Chapter 54: I'm moving to the Meng family's house; I won't be going back...
Du Li herded his chickens, ducks, and geese back to his little nest, unaware that after he left, Du Laoding left his own home and went to the village chief's house.
"Grandpa, Uncle Ding is here!" the village chief's eldest grandson called out.
"Uncle Ba, are you eating?" Old Ding Du greeted him.
"Hmm, have you eaten? Sit down and have some more?"
"No, I'm full. You eat first, and we'll talk after you finish." Old Ding Du sat down in the courtyard.
A moment later, the village chief came out wiping his mouth and asked, "What's up?"
"Yes, I want my second son to serve in the military."
“I remember he still has five days of service left this year.”
"I'll go do his thing, and he can do mine."
The village chief shook his head. “That won’t do. He’s a strong young man, and the work assigned to him is hard labor. You can’t do it, and it will easily cause delays. The bailiffs won’t agree. You should donate fifteen feet of silk to cancel his term of service and let him do the work for you. One strong young man can replace an elderly man, and the bailiffs won’t say anything.”
"What if he doesn't want to? Can the constables forcibly arrest him?" Old Ding Du asked.
“That’s definitely not going to work. Impersonation is illegal. If it’s a matter of mutual consent, the bailiffs will just turn a blind eye. But if he’s not willing, we can’t force him. If word gets out, not only will you get a beating, but the bailiffs and I will also be in trouble.” The village chief explained to him clearly, “If you want Du Li to take your place, you’ll have him come to me himself.”
Old Ding sighed, "If you asked him to take the place of his father-in-law, he wouldn't hesitate. But it wouldn't work if it were me. I'm a thorn in his side now."
The village chief's youngest son came out and deliberately said, "Brother Ding, this is your problem. The third brother has a problem with you, and the second brother has a problem with you too. You need to reflect on this."
Du Laoding choked.
“If you don’t want to do corvée labor, you can use the labor service as a substitute. Six zhang of silk isn’t much. Your second son’s wife brought in so much dowry; you could afford sixty zhang, let alone six zhang.” The village chief was too lazy to deal with this clueless and short-sighted man, but for Du Min’s sake, he had to put on a good face and advise, “You’ve fallen out of love with your third son. Don’t fall out of love with your second son too. I think he’s the only one of your three sons who is gentle and reliable.”
Old Du wouldn't listen, even criticizing the village chief for being old, blind, and utterly clueless; he thought Du Li was no good. He hadn't forgotten how this ingrate had scolded him for the Meng family's sake, deliberately taking in the third brother, and even throwing him to the ground while trying to break up the fight, as if he wanted to kill him. Since he insisted on going against him, he'd make him suffer.
The next day, Du Laoding bought fifteen feet of silk from the village and hid it at home.
Two days later, the constables came to conscript men, but Du Laoding feigned illness, pretending he was too sick to get up and delaying his arrival. Finally, when the constables came to collect him, he clearly stated that he would have his second son serve in his place.
"Du Li, who is Du Li?" The bailiff arrived at the village entrance, clutching a thick stack of silk.
"Du Li, Du Lao Er, the official is calling you."
Du Li had a bad feeling. He shouldered his shovel and stepped out of the line. "I am Du Li, sir. What do you need me for?"
“Your father has cancelled your remaining five days of service and will let you take his place and serve for him.” The constable raised his hand to show the silk cloth in his hand, then turned to his accomplice who was recording the names and said, “Cancel Du Li’s name.”
“Wait, don’t cancel it. I don’t need to use corvée labor as a substitute for service. As for my father, Du Laoding, he doesn’t want to do corvée labor. Let him donate six zhang of silk.” Du Li stopped him.
Now everyone looked at him.
"You don't want to?" The constable frowned.
“Yes, I don’t want to.” Du Li ignored the stares of his fellow villagers and firmly refused.
"This..." The registered constable hesitated, then asked, "What's the situation with Old Man Du?"
"He's too sick to get out of bed." The bailiff urging the collection of silk was furious. He looked at Du Li and roared in a rough voice, "Your father is too sick to get out of bed, and you still won't take his place in the service?"
