“The person’s here, hurry up and get out! What are you standing there for!”
The sharp voice reached Qin Yu’s ears. He lowered his head, enduring the pain in his knees. His heart, which had long been numb, still ached. He asked in a low, hoarse voice, “So you sold me for one tael of silver, is that it?”
“Tsk,” the woman’s eyes narrowed sharply, “I gave birth to you and raised you for nearly twenty years, and all I got was one tael of silver. What a bargain!”
Qin Yu was shoved out of the house. His younger brothers, who had been playing in the yard, stopped and laughed loudly. “Mother, I want to eat meat!”
The youngest brother rushed over and knocked Qin Yu off balance. The older brother picked up a rock and threw it at him, cursing, “You wretch, how dare you favor outsiders over family!”[mfn]胳膊肘往外拐 gēbó zhǒu wǎngwài guǎi (lit. the elbow turns outward) – to side with outsiders rather than one’s own people[/mfn]
Qin Yu stared blankly at this so-called home, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.
He isn’t a man, so the household chores naturally fell on him. While his brothers ran wild outside and chasing cats and teasing dogs, he chopped firewood, farmed, washed clothes, and cooked without rest.
When the eldest brother bullied a young woman and cornered her with ill intentions, Qin Yu scolded him a few times. For that, he was accused of being a traitor. When he was not paying attention, he was pushed off the ridge of the field by the eldest brother, and his knee was seriously injured. Now that he can’t work, he was sold as a slave for a few taels of silver.
“Heh.”
Qin Yu brushed the dirt from his clothes. Forget it. This life was rotten, so let it be rotten. In the end, he was just unlucky, destined to live a life of hardship.
“Fool! If you hadn’t interrupted, Fang Xiaohua would already be our daughter-in-law!” The father, who was as thin as a monkey, said something that made Qin Yu feel sick.
Qin Yu sneered, “Fang Xiaohua is the youngest daughter of the village chief. Who do you think you are? Did you think ruining her virtue would force her into this family?”
“You wretch, how dare you talk back!” Old Man Qin was embarrassed and stepped forward with a fire poker.
Qin Yu’s eldest brother, also enraged by the ruined opportunity, rushed forward to teach him a lesson. “You slut! And what are you? Always dreaming about that scholar from the Fang family. You think he’d ever want you!”
With that, both men began punching and kicking Qin Yu. In pain, Qin Yu pushed them away forcefully. As he tried to dodge the descending poker from Old Man Qin, someone rushed into the yard and pulled him away, causing him to stumble and nearly fall.
Qin Yu instinctively grabbed the arm of the person who came and managed to steady himself. He looked up and saw a tall, sturdy man.
“Is this how you treat him?” the newcomer said coldly.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the Qiao family’s boy.”
The woman heard his voice and slowly came out of the house. She shot Qin Yu a glare before putting on a sweet smile., “He’s stubborn and needs discipline!”
“Don’t go easy on him in the future,” the woman laughed, her eyes full of greed. “So, did you bring the one tael of silver?”
Qiao Ruifeng frowned tightly, then took out a deed of sale from his robe. “Forget the money for now. Put your thumbprint on this first.”
“Fine, fine, fine!”
The woman wiped her hands clean and eagerly waved. “Husband, come quickly!”
Old Man Qin’s eyes gleamed shrewdly. “You’re not trying to cheat us, are you?”
“You can find someone who can read to check it.”
The woman immediately hurried outside, shrilly calling, “Wu Lao’er! Quick, come and look at this deed for us!”
The Wu Lao’er she referred to was the child of their next-door neighbor. He studied at the village school and knew some characters. He was reluctant to enter the Qin house, but the crowd watching the spectacle outside urged him to go in and see what was written, so he had no choice but to agree.
Wu Lao’er quickly read the deed. He frowned and asked, “You’re selling Qin Yu? And it’s a slave contract!”
“Tsk, never mind that. Is anything else wrong? Is he giving us one or two tael of silver?” Old Man Qin asked impatiently.
“Yes, but you…”
Wu Lao’er flung the deed back into Qiao Ruifeng’s hand. He said angrily, “Selling someone into slavery for just one tael of silver?”
“What do you know!” The eldest brother of the Qin family saw that there was no problem with the contract and urged, “Father, hurry up and press your thumb.”
“Okay, okay, okay.” Old Man Qin rushed into the house to fetch red clay, pressed his thumb onto the paper, and the deed of sale was sealed.
Then he laughed twice and said to Qiao Ruifeng, “Lad, for one tael of silver, you got a bargain. He’s a hard worker, but also stubborn. If he doesn’t obey, just beat him. Others wouldn’t be worth this much!”
Wu Lao’er couldn’t bear to listen any longer. He left and mumbled, “Unbelievable!” and stormed out of the Qin family house in anger.
The people watching the noise outside were also surprised when they heard their conversation.
Qin Yu had been neglected for more than a year or two, but they never thought that the Qin family couple would be so cruel as to sell their son for one or two taels of silver. They immediately looked at Qin Yu with pity.
