Chu Xun heard Second Uncle Chu’s voice and hurried out of the house.
A middle-aged couple walked in one after the other through the courtyard gate.
The man looked to be in his thirties. He had dark skin, was not tall, but very sturdy. He was Chu Xun’s Second Uncle Chu, Chu Mancang.
The woman following behind him was a peasant woman in her thirties.
Her face was slightly sallow, clearly from years of hard labor. She carried a basket in her hands, filled with wild vegetables.
Second Uncle Chu lifted the cloth bundle in his hand and said with a smile, “I went into the woods to chop firewood and happened to see a bird’s nest in a tree. I took a few bird eggs. They should be just right to nourish Xunzi’s body.”
Second Aunt Chu, walking behind him, frowned and muttered a few words under her breath, but said nothing.
You’re the only one who cares about your nephew. Our whole family has already given so much for him.
One serious illness drained all our savings, and we even mortgaged the land to borrow a lot of money for his medicine.
We went to the city this time and still didn’t make any money. What are we supposed to do when the debt collectors come knocking?
Are we really supposed to hand over the land?
Chu Xun stepped forward with a smile and took the firewood from Second Uncle Chu’s back.
He said, “Second Uncle, Second Aunt, I’m already better. There’s no need to nourish me.”
Already better?
Only then did Second Uncle Chu and Second Aunt Chu belatedly look at Chu Xun’s rosy face.
They were shocked. Hadn’t he only been recovering for five or six days? How had he gotten better so quickly?
Chu Xun smiled. “Thanks to the doctor Second Uncle traveled more than ten miles to invite. I’m much better now. Come inside.”
As he spoke, he also took the basket of wild vegetables from Second Aunt Chu and carried it inside effortlessly.
Second Uncle Chu was amazed. He clicked his tongue and said, “That doctor is really that capable? Then the money we spent on medicine wasn’t wasted after all.”
Second Aunt Chu gave his waist a hard pinch.
She complained softly, “You know we spent that much money. When the debt collectors come, I’d like to see what you’ll use to pay them back.”
Then she led Chu Qing inside to prepare the meal.
Second Uncle Chu scratched the back of his head, looking troubled.
He really couldn’t come up with any money to repay the debt.
Originally, his half-baked carpentry skills had been just enough to keep the family fed.
But now Chu Xun had fallen seriously ill.
That had completely thrown the family’s finances out of balance.
Sigh, forget it. Worst came to worst, when the debt collectors came, he’d just stall them again.
The sun rose higher and higher.
Second Aunt Chu pulled Chu Qing into the kitchen and started a fire to cook.
Before long, a bowl of wild vegetable paste was done.
There was also fragrant millet porridge, with four bird eggs cooked in it.
Second Aunt Chu scooped them all into Chu Xun’s bowl.
At the table, Chu Qing secretly glanced at the bird eggs and swallowed hard.
So fragrant. How long had it been since she last eaten bird eggs?
But these were for Big Brother to nourish his body. He had just recovered, and he was still weak, so he needed to eat something good.
Besides, he had to study, which was mentally exhausting and tiring.
He definitely needed the extra nourishment more than she did, since she only knew how to work.
Chu Qing quietly sniffed, as if she could smell even more of that egg fragrance that way.
Second Aunt Chu also noticed her daughter’s envious gaze, and her heart ached.
Silly girl, your mother secretly saved two for you.
I’ll give them to you after dinner.
All these years, your father has given all the good things to your Big Brother and never left any for you.
When Second Uncle Chu saw that there were only four bird eggs, he immediately understood what was going on, but he could only let out a long sigh.
It was all his fault for being useless, for not being able to treat the children in the family equally.
But right now, his eldest nephew was the only male heir of the old Chu family, so they had to prioritize him first.
When things got better in the future, he would definitely make it up to Qing’er.
After the bird eggs had been cooked in the millet porridge, they gave off a mouthwatering fragrance.
But Chu Xun pushed the bowl of bird eggs to the center of the table.
“I’ve just recovered and can’t eat anything too delicate. I’m too weak to handle such nourishment, so you should eat them, Second Uncle.”
Second Uncle Chu frowned and was about to speak, but Second Aunt Chu quickly took the eggs and peeled them.
In just a few motions, she had peeled them all clean. She gave two to her husband and one each to the two children.
“Eat at least one. You’ve just recovered, so you need to look after your body. Eat, all of you, eat.”
