Jiang Zhu is the son of a hunter, and from his surname, it was clear he wasn’t originally from this village.
From as early as he could remember, Jiang Zhu grew up in this village, living with his father, relying on each other. At first, he didn’t understand what it meant to be an outsider, but he experienced discrimination from the villagers because of it. Later, he understood what being an outsider truly meant.
He had also heard rumors that his father was a deserter from the battlefield.
Jiang Zhu often saw his father bring hunted game to curry favor to the villagers. When the villagers received meat, they would naturally smile kindly at his family.
But behind their backs, there were still cold stares, especially when his father hadn’t returned from hunting in the mountains for a long time.
Normally, though, even if his father took longer, he would return within about ten days. So most of the time, life for their family in the village wasn’t too bad.
Jiang Zhu had once mentioned these things to his father before, but his father always told him to endure it, saying that if they wanted to live well in this village, they had to rely on its people.
Although Jiang Zhu was deeply resentful, he obediently endured it.
This time, however, after his father went into the mountains, no one said anything at first. But when ten days passed and his father still hadn’t returned, the villagers began to whisper unpleasant things and cast mocking glances.
By the fifteenth day, as Jiang Zhu walked through the village, he was met with malicious taunts and ridicule from some of the children.
“Jiang Zhu, your father hasn’t come back yet. He must have died in the mountains, right?”
Faced with these cruel remarks, Jiang Zhu could only endure, hold it in, and ignore the people and their words. He pretended not to care, all while constantly recalling the word “endure” that his father had taught him, because they were not from this village and had to rely on its people to survive.
As he endured, each night was filled with deep fear. After every meal, he would go to the spot with the best view to see if his father had returned. Day after day, his hopes were dashed, and day after day, the taunts and humiliations piled up, along with his growing terror. He thought this was already the worst it could get, but he hadn’t realized that this was only the beginning.
Gradually, as he walked down the road, older children began to shove and trip him maliciously. One day, Er Mazi, a village thug, and his gang of friends brazenly broke into his house and stole all of the food, meat, and anything they could take. Jiang Zhu fought desperately to stop them, but in the end, all he got was a ruthless beating.
He went to find some help from the family his father had entrusted him to before leaving, but to his shock, that family came to his house and blatantly argued with the bandits, claiming that everything in his house rightfully belonged to them. They completely ignored Jiang Zhu’s presence, as if he, a child, was invisible. The same people who used to smile warmly at his father and him now showed such hideous faces.
However, for Jiang Zhu, the greatest blow wasn’t the theft of his belongings or even the beating he received. It was the way they acted in his own home, so brazen and unrestrained, as if they had already decided his father was dead.
At just ten years old, Jiang Zhu had learned, in a single day, what it meant to see people’s true faces and what it was to face demons.
His world, once stable, collapsed overnight, shattered beyond recognition. In a rage, he lunged at the woman who had once smiled the kindest at him and bit her hard. As expected, this led to another brutal beating. Helpless, he lay on the ground, watching as they took everything from his house, piece by piece.
He finally couldn’t hold back his tears and cried as he crawled up, weeping as he walked up the mountain path. In the village, aside from those who had harmed him, there were only people watching from the sidelines. Seeing him cry so miserably, not one person came to ask if he was okay. But to him, this was normal—because everyone in this place is a demon!
Until he met that person—the most despised good-for-nothing in the village—who unexpectedly said to him, “Come to my house.”
Jiang Zhu burst into tears. He hated Qu Qing’s sympathy. He thought to himself that he had a father and didn’t need anyone’s help.
Wiping away his tears with force, he desperately ran up the mountain.
On the mountain, he wandered around like a headless fly[1]“Like a headless fly” is a simile that describes someone moving around aimlessly or in a confused manner, without direction or purpose. It compares the person’s actions to a fly … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3338704_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3338704_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, circling in the forest for a long time, but he couldn’t find the figure he was searching for. No matter how loudly he called for his father, screaming until his throat was hoarse, there was still no response.
The dark forest was covered in fallen leaves, and a gust of wind blew through, making the atmosphere feel eerie. He was only wearing a thin layer of clothing and couldn’t resist the cold, trembling as he hugged his arms and kept moving forward.
In the forest, because of the dense green leaves blocking the sky, it always grew darker much faster than outside.
He didn’t know how long he had searched, but when he came to his senses, he realized the forest had already begun to darken. In the distance, some areas were pitch black, like terrifying holes that seemed to suck away life. Faintly, he could even hear the howls of unknown animals in the distance.
Jiang Zhu’s legs weakened. He was just a half-grown boy, and when faced with such terrifying things, he couldn’t help but feel afraid. He turned and ran back. Fortunately, despite his small size, his memory was quite good. With a bit of fear but no serious danger, he finally made it safely out of the forest. By then, the sky had already turned dim and blurry—it was the time people often referred to as “chicken dusk[2]“Chicken dusk” refers to the time of day when it begins to get dark, often around twilight, just before nightfall. It’s a poetic or idiomatic way to describe the time when chickens … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3338704_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3338704_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.”
As he passed by Qu Qing’s house, his footsteps instinctively slowed down, and he couldn’t help but glance inside. When he didn’t see anyone, he quickly ran away.
He stubbornly thought: ‘I have a home’.