Poor thing. Who knows what kind of life he’ll have from now on?
Qin Yu stood to the side, head bowed and silent, as if none of this concerned him. Qiao Ruifeng gave the silver to Old Man Qin, walked up to him, and said, “Let’s go.”
Qin Yu looked up and realized Qiao Ruifeng was half a head taller than him. The sunlight falling on him was blinding, and Qin Yu couldn’t make out the expression on his face.
“Understood.”
“Is there anything you want to take with you?” Qiao Ruifeng asked, then added to himself, “Forget I asked. I don’t think they’ll let you take anything away.”
Qin Yu followed Qiao Ruifeng out the door. He looked back and saw only the delighted expressions on his parents’ and brothers’ faces as they received the silver. Not a single glance was cast his way.
Qin Yu turned around and did not look back again.
Qin Yu couldn’t walk fast because of his leg injury. Qiao Ruifeng noticed and slowed his pace, but he didn’t think much of it. He simply assumed that ge’rs naturally walked slower than him.
They would be living together from now on. It wouldn’t do to stay silent like this forever. So he spoke up: “The family’s circumstances aren’t good, so there is no wedding banquet.”
Qin Yu had already heard this from his mother. He replied faintly, “I know.”
Qiao Ruifeng opened his mouth slightly and thought for a moment before saying, “I won’t hit you. You, don’t be afraid.”
Qin Yu blinked, digesting the words one by one. Finally, he gave a light laugh. “I know.”
But he didn’t believe it.
Qiao Ruifeng seldom interacted with ge’rs or young women, but he didn’t want to leave the conversation awkward, so he continued, “There are four people in the family now: Grandmother, Father, and a younger brother, also a ge’r named Xiao Man. With you, it’ll be five.”
Qin Yu turned his head, looking directly at Qiao Ruifeng, and said hoarsely, “Do I also count as part of your family?”
Qin Yu was in a disheveled appearance, but one could still see his delicate features. His eyes were pitch black, the corners slightly upturned, and he’s quite captivating.
Qin Yu finally said something other than ‘I know.‘ Qiao Ruifeng felt a little embarrassed by being stared at. He nodded and stuttered, “I, I regard you as my fulang, not a slave.”
The late autumn road was gloomy, but for some reason, Qin Yu’s heart suddenly seemed to come alive. He suppressed that flicker of emotion and said no more, simply following Qiao Ruifeng silently to a completely unfamiliar home.
After entering Xiahe Village, people passing by were whispering behind them. Qin Yu knew they were talking about him, but he didn’t care. Honestly, he didn’t know what he could still care about.
It was merely changing places to continue working and continue being beaten and scolded. Could it really be as Qiao Ruifeng said, that he was here to live a life?
When they reached the fork in the road and saw the imposing brick and tile house, Qin Yu’s eyes began to waver.
He could not understand. With such a fine house, how could they be in hardship? Why go so far as to buy him back?
He slowly recalled what Mother Qin had said earlier and remembered that Qiao household’s father was a drunkard.
No wonder then, Qin Yu sighed.
When they entered the house, he saw a thin ge’r picking vegetables. Seeing them return, he first called out “Da-ge,” then looked at Qin Yu with a hint of vigilance in his eyes.
“Xiao Man, call him Qin Yu-ge,” Qiao Ruifeng said.
“Qin Yu-ge.”
Qiao Suiman called out. He didn’t know what Qin Yu was like, so he didn’t show too much enthusiasm. “Grandmother finished eating and went back to her room. There’s only a little porridge left. I went to the foot of the mountain to dig some wild vegetables.”
“You haven’t eaten?” Qiao Ruifeng frowned.
“Grandmother wouldn’t let me,” Qiao Suiman said. He was already used to this. “But I secretly dug up two wild cassavas and roasted them in the firewood to eat.”
Qiao Ruifeng said with distress, “I’ll add more rice. We’ll cook the wild vegetables with it.”
“Da-ge,” Qiao Suiman glanced towards Li Hua’s room. Seeing that there is no movement, he continued in a whisper, “Keep it in your room. I sneaked a look at Grandmother’s room today and there’s still plenty of food.”
Not long ago, after the autumn harvest, although the family didn’t have many mu of land left, they still managed to get several hundred jin of grain. Qiao Ruifeng and Qiao Suiman had worked day and night to bring in the harvest, but Li Hua had moved all the grain into her own room, only bringing out a little each day for Qiao Suiman to cook.
Less than a month had passed, and she was already complaining daily that the food was gone, repeatedly cutting down on Qiao Suiman’s portions.
Fortunately, the two brothers knew she would do this early on and secretly hid dozens of jin of grain in Qiao Ruifeng’s room.
Qin Yu couldn’t help but widen his eyes as he listened to their conversation. He was very confused. Qiao Ruifeng was the eldest son and grandson. Why did he have to be so secretive about eating?
He took another look at the thin and yellow-complexioned Qiao Suiman and sighed softly. It was not an easy life for him either.
