Qiao Chengfu raised a wooden stick and swung it at Qiao Suiman with full force.
“Ah!” The stick struck his back, and Qiao Suiman couldn’t suppress a pained groan, swaying unsteadily as if he might collapse at any moment.
Qin Yu saw Qiao Suiman in this state as soon as he entered the room. He rushed to support him, his voice sharp with anger, “Ah! What are you doing?!”
“Pah! Who are you? How dare you talk to me?” Qiao Chengfu pointed at Qin Yu and cursed incessantly. “Fine, fine! None of you have any respect for me as your father anymore! If I don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll all act like I don’t exist!”
Qiao Chengfu looked down on Qin Yu, a bought ge’r, treating him as nothing more than a servant. Now a servant dared to confront him. It is really going to be a big deal. He’d beat these two worthless things into submission and take all their money!
Seeing the stick about to land on Qin Yu, Qiao Suiman instinctively turned to shield him, bracing for another blow. But just as the stick was about to strike, a figure rushed in, grabbed it mid-air, and flung it aside with force.
Qiao Chengfu staggered from the force. It was Qiao Ruifeng who had rushed back home.
Taking in the chaos in the courtyard and the injuries on his fulang and younger brother, Qiao Ruifeng clenched his jaw, veins bulging at his temples as he suppressed his rage. He glared at Qiao Chengfu and demanded, “What are you causing trouble for this time? What madness drove you back here?”
When drunk, Qiao Chengfu often beat them. When they were young, they couldn’t beat him, so they could only run away and hide. But now that Qiao Ruifeng had grown up and shouldered the farm work, his strength had increased, and Qiao Chengfu no longer dared to pick fights with him, only venting his anger on Qiao Suiman.
A coward who bullied the weak, Qiao Chengfu had been chasing them around the courtyard moments ago, but now he didn’t dare lift a hand, resorting to filthy curses instead. “You little brat, think you’re all grown up now, huh? I can’t even scold these two anymore? You are my son, and you have to give me the money you earn. These two good-for-nothings keep saying they have nothing. If I don’t beat them, they won’t tell the truth!”
Qiao Ruifeng laughed in furious disbelief, his eyes filled with disgust as he stared at Qiao Chengfu. “The truth? What truth? The truth is we have no money! If you want money, go earn it yourself! Even if the king of heaven[mfn]天王老子 – a metaphor for the most noble and authoritative person; highest power; emperor; person of supreme power[/mfn] came, there would still be no money at home!”
“No money?! Then I’ll sell the land! You live under my roof, eat my food, and in the end, I can’t even get a few coins for wine. What’s the use of raising you?!”
“Sell the land? What land do you even have left to sell?” Qiao Ruifeng sneered. “The deeds for the family’s land and house are all under my name. How are you going to sell them?”
Before Li Hua passed, the only decent thing she had done was to leave the family’s remaining two mu[mfn]亩 (Mǔ): ~667 m²[/mfn] of paddy fields, one mu of dry land, and the house to Qiao Ruifeng, not to Qiao Chengfu. Not because she wanted her sons to live well, but because she feared Qiao Chengfu would squander the last of their assets and starve. Leaving them to Qiao Ruifeng at least ensured Qiao Chengfu wouldn’t end up in poverty.
Before she died, she made Qiao Ruifeng swear repeatedly that he wouldn’t abandon Qiao Chengfu to die or else they will all meet a terrible end.
The mention of this ignited hatred in Qiao Chengfu’s eyes. That damned old woman had left everything to this unfilial son, making it harder for him to get some money now than to climb to the sky.
Qiao Chengfu spat on the ground. Seeing that he wouldn’t get any money today, his rage burned hotter. “If I can’t have money, none of you will have it easy either!”
With that, he threw down the stick, stormed into the kitchen, and ransacked the stove. Because they were afraid that the two pots would be sold again, they locked them in Qiao Ruifeng’s room after using them. The kitchen only had a bag of rice and a small jar of oil left.
Cursing, he grabbed the rice and oil and headed out, spewing venom as he went. “Ungrateful wretches! Heartless beasts! If I can’t eat, you think you deserve to?! Damn it, I hope you starve, you good-for-nothing trash!”
With that, he kicked aside a chair that had rolled to the kitchen door and stomped out furiously.
Qin Yu, who was standing by, saw him take the rice and was about to rush up to get it back, but Qiao Suiman held him back, his voice hoarse. “Qin Yu-ge, forget it. If he doesn’t take something, he won’t leave.”
