25
Liuquan Sells Firewood
Upon hearing these people’s words, Liu Shuhuai felt suffocated. Women and Ge’er were merely rescued, yet even with their clothes on, people claimed they had lost their purity.
Gossip is a fearful thing—since ancient times, who could withstand such slander?
Either die or marry.
Society’s tolerance for women and Ge’er was exceedingly low, viewing them as nothing more than tools for reproduction.
Would there ever be equality in this world? He desperately wanted to know.
Probably not—it was nothing but his own delusion after all.
A commotion stirred within the crowd as a woman anxiously pushed through the dense gathering, muttering, “My daughter, my poor daughter! The Wang family is blind—why must they…?”
Recognizing her as Lan Qiao’er’s mother, the crowd parted to let her through.
Madam Lan made her way through the crowd and, seeing her daughter drenched from head to toe, immediately called for family members to carry her home. In her fluster, she thanked the man who had rescued Lan Qiao’er before hastily departing with her daughter.
Only the man was left staring at Qiao Lan’er, his face flushed bright red. His friend teased him, joking that he had gotten a wife for free.
Angrily, the man retorted, telling him not to spread rumors, and then returned to work in the fields.
Seeing that the matter had concluded, the crowd gradually dispersed.
After washing the clothes, Liu Shuhuai carried the basin home and hung the laundry to dry in the courtyard.
His ears were filled with the loud recitations of Liu Yao Zong.
Annoyed, he slapped the clothes to remove leaves stuck to them. With two patients resting at home, couldn’t he keep his voice down?
After finishing the hanging, he casually tossed the remaining water from the basin onto the vegetable patch.
The cabbages in the patch were a vibrant green, their leaves plump and robust—a clear sign that the household tended to them with care.
These cabbages were the fruit of his labor. He watered them regularly, pulled weeds, and checked for pests. His meticulous care was the reason the Liu family could enjoy such delicious cabbages—crisp and fragrant.
“Tch~ What’s so great about being able to read? When my Da Bao grows up, he’ll definitely be better than that Liu Yao Zong.” Next door, Liu Da Niang listened to the recitations and felt they were nothing but a show of arrogance.
In her eyes, Liu Yao Zong’s scholarly achievements were mediocre at best—all those praises from his teacher were surely exaggerated.
He was no match for her precious son.
Liu Da Niang gazed at her chubby, fair-skinned son, who was sniffing his runny nose, and her heart swelled with joy. She scooped him up and covered him with kisses.
She kept saying, “My son, you’ll definitely become a Xiucai one day, even better than Liu Yan’s family, understand?”
Sons were truly better—they could pursue education and carry on the family line.
Liu Yaya watched her mother doting on her younger brother and boasting about him becoming a Xiucai. How could her son ever compare to Liu Yao Zong?
It was nothing but wishful thinking.
Liu Da Niang glared at her daughter, who was sweeping the floor, and yelled, “Go get some food for your brother! Can’t you hear his stomach rumbling? Useless burden!”
“Yes, Mother.” Liu Yaya fetched a bowl of porridge from the kitchen—it even had bits of meat in it. She sighed inwardly: He eats so well.
She handed the bowl to her mother, who carefully began feeding her brother.
The three-year-old boy, acting spoiled, hit her leg with a stick, chanting, “Useless burden, useless burden!”
Though it didn’t hurt as much as when her mother hit her, it was still unpleasant. She deeply resented this brother.
The stick, as thick as a baby’s arm, was one her mother had specially found for him.
Despite the pain, she didn’t make a sound. Her mother ordered her to continue sweeping, giving her a chance to escape.
Only when she was out of her mother’s sight did her younger sister and Ge’er come to her side.
Whispering “sister,” Liu Yaya tenderly stroked their hair, dry as withered grass.
Hearing their stomachs growl, she comforted them, “How about I catch some qi for you to eat tonight?”
