Chapter 8

Gu Qingchuan dragged his weary body back home. That day, he had made a decent haul, catching three wild chickens and two plump hares. There was no way he could stew these gamey treats at home; if even a hint of meat aroma wafted out, the neighbor, Dong Hua, would come running, trying to find evidence to report him.

Tomorrow, he planned to sell the game in the black market, which would allow him to exchange it for dozens of catties of grain. If luck was on his side, he might even manage to trade for half a catty of meat tickets to satisfy his sister’s cravings. There was little choice; in these times, every family struggled to obtain enough meat tickets. Otherwise, these wild goods wouldn’t be so hard to come by.

“Brother, you’re back!”

Xiao Tingxiang ran over, holding a blue and white bowl, her mouth smeared with grease. She grabbed his hand and urged him, “Come on, let’s eat!”

“Eat?” Gu Qingchuan pinched his little sister’s cheek, noting how thin she had become, “Is that what you cooked for lunch? It smells so good! Is Grandma awake yet?”

Last night, Grandma had caught a chill and had been coughing all night. Gu Qingchuan intended to sell the game first and then buy some cough medicine for her.

Grandma’s health had been poor, and they had no money for medical treatment. Year after year, her condition had deteriorated, and now her eyesight was almost gone.

Xiao Tingxiang could never understand why, a year ago, her brother had driven away Sister Xiao Ci and forbade her from coming to their house.

She still remembered her brother saying not to seek out Sister Xiao Ci and not to accept anything from her, claiming it would bring trouble to Sister Xiao Ci.

But the food Sister Xiao Ci had brought today was simply too delicious; even Grandma had eaten an extra bowl of rice.

Xiao Tingxiang felt a bit guilty as if she had done something wrong. “Sister Xiao Ci bought it from the state-run restaurant. There’s yam stew with ribs and Grandma’s favorite wild mushroom and tofu soup.”

Gu Qingchuan’s grip loosened, causing the snakeskin bag, tied tightly, to drop to the ground. Inside, the wild chickens flapped around restlessly.

He quickly stepped into the main room, where the girl looked up and smiled at him. “Brother Chuan…”

Gu Qingchuan’s heart skipped a beat. How could she still come after the harsh words he had said to her a year ago?

His sister and Grandma had already finished their meal, and Jiang Ci had also set down her chopsticks.

He approached her and quietly asked, “Have you eaten?”

“Yeah.” Jiang Ci sounded a bit guilty.

At sixteen, she had already understood what it meant to like someone. She had boldly run up to Gu Qingchuan to tell him that she liked him.

Gu Qingchuan had been stunned for a long while; he had said he only saw her as a sister and told her not to come to his house anymore.

In their previous life, she had actually believed Gu Qingchuan’s nonsense and hadn’t visited him for a whole year until she was pushed down the hillside. He had carried her back, and that was when she woke up in the hospital…

Sister… Ha, in her previous life, when she was released from prison, Gu Qingchuan came to pick her up and took her directly to the Civil Affairs Bureau to obtain a marriage certificate.

That year, the man had said, “Back then, my family’s background was poor, and I didn’t want to drag you down. Now that society has regained its order and the landlord’s label has been removed, I will protect you for a lifetime.”

A lifetime… Unfortunately, she had only lived for ten more years.

Gu Qingchuan pulled Jiang Ci’s wrist and escorted her to the door. “If you’ve eaten, you should go home. Don’t come here anymore.”

Jiang Ci bit her lip and smiled, pointing to the neighboring yard. “Brother Chuan, my grandpa gave me the next yard. My mom divorced Jiang Guozhu, so I can only live here from now on.”

Gu Qingchuan was taken aback.

Those two yards had originally belonged to the same family. After liberation, a wall was built down the middle, dividing them: one half went to the Jiang family, and the other half remained with the Gu family.

The Jiang family had moved away long ago, so why had the little girl returned?

Old Lady Dong pressed her ear against the wall of her yard. Hearing Gu Qingchuan’s voice, she suspected that their family had the scent of meat today. That little wolf cub must have gone into the mountains again to catch wild rabbits.

