Chapter 5: Three Copper Coins for Clothes
“Bang, bang, bang—”
Aunt Zhang had just warmed a pot of wine on the small stove and was about to have a few drinks when she heard a sudden and urgent knock on the door.
"Who could it be in such a cold weather?"
Mr. Zhang lifted the curtain of the inner room and looked out.
He looked at Aunt Zhang who was sitting at the door and said, "Boss, go and take a look. It's nothing urgent."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhang stood up immediately.
He sighed briefly and walked out.
As he walked, he shouted: "Here I come—"
The heavy wooden door creaked open.
Fang Zhiyue stood in the snow cave, shaking with fear, and asked, "Zhang, Aunt Zhang, are you going to town today?"
"Ouch—why are you wearing so little when it's so cold?"
When Aunt Zhang saw that it was Fang Zhiyue and that he was only wearing a thin spring shirt, she quickly called him into the house.
"Are you in a hurry to go to town for something?"
Fang Zhiyue followed Aunt Zhang into the house.
I brushed off the snowflakes on my body before stepping over the threshold.
After feeling the warmth coming from the room, his brows finally relaxed a little.
"It's snowing heavily. I'm worried that Yaojieer didn't bring any warm clothes with her from the academy, so I wanted to take advantage of Aunt Zhang's ox cart to go to town."
He pursed his lips and chuckled, his smile a little restrained.
Mr. Zhang, who was busy in the inner room, seemed to hear the voices outside.
He opened the curtain and walked out.
After seeing Fang Zhiyue, he greeted him, "You are from the Si family, right? Why don't you wear more clothes in such a cold day? Young men should take care of their health."
Looking at his exposed wrists and ankles, they were already red from the cold.
A trace of pity flashed across Mr. Zhang's eyes. He turned and went into the inner room, took out a big coat, and put it on Fang Zhiyue.
It seemed like she was afraid he would refuse.
He took the initiative to say, "It's not a valuable thing. This is my daughter Xing'er's old clothes that she doesn't wear anymore. It would be a shame to throw it away."
Zhang Xing'er is the only son of Aunt Zhang and her husband Zhang.
She just married into a family surnamed Ma in the town last year.
“…Thank you, Uncle Zhang.”
Fang Zhiyue stopped pushing his hand away and smiled at him gratefully.
Look at his shy and introverted appearance.
A trace of heartache flashed in Mr. Zhang's eyes.
Xingyu Village is so small that no one can hide anything that happens from these gossipy people.
The same thing happened to the uncle from the Si family. When Si Wen was carried back, she was clearly breathing more in than out. Even the doctor was helpless. How could they blame her death on this little boy?
Isn't this just a sincere torture?
Unfortunately, this is the Si family's family affair, and it is not appropriate for their neighbors to interfere in these family affairs.
Mr. Zhang sighed in his heart.
I just hope Uncle Si can wake up soon and stop treating his son-in-law so harshly.
"Mr. Si, you've seen the weather today. If my old cow were to go to town, it would probably be more than twice as tired as usual. Besides, the snow hasn't stopped yet, and we don't know what the road conditions will be like. I didn't intend to go out."
Aunt Zhang spoke at this time and expressed her attitude.
"Don't worry, Auntie. The money issue is easy to discuss. I'll go home and discuss it with my father."
Fang Zhiyue nodded and walked out.
Wait until he leaves the yard.
Mr. Zhang glared at Aunt Zhang. "You know the Si family's situation, so why are you asking for a raise? We don't need that little extra money."
"What do you know—"
Aunt Zhang sat back down on the pony stool. "Taking people to town is a business matter. How can I make an exception just because someone feels sorry for me? It's snowing heavily today, and the roads are slippery and dangerous. If I still charge the usual price, the rest of the village will probably have complaints if word gets out. One thing for each other. We can't break the rules."
She poured a cup of wine and drank it in one gulp.
“Okay, okay, okay—”
Mr. Zhang rolled his eyes. "You're the only one who has too many big ideas. I can't argue with you. I'll warm up a pot of hot soup for you to take with you. It will warm your stomachs when you leave on the road."
After saying that.
He turned and went into the kitchen.
At the same time, Fang Zhiyue left Zhang's house and trotted all the way back to Si's house.
As soon as he entered the house, he said to the old man of the Si family, "Dad, Aunt Zhang said we can go to town, but it's snowy today and the roads are slippery, so we have to pay extra."
"More money?"
When the old man of the Si family heard this, he immediately stood up from the stool he was sitting on.
"How could the Zhang family be so heartless! It's just a little snow, and they're charging extra. Xingyu Village isn't far from town, and I, an old man, can walk there on weekdays. It would be fine if she just charged two cents, but now she's so heartless that she's even raising the price. She's just obsessed with money!"
He grumbled a few times.
His face darkened.
Fang Zhiyue stood by and didn't dare to say a word.
After the sound in the house died down, he whispered again, "...Dad, are we still going to town?"
"Go—if I don't go, what will happen to Yao'er in the academy?"
The old man of the Si family glared at him.
Only then did he notice that he was wearing a half-worn red leather jacket, and his brows furrowed instantly: "Where did this get it?"
"…This is what Mr. Zhang gave me. He saw that I was wearing so little."
Fang Zhiyue touched the jacket on his body.
"Give it back to me later!"
