“I’m not sure either,” Chris Bolton sighed. “You’re still young, you don’t really understand things between men and women. Some things, I’m afraid even Henry Harris himself can’t explain clearly…”

“I know, if Uncle Harris really understood, there wouldn’t be these photos…”

“Oh… where did you learn all this?” Chris Bolton reached out and patted Adam Bolton on the back of the head. “Kids these days, I really can’t figure you out.”

Adam Bolton chuckled. Seeing that his father’s face no longer had the gloom from when he first came home, he knew his father wouldn’t share his doubts with him. It was better to wait for things to unfold step by step, and then remind his father bit by bit. Maybe his father had already grasped the key issue.

Julia Evans brought out the cooked noodles. Chris Bolton picked up his bowl and, like a whirlwind, finished the whole bowl in just a few bites.

Adam Bolton, afraid of burning his mouth, had only eaten less than a third of his bowl when he saw his father reaching over with his chopsticks to grab some noodles from his bowl. He quickly jumped up to dodge. “I haven’t eaten all day, this bowl isn’t even enough for me…”

“When you first got back, you looked like you wanted to eat someone,” Julia Evans scooped some noodles from her own bowl into her husband’s. “Now you’re fighting over food like chicks. You two eat first, I’ll go cook some more noodles…”

“No,” Chris Bolton stopped his wife. “Go out and buy some food, pick something good, and when you come back, make sure people in the courtyard see you. These days, everyone in the courtyard looks at me like a stray dog, just waiting to see me make a fool of myself. Whether or not there’s a turnaround in Henry Harris’s situation, we can’t let these people have their way right now…”

“Why bother with pride at a time like this?” Julia Evans was a bit puzzled.

“Mom, it’s not about pride. When you’re down, everyone wants to kick you…” Adam Bolton chimed in. “The more disappointed you are, the less you can let others look down on you. Especially in this courtyard, everyone’s just waiting for a chance to step on someone else or hit them with a stick.”

“Heh…” Chris Bolton laughed, raising his chopsticks to tap his son on the head. “Who are you calling a stray dog?” Then he urged his wife, “You don’t see things as clearly as Little Adam. Go on, go on…”

Seeing her husband looking as if he’d completely let go of his worries, Julia Evans asked with relief, “Have you figured it all out?”

“Little Adam’s words reminded me. If Henry Harris can trust Ethan Reed, why can’t he trust me? If Henry Harris really has something to hide, his personal secretary Ethan Reed would know even more. Ethan Reed passing on a message for Henry Harris might be a trap. I can’t just jump in blindly…”

“So what will you do? What use are just these few photos?”

“Maybe they’re useless, maybe they’ll be very useful…” Chris Bolton replied vaguely. “Don’t they want me to leave Haizhou? Once I get to Dongshe tomorrow, I’ll know if these photos are any use.”

Julia Evans couldn’t help but ask, “What’s going on, you’re going back to Dongshe?”

“Of course I’m going back to Dongshe. I’ve already asked Frank Carter for leave. I can’t just not go because I said so—that would be bad. Besides, everyone’s avoiding me like the plague. Even if I stay in the city, it’s useless,” Chris Bolton said, his cheeks flushed from drinking. “But it’s not our whole family going back. I’ll take Little Adam to Dongshe, you stay here and see how things develop. Even if it’s just rumors, you’ll hear something. Let’s agree to call each other more every day, and if anything happens, it’ll be easy to come back.”

Chapter 8: The Funeral in Dongshe

Dongshe is a county under Haizhou City, located in the northeast corner of Haizhou, only fifty kilometers from the city center. In 1994, the provincial road between Dongshe and Haizhou hadn’t been built yet, so it took more than an hour by car to get to Dongshe county seat.

Cousin-uncle Anna Bolton was the deputy director of the Foreign Economic Bureau in Dongshe County and was well aware of the situation in the city. Before Dad rushed back home to attend great-uncle’s funeral, all the relatives at home already knew about Henry Harris being put under investigation.

Adam Bolton could still remember what it was like going back home then, thinking: If nothing unexpected happens, this scene will soon repeat itself, right?

Coming out from the narrow path surrounded by cornfields, you could see the old house on the water terrace. Except for the three rooms under Dad’s name left for Grandma, the other uncles had all rebuilt small buildings on their original homesteads. On the southernmost side of the terrace was cousin-uncle Anna Bolton’s three-story house, and a rainproof canopy was set up on the concrete yard in front of it. When someone dies, the funeral is held on the third day, with Taoist priests and monks performing rituals starting from the second day. A group of monks in robes sat on a high platform under the canopy, beating drums and gongs, surrounded by many people—just like in his memory.

Adam Bolton and his father stood outside the terrace, and many people in the canopy saw them. Cousin Lucas Bolton shouted in surprise, “Uncle, Little Adam, how come you’re here today…” He got up to run over, but his father Anna Bolton held him back. Instead, younger uncle Ryan Bolton ran out, took the paper bag with spare clothes from Dad, and led Chris Bolton and Adam Bolton into the canopy.

“We just talked on the phone yesterday, thought you’d arrive tomorrow…” Cousin-uncle Anna Bolton sat calmly, pretending to be surprised to see Dad. “Chris is a city leader now, when did you get so much free time?”