7 – Saving the Village Demon
This was precisely why Qin Zhong had agreed to marry his daughter to Sangyu Village. Sangyu Village had promised that if Qin Yue would marry into their village, they would provide ten oxen and several carts of grain and dried vegetables as betrothal gifts, and also allow Fusu Village residents to hunt in the mountains thereafter.
These betrothal gifts would be enough to feed the hundred or so villagers of Fusu Village for some time. Most importantly, they would gain access to Sangyu Village’s mountains for hunting, ensuring the villagers wouldn’t starve to death.
But the price for all this was Qin Yue’s agreement to marry that ugly and foolish man.
The thought made Qin Zhong’s heart ache. How could he not feel pain over sacrificing his own daughter to save over a hundred villagers?
As soon as he stepped through the dilapidated gate of Grandma Qin’s house, he heard heart-wrenching sobbing inside.
Qin Zhong entered and saw Grandma Qin’s daughter-in-law weeping while shielding her mother-in-law’s corpse. Beside her were her three sons, their eyes glowing with hunger, each clutching one of Grandma Qin’s arms and legs as if ready to devour her.
The eldest son was sixteen and the youngest thirteen – all at growing ages, yet so underfed they resembled bean sprouts.
Seeing Qin Zhong enter, the daughter-in-law seemed to spot a savior. She kowtowed while crying, “Village Chief, please discipline these heartless beasts! They want to eat my mother-in-law’s flesh!”
The woman was sallow and emaciated, her face sunken.
“This is mine!”
“I want this leg too! I’ll roast it!”
The three wolf-like sons fought over a bony leg, nearly coming to blows. The eldest’s eyes gleamed green as if already smelling delicious roasted meat.
The youngest also wanted the leg but was shoved away by the eldest. In desperation, he took a large bite from the leg, chewing the bloody flesh with gruesome intensity.
Qin Zhong initially intended to severely punish these savage children, but seeing their skeletal frames, he swallowed his words.
They were truly starving. Without food, they would die. Only extreme hunger could drive them to fight over a corpse.
Apart from the Lu family, all villagers shared the Qin surname and were blood relatives. Watching his clansmen suffer such misery made Qin Zhong’s heart ache sharply.
After a moment’s silence, he said, “Bury Grandma Qin. Tomorrow morning I’ll marry Qin Yue off to Sangyu Village. Then you’ll have food. Beef, steamed buns – you can eat your fill.”
“Really, Uncle?” The eldest son gulped, his eyes shining with hungry anticipation.
“Really,” Qin Zhong nodded.
“If I don’t get beef and steamed buns tomorrow, I’ll dig up Grandma and eat her,” the second son threatened, distrustful of such good fortune.
“Uncle won’t lie to you,” Qin Zhong said before turning to leave.
His heart felt unbearably heavy. If this continued, countless villagers would starve to death.
Returning home, Qin Zhong woke the sleeping Ma Xiaoni to discuss marrying Qin Yue to Sangyu Village.
Ma Xiaoni wept and protested, refusing to let her daughter marry an ugly, foolish man who would ruin her life.
Qin Zhong argued that without this marriage, the entire village would perish. For the greater good, Qin Yue must marry into Sangyu Village.In the end, Ma Xiaoni had no choice but to compromise, because in this household, the man’s word was law, and she had to obey unconditionally.