Chapter 90
The sandstorms in Yizhou Prefecture were much less than those in Xiaxi Prefecture. Chen Qing removed the filthy headscarf from his face and quietly shrank behind the person next to him.
A year has passed since Chen Qing sold himself, but he has not been sold by human traffickers because he is short and thin, and he doesn't look like he is suited to have children or do heavy work.
When Chen Qing came to this town, he was prepared that the animals would not be sold. However, he had heard the manager say the night before that if they could not be sold, they would be sent to Nanfeng Pavilion.
The two men's words became increasingly vulgar, and Chen Qing, who didn't know what Nanfeng Pavilion was, began to have a vague guess.
They wore signs on their backs with prices written on them. If someone wanted to buy, they would take off the signs and negotiate the price with the manager. If the price was right, the manager would give the indenture to the buyer.
Many people came and went, but none of them took a liking to Chen Qing. Chen Qing twisted the hem of his clothes; he didn't want to be sent to the Nanfeng Pavilion.
Just then, an old woman came from the crowd. Her back was hunched, her clothes were faded from washing, and she had a headscarf wrapped around her head, so only her eyes could be seen. Her eyes were gray and dull, suggesting that she was very old.
She glanced around, her gaze finally settling on Chen Qing. Chen Qing looked back at her, his eyes filled with a pleading look he himself didn't realize.
Soon the old woman grabbed Chen Qing's hand and led him to the steward.
The price tag on Chen Qing's back was four taels, but the manager, seeing that the old woman was really old, said three and a half taels.
The old lady was somewhat helpless. She shook her head regretfully and said that she didn't have enough money. Chen Qing was so anxious that he was almost crying. The manager was also anxious to send Chen Qing away: "Three taels will do."
Chen Qing turned to look at the old lady. The old lady's hands trembled slightly as she took out the loose silver wrapped in a handkerchief from her bosom. She managed to scrape together only two taels and eight mace.
"Alright, alright, take him away." The steward took the money, found Chen Qing's contract from a stack of deeds, handed it to the old lady, and told Chen Qing to hurry up and pack his luggage.
Chen Qing quickly found his small bundle, which actually contained nothing but a couple of pieces of clothing. As if afraid that the old lady would regret it, he picked up the bundle and ran to the old lady's side.
The old lady then led him away from there. Chen Qing did not look back; he did not feel reluctant to leave.
"I live in Zhoujia Village down below. Besides me, I only have one grandson, but he went to join the army a few years ago. Now I'm all alone at home," Grandma Zhou said to Chen Qing as they walked. "I'm not going to live much longer, so I want to buy a husband for our Ayuan. If I pass away, he won't be all alone when he comes home, with no one to talk to."
Chen Qing felt a lump in his throat: "You are a good person, you will live to be a hundred."
Grandma Zhou just smiled, and when she smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes all came together. She knew that her body was failing, and these days she felt that being able to wake up every day was a blessing. The child in front of her looked kind, and she believed that A Yuan would like him too.
They went home together. Old Mrs. Zhou's house was considered quite dilapidated in the village, with only two small rooms and a small stove made of yellow mud for cooking.
"Our family isn't well-off, please bear with us. At least you're free." Old Mrs. Zhou walked shakily into the room, found a piece of meat that had been cured with coarse salt for a long time, and said, "To celebrate your visit, we'll have a good meal tonight."
Chen Qing nodded, put the bundle under the eaves, and prepared to help Grandma Zhou with her chores.
Grandma Zhou was a little tired, so she sat down on a small stool: "Child, what's your name?"
Chen Qing rolled up his sleeves and replied, "My name is Chen Qing."
"Xiaoqing." Old Mrs. Zhou remembered something and led Chen Qing into the house again. "You can stay in the room that A Yuan used to live in. You can get married when he comes back."
Although Zhou had been away from home for a long time, the house was still very clean and tidy. Chen Qing stood at the door with some restraint. Even though no one had lived in the room for a long time, Chen Qing still felt a sense of oppression.
Dinner was prepared by Grandma Zhou. She boiled the salted pork in water, then sliced it, and then boiled radishes in the water used to boil the pork. It was a very oily and juicy dinner.
Chen Qing didn't dare to eat too much, afraid that if he ate too much, Old Mrs. Zhou would send him back again, so he just buried his head in eating radishes. Old Mrs. Zhou kept putting meat into his bowl, but Chen Qing declined, saying he didn't need it.
But Grandma Zhou said that she was old and her teeth were not good, and that the meat was too hard for her to chew, so Chen Qing felt less burdened and ate it.
He lay on Zhou Yuan's bed with his eyes open until dawn. The next day, Old Mrs. Zhou took him to the town's household registration office to register Chen Qing's household registration. From then on, he was a resident of the town.
Perhaps because his household registration had been settled, Chen Qing finally felt a little relieved and started helping Grandma Zhou with chores, but there wasn't much to do.
Grandma Zhou sat in the courtyard, holding a needle and thread in her hand: "I'm old, and I don't have any land at home. Usually, people in the village go to the dam over there to dig up medicinal herbs, or they go out to work. But my legs are too weak to go, so I can only do some needlework. Now I can't see anymore, so I can't do needlework either."
"So how did you live before?" Chen Qing learned after talking with her that her grandson had passed away three years ago.
