She bought seeds, and just in case, she also purchased a large amount of ready-made rice, flour, grain, and cooking oil. Anything edible that she could find and buy, she took it all and stored it in her space.
As she passed a few stalls, she saw a woman selling livestock. The woman looked to be in her forties, her skin deeply tanned and her face gaunt, with hollowed eyes.
Inside a wire cage were several chicks and ducklings. To keep them from making noise, their beaks had been tied with string.
Next to her squatted a young boy. He was also very thin clearly suffering from long-term malnutrition. In his arms, he tightly held a small white rabbit, gently stroking its fur while keeping his head down.
Song Qiaoan walked over and asked, “Are these chickens and ducks for sale?”
The woman suddenly looked up, her gaze darting around nervously. In a very soft voice, she said, “Yes, they’re all for sale! Even the rabbit is for sale. They’re all very cheap…”
Hearing that his mother wanted to sell the rabbit, the boy trembled and his eyes instantly turned red. He lowered his head and held the rabbit even tighter.
Seeing her son’s reluctance, Chunfang felt a sting in her heart. “We can’t even afford to eat, what’s the point of keeping a rabbit?”
“Be good. When Mom has money in the future, I’ll buy you another one.” With a bracing her resolve, she pulled the rabbit from her son’s arms and placed it on the cage to show Song Qiaoan.
The boy did not cry or make a fuss. He simply lowered his head and wiped his tears with his dirty sleeve.
“I don’t want the rabbit. I just want the chickens and ducks I’ll take all of these,” Song Qiaoan said.
“Oh! Alright, alright! Six jiao in total, you can give me five!” Chunfang said happily, immediately lowering the price by one jiao. Seeing that Song Qiaoan didn’t respond, she quickly added, “Four jiao! Four jiao is fine too!”
Song Qiaoan sighed. “You’re selling these too cheaply. Are they sick chickens?”
Chunfang panicked at once and waved her hands repeatedly. “No, no! I raised them myself, fed them all homegrown grain. They’re definitely not sick!”
“Then sell them at market price. If you deliberately lower the price, people will actually be afraid to buy them.” Song Qiaoan smiled and handed over a one-yuan bill. “Keep the change, auntie.”
Chunfang wiped her hands on her clothes and took the money with trembling fingers. Her voice choked with emotion. “So that’s how it is… thank you.”
She was simply too poor and had lowered the price out of fear of not selling anything, never thinking about it that way.
The young lady in front of her was not only beautiful, but kind-hearted too. As expected of someone from the city she thought things through so well.
“Auntie, do you have more chickens, ducks, or other livestock?”
“Yes! There are more than ten chickens and ducks at home. If you want them, I can go get them right now!” Chunfang said eagerly.
It was dozens of miles of mountain road back to the village, but as long as Song Qiaoan nodded, she would immediately run back.
Seeing through her intentions, Song Qiaoan sighed helplessly and said gently, “No need to go through so much trouble. If you don’t mind, I’ll go back with you to pick them up.”
“Alright!”
Chunfang packed up the cages, and the three of them left on a bullock cart.
The ride was bumpy, but the boy held the rabbit steadily the entire time, cherishing it like a treasure.
What a kind child, Song Qiaoan thought. She took the initiative to talk to him. “Your little rabbit is so cute. Where did you catch it?”
The boy looked up at her for a moment, then quickly lowered his head again. In a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, he said, “My dad gave it to me. He found it while hunting in the mountains.”
“Wow, your dad’s amazing.”
The boy didn’t respond again. He buried his face deeply into the rabbit’s fur, his thin back trembling slightly.
After a long while, he finally squeezed out a muffled “mm” from his throat, his voice carrying an uncontrollable sob.
Song Qiaoan froze, not knowing what she had said wrong how did just two sentences make the child cry?!
When she saw the mother turn back to look at them, she panicked even more, guilt written all over her face as she opened her mouth but didn’t know how to explain.
“You child, why are you crying for no reason?” Chunfang scolded lightly, then forced an apologetic smile at Song Qiaoan. “Ah, don’t mind him, he’s just like that.”
Song Qiaoan quickly took out a piece of candy from her pocket and coaxed him. “Don’t cry anymore. Here, have some candy.”
The boy looked at the candy, then at his mother. Only after his mother nodded did he take it, whispering, “Thank you, sister.”
The sweet and sour taste melted in his mouth something he had never experienced before. His tear-red eyes brightened, looking just like the rabbit in his arms.
Afraid she might say the wrong thing again, Song Qiaoan didn’t dare talk further and instead kept handing him snacks she had just bought.
When they arrived, Chunfang led her inside. “Sit and rest for a bit. I’ll go catch the chickens from the pen.”
At a glance, Song Qiaoan noticed a black-and-white memorial portrait hanging on the inner wall, with incense and offerings placed beneath it, surrounded by white paper funeral flowers.
It was clearly just past the hundred-day memorial.
No wonder the child cried when his father was mentioned.
No wonder he cherished that rabbit so much.
A bitter feeling rose in her chest. She lowered her voice and said to Chunfang, “My condolences.”
Chunfang held back her tears, shook her head, and forced out a smile uglier than crying. “It’s alright… it’s all in the past.”
She quickly closed the door, as if afraid Song Qiaoan would think it was bad luck.
A few months ago, the town was building a dam. Her husband volunteered for the job for the wages. That day he came home excited, saying that once he got paid, he would buy meat for the mother and son.
But they weren’t very happy. Building the dam was hard labor, and he would have to stay at the construction site until it was finished.
The child missed his father so much he cried all night.
The next morning, the man went into the mountains and caught a rabbit to finally calm the child down.
She held her son, her son held the rabbit, and the three of them waved goodbye at the door never imagining it would be their final farewell.
Later, the bad news came. The dam collapsed, and the child’s father was buried on the spot. His body was never found.
She cried until she had no tears left and even thought of killing herself.
But she couldn’t she still had her son. For her child, she had to keep going.
Who couldn’t live without whom? She could still hold this family together and raise her son on her own.
She worked, arranged the funeral, and when she was desperate, she went to the black market to sell small goods.
Right or wrong didn’t matter she just wanted to live. What was wrong with that?
Not a single tear fell. Chunfang sniffed and went back to catching chickens when suddenly there was chaos next door.
She looked over, quickly dropped what she was doing, and ran out.
“Oh my god, what are you two doing! What’s so unbearable that you’d go this far?!”
A hemp rope was hanging from the eaves, and a wooden stool had fallen over.
An old man was slumped on the ground, a deep strangulation mark on his neck.
“I can’t go on living!! My daughter died unjustly, and I’m useless I can’t even avenge her. What face do I have left to live?!”
The old man’s hair was white, and his throat had already been worn hoarse from the rope.
“Every time I think of Linglan dying and the murderer still roaming free, I hate it so much I wish I could stab him to death with my own hands.”