Free Web NovelChapter 42: Chapter 20: Liu Ye
After Fang Rui left.
Sister-in-law Cai Gen couldn’t hold it in any longer. Wiping her tears, she sobbed, "Husband, how are we going to survive now? It’s all my fault... It’s all my fault..."
At that moment, regret bit at her heart like a venomous snake, leaving her in an agony of self-recrimination.
’It was all because I spoke out of turn and said something I shouldn’t have. The Fang Family came to take back the grain they’d lent, and now my family of three will have to starve because of it.’
’If it were just me, that would be one thing. But there’s my husband, and my child... Er Dan is only a boy of seven or eight!’
’They all have to pay for my mistake.’
’Could I blame the Fang Family? No, there was no reason to. They were just taking back what was theirs... In truth, it was my family that wronged them first.’
Outside the door, steam seemed to rise from the ground under the hot sun. The mixed droning of cicadas and chirping of insects was a grating, irritating clamor.
Uncle Fu Quan, weaving a bamboo basket, was silent for a long time before he sighed heavily. "Sigh... Let this be a lesson to us."
...
Fang Rui didn’t forget the other two families either, visiting them one after another to reclaim the grain he had lent out. freёwebnoѵel.com
These two families were sensible. Even though they had consumed some of it, they compensated for the full amount with other items of equal value—wild vegetables or hemp seed oil.
After visiting the three families, including Sister-in-law Cai Gen’s, Fang Rui had acquired: five jin of wheat bran, one jin of wild vegetables, half a jin of hemp seed oil, and two large coins.
To another family, these items were life-saving supplies, but to the Fang Family, they didn’t amount to much.
Fang Rui had only demanded them back because he refused to feed ungrateful wretches, and at the same time, he wanted to make a clean break from these families.
He didn’t take these things home. Instead, he changed direction and headed for Uncle Zao Hua’s house.
A few days ago, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family had lent grain to a total of six neighboring families. It wasn’t much, just wheat bran, only one or two jin for each household.
Last night, three of those families, like Sister-in-law Cai Gen’s, had taken the wrong side and spoken up for Song Dashan. Two had remained silent. Only one family had spoken in support of the Fang Family.
This sole family was Uncle Zao Hua’s. Although their voice was drowned out by the crowd’s "persuasion" and had no real effect, Fang Rui had remembered it.
He was a man who was clear about his debts and grudges.
Of the six families, he would take back the grain from those who had participated in the moral blackmail and taken sides against them. As for those who remained silent, he would do nothing and leave things as they were, waiting for them to return the grain on their own. And for the one who spoke up for the Fang Family...
He had to repay that kindness.
...
"Dad, Mom, when is dinner going to be ready?" Ah Huai ran over.
"Soon, you little rascal. What’s the hurry?" Xiang Lin’s wife’s voice came from the kitchen.
"Oh, I’ll go drink some more water!"
GULP! GULP!
Ah Huai drank a large earthenware bowl of water, so much that he started to hiccup.
But water alone couldn’t fill his stomach. A moment later, it was growling again. He swallowed his saliva and returned.
"Mom, is it ready yet?" Ah Huai asked again.
"It’s ready! It’s ready!" Xiang Lin’s wife finally said.
She ladled out the "meal."
It was a greenish broth with leaves floating in it. That’s right—this wasn’t porridge made from Sorghum Flour or wheat bran, but simply boiled willow leaves with a pinch of coarse salt.
As the head of the household, Uncle Zao Hua had the most in his bowl, followed by Ah Huai. Xiang Lin’s wife had the least, with only a few scraps for herself.
"Let’s eat," said Xiang Lin’s wife, handing out the chopsticks.
SLURP!
Ah Huai sat down, unsurprised by the boiled willow leaves in his bowl. He even looked a little eager. He impatiently took a sip, bringing the broth and a willow leaf into his mouth.
In truth, willow leaves are best when they are tender. Once they’re old, they become bitter and tough, difficult to swallow.
The willow leaves Uncle Zao Hua’s family was eating were just like that.
The first taste was incredibly bitter, but Ah Huai knew that if he just kept chewing slowly, he would discover... that it only got more and more bitter!
There was no "most bitter," only "more bitter."
