Chapter 1
Li Gou Wa rolled around on the ground, but he still couldn't fall asleep. He couldn't break free from the ropes that bound his hands, and all he could hear was the deafening snoring of the adults next to him. The weeds around him stank of excrement, and he could only lie flat, breathing in the foul odor and counting the bright lights in the sky.
The brightest one was the moon... The rest were stars, one, two—he couldn't read, let alone count. Every time he counted eight or nine, he had to start over. He got a little angry, feeling like he couldn't count enough. Then he thought about his parents, a couple who were obsessed with money.
Li Gou Wa didn't want to think about them, or what happened just two or three days ago, when he'd just been plucked from the tree and sold to the people who now held him before he'd even had time to eat. He'd been tied up and led around with a rumbling stomach, listening to his parents haggle over a price.
"One tael!" "This looks too big, it's hard to sell, five hundred wen at most - you all know that our business is not easy to do"...
He couldn't quite recall the rest of the conversation, but he did remember the final price: seven hundred and fifty wen. That must have been a large sum, because he'd been counting at night for the past few days and couldn't find it, constantly worrying about forgetting it. He didn't cry, because his parents said it was a gift to him to live a good life. He was already as tall as the pretentious little scholars at the academy, which, according to them, meant he was eight or nine years old.
As for whether it was eight or nine, Li Gou Wa didn't care. He followed those young scholars around all day, imitating their nodding and swaying behavior. He knew he was being sold. The talk of good times was clearly just to make room for his second and third brothers. He was only being sold because he had stolen a chicken from the next village a few days ago and roasted it all.
What's the point of stealing? When I brought it back, my whole family devoured it. Only the inedible bones were left, but I couldn't bear to throw them away. I even used them to make vegetable soup for two days. He lay down and chewed a piece of hay. It was summer, so hot that even birds didn't want to come out at night.
Li Gou Wa spat out the hay with a "Puh" sound. It was much more disgusting than the hay he had just plucked from the ground. He didn't know whether it was a good day or a bad day. Anyway, being led around like a little bird was enough to make him curse.
He closed his eyes and cursed his father and mother, and also cursed his second and third brothers. In the end, he even cursed the chicken he had eaten. It was because it tasted like wood and he couldn't chew it and eat it completely.
I really couldn't make myself fall asleep, so I opened my eyes and forgot my previous anger, and started counting the stars in the sky again - one, two, three... After counting to the eighth, I couldn't count anymore.
By the time he finally gave up and was about to fall asleep, daybreak was almost here. Of the countless lights, only one remained, the largest. Sunset was about to begin. When Li Gou Wa was kicked awake, he began to curse in his heart again, cursing the merchants on their way and himself for tossing and turning at night. Now, he was munching on a bowl of bitter wild grass soup and soon had to run after the horse team.
The group of people forgot to untie the rope for him, and Li Gou Wa himself didn't want to pay attention to the crying children next to him. As soon as he saw them, he thought of his second and third brothers. Oh, his mother was pregnant with a fourth child.
The heel of his straw sandal fell off and rubbed against the ground, but he wasn't afraid of the pain. He was used to running around the village, so at most he'd bleed a little. But seeing others leading horses made him envious.
Li Gou Wa followed closely, his greed dragging him along. He stared at the horse, envying both the merchant who could ride it proudly down the road and the horse's belly, which looked strong and must taste tender. Thinking of this, his stomach churned, and he wished he could throw up everything he had eaten last night.
He didn't know the way himself, so he had to look at where the merchants were selling him. He overheard them talking while they were resting by the tree. Chang'an... Li Gou Wa didn't know how to get to Chang'an, but after thinking about it, anyone knew it was the capital of the Shang Dynasty.
The capital, where the emperor lived, was certainly a good place. He continued to pant, temporarily ignoring his dry throat. Perhaps his parents, whom he blamed, were right. Seven hundred and fifty coins could really buy him a good life.
What is Chang'an like? What do people usually eat in the capital? Li Gou Wa kept pondering in his mind. These questions will be answered in a few days.
Before that, he still had to continue to travel for a few days, continue to drink the hard-to-swallow vegetable water, and hear the crying of the child tied to him. Li Gou Wa sat down and drank the little water that the merchant poured from the kettle.
He didn't care whether it was dirty or not, just thinking that it was just a tiny amount of water, how could it be enough for him to drink. Although he knew that it was different from home, the only thing that remained unchanged was that he could curse as much as he wanted, as long as no one else heard it.