“I will serve 15 days this spring, and another 20 days next February. If I serve in place of my father this year, I will start this cycle, and next autumn I will serve in his place until he turns 60. Serving two days a year for nearly ten years will take a toll on my health.” Du Li explained, “Sir, my family is well-off, not so poor that we can’t afford to eat. We can easily afford to pay 60 bolts of silk to have my father serve in lieu of service, so I am unwilling. Besides, he is faking illness; he is not sick at all.”
"Du Li, don't talk nonsense," the village chief reprimanded.
"Pretending to be sick? Are you sure? Pretending to be sick to resist conscription will get you punished with a beating," the constable pressed.
“He’s talking nonsense. My father is indeed sick.” Du Ming stopped hiding and stepped forward, saying, “I am Du Laoding’s eldest son, and I can vouch for my father’s illness.”
"Stop nagging. Go and urge them again. Whether they're really sick or not, if they're unwilling to serve and unwilling to pay their dues, give them a beating and drag them out," the squad leader, carrying a large sword, ordered.
The bailiff, who was urging people to register their names, glanced at Du Li, then went back into the village with a dark expression.
"I'll go take a look." The village chief was annoyed. They were just looking for trouble. The old ones were restless, and the young ones were not behaving themselves either.
Du Ming chased after him, glaring fiercely at Du Li, "You selfish thing."
“You don’t know the pain until it happens to you. If you’re filial, we can switch places. You can try serving two terms a year.” Du Li retorted.
Du Ming pretended not to hear and ran off quickly.
“Let’s go take a look too,” the villagers said.
After thinking for a moment, Du Li followed.
When Du Li arrived, Du Laoding had already been dragged out by the bailiffs, who threatened him with sticks: "Stop dawdling. Choose between full service or being a laborer in lieu of service."
“Serve, serve, let my second son serve in my place.” Du Laoding made up his mind not to provide silk or manpower. He cried and complained, “My family’s silkworms died this spring, and there are not many left for summer. The silk we wove is only enough to pay the silk tax. There is no extra. We can’t even gather two zhang of silk.”
“If your second son is unwilling, then you will have to serve in the labor service.” The bailiff glanced at the crowd, then raised his stick and pointed it at the village chief. “I’ll give you the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. You’d better resolve this. If there’s still no resolution, I will punish him directly for resisting forced labor.”
"Yes, yes, yes." The village chief was furious. He turned around and shouted, "Where are Du Ming and Du Li? Have they returned?"
"We're back, we're back, everyone's here." Du Ming pulled Du Li over.
"You two discuss whether to contribute manpower or money. It's not a problem that your family doesn't have silk. Just bring out the money, and I'll go to the village and gather six zhang of silk for you," the village chief said.
"I have no money," Du Ming declared preemptively.
"My parents have all the money in the family." Du Li refused to contribute any money.
"Is money easy to earn? Or do you think you can earn six bolts of silk in twenty days? You're just a farmer, and you think your body is so precious? You think working for twenty more days will ruin your health?" Old Du said sarcastically, "You can serve in my place this year. Let's see if you can work yourself to death. If you get sick or crippled from overwork, I won't let you do anything anymore. I'll treat you like an ancestor."
Among the crowd, some people nodded in agreement with what Du Laoding said.
“Du Li, your father is right. Farm men are born to work. Physical strength is worthless. Six bolts of silk are worth the harvest of two or three acres of paddy fields. If you go and do twenty days of labor, you can save that money.” someone said.
“Yes, serving in the military at this time meant dredging river mud to repair city walls. It wasn’t hard work, but it wasn’t so hard that it would kill you. We could all do it.” Someone else chimed in.
“Your father is old and sick and can’t do anything anymore. It’s time for you to be filial. He raised you so that you could lend a hand when he is in trouble.”
"Du Li usually seems like a very honest person, how come he's become so cunning and sly? He's calculating everything so meticulously every day."
As Du Li listened to the words that were putting pressure on him, he gradually lost his ability to lift his head.
