have a hot breakfast at this moment was a great comfort to someone who had just experienced a night of fear.
The tray contained a large bowl of steaming rice, next to a bowl of thick vegetable soup. The side dishes were a light cold dish and a small plate of cooked beans. To his surprise, there were actually a few slices of meat floating in the vegetable soup, which he had originally thought would be purely vegetarian.
"This is pickled beast meat, you may not be used to it, but it shouldn't taste too strange, right?" Qin Zhi noticed Tang Yin's inquiring gaze and took the initiative to explain.
"Pickled beast meat...is it wild boar meat?" Tang Yin asked curiously.
"No, here any wild animal meat is called beast meat, such as venison and wild boar meat." Qin Zhi explained patiently.
"That's right, it seems that this term was indeed used to refer to meat in the past." Tang Yin nodded thoughtfully.
"You are very knowledgeable." Qin Zhi smiled approvingly. "Hunting has been prevalent in this area for a long time, and even today, people will share the prey they hunt with everyone."
It was indeed a rare experience to be able to eat wild game in a public cafeteria. Tang Yin couldn't wait to take a bite, only to find that the taste of the whole meal was surprisingly bland. The cold dish had only a faint taste of soy sauce, and the sweetness of the cooked beans was also extremely restrained. The vegetable soup was more like a thick stew, presumably because only pickled beast meat was used as the main seasoning.
He took another sip of the soup and found that there was still a hint of wild game's unique fishy smell in the meat slices that were a little overcooked. Although the taste of this breakfast was not very delicious, being able to taste such local cuisine still made Tang Yin feel a sense of pleasure. Behind this unique eating habit, perhaps there was a deeper secret hidden in Baifeng Village.
Looking at the calm expressions on the faces of the people around him, Tang Yin suddenly realized that for the villagers who lived here, such a diet had long become a daily routine. And he, as an outsider, smelled an aura that was completely different from the outside world in this ordinary meal.