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She woke little Qiusheng and had him use the latrine, then made sure he washed his hands. After that, she brought the chamber pot for her Big Brother, insisting he take care of his personal needs in the room.
After airing out the room for a while by opening the window, Song Jinxiu made a show of stepping outside for a bit. When she returned, she had brought back some buns and vegetable flatbreads she’d secretly taken from her space. The four siblings sat down to eat dinner.
Looking at the bun in his hand, then at the vegetable flatbread, Chunsheng furrowed his brows.
His little sister still didn’t know how to manage household affairs. These buns and flatbreads might taste good, but weren’t they expensive?
And the buns even had meat in them—they cost three wen each.
Three wen could buy three white flour steamed buns, six wild vegetable and coarse grain wowo, or half a jin of sorghum grain.
“Tomorrow, buy some sorghum. We can cook porridge ourselves,” he said.
Half a jin—enough for them to eat their fill for a whole day.
This time, it was Song Jinxiu who frowned.
Sorghum porridge—once in a while was fine, but drinking it every day? Who could stand that?
No matter how long you cooked it, it always had that rough, dry texture that scratched the throat. A big bowl might leave you full for the moment, but hunger crept back quickly. Back then, she’d nearly always wake up in the middle of the night starving.
Song Jinxiu said, “Brother, we’re not short on food anymore. If you want your leg to heal quickly, you need proper nourishment. We should eat better.”
“Xiuer, I know you’ve got a bit of money on hand now, but fifty taels may seem like a lot—it doesn’t last long once you start spending it. Besides, there’s something else I wanted to discuss with you.”
Fifty taels?
Song Jinxiu blinked. So Big Brother had misunderstood too.
She glanced over at her little sister.
One said five hundred wen, the other said fifty taels—these two had wildly different ideas of the amount!
Thinking of Brother Fuquan, she wondered—what would that guy estimate it to be?
Song Jinxiu looked at her own palm.
Could it be five taels?
As it turned out, she had guessed exactly right.
Song Jinxiu couldn’t quite figure out how to explain swapping the silver bowls, spoons, and chopsticks for that crystal orb. Which meant she certainly couldn’t explain pawning off that crystal orb for five hundred taels.
Should she just pile one lie on top of another?
The so-called treasure from an immortal—fooling Old Goat Beard with that kind of talk was easy enough, tricking an ignorant young girl even easier. But telling that to her Big Brother… would he believe it?
And if he didn’t, if he kept pressing for the truth, just how many more lies would she have to tell to cover it all?
Before she could think of how to explain, she heard Song Chunsheng say, “That thing was originally your private stash, meant to be saved for your dowry. If my leg were fine, I wouldn’t take a single coin, truly.
But now…
I wanted to ask—would it be alright if we used that money to buy two mu of land first?”
Song Jinxiu, caught in her Big Brother’s hopeful gaze, nodded.
Of course they needed to buy land—she was even planning to purchase a large estate someday!
Seeing his little sister nod without hesitation, Song Chunsheng smiled in relief.
He went on, “After buying the land, you keep ten taels for your dowry, and leave five taels for Little Sister. The rest, we’ll stretch carefully—maybe we can even save enough to find a wife for our little brother.”
Song Jinxiu’s jaw dropped in shock.
Song Chunsheng, a bit embarrassed, added, “Jinxiu, you’re the eldest sister. I can only let you take the short end of the stick.”
Song Jinxiu was dumbfounded.
Brother, aren’t you thinking a bit too far ahead?
Xiaodi is just a little kid, and you’re already planning his marriage and children?
Song Chunsheng continued his rambling advice, “You’re the eldest sister, so you need to learn how to run the household with thrift and care. You’re all still young. Even if we have money, it must be hidden—you mustn’t let others know, understand?
You did very well before. That bowl—kept it hidden all that time, and no one ever found out. Very good. You must continue like that. Keep the silver safe.
Two mu of land—if you’re diligent and eat sparingly, it’ll be enough to feed all of you.
If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask Auntie Cuihua. Her mouth may be sharp, but she’s warm-hearted.
If anyone bullies you, shout loudly—go find Grandpa Lizheng. Grandpa Lizheng is a good man.
But don’t go bothering others for every little thing. Do it too often, and they’ll grow annoyed…”
He went on and on, saying whatever came to mind, full of worry and care.
