Dahuangya thought this was a perfect opportunity that had come to him without any effort.
He had only planned to visit nearby villages and ask if there were any unmarried men who could not find a spouse, so he could try to sell Zhu Mingyue to them. Unexpectedly, he found one as soon as he entered the village.
He wanted to laugh, but the movement pulled at the wound on his mouth. The scab broke open, and blood ran down from the corner of his lips to his chin, making him look frightening.
He wiped the blood away with his sleeve and kept his eyes on the tall man who had been arguing with someone earlier.
The tall man was walking very fast in anger. Dahuangya had to jog to keep up with him.
When they reached a mud house, the tall man kicked open the half-closed wooden door and stormed inside.
Dahuangya did not dare get too close. He hid behind a tree and watched.
Looking at the poor house, he showed a look of contempt.
It seemed the short man had been telling the truth. This tall man was so poor that he could not find a wife. If he sold Zhu Mingyue to him, he probably would not get much in return.
Dahuangya thought about leaving, but eventually decided to stay hidden behind the tree and wait for a good chance to start a conversation.
Although Zhu Mingyue was sick and would not sell for a high price, he was extremely handsome when he was not having an attack. Dahuangya believed he could still trade him for several sacks of rice.
The tall man’s name was Xie Hong.
At this moment, he had no idea someone was planning to sell him a person.
He was drinking rice porridge in large mouthfuls.
Near the stove sat a boy around fifteen or sixteen years old. Years of poor nutrition had left his cheeks sunken and his cheekbones sticking out.
The boy silently broke dry branches for firewood and acted as if nobody else was in the room.
Xie Hong had already been angry outside. Seeing the boy ignore him made him even angrier.
He immediately began insulting him.
“You’re always wearing that dead expression. It’s like your parents died and you’re still mourning them.”
The boy looked up at him calmly, then lowered his head and continued working.
Normally, he would ignore the insults.
But today was different.
“My father was your father too,” the boy said. Then he added with a mocking tone, “And I almost forgot. Your mother died long ago too.”
Xie Hong slammed his bowl onto the table.
“Xie Pei! How dare you mention my mother! If my mother hadn’t died early, you would just be an illegitimate bastard!”
Xie Pei stopped speaking.
No one could see the hatred in his eyes as he lowered his head.
He had heard people call him a bastard countless times throughout his life.
Not only did Xie Hong say it at home, but the villagers also talked about it behind his back.
He had become numb to it, but that did not mean he did not hate it.
He hated these people who could hurt others so deeply with just a few careless words.
Xie Hong continued cursing.
“I should have thrown you out long ago! You should be grateful I let you stay. Your worthless mother should have drowned you in a manure pit before you were born!”
After cursing for a long time, Xie Hong finished his porridge.
When he saw Xie Pei’s calm expression, he felt like a fool shouting by himself.
Unable to stand it, he cursed one last time.
“Why don’t you just die?”
Then he stormed out of the house.
Outside, Dahuangya had been waiting so long that he was almost asleep.
When he saw a figure come out, he immediately woke up and followed.
Suddenly, they bumped into each other.
“Ouch!”
Xie Hong felt that nothing had gone right all day.
He had been insulted outside, then angered by Xie Pei at home.
Now he had come out to calm down and someone had crashed into him.
Before he could complain, the other person spoke first.
“Are you blind? You ran right into me! Are you trying to scam me?”
Xie Hong turned around and saw Dahuangya’s injured face.
He immediately stepped back in shock.
The man looked exactly like someone trying to extort money.
There was nobody around. How could he prove he had not caused those injuries?
Xie Hong quickly came up with an idea.
If nobody was around, then if he ran away fast enough, nobody could prove anything.
He turned and tried to run.
“Hey! Don’t run!”
Dahuangya grabbed his clothes with all his strength.
Xie Hong dragged him more than ten meters before finally stopping.
He almost broke down.
“What do you want? I really don’t have any money!”
For a moment, Xie Hong even considered killing him and hiding the body.
At least then nobody could extort him.
Dahuangya was confused.
“What?”
He had only bumped into him by accident.
Why was this man suddenly talking about money?
Did he somehow know his real purpose?
That should not be possible.
He had not told anyone.
So he carefully asked,
“Do you know what I do?”
Xie Hong spat on the ground.
“I know you’re trying to scam me! Those injuries weren’t caused by me. Don’t expect to get a single coin from me!”
While speaking, he secretly searched the ground for a large stone.
Preferably one that could kill someone in a single blow.
Now Dahuangya was even more confused.
He was a human trafficker. He sold people. If someone did not want to buy, that was fine.
Why was this man accusing him of extortion?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
So he spoke directly.
“I was actually going to introduce you to a beautiful spouse. Forget it if you don’t want to do business. How does accidentally bumping into you become extortion?”
After saying that, he turned to leave.
There were plenty of unmarried men in nearby villages.
He did not need this stingy man.
“What?”
The moment Xie Hong heard the word “spouse,” his eyes lit up.
He quickly grabbed Dahuangya.
Dahuangya became annoyed.
“What’s wrong with you? Earlier you accused me of extorting you. Now you won’t let me leave!”
Xie Hong immediately smiled.
“Brother, it’s all a misunderstanding. I’ve been scammed before, so I overreacted.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely.”
“Fine then.”
Dahuangya accepted the explanation and prepared to leave again.
But Xie Hong stopped him.
“Wait! Tell me about this spouse you mentioned!”
…
After what had happened, Dahuangya no longer wanted to do business with him.
But Xie Hong blocked his path.
Dahuangya rolled his eyes.
“Even if I tell you, you can’t afford it.”
“Who says I can’t?”
Xie Hong proudly patted his chest.
“Ask around the village. Few men are richer than me.”
Dahuangya remembered the argument he had overheard earlier and did not believe a word of it.
Xie Hong grew anxious.
He truly wanted a spouse.
The brothels in town were too expensive.
Most nights he could only dream about women.
Dreams could not satisfy him.
When he woke up, he felt even lonelier.
So he pleaded,
“Tell me the price first. If I can afford it, we can make a deal.”
Dahuangya finally stopped and thought about it.
Giving a price would not hurt.
“Fine.”
“Where is this spouse? Can I see them now?”
Xie Hong’s heart was racing with excitement.
He imagined finally having a spouse and showing off to everyone in the village.
Dahuangya looked down on his impatience.
“Not so fast. We discussed the price first. If you can’t afford it, there’s no point seeing the person.”
Then he added,
“I should warn you first. The person I have is a man. He can’t have children.”
A man?
Xie Hong immediately lost much of his interest.
He liked both men and women, but most men were hard and rough.
Women were softer and more pleasant.
Most importantly, a man could not continue his family line.
Seeing his reaction, Dahuangya sneered inwardly.
If Zhu Mingyue were not sick, someone like Xie Hong would never have a chance.
Aloud, he said,
“Don’t reject him so quickly. If he didn’t have a minor illness, he would never be available to you. Someone already paid seventy taels for him before.”
Seventy taels!
Xie Hong had never seen that much money in his twenty-five years of life.
His interest instantly returned.
If a man was worth that much, just how beautiful was he?
Dahuangya smiled proudly.
“If you don’t want him, then let’s part ways. I still have other villages to visit.”
“I want him! I want him!”
Xie Hong quickly agreed.
“Just tell me the price.”
Dahuangya looked him over.
“You don’t seem to have much money. Let’s use grain instead.”
He held up four fingers.
“We seem fated to meet, so I won’t ask for much.”
“How about four shi of rice?” (about four large sacks of rice)