Chapter 25 Why is there so much water? ...
Yao Yong was a very gentle and kind-hearted person.
It's innate.
They are also born with weak ties to their families.
Shortly after his birth, his father died of illness. When he was five, his mother, who had raised him with great difficulty, also passed away. After his mother's funeral, his uncle took him away. Because they had no children of their own, his aunt poured all her maternal love into him, caring for him meticulously as if he were her own son. However, his aunt also died of a serious illness. Overnight, his reputation soured; people said he was cursed and brought misfortune to his relatives. Hearing this, he was utterly at a loss, crying anxiously, wanting his uncle to return quickly, yet also fearing that he truly was cursed—his uncle was his only remaining family…
The uncle returned quickly. After burying his aunt, he took him away from their hometown. The uncle later died in a foreign land, saying before he died, "Don't go back." He didn't want to go back either, so he didn't. He thought he would never go back. However, many years after his death, he did return, holding a little girl's hand.
He told people that the little girl was his daughter, and they believed him.
However, the little girl was not his biological child; he had found her. He first rescued her and then adopted her.
He had a daughter, his own daughter, who died in the fire.
Before the age of ten, Yao Yong's name was simply Shitou (Stone). His mother chose this name because she wanted him to be resilient and strong, so he could survive. She had heard that jade was also very hard, but jade was a precious thing, and precious things are hard for the poor to keep. So his name was Shitou. Later, his uncle took him out and felt that the name Shitou was too hasty and inappropriate. After all, he was an adult and traveling outside, so he asked someone to give him a more elegant name. From then on, when people asked him, he would say that his name was Yao Yong, not Shitou.
His uncle had taught him all the business skills, and Yao Yong had studied them diligently. However, after his uncle's death, he went alone to the places his uncle had previously gone to collect rice, offering higher prices than others and hoisting his scales high. He himself didn't live a very good life; he barely made enough to eat and live comfortably. Loyal employees had tried to persuade him many times, but he was always unwilling to make money off the farmers. He had witnessed his mother's suffering. He only wanted to earn a little money from big merchants, even if it was harder work.
He had no money, but a good reputation; everyone who sold him rice spoke highly of his kindness and righteousness. There was a scholar who had studied and taken the imperial examinations his whole life, but in the end, all he had was the title of a student and a daughter. He told Yao Yong that he wanted to give his daughter to Yao Yong in marriage, but he didn't know if Yao Yong would agree.
Yao Yong married the daughter of this impoverished scholar, and after the marriage, he brought his father-in-law to his home to serve him.
When his wife gave birth to a girl, the whole family was overjoyed, especially Yao Yong, who held her tightly and refused to let go.
The daughter's one-month celebration was a joyous occasion, but then the father-in-law died. When they discovered him, the smile on his face had already frozen. The wedding silk was torn down, and a white cloth was hung up instead.
Yao Yong hadn't left the house for three years, staying only at home with his wife. Now that the mourning period was over, Yao Yong decided to take his wife and daughter out with him. They had no money left and had to leave.
Merchants rarely bring their families; it's too much trouble. The political situation changes rapidly, and women and children can't endure hardship, so opportunities always slip away. Yao Yong never said anything. His wife, however, was very anxious. She wanted to take the children home to avoid further delaying him. Yao Yong told her that for him, money wasn't as important as they were, and that she didn't need to say such things again. His wife was moved and threw herself into his arms, crying. She said she was so lucky to have met someone like him. Yao Yong smiled, patted his wife's back, and said some sweet and touching words.
No one has bad luck forever, especially a good person.
Yao Yong got a good opportunity.
