Hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, Jiang Zhu immediately stood up from the ground, nervously biting his nails, his gaze fixed on the doorway without blinking.
“What’s this about…” Qu Qing walked in and saw a large pile of food and supplies behind Jiang Zhu, instantly feeling a sense of unreality similar to when he first discovered he had traveled to another world. “Did you go rob someone?”
Otherwise, he couldn’t imagine how a child who was completely broke in the morning could come back after just one trip “wealthy beyond measure.” Even the girl from the “The Tale of the Snail [1]“The Tale of the Snail” is a Chinese folk story about a magical girl who emerges from a snail shell to secretly help a hardworking man with household chores, symbolizing unexpected help … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3338701_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3338701_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });” didn’t have such an exaggerated story.
Jiang Zhu’s little face darkened at once, and angrily pointed at Qu Qing, “What are you thinking? How could I possibly go robbing…” Suddenly remembering his intention to set someone’s house on fire, it did sound a bit like robbery… No! “These things originally belonged to my family. I just went to get back what was my family’s, it’s not robbery at all!”
Hua Zizhou and Qu Xin, who followed in a step later, were also stunned. They had never seen so much food piled up in their yard, not to mention a whole, intact ham!
Qu Xin widened his eyes and shook the hem of Hua Zizhou’s clothes, his expression dreamlike as he exclaimed, “Dad, there’s so much food suddenly appearing in our yard!”
“Yeah,” Hua Zizhou replied, unconsciously glancing at Qu Qing.
Qu Qing walked over, squatting in front of the pile of cotton quilts, reaching out to pinch one. The texture wasn’t as good as that of modern bedding, but it was much better than the shabby quilts he had inside.
“I have to admit, seeing this huge pile of stuff is quite a delight for our family, which is currently short on food. But where did you get all this? Weren’t you still homeless yesterday? How come you suddenly have so much wealth today?”
Jiang Zhu did not answer directly, instead, he proudly told Qu Qing, “These things are all for you. There are also two hoes here. From now on, you can’t say I’m freeloading. This is my rent and food expenses. You’ve eaten my food and used my stuff, so you have to protect me from now on.”
Looking at his serious expression, like a businessman negotiating a deal, Qu Qing couldn’t help but chuckle, “You’re quite calculating, kid. You can stay, but you must explain clearly where all
this stuff came from. If it’s from any improper source, I won’t accept it. After all, I just want to live peacefully without getting into trouble, understand?”
Jiang Zhu bit his lip and finally, somewhat reluctantly, explained the origins of the items in a vague manner, “Well… they all thought my dad was dead, so they came to my house openly and took everything. That’s why I acted like that yesterday. Today, I just wanted to go to Er Mazi’s house to get back my family’s two hoes, and unexpectedly, they suddenly returned the things to me out of conscience.”
Qu Qing understood the situation clearly now. He stood up and solemnly patted Jiang Zhu on the shoulder. After careful consideration, he said, “To be honest, without these things, our family would face a food shortage in a month. You’ve really helped out a lot. But I still need to confirm with you—are you sure you want to give me all this? You actually have the ability to live on your own now. You could take these things back and easily support yourself.”
“My father said that a man must keep his word. If I say I’ll give it to you, I will. I won’t go back on my word. Or do you just want to drive me away?”
Qu Qing thought to himself, why does everyone today think he wants to drive them away?
He felt it was necessary to clarify things, so he brought out two small stools from the house and sat down facing Jiang Zhu. “You’re still young. Technically, as an adult, I shouldn’t accept things from a child. Otherwise, people who don’t know might think I’m tricking you, and I’m afraid you’ll regret it later…”
“I said I won’t regret it, so I won’t. You’re a grown man, why are you being so wishy-washy? Can’t you just agree quickly?”
