RMCF: Chapter 12

 

Chapter 12

“Working the land? The New Year is almost here; you should rest.”

Xu He looked up at hearing the voice, and glanced at the young man in front of him. It was the son of the Wang family at the village entrance. He'd heard he worked as a laborer in the city, earning over a thousand wen a month. He'd overheard Madam Wang bragging about it at length.

“What is it?”

Although Wang Lang was annoyed by Xu He's cold attitude, his interest wasn't really in him anyway. He usually couldn't get close to Xu Shaochun; Liu Xianglan guarded her daughter like the apple of her eye. The only way was through her younger brother, something all the young men in the village knew.

“The town’s shop is on break. I got my wages and brought a little something back for your sister. Can you pass it to her for me?”

Xu He said, “Why don't you give it to her yourself?”

“Ah, good He Ger, you understand better than anyone, don't you?”

Xu He continued hoeing the ground, calm and unruffled. “Why should I run an errand for you?”

Wang Lang was quick to understand. “That's easy to settle, easy to settle.”

He quickly fished out a few wen from his pocket. “For your trouble.”

Xu He took the money without batting an eye, his expression unchanged. “Running the errand for you is one thing. Whether she accepts it or not, I can't guarantee.”

This wasn't Wang Lang's first time giving something to Xu Shaochun. He knew the drill very well. Xu He was indeed quite trustworthy; if Xu Shaochun didn't accept the item, he would return it. “I know, I know. Your sister is sure to like it.”

Xu He took the item, acknowledged it, and went back to hoeing.

Seeing the matter settled, the man didn't try to make small talk with Xu He. Discussing business was one thing, but casual conversation? You couldn't squeeze a sentence out of him in half a day. Who would seek that kind of frustration? He was glad to save his breath and left, hands behind his back, looking pleased.

Zhang Fangyuan, watching from a distance, couldn't help but laugh. This youngest Xu—seemed honest enough, but had more tricks up his sleeve than one'd think.

“Busy?”

Hearing the voice, Xu He wondered if business was particularly good today. He looked up again and saw the sturdy figure approaching. His brow twitched slightly.

“Who'd have thought you'd be quite the businessman.”

Faced with the newcomer's teasing, Xu He wasn't angry. “Got to pay back that money, don't I?”

Zhang Fangyuan laughed again, very interested. ”Hey, do people often give things to your sister?”

“Mhm.”

“And they all have you pass them along?”

Xu He raised an eyebrow. “What, you have something you want me to pass along too?”

Zhang Fangyuan mused, “Well, given our... friendship, shouldn't I be exempt from the delivery fee?”

Xu He said impatiently, “Deduct it from the medical fees.”

“You're quite the smooth operator.” Zhang Fangyuan found this very amusing. “Seeing how accommodating Wang’s third son is, how long have you been doing this? Everyone in the village wants to marry your sister. You must make a tidy profit from this, right?”

“Even the tax collectors aren't as thorough in their inquiries as you.” Xu He said, “I'm not charitable enough to run errands for people for free.”

Zhang Fangyuan grinned from ear to ear. After a good while, he remembered his horse. He tugged the reins. “Take a look. What do you think?”

Xu He had noticed the sturdy black horse behind Zhang Fangyuan earlier, snorting and huffing.

It seemed only the landowner's family in the village had horses; they were very expensive. A few years back, his father had also thought about buying an ox for plowing. He went to the livestock market once, but the matter was never mentioned again. He didn't know where Zhang Fangyuan had gotten this animal.

He said sincerely, “Very good.”

“This horse is injured and needs to recuperate for a while before it can be used. Once it's better, I'll harness it to a cart and give you a ride when you go to town.”

Xu He thought he was starting to solicit passengers early for a transport business and simply acknowledged with a sound.

Seeing he had nothing more to say, Zhang Fangyuan couldn't help but scratch the back of his head, thinking of something else to talk about but coming up empty. Instead, Xu He spoke first. “So you were off looking at horses this whole time?”

“How did you know I wasn't in the village?”

Xu He lowered his brows slightly. “I passed your house when I went up the mountain to gather firewood.”

