“Is this… really true?”
Hua Zizhou…Hua Zizhou… He has a name now. From today on, Hua Zizhou is his name.
Mao’er looked at Qu Qing in a daze. At this moment, he didn’t fully understand what this name meant for him, he only vaguely felt that something had changed compared to before.
Hua Zizhou, he thought with some excitement: this really… is a beautiful name.
Seeing the light in his eyes, Qu Qing knew that he liked it, which was great. After all, no one wants their thoughtfully chosen name to be rejected.
“From now on, I’ll call you Zizhou, okay?”
“Mm!”
Qu Qing didn’t have much time or patience to waste on trivial matters. After deciding on their names, he recalled the methods for farming that he had learned from Hua Zizhou the day before. He began organizing the seeds they would need for the first day and planning out the day’s tasks. Once he sorted everything out, he fetched some water and then went to the kitchen, where he unexpectedly found a bit of flour. With the flour, he made some hand-rolled noodles.
Hua Zizhou helped him on the side.
As Qu Qing worked, he reflected on his past. Having dropped out of school and learned to cook to save money now seemed like it wasn’t a bad thing at all. If his pampered self from before the age of eighteen had come here, he probably wouldn’t have lasted ten years, he might not even have been able to stay for a minute.
But… if he were to think back to when he was eighteen, why would he have ever worried?
Qu Qing paused for a moment while rolling the dough, his eyes growing a bit quiet, before continuing to make the noodles without changing his expression.
The texture of the noodles wasn’t as good as in modern times, and they were slightly spoiled, making the taste less than ideal in Qu Qing’s opinion. However, he silently endured and finished everything. The two in front of him also finished their portions, and after washing the bowls quickly, Qu Qing silently picked up the seeds and motioned for Hua Zizhou to walk ahead.
Once they arrived in the field, he first had Hua Zizhou demonstrate how to sow the seeds, and then Qu Qing followed suit.
One acre of land is approximately 666 square meters. Regardless of how precise the calculations were or how thoroughly he understood the numbers, once in the field, it all came down to one thing: just get your head down and work.
There was no room for refusal, no golden finger to rely on, and no support other than the roommate he was currently collaborating with.
After finishing with all the seeds, he realized that the rice given to him by the mysterious person was just enough to plant the entire acre of land, with not a single grain left over. One could speculate that the same applied to the corn and potatoes, if that were the case, then he couldn’t afford to use those seeds lightly in the future.
After a busy morning, the sun had risen to its highest point in the sky, marking the hottest part of the day. Feeling exhausted, Qu Qing made his way to the shore and collapsed under a tree, feeling as lifeless as a dead dog.
Once he finished his tasks, Hua Zizhou went off to find little Qu Xin, who had wandered off to play somewhere. Out of Qu Qing’s sight, he began to teach him, one sentence at a time.
“You have a new name now. If he can let you take his surname, it means he has accepted you and is willing to protect you. You must respect him and be filial. Also, you must never call yourself ‘Mao’er’ again, understood?”
Little Mao’er looked at him, and although he didn’t understand, he obediently nodded. From this moment on, he truly accepted this name.
After resting his eyes for a while, Qu Qing heard footsteps nearby. He didn’t even need to open his eyes to know whose footsteps they were, surprisingly, after just one day, he had already become familiar with the sounds of these two.
He opened his eyes and sat up, a bit surprised to see a green plant in Qu Xin’s hand. He had a guess in his mind but wasn’t completely sure, so he asked, “What is this?”
Hua Zizhou spoke up, “It’s the wild vegetables that Mao’er picked—ah, I misspoke, it’s the wild vegetables that Qu Xin picked.”
“Really?” Qu Qing didn’t mind his slip of the tongue, but seeing how nervous he looked, he smiled and got up to ruffle little Qu Xin’s hair. He somewhat awkwardly scraped together a compliment from his chest, saying, “At such a young age, you already know how to help share the family’s burdens. Qu Xin is really a good child.”
Receiving the compliment not only made the praised person happy, but it also greatly pleased Hua Zizhou, who was standing nearby.
“Let’s go, it’s almost noon. We should head home for lunch.”
After saying this, he picked up the tools he had brought, and the three of them walked back together.
On the way, they occasionally encountered others from the village busy in the fields. Although many gazes fell upon them, no one took the initiative to come over and speak to them.