Watching them light up with joy at the mention of food, her heart ached as she wondered how they were any different from boys. They could only survive like fragile blades of grass, struggling through each day.
That evening, Grandpa Liu announced that half the firewood in the woodshed would be sold, tasking Liu Yao Zong and Liu Quan with the chore. The others were to continue with their usual duties.
Liu Yao Zong and Liu Quan acknowledged the order.
Grandpa Liu pushed open the bedroom door to find Grandma Liu awake. He asked with concern, “How are you feeling? Is anywhere still uncomfortable?”
Grandma Liu felt a heavy tightness in her chest and couldn’t utter a single word.
Seeing her struggling with faint “ah… ah” sounds, Grandpa Liu could only soothe her, “It’s alright, don’t rush. Calm down first.”
Grandma Liu took deep breaths, gradually relaxing. Her head throbbed intensely, leaving her no choice but to close her eyes wearily.
She had no chance to ask about her son’s condition.
Liu Quan thought to himself that tomorrow would be busy indeed.
Grandpa assigned him to be the laborer while letting Liu Yao Zong take it easy.
Early in the morning, Liu Quan went to borrow an ox cart. By the time he reached the woodshed, Liu Shuhuai had already started preparing meals.
The woodshed contained a large pile of firewood and a stack of dried grass—unchanged from before, except it was cleaner now. Liu Quan sensed something different about Liu Shuhuai, but aside from being slightly taller, he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly had changed.
How strange—perhaps he was overthinking it.
Liu Quan worked alone, loading firewood onto the ox cart, while Liu Yao Zong searched for his copied books.
Liu Quan rolled his eyes.
Only after he finished moving all the firewood did Liu Yao Zong finally arrive in a hurry.
Liu Quan drove the ox cart slowly. Along the way, many people greeted Liu Yao Zong, who politely responded to each one. Yet whenever Liu Yao Zong was present, others seemed to look right through Liu Quan.
Watching Liu Yao Zong chat effortlessly, humbly answering inquiries about his studies, Liu Quan felt invisible.
When they arrived at the marketplace, Liu Quan led the ox to an open stall, asking every passerby if they needed firewood. Meanwhile, Liu Yao Zong kept his distance as if they were strangers.
By afternoon, the firewood still hadn’t sold out, and Liu Quan was hungry. He asked Liu Yao Zong to buy some steamed buns.
Liu Yao Zong actually showed reluctance. Just as Liu Quan was about to curse, Liu Yao Zong turned and left.
Damn!
Did he really think he was some young master, treating Liu Quan like a servant?
What an arrogant jerk.
Eating the vegetable buns Liu Yao Zong bought back, Liu Quan felt deeply satisfied.
Munching as he called out to customers, he finally sold all the firewood after two hours.
Immediately, Liu Yao Zong demanded that Liu Quan hand over all the money from the firewood sales. Watching Liu Quan reluctantly comply, he felt his vanity swell inexplicably.
Then he gave Liu Quan exact change to buy what Grandpa needed—not a coin more, not a coin less—telling him to wait at the usual spot after shopping.
Without waiting for a reply, Liu Yao Zong turned and headed for the bookstore.
Liu Quan knew Liu Yao Zong wouldn’t give Grandpa all the money from his book-copying work. He didn’t dare report it, though—if he did, he’d be the one scolded or beaten.
He’d tried it once before. After getting thrashed, he never dared again.
Liu Yao Zong feared he might embezzle the firewood money, so he watched him until he finished selling the firewood before leaving. Then, he didn’t let him follow to the bookstore—clearly, he didn’t want him to know how much money could be earned from copying books.
Liu Quan disliked him the most. He felt that Liu Yao Zong was born just to hold him back, always overshadowing him in everything, and everyone liked him.
What Liu Quan took the most pride in was having a pair of intelligent parents and growing up under their doting care.
He was nothing like Liu Yao Zong, who had a murderer for a mother and was lazy and gluttonous.