It was still dark outside, but his biological clock made Shen Yuan open his eyes and wake up at once.
When he sat up, he found that the quilt had somehow been placed back over him. He turned his head to look at the four children sleeping close together, and warmth filled his heart.
After tucking the quilt securely around them, Shen Yuan went outside to wash up.
Tooth powder was too expensive for ordinary people to afford. They used willow twigs instead, while those with a little money dipped them in fine salt.
The Shen Family naturally had no money at all. They were so poor they could barely scrape together enough to rattle in an empty pot.
Shen Yuan first lit the stove and heated the food. Then, following his memories, he felt around in the kitchen for the prepared willow twigs and cleaned his teeth by chewing on one end.
The experience was rather novel. After rinsing his mouth, a fresh, grassy fragrance lingered inside. He quickly washed his face, and when he saw that the food was not ready yet, he chopped some firewood.
The kitchen had run out of firewood, so he chopped some in advance for the children to heat their food with at noon.
Dashu Village was fairly close to the county-town wharf. It took two hours and two quarters to get there on foot.
The Xie Family’s merchant ship unloaded its cargo during the Hour of the Dragon, so leaving now would get him there at just the right time.
As usual, Shen Yuan drank two bowls of corn porridge. He put out the fire in the stove, then pulled out the unfinished firewood and made sure there were no sparks left before leaving.
The official road was simply a more tightly packed dirt road. It was still dark, but quite a few commoners already filled it, struggling and exhausting themselves to make a living.
No one carried a lamp or lantern. They all felt their way along in the darkness.
Occasional conversations drifted over from nearby, and Shen Yuan listened quietly.
Almost everyone was worrying that there was not enough grain to eat. They complained that the landowners had increased their share, while the government had raised the taxes again.
Shen Yuan turned his head and looked out. Under the hazy light of dawn, fields stretched as far as the eye could see.
Yet all those fields could not fill the belly of a single farmer.
They did not belong to the commoners who worked so hard to cultivate them.
Though he was standing between the vast heavens and earth, Shen Yuan still felt oppressed and confined.
He shook his head. There was no use thinking about this now. It would only make him feel uncomfortable, and a bad mood would affect the entire day.
He adjusted his emotions quickly. When he looked up, he saw a man across the road sneaking glances at him. The moment their eyes met, the other man hurriedly looked away as though startled.
It was dark outside, but that did not stop Shen Yuan from recognizing him.
A smile spread across his face. He strode forward and directly slung an arm around the man’s shoulders. “Brother Sanhu, why didn’t you call out to me when you saw me? We could’ve walked together!”
The man called Sanhu stiffened. His dark face was full of awkwardness and unease, and his eyes still darted evasively.
He walked almost as though his arms and legs were moving out of sync, and said woodenly, “Oh, it’s Shen Da. It was too dark, so I didn’t see you.”
Kindheartedly, Shen Yuan did not make things difficult for the honest man. “All right, but you’ve seen me now. Shall we go together?”
Wang Sanhu gave an awkward laugh and nodded in agreement.
Shen Yuan withdrew his arm and chatted with a hint of amusement. “Brother Sanhu, have I gotten taller? When I put my arm around you just now, I didn’t even have to stand on tiptoe. I feel like I’ve grown.”
Wang Sanhu actually looked Shen Yuan up and down at that. “You are taller than before.” He gestured with his hand. “You used to only come up to my neck. We see each other every day, but I hadn’t noticed.”
Shen Yuan smiled. “That means you’re focused when you work and never get distracted. Someone like you will be good at anything you do in the future.”
Wang Sanhu had never been praised before, and his skin tightened with embarrassment. If it had not been dark, and if his face had not already been so dark, everyone would have seen it turn as red as a monkey’s backside.
He stole a glance at Shen Yuan. “I reckon you’re not quite the same as before.”
“How am I different?”
Wang Sanhu was silent for a moment before saying, “You talk more, you’re friendlier, and you smile a lot.”
The old Shen Yuan had basically never spoken to anyone. He had been withdrawn, kept his distance from others, and was rarely seen smiling.
Shen Yuan knew exactly what the original owner had been like, which was why he did not hide his own nature at all.
His personality was completely opposite. There was no way he could hide it.
Rather than pretend to have the original owner’s personality and get exposed later for acting strangely, he might as well be himself from the very beginning.
He already had a perfectly good explanation.
“Brother Sanhu, you really pay close attention to people. You’re very observant.” Shen Yuan’s smile faded, and he looked serious. “I almost died this time. After walking through the gates of death, I came to see many things differently. You never know when the King of Hell might really come to collect you. Being sad and miserable is one day, and being happy and cheerful is also one day. While we’re alive, we might as well enjoy ourselves.”
