Chapter 17: In the Mouth of a Lion
All the thoughts he had been trying to suppress for so long suddenly flooded into his mind.
At least he was smart enough to be a candidate for the exam. He wasn't a complete fool.
"..."
His legs felt weak, and he slowly fell to his feet.
How much money had he borrowed from his brother this year?
He couldn't remember at all.
But every time he went to borrow money, his brother made him write an IOU and stamp his fingerprint on it.
The deed to the house and the land were with his mother. Soon he would have borrowed enough money to buy his house and land. Was his brother planning to take them to cover all that debt? Then they would never lend him money again.
"Sun Yiming, let me tell you. If your brother takes the house and land, I'm divorcing you and taking the children back to Xishan Village."
Han Qiao's muffled voice sounded from outside.
That ticked him off again. He got up and opened the door, shouting back at Han Qiao, "Divorce? How dare you? In your dreams, maybe. You aren't divorcing me, it will be I who's divorcing you."
"Bah, you're a maggot in a cesspit. You're a good-for-nothing coward! You won't actually do it."
"You are vile." Sun Yiming's face was red with anger.
Han Qiao used to be so gentle and calm. He never expected her to become like this, violent and rude.
"I am vile, you good-for-nothing! Divorce me, if you have the balls. If not, you're no man."
"You, you, you shrew, shrew..."
Sun Yiming covered his chest.
He was irate.
"If you're not going to do it, then get back in that study and copy books. If you keep talking nonsense, I'll beat you to death." Han Qiao said, picking up a broom.
Sun Yiming was shocked. Not wanting to get into another fight with her, he went back to the study.
"Shrew, shrew."
Sun Yiming was so angry that he vomited blood.
But he couldn't beat Han Qiao, nor could he scold her.
He could only submit to her tyranny and continue making copies.
Standing outside the study door, Han Qiao frowned slightly.
Even in this state, Sun Yiming wasn't mad enough to divorce her.
It would be difficult to reconcile smoothly.
"Mother?" Sun Ke tugged at Han Qiao's sleeve.
Han Qiao reached out and pat Sun Ke's head. "Don't be afraid."
"Mom, Big Sister and Second Sister aren't home right now. Can you handle him?" Sun Ke asked worriedly.
"Of course. Mother is very strong now." Han Qiao flexed her muscles.
She rubbed her head. "Ke, my dear, don't worry."
Sun Ke nodded vigorously.
Her eyes were still red.
These past two days were some of the best in her life. She didn't have to worry about going hungry, and she even had meat to eat.
Han Qiao also felt a little uncomfortable. "Go and start a fire. Don't let the stove go out."
"Yes ma'am. "Sun Ke ran to the kitchen.
She was still a child after all. It was easy to change the subject with her.
Just as Han Qiao was thinking about this, the door to the courtyard slid open. Sun Xiu and Sun Yi came in smiling. "Mom, they're all sold out."
"Someone came up and wanted to have a taste, so I gave her a piece. Then, she bought all of them."
Eleven steamed buns, seventeen coins.
It wasn't much, but it meant a steady source of income for the family.
The second pot had two more steamed buns. It, too, sold out very quickly.
Those who had any money in Ninghe town were looking for something fresh to eat. Also, the pumpkin buns smelled really good.
One pot of buns was sold for eighteen coins. Han Qiao did some math in her head. Excluding the flour, pumpkins and firewood, she could earn six or seven coins per pot. And that wasn't counting labor. Things would go a lot smoother if she had a steamer.
However, with the situation at home as it was, she knew she could be kicked out any day, so she wasn't about to make another purchase. If she bought a steamer, she might not be able to take it with her when she left, so it would end up being a waste.
She then counted how much firewood they had. There was some, but not much. She would also need to buy some firewood.
Han Qiao thought about asking Heng Yi for some. It would also be a good chance to get to know him better.
In fact, that was probably the main reason, in her mind. After all, once she moved back to Xishan Village, she would have to rely on her mother's family for firewood.
She wasn't going to approach him directly, though. She would have to go through Granny Heng.
She didn't want to start any rumors.
