Chapter 113 - 114: Xiao Dongzi
Jin Qianqian never once noticed that the little boy who had been quietly following her the whole way had turned and quietly left.
She unlocked and pushed open the door. "Go on, Little Donkey, go find some grass to eat. When my husband gets back, I’ll have him help take that cart off your back. I can’t move it alone."
"HEE—HAW—HEE-HAW—HEE-HAW—"
"It’s no use, no matter how much you bray," Jin Qianqian said before closing the door. Humming a little tune, she went into the kitchen to try her hand at a few more pastries.
&
"Xiao Dongzi, how did you come back empty-handed?" Big Beard asked, squinting at the boy. "Don’t you plan on eating tonight?"
Xiao Dongzi replied, "That woman ran into someone she knew. I wasn’t confident I could do it alone. You wouldn’t want me to get a beating and have to buy medicine for me again, would you, Uncle Hu?"
Big Beard lunged with a kick, but Xiao Dongzi agilely dodged it. "If you injure me again, we’ll just starve to death together."
As he spoke, he gave a pointed look at Big Beard’s arm, which had been broken when he was caught stealing. They couldn’t afford to pay with silver for treatment, so all they could do was watch the wound fester.
"Damn it all, how did I end up with a good-for-nothing like you? I’ve been teaching you for years, and you haven’t succeeded even once." Big Beard gritted his teeth. "Never mind all that. My wound is killing me. Even if you can’t buy medicine, you have to find us a bite to eat. Or should we just wait here to starve to death?"
Xiao Dongzi stubbornly clenched his fists. "I’ll go kneel at the intersection and beg later. I don’t want to be a thief."
Big Beard sneered, "Playing the saint now, are we? Then why were you so quick to eat the food I brought back before?
I’m warning you, you’d better get me fed today, no matter what. Otherwise, even if I can’t use my hands, I’ll still kick you to death."
Xiao Dongzi pleaded, "Uncle Hu, why don’t we go somewhere else? I can find a job. I’m sure I can support us.
I know I’ve only survived all these years because of you, but I really don’t want to be a petty thief.
The last time you made one mistake, the price was so high. If I end up like that too, we’ll truly be at a dead end.
Uncle, I just want to live a few peaceful years. I don’t care if it’s hard or tiring."
Big Beard caught him off guard and kicked him to the ground. "Easy for you to say! We have nothing to our names. Who would take us in?
Or do you want to sell yourself into slavery? And have your children and grandchildren be ordered around for generations to come."
"So what? At least I’d be living like a person," Xiao Dongzi said, wiping the corner of his eye. "Just a moment ago, I felt like I was worth less than that donkey. Even though it’s just livestock, it can earn its own food and shelter through its own effort. But us? We’re just rats hiding in a corner, sometimes not even as good as rats."
Big Beard licked his lips. "The world has never been fair. If I hadn’t been a fast runner back then, I’d have been used as a shield to ward off disaster for some nobleman."
"So many years have passed. Who even remembers you? Besides, it has nothing to do with me. You just happened to find me. They’ll never trace it to me."
"So your wings have finally grown in, huh? Trying to abandon me?" Big Beard stared intently at Xiao Dongzi.
"No," Xiao Dongzi said. "You’ve raised me for so many years. I’ll definitely take care of you in the future.
On my way here, I did a lot of thinking. I’m older now. As long as I’m willing to work hard, I can always scrape by and provide for us."
"What’s on your mind, kid?" Big Beard asked, looking at him skeptically.
"I’ll go find odd jobs," Xiao Dongzi said, his eyes sparkling. "Didn’t we used to drive carts? Today, I realized...
Anyway, just don’t worry about it for now. I’ll give it a try tomorrow. If it works out... well, things can’t get much worse, can they?"
"Then do whatever you want," Big Beard said, pursing his lips and muttering, "All those years of teaching, wasted. You really think odd jobs are that easy to find? If they were, I wouldn’t have ended up in this state."
&
Ancient Wen Heng watched Jin Qianqian drink the bowl of medicine, then quickly handed her a piece of candied fruit. "You can’t get this lazy, even when I’m not home.
We’re so close to the finish line. You don’t want all that medicine you took before to be for nothing, do you?"
Jin Qianqian pressed her palms together as if in prayer. "Darling, I just got busy and forgot for a moment. You’ve been nagging me for hours. Please, let me off the hook."
’I never knew Senior could lecture just like he used to. It’s like a devil’s chant boring into my ears; I think my eardrums are about to grow calluses.’
Ancient Wen Heng pinched her nose. With more time alone together, the two had grown increasingly intimate. "Calling me ’husband’ won’t work either. You need to remember this body doesn’t just belong to you. We have to think about our future. Haven’t you noticed? You’ve finally put on a little weight lately."
Jin Qianqian took out a mirror and studied her reflection. "I still look the same. My face is just a bit paler because I haven’t been out in the sun much."
Ancient Wen Heng caressed her cheek. "It’s true. It’s a bit smoother, too. I guess all that skincare you hoarded wasn’t for nothing."
"Of course!" Jin Qianqian said with a smug grin. "I have enough to last several lifetimes, and they’re all top international brands. I’m going to maintain myself as an ageless goddess."
Ancient Wen Heng was speechless. ’...Does that mean I need to be more diligent too? What if we end up looking like we’re from different generations? Who could I even complain to then?’
"By the way, I ran into Chief Li on my way back. He said no one from our family was on the latest list of offenders they received," Ancient Wen Heng said with a frown. ’So much time has passed, and they’re resettling refugees everywhere. Those people couldn’t have just vanished into thin air!’
Qianqian asked, "Then where could they have gone? Only Second Brother and his group have household registration papers. The others don’t. In a situation like this, aren’t they usually just sent back?"
"I’m not too worried about Second Brother and the others," Ancient Wen Heng said. "I’m worried about Le Tian and the Le Family. If they’re not with Second Brother’s group, those two boys don’t have a single copper coin on them. They’re bound to suffer."
Jin Qianqian teased, "What, you’re not worried about Old Gu?"
Ancient Wen Heng looked unconcerned. "Selfish people always manage to live better than anyone else, no matter where they are. Don’t be fooled by how Gu Yuanlei relies on the family for everything. If he were ever truly pushed, I doubt even he knows how low he’d stoop.
Besides, didn’t Eldest Brother and the others mention it? He has that girl from the Lan Family with him. Perhaps she has other plans."
"That’s entirely possible," Jin Qianqian mused. "They say the favored child is fearless and acts without restraint. But he’s probably forgotten that the people out here aren’t his parents. No one is going to coddle him."
"Let’s not talk about such depressing things," Ancient Wen Heng said, changing the subject. "Why did the whole kitchen smell of pastries the moment I walked in? What did you make today?"
With a flip of her hand, Jin Qianqian produced a plate of still-steaming red bean and yam cakes. "I just made do with what we had. If I want to make other kinds of pastries, we’ll need to remodel the kitchen a bit."