Chapter 26: Fuck a man

Xue Lianxing was silent for a long time.

"Eleven, do you still remember the person who killed Nanzhi that day?"

Chen Shiyi nodded solemnly.

"I remember clearly that the master they called had a black mole between his eyebrows."

"They came quickly and left quickly. When I went to check on them, they were gone."

"Brother Xue, they are from Kyoto."

"How do you know?"

"Their accent is from Kyoto, and I am also an exile from Kyoto."

Chen Shiyi looked at Xue Lianxing's tightly clenched hands, which were completely different from the indifference on his face.

"Brother Xue, revenge needs to be carefully considered. Those people are very powerful at first glance."

Xue Lianxing nodded slightly and let out a long breath.

"Eleven, I found out about a job, do you want to do it?"

Chen Shiyi asked happily when he heard it.

"What kind of work is it?"

"The wages are very high, thirty-five cents a day, and you can work for half a month."

"good."

"It's just that," Xue Lianxing didn't know how to say it.

"Just what?"

"The government wants to remove the silt from the Jiacheng River. We need a group of people to carry the silt. This is a job for men. I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it."

Chen Shiyi breathed a sigh of relief.

"I thought it was nothing. I was born in a poor family and have been working since I was young. I have done more tiring jobs than this. And... "

She whispered in his ear.

"We are running out of rice at home, and the whole family is waiting for dinner."

Xue Lianxing frowned.

"You are such a big family, and they let a little girl like you go out to make a living? This is outrageous!"

Chen Shiyi said helplessly.

"I am a maid in this family. Two men in the family are serving their sentences in the Fengming Mine. The women in the family used to live a life of luxury and had no work to do."

Xue Lianxing nodded in understanding.

"Okay, come over early tomorrow morning and I'll go with you."

After the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather gradually became hotter.

Chen Shiyi sat by the stream, holding a kitchen knife in his hand, carefully sharpening the bamboo in his hand, and wrapped his hand with rags.

This is her weapon for self-defense when she goes out.

Wen Zhiheng picked up the dagger she made herself and looked at it over and over again.

He took the knife from Chen Shiyi's hand and polished the imperfections on the dagger.

"I'll make you two more good ones later."

Chen Shiyi took the dagger handed to him by Wen Zhiheng.

"No, I'm not going to kill anyone, I'm just using it for self-defense."

"Where are you going?"

"To make money."

When he said this, Wen Zhiheng suddenly felt powerless and guilty.

"When are you going?"

"tomorrow."

"Will you be back tonight?"

"It won't delay cooking."

"I'm just worried about your safety, that's all."

"knew."

Wen Zhiheng didn't know how to communicate with Chen Shiyi.

This feeling of powerlessness goes deeper than just having to raise a family.

"eleven…"

Forget it. There is no point in saying more.

The Jiacheng River has a large estuary with waves rolling on the water surface.

On the river bank, there were men with bare arms, carrying heavy mud and sand and walking slowly. When they saw Chen Shiyi and a woman coming over, they all smiled sneers.

The person in charge seemed to be an old acquaintance of Xue Lianxing. He put his arm around Xue Lianxing's shoulder, walked aside and whispered.

"Brother Xue, this is inappropriate. How can a woman do this? Aren't you trying to embarrass me?"

Xue Lianxing replied quickly.

"Brother Zhang, this woman has been very kind to me. We are running out of food at home. Please be kind and make some concessions. I will do the work she cannot finish..."

Old Zhang took a deep breath.

"For your sake, I'll let her stay for a day. If she doesn't do well, don't blame me for not showing you any mercy."

When Chen Shiyi saw Xue Lianxing nod at her, she hurriedly followed him to the riverside to fetch mud and sand.

She took off her shoes, tied them around her waist, stepped barefoot onto the wet sand, rolled up her sleeves, and teamed up with Xue Lianxing to shovel the mud and sand into a basket and carry it up and down on a shoulder pole.

Xue Lianxing could not believe that although Chen Shiyi looked small, he was very skillful and strong at his work.