Qin Yu glanced at Qiao Ruifeng, who shook his head slightly, making no move to stop Qiao Chengfu either. Reluctantly, Qin Yu gave up and helped Qiao Suiman into the room, wincing in pain himself.
Qiao Ruifeng stood in the courtyard, staring at the open gate. The night wind was chilly, but he felt suffocated, as if he couldn’t breathe.
He picked up the overturned stool, took a deep breath to calm himself, but suddenly clenched his fist and punched the ground, letting out a low roar.
He had gone to the village chief’s house to collect his wages. The pay for village work couldn’t compare to the docks, but two days’ labor still earned him thirty wen. He had been looking forward to coming home and lifting his fulang and brother’s spirits when Chen Xiasheng came running, saying his father had returned to cause trouble again.
While he was out, only two ge’r were at home. He knew Qiao Suiman’s temperament well. He loathed Qiao Chengfu to the core. Though usually clever enough to charm the aunties and fulang in the village, he refused to say even a single kind word to Qiao Chengfu.
As for Qin Yu, having been sold by his own family, Qiao Chengfu treated him even worse. The moment Xiasheng finished speaking, Qiao Ruifeng had sprinted home in a panic.
But he still couldn’t protect his fulang and brother. He couldn’t stay at home all the time. He always had to find work to do. And whenever he was away, things like this happened. Qiao Ruifeng stared blankly at the gate for a moment before finally getting up to clean the courtyard.
Heijin lay panting on the ground. Qiao Ruifeng picked him up and checked him over. Thankfully, no bones were broken. Heijin nuzzled into his arms, and his heart ached. Stroking the dog’s head, he murmured, “You’ve suffered too.”
Heijin whimpered softly, as if understanding, and gave a faint shake of his head.
—
Inside the room, Qin Yu was applying medicinal wine to Qiao Suiman’s wounds. The wine had been bought from the village’s barefoot doctor[mfn]赤腳大夫 – village healers in rural China who provided basic medical care, often without formal training[/mfn] for fifteen wen a bottle and lasted a long time. Qin Yu poured some into his palm, warmed it by rubbing his hands together, then pressed it into Qiao Suiman’s back. Qiao Chengfu had struck with full force, leaving a dark bruise.
Qiao Suiman’s skin was naturally fairer and more delicate than most, making the bruising appear even more horrifying. Qin Yu’s heart ached as he rubbed, asking repeatedly, “Does it hurt? Tell me if it does, I’ll go gentler.”
“Qin Yu-ge, I’m fine. Just keep going.” Qiao Suiman lay on the bed with his clothes loosened, gritting his teeth against the pain. Bruises healed faster when massaged, and he could endure this much.
His hands trembled slightly as he clutched the quilt beneath him. Qin Yu’s eyes reddened at the sight. “You’ve suffered. This won’t fade for at least eight or ten days. Rest at home and don’t go out, alright?”
Qiao Suiman shook his head lightly. “It’s not that bad. It just looks scary. It’ll be better in two or three days.” Then, thinking of Heijin, his nose stung. “Later, let’s check on Heijin. We’ll give him extra food tonight.”
His voice wavered slightly. After all, he was still just a half-grown child. “Qin Yu-ge… when will this kind of life ever end?”
Qin Yu’s heart twisted painfully. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Yes… when would it end?
After two rounds of rubbing, the bruise had spread, looking even more gruesome. But once the worst of the pain passed, Qiao Suiman felt slightly better.
Wiping his eyes, he slowly sat up, his gaze no longer as lost as before. These hardships left him no time to wallow in sorrow.
Moving carefully to the edge of the bed, he still jostled his back and hissed in pain. “Qin Yu-ge, roll up your pants. Let me tend to your knees. My brother is strong, but he can only rub them randomly. My hands are more skilled. I’ll make sure you’re comfortable afterward.”
Qin Yu couldn’t refuse. He rolled his pants up to his thighs, revealing his old knee injuries from his days in his birth family. No one had ever cared about his pain. They only cared whether he could still work. If he couldn’t, they would sell him off for a tael of silver.
But after coming to the Qiao family, Qiao Ruifeng had noticed his discomfort on a rainy day and bought a few medicinal plasters from the doctor. The plasters on his knees seemed to emit heat, warming his heart.