Wang Sanhu understood the latter part.
It made sense.
But he did not really understand the earlier part.
“Where are the gates of death? And who is the King of Hell? When did you travel somewhere far away?” Wang Sanhu asked plainly.
Shen Yuan was stunned by the questions.
He was just about to explain when he suddenly remembered that the original owner’s memories seemed to contain no such concepts.
Thinking about it carefully, there was not only no memory of those things, there were not even any scenes of sacrifices or visits to graves.
When people died, they were buried. That was all.
Without any knowledge of this culture, explaining it would take a long time and sound “shocking.”
Shen Yuan did not want to scare anyone first thing in the morning, so he could only laugh it off. “It’s nothing. I hadn’t woken up properly and was talking nonsense.”
Wang Sanhu did not suspect anything. Looking at Shen Yuan’s pale, bloodless face, he said in a muffled voice, “Shen Da, Brother Sanhu is sorry.”
Shen Yuan turned to him in confusion. “Sorry for what?”
“Yesterday, your Dongzi came to my house to borrow grain, but my family didn’t lend him any…” Wang Sanhu’s voice grew lower and lower, his words filled with remorse. “If you want to blame someone, blame Brother Sanhu for being useless. I can’t even keep food on the table at home, let alone save my brother.”
Shen Yuan finally understood why Wang Sanhu, who was warmhearted and always helped the original owner, had been avoiding him today with such an uneasy expression.
It was because he had not lent them any grain yesterday.
But when all was said and done, this could not be blamed on him.
Wang Sanhu had already lent the original owner grain several times. The Wang Family was not wealthy either. More than a dozen people crowded into three rooms. The children under six did not even have clothes to wear, and could only run around naked all day. The adults in the household did not have enough clothing either. Once their clothes were washed, they had nothing else to change into.
When the clothes became too damaged to wear, they could only find a way to mend them and keep wearing them. Otherwise, they had to go naked.
Everyone’s life was difficult. Lending was a kindness, but refusing was only proper.
They could not neglect their own family’s survival for someone else’s sake.
Shen Yuan knew that Wang Sanhu truly felt guilty for not lending them grain. The man was simple and sincere, a genuinely honest and kindhearted person. Shen Yuan patted him on the back. “Your family has already lent me so much grain, and I still haven’t been able to repay you. Your aunt and uncle never blamed me, and they even helped us several more times. That’s more than enough, Brother Sanhu. Not only do I not blame you, I have to thank you for finding me such a good job. Carrying cargo for other families doesn’t pay nearly as much as carrying cargo for the Xie Family’s merchant ship.”
Shen Yuan spoke with complete sincerity. Wang Sanhu scratched his head awkwardly. “That was only because everyone in my family already had work they couldn’t leave. That’s why I called you.”
Honest, simple people did not know how to say pretty things. If something was one, they said one. If it was two, they said two.
Shen Yuan was not upset in the slightest. He was actually happy.
He was broad-minded himself and would not overthink other people’s words or exhaust himself with them. Wang Sanhu was so straightforward, without any hidden twists, that he was easy to get along with.
“You didn’t call anyone else, you called me. Doesn’t that mean you were thinking of me and wanted to help me?” Shen Yuan coaxed him. “So don’t blame yourself anymore, Brother Sanhu. Let’s cheer up. Today we’ll carry as much cargo as we can and earn lots of money. Oh, right, we’re getting paid today. Once we have our silver, shall we go to the grain shop together and buy some grain?”
Wang Sanhu blinked and thought for a moment before nodding honestly. He said, rather embarrassedly, “Brother Sanhu will listen to you.”
Thinking about how Shen Yuan did not blame him at all, and had even praised and comforted him, Wang Sanhu felt as happy as if he had eaten honey. His heart was warm and sweet. In the end, he added solemnly, “From now on, if you ever need anything, Brother Sanhu will help you even if it costs me my life.”
Shen Yuan understood Wang Sanhu’s personality. He was a little taciturn, but when he gave his word, it was as firm as a nail. He did not say empty things.
Once he made a promise, he would definitely keep it.
Shen Yuan replied sincerely, “We’ll support each other. Our lives will definitely get better and better!”
In this world, no one person or family could survive properly on their own.
They needed friends, neighbors, and relatives.
Dashu Village was made up of people from many different families. The commoners who had gathered there because of the wars had put down roots and rebuilt their lives. This also meant that the villagers had few relatives or friends they could rely on. Their neighbors were the only people who could help one another.
