Chapter 54 Borrowing a Son to Save the Mother
"No, no matter how confused her husband is, he still knows what's right and what's wrong." Aunt Chun was anxious. She grabbed Sui Yu's hand and said, "I'm still alive. I'll take care of you if anything happens."
Sui Yu broke free. Aunt Chun was a good person. She had helped her before and now wanted to help Tong Huaer. She lowered her head and didn't dare look into the old woman's eyes, fearing she would see disappointment. She shook her head and said, "I've gambled on people's hearts before, but I lost. I don't dare try again. Aunt Chun, I can barely make ends meet. I can't do you a favor."
Aunt Chun was dejected. She looked at the birds flying low in the distance and suddenly remembered the saying "When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter." Naturally, she thought of Sui Jiushan. Before Sui Jiushan's accident, the clan was united and the members were friendly. No matter what difficulties they encountered, they had no fear because they had a backer.
"I don't blame you for worrying. This is all our own fault. We're so heartless and unsatisfied that we turn our backs on you when you're in trouble. Who wouldn't be afraid of us?" Aunt Chun sighed and said, "We're all like clay Buddhas crossing the river. We all have our own destiny. So be it. I'm going back."
Sui Yu was surprised. Aunt Chun's attitude changed so quickly that she couldn't react.
Aunt Chun stood up and nodded to the man beside her. She said, "Yu is a kind girl. She is also smart and sensible. Master Jun, please treat her well."
Zhao Xiping looked at Sui Yu. Was this abrupt end to the matter? He had expected the old woman to kneel down and beg, or to curse angrily.
Sui Yu sat still, her mind racing. Suddenly, someone came to mind. She asked loudly, "Zhao Xiping, how old is Uncle Niu this year?"
"Early forties, or even less than forty..." Zhao Xiping was not sure.
"He had no teeth when he was in his forties?" Sui Yu suspected that he was mistaken.
"His teeth have been mostly rotten since I met him. He's not old." Zhao Xiping calculated carefully and said, "He should be forty-three or forty-four years old. You ask him if it's... a child?" He also thought about it. Uncle Niu had no children and had been thinking of adopting Sui Liang as his godson.
"Auntie Chun, come back. I've got an idea." Sui Yu hurried after them. She pulled the old woman back, not far away, and said, "I know a man, also a retired soldier from the battlefield, forty-three or forty-four years old, short, and toothless. He's unmarried and wants offspring. I have an idea. I'll tell him about Tong Huaer's pregnancy and see if he's willing to get married and have more children. He slept in a brothel last winter."
After twenty years of slavery, Uncle Niu might be dead by then, and if Tong Huaer wanted to leave and go back to live with her husband, that would be fine. Worst case scenario, the child would stop breastfeeding and she'd have to go back to the brothel, but that would still give her a few years of relief, which was better than staying in the brothel forever.
Aunt Chun figured out what she meant and said happily, "Are you talking about getting Tong Huaer out?"
"I do have this intention, but I'm not sure if Uncle Niu is willing. If he's willing to acknowledge the child, he'll go and ask for the child. If not, there's nothing I can do. You guys should do whatever you want." This was the only solution Sui Yu could try. "I'm just a go-between. Whether it works or not depends on how things develop."
Aunt Chun was trembling with excitement. She held Sui Yu's hand and thanked her repeatedly, "Yu girl, thank you for letting bygones be bygones for the trouble I've caused you. Good deeds will be rewarded."
Sui Yu sighed. She just wanted to feel at ease. It would be fine if she didn't know about this, but if she knew, she would just watch from the sidelines and feel uncomfortable.
"Is this feasible?" she asked Zhao Xiping.
Zhao Xiping thought it was feasible. Two years ago, Uncle Niu wanted to marry a widow with a son, but the widow despised his miserable life and married someone else. The child of the Sui Yu clan was in her belly, and as long as Uncle Niu insisted that it was his, the child would be his from birth.
He nodded and said, "I'm just worried the brothel won't let me go."
"So, depending on how things develop, I can only help up to this point." Sui Yu looked at Aunt Chun and asked, "Is Tong Huaer willing? Uncle Niu doesn't look that good."