"Hey, as long as we don't starve, that's fine." Grandma Zhou was very open-minded. "A-Yuan is filial, and he sometimes sends some money back home."
Chen Qing looked at her and saw a pale smile on her face: "I brought you home with the money that A Yuan sent me."
Chen Qing sensed there was something going on, but he was afraid that he would be displeased by talking too much, so he said, "Grandmother, I can also do needlework, and I can do it quickly and well."
Grandma Zhou got up and touched his hair: "Then this can be considered a little bit of livelihood for our family."
Chen Qing then took the sewing basket from Old Mrs. Zhou and began embroidering a handkerchief.
Days passed by like this. Old Mrs. Zhou seemed to live a very solitary life in the village. Usually, no one came to their little courtyard. Chen Qing was quite happy, as not having to go out and see people was the best thing for him.
Neither of them had a big appetite, and there was still plenty of grain left in the jar at home, but there wasn't much meat to eat. Chen Qing didn't mind, as long as they had a stable place to live.
The town wasn't far from their village, so Grandma Zhou took him there to sell handkerchiefs. Chen Qing's embroidery skills were excellent, and the shopkeeper offered him a higher price than Grandma Zhou had previously offered. Chen Qing exchanged the handkerchiefs for money and handed them to Grandma Zhou, but she refused to take the money, telling him to keep it and use it to buy something nice to eat.
Life here wasn't wealthy, but it was stable. Chen Qing worked on his embroidery day and night, and when he finished, he would exchange it for money. Over time, he got to know the shopkeeper. Seeing his diligence and that he was living with an old woman, the shopkeeper introduced him to a laundry job in town.
After discussing it with Grandma Zhou, he accepted the job. From the sweltering summer heat to the freezing winter months, Chen Qing's hands developed chilblains.
At least the family has a little more money, so we can have a proper New Year. At least we can buy a piece of meat to make New Year's Eve dinner.
On New Year's Eve, Grandma Zhou took Chen Qing to buy a piece of meat to offer as a sacrifice to the Zhou family's ancestors.
“A-Yuan’s parents died early, and he grew up with this old woman like me when he was little.” Old Mrs. Zhou said, panting. “He was filial and knew that his family was poor, so he went to the battlefield, a place where people could die.”
Chen Qing supported her and listened quietly as he talked about Zhou Yuan. He also became more curious about Zhou Yuan. What kind of person was he?
Is she as kind as a grandmother, or is she difficult to get along with? But a filial person should be easy to get along with, right?
They soon arrived at the grave. Because of the long time that had passed, it looked somewhat desolate. Chen Qing tidied up the surroundings before joining Grandma Zhou in paying their respects.
"May your spirits in heaven protect A-Yuan and keep him safe on the battlefield."
After she finished speaking, tears streamed from her cloudy eyes.
Chen Qing took out a handkerchief and wiped away her tears: "Grandmother, while he is not back, I will take good care of you and be filial to you."
After the grandfather and grandson finished paying respects to their ancestors, they returned home hand in hand. Chen Qing busied himself preparing for the New Year's Eve dinner. They would cook a piece of meat for several meals, so tonight they would stir-fry a small piece of fresh meat and cook a piece of salted pork with radish.
Winter days are short and nights come early. The grandmother and grandson set up a table in Grandma Zhou's room. The dim oil lamp illuminated their faces. Grandma Zhou took out a red envelope from her bosom: "This is New Year's money for Xiaoqing."
Chen Qing refused to accept it, but Old Mrs. Zhou insisted on handing it to him, so Chen Qing had no choice but to put it in his pocket.
"I won't live much longer, Xiaoqing. If you're going to remember how good I've been to you, after I die, just wait here for Ayuan. Ayuan is a good boy, so you two can live a good life together."
Chen Qing rubbed his eyes: "Grandmother, today is an auspicious day. Please don't say such things. May you live to be a hundred years old."
Grandma Zhou knew he was trying to comfort himself. Suddenly hearing a noise outside, she immediately told Chen Qing, "Hide this bowl of stir-fried meat, quick!"
Chen Qing simply did as instructed, putting the small bowl of stir-fried meat into a cupboard. Only then did Grandma Zhou stand up and walk to the door.
"Mom, why didn't you turn on a lamp? I almost tripped in the dark!" A particularly loud man's voice came from outside the door, and he started scolding Old Mrs. Zhou, "You won't come home for the New Year if we don't invite you?"
Grandma Zhou straightened her back and said, "I'm fine. I don't need to go to your house and dirty your floor."
Zhou Mu then noticed Chen Qing standing next to Old Mrs. Zhou, and his anger immediately flared up: "I went out to work before the New Year and didn't know you were doing such a foolish thing. You actually thought of spending three taels of silver to buy a husband! I had already discussed it with my wife. When Zhou Yuan comes back, we will marry my wife's niece to him. What are you doing spending this money!"
Chen Qing's shoulders hunched slightly, but he still stood firmly beside Old Mrs. Zhou.
Zhou Mu looked at Chen Qing and said, "You, return the three taels of silver, and then get out of here!"
Grandma Zhou stood in front of Zhou Mu and said, "Don't meddle in my business. The husband I bought for A Yuan was bought with his own money. Mind your own business."
Zhou Mu seemed to have discovered something, and he seemed furious: "I was wondering why I didn't receive any money this year. Turns out you went and collected it yourself, and instead of keeping it, you bought this thing!"
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