His companion at the same inn was a young master, very young, too young. He was easily lured in by a few words and started gambling. He gambled away fortunes, winning at first, but then losing more and more. Finally, he came to his senses and started shouting in the casino, accusing them of rigging the game and killing him. He was beaten half to death. He had to pay, but all the money he had wasn't enough. He begged the casino for more time, promising that if he wrote home, his family would send money. However, the casino refused, because they coveted the valuable silks he possessed. He was furious. At this moment, Yao Yong returned from outside. Although he didn't know what had happened, he had spoken with the young master earlier and knew he was a good person. Seeing the young master's bruised and swollen face, he naturally asked what had happened and if he needed help. The young master was moved and asked Yao Yong if he had twenty taels of silver. Yao Yong did have twenty taels. The casino men took the money, cursing and swearing. The young master told Yao Yong that he didn't have twenty taels and could only offer the silk as payment. Yao Yong naturally refused; the silk was worth far more than twenty taels. He never made ill-gotten gains. The young master was even more moved and earnestly persuaded him to accept it. The young master said he wasn't short of money, and the silk meant nothing to him. He had only wanted to take it home to make clothes for his family because it was nice. He refused to accept being cheated out of his money by the gambling den and then taken advantage of him, eating and taking things away. This was absolutely not going to end! He also said that Yao Yong should accept the silk and then sell it in the capital, where he could make a lot of money. He said he had seen Yao Yong's daughter, who was still so young, running around outside every day, which wasn't a good thing. Yao Yong was swayed. He insisted on giving the young master another thirty taels, half of his entire fortune. The young master refused several times, but seeing that he couldn't refuse any longer, he accepted it. The young master also said that when he went to Xiangji Restaurant in the east of the capital and mentioned his name to the manager, the manager would give him a good price.
Yao listened to his young master's advice and indeed made a fortune in the capital. He immediately took his wife and children home, and with this money, he decided to only farm and never do business again.
He couldn't sleep and tossed and turned, but his wife had already put their daughter to sleep. Afraid of disturbing his daughter, he put on his coat and went outside.
It was during the short time he was gone that the inn caught fire.
The money is gone, and so are his wife and daughter.
Standing before the ruins still shrouded in smoke, Yao Yong thought to himself, "He really is destined to bring misfortune to his family. Those words he uttered back then weren't wrong."
He shouldn't be alive, he thought.
So they walked to the water's edge.
A child lay on the shore, barely breathing, his life hanging by a thread.
Yao Yong was a good man after all; he forgot about himself and only thought about the child's life.
After expelling the water from the child's stomach, he picked up the child and went to find a doctor.
He didn't know where to find a doctor, so he asked the innkeeper, who said that all the doctors he knew lived in the city.
He immediately set off for the city.
But the shopkeeper stopped him.
He grew anxious, and since he already harbored resentment towards the shopkeeper, he sternly asked him what he wanted to do, his disgust barely concealed.
The shopkeeper said, "Don't go! How could my shop catch fire out of nowhere? This shop has been open for fifty-eight years, it was acquired by my grandfather, and it has never caught fire in fifty-eight years! The city is in chaos. What I heard is that the Prince of Jin's rebellion failed and he died at the hands of the Prince of Qi... It was a few remnants of the Prince of Jin's army who passed through here on their way out... I don't know what the city is like now, don't wander around, or you might lose your life too."
So that's how it is.
But it doesn't matter anymore, the person is gone.
He no longer intended to live, but he simply couldn't bear to see the child in his arms die.
He handed the child forward and said, "At least try to save her."
The shopkeeper said, "I've been wanting to tell you for a while, just leave her alone. This child doesn't look like someone an ordinary family could raise. Some people who escaped said that the city is already a bloodbath, with some families of hundreds of people wiped out. This child might be... just leave her alone. It would be better if she died. If we get caught, we can't afford the consequences."
But, but...
"She's just a child! Even if... even if she's just a child, what could she have done wrong? How can you just stand by and watch her die!"
The shopkeeper could only sigh.
“We ordinary people didn’t do anything wrong either, but we still got dragged into this. It’s all fate, your fate, my fate, her fate…”
But, but...
The child suddenly developed a fever, burning hot all over, delirious, and hoarsely calling for his mother.