"I'll do it, I'll do it, as long as I can get out of the wolf's den." Aunt Chun patted her chest and guaranteed, "I'll tell her when I get home. If she doesn't agree, then just pretend I never told you anything."
"Okay, then. Go back and wait. I won't be in charge of what happens next. If Uncle Niu is willing, he can go get the person. If he can bring them out, Tong Huaer can go with him. If they don't go, just pretend I never mentioned it." Sui Yu went to lead the camel and said, "Come on, I'll take you back. By the way, Aunt Chun, you are..."
Aunt Chun knew what she wanted to ask. She sighed with relief and said, "I'm old and looked down upon, but I'm also a good cook, so the housekeeper sent me to the back kitchen to do the cooking and rough work."
"Good thing." Sui Yu said.
"It's a good thing." Aunt Chun climbed onto the camel and said, "I haven't done anything bad in my life. I have done a lot of good things. I think good people will be rewarded. Yu girl, you will never be a bad person again."
Sui Yu smiled and said, "Then I'll take your advice."
Sui Yu said hello to Zhao Xiping, and then she sent Aunt Chun to the downstream of the river not far from the brothel, and told her that Uncle Niu had a little helper so that she could recognize people.
After putting the person down, she returned the same way.
After the sun sets, the people working in the fields drag their heavy feet back, the chickens and ducks are put into cages, and the birds return to their nests. The deserted military settlement is bustling again, with curls of smoke rising slowly.
The setting sun dissipated, and the night-dyed clouds looked down at the earth.
People fell asleep due to exhaustion, and the house with closed doors and windows fell into silence.
“Bang, bang, bang—”
Uncle Niu had just laid down when he heard someone knocking on the door. He sat up and said, "Here they come."
"Who is it? It's so late at night and you won't let me sleep." He muttered as he went to open the door barefoot. As he lifted the bolt, he asked again, "Who is it?"
"I."
Uncle Niu didn't hear anything. He opened the door and vaguely recognized Zhao Xiping in the moonlight. He asked in confusion, "Why are you here? To borrow food?"
Several men in nearby houses who got up after hearing the knocking on their doors thought it was someone coming to borrow food, so they went back to their rooms to sleep.
Zhao Xiping brought Sui Yu in and closed and bolted the door after they came in.
With a thud, Uncle Niu kicked something over. He cursed a few times and simply stopped lighting the lamp. He came out with a sad face and said, "I'll bring you food tomorrow. I can't see anything clearly now, so go back first."
"Let's go inside and talk." Zhao Xiping pulled Sui Yu and walked into the main room as if he knew the place well.
Uncle Niu then realized that there seemed to be one more person. He followed him in. The room was darker than the yard. He could not make out the person until Sui Yu started talking.
"Uncle Lao Niu, do you want a wife?" Sui Yu asked.
"Really?" Uncle Niu instantly perked up.
"It's absolutely true." Sui Yu smiled. She explained Tong Huaer's situation in detail and said, "The child is already four or five months old. As long as you don't despise my sister-in-law and are willing to acknowledge the child in her belly, you will become a father this autumn."
Uncle Niu clapped his legs with joy, and the flesh on his legs made a crackling sound. He kept saying that he didn't mind.
"God, have mercy on me, the old cow, and send me a child at the last minute." Uncle Niu was very excited. He was jealous of children with fathers, and he was even more satisfied with this one without a father.
"I don't mind. They are my wife and son." He said, patting his chest.
"It could also be a daughter." Sui Yu added.
"A daughter is fine, I don't mind. Niece-in-law, you are such a good person." Uncle Niu walked out and said, "Take the food I just received a few days ago and eat it."
"No, no, no—" Sui Yu stopped him and said, "Uncle Lao Niu, come back. I have something important to tell you. I've given you the idea, but whether you can get the person out depends on your ability. My sister-in-law doesn't want to keep the child. She will only give birth if you get her out of the brothel."
Zhao Xiping looked at her and he could tell that she wanted to help the adults more than the baby in her belly.
After her reminder, Uncle Niu calmed down a little. He stood at the door and thought about it but couldn't come up with any good ideas. He had no connections and no money, and the only thing he had was the leather on his body that could scare people.