“Oh. I was travelling the villages, slaughtering pigs.” Zhang Fangyuan added, “Earned a bit of money.”

Xu He didn't know why he was telling him this. Wasn't the saying ‘wealth shouldn't be exposed’? But then he thought, during Zhang Fangyuan's absence from the village, there had been rumors again. The villagers said he had gone back to fooling around in the city. A couple of days ago, fourth uncle Zhang had almost gotten into an argument with someone.

“That's good. Are you going again?”

“It's almost New Year, I won't go. I'll do some small business in the village and town from now on.”

Xu He envied men who could make a living on their own, doing whatever they wanted, and the money they earned was their own. Unlike him, born a ger, dependent on his parents at home, subservient to a man if married. Selling a bit of charcoal or a couple of chicken coops he wove—the money would be completely confiscated by his mother when he returned. Saving any private money was harder than climbing to heaven.

Fortunately, he was thick-skinned. Behind his family's back, he charged those who wanted to send messages or gifts to his second sister a delivery fee, managing an income of two or three wen. Bit by bit, it might not be for anything major, but at least he could afford a cart ride into town if he wanted.

“The New Year’s approaching; those working outside the village are returning. It's good you're not going out anymore.”

“Indeed.”

“It's getting late. I should head back too.”

Xu He gathered his hoe. He had been planting winter cabbage. Before leaving, he kindly told Zhang Fangyuan, “There's a lot of winter grass over by Haitang Bay. You can cut some to feed the horse.”

Zhang Fangyuan acknowledged it. Watching Xu He walk away, he happily led the horse back home.

“This horse is really good. The coat is smooth, black, and shiny, the eyes are clear. Once it's healed, it'll definitely be useful.” Zhang Shicheng, hands behind his back, circled the black horse in the yard, looking it over and over, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes barely containable. “It seems the dealers at the livestock market didn't cheat you on the price.”

Zhang Fangyuan gulped down a mouthful of cold water. “Looking at me, they wouldn't dare cheat me.”

Zhang Shicheng lovingly stroked the horse, reluctant to let go. “Just worried this leg might not heal properly. That would be a problem.”

Zhang Fangyuan said, “I've broken bones before; I know what a broken bone looks like. This horse just injured the flesh, probably got caught in a metal trap, but not too badly. With careful and attentive care, it should be fully recovered in less than two months.”

Hearing such reassurance, Zhang Shicheng's spirits lifted considerably. Their Zhang family didn't have a horse. The ox at the eldest uncle's house was shared among several households—several families jointly bought an ox, each family using it for a period. Now that Zhang Fangyuan had bought a horse outright, there would be many uses for it in the future. Although it cost seven or eight thousand wen all at once, it was still better than squandering the money.

Even if they no longer needed it later, they could still sell it for a decent price.

The man had been gone for over half a month. Zhang Shicheng had feared he might lose heart over the matchmaking matter. He never expected it to actually motivate him. After being away for some days, he even returned with a horse.

That evening, uncle and nephew shelled some peanuts and shared a cup of wine.

“Tomorrow, your eldest uncle's family is slaughtering pigs. You should go help too.”

Zhang Fangyuan was drinking when he heard ‘eldest uncle’ and put down his cup. His eldest uncle's family had the most connections among the Zhangs. In his previous life, he had also taken gifts to their door, hoping for an introduction to some work. But his eldest aunt hadn't even let him in. Any job opportunities were always given to others. In the village, she had a reputation for being warm-hearted, yet, didn't care about her own family's younger generation, always eager to take advantage of relatives.

Previously, when he went to slaughter pigs at his eldest uncle's house, they never gave him anything. When his father was alive, he’d often go over to help, but never received any kindness. After his father passed, the eldest uncle's family grew distant. Sometimes when they met in the village, he'd call out to them, and his uncle and aunt would pretend not to hear.

Honestly, he didn't really want to go. “Eldest Uncle's family will surely have plenty of people for the pig slaughter; they won't need my help. If they're short-handed, he'll call for me.”

Zhang Shicheng knew he resented his uncle not calling him over and reasoned, “You haven't been in the village these days; your uncle couldn't call you, could he? They're slaughtering two pigs tomorrow; one is for selling. You're quick with your hands; it'll go faster with your help.”

