11
Selling Wild Boar
When Liu Shuhuai woke up, Brother He was already gone. He found a note in his hand that read:
“Little Huai, don’t panic when you wake up. I just went hunting. I’ve prepared the firewood for you, so sleep peacefully and wait for me to return. — He Xunzhou”
What’s this red thing? Can’t understand it.
Liu Shuhuai was literate because he had secretly learned while Liu Yao Zong and Liu Quan were reading or writing. Using the excuse of cleaning tables and rooms, he had managed to pick up reading.
Liu Yao Zong was the most diligent and had the most books, spending all day reading and writing in his room.
The consequence was that Liu Yao Zong’s room was the cleanest, without a speck of dust, so clean it seemed to shine.
Especially where the books were kept – completely spotless. He had secretly flipped through every single one.
He would also practice writing secretly with tree branches, though his handwriting was ugly and not as good as Liu Yao Zong’s.
Since his parents passed away, their room had been allocated to Liu Zhi by his grandmother, and he was driven out, not even leaving him his mother’s belongings.
It was as if the bond between them had been severed.
Liu Shuhuai looked around and found that Brother He had already prepared three days’ worth of firewood in the woodshed, so he didn’t need to worry about that.
Brother He was so good.
Liu Shuhuai tossed and turned in bed until the blankets were completely disheveled.
He then straightened the blankets, covered himself properly, and went back to sleep. These blankets were given to him by Brother He and were very warm.
The bed was also covered with soft fabric, both warm and lightweight.
Brother He said that as long as he was there at night, they wouldn’t be stored in the Dimension. If Brother He wasn’t in the room and the Liu Family was home, then they would have to be put back in the Dimension.
The Dimension must be like the Universe Bag, an item that could hold many things.
“Universe Bag” was a term from Storybooks.
Storybooks cost fifty wen each, and he had bought two.
He now only had two hundred twenty-four wen left. Indeed, everything required money, even wooing Brother He, but he was willing.
But looking at his skinny, dark body, when would he finally turn thirteen? Then he could buy some ointments to care for his body.
Worrisome!
He needed to sell firewood to earn his dowry.
He remembered his mother saying that his father had hidden money, giving only a small portion to his grandmother, in the thatched cottage at the foot of Great Black Mountain. He would go get it once the family separated.
Anyway, when the family separated, he would get those three thatched cottages. He knew exactly what the Liu Family was thinking, but he was content with it.
Liu Shuhuai was lost in thoughts about the future.
“Boss He is truly amazing, actually managing to hunt a wild boar.” Gao Wenjie was quite surprised.
Indeed, one shouldn’t judge by appearances, just as the sea can’t be measured by pints.
Last time he forgot to ask He Xunzhou his name, all because he was too excited. Fortunately, he ran into him during this transaction and just asked.
He Xunzhou also found it somewhat amusing that he had forgotten to introduce himself last time.
“How about forty wen per jin from me?” Gao Wenjie thought to himself that domestic pork was thirty-three wen per jin, while wild boar was rare and tasted better.
Recently, game had become increasingly scarce.
“I’ll follow your lead, elder brother. This pheasant is my humble gift to you – please don’t refuse, or you’ll be rejecting little He as your brother.” He Xunzhou handed the pheasant from his ox cart to Gao Wenjie.
Gao Wenjie laughed heartily: “Then thank you, Brother He. Come visit your elder brother’s home next time – your sister-in-law’s stewed pork leg is incredibly fragrant. I have an appointment with another boss this afternoon, otherwise we could share a few drinks.” This young man knew how to handle things.
After exchanging more pleasantries, Gao Wenjie had the restaurant staff weigh the wild boar and quoted a price of seventeen taels. After giving the silver to He Xunzhou and saying a few more words, Gao Wenjie took his leave, as he needed to keep an eye on the wild boar.
No one would dare cut corners—this was for entertaining distinguished guests.
He Xunzhou gave twelve copper coins to the owner of the ox cart as payment.