Although everything in his house had been taken clean, his father once said that he had hidden a sum of money for him under the innermost wall in their yard. He had very seriously told him
that he could only use that money in the most critical situations related to his life when it was absolutely necessary.
Jiang Zhu thought, at least he still had that money. However, he knew that he couldn’t trust anyone anymore. He couldn’t even take the money out, once it was seen by others, it would definitely be snatched away by the people in the village.
He couldn’t leave here, he had to wait for his father to come back. He could manage on his own, as long as he had a home, he could even go work for the landlord as a cattle herder to support himself.
When he walked into his home, he saw the flickering candlelight inside and immediately ran in with joy.
His father must have returned!
However, when he pushed the door open and faced those familiar, malicious faces, the smile on Jiang Zhu’s face froze instantly.
Seeing them wearing his father’s clothes, eating his family’s food, and even sleeping in his bed—like a cuckoo occupying a nest—Jiang Zhu’s mind went blank, and he turned to run.
As he ran along the village path, the dim moonlight barely illuminated the road. He looked dazedly at the dull yellow light shining from the houses in the village, not knowing where to go.
In the end, the words of that good-for-nothing Qu from earlier in the day echoed in his mind.
When he came to his senses, he found himself standing at the front door of Qu Qing’s house. He clenched his fists several times, tentatively trying to open the door, but after putting his hands down again and again, the increasingly cold weather made it unbearable. Finally, he knocked on the door.
When Qu Qing came out in the dark to open the door, he saw a child who barely reached his waist. A thought flashed through his mind, and he uncertainty asked, “Is that the little brat from earlier today?”
Jiang Zhu lowered his head, digging his fingernails into his palms, and said firmly, “I have nowhere to go. Can I stay at your house? I can help you herd cattle and do odd jobs. All I need is a meal and a place to sleep.”
Qu Qing raised an eyebrow, this kid was quite interesting.
He replied, “But I don’t have any cattle, and I can handle the odd jobs myself.”
The child gritted his teeth in stubbornness, thinking that this person was indeed no different from the demons in the village—just another liar and another monster.
Cursing inwardly, he wiped away his tears with his sleeve and turned to leave.
Qu Qing wanted to tease him, so he quickly pulled him back, saying, “Hey, little brat, you’ve got a bad temper. I was just joking! Why don’t you stay at my place for now? There will be plenty of work for you to do, but you’d better not complain later.”
Jiang Zhu immediately looked at him in disbelief and replied, “I absolutely won’t complain a word!”
Qu Qing closed the door behind him and brought him inside, where Hua Zizhou also came out to see who it was.
Qu Qing hesitated for a moment before asking him, “Have you eaten?”
Jiang Zhu neither shook his head nor nodded, he simply said, “I’m not hungry.”
In reality, he hadn’t eaten anything all day. He was already hungry and even felt a bit dizzy from it.
Qu Qing guessed that he probably hadn’t eaten, and remembering how dirty the child looked during the day, he decided to get some water to wash him up a bit and prepare something for him to eat.
There wasn’t much at home, so he made a simple vegetable porridge with a bit of salt. However, Jiang Zhu ate it with relish. Watching Hua Zizhou busy with hot water and Qu Qing’s concern for him, he didn’t feel moved, instead, he became increasingly wary.
As the saying goes, “When someone shows you excessive kindness for no reason, they must have an ulterior motive.” Qu Qing was well-known for being a troublemaker, so why was he being so nice? Could it be that he was trying to lure him into his home and then sell him off?
That night, Qu Qing cleaned him up thoroughly, which only reinforced Jiang Zhu’s suspicions. He had heard that children who were sold were always well-fed and clean, so they could fetch a good price.
He couldn’t be sold, he had to wait for his father to come back!
The next day, when Qu Qing got up, he found that the little brat was gone. He scratched his head, shrugged, and didn’t bother about it anymore. He picked up his hoe and took the child with him to the fields to continue planting.
In fact, Jiang Zhu didn’t run far. He thought that once those two woke up and found him missing, they would be furious and search for him everywhere. However, to his surprise, they acted as if nothing had happened and calmly went out for farming, as if he’s not important at all.
After that, he continued to secretly observe Qu Qing’s family. After watching them work in the fields foolishly for half a day, he confirmed that they truly didn’t care whether he left or not. So, he took the initiative to step out and ran to Qu Qing’s field to ask, “Hey, you two adults, why are you only using one hoe to farm? Wouldn’t it be faster if both of you worked together?”
Qu Qing was a bit surprised to see him suddenly reappear and shrugged as he replied, “Because I only have one hoe right now.”
Jiang Zhu pondered for a moment and then turned to leave. Qu Qing didn’t say anything further, and Hua Zizhou and Qu Xin just looked at his departing figure with curiosity.
Jiang Zhu was certain that these two were definitely not human traffickers, after all, what kind of trafficker would allow a captured child to leave in front of them?
A quarter of an hour later, he appeared at Er Mazi’s door, holding a burning piece of firewood and shouting loudly enough for the whole village to hear:
“Damn you, Er Mazi!!! Return my family’s hoe! Otherwise, I’ll set your whole family on fire! Anyway, I don’t have a father anymore, and my home has been taken over. If I die, I’ll make sure to take your entire family down with me! If you don’t believe me, just try it!!!”
References[+]