The shopkeeper brought over a bowl of dark, murky stuff. "We begged from all over, and this is all we have. Let's see what fate has in store for her!"
Thank God, the little girl survived.
Over three days, several groups of people came to the inn, asking menacingly if they had seen a four- or five-year-old girl. They offered a reward for handing her over, and some even wore armor and carried knives.
The shopkeeper, of course, said no.
The little girl woke up. When asked her name, she didn't know. She couldn't remember who her parents were, or where her home was. When asked again, she buried her face in her hands and cried hysterically, crying and asking, "Who? Who is it? Who am I? Who am I?!"
How could outsiders possibly know?
The innkeeper, a man of great experience, said, "She's been burned silly. That's good. It's better that she doesn't remember." He then said to Yao Yong, "I saw it long ago. You're a good person, just unlucky. But Heaven hasn't abandoned you. You can treat her as your daughter. She looks about the same age to me. This is Heaven's will. You went to seek death and found her. Heaven didn't want you to die. You accumulated good deeds and virtues, which is why you have this daughter. I think it's better to call her Shanlai. She was supposed to die. Since you saved her, you have to take care of her for the rest of her life. I'll give you some things. Take her with you and don't let her remember these things. Live peacefully. You've sown the seeds, so you have to bear the consequences."
He sowed the seeds of his past, and today he reaps the harvest.
The girl he saved years ago has now saved him in return.
Yao was not feeling good.
Because Shanlai treated him like her own father, but he didn't truly treat her like his daughter. He was selfish and only treated her as a guest. Because he really did have a daughter.
For his daughter's sake, he somewhat abandoned morality and started a business, solely to provide her with a better life. But with Shanlai? He only gave her a hard life; he lacked ambition and never considered making money for her. He always kept a distance from her. She, however, was different.
He really felt sorry for her.
He had to treat her well, even better than he had treated his own daughter.
He wanted to earn money for her.
He was eager to get better and couldn't wait. As soon as he was able to get out of bed, he went out.
He can buy cattle and land. He has money and can buy a lot of land. In just five years, no! Maybe just three, two, one year, or one harvest of rice, he can have five hundred taels.
With five hundred taels, I can bring my daughter home.
How could you let her become someone's concubine? She's such a wonderful girl, beautiful and kind-hearted...
He was constantly on the go.
It's summer, and there's nothing we can do about it; it started raining again without warning.
Merciless water.
Why is there so much water?
He got caught in the rain and quickly developed a fever, and as before, he felt weak and sore all over.
But he still struggled to get up. He had to earn money and bring his daughter home. He forced himself to go to the fields.
On the way, he saw a woman from the village playing outside with her child. She greeted him with a smile, then played with the child and asked the child to talk to him too.
The child, who had been smiling, started crying when he saw him, and cried and cried and cried.
The child's mother was somewhat embarrassed, "I really don't know why she's crying. She was perfectly fine, it must be some kind of evil spirit..."
He said he was fine and was about to head to the fields.
When his wife saw this, she said, "The sun is so high, why are you going to the fields? It's too hot. Uncle has just recovered from his illness, he should be resting properly..."
The words had barely left his mouth when a loud crash occurred.
When I woke up again, I didn't know what time it was. I just felt like my body was floating, like I was about to fly away...
What's going on? Have I been possessed by an evil spirit?
"I really don't know why you're crying. You were perfectly fine, it's like you've been possessed by an evil spirit..."
These things are very effective for newborn babies.
He knew things were bad, and he wouldn't get better.
Fear……
I wasn't this scared last time.
Someone nearby saw that he was awake and quickly asked him how he was.
He was really anxious, afraid it would be too late. He hated it, he really hated it, and he regretted it.
I really regret it.
I realized this so late.
It's too late.
Two lines of sorrowful tears.
She burst into tears.
"Come back... I... Song Chunyan, go..."
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