It was strange; others ventured into the mountains seven or eight times without managing to catch any wild chickens or rabbits, yet his luck was extraordinary—he brought back several each time to trade for grain and tickets. Otherwise, their family would have starved long ago.

She thought to herself how wonderful it would be to find out about Gu Qingchuan’s secret route for selling games and report him right away.

Around Qin Province were mountains and rivers; if one were lucky enough to catch some wild rabbits to eat at home, no one would say anything. But selling them was another story.

She concluded that if she couldn’t catch Gu Qingchuan in the act of secretly selling his game, then the best thing would be for him not to sell at all and let his family starve instead.

Just then, Dong Hua rushed over to knock on the door.

Jiang Ci quickly tossed the two snakeskin bags on the ground into her own yard. “It’s definitely your aunt’s family. You’re so foolish! Why catch them and not sell them immediately? Why bring them home? Don’t you know your aunt’s family watches your yard daily?”

If he wanted to sell, he had to wait until nightfall; doing it in broad daylight wouldn’t work. With Grandma sick, Gu Qingchuan felt anxious. This morning’s catch had been unusually good; he had collected in half a day what used to take him half a month. He hurried back home.

Gu Qingchuan said, “If she sees it, she sees it. I’ll just say it’s for our own consumption and cook it right in front of her. She can’t do anything to me.”

It was a pity that he couldn’t exchange it for grain.

“I’ll help you sell it later.”

Jiang Ci opened the yard door. “Who is it? It’s midday, and you’re making a racket! Are you trying to let anyone take a nap?”

Old Lady Dong was taken aback. She hadn’t expected Jiang Ci to be there; it seemed she had moved in quite quickly.

“I just saw Brother Chuan carrying two snakeskin bags. Did he bring back something good from the mountains? Let me have a look.”

If she forced him to eat what he brought back, he wouldn’tcouldn’t trade it for grain.

“You must be blind,” Jiang Ci shot back, pointing to the yard where the bags were, “There are no snakeskin bags here. And don’t come running over like a wild dog just because you smell meat. I’ll boil meat for you every day from now on, but who wants to see your sour face while they’re eating?”

Old Lady Dong was left speechless; this little girl’s words were even more vicious than hers.

“Ah, if there’s nothing, then forget it.” Old Lady Dong glanced around, certain that the girl had quickly tossed the goods into her own yard. She decided to keep an eye on Jiang Ci through her eldest son’s wife; if they discovered she was engaging in shady deals by selling games, they would report her immediately.

After receiving a noseful of dust, Old Lady Dong left in a huff.

Jiang Ci pulled out a small piece of paper, which had been wrapped around Shitouzi the night before. It bore Gu Qingchuan’s bold handwriting.

“Brother Chuan, is this what you wrote?”

Gu Qingchuan’s hands trembled, unable to steady the paper. He hadn’t expected Jiang Guozhu to return, leading to the rapid division of the Jiang family, resulting in Jiang Ci moving in.

What could he do?

He tore the note into pieces. “Do you know why your Aunt Jiang Hongyu pushed you?”

“I haven’t figured it out,” Jiang Ci replied. “But I know she’s terminally ill and won’t live much longer. She must be scared that I’m still alive. Since the family has split up, she hasn’t dared come back to ask for anything.”

It was Aunt Jiang Hongyu who had pushed Jiang Ci.

“Well… you should be careful around her. Someone who knows they are dying can be completely unhinged.”

After giving this warning, Gu Qingchuan said harshly, “We’re both grown now, and we need to avoid any suspicion. Don’t you know that I was betrothed to the Cui family since we were kids? You’re reaching the age to be courted soon; what does it mean to keep running to my house? It’s not like when we were little.”

Jiang Ci blinked, feeling wronged, as she said, “Cui Ershu, who was supposed to be your fiancé, became disabled during a fight. He hasn’t even married, so where would there be any little kids to be betrothed to you?”

“Just because there isn’t one now doesn’t mean there won’t be one in the future.” Gu Qingchuan opened the yard door. “As I said before, you’re like my sister. I hope you… can see me as your brother, too.”

Jiang Ci was left speechless.