The more Song Jinxiu listened, the more uneasy she felt.
What was Big Brother getting at?
Was this… his final instructions?
“Ge(Brother), aren’t these things you’re supposed to handle? As long as you’re here, we’re not afraid of anything.”
Song Chunsheng gave a bitter smile. “This leg of mine… I don’t even know if it’ll heal. I’ve been thinking, maybe we shouldn’t go through with the amputation. Twenty taels is just too much. And if it still doesn’t work, then all that money would’ve been wasted. Besides, this body—skin and bone—we received it from our Father and Mother. I want to keep it whole, too. Hey, don’t panic. I’m just saying if—if something were to happen to me, Sanya, then our whole family would depend on you. No matter what, you must raise Wuya and Qiusheng to adulthood.”
So he really was giving his last instructions.
Song Jinxiu pressed a hand to her forehead.
“Big Brother, it’s just a leg, isn’t it? If it can be saved, great—you’ll be standing on both legs again. If it can’t, we’ll still live just fine with one.
What’s twenty taels? As long as you can get better, we’re willing to spend it all.
And as for that whole ‘body, hair, and skin are gifts from our parents’ thing—well, sometimes there’s just no other choice. Staying alive is the best way to honor Mother.
Don’t feel bad, Big Brother. What’s so terrible about missing a leg?
Haven’t you heard of the one-armed hero, roaming the world in style? Worst case, we’ll have our very own one-legged hero, rolling through life in a wheelchair and blazing a new trail!”
Song Chunsheng: …
What kind of little sister was this? Was this her idea of comforting someone?
“It’s just a leg,” she says…
That was a whole leg, not just a toe—how could she talk about it so lightly? “What’s wrong with missing a leg?” Really? She made it sound as easy as drinking cold water.
And what was all that nonsense about one-armed heroes and one-legged champions? What kind of chaotic talk was that?
Still, he had to admit—his big younger sister really did have a heart as broad as the sky.
Just look at Wuya and Qiusheng, their eyes still red and puffy from crying.
Well, having a big heart wasn’t all bad. If he really did pass away, at least she wouldn’t be like the younger two, crying their eyes out and losing themselves in grief.
But then again, just imagining her saying something like, “So what? Just a life, right? Dead is dead,” made his stomach twist.
Enough—this line of thought was making him feel worse and worse.
Song Chunsheng shut his mouth, lowered his head, and quietly went back to eating his steamed bun.
Seeing that Big Brother had fallen silent, Song Jinxiu felt it was necessary to let him know that their family really wasn’t short of money anymore. He shouldn’t be lost in endless worries, agonizing over just twenty taels as if his life depended on it.
Leaning close to his ear, Song Jinxiu whispered, “Um, Big Brother, actually, I didn’t just pawn the silver bowl—I pawned some other things too. It’s not fifty taels, but five hundred.”
She waved one hand for emphasis.
“Hic, hic,” Song Chunsheng suddenly choked on a bite of bun.
Well, true siblings indeed—they both stretched their necks and widened their eyes the same way when hiccupping.
Song Jinxiu quickly handed him a bowl of water.
Song Jinfang covered her mouth and laughed.
So even Big Brother could get scared.
Qiusheng didn’t understand what was going on. Seeing Second Sister cover her mouth, he followed suit.
Song Chunsheng took two sips of water before he finally regained his composure.
He stopped eating the bun, grabbed his sister’s hand tightly, and asked over and over, “Really? You’re not lying to me, right? What exactly did you pawn that’s worth so much?
Don’t fool me—those people at the pawnshop are sharp. If they find out we’ve tricked them, our family won’t be able to afford making enemies.”
“Oh, Big brother, do you think I’m someone who doesn’t know better?”
Song Jinxiu shook off her brother’s hand—it was painfully strong.
“It’s still that beaded ginseng. The ginseng is very old and saved that family’s life. They gave me a silver bowl and also this crystal orb ‘a paradise on earth’. I had no idea the crystal orb was worth so much.”
“So, Big brother, stop overthinking things. Even if you end up with just one leg, our family can still take care of you. Besides, maybe by tomorrow the swelling will go down, and you can have the bone reset. It won’t be long before you’re back on your feet. Don’t start acting like a woman, all sentimental and worried.”