I thought today would be very strenuous, but unexpectedly it was very easy.

Even Old Zhangtou stopped saying anything.

She went out early and came back late. After getting paid, she would bring back rice and grain, sometimes some big bones, a piece of meat, three or five eggs, and some cheaper vegetables. Occasionally, she would bring a candied haws for Rui'er, which made Rui'er's eyes narrow into slits with sweetness.

He has been nagging Chen Shiyi recently and doesn't want to learn to read from him, even though he already knows a lot of them.

"When I'm done with this, I'll learn everything I haven't learned before."

Ruier said with a smile while licking the candied haws.

"This candied haws is considered as a gift."

“You’re pretty cheap then.”

While talking to him, Chen Shiyi fell asleep due to exhaustion.

Such high-intensity work is a bit too much to bear after doing it for a long time.

The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and her clothes were soaked by sweat countless times every day. Her bare feet turned white from being soaked in water so often. Once or twice, she accidentally stepped on something sharp and scratched the sole of her foot. A lot of blood came out, and of course a lot of fine sand also got into her feet, which hurt her so much.

That’s nothing, the most important injury is in the shoulder.

My shoulders were swollen from carrying dozens of pounds of mud and sand every day.

It was not until the twelfth day that Xue Lianxing spoke to Chen Shiyi with great regret.

"Eleven, starting tomorrow, don't come."

Chen Shiyi said nervously.

"Why? Am I holding you back?"

Xue Lianxing handed Chen Shiyi a medicine bottle.

"Your shoulder is oozing with blood. You can't do it anymore. Go back."

Chen Shiyi took the medicine bottle and pursed his lips.

"What about you? I didn't team up with you."

Xue Lianxing laughed.

"I'm done with this now. My shoulders hurt so much that I can't stand it."

Chen Shiyi asked hurriedly.

"Did I cause you any trouble?"

"No, you're in great company."

Chen Shiyi smiled shyly.

"Come to town again the day after tomorrow and get the rest of your wages."

Chen Shiyi returned home very early today and took off the floral cloth that covered her face. Fortunately, she begged Wen Zhirou to sew it for her, otherwise her face would be sunburned.

She sat in her woodshed, trying to apply medicine to herself, but it was always too late.

Wen Zhirou was sewing clothes in the shade of the eaves, and Chen Shiyi walked towards her slowly.

"Miss."

"What is it?"

Wen Zhirou spoke unhappily.

"Can you give me some medicine?"

Wen Zhirou stopped what she was doing, raised her eyes and glanced at Chen Shiyi.

"good."

Chen Shiyi followed Wen Zhirou to the compartment where she lived.

He gently took off his clothes, revealing both shoulders were red and swollen, with several cuts on the right shoulder, from which blood was oozing out.

The green swelling was mixed with thin red bloodshot, flowing on the fair skin, and Wen Zhirou's eyes instantly turned red.

She opened the porcelain bottle tremblingly. The medicated oil was very cool. She gently applied it to Chen Shiyi's wound with her slender fingers.

Chen Shiyi trembled in pain.

Wen Zhirou asked with a choked voice.

"What were you doing?"

“Carrying river sand.”

"How did you get yourself into this state?"

"It's okay, it will be fine in a few days."

Wen Zhirou cursed.

"Who told you to work so hard to earn money and hurt yourself like this, so that we can blame ourselves, right? You didn't tell us anything, why don't we solve it together? Even if we eat less or live a precarious life, what does it matter? Will we all die?"

"You are so stubborn and self-willed. When you get angry, even ten cows can't stop you."

Chen Shiyi whispered.

"Hey, don't cry. I lived like this when I was a kid. I worked like this every day. I'm used to it."

Wen Zhirou carefully put clothes on Chen Shiyi.

"Why don't you wear the new clothes I gave you before?"

"It's a shame that it got dirty."

"Eleven, if you have any problems in the future, please tell us, okay? We can solve the difficulties together. You have always supported this family for us. We are the ones who don't know what is good for us."