The bitterness seeped into his stomach, into his heart, into his very bones. It was so bitter that tears and snot streamed down his face.
"COUGH! COUGH!"
Ah Huai coughed and wiped his face, but he continued to force the leaves down his throat.
Because, as bitter and tough as this boiled willow leaf soup was, it could still fill his belly a little, which was better than the feeling of starvation.
Hunger truly can drive a person mad. Only those who have experienced it firsthand can understand that feeling. Compared to that unforgettable agony, eating boiled willow leaves was nothing.
"Uncle Zao Hua? Xiang Lin’s wife?"
Just then, a voice called from outside. It was Fang Rui.
Uncle Zao Hua’s family instinctively covered their bowls—after all, it was an embarrassing, undignified sight.
But Fang Rui came in too quickly for them to hide it, and he saw what they were eating.
Fang Rui fell silent for a moment when he saw the contents of their bowls. He then took out the items he had brought: five jin of wheat bran, one jin of wild vegetables, half a jin of hemp seed oil, and two large coins.
Ah Huai stared at the items, gulping hard, not daring to speak. Xiang Lin’s wife glanced at her husband, also remaining silent, waiting for him to make a decision.
"Brother Rui, a few days ago, my family borrowed two jin of grain from you, and we haven’t even paid that back yet..."
Honestly, this "pie from the sky" was too big. Uncle Zao Hua didn’t dare to accept it, or even borrow it.
"I know."
Fang Rui understood his unease and explained directly, "...Yours was the only family that spoke up for mine... As for these things, there’s no rush. You can pay me back when the harvests are good again."
He didn’t say it was a gift.
But even so, could the value of these supplies be the same in a year of peace and plenty as it was in a time of disaster?
The favor... it was too great.
So great that Uncle Zao Hua still didn’t dare to accept, waving his hands. "We were only doing what was right. Besides, it didn’t even help much..."
Fang Rui smiled and didn’t press the point. He simply set the items down firmly. "Uncle Zao Hua, you might be able to endure, but what about Xiang Lin’s wife and Ah Huai? Take it."
Uncle Zao Hua fell silent.
The Fang Family wasn’t the only one affected by the first wave of the Official Army’s disastrous defeat against the bandits. In his own family, Ah Huai’s older brother had also gone missing.
Thus, Ah Huai was the only sprout left in his family line. If something happened to him from starvation, his line would be extinguished. He would die without being able to face his ancestors.
"Alright."
Uncle Zao Hua finally agreed.
He wasn’t a man of many words. He said only that one word, but everything else... he committed to memory.
"If things get too hard, you can come borrow more..." Fang Rui said.
As long as they had a conscience and weren’t ungrateful wretches, lending them some grain was truly no big deal for the Fang Family.
The Fang Family’s situation was different now.
Before, if the Fang Family ate a little better or helped another family with a bit of grain, they had to worry about their neighbors’ envy and jealousy.
But now, after Fang Rui had revealed himself to be an Entry Grade Martial Artist, that was no longer a concern.
Never mind eating a little better themselves; even lending out ten or twenty jin of grain, or word getting out that they went to the Black Market, would be no big deal.
The only thing that might cause some minor trouble was if their business of selling finished medicines was exposed.
After Fang Rui left.
"This time, we owe the Fang Family a huge favor. You must remember this, take it to heart."
Uncle Zao Hua instructed them gravely. Only after Xiang Lin’s wife and Ah Huai nodded seriously did he say, "Put it away!"
"Wow, we finally don’t have to eat boiled willow leaves anymore!"
Ah Huai cheered, "Mom, can we make wheat bran cakes tonight?"
SMACK!
A hand slapped him on the forehead.
Xiang Lin’s wife stood with her hands on her hips and spat, "You little rascal, you don’t run the house, so you don’t know how precious oil and salt are. Wheat bran cakes? Why don’t you just ask to fly to the moon?"
Seeing Ah Huai’s head droop in disappointment, she paused, ultimately unable to bear it. "We’ll have wheat bran paste. The paste uses less grain, and that’s good enough..."
"Wow, thank you, Mom!" Ah Huai’s expression changed in an instant, and he was happy once again.
The air filled with a sense of joy.
...