"Time is almost up," the constable urged.
"Second brother, just agree. You can't just stand by and watch Dad get punished and beaten. At his age, if he gets a beating, he probably won't live for many more years," Du Ming said.
The village chief sighed, "Du Li, you're a good person, don't hold a grudge against your father, just suffer this loss this time."
"Eighth Master, my father is still nine years away from sixty. For the next nine years, do I have to serve in his place every year?" Du Li asked in a hoarse voice. He looked at Du Laoding and asked, "You're forcing me to serve in your place this year? Are you going to use the same trick again next year? You have three sons, are you just targeting me to torment?"
Du Laoding did not deny it, but he said vaguely, "Anyway, this is something the three of you should discuss. You can decide on it yourselves, and take turns doing it each year."
Du Li gave a bitter laugh. He turned around and glared at the clansmen who were standing there talking without any sense of responsibility. He said sternly, "Did you all hear that? From now on, the three of us brothers will take turns serving my father. This year I will contribute my labor, and next year it will be either the eldest or the third brother. If they are not available, they will contribute money or silk. Don't open your mouths and join them in cursing me for being cunning and unfilial."
"How dare you talk like that? Who are you insulting?" The person who accused Du Li of cheating and being cunning was hit where it hurt.
Everyone else's expressions changed as well, staring at Du Li with strange looks, as if they were meeting him for the first time.
"Have you reached an agreement?" the constable asked.
“I’ll serve in his place,” Du Li replied expressionlessly. He walked toward Aunt Du and asked, “Aunt, could you ask Sister Yun to help me feed the chickens, ducks, and geese? The broken rice and rice bran are in the straw shed. I can just feed them once every evening.”
Aunt Du glanced at her mother, who stood silently in the yard. She guessed that her second son also hated her.
“Okay, I’ll talk to your sister-in-law Yun. If she’s busy, I’ll go feed them,” Aunt Du agreed.
After his third aunt agreed, Du Li snatched the hoe from Du Ming's hand without saying a word. Before anyone else could react, he strode into the kitchen and smashed the earthenware pot and steamer on the stove with a few loud bangs.
Old Du jumped up, yelling, "You beast! Don't you want to live anymore?"
Du Li smashed the hoe to his heart's content. He walked out, put the hoe on the ground, and silently scanned the room, as if trying to memorize each face.
The onlookers, seeing his appearance, dared not utter a sound, fearing that he might swing a hoe and smash it on their heads at any moment.
Du Laoding subtly distanced himself from him, still cursing, "You unfilial wretch, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to kill someone?"
Du Li stared at him, but he didn't say anything and turned away.
"Sir, look at him..."
"Enough! Shut up!" the village chief roared, pointing a finger at Du Laoding. "If you say another word, I'll slap you across the face."
Du Laoding shut his mouth.
"Let's go," the constable ordered.
After the laborers were called out at the village entrance, the bailiffs led the forty-eight laborers from Dujiawan onto the boat and left, continuing southwest along the river. After recruiting laborers from three other villages, the boat sailed into the Qingpu River.
*
The next day.
Aunt Du arrived at the Meng family's paper horse shop, and Meng Qing greeted her, "Aunt Du, did you come alone? You can't carry two paper figures by yourself. When you leave, I'll help you take them to the ferry."
Aunt Du nodded, "I originally planned to come with your sister-in-law Yun, but the government is recruiting people for corvée labor, so your cousin left home to serve. Your sister-in-law Yun has to take care of the children and herd cattle and feed chickens and ducks, so I had to come alone."
“They’re recruiting people for corvée labor in the city too,” Meng Qing said. “Du Li went to serve, right? I remember he has five days left in his term this year. It’s a short term, so the place he’s serving in is probably not far from home. What’s wrong? What happened? Third Aunt, why do you look like that?”
“Du Li has gone to serve in place of his father.” Aunt Du’s expression was complicated. “Your father-in-law said he was too sick to get out of bed and was unwilling to donate silk to replace his father’s service. He specifically asked the second son to serve in his place.”
