"You've got some nerve, daring to steal from my house."
She stopped at the kitchen threshold, her empty eyes fixed precisely on the figure huddled by the stove.
"Tell me, why did you come to my house to steal things?"
An afternoon breeze swept through her hair, carrying a cool, sweet scent of osmanthus.
The little girl sobbed and snuggled into her brother's arms. Knowing that Shen Jintang couldn't see, the brother carefully reached for the spatula, hoping to catch her off guard.
"Smack!"
Amidst the crisp sound of metal hitting the ground, Shen Jintang flicked his fingertips slightly.
The pebble struck the boy's kneecap precisely, and he groaned as he fell to his knees.
"Don't speak," Shen Jintang slowly approached, the tip of her bamboo cane pressing precisely against the boy's Adam's apple. "Next, I'll hit her in the eye and make her blind like me."
Her voice was very soft, yet it instantly froze the little girl's sobs.
The air around the woodpile was filled with the mixed smell of new rice and old ash.
Shen Jintang could smell the sour smell of sweat on the two children and knew that they had been wandering outside for a long time.
However, these are not reasons for their theft.
"Three." She suddenly began to count down, the pressure exerted by the bamboo cane not lessening in the slightest.
"We haven't eaten for three days!" the boy suddenly cried out, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping rough tree bark. "Mother is too sick to get up..."
Shen Jintang paused with his bamboo cane.
She heard the girl's stomach rumbling with hunger.
The tip of the cane, which was pressed against the Adam's apple, was withdrawn slightly by half an inch, but still maintained a deterrent angle.
"Ha!" She suddenly leaned down, her pale face backlit, appearing like a deadly ghost in the eyes of the two children.
The boy's Adam's apple bobbed violently, and cold sweat trickled down his temples.
These words might fool the naive Gu Zhixing, but to fool her...?
“Tell the truth.” Shen Jintang’s voice was as cold as an icicle in the dead of winter, and he slammed his bamboo cane heavily on the ground. “Otherwise, I’ll call the patrolling constables right now.”
The two children immediately fell silent.
She heard the little girl's rapid breathing, the rustling of clothes, and the sound of the little boy swallowing.
The rice bag next to the stove made a slight rustling sound, as if someone had accidentally bumped into it.
"Big...big brother..." the little girl finally spoke, her voice barely audible, "He gave us money..."
Shen Jintang paused slightly with his bamboo cane.
She subconsciously held her breath, her fingers unconsciously tracing the patterns on the bamboo joints.
"Which big brother?" She heard her voice suddenly become very soft, as if afraid of disturbing something.
"He's...the one who lives here..." the little girl sobbed, "He gives us two coins every day...but I haven't seen him these past few days..."
Shen Jintang's fingertips suddenly felt cold.
That makes sense. Gu Zhixing has been with her these past few days and hasn't left the house much, so he hasn't seen anyone else.
"What does he give you money for?" she heard herself ask mechanically, her throat tightening.
"Buy...buy steamed buns..." the little boy answered softly, his voice weak with hunger, "The big brother only ate one himself...give us the rest of the money..."
Buying steamed buns?
Are they poor now?
Why did Gu Zhixing buy steamed buns?
Although what she ate during this period could not be called delicacies, it was at least nutritionally complete.
No...that's not right.
Shen Jintang's heart suddenly clenched, as if something that Gu Zhixing could ignore had suddenly sprouted.
She remembered that Gu Zhixing had never eaten with her these days, always smiling and saying that he had already eaten out, but every time she asked him to eat more, he would say that he was full; she remembered his increasingly thin cheeks, and how the protruding bones would dig into her shoulder when he helped her up; she remembered the faint sounds his abdomen made when he turned over at night.
The bamboo cane fell to the ground with a thud.
Shen Jintang held onto the edge of the stove, her fingertips touching the cool earthenware jar—it was the candied fruit that Gu Zhixing prepared for her every day, saying it was a gift from the shopkeeper's wife.
Why is the shopkeeper's wife so kind to her?
A sense of unease rose from the bottom of my heart.
Could it be that Gu Zhixing has spent all his money on her?
“Sister…” the little boy called out timidly, “We didn’t mean to, we were just too hungry, and no one gave us money except for the big brother.”
Shen Jintang raised her hand, and the two children immediately fell silent.
She slowly squatted down and groped to pick up the bamboo cane.
Sunlight streamed through the window and shone on her pale face, revealing a faint wrinkle between her brows.
What is he doing out there now?
Her voice was taut like a drawn bowstring, and her fingertips unconsciously tightened on the bamboo cane.
"Carry the big bags!" The little girl suddenly perked up, her voice clear and bright. "A few days ago, some bad guys tried to rob us, but the big brother was really amazing! He led everyone and chased the bad guys away!"
She gestured wildly, forgetting that her older sister in front of her couldn't see.
The little boy quickly added, "Now the older brother doesn't have to carry bags anymore, the foreman put him in charge of people..." His voice suddenly lowered, "...but he always runs back at noon, and the foreman has scolded him several times..."
Shen Jintang's fingers gripped the bamboo cane tightly.
She could almost picture Gu Zhixing hunched over, carrying a sack taller than a person under the scorching sun.
The salty sea breeze at the dock, the rough burlap sacks, and the heavy objects that bent her back—she was all too familiar with these things.
That idiot...
A sudden wave of soreness welled up in her chest, and her throat felt like it was choked by something.
Carrying heavy bags at the dock, how could he even think of that!
She had traveled all over the country since she was a child, and she knew all too well how many copper coins this kind of work could earn.
Those laborers would often squat at the dock before dawn waiting for work, and even after a whole day's work, they wouldn't earn enough for a full meal.
The medicine she's taking now costs three qian of silver per dose; and each time the doctor comes to examine her pulse, it costs half a string of cash.
Not to mention rent, rice, flour, lamp oil...
These accounts surfaced in her mind one by one, like knives stabbing at her heart.
"Big sister..." The little girl timidly tugged at her clothes, the fabric rustling softly. "Big brother said... said he would give all the money to buy medicine for you... it doesn't matter if he goes hungry..."
Shen Jintang suddenly turned around, and the two children shrank back in fright, knocking over the broom standing against the wall.
Her empty eyes were filled with tears, which shimmered in the sunlight.
She remembered how Gu Zhixing always smelled of the salty sea breeze and sweat when he came home these days; she remembered the new calluses and wounds on his hands; she remembered the suppressed groans he made when he turned over in bed at night...
She never thought much about these things.
If only she had thought about it more!
How could Gu Zhixing's flawed excuses possibly fool her?
But now, she hasn't seen through any of these flawed excuses.
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