Chapter Four: Fines for Violations

Fifteen days after being released from the county detention center, Liu Sanjun did not go home but went straight to Cai Zhongsheng’s house. Upon hearing her recount how she narrowly escaped death and was saved by a divine turtle that carried her to shore, he was astonished.

Cai Zhongsheng had already heard that Liu Sanjun was detained for stealing chickens to feed her and asked if it was true. Liu Sanjun did not answer directly; instead, he replied with a hint of tacit acceptance, asking, "Do you blame me?"

While pouring him tea, Cai Zhongsheng said, “I both blame and thank you. I blame you for paying such a heavy price on my behalf—it was hardly worth it; yet I thank you for being willing to make that sacrifice, even if it brought trouble upon you, you didn’t care.”

As they spoke, Cai Mao occasionally interjected, “You two may be close, but be sure to protect yourselves.”

After a moment of silence, Cai Mao sensed a generational gap between himself and the young couple and felt a bit out of place lingering there. He moved aside, but realizing it was still awkward, he decided to leave. Turning back, he said, “Sanjun, have your meal here. I’ll go pick some vegetables from the garden.”

“Do as you like,” Liu Sanjun replied. As Cai Mao’s footsteps grew distant until they could no longer be heard, the two young people felt a surge of freedom, their voices growing louder and their manner more relaxed.

Even if their volume was a bit too loud, their mood was now naturally expressive; their movements no longer restrained.

At this moment, Liu Sanjun closed the front door and sat close to Cai Zhongsheng. He lifted the hem of her dress and touched her round belly, saying, “It’s only been half a month, but your belly’s grown quite a bit! Looks like our child will be born soon.”

Suddenly, Cai Zhongsheng wrapped her arms tightly around Liu Sanjun and said with some sadness, “Sanjun, what if your parents refuse to let you marry me and make me a daughter-in-law of the Liu family?”

Liu Sanjun replied, “After what happened, my parents are afraid of any more troubles. They wouldn’t dare oppose me now.”

Hearing this, Cai Zhongsheng smiled happily and revealed her rosy, radiant face from his embrace—a delicate blossom that intoxicated Liu Sanjun. He couldn’t help but shower it with gentle kisses, fluttering over it like a honeybee.

As Liu Sanjun had predicted, worried about further incidents, his parents reluctantly allowed the marriage in the month before Cai Zhongsheng gave birth, putting aside their pride for the sake of family harmony. Of course, since the child was a boy, the whole family was delighted.

Ye Huiqiong, now a grandmother, recalled during the child’s full-month celebration (the “nine morning” feast) that if it hadn’t been for the great turtle in the sea saving her daughter-in-law and unborn grandchild, the Liu family would not have such joyous occasion.

So she had her son call a carriage to take the family to the beach where the giant turtle had rescued Cai Zhongsheng months earlier. There, they took some wine and food from the carriage and scattered them into the sea, sincerely offering thanks to the turtle that had saved their daughter-in-law’s life.

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Afterward, instead of returning immediately, the carriage headed to Huiji Temple by the seaside. They asked a monk to name the Liu family’s yet-unnamed baby boy and gave a donation seeking good fortune.

Cai Zhongsheng brought the child before the monk and explained their story, including the strange detail that the turtle that saved her bore the inscription "Liang Xiuying Released" on its back.

The monk casually loosened a string of prayer beads in his hand, then tied his fingers together and entered into meditation.

After a moment, he told Cai Zhongsheng, “I have perceived a karmic connection. Your child shall be named Haisheng.”

When she asked about this karmic connection, the monk replied with a question, “Do you know why the great turtle in the sea saved you?”

Cai Zhongsheng shook her head. Both Ye Huiqiong and Liu Sanjun looked surprised.

The monk continued, “In your past life, your name was Liang Xiuying. That turtle was the little turtle you once released into the sea. It has grown large and saved your life this time to repay the kindness. Because the turtle’s rescue allowed you to survive while carrying the child, ‘Haisheng’ is the most fitting name for your son, also signifying gratitude toward the turtle.”

“Thank you, Reverend,” Cai Zhongsheng said respectfully, hands pressed together.

Ye Huiqiong happily tapped the nursing infant in her daughter-in-law’s arms and said, “Liu Haisheng—that’s a good name.”

Liu Sanjun, who had been silent, now smiled knowingly.

After bidding farewell to the monk and leaving Huiji Temple, Ye Huiqiong, as the elder, did not have the driver take them straight home but instead headed to the Haigang Town market.

The carriage stopped at the market entrance. She told Cai Zhongsheng, who held the baby, to wait in the car while she and Liu Sanjun went to buy some things.

But half an hour passed with no sign of them. The driver grew impatient. Meanwhile, the baby Cai Zhongsheng held sometimes urinated, sometimes defecated, occasionally both at once.

She had to get out to clean up on the roadside, squatting to tend to the baby’s mess. Fortunately, she had brought tissues and diapers, sparing her from soiling her hands.

Even if a little dirtied, without water nearby, she wiped as best as she could with the tissues on the busy street.

This displeased the driver. When Cai Zhongsheng returned to the car after cleaning the baby, he turned, pointing to a few drops of urine on the seat edge with a frown and said, “You need to clean that up.”

Without a word, Cai Zhongsheng, one arm holding the baby, took tissues from a bag under the backseat and wiped until spotless.

Still dissatisfied, the driver grumbled, “I really can’t stand this. If the car smells, customers won’t come, and that’s bad for business.”

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Suddenly, a knock came on the car window. The driver, thinking Ye Huiqiong and Liu Sanjun had returned, was about to complain but opened the door and saw a traffic officer in uniform wearing white gloves.

The officer looked stern but spoke kindly: “This is not a parking area. Stopping here blocks traffic and is a violation, which must be fined.”

As he spoke, another officer appeared behind him, holding a 50-yuan ticket and handing it to the driver.

The driver refused, saying, “I’m just dropping off passengers. If there’s a fine, the passengers should pay it.”

Cai Zhongsheng, holding the baby, asked how much the fine was and said, “Officer, please wait. My mother-in-law is buying supplies and will be back soon to pay.”

The driver asked, “Do you have 50 yuan on you?” Cai Zhongsheng replied, “I didn’t bring any money.”

The officer who issued the ticket pointed at the driver and said, “You pay it first. Whether the passenger wants to reimburse you is between you and them.”

The driver shook his head and frowned, resolute: “The passengers must pay. I wouldn’t park here otherwise.”

The officer who knocked smiled coldly and asked the driver, “If the passengers don’t know traffic rules, do you not know them either? If you don’t, you’re unqualified to drive and your license will be revoked.”

The driver was frightened, his face paled and flushed in turn. He blamed the passengers silently but dared not speak more before the officers.

Grudgingly, he handed the 50 yuan to the officer and, with a reproachful tone toward Cai Zhongsheng, said, “I paid this fine on your behalf, you saw that.”

Cai Zhongsheng thought to herself that the officer had said passengers shouldn’t have to pay, but she said nothing, remaining silent.

She was also anxious, not for any other reason but fearing the baby might soil itself again.

The officer who collected the fine told the driver, “Move the car quickly. If you linger, we’ll fine you again for illegal parking.”

The driver, veins bulging on his forehead in anger, dared not protest and drove the carriage to a spot fifty meters away from the market entrance.