Then she glared hard at Second Uncle Chu, who looked as if he wanted to speak but held back.
If I tell you to eat, then eat. Xunzi learned those principles from books. Do you think he’d lie to you?
Chu Qing looked at Chu Xun’s expression. Seeing her Big Brother smiling warmly, he looked very gentle.
Chu Xun looked at her and nodded with a smile.
This second sister of mine has suffered so much over the years because of me.
She’s been running around handling every little thing at home, while I have kept my ears shut to everything outside the window. I really do feel guilty.
When Chu Qing saw Big Brother nod, she finally seemed to have received permission and ate with great relish.
She took tiny bites, savoring the flavor of the bird egg melting in her mouth, and a sweet smile appeared on her face.
Second Uncle also licked his lips and looked at the two bird eggs in front of him.
He reached out and took one, handing it to Second Aunt, who was bending her head to scoop up wild vegetable paste.
Second Aunt froze at first, then her eyes reddened slightly, and she glared at Second Uncle.
You shameless rascal. At least you still have some conscience.
The four of them sat around the table, happily eating, drinking wild vegetable paste, and eating bird eggs.
It had its own bittersweet charm, a little joy in the midst of hardship.
After they finished eating, Chu Xun coughed twice to draw the whole family’s attention.
Then he said seriously, “Second Uncle, Second Aunt, I want to tell you something.”
Second Uncle Chu looked up in surprise and asked, “Xunzi, what do you want to say?”
The other two also looked at Chu Xun, puzzled.
Chu Xun cleared his throat. “I don’t plan to keep studying. I’ve decided to stay home and help with the work.”
Boom…
Those words caused an uproar!
Second Uncle Chu was the first to slam his hand on the table and stand up. Don’t let his usual honesty fool you.
When he really got angry, even the family was a little afraid.
He said angrily, “Xunzi, do you know what you’re saying? You’re the only tongsheng in the village. If you don’t study hard and become a xiucai, what’s the point of staying home to do farm work?”
“Before your father left, he repeatedly told me to make sure you studied well, so that you could leave the village one day and make something of yourself. Now you’re saying you won’t study anymore? How am I supposed to answer to your father?!”
Unlike Second Uncle Chu’s anger, Second Aunt Chu looked a little relieved.
If the eldest nephew stopped studying, then the family wouldn’t have to pay the expensive tuition anymore.
That would take away a huge burden, and there would be one more person at home to do the work.
Right now it was a famine year, and who knew how many people couldn’t even get enough to eat.
If they kept supporting Chu Xun’s education, the whole family would starve.
Still, she felt a little bad and persuaded him, “Xunzi, think it over again. You’ve studied for so many years, and you were just about to make a name for yourself. It would be such a pity to stop now.”
Chu Qing also anxiously tried to persuade him for a long time.
Everyone meant the same thing: they wanted him to keep studying, and they could handle the work at home themselves.
But Chu Xun already had the system at his side. Why would he still take the detour of studying?
Studying?
Studying my ass!
As long as Qin Yue’er was there, he could guarantee that his family would not starve.
And if he had other women in the future, life might even be very comfortable.
Not to mention, the family couldn’t even pull out a single penny right now, and they still owed a lot of outside debt.
How could he have the nerve to keep spending Second Uncle’s money?
Chu Xun’s attitude was very firm. He made it clear that his talent simply wasn’t good enough.
Rather than stubbornly grinding away at studying and achieving nothing, he would rather help the family get through this famine year.
Second Uncle Chu wanted to keep persuading him, but his knees were kicked twice by Second Aunt Chu.
She frowned and put on an unhappy expression.
“You there, surnamed Chu, what do you mean by that?
You want me and Qing’er, the two women in the family, to keep working ourselves to death for the rest of our lives?”
Second Uncle Chu smacked his lips, looked at his wife’s hands, at the red marks left on her hands from weaving and the white hair at her temples, and then at his daughter’s slightly rough little hands. He instantly fell silent.
He sat down quietly on the small stool, his face dark and unreadable.
After a long while, he stood up and walked into the house.
Under the family’s puzzled gazes,
Second Uncle Chu came out holding a small cloth bundle wrapped extremely tightly.
The moment Second Aunt Chu saw the bundle, her face changed.
Her heart ached so badly that she almost cried.
“Xunzi, this is the deed to the three mu of land your father left behind. Since you’ve decided not to study anymore, these three mu of land are yours.”