“I’ll cook, Xiao Man. Give me the vegetables,” Qin Yu said softly.
Qiao Suiman picked up the basket. He hesitated for a moment, but still handed it to Qin Yu.
His elder brother said he would bring his brother-in-law home today and they would be a “family” from now on.
He knew this “family” referred only to him, his elder brother, and brother-in-law, not his Father and Grandmother.
“Qin Yu-ge, I’ll take you to the kitchen,” Qiao Suiman said.
Qin Yu gave a sincere smile, something he hadn’t done in a long time, and followed Qiao Suiman into the kitchen.
The kitchen was large but very empty. There were no ingredients. There was a little porridge left in the pot but barely enough to fill one bowl at most, and it was very watery.
Qiao Suiman explained, “Grandmother took all the rice away, and this is all that’s left.”
“Mn, I’ll light the fire. Can you wash the vegetables?” Qin Yu said.
“Okay.”
On his first night at the Qiao family, Qin Yu didn’t see the drunkard father. Grandma Qiao, Li Hua, didn’t come out to see him either. According to Qiao Suiman, she wasn’t feeling well recently.
Qin Yu lowered his eyes. He wasn’t anyone important anyway. Li Hua didn’t even care about her own grandson, so she certainly wouldn’t spare him a second glance.
Qiao Suiman dug up quite a lot of wild vegetables. Qin Yu wondered how long he had to search to find them. Watching Qiao Suiman obediently washing the vegetables, Qin Yu felt a faint pang of distress. At twelve or thirteen, it was an age when one was easily hungry, yet having a full meal had become a luxury. How similar to his own past.
Thinking of this, Qin Yu scooped some more vegetables into Qiao Suiman’s bowl of porridge after it was cooked. Qiao Ruifeng saw this and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
As night fell and it got cold, Qin Yu boiled some water, poured it into a wooden basin and brought it into the room. Qiao Ruifeng came in after washing the dishes and closed the door.
In an enclosed space with just the two of them, Qin Yu suddenly felt somewhat awkward. He pursed his lips and said, “I’ve heated the water. Let’s wash up.”
Then he turned around and didn’t look at Qiao Ruifeng.
Qiao Ruifeng didn’t know what to say either. In theory, tonight was their wedding night, but without a banquet or a marriage certificate, it felt more like they were just two people living together. He paused, quickly wiped himself clean, and then said, “I’ll go pour out the water. There’s another basin. You should wash up too.”
Only after Qiao Ruifeng left the room did Qin Yu feel at ease and take off his clothes.
The Qin family didn’t have much water or firewood, so he never used hot water to wash at home. During colder times, his family was too lazy to fetch water and simply didn’t let him use any.
Originally, he only heated two basins of water, one for Qiao Ruifeng and one for Qiao Suiman, and he planned to just wipe himself with cold water. But Qiao Ruifeng had specifically mentioned there was a well in the backyard and that he had gathered a lot of firewood from the mountain, telling him to heat more. So he boiled another half basin for himself.
As the warm cloth pressed against his face, Qin Yu’s brows gradually eased. Life here seemed indeed better than at home.
Afraid that Qiao Ruifeng might come in suddenly, Qin Yu finished washing quickly but encountered another problem.
He has no clothes to change into.
Back home, he only had two sets of clothes, both of which were fully patched. Even so, his mother didn’t let him take the other set.
The clothes he took off were already dirty, and putting them back on would be a waste of washing water. Qin Yu stood there at a loss, his eyes darting around.
A set of clean inner clothes was folded on the bed. Qin Yu walked over and looked. They were clean.
Qiao Ruifeng had changed into clean inner clothes before going out. The previous set was placed to the side. So this set…
Glancing toward the courtyard, Qin Yu could faintly see Qiao Ruifeng’s silhouette. Pouring out water would not take this long. Qin Yu felt warm in his heart.
Not only did he prepare clean clothes for him, but he was also deliberately waiting outside until Qin Yu was done washing before coming back in.
Qin Yu didn’t hesitate further. He put on the clothes and opened the door.
Qiao Ruifeng was standing in the yard. He turned around when he heard the noise, scratched his head, and stammered, “I was lost in thought looking at the moon after pouring the water.”
Qin Yu smiled slightly. The clouds in the sky were so thick that the moon could not be seen.
“I’ve washed up. Let’s, let’s rest.”
“Mn.”
Qin Yu and Qiao Ruifeng lay side by side on the bed, and no one spoke for a while. Qin Yu’s mother had mentioned marital intimacies to him, but since Qiao Ruifeng made no move, he didn’t bring it up either and drifted off to sleep in a daze.
He didn’t know that after he fell asleep, Qiao Ruifeng turned on his side and watched him for a long time.
Author [陳皮皮梅]: It’s about the twelve-year-old Little Xiao Man and the nineteen-year-old elder brother and bother-in-law~
If you enjoy my translations, consider buying me a milk tea 🥛🍵
Sweet. I’ve been looking forward to Brother Yu’s story. Thank you