Chapter 6
Huo Shu carried simple luggage into a room by the fence of the Zhao family, which used to be Zhao Changsui's room.
The room was small and sparsely furnished. On the table lay a miscellaneous book Zhao Changsui had read eight years ago, a collection of supernatural tales.
Huo Shu placed his bundle on the table and casually flipped through a few pages. The book had few words and many illustrations, clearly suited for someone who had only attended a private school for two years.
Though the room had been uninhabited for years, it was spotless - dust-free tables and chairs, with no musty smell, evidently cleaned regularly.
Huo Shu set the book aside, took out a silver hairpin from his bundle, and murmured to himself:
"Now I've fulfilled half of your request. What about the other half?"
At noon, Huo Shu and Zhao’s mother shared a meal in the main hall.
Zhao’s mother had wanted to prepare a proper feast for Huo Shu, but the family had fallen on hard times in recent years, leaving no stored wine or meat.
With no time to make a trip to the market, she could only buy a fish from a neighbor and slaughter one of egg-laying hens. She stewed the fish, made chicken soup, and added some seasonal vegetables - a spread almost as lavish as a New Year’s feast.
Huo Shu wasn’t picky and ate everything.
Zhao’s mother, however, barely touched her food, simply watching Huo Shu eat with joy. "This afternoon, Auntie will fetch some good wine. When the sun sets and it cools off, we can drink in the yard and relax."
"No need for trouble. Going to the city isn’t easy."
"It’s no trouble. There’s a family in the village that brews and sells wine. No need to go to the city."
Huo Shu gave a noncommittal hum. "Auntie, do you know who Changsui’s lover was?"
Zhao’s mother paused, chopsticks mid-air, momentarily confused. "Lover?"
Then she laughed. "Changsui was still young when he left for conscript labor. He hadn’t even begun matchmaking, there was no lover as you say. Back then, he was naive and just eager to work."
Huo Shu’s brow twitched. That kid hadn’t been entirely honest.
"What’s wrong? Did Changsui mention having someone he liked?"
Huo Shu looked at Zhao’s mother’s swollen eyes. Ten years had passed, who knew what had become of Changsui’s lover? No need to bring up more sorrow.
He neither confirmed nor denied, changing the subject instead. "I’ll have another bowl of rice."
"Ah, yes, yes! Auntie will scoop it for you. There’s plenty of rice, eat as much as you want. A big fellow like you needs several bowls!"
After lunch, Zhao’s mother prepared incense and paper money to visit Zhao Changsui’s father’s grave. Now that Zhao Changsui’s fate was settled, his father’s spirit ought to know.
Huo Shu followed to pay his respects as well.
____
"Tao ger, picking scallions? Preparing dinner this early?"
As the sun softened, Ji Taoyu, having napped, carried a basket to his family’s field.
His grandfather had come to the village to collect herbs, and Ji Taoyu wanted to prepare dinner early so Huang Yinsheng could eat before returning to the city.
Seeing fellow villager Yu Sunshi approaching along the path, Ji Taoyu placed the vegetables in his basket, stood up, and greeted her - though his tone was colder than usual.
"Aunt Sun."
The woman didn’t notice anything amiss and chattered on. "I heard Physician Huang came to the village today. I just realized we’ve run out of medicine at home, so I’ve come to trouble you again for the same prescription as last time."
As she spoke, she took some copper coins from her purse to hand to Ji Taoyu.
Many villagers knew Ji Taoyu had some medical knowledge. When they couldn’t make it to the city and their needs weren’t urgent, they’d ask him to fetch medicine from Huang Yinsheng’s clinic in the city.
Such errands were common, but villagers sought Ji Taoyu not just for his skills, it was also because he was Huang Yinsheng’s grandson, and through him, the price of the medicine could be cheaper.
The women and gers of the village especially liked asking him for favors.
Ji Taoyu had always tacitly obliged.
But this time, before the woman could hand over the money, he said, "Two doses will cost you 260 copper coins."
The woman froze. "Did the medicine get more expensive?"
Last time, one dose was only 100 copper coins, two should’ve been 200. Where did the extra 60 come from?
"The price has always been this. If Aunt Sun goes to another clinic, it’ll only be higher."
Aunt Sun quickly asked, "Tao ger, what’s going on?"
Ji Taoyu replied coolly, "Before, when I took prescriptions from fellow villagers to the clinic, I never thought to profit from my neighbors. The prices were always the lowest possible - below market rate, out of goodwill for our shared home."
"Yes, yes! The villagers all know and are grateful to the village head’s family."
During festivals, whenever a family slaughtered pigs or sheep, they’d send meat to the Ji family.
Ji Taoyu said coldly, "I didn’t do this for gratitude, just for harmony among neighbors. But it seems some people don’t value that goodwill. If so, why should I keep offering kindness?"
Even a fool could tell this was directed at her. Aunt Sun protested, "Tao ger, what do you mean?"
"Aunt Sun has always been kind. I see you don’t know the full story. Why not go home and ask Xia ger how he treats his fellow villagers?"
Ji Taoyu added pointedly, "I hope you get the truth. If it’s just more lies, better not to hear them at all."
"I haven’t even told my parents yet. If Aunt Sun can persuade Xia ger to give a proper explanation, that’ll be the end of it. But if he insists on deceit, then this weak and useless ger will have to rely on his parents for justice."
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