After selling seven pots of steamed buns , Han Qiao planned to keep one remaining pot to eat. Her daughters' faces were all red from being in the sun, so Han Qiao told them to go wash up.
The sky got darker and darker.
While Sun Xiu was busy cutting meat in the kitchen, the eggs were steaming in the pot.
Taking advantage of what little daylight remained, Han Qiao went over to the Heng household.
She had just stepped out of the door when she ran into Heng Yi.
The two of them were shocked to see each other.
"Hi, Heng Yi."
Han Qiao's voice was bright, but it lingered in the air ever so slightly.
Heng Yi's heart rate shot through the roof. "Yeah?"
He wanted to get out of there, but his legs did not seem to listen to his commands.
He stood rooted to the ground like a piece of wood.
"Are you still going to Xishan Village to hunt tomorrow?" Han Qiao asked.
Heng Yi suddenly looked at Han Qiao.
He was scanning her head to toe, not without some suspicion.
Han Qiao, on the other hand, was very calm. A moment later she changed her tactic, but her voice remained just as warm as before, "My family lives in Xishan Village. If you're going, would you be able to take some things over to them for me? Also, could you tell my parents to ask my eldest and second brothers to send me some firewood?"
"..."
Heng Yi looked at Han Qiao for a moment. "I'm leaving tomorrow at five in the morning."
With that, his feet shuffled and he was gone.
Han Qiao saw Heng Yi's tall back. She pursed her lips.
Then, she turned around and returned to the courtyard, closing the door behind her.
Han Qiao was aware that what her family in Xishan Village lacked the most was food. She would make a few pots of steamed buns to send over.
If she didn't have time to buy others, then she'd forget about it.
Heng Yi returned home empty-handed. Granny Heng looked at him as if she wanted to eat him up.
But he was so thick-skinned that it didn't phase him at all.
He fetched water and took a bath, then washed his clothes himself.
Day after day, he would do his work without a sound, but today was different.
A faint smile floated into his mind, followed by a soft, gentle voice.
"Heng Yi."
"Heng Yi..."
He never knew that his name could still sound so nice when it was called by others.
In the wash basin he saw a beautiful figure staring back at him. Her smile was graceful and moving.
Bang!
Heng Yi punched the basin.
The beautiful figure dissipated. Water splashed in all directions, wetting his clothes.
A ton of it got on his face.
Feeling a little light-headed, Heng Yi pursed his lips tightly.
Hearing footsteps, he returned to his senses and promptly continued washing his clothes.
"Heng Yi..." Granny Heng called out softly.
Heng Yi's tone was cold. "Yes?"
"I've found a girl for you to talk to. Why don't you go have a look tomorrow?"
"Sorry, I can't. I'm going into the mountains tomorrow." Heng Yi stood up to dry his clothes.
"..."
Granny Heng choked on her breath.
If it weren't for the fact that the whole family depended on Heng Yi's labor, she would have already started swearing at him.
Dinner at the Hengs that night was meat and eggs, but Heng Yi didn't touch them. He only wanted vegetables.
When Old Man Heng saw this, he said, "Heng Yi, have some meat."
Heng Yi raised his eyes and looked at his father.
No words came out of his mouth. He quickly scooped up the grains left in his bowl, put down his utensils, stood up, and walked away.
As he left, his wrathful gait scared the children. They all hushed up for a moment.
Old Man Heng launched his fist at Heng Yi's back, "Are you really determined to leave the household?"
His back was throbbing.
But Heng Yi didn't care. He turned around to look at Old Man Heng. "Yes, I am."
"If you want to, then go right ahead. But first give me and your mother fifty taels of silver for us to live off of in our old age," Old Man Heng demanded.
The rest of the family took a deep breath.
Fifty taels of silver could buy five mu of good farmland.
If they bought undeveloped land, however, it could buy dozens.
Hearing this Heng Yi only sneered. "Not happening. Don't even think about it."
"I just want to leave home. That's all that matters to me. You all can do whatever you want, I don't care."
They were really trying to threaten him…
If he could be threatened so easily, he would have already found himself dead in the mouth of this tiger he called family.
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