"His own term of service..."
"Your father-in-law canceled it."
Meng Qing's smile faded, and she sighed, "Six zhang of silk is nothing. How much silk can't he buy with the money in his hands? Why does he have to treat people like this? Du Li just finished his military service in the spring, and then he went through spring planting and summer harvest. After the early rice harvest, he was so thin that he was unrecognizable. In the sweltering heat, he had to sleep on a bed made of reed catkins, and he said that sleeping on a straw mat hurt his bones. He finally gained a few pounds, and now he's going to lose them all."
"Everyone in the village who has eyes says your father-in-law is unkind and doesn't treat his second son like a son. The second son was angry too, and when he left, he smashed the stove, pots, and steamers to pieces." Aunt Du told Meng Qing what happened, and shook her head, saying, "Your in-laws are no good people, they're clueless, they're muddleheaded. You're still in the city taking care of your third son's food and drink. Because of your third son, you two don't live like a married couple. Even if they don't like your second son, they shouldn't treat him so harshly considering you."
Meng Qing sighed and remained silent.
“Your mother-in-law came to the city today too, on the same boat as me. She’s going to Washi to buy stoves,” Aunt Du revealed. “But she probably won’t be able to face you.”
Meng Qing vaguely understood her unspoken meaning: was she trying to instigate her to stop Du's mother at the ferry and cause a scene? But she wasn't sure, so she tentatively said, "They are parents. The old couple mistreats their son. What can I, as their daughter-in-law, say? If I raise my voice, I'll be accused of being unfilial."
Aunt Du glanced down at him and said, "If you're so afraid of everything, you and the second son will suffer endless grievances in the future. If I were you, I would move back to feed the chickens and ducks for the second son and stop bringing food to the third son. Let the third son go back and make a scene with his father."
Meng Qing shook her head, "Third brother has a lot of studies to do, so it's best not to worry about family matters. Third Aunt, come with me, I'll take you to the row of houses to pick out paper figures."
The most common funerary items sold at the paper horse shop were paper figures. Mencius' father and mother would make them whenever they had free time, and there were twenty or thirty paper figures arranged in the row of houses used as warehouses.
"These are the servants over here, these are the maids, and those over there are the pageboys, accountants, and stewards," Meng Qing explained.
The paper figures had empty eyes, with only hollow eye sockets under their eyebrows. The house was dimly lit, and Aunt Du felt a chill run down her spine as she stared at the twenty or thirty paper figures.
"Niece-in-law, pick out two servants for me, two strong ones." Before the words were even finished, the person had already left.
Meng Qing carried the two male servants out twice. Once in the sunlight, Aunt Du dared to look again. She examined them closely and found that the paper figures were quite exquisite. They even had noses with bridges, and hair was drawn on their heads. The hair was wrapped in a bun at the back of their heads, and the grayish-brown paper wrapped around the bun served as a headscarf.
"When I die, I'll definitely tell your cousin to burn a few more maids for me to serve me. I've worked my whole life, I should enjoy myself after I die," Aunt Du said with a smile.
"I'll personally prepare a hairdresser, a maid to dress you, an old servant to sweep the courtyard, and a skilled cook for you. I won't even ask my cousins for money; they'll use it all to buy paper money for the dead, so you can be a wealthy old lady in the afterlife." Seeing that she wasn't concerned about what would happen after her death, Meng Qing chimed in.
Aunt Du smiled from ear to ear, "I'm thanking you in advance, I'll remember it, if I don't receive it, I'll have to come looking for you in my dreams."
"I'll write it down as soon as I get back, I'll never forget it."
Aunt Du took out a string of copper coins from the bottom of the basket and handed it over, "I heard from your sister-in-law Yun that a paper figure costs two hundred coins? This is four hundred coins."
"Third Aunt, wait a minute." Meng Qing went to fetch six bundles of paper money. "This is what Du Li and I are doing to show our respect to Third Uncle. It's a token of our respect as the younger generation."
Aunt Du was satisfied. Six bundles of paper money would cost forty or fifty coins. Although the paper effigy didn't give her a discount, the paper money she received was enough.