Qu Qing thought to himself that his current hairstyle was a bit strange, and since the original owner didn’t seem to be a good person, it was evident that no one took the initiative to greet him. The original owner truly had terrible social connections. He needed to find a way to build
good relationships with the people in the village, but for now, he should focus on handling his own affairs before considering how to manage his interpersonal relationships to gain better resources.
As he quietly analyzed the villagers, he was also observing the environment and plants around him, gradually recalling the information he had previously learned.
While Qu Qing was surveying his surroundings, Hua Zizhou was also watching him. After spending more than a day together, he vaguely realized that Qu Qing was a good person, without a doubt. He didn’t scold or hit him, didn’t force him to work, and treated him well, even speaking to him in a very equal manner.
However, he also noticed that Qu Qing seemed to be a rather aloof person. On most days, apart from the intentional smile he would show when he needed to comfort Hua Zizhou, his expression was consistently cold and indifferent, making it hard for others to approach him or initiate a conversation.
Just like how he seemed completely in a different world at that moment, lost in thought.
Qu Qing suddenly asked, “Zizhou, during winter, are most of the leaves in the mountains still green here?”
“Yes,” he answered without hesitation. As he continued walking with his head down, he suddenly felt a bit strange. Why did Qu Qing’s tone sound as if he… wasn’t from here?
He wondered why he kept having this feeling.
After asking the question, Qu Qing realized that he might have made a mistake. He glanced at Hua Zizhou and thought to himself that even if he gave him ten times the courage, he probably wouldn’t dare to harm him. If something happened to him, Hua Zizhou would be in trouble too. So he decided not to worry about his little slip-up, especially since some things could make the situation worse if over explained.
He then summarized the information he had just gathered in his mind: the area was primarily populated by evergreen dicotyledonous plants, and the forest remained green even in winter, which confirmed the characteristics of subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests he had studied in high school geography. This type of climate is distributed in the eastern parts of continents between 25° and 35° latitude north and south. He thought about whether he was currently in the past of Earth’s history, similar to the climate of the Yangtze River [1]“Yangtze River”, known as “Chang Jiang” in Chinese, is the longest river in Asia and the third-longest in the world, stretching about 6,300 kilometers (3,917 miles). It flows … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3527585_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3527585_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); basin in his original world.
If it really was the past, he might be able to rely on his historical knowledge. Although he couldn’t do much, he might still be able to try to navigate the general benefits and avoid the dangers.
Of course, there was also a terrifying possibility that flashed through his mind only once: if in this world men could marry men and men could give birth, then did that mean… this might truly be another world?
It seems he needed to find a way to learn more about this world from Hua Zizhou tonight.
Returning to the present, the subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest region typically experiences a subtropical maritime climate, where rainfall and heat coincide, with no distinct dry season. This means that as long as he cultivates the land well, he shouldn’t have to worry about poor weather leading to a total crop failure. The winters are warm, in this climate, the temperature doesn’t
drop below zero degrees Celsius in winter. Therefore, the issue of heating during winter can be easily resolved—there’s no need to create a northern-style kang [2]“northern-style kang” (炕) is a traditional heated brick bed commonly used in northern China. It is built from brick or clay and functions as both a sleeping platform and a heating … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3527585_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3527585_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, just two thick quilts would suffice for the night. Additionally, daytime heating can be completely managed with firewood, as there is plenty of it available in the mountains, so he doesn’t need to worry at all.
The biggest challenge he currently faced was the shortage of food.
Qu Qing initially calculated the daily food consumption for the three of them, three meals a day. Even if they economized and managed to eat enough, the rice in his jar would only last for a month. The oil supply was even less, if they only ate two meals a day, it could stretch for another five or six days, but that was still not enough…
A month meant that during this time, he not only had to plant all the crops on the three acres of land but also find a way to obtain food for about eight more months before the crops matured.
Even if he could eat the undercooked crops to get by, reducing the time without food by two months, considering today as the first month of the eight-month period and having one month’s worth of food left, he would still face a situation with no food for at least five months.
In fact, it hadn’t come to the point of having no food at all, there were wild vegetables and fruits on the mountain, and the pear tree in the yard would bear fruit in the summer. However, without staple food, it would definitely be insufficient.
