Family

“姑娘，你的手。。。你要住院。我们去吧”, recommended Mr. Li.

(Girl, your hands... You need to be hospitalized. Let’s go.)

The girl’s hands were cleaned and bandaged up by a doctor.

“很快好了。中国的药很棒哦!”, exclaimed Queen Zhang.

(That was fast! Chinese medicine is quite awesome!)

“Thank you... thank you for your courage and your hands. You are my hero... But, what is your name?”, asked Mr. Li.

“黑心。”, retorted the young girl.

(Heixin)

“很有名的。那个男人是谁？他不是你爸爸，是吗?”, asked Mr. Li

(A very interesting one. Who is that man? He was not your father, right?)

“不是。我家有四口人：我爸爸妈妈和我和我哥哥。但是，我爸爸一天去了。然后他没回家了。我哥哥的十八的生日以后，他也去了”, explained the girl in a somber tone. A tear almost formed in her left eye.

(No. I was from a family of 4: my dad, mom, myself and my older brother. But one day, my father left and afterwards, never returned. When my brother turned 18, he also left)

“Ahh... I see. They... they must have went to fight in the war... Heixin, I fear that your father and brother may never return. What about your mother?”, reasoned Mr. Li.

“我。。。我妈妈跟那个错男人开说了。我问她关于那个男人的时候，她告诉我她跟他因为她很孤独”

(My... My mother began to talk to that man. Whenever I ask her about that man, she tells me that she’s with him because she is lonely)

The girl’s face became even more sad.

“然后。。。然后我妈妈生病了。医生没知道她的病。没有人知道。她死了，可是我妈妈还有很多的医院的费。哪个男人不太高兴了因为他没有很多的钱。结果是他想我从人steal。现在我还一定必须付钱你”, shared Heixin, as she held back tears.

(Then... Then, my mom became sick. The doctors had no idea of what the sickness was... No one knew. She died... but she still had medical bills to pay. That man was not happy because he did not have a lot of money. Because of that, he wanted me to steal from people. And now, of course I still must pay you too)

Mr. Li gave the young girl a slightly rough head pat and rub.

“没关系。 You have paid me enough already. You have saved my life”, reminded Mr. Li.

(Don’t sweat it)

“Wait here. I will be back”, said Queen Zhang.

About 10 minutes had passed. Queen Zhang reappeared.

“Heixin, do not worry about your mother’s debt anymore. It is gone”, revealed Queen Zhang.

“But... but how!?”, questioned Heixin.

“I pulled a few strings behind the scenes and flexed my power as the supreme queen! Haha”, revealed Queen Zhang in a haughty manner.

Mr. Li noticed that Queen Zhang’s right hand was naked. Queen Zhang sold her wedding ring.

“Well, that was awfully nice of you, Queen”, commented Mr Li.

“如果只你能做一样的话”, stated a disappointed Ms. Zhang.

(If only you could do the same)

“...”, replied an annoyed Mr Li, as he rolled his eyes.

They all returned to the hotel. Mr. Li decided to continue to make the meatloaf with onions. Ms. Zhang was prepared to cut onions again.

“N O T T O D A Y”, demanded Mr. Li.

Instead, Heixin helped him cut the onions. The meatloaf was a success and tasted great. They sat down at the dining room table, as Mr. Li told stories about his life as a soldier.

The three seemed like a perfect nuclear family. Once again, Heixin was finally able to smile.

About 5 months had passed. The war appeared to be coming to a finish. Because General Li was gone, the North Country was in its victory lap.

A large crowd gathered on opposite sides of the streets. Mr. Li, Ms. Zhang and Heixin were all standing in the colossal crowd.

Trumpets 🎺 were played and the town’s front gates were opened.

They saw a wealthy and powerful looking man... King Zhang! He was carried on top of his chair, as his soldiers held him up by protruding bars under the seat and platform.

But who was this? A new woman at his side!?

Ms. Zhang saw that her husband replaced her with a fresh queen; this new woman was beyond beautiful, had paler skin, fuller lips and an hourglass figure. Ms. Zhang’s face became tense, as she became filled with a silent rage.

“那位女人是谁!? 他可能必须认为我在火死了。白痴的丈夫! 噢，她想她太可爱了🙄。请等，我以后要拿你的微笑”, Ms. Zhang thought to herself.

(Who is that woman!? He probably thought that I died in the fire... Dumbass husband! Oh, and she thinks she is sooo cute, huh? Just you wait... Later, I will take your smile away.)

Mr. Li did not want to be potentially spotted, so he pulled Ms. Zhang and Heixin’s arms, so that they would follow behind him.

They returned to their usual hotel. Ms. Zhang went into the bathroom and looked into the mirror and her eyes began to glow green. She pledged that she would take her throne back.