"Third Aunt, please stay for lunch. I'll go back and cook now," Meng Qing said.
Aunt Du waved her hand, "Don't do that. Your wife is here today too. If I stay for dinner, will you invite her? I don't want to eat at the same table with her. If you don't invite her, she'll find out and ruin your reputation in the village again."
“Then I’ll have someone take you to the ferry.” Meng Qing didn’t want to run into Du’s mother, so she beckoned Wu Darong over and said, “Third Aunt, have him take you to the ferry. It’s getting late, I have to go back and cook, and then I have to take the food to Lao San, so I won’t take you.”
"Okay, you're busy." Aunt Du left.
After she left, the last trace of a smile disappeared from Meng Qing's face.
"What did she whisper to you about? She's been talking for so long." Mother Meng, carrying Wangzhou, came down from the attic. Seeing Meng Qing's expression, she stopped. "Who made you angry?"
“Du Li was forced to serve in the army by that old bastard.” Meng Qing was furious. “That damned old bastard, he never stops.”
Mencius' mother also started cursing: "You old fool, do you really treat your son like a servant? Not only is the work heavy, but he's also not well-fed. A single labor service can take half your life. Du Li has finally grown up, and you can't stand to see him doing well? He might as well be dead. What's the use of him being alive?"
Meng's father and Meng Chun came out of the row of houses across the street. Meng's father said, "Qingniang, your son-in-law is honest but not good with words. He won't say anything even if he's wronged. Go back and give those two old folks a piece of your mind. Let Meng Chun go back with you. He's a man, he doesn't need a good reputation. Let him do whatever you can't say or do."
“Okay, let’s go today, don’t delay,” Meng Chun said.
Meng Qing waved his hand, "Du Li has already smashed all their cooking pots and stoves."
Meng's father smiled and said, "Good lad, you're not a coward."
"Not going? Is this all we're going to do?" Meng Chun was still not satisfied.
“What can we say if we go there and just curse the old man for being heartless? If we make a scene, we’ll lose our right.” Meng Qing kept this in mind. She was thinking of using this opportunity to her advantage and make Old Du Ding really feel bad.
“Never mind, these are your brother-in-law’s parents. Let him handle their affairs. He’s not deaf or mute, not stupid or foolish. If he has any grievances, he’ll resolve them,” Meng Qing said.
Meng Chun sighed, "My brother-in-law is so pitiful, having such parents."
"Once those two old folks die, he'll finally be free of misery." Meng's mother had no choice but to be thankful that Meng Qing and Wang Zhou wouldn't have to go back to that family to suffer.
The family went back to their row house to work. They talked about Aunt Du, and Meng's mother said, "She looks like a kind person, with a blessed face. How come her husband died so young? How many sons did she have?"
“One, and another daughter.” Meng Qing recalled what Aunt Du had said to instigate her, and said, “She’s not simple either. She’s been fighting with Du Li’s mother for twenty or thirty years, and they’re still fighting now. She just told me that Du Li’s mother came today too, to buy stoves in Washi. She wants me to go to the ferry and have a fight with her. She probably wants to see her get the short end of the stick.”
Mencius' mother: "...Even a small village like Dujiawan has so much intrigue and backstabbing. If someone with a less intelligent mind were to marry into this village, they would probably be devoured until only bones remain."
"I wish my brother-in-law could move in with us too," Meng Chun said.
Meng's father shook his head. "Unless those two old guys are dead, they would never let him go as long as they are alive. He's such a good laborer. Besides, your brother-in-law doesn't want to either. He's not a son-in-law who married into the family. Wouldn't he be scolded if he lived with his father-in-law for so long?"
“He couldn’t be happier, of course he would be unwilling. It’s just that he has no skills and can’t make a living in the city. He has land in the countryside, and he can’t bear to leave his fields. Now he’s raising a flock of poultry and has found a way to make money. How could he bear to leave?” Meng Qing said.