For three people, even if the small child’s portion was considered negligible, calculating normally, each adult would consume about 20 pounds of rice per month. For two adults over five months, that would amount to 200 pounds of rice, and this was already underestimating the situation by not factoring in the child’s consumption.
In five months, where could he possibly find so much food? In modern times, this would be completely manageable, making money is quite easy. However, the problem lies in the fact that this is a poverty-stricken ancient time. The sight of the thin and hungry adult and child who were sent to his home yesterday made it clear that this place was unlikely to have a surplus of food. As he thought about this, his brows furrowed even deeper, and his expression grew more troubled.
Seeing the troubled expression on his face, Hua Zizhou felt uncertain about whether it was due to something he had said or if he was simply unhappy. He was about to reach for Little Qu Xin’s hand when he realized that the child, excited from the praise, had already run in front of Qu Qing. However, he stumbled over a small stone and fell to the ground.
Hua Zizhou was startled. Normally, at times like this, Little Mao’er would be scolded by others for blocking the way and would often be kicked or hit a couple of times if he wasn’t careful. It wasn’t that he doubted Qu Qing would behave like that, rather, he had encountered such situations too many times before, so fear had become a habit for him.
As he focused all his attention on Qu Qing, he realized that Qu Qing wasn’t as angry as he had imagined. Instead, he was squatting on the ground, helping little Qu Xin pick up the wild vegetables from the ground and handing them to him. Then, he reached out and lifted little Qu Xin onto his back, continuing to think about his own matters.
This action seemed very natural, anyone watching would think they were biological father and son without the slightest doubt.
Hua Zizhou’s mouth opened slightly as he stopped to watch Qu Qing’s back for a moment, then he hurried to catch up with them. He felt a mix of emotions swelling in his heart, an indescribable sensation that was both sweet and sour.
After returning home, Qu Qing first cooked some rice, then called over Hua Zizhou to ask him how to get rid of the bugs. After all, with the rice supply already so tight, if the weevils ate a lot of it, it would really be impossible to get by.
“Put it in a cool, ventilated place, and the bugs will crawl away by themselves in no time.”
After speaking, he began to take action. There wasn’t much rice, and soon he moved it all to the clean eaves. Then he stir-fried a dish with the wild vegetables Mao’er had picked in the morning. Knowing the preciousness and scarcity of the seeds, he decided to leave the potatoes meant for planting untouched for the time being.
After finishing the meal, Qu Qing got up, took the potatoes, and started cutting them into pieces for planting. Since there was only one knife in the house and seeing Hua Zizhou’s eager desire to help, he worked for a while before handing the task over to him. Then, he began to think about repairing the thatched house, which already had some holes.
Climbing up to the roof, he lifted the thatch and examined how it was laid out. Once he understood it clearly, he took a good look at the appearance of the thatch and recalled that most of the plants on the ground outside seemed to be of this kind.
After coming down to the ground, he took a sickle and went out to start cutting the thatch. Once he felt he had enough, he stopped and carried all the thatch back, spreading it out in the yard to dry. He then thought about looking for the hemp rope he would need. Fortunately, he found some at home, estimating that the grass would need to dry for a few days.
Seeing Hua Zizhou busy with Qu Xin inside the house, he realized there wasn’t much he could help with, so he decided to head up the mountain to take a look.
After saying a quick word, he went out.
Watching Qu Qing’s departing figure, Hua Zizhou stared in disbelief at the entire bag of potatoes in front of him: he actually trusted him enough to leave so much food in his care. Wasn’t he afraid that Hua Zizhou might steal or hide some of it?
When he was at home, all food-related items were always well hidden, especially from him and Qu Xin. But… Qu Qing had only known him for two days, so why did he trust him so much?
Little Qu Xin tugged at Hua Zizhou’s clothes, his tender voice filled with happiness and disbelief: “Just now, he praised me.”
“Yeah!” Hua Zizhou nodded heavily.
“Just now, after I fell, he even carried me on his back!”
“Yes! I saw it with my own eyes just now!”
Qu Xin covered his face with both hands, excitedly stomping his feet in place before running outside. It was only when he reached the door that he remembered to say something.
“I’m going out for a bit!” he said.
Seeing Hua Zizhou nod, he happily ran out.
Hua Zizhou wanted to stop him, but when he looked outside, he saw that he had already run far away. After hesitating for a moment, he still let him go with a hint of worry.