That little bit of water was not enough for everyone to drink, and even then, he had to get up and continue on his way. So he cursed in his heart, but did not say a word. Li Gou Wa was still a little afraid that he would die of thirst on the road before reaching Chang'an.
By that evening, he was sound asleep. After a day of traveling, he felt more tired than a horse. Li Gou Wa rolled over, kicked the things he was leaning against aside, and curled up to sleep. From time to time, he shook his head to dispel the incessant buzzing of insects around his ears, and also let out an unsteady snore.
The clouds covered half of the sky tonight. If Li Gou Wa was awake, he would be happy that he didn't have to count how many lights there were in the sky at night, because the only one was still a little covered by the clouds, and it looked even smaller when it poured silver light onto the ground.
This time, however, Li Gou Wa wasn't awakened by a kick, but by the rain hitting his face. He instinctively tried to wipe his face, only to discover he was still tied up. He simply opened his mouth and drank the falling water, thinking that this time, he had truly quenched his thirst. The merchant didn't rush them on this morning, but being tied up, he still couldn't hide under a tree for shelter.
He just had to make do with it; getting soaked was still more comfortable than rushing. This summer, they and the people in the surrounding villages hadn't seen much rain. At night, they'd often see their parents praying to the heavens and watching the ground, until the grass in the fields curled and turned yellow. Now, he was seeing a heavy downpour, and he sat on the ground watching for almost an hour.
Li Gou Wa had initially found it strange, but as the rain intensified, he felt compelled to curse the heavens. His water-soaked linen clothes clung to his body, itching uncomfortably. The wounds on his feet, rubbed by the rocks, had swollen and were now throbbing with intense pain, making him grimace in agony.
Seeing that the rain was about to stop, he should follow the group of merchants on their journey. The horse's hooves sank into the mud and tread slowly, and Li Gou Wa followed slowly behind. The child tied behind him must have cried hoarse recently, so he was quiet and silent, which was just right.
As for himself, he was used to running around the village, and even though the feeling of footsteps was disgusting, he still followed closely behind the horse. The merchant had no choice but to lead the horse and walk slowly. When he felt hungry, he stared at the horse's belly, his mouth constantly secreting saliva, imagining what horse meat would taste like.
Fortunately, it didn't rain for the next few days, and the ground was dried by the sun. Li Gou Wa lay on the grass and slowly moved his hands. The bruises on his hands were mixed with small bloody wounds. These days, scabs have formed and the itching is excruciating.
He didn't bother counting anymore, eavesdropping on the merchants' conversation with his ears perked up. Tomorrow... they'd arrive in Chang'an, which meant he'd be arriving in Chang'an. He didn't even think about the price he'd be sold for, since the money wouldn't reach him anyway. Li Gou Wa closed his eyes and began to dream tonight. If he could really sell himself and live a good life, then he wouldn't curse his parents, the heavens, or the earth for a year—no, his entire life.
I don't have to treat him too well, but it has to be better than what he's been through in the village. I don't expect him to eat meat every day, but at least he can't be drinking bitter vegetable soup all day long. The vegetables are really just weeds, and they're incredibly bitter. The good ones have all been dug up by others. He has to be able to sleep every day, day or night. Forget about sleeping on the grass with mosquitoes like he's doing now. Oh, and I also can't let him read with his head shaking. He gets dizzy when he hears those seemingly reasonable but inappropriate sounds.
Li Gou Wa planned his dream for the night in this way, and when he woke up, he had forgotten everything, not caring whether he had enjoyed these things in his dream. When the sky was getting light, a rooster crowed a few times in the distance, and when it came over, his stomach also responded with a few rumbles.
After walking for half a day, Li Gou Wa was already outside the Chang'an city gate when he looked up and waited. Not everyone who passed by had a pleasant smell. For example, he himself was dirty and smelly, and that was the result of the rain. But there were also people with fragrant smells. He sniffed and tried to guess what the smells were, as if he were enjoying it himself.
When they entered the city, most people avoided them because of the stinking smell. The merchant quickly found a post station, cut the ropes on their hands one by one, and poured a large basin of boiling water on them to wash them.
Li Gou Wa couldn't help but curse, but the crying of a child nearby blocked his voice, so the merchant didn't hear clearly. He reached out and wiped his eyes, rubbing out the water that had been splashed in. His hand must have been swollen, and the contact with the boiling water caused the wound to ache again for a while, but the smell on his body had dissipated.
However, they still had to sleep on the ground tonight. Li Gou Wa struggled and found that the hemp rope on his wrist was still tied tightly. Looking at the moonlight coming in from the window, he thought many times in his heart and wished that he could be sold early. Anyway, he was fed up with this kind of life.
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