Qu Qing was momentarily at a loss for words, surprised that a child was rejecting him. Considering he indeed needed those things, and even if he managed to convince this ten-year-old to go back home, how would the child live alone and unsupported? In addition, he still didn’t have a foolproof plan for the impending food crisis. Wouldn’t it be better for both of them to have a mutually beneficial arrangement? Cursing himself for being overly sentimental, he slapped his thigh in agreement:
“Okay, I’ll take all of these. I won’t say much about anything else, but you can rest assured of one thing: as long as you want to stay in this family, as long as I have food to eat, you’ll have food to eat too. I can read and write, and I’ll teach you how to read and write. I won’t take your things for free, and I won’t shortchange you either. It’ll be completely fair.”
After hearing his confession, Jiang Zhu shyly scratched his face and looked awkwardly in another direction. “Why are you saying so much? Don’t we still have work to do this afternoon? Hurry up and cook, I’m hungry!”
The others quickly got busy, maintaining a joyful and excited mood as they moved the bags of food to the kitchen.
Qu Qing couldn’t quite shake the feeling that something was off. As he carried the cotton blanket into the house, he suddenly remembered something and turned to Jiang Zhu, asking, “Wait a minute, they went to your house to take things so openly, which means they didn’t take you seriously at all. How did you get everything back today?”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Jiang Zhu casually replied, even taking the time to remind Qu Qing, who was holding a thick blanket, to watch out for obstacles in front of him before continuing, “I just ran over and told them that if they didn’t return my things, I would burn their whole house down. So, they returned everything to me.”
Qu Qing stumbled and almost fell after hearing this, standing firm and staring at Jiang Zhu in shock. “Did you really do that?”
Jiang Zhu rolled his eyes. “What did you think? Would Er Mazi really return the things to me willingly? But I didn’t expect it to work so well. I just wanted to get my hoes back, remember?”
Qu Qing’s eyes flickered: So that was why Jiang Zhu had asked him earlier why he didn’t use the two hoes for farming.
He gave Jiang Zhu a thumbs up, praising him, “Impressive! I’m convinced! Jiang Zhu, Brother Jiang, from now on, you’re my brother. It’s definitely a good idea to stick with you in this village.” As Qu Qing spoke, he used a thin blanket that was originally meant for covering as a mat and laid the thick cotton blanket on the bed. He sighed with satisfaction, realizing he had quickly escaped the nightmare of sleeping on hard straw.
Jiang Zhu was very happy for a second ago, but suddenly seemed to remember something, his eyes shifted, and a sad expression returned to his face. He sat down on a nearby chair, looking dejected. “It’s a pity that’s just a small part of what was taken. If Er Mazi’s mother hadn’t been easy to talk to, I might not have come back today at all. As for the other things that were taken, I probably won’t get them back…”
Qu Qing finished making the bed and walked over to ruffle his hair. “It’s okay. Here’s a saying for you: ‘A gentleman’s revenge is not too late even after ten years.’ You’re still young, just focus on living well for now. There will be opportunities in the future, and you’ll find ways to get your revenge. For now, let’s just endure it, alright?”
What Jiang Zhu hated the most is to endure.
After Qu Qing finished speaking, he saw the disappointment in Jiang Zhu’s eyes and quickly said, “Hey, hey, hey! Why are you looking at me like that with such disappointment? You said it yourself, that’s a whole group of people, not just one or two. Besides, even if it were just one or
two, I couldn’t take them on. I’ve never been in a fight! And with this fragile body of mine, I’m already exhausted just from farming. I’d rather lie in bed for twelve hours a day without moving. How could I possibly have the energy to fight a bunch of strong villagers? Just so you know, I’m only covering your food and accommodation, I didn’t agree to anything else, so absolutely, absolutely don’t think about asking me to fight!”
“If you could get everything back, all the food and money would be yours. Aren’t you tempted?”
“I’m not tempted at all. Don’t even think about it, it’s impossible!” Qu Qing didn’t leave any room for negotiation.
Jiang Zhu looked at Qu Qing with a slightly disdainful gaze, then snorted loudly and ran out. Qu Qing heard him head to the kitchen and, feeling quite unhappy, shouted to Hua Zizhou that he wanted to eat meat.
Qu Qing shook his head, continuing to make the bed as he said, “My mom told me that these hands were meant for art, so how could I possibly do something as disgraceful as fighting?”
It’s not because he’s a coward.
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