Shen Song ran too hard, lost his balance, and fell forward, landing flat on the ground.
He didn't dare pause for even a moment, scrambling forward on all fours.
The others in the Shen family had been sleeping uneasily as well, and now, except for the unconscious Liu Chunxia, they all woke with a start.
"Big Brother… Big Brother…" Shen Song's face was pale with terror as he pushed forward desperately.
Hearing his younger brother's voice, Shen Jing gritted his teeth and pressed the sickle down harder.
Today he had to cut off this leg with his own hands. He couldn't let his family agonize over it for his sake.
"Sister-in-law, save Big Brother!"
Shen Song couldn't run fast enough to stop it. All he could do was cry out in grief, his voice hoarse and raw.
At Shen Song's cry, Xu Hongmei's hands, which had been pinning down Shen Jing, lost their strength and trembled uncontrollably. Her whole body had gone weak, but at the last moment she summoned her strength and kicked the sickle out of Shen Jing's hand.
From the moment Shen Song had spotted what was happening and shouted his first cry, Xu Hongmei had already regretted helping Shen Jing.
By the time she realized what she was doing, all her strength was spent.
Clang.
It was the sound of the sickle hitting the ground—and the sound of the Shen family's suspended, clenched hearts finally settling down.
Xu Hongmei collapsed limply onto the ground. With nothing supporting him, Shen Jing fell back as well. He stared up at the dark night sky and its glittering stars, and said in despair, "Hongmei, you shouldn't have kicked away that sickle."
How was the Shen family supposed to go on living after this!
And how was he?
"Brother… Big Brother…" Shen Song rushed over and threw his arms around Shen Jing. "Brother, let's treat the leg, all right? Don't do anything foolish."
Lying in his brother's arms, the numb, hopeless look on Shen Jing's face gradually gave way to agony. He shielded his eyes with his forearm, his shoulders shaking, the corners of his mouth trembling with suppressed sobs. In the moonlight, his tears could be seen falling like rain.
The muffled sobs caught in his throat were like a sharp sword, stabbing again and again into Shen Song's heart—and into the hearts of everyone in the Shen family.
Shen Song could not imagine a person wanting to cut off his own leg just so his family wouldn't be burdened.
To Shen Song, Shen Jing's actions were staggering.
His understanding of family, of what family meant, seemed to deepen by another layer.
Shen Zhun carried his eldest brother back to the main room on his back. This time, the brothers took turns keeping watch.
Dawn was breaking.
A new day had begun.
Shen Jing had stayed silent through the latter half of the night. The moment light appeared on the horizon, he spoke, almost pleading, "Don't let me drag the family down."
"That's my only request as your eldest brother."
The brothers, who were about to head out, all stood frozen, saying nothing.
Their bodies were stiff, their heads weighed down as if by a thousand pounds. They couldn't bring themselves to nod.
Shen Chong gently broke the silence. "Big Brother, if it were my leg that was broken—or any other member of this family—knowing it could be treated, would you choose not to treat it?"
Shen Jing closed his eyes in pain.
He couldn't.
Having worked a full day of hard labor yesterday, then suffered a fright, rushed along the road, and barely slept all night, Shen Chong was exhausted. With dark circles under his eyes and no strength left for more words, he said only to the silent Shen Jing, "Put yourself in our shoes, Big Brother."
If they were to go work in the county, there was no time to waste.
Shen Yi'an and Shen Erkang, all packed and ready, followed behind their uncles. Having heard their fathers' pleas, their eyes brimmed with hot tears.
Eyes already sore from the night ached all the more now.
"But Fifth Brother, look at the state I'm in—how can this be treated? Our family really has no money." Shen Jing knew the family's situation well. After all these years, they hadn't saved anything; the only savings were what Xiao Ba had earned selling snakes.
Shen Jing laid out the family's circumstances. "Little Six and Little Seven are already eighteen and should be marrying—they need betrothal gifts. And when they marry, the house won't be big enough, so we'll definitely have to expand it. Xiao Ba is also at the age for marriage talks and will need a dowry."
If he alone held back his younger brothers, Shen Jing figured he might as well be dead.
Shen Chong said nothing this time, but Shen Jue and Shen Lie spoke in unison, their expressions earnest, "Big Brother, we'll get married whenever your leg heals—not a day before."
Shen Song quickly added his own pledge. He had come over early in the morning not because it was his turn to go out and work, but because it was his turn to keep watch.
"Me too. I won't marry—or I can marry someone, whatever." When he said the words "marry someone," Shen Song stumbled a little. To him, this was a novel new "rule."
This was exactly what it meant to hold the family back, to burden them. Shen Jing still held no hope at all and just wanted to chop off the leg and be done with it.
Looking at Shen Jing's lifeless face, Shen Song suddenly remembered the spirit-infused root he had dug up yesterday.
That thing had spiritual energy of its own. If the Shen family could identify it, and if it was something valuable, his brothers could take it to the county to sell and exchange it for some money.
If no one recognized it, they could ask Brother Zhou when passing through town, and if that didn't work, take it to the county to ask around.
Shen Song figured that a plant grown from local soil and infused with spiritual energy ought to fetch at least a few more copper coins than wild greens.
And if no one could identify it and it couldn't be sold, Shen Song would simply place it by Shen Jing's pillow—the spiritual energy it gave off would still be of some use.
Either way, Shen Song could put the thing to good use. He would do it while his brothers were all present—with Big Brother under so many watching eyes, he surely wouldn't try to chop off his leg again.
Shen Song went to the bed board and picked up the root, about as long as a forearm.
"Oh right, brothers, can you help me look at this? Do you know what it is? Can it be sold for money?"
The Shen brothers' attention was caught by Shen Song's words, and they all turned to look.
One glance was enough to startle them all.
The steady, mature Shen Zhun and Shen Chong felt their pupils constrict, momentarily lost for words.
The livelier twins, Shen Jue and Shen Lie, widened their eyes and exclaimed in unison, "Heavens! Where did our family get a ginseng root like this!"
"And so big!" Shen Jue added.
"And so long!" Shen Lie chimed in.