In her previous life, she had known that this man liked her so much that he would give up anything for her, and now he wanted to be her brother…

“Gu Qingchuan, just wait,” Jiang Ci said.

Grandma Miao heard her grandson’s footsteps as he entered the house and remarked lightly, “Did you scare someone off again?”

On the dining table was food specially saved for him—not leftovers, but the best dishes covered with a sea bowl. Gu Qingchuan felt a sharp pain in his chest. “It’s already hard enough for me to support this family; I can’t afford to take care of her. Why should I provoke her?”

Grandma Miao smacked her grandson on the head.

Gu Qingchuan laughed, relieved that Grandma still had the strength to hit him. It seemed her spirits were still quite good.

“Grandma, why did you hit me again?”

“Because you’re foolish.” Grandma Miao was particularly confident in her eldest grandson’s abilities. “One day, we’ll shake off this landlord label. don’tDon’t regret driving that young girl away when that day comes.”

—o—o—o—

Lin Wan got divorced and returned to the small courtyard by Qu Shui Bridge. Upon entering, she saw her daughter, Jiang Ci, washing the bed sheets that had been taken off at the well while several quilts were drying on the clothesline.

“What’s wrong? You look so unhappy. Did Gu Qingchuan say something harsh to you again?”

Just thinking about it, she could guess that Gu Qingchuan didn’t want Xiao Ci to waste time on him and had probably upset her daughter quite a bit.

He had carried Xiao Ci back from the mountains, saving her life. Moreover, Jiang Ci liked him so much. Lin Wan had long accepted him as her son-in-law; she didn’t care about his family background. The Jiang family had a good standing, but look at Jiang Guozhu—what kind of person was he?

“Hmm.” Jiang Ci thought about Gu Qingchuan’s pained expression and couldn’t feel angry anymore. Then she recalled what he had just said and laughed in anger, “He said he wants to be my brother. Why don’t you just recognize him as your son?”

“Stop being cheeky,” Lin Wan replied. “If I really recognized him as a son, you’d get anxious again.”

Lin Wan noticed two snakeskin bags in the yard, and something inside was flailing around. She quickly opened them. “Oh, it’s wild chickens and rabbits, all alive! Keeping them like this isn’t good; they’ll die.”

“Gu Qingchuan put them here. I’ll take them to the black market in Heishui River tonight to sell,” Jiang Ci said as she placed the three wild chickens and two wild rabbits into a bamboo cage.

In her past life, she had been to the black market in Heishui River several times and knew someone who could help her sell these things. In this life, she was aware that several people were keeping an eye on her so she wouldn’t be foolish enough to sell them herself.

“Alright, just be careful not to get caught,” Lin Wan said. She knew her daughter had her tricks. In the past, Jiang Ci often picked wild mushrooms and chestnuts to sell for a little pocket money. Besides, in these times, who hadn’t traded things in the black market? Lin Wan didn’t stop her daughter.

“Mom, did you divorce Jiang Guozhu?”

“Mm.” Lin Wan felt very calm; the divorce wasn’t as sad as she had imagined. Instead, it felt like a release. There was nothing about that man worth holding on to.

“Xiao Ci, I’ll be going to work soon. You should head back to the big house to pack up your things. In the evening, let your two uncles help us move.”

Lin Wan and her daughter wrung out the bed sheets and hung them on the clothesline. After she left for work, Jiang Ci also returned to the Jiang family mansion.

She didn’t want to stay there even for a day, lest she be disgusted by Jiang Guozhu and that woman.

“What are you doing back here? Didn’t you get the house in Qu Shui River?” Grandma Xu exploded in anger the moment she saw Jiang Ci. It was all this little girl’s fault that the family had reached such a point of division.

“I’m back to pack my things.” Jiang Ci had suffered terribly at the hands of Grandma Xu in her previous life. Did this old woman even know that Jiang Hongyu was pushing her?

She didn’t bother to respond to Grandma Xu and hurried up the stairs, only to bump into a flustered Kang Guixiang at the stairway.

What was this woman still doing here? Didn’t she leave in the morning?

“What are you doing in my room?” Jiang Ci grabbed her hand. “Are you stealing my things?”