Who knew that the father of the Si family suddenly changed his expression and shouted: "Even though our Si family is poor, we will not accept charity from others. Yao'er is a scholar. If this gets out, people will laugh at us. Fang, are you trying to harm my Yao'er?"
His cloudy eyes glared at him fiercely.
Fang Zhiyue shook his shoulders in fear and quickly took off his coat.
"Dad, don't be angry. Uncle Zhang is kind-hearted. I'll return it soon. It won't affect Sister Yao."
He looked at him intently.
The old man of the Si family snorted in a rough voice, turned around and walked towards the house where Si Yao lived.
"Wait here for a while. I'll go pack Yao'er's clothes."
After a while, the old man of the Si family came over with a bundle, and reluctantly took out six coins and gave them to Fang Zhiyue.
"Except for the bus fare, the rest will be given to Yao'er, understand?"
He stared at Fang Zhiyue, as if afraid that he would take it all for himself.
Fang Zhiyue nodded quickly, picked up his bag and walked out.
The snow is still falling——
When Fang Zhiyue arrived at Zhang's house, Aunt Zhang had already set up the ox cart and was waiting at the door.
She wrapped her coat around herself and blew some warm air into her palms.
Seeing Fang Zhiyue slowly approaching, she immediately said, "Hurry up and get in the car. My husband has prepared a pot of hot soup. Come in and have a few sips to warm yourself up."
Fang Zhiyue smiled gratefully and quickly got on the ox cart.
He held the bag prepared by the father of the Si family tightly in his arms to prevent it from getting wet by the snowflakes.
The ox cart left the village and headed towards the town in the wind and snow.
Fortunately, the journey was safe and we finally arrived in town before dark.
Before getting off the car, Aunt Zhang said to Fang Zhiyue, "Mr. Si, I'm afraid we won't be able to make it back to the village today. We'll meet here tomorrow morning."
Fang Zhiyue obviously didn't expect this and was a little stunned when he heard it.
But after glancing at the sky, he nodded: "Okay, I understand, Aunt Zhang. I'll come here to look for you tomorrow."
As he walked towards town, he worried about where to go tonight.
I was thinking about whether I should go and find some dilapidated temples and stay there for a night.
Yunlu Academy
After class, Si Yao was preparing to pack up and return to the dormitory.
Suddenly, someone called out from outside the door: "Who is this student Si Yao? Someone from your family is looking for you and is waiting outside Yunlu Academy."
Si Yao came out immediately after hearing that.
He checked again with the messenger: "Are you sure you're here to see me?"
"Are you Si Yao?"
"yes."
"That's for you."
The messenger nodded affirmatively, "It's a young man, is he your brother?"
Si Yao heard this.
I guessed who the visitor was in an instant.
She didn't ask any more questions. After thanking the messenger, she walked towards the gate of Yunlu Academy.
Snowflakes are falling——
After Si Yao walked out of the gate of Yunlu Academy, he stood on dozens of steps and saw Fang Zhiyue standing under the old locust tree from afar.
The boy was thin, with a gray cloth bag on his back, shivering as he stood in the snow.
Si Yao's eyes grew darker, and then he slowly walked away.
"Why are you here?"
"Sister Yao!"
When he saw her appear, Fang Zhiyue's eyes lit up.
With his nose red from the cold, he took off the bag on his back and said, "Dad was worried that you didn't bring any thick clothes and that you would get cold. So he asked me to bring you some."
Si Yao stared at the bundle for a second, then reached out and slowly took it.
"Please make the trip. I'll take the package. Please go back early."
After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave.
"Hey—wait."
Fang Zhiyue hurriedly grabbed her sleeve.
Seeing her eyes fall on his hand, he quickly let go and said embarrassedly, "Here are the three cents left. Take it. Dad told me to."
Si Yao stared at the three copper coins in his palm. Snowflakes gently fell and quickly melted. Apparently, they had been held too tightly by their owner and had been stained with body heat.
She didn't reach out, but suddenly asked: "How are you going to get back?"
"ah?"
Fang Zhiyue was caught off guard and replied honestly, "Auntie Zhang said she would return to the village early tomorrow morning. Don't worry, I can just find a dilapidated temple to stay in for the night."
He felt a little happy and felt that Si Yao cared about him.
Si Yao didn't say anything, nor did he look at the three copper coins in his hand again.
Turned around and walked towards the academy.
"Sister Yao, you haven't taken the money yet."
Fang Zhiyue shouted anxiously behind him.
Si Yao didn't get her response until he entered the academy.
He withdrew his gaze somewhat disappointedly, looked at the three copper coins in his palm, and held them tightly.
Then he turned around and left the academy.
Night is coming.
Fang Zhiyue originally wanted to find a dilapidated temple to spend the night, but he couldn't find one after searching for a long time.
As the night deepened, the wind and snow did not stop.
He opened his palm and looked at the three copper coins in it, then gritted his teeth.
I stayed at a house not far from the town for one night.
Fortunately, he met a kind family who gave him a room for only two cents. Although it was a firewood room, it could at least shelter him from the wind and snow, and Fang Zhiyue was very satisfied.
He lay down beside the firewood in his clothes, and slowly closed his eyes as he endured the hunger.
Before his consciousness drifted away, Fang Zhiyue was thinking vaguely in his mind.
Sister Yao didn't want the three cents. Maybe she left them for him on purpose because she was afraid he had no place to live.
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