“Thank you, thank you. Come again if you need anything next time,” the owner said as he drove the ox cart away.
“Alright.”
He Xunzhou bought some woven cotton fabric and had the shopkeeper make it into ready-made clothes. Although it wasn’t very cold after the New Year, he still requested one piece to be padded with cotton, making two pieces in total.
He could have Liu Shuhuai wear them underneath—after all, he looked so thin that it probably wouldn’t be noticeable. He also bought some sugar-coated haws on a stick, filled pastries, and packed a bowl of noodles.
Although he had left a few packages of pastries in the room, that didn’t stop him from bringing food for Liu Shuhuai.
As long as the Liu Family had things to do, they wouldn’t have extra time to pay attention to Liu Shuhuai.
Then he would find time to learn makeup—after all, modern makeup was comparable to Asian witchcraft.
He still remembered thinking to himself about turning into a human, and it actually happened, though it only lasted two hours. Later, he reflected that it was just a little sphere, and that tiny thing even changed its voice—it must have been so afraid of him, even though he wasn’t intimidating.
It shouldn’t be too much to ask for a few requests; he hadn’t directly demanded money or valuables from it.
That wasn’t excessive at all.
After buying all these things, he still had eleven taels of silver left to give to Xiao Huai. Liu Shuhuai would probably be happy. Sometimes, he saw Liu Shuhuai take out his hidden money, count it, then hide it again with a smile on his face.
Liu Shuhuai counted his money every night.
He never thought to hide it from him either—what if he secretly took it? Even after turning into a human, Liu Shuhuai would proudly count his money right in front of him.
So foolish—he wouldn’t even know if someone sold him out.
By the time He Xunzhou returned, Liu Shuhuai was already awake and opened the window when he saw him.
“Brother He, you’re back,” Liu Shuhuai said happily, hugging He Xunzhou.
“Mm, I brought you some food. Have you eaten yet?” He Xunzhou looked at him fondly, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“Not yet. I was waiting for you to come back so we could eat together. I like eating with you.”
“Why are you so silly?” He Xunzhou glanced at his watch—it was already past 9 o’clock. He took out the noodles; he had bought the bowl along with them. He also brought out a table and chairs from his Dimension. Placing the bowl on the table, he said, “Eat while it’s hot.”
“Mm, mm.” Liu Shuhuai took a bite—it was delicious.
“Brother He, have you eaten?” Liu Shuhuai asked, feeling a little shy as he noticed He Xunzhou sitting on the stool just watching him eat.
“I’ve already eaten.” On his way back, He Xunzhou had eaten a few meat buns. His appetite in human form was normal, but when he turned into a tiger, it multiplied several times over. He usually went hunting by himself after eating with Liu Shuhuai and ate raw.
It couldn’t be helped—he wasn’t used to it, but his tiger form took up most of the daytime. He found roasting a whole wild boar too troublesome, so he just endured it.
One wild boar could last him three days.
Even though it made him want to vomit.
“What did you eat, Brother He?” Liu Shuhuai didn’t know why, but whenever He Xunzhou was around, he just wanted to talk to him.
Perhaps it was because Brother He was a deity belonging to him alone.
“I ate meat buns, pork-filled ones. I also bought some more and put them in my Dimension for when you’re hungry. They’re still warm.”
“Okay.”
“Here, this is for you.” He Xunzhou placed the silver on the table, looking at Liu Shuhuai with an expression that insisted he must accept it.
“But… this is your money.” He did want to take it, but storybooks said men should only keep a small amount of money on them, otherwise they might fool around.
The storybooks also taught that one should first pretend to refuse gifts from men to show understanding and consideration.
He Xunzhou directly put it into Liu Shuhuai’s hand: “If you don’t take it, what will I do when I spend it all?”
“Then I’ll help you keep it.” Liu Shuhuai put on a troubled expression, holding the eleven taels and eight coppers in his hand, then handed the eight coppers back to He Xunzhou: “You should have some money on you too.”