After walking a short distance, Qu Qing suddenly turned around and noticed a small figure following him—it was little Qu Xin who had caught up.
“Mao’er?”
The out-of-breath little one caught up, still with one eye closed, looking up and saying softly, “Zizhou said I’m called Qu Xin now and that I’m not allowed to be called ‘Mao’er [3]Mao’er = Cat jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3527585_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3527585_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });’’anymore.”
“Alright, then little Qu Xin, why are you following me?” When talking to a child, it’s natural for anyone’s voice to soften a bit. Catching sight of the scars on his arm, he wondered in confusion why someone would harm such a small child.
“I…” As soon as the question was asked, Qu Xin lowered his head, his toes drawing circles on the ground. “I just wanted to see where you were going.”
“I’m going to the mountain. Do you want to come with me?”
“Can I?” Qu Xin’s head shot up, looking at Qu Qing with shining eyes.
Such a gaze easily makes one’s heart soften. Qu Qing extended his hand to him: “You can, but you have to walk on your own. If that’s the case, do you still want to go? If you regret it now and want to go back, it’s still possible.”
“Let’s go!” came the firm response. The small child quickly stepped forward and timidly reached out his hand to Qu Qing.
Qu Qing held his hand and continued forward. Although walking with a child slowed him down a bit, he originally intended to understand the surrounding environment, so going slower wasn’t a problem. This child, while somewhat attached to him, was not very talkative and remained relatively quiet. As long as he was told not to touch anything, he would definitely refrain from doing so.
Walking toward the back mountain, they reached a slope halfway up where little Qu Xin suddenly pointed excitedly and said, “Over there, there are delicious fruits!”
Qu Qing is curious as well, so he pulled him over to take a look. The ground was covered with round fruits the size of a pinky finger, the unripe ones were green, while the ripe ones were close to red. After tasting one, he found the wild fruit to be very soft and sweet.
The little cat had already crouched down, picking the fruits one by one but not eating them, carefully gathering the picked fruits in his clothing.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Qu Qing asked curiously, eating another fruit himself.
He replied seriously, like a little adult, “I want to pick them to take back for… for Zizhou, he likes to eat them the most. After we take them back, I’ll eat with him.”
Qu Qing was a bit surprised, he didn’t expect such a small child to care for others. Usually, children this age find it hard to understand the concept of sharing. He truly was a rare person.
Qu Qing picked a fruit and squatted down next to him, directly feeding it to his mouth: “You should eat a little for yourself first. We still have to go up the mountain later. I promise you, when we come back, I’ll help you pick more.”
Qu Qing chewed on the fruit, his eyes narrowing in delight.
He liked it very much… but could he endure it for the sake of others?
Qu Qing could see that he was very reluctant, but he still agreed to his request. However, instead of eating the fruit in his pocket, he handed it to Qu Qing: “I’ll give it to you to eat. If Zizhou didn’t eat it, then I won’t eat it either…”
Qu Qing gently rubbed his little head and sincerely said, “I really envy Zizhou for having such a thoughtful little one like you. If only you could be this good to me too…” He paused at this point, feeling foolish for saying such things to a child.
However, he thought, the person who could raise such a good child must be exceptional as well.
Upon hearing this, little Qu Xin suddenly became excited and pulled on Qu Qing’s hand, saying, “I can be as good to you as I am to Zizhou, but can you promise me one request?”
“Oh? What kind of request? You can tell me, but if it’s too difficult, I might not be able to do it.” “Well…” He suddenly became shy.
After a long while, he said, “Can I call you ‘father’ in the future?”
Qu Qing was momentarily stunned and suddenly recalled a memory from long ago when he, as a child, had tugged at his mother and asked her why his father hadn’t come home yet. It was a strange coincidence that this scene overlapped with little Qu Xin’s current situation.
He gently patted Qu Xin’s little head and then continued walking into the mountains. Seeing that he didn’t respond, little Qu Xin assumed he had been rejected and lowered his head in disappointment, clutching the fruit he hadn’t given away, quietly following along.
After a while, Qu Qing’s voice came from ahead.
“You can call me ‘father.’ That’s your right. Since you share my surname, it’s only natural for you to call me that.”
Qu Xin’s little head suddenly raised up.
“Father?”
“Mm.”
Receiving this response, Qu Xin felt like he had just received the best gift in the world that day.