"I'll go and make a scene. If no one can get me out, I'll live inside." Uncle Niu was going to act rogue. He had no shame anyway. "I've fought in battles and killed enemies. Even if I haven't done anything great, I've worked hard. I was buried up to my neck in the earth to have a child. It wasn't easy. If they don't agree, they're going to kill me and exterminate me."
After that, he added, "Don't worry, niece-in-law. I haven't done anything wrong. No one can beat or kill me."
Sui Yu had the same idea. Those who are right are afraid of those who are wrong, and those who are wrong are afraid of those who act like scoundrels. As long as Uncle Niu is willing to make a fuss, he will probably be able to get the person out.
After the matter was settled, Sui Yu pulled Zhao Xiping to leave. Before leaving, she explained, "Uncle Lao Niu, you didn't see us tonight. You went to the brothel tomorrow and found out that Tong Huaer was pregnant with your child. You decided to take her home to live with her."
Uncle Niu understood what she meant and assured her, "Don't worry, I won't cause any trouble for you. What happens next will have nothing to do with you."
Sui Yu was satisfied, and she took Zhao Xiping out and back home.
Lying in bed at night, Sui Yu asked quietly, "Will you think I'm meddling in your business?"
Not really. Zhao Xiping considered himself to be a person who feared trouble, but he was not cold-hearted. Moreover, the method Sui Yu came up with had no effect on her, him, or the family.
"If it were one of my people, I wouldn't just ignore it. I understand." Zhao Xiping took the initiative to put his arm around the person beside him and said, "You're very smart. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to come up with this idea."
Sui Yu covered her chest, thinking more. She held the man's hand and said in a low voice, "You don't know how uncomfortable it is for women in a brothel. Once they go in, they are no longer like human beings, but worse than animals. If Uncle Lao Niu can succeed in making trouble, the women in the brothel will have more ways to survive in the future."
Zhao Xiping thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case. It all depended on whether Uncle Niu could succeed.
"Go back and sleep over there." He pushed her.
Sui Yu didn't move.
"I'll cook tomorrow morning." Zhao Xiping compromised.
"Two days of breakfast." Sui Yu laughed.
Two days passed, Zhao Xiping pushed her again, and Sui Yu sat up.
"Are you going to keep enduring this?" She blurted out in a rush of emotion.
Zhao Xiping's face flushed, he crossed his legs and closed his eyes pretending to sleep.
Sui Yu suppressed a laugh and climbed to her seat and lay down. Just as she had pressed the mattress down, she heard him say, "I don't want my child to be enslaved. Even if we can get rid of it later, it will leave a mark. Don't provoke me. I'm not in a hurry."
"Who's anxious?" Sui Yu muttered, "I didn't provoke you, don't let your imagination run wild."
The man snorted and said nothing.
The night passed quickly, and those who had slept well were back to work in the fields, carrying their farm tools, leading camels and mules. Uncle Niu also went out in high spirits, wearing clothes without patches, carrying five hard-boiled eggs, and hurried west.
"Old Cow, why are you so happy so early in the morning? Where are you going?" asked someone on the road.
"Haha, I'm going to have some fun."
"Bah." Aunt Du spat at him, "You old fool."
Uncle Niu ignored him. He quickened his pace and arrived at the brothel downstream before sunrise, just in time to see the prostitutes going out to work.
Tong Huaer noticed that he was missing a hand, and she was delighted to recognize him. He was willing to come, at least he was interested. So even if he was old and ugly, she didn't mind.
"We don't accept customers during the day." She walked around the two people blocking her way and came to an uncovered place. She touched her belly intentionally or unintentionally.
"I remember you." Uncle Niu laughed loudly. He walked over and stuffed the hard-boiled egg into her hand, saying, "I have nothing to do. I'll go inside and wait. I need you to serve me tonight."
Tong Huaer's eyes fell on the eggs. Afraid that they would be snatched away in the field, she immediately broke the eggs into pieces. She ate one, gave the other three to her fellow tribesmen, and prepared to give the last one to Aunt Chun.
"What's going on? The sun is almost hitting your buttocks, and you're still not getting out of the fields?" The female manager came out with a stern face. Seeing an old man standing outside, she shooed him away like a fly, "We don't accept customers during the day. Come back in the evening."
