Zheng Hao turned and left. Looking at his aggressively departing back, Gu Lin had no other choice. He knew that the grudge and hatred between Zheng Hao and the original owner could not be resolved with just a few words.
Perhaps one day the hatred would be worn away by time, but that day was certainly not today.
“You.”
Gu Lin was somewhat stunned and at a loss. Looking at Zheng Hao, who had returned, and even though he saw the bowl of porridge in the other’s hands and understood that he had come back in order to eat, a wave of joy still welled up in Gu Lin’s heart.
Zheng Hao said, “I don’t care what you plan to do in the future. This is my home, so put away any thoughts you shouldn’t have. I won’t be coaxed and fooled by you the way my father was.”
Zheng Hao was naturally untamed. Although he didn’t know what kind of trick Gu Lin was trying to pull by taking the initiative to show goodwill, he had never been afraid. Every time the two of them confronted each other, Gu Lin had never gotten the upper hand.
Gu Lin didn’t care about the other’s attitude at all. No matter how much Zheng Hao loathed him, at least he was now willing to eat at the same table and speak with him. Selectively ignoring the latter half of the sentence, Gu Lin said, “Of course, this will always be your home.”
Zheng Hao’s hand paused mid-motion as he drank the porridge.
In the past, whenever he said such things, Gu Lin would never have had such a good attitude. Instead, he would angrily curse him as a bastard, saying that this wasn’t his home, that father would have new children in the future, and that they were the real family.
Zheng Hao raised his eyes to glance at Gu Lin. The other’s expression was just as sincere as it had been moments before.
He withdrew his gaze and continued drinking the porridge in his bowl.
Gu Lin watched as the other finished a bowl of porridge, and finding it not enough, ladled two more servings. When Zheng Hao was on his third bowl, Gu Lin couldn’t help but curse the original owner inwardly for being so ruthless as to let a child starve like this.
After Zheng Hao finished the last mouthful of porridge and put down the bowl, Gu Lin seized the opportunity to say, “The grain at home is running low. I need to make a trip to the county town today. Would you like to come with me?”
Since Gu Lin had decided to go into business, naturally he couldn’t stay in Xiahe Village all the time. He needed to go to the county town to survey the market before he could plan what to do next.
He could have gone alone, but the reason he asked Zheng Hao to come along wasn’t because he didn’t know the route to the county town, but rather because he wanted to give Zheng Hao peace of mind that he had no other motives.
Such was his thought process, but to Zheng Hao, it sounded entirely different.
As soon as he heard that Gu Lin was going to the county town, Zheng Hao thought of that scoundrel Liu Sanlai from yesterday. As early as when his father was seriously ill, he had discovered that Gu Lin and Liu Sanlai were in contact. However, fearing that his father’s condition would worsen if he found out, he hadn’t exposed the other. He had originally thought that after his father passed away, Gu Lin would immediately elope with Liu Sanlai, and Zheng Hao had already prepared himself: if the other person left alone, he would let him go. But if Gu Lin dared to loot the Zheng family’s belongings and run off to live the high life with her adulterer, he would kill the adulterous pair.
To ensure that killing Gu Lin and Liu Sanlai later wouldn’t arouse suspicion from others, Zheng Hao had purposely created a private trysting space for the two of them, and then timed it right to bring the villagers back to catch them in the act. As long as Gu Lin and Liu Sanlai were caught in flagrante delicto, he could later kill them both and fabricate a scene of a crime of passion, so that no one would continue investigating further.
Yet he hadn’t expected Gu Lin’s behavior yesterday to completely defy his expectations.
Hearing now that the other wanted to go to the county town, Zheng Hao sneered.
So he couldn’t help finally showing his true colors.
No wonder he kicked Liu Sanlai away without hesitation yesterday; it turned out he had found a new adulterer in the county town.
Thinking of Gu Lin’s heartfelt words from just moments before, Zheng Hao’s expression turned fierce. The other’s drastic change over the past two days was merely to lower his guard. Knowing full well that he loathed him most and had never been willing to travel with him, Gu Lin had said such things precisely because he calculated that Zheng Hao wouldn’t go, making it convenient for him to elope with his adulterer.
How could Zheng Hao let the other get his way? He said, “Mm.”
His eyes fixed intently on Gu Lin. You had better hide your illicit affair well; now that father is gone, I certainly won’t let you off anymore.
Gu Lin was once again surprised by how agreeable Zheng Hao was being, and probed, “Then shall we leave now?”
“Mm.”
To say walk, of course, it was impossible to actually walk to the county town on two legs. Xiahe Village was dozens of li away from the county town, and walking all the way there would cripple both legs.
Gu Lin and Zheng Hao arrived at the entrance of the village, where an ox cart was parked, with a middle-aged man standing beside the ox, fanning it.
Gu Lin walked forward. “Second Uncle Zhang, when is the ox cart leaving for the county town? Xiao Hao and I need to make a trip as well.”
Second Uncle Zhang was the village chief’s younger brother. The two brothers hadn’t split their household, and this ox was bought jointly by them. Aside from using the ox for heavy labor during busy farming seasons, neither brother could bear to overwork the ox on ordinary days, terrified that the beast might break down.
However, every day, Second Uncle Zhang would use the ox cart to transport Xiahe Village villagers back and forth to the county town.
Second Uncle Zhang was somewhat surprised when he saw that the newcomer was Gu Lin. At first, hearing the crisp and upbeat greeting, he thought it was some unfamiliar young ge’er from another family. But he never expected it to be Gu Lin. In the past, although the other would greet him, his chin would always be held high with a look of disdain and contempt in his eyes. Now, the other’s chin was still lifted, but at a normal angle; moreover, his back was straight, and his eyes were clean and clear as he met his gaze, carrying a touch of heartiness and friendliness that had been absent in the past.