“Father, can I call Zizhou ‘Dad’ from now on? At the old house, I would get beaten for calling him that. If you don’t allow it either, I won’t bring it up again.”
“You can.”
“Then this is my gift for you, Father. Please, eat them.” He persistently tried to give his fruit to Qu Qing, with a look of determination, as if he was eager to offer something.
Qu Qing looked at him and took the fruit. Even though some were squashed, he ate all of them. Only then did little Qu Xin feel completely satisfied.
After walking for a while and entering the forest, Qu Qing found that it looked quite ordinary, nothing special to see. He picked up some firewood and prepared to head back home.
After walking past the slope from earlier, Qu Qing suddenly remembered that he had promised to help the little one pick wild fruits. When he turned around, sure enough, he saw Qu Xin looking at him eagerly.
He put down the firewood and explained, “I almost forgot about this important thing. Qu Xin, why didn’t you remind me earlier?”
“Because, I thought… if Dad didn’t want to pick them, then it’s fine. Qu Xin doesn’t want Dad to be unhappy.”
Qu Qing didn’t reply, but he crouched down and wiped his hands clean with a leaf. Then, with swift movements, he picked the perfectly ripe fruits. In no time, he had a large handful, and the little cat also collected some. The two returned home with their harvest.
As soon as they entered, Qu Xin rushed inside, calling out loudly, “Dad!”
Hua Zizhou was startled when he heard what the child called him, almost cutting his hand while cutting the potatoes.
He put down the knife and, with his hands dirty, gave Qu Xin a gentle hug. Before he could ask anything, little Qu Xin explained, “Zizhou, I’m going to call you Dad from now on. Father has already agreed, so from now on, you are my dad, and I have a father now!”
Just at this moment, Qu Qing walked in and tossed the collected firewood into a corner of the yard. When his gaze met Hua Zizhou’s and he heard little Qu Xin’s words, he nodded in agreement. After that, he headed straight to the kitchen.
Hua Zizhou hesitated, knowing that many people in the village spread rumors claiming that Qu Xin was his biological child, and that he said it was adopted out of shame. They said that at such a young age, he had learned to steal from others. In the past, he would always curse those slanderers in return, but when faced with the need to explain, he had no idea what to say. He… was truly innocent. Did Qu Qing also think that this was his child?
At the age of thirteen, he became disillusioned with the world due to his brother’s lowly status and had a big argument with his family before running into the mountains. Perhaps it was fate, he encountered Mao’er still in its swaddling.
Normal families would usually abandon any strange child born to them, but when he approached, he found that the little Mao’er, aside from having differently colored pupils, had no unhealthy or abnormal features. If one had to find a reason for abandonment, it would probably be because Mao’er was also a ge’er.
Just as he was lost in his past memories, Qu Qing came over with a large bowl filled with the wild fruits he had picked from the mountain, washed clean, with still wet droplets of water on the fruit, looking extremely appealing.
Qu Qing placed the bowl on the table, picked up the kitchen knife, and said to him, “Wash your hands and come eat. Qu Xin specifically picked these for you. You’ve been busy all day, so let me take care of it.”
Hua Zizhou hesitated for a moment before getting up, stretching his stiff back, and went to wash his hands. He then enjoyed eating the wild fruits together with little Qu Xin.
Qu Qing looked at the potatoes in front of him, which were almost completely prepared, and felt a bit surprised, it was done in no time, meaning he only needed to tie up the loose ends.
Following what he learned last night, he began to arrange the cut potatoes, placing them all neatly, as the sun started to set in the west.
It was hard to believe that the day was already coming to an end like this.
References[+]
The river is of great cultural, historical, and economic significance to China. It has been a key waterway for transportation, agriculture, and trade for thousands of years. The Yangtze River basin supports nearly one-third of China’s population and provides water for major cities, including Wuhan, Nanjing, and Shanghai. It is also home to the “Three Gorges Dam”, the world’s largest hydroelectric power station.
↑2 “northern-style kang” (炕) is a traditional heated brick bed commonly used in northern China. It is built from brick or clay and functions as both a sleeping platform and a heating system. The kang is typically connected to a stove or fireplace, with flues running underneath it. When the stove is lit to cook or heat water, the heat travels through the flues, warming the bed. This system helps people stay warm during the cold winters in northern China, where temperatures can drop significantly below freezing.
↑3 Mao’er = Cat
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