"Get to work, stop talking." Meng's mother held Wangzhou in her arms and supervised the work inside the house. The five paper horses ordered by the local gentry, Wang, had already been framed and fattened up. After the straw stubble was trimmed, they could be mounted on paper.
Seven days later, the five brass paper horses were completed.
Meng Qing and Meng Chun began preparing for the remaining orders. The remaining twenty-four orders totaled fifty-four brass paper horses. They needed to finish making the fifty-four paper horses and fattening and trimming them before the end of the winter month.
With time running out and the task heavy, the Meng family, along with their seven apprentices, began a period of tireless work.
In the blink of an eye, half a month has passed.
On the evening of the 29th of the eleventh lunar month, Du Li followed seven or eight elderly laborers from the same village off the boat at the Qingpu River ferry. They then transferred to a covered boat at the ferry and returned to Dujiawan overnight.
As the boat journey continued, Du Li's old reed-flower jacket became heavy, damp to the touch, and offered no warmth when worn.
The barking of dogs in the village woke the sleeping people. The villagers opened their doors and asked, "Who is it?"
"Who else could it be? Your Uncle Shui."
"Uncle Shui, you're only back today? The young man who left with you came back a couple of days ago."
"Why are you back so late?" Someone from another house also came out.
"Our job is to guard the warehouse. We can only come back after all the grain in the warehouse has been moved out."
As they walked, the group of nine gradually dwindled to six, four, three... Passing by the Du family's gate, Du Li saw a dim, yellowish light shining through the paper window of the west wing, which went out in the blink of an eye. He snorted, but continued walking towards the end of the village without stopping.
"Young man Li, are you delirious? You've already passed by, that's your home." An old man living at the end of the village spoke up.
“I’m going back to live in Sangtianli,” Du Li said.
The old man sighed, "Why do you have to go against your parents? You'll always be the one who suffers."
“I didn’t gain any advantage even when I didn’t confront them; I was still at a disadvantage,” Du Li said calmly. “Uncle Li, you’re home.”
The old man's family was waiting outside the door. They came up to him and asked him all at once why he was so late, what kind of work he did in the military, and whether the work was heavy.
"Young man Li, come in and sit down. There's still some hot food in the pot. Come in and have a couple of bowls to warm yourself up." The old man turned and called out, but there was no one left in the night.
"Where's Du Lao Er? He came back with me."
"I didn't notice. Did he bring you back? Did he take you back?" the old man's son said.
"No, he's going to live in the mulberry fields."
Du Li walked out of the village. The sounds of smoke, voices, and barking dogs gradually faded until they disappeared completely. He groped his way across the bridge and into the mulberry fields. The night grew even darker, and he could see nothing clearly. A branch struck his face, and he tripped over a tree root and fell. He didn't utter a sound, but as if in self-torture, he got up and continued walking, tripping and falling again, getting up again after each fall.
Suddenly, the goose let out a loud cry, and then the other geese followed suit.
Du Li suddenly woke up, turned over and lay on the ground, panting heavily. Tears squeezed out of his dry eyes and slid down his cheeks, landing on the dry leaves like ants crawling across them.
He missed Meng Qing and Wang Zhou; he didn't want to have anything to do with that family anymore.
Du Li got up, picked up a stick to probe the way, and after half an hour, he arrived at his thatched hut.
Flames shot up, and Du Li saw that there was still a little less than half a vat of water in the water vat. He used an earthenware pot to boil water and a steamer to cook rice. He endured the hunger and cold to take a thorough bath, ate a bowl of rice haphazardly, and then lay down on the bed to sleep for a while.
As dawn broke, Du Li woke up and took some rice to catch chickens and ducks.
When the sun was high in the sky, he wiped his sweat and began to count the chickens and ducks. Three chickens were missing, but none of the ducks were missing, and there were still four geese. The three missing chickens had either been eaten by some wild animals or had run away on their own, so they shouldn't have been stolen by someone.
Du Li made three trips back and forth, carrying all the chickens, ducks, and geese back to the village and selling them at the village entrance where the population gathered.
"Chickens are 27 coins each, ducks are 25 coins each, take your pick," Du Li said briefly.