Noticing the plain, clean white clothes on the other, Second Uncle Zhang let out a sigh. Sure enough, no matter how proud and arrogant a ge’er is, he still needs a man to prop him up; otherwise, once he loses his backbone, all his bravado vanishes.
Second Uncle Zhang said, “Wait a little longer. We’ll leave once everyone has arrived.”
Gu Lin had no idea that the other man had generated so many thoughts in such a short span of time, and even felt deep sympathy for him. He asked, “Then how much will it cost for the two of us for a round trip?”
Second Uncle Zhang waved a hand. “A child doesn’t take up much space, what money is there to speak of? Two copper coins will be enough.”
Gu Lin couldn’t possibly take that literally. Just as he was about to speak, several women and ge’ers walked over in a group, making it inconvenient for Gu Lin to say more.
The leading ge’er saw Gu Lin standing there and looked surprised. “Aren’t you Lin Ge’er? Hunter Zheng hasn’t been gone for long, and you’re already restless and heading to the county town again?”
Gu Lin was somewhat speechless. It seemed the original owner’s reputation was known to everyone.
Yet Gu Lin didn’t care for the ge’er opposite him either. If the other were simply bantering innocently, Gu Lin wouldn’t have minded, but both his words and expression were filled with glee at others’ misfortunes and malice.
Gu Lin wasn’t easy to push around either. The corners of his eyes instantly reddened, and he lowered his head slightly; though he wasn’t crying, his frail frame made people feel his utter helplessness.
“With the master of the house gone, how could I have the leisure to play around in the county town like before? It’s just that the family’s grain is running low. In the past, whenever grain was needed, he was the one who bought it. Now that he’s no longer here, I have no choice but to bring the child along to buy some.”
At the end, the newly widowed ge’er seemed to choke back a sob, his slender, fair palm lightly caressing his chest as if trying to soothe the pain of losing his husband.
The ge’er who had picked the fight was lightly patted by the woman beside him. “Stop talking, Wang Ge’er. Why bring up someone else’s heartache out of nowhere?”
The rest of the ge’ers and women also hurriedly stepped forward, softly comforting the grieving ge’er.
Seeing this, Wang Ge’er’s long, dark face twisted slightly. He had been hostile to Gu Lin for many years, and even if the other were truly miserable, he still felt that the other was just putting on a pitiful act.
However, seeing the faint reproaches in the expressions of the people around him looking his way, Wang Ge’er knew that if he kept talking, it would be hard to smooth things over, so he could only swallow his anger and shut his mouth.
Since the women and ge’ers were talking, it wasn’t appropriate for Second Uncle Zhang to chime in, but he was displeased with what had just happened. With a dark expression, he said, “Get on the cart.”
The ge’ers and women sat around Gu Lin and Zheng Hao, keeping Gu Lin company and talking to him. Although they hadn’t given Gu Lin a hard time just now, the thought that they hadn’t stopped Wang Ge’er and caused Gu Lin distress stirred a sense of guilt within them.
Listening to the chattering conversations around him, Gu Lin didn’t find it appropriate to appear too sociable, so he only responded from time to time. Yet just from their casual chatter, he managed to gather a good deal of information.
Upon arriving outside the county town gates, Second Uncle Zhang did not go inside. He turned back to tell Gu Lin and the others, “We’re heading back at noon. Those who miss the time will have to walk back to the village themselves.”
Without any objections, everyone disembarked from the cart, greeted one another, and walked into the county town either in groups or alone.
Gu Lin brought Zheng Hao down from the cart as well, but before entering the city, Gu Lin hadn’t expected that they would also need to pay a city gate tax. He silently fished two copper coins from his purse to hand to the guards stationed at the gate, and finally walked inside with Zheng Hao.
Once inside the county town, Gu Lin found that the scene before him was vastly different from what he had imagined.
He had originally thought the county town and the village would be worlds apart, and that at the very least, the ground would be clean and tidy. However, the surface of the streets before his eyes was no different from the yellow mud paths of Xiahe Village; the only thing superior to Xiahe Village was perhaps that the county town’s yellow earth was more compacted, making it less likely to kick up dust when people walked by.
Though somewhat disappointed with the ancient county town, Gu Lin quickly perked up. Looking at the town before him, while it wasn’t as prosperous as he had imagined, it was extremely lively, with crowds filling the large streets and small alleys like mist and smoke.
He turned to look at Zheng Hao beside him and said, “Let’s go, let’s look around.”
Meeting Zheng Hao’s gaze, which suddenly turned as sharp and piercing as a blade, Gu Lin hastily added, “After we look around, we’ll go buy our things.”
Zheng Hao didn’t speak and followed along by his side.
Gu Lin let out a slight sigh of relief. Kids at this age were truly not easy to fool.
Walking into the crowd, Gu Lin found that there were simply too many people, making it terribly crowded. He raised a hand toward Zheng Hao, but the other instinctively slapped his hand away without holding back at all, causing Gu Lin to hiss in pain.
He rubbed the back of his hand, which was turning red, and said with a helpless expression to the deeply guarded Zheng Hao beside him, “I’m not trying to do anything to you. There are simply too many people here. If we don’t hold hands, we’ll be separated by the crowd.”
Hearing this, annoyance showed on Zheng Hao’s face; clearly, he didn’t want any physical contact with Gu Lin. Yet letting Gu Lin enter alone was out of the question either. He would never give Gu Lin an opportunity to escape with his adulterer.
Resisting his impatience, Zheng Hao raised a hand and said, “Let’s go.”