Zhang Fangyuan sighed. After all, they were relatives, and he was the younger generation. Sometimes he had to save face, mainly because he didn't want to make things difficult for his fourth uncle. “Alright.”

Early the next morning, Zhang Fangyuan gathered his pig-slaughtering tools and went to his eldest uncle's house.

His eldest uncle, Zhang Shixin, had three sons, no daughters or gers. Two were older than Zhang Fangyuan and worked as travelling peddlers outside. One younger cousin worked as a laborer in the city. The household was managed by his eldest aunt and two sisters-in-law. Their income was considerable.

While still on the ridge above his uncle's fields, he could hear the commotion in the yard. There would definitely be more people today than at the Xu family's pig slaughter.

He strode down the path. His uncle Zhang Shixin and aunt were busy greeting people, while his two older cousins hadn't returned yet. The yard was already filled with several women and gers helping to prepare vegetables. Even Madam Xu, Liu Xianglan, was there.

Zhang Fangyuan wondered if his uncle also intended to form a marriage alliance with the Xu family? His cousin Zhang San was two years younger than him but already of marriageable age. He couldn't be bothered to inquire about that; he just didn't know if Xu He would come for the meal today.

As he was thinking this and walked into the yard, everyone looked at him and paused. The yard fell silent for a moment.

“Why is he here?”

“When did he get back to the village? Thought he'd drunk himself to death out there.”

“It's his uncle's family slaughtering pigs; of course he'd come.”

“What for? They’ve hired a butcher. Besides, everyone else's here…”

Zhang Fangyuan ignored the whispers and went up to greet Zhang Shixin. “Uncle.”

Zhang Shixin glanced at Zhang Fangyuan, nothing like the warmth he showed the other villagers, and responded indifferently, “Hmm.”

Zhang Fangyuan had long known his uncle wouldn't think much of him and was mentally prepared. He was just here for appearances, after all, they were relatives. So he asked, “Is there anything you need help with?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhang Fangyuan heard a familiar voice from inside the house. “Madam Zhang, where's your firewood? I'll carry some to the stove.”

The voice sounded familiar. The woman who came busily out of the kitchen also froze when she saw him.

“Why is she here?”

Zhang Fangyuan fixed his gaze on Madam Guang, his brow furrowing, showing clear signs of anger. Zhang Shixin said, “Naturally, she's here to help.”

“Uncle, your house is busy today, and there aren't many villagers here, are there? Is she the only one you're short of?”

Zhang Shixin scolded, “We're all fellow villagers. What's wrong with her coming to help? Just because your marriage proposal didn't work out, should everyone stop associating with the Guang family?”

Madam Guang hung her head, wearing a pained expression. “I thought since Brother Zhang invited me to help with the slaughter today, Brother Fangyuan had let go of the past unpleasantness. I didn't realize he still held a grudge. Fine, my coming here today was inappropriate.”

As she spoke, she pretended to wipe her eyes and started to leave. People in the yard quickly stopped her. “Don't go, Madam Guang. Look at this mess.”

“Fangyuan, child, why are you causing trouble at your uncle's place? They don't even hold it against you, but you're the one bearing a grudge.”

Everyone spoke up for Madam Guang. Zhang Fangyuan sneered. Wasn't this just because he couldn't play the hypocrite?

“Uncle is a man of great kindness and generosity, fond of making friends—truly admirable.” He dropped the remark. “I'm leaving.”

Zhang Fangyuan strode off. No one in the yard tried to stop him; instead, they all went to console Madam Guang. Zhang Shicheng, who had arrived a bit late, ran into the furious Zhang Fangyuan outside. Realising he'd clashed with his uncle again, he tried to pull Zhang Fangyuan back but failed, so he hurried to his elder brother's house.

He was about to ask what happened when he caught sight of Mother Guang and immediately fell silent.

He turned and went out to find Zhang Fangyuan.

***

Author's Note:

Zhang Fangyuan: So, what do you think of my new BMW 5 Series? Just picked it up, paid in full! If you marry me, the passenger seat is yours.

 

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