"Aren't you going to raise them anymore? In another month, we can catch them and sell them in the city. Chicken and duck prices will be high at the end of the year," said Sister Yun.
Du Li shook his head, then grabbed two chickens and gave them to her. "Sister-in-law, these two chickens are free. Thank you for feeding them for me. Do you want to buy some more? Pick the big ones, raise them for another month, and you can sell them in the city. You won't lose money."
"Are you really not going to raise them anymore?" Sister Yun asked.
"I'm not raising any more. You can choose one."
By the end of the year, chickens and ducks could sell for forty or fifty coins each. Sister Yun was tempted. Seeing that others had already started picking them out, she didn't bother to ask any questions and squeezed into the crowd to start grabbing them.
When Du's parents heard the commotion and rushed over, Du Li's two hundred chickens and ducks had already been sold out, leaving only four geese and five old hens that he had caught from the Meng family.
"Are you selling geese? I'll buy one. When it gets a little colder, I'll stew a big goose for your uncle and your brother to help them recover," the old woman at the village entrance asked.
Du Li stared at the four hooting geese, unable to speak. He was planning to sell them, but he couldn't bear to.
"What are you doing?" Father Du walked over and kicked a goose. He said nonchalantly, "I'm keeping one to slaughter for the New Year."
"I want this goose. It's a female goose, and it's probably about to lay an egg." The old woman at the village entrance picked up a goose.
Du Li instinctively tried to snatch it away, saying, "I won't sell it, I won't sell the goose, my son likes geese."
Not even one is for sale?
"I won't sell." Du Li snatched back the geese, put the four geese and five hens back into the basket, stood up and looked at his parents, saying in front of the villagers, "Aren't you unhappy that I favor the Meng family? In early autumn, I bought two hundred chickens and ducks and four geese. Didn't you suspect where the money for the poultry came from? It was from my father-in-law. As soon as he heard that I wanted to raise chickens and ducks to make some money, he gave me four strings of cash without saying a word to support me. The Meng family treats me better than my parents and brothers. I am willing to please them."
Du Laoding looked disgusted. "You've been bought off with just a little favor."
“Because I’ve never even tasted the slightest kindness at home, I accept that you hate me and don’t like me. I’m just unlucky to have been born into this family.” Du Li clenched his hands, trying to remain calm, and said composedly, “I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to move to the Meng family’s house and I won’t come back.”
"You dare!" Old Ding glared.
The onlookers were in an uproar, and the chickens and ducks they were carrying became hot to the touch. It turned out that Du Li had this plan as soon as she returned.
Du Li sneered, "I'm just informing you that I'm leaving today."
After saying that, he picked up the two baskets and left.
"Stop right there! If you dare leave this village today, I'll break your legs!" Old Du roared. "Boss, go tie him up."
Du Li stopped and turned around, saying loudly, "Fellow villagers, do you want to know what secrets Du Min has? Why isn't he coming back to collect his money monthly this year? Did my father ever tell you how much the tuition is at the prefectural school? No, he doesn't know at all..."
"Shut up! Shut up! You shut up!" Old Ding Du roared furiously, veins bulging on his forehead. "Get out! Get out of here! Don't ever come back!"
Du Li swallowed the rest of his words, stared at Du Laoding, and threatened, "Don't even think about making any underhanded moves. I'm barefoot, but Du Min is wearing shoes. If you push me too far, I'll destroy him."
"Get out!" Du Laoding said. "From today onwards, I will consider you dead. I don't have a son like you."
Du Li left without looking back. He didn't stop at the ferry, but walked along the river. An hour later, he encountered a covered boat going to the city.
"Go to Wumen Ferry."
*
In the evening, Meng Qing went home to cook dinner. When she got home, she found that the lock on the door was open. She pushed the door open and saw a disheveled man sitting under the eaves, looking lost and dejected. There were two large bamboo baskets at his feet, and the chickens and geese in the baskets were still tied up.
"Meng Qing, I've become worthless again," Du Li said in a hoarse voice, her head bowed.
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