Still, the Qiao family wasn’t well-off. Qin Yu couldn’t bear to waste money and refused further plasters, so Qiao Ruifeng settled for a cheaper bottle of medicinal wine. It’s something Qin Yu wouldn’t feel too guilty using.
As Qiao Suiman applied the wine, his expression remained troubled, but the earlier fragility was gone.
—
When Qiao Suiman came out of the room, the courtyard had been cleaned up, as if the previous chaos had never happened, except for the pain in his back that reminded him of what had just happened.
The door to the room beside the main hall was wide open. Qiao Ruifeng emerged with a small bag of coarse rice. The family’s remaining grain was hidden in his room, usually locked, with only enough left out for daily meals. This way, even if Qiao Chengfu came back to steal food for wine money, he couldn’t take much.
However, there was not much rice and flour left at home recently. What Qiao Chengfu had taken today would last them five or six days if they rationed carefully.
“Ge, I’ve earned quite a bit these past few days. If we’re short on food, we can buy more from Feng-jie[mfn]姐 – literally means “older sister,” but is often used as a respectful term for a slightly older woman (even if not related by blood)[/mfn].”
Qiao Ruifeng’s heart ached. Though he didn’t have much savings, he couldn’t bring himself to use Qiao Suiman’s private money. “Keep your money for yourself. I’ll handle the household’s food. Rest these next few days. It’s not like I can’t provide for you.”
Usually, the money Qin Yu and Qiao Suiman earned from selling goods was split evenly. Qiao Ruifeng didn’t interfere, letting them save it as they pleased. He didn’t stop them from buying some oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar occasionally. After all, if they really insisted, he couldn’t refuse them anyway.
Farmers didn’t have many expenses. Firewood was gathered from the mountains, rice and oil came from their fields. Salt was expensive, but they used little of it. They don’t make salt-heavy dishes like pickles.
Their spending went mostly toward seasonings, cotton for winter, and the occasional bit of meat. Qiao Ruifeng’s wages from odd jobs covered their needs. It was only because Qiao Chengfu kept coming back to extort them that they couldn’t save much. Otherwise, their lives would have been comfortably self-sufficient.
A knock sounded at the door. Qiao Suiman, being closest, turned to open it. It was Chen Xuesheng, holding a bundle wrapped in something black.
Chen Xuesheng looked frantic. “Xiao Man, are you alright? I was in the backyard when my mother said your father came back. Did he hurt you?”
Qiao Chengfu would go crazy every time he came home after drinking. Once, when Chen Xuesheng was playing at the Qiao house, Qiao Chengfu stormed in with a stick, ready to beat someone, scaring him half to death.
“Just a hit on the back. I’ve already applied medicinal wine. It’s nothing serious. Don’t tell Aunt Shuifen, or she’ll worry.” Qiao Suiman’s back was a mass of bruises, limiting his movements. There was no way Xuesheng would believe he was fine, so he told the truth.
“Ruifeng-ge.” Chen Xuesheng greeted him, then turned back to Qiao Suiman. “Ah, you… How can you say that when you’re like this? My mother said Qin Yu-ge didn’t look too good either. We still have some medicinal plasters left from when Xiasheng got hurt playing around. They work better than medicinal wine. She told me to bring them over.”
Just as he finished speaking, Qin Yu stepped out of Qiao Suiman’s room.
Qiao Ruifeng acknowledged him. It wasn’t proper for him to linger while the three ge’r talked, so he said, “I’ll go cook porridge. You all chat. Don’t make Xuesheng late for dinner.”
“Got it.”
Qiao Suiman held Heijin in his arms. His brother said the dog wasn’t seriously hurt, but flesh wounds still needed care. He soaked a large bowl of rice bran for Heijin. Usually, he alternated between rice bran and wheat bran for the dog, rarely giving him meat. He sighed. Even Heijin suffered with him.
The three of them sat in the main hall talking. After the earlier turmoil, the atmosphere was inevitably heavy.
But Heijin, having recovered some energy, kept wagging his tail and nudging at them, eventually making all three laugh. Fortunately, it was not as heavy as before.
Translator [LUNE]: Who’s crying? 😭 But don’t worry, life will get better. (Also, anyone curious about Qiao Ruifeng and Qin Yu’s story?)
I’m so annoyed that they can’t just get rid of the father.
When will that bastard of a father die??? ……. I hate how it ended ….big bro should have atleast slapped him hard …that coward might have atleast been frightened to death and not bother them for a while 😭