Shen Yuan had not thought too much or too deeply about it for now. He simply enjoyed lively company and liked making friends. His natural personality had accidentally put him on the right path.
Shen Yuan and Wang Sanhu made their way toward the county-town wharf while chatting. Shen Yuan did most of the talking, with Wang Sanhu responding from time to time. The journey was quite enjoyable.
Meanwhile, back in Dashu Village.
Shen Dong was the second person in the family to wake up. After getting out of bed, he also pulled the quilt over his younger siblings and tucked it around them. He opened the door softly and saw someone standing outside the bamboo-fenced yard.
“Aunt Ping?”
The visitor was Wang Sanhu’s mother.
Shen Dong hurried over and opened the fence gate. “Aunt Ping, what brings you here? Did you need to see Big Brother?”
Aunt Ping’s wrinkled face looked stern, making her appear unapproachable and difficult to deal with.
Shen Dong was actually somewhat afraid of Aunt Ping, especially after yesterday, when she had grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away. His arm still ached faintly.
Aunt Ping said nothing. She reached into the bamboo basket hanging from the crook of her arm, grabbed a large handful of wild greens, and stuffed them into Shen Dong’s arms. Her eyes quickly swept over the scabbed wound on his forehead before she hurriedly looked away.
“Take these wild greens. Auntie really can’t lend you any grain.”
The wild greens nearby had basically all been cut already. Shen Dong looked at the greens in his arms. They had clearly been freshly picked.
It was only dawn. He did not know how early Aunt Ping had risen or how far she had walked to gather them.
After stuffing the greens into his arms, Aunt Ping turned to leave. She had not intended to see anyone from the Shen Family today. She had planned to throw the greens into their yard and leave, but Shen Dong had come out at just the right moment.
Holding the wild greens, Shen Dong called out to stop her and sincerely thanked her. “Auntie, thank you. I can make fresh wild-green gruel for Big Brother now. Once he eats his fill, his body will get better.”
He would not leave them again. Shen Dong would always have a big brother.
Hearing the child’s heartfelt thanks, Aunt Ping could not stop her eyes from reddening. She turned to look at the wound on Shen Dong’s head. “Dongzi, don’t blame Auntie for being heartless and chasing you away.”
There really was no grain in her household.
If the village head had not refused to lend grain yesterday, she would not truly have been able to stand by and watch Shen Da starve to death. But the grain lent to the Shen Family was grain they had never expected to get back. If they lent it out, her own family would have nothing to eat.
If only the landowners hadn’t made the tenant farmers set aside their own grain to sow their fields. Then things would not have become this desperate.
Aunt Ping felt resentful, but there was nothing she could do.
No matter how difficult life became, they still had to keep living.
Shen Dong watched Aunt Ping leave, then carried the wild greens into the kitchen.
Since the household had run out of firewood, he would have to gather some small branches for fuel when he went to pick wild greens later.
He was not strong enough to chop wood into firewood.
When he pushed open the kitchen door and saw the pile of firewood in the corner, Shen Dong smiled.
Big Brother had already thought of it for him.
He thought that everything would get better.
It definitely would.
At the county yamen wharf, the porters had already begun working. Bare-chested, they carried loads far beyond what their bodies could bear on their lean shoulders. Their backs were bent under the weight, and they moved forward with difficulty.
Every so often, foremen shouted as they cracked their whips to supervise the workers. More often, the rhythmic shouts of the many boat trackers rang out as they hauled the ships forward with all their strength.
The merchant ships were all enormous. Getting them to shore depended entirely on human labor.
Quite a few merchant ships were docked at the wharf. The place was packed with people and roaring with activity.
Shen Yuan and Wang Sanhu headed toward the Xie Family’s merchant ship and stopped in front of a wooden table.
The clerk dipped his brush in ink. “Name and surname? Where do you live?”
Wu Kingdom apparently had no paper yet. They used bamboo slips, though they wrote with brushes instead of carving the characters with knives.
“Wang Sanhu, Shuiwan Town, Dashu Village.”
The clerk lowered his brush and recorded it. Shen Yuan looked at the characters and barely recognized any of them.
They were neither simplified nor traditional characters. If he had to describe them, they looked somewhat like small seal script.
Shen Yuan could say with certainty that in Wu Kingdom, he was completely and utterly illiterate.
He could not read.
“Shen Yuan, Shuiwan Town, Dashu Village.”
Once the clerk had recorded their names, the two continued inside and boarded the ship directly to unload its cargo.