"I'll just call her. I'll wait for her to come back." Uncle Niu pointed at Tong Huaer and said, "It's okay for me to go back. I'll go into the house and take a nap."
"She can't, she's pregnant," said the housekeeper.
"Pregnant?" Uncle Niu laughed. He ran over and grabbed Tong Huaer, saying, "I slept with her. The baby in her belly is mine. It just so happens that I don't have a wife or a child. You come back with me and be my wife."
After saying that, he dragged the person away.
The female manager rushed to stop them, and called on others to chase and block them, and pulled Tong Huaer back amid Uncle Niu's furious scolding. Uncle Niu was not convinced, and he blocked the brothel like a ruffian, stopping the prostitutes from working and scolding the manager whenever he caught them.
The camp prostitutes were eager to rest in the house, so Uncle Niu stopped them one by one and they all went into the house to stand and watch the fun.
Tong Huaer sat in the crowd with her head down. The female steward urged her to go out and explain clearly, "Tell him it's not his child."
"If he admits it, it's his." Tong Huaer refused to go back on her word.
The female manager stared at her coldly. She sent someone to find the military manager and drove the other camp prostitutes to work in the fields. She stayed outside the door to prevent the old man from coming in and snatching them away.
At noon, tired of scolding, Uncle Niu went to sit by the door to rest. He saw a yamen runner approaching from a distance, and before the man could say anything, he began to curse: "Whoever stops me from taking my son home is wiping out my descendants. This is my only offspring at my age. If you wiping out my descendants, I will curse him every day to have no descendants."
The yamen runner who was sent to investigate the situation: ...
The yamen runners tried to persuade him gently, but even after spitting out their words, they still couldn't persuade him. They could only go back and call the captain of the army. When the captain came, it was even harder to say anything. Uncle Niu was crying and snotting, and his words implied that the life of the unborn child depended on him. He couldn't let his old soldiers die.
"Since Lao Niu is willing to admit it, let him take the man back." The captain said to the female manager.
The housekeeper naturally refused, so she sent someone to find Lord Hu. Lord Hu didn't even show up, and his men who came over were unable to do anything to the old rogue.
At night, Uncle Niu was still guarding outside the brothel, and whenever a client came, he would tell them not to touch the mother. This was the biggest fun of the night, and for a moment the brothel was bustling more than a market.
The housekeeper had the idea of having an abortion, but there was no chance to give the medicine. Uncle Niu was also afraid that this thief would have an abortion, so he guarded outside the door during the day and moved in at night. He also asked someone to go to his house to get a bedding roll and stay with Tong Huaer, eating and sleeping together.
Uncle Niu's jokes spread throughout the city. Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping worked in the fields every day. They would always hear new developments when they went out in the morning and returned home in the evening.
"An old man from Wushier Village also went to claim a child today. Lao Niu had a fight with him. Although Lao Niu looks listless on weekdays, he still has quite a bit of strength and knocked the old man down in one fell swoop." The man who was speaking danced with his hands and feet, imitating the fighting posture as if he had seen it with his own eyes.
The next moment, his wife came over with a stick, pointed at his nose and cursed: "I work in the fields with you every day and I'm exhausted. You have no conscience and you spend money to sleep with women. I don't want to live with you anymore."
"I didn't, I just went to see the fun." The man was beaten and ran away in panic.
This has become a lively scene in the eyes of the neighbors.
Uncle Niu's rampage in the brothel lasted for more than half a month. One morning, someone squatting outside the door eating breakfast saw him bringing back a ragged woman.
Sui Yu also saw that Tong Huaer had become extremely thin, with a bulging belly. This child was really lucky, as the mother did not miscarry despite being so skinny.
"This is my wife, and she's pregnant with my baby. Everyone, please give me, Lao Niu, some face and don't bully her." Lao Niu had been weak for half his life, but now he straightened his back like a man and said to everyone he met, "I, Lao Niu, have never bullied anyone, so don't bully her. I begged for her for half a month before I got her. I'll be angry with anyone who mentions the past."
"This old cow is quite courageous." Aunt Sun muttered.
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