Chapter 108: Healing Oneself

Guazi took rather a long time this time. She did not return until the beggar grandfather and granddaughter had finished eating—and she brought the little beggar back with her.

“Does she need something?” Liu Xing asked, pointing toward the little beggar.

“She wants to help us with the work,” Guazi replied, lifting her small head.

The little beggar gazed earnestly at Liu Xing. When she noticed that everyone eating at the surrounding tables was looking at her, she quickly lowered her head again in embarrassment.

“What can you do?” Liu Xing asked with a smile.

Liu Dongju laughed as well. Seeing how tattered the little beggar’s clothes were, she went into the rear courtyard. A moment later, she returned with two clean, patched outfits. She handed one directly to the little beggar.

“Try it on and see whether it fits. If it does, you can have it.”

“As for the one I’m holding, that’s for your grandfather,” Liu Dongju added after a brief pause.

“Thank you.”

The little beggar accepted the clean clothes joyfully. After giving Liu Dongju a shy smile, she ran into the kitchen to change.

When she came out, she looked like an entirely different person.

She had become a gentle, well-behaved little girl. Most striking of all were her bright, lively eyes, which made her instantly endearing.

“Well, who would have thought? This little beggar is quite a pretty child,” Village Chief Zhao joked with a laugh.

“Indeed. Before falling on hard times, she must have been the daughter of a wealthy family,” Zhao Hu added.

At his words, the little beggar shyly bit her lip and took the other set of clothes to her grandfather. But she soon returned and, without a word, began helping clear away the earthen bricks scattered across the ground.

Liu Xing shook his head when he saw her.

“You can’t handle this kind of work. If you truly want to help, go out with Guazi later and tend the cattle. Just keep an eye on Little Dot and Zhao Jing.”

The little beggar glanced at Liu Xing. After hesitating for a moment, she continued working on her own.

“That child is rather stubborn,” Liu Dongju said, shaking her head.

“Elder Sister, go persuade her.”

Seeing the old beggar by the roadside watching the little beggar, Liu Xing rose and walked over to him.

“All right.”

With a smile, Liu Dongju went over to the little beggar and sat beside her, chatting casually.

The little beggar did not say much. She did not even dare answer when asked her name.

She only said that she wanted to work and support her grandfather.

As for anything else, Liu Dongju could not get a word out of her.

With no other choice, she left and began clearing the tables. Still, the little beggar’s devotion to her grandfather touched her deeply.

…

Liu Xing, meanwhile, found himself having a pleasant conversation with the old beggar.

At first, they spoke only of trivial matters, and both answered rather casually.

After a while, Liu Xing finally got to the point.

“Have you ever thought of going home?”

“If you have, I can pay your travel expenses,” he added after a brief pause.

“Going home?”

“Where would I have a home?” The old beggar let out a long sigh. “My home disappeared long ago. If I weren’t unwilling to let Lanlan starve to death, I would have stopped clinging to life in this world.”

“Lanlan?” Liu Xing froze.

“My granddaughter.”

At the mention of her, affection and deep remorse appeared in the old beggar’s eyes.

It was obvious how much he cared for the little beggar. Otherwise, he would never have worn such an expression.

Liu Xing understood this, and a few more threads of respect arose in his heart.

“But you can’t go on looking so sickly. How about this… I’ll have someone fetch a doctor for you. At the very least, you need a strong and healthy body if you’re going to take proper care of Lanlan.”

“I am a doctor myself. My illness… is nothing serious,” the old beggar replied slowly.

“Are you certain it’s nothing serious?” Liu Xing asked with concern.

The old beggar did not answer. Instead, he sighed softly and looked toward the little beggar.

“Your granddaughter is just as stubborn as you are.”

Not wishing to waste any more words, Liu Xing clasped his hands behind his back and started walking away. After going two or three paces, he suddenly turned to look at the old beggar.

“The weather will change in about a week. There may be continuous rain then. If you wait until that time to ask me to find someone to treat you, it will be too late.”

The old beggar was stunned.

When he recovered, he looked up at the cloudless sky.

In the end, however, he gave in.

“My body was chilled by the wind. If you trust me, have your elder sister prepare a bowl of ginger soup in the kitchen. If you have Sichuan pepper, add a little. Once I drink it, I’ll recover soon enough.”

“All right!”

Liu Xing smiled and turned away.

…

At the entrance, Liu Dongju saw him return and immediately asked how the conversation had gone.

Liu Xing did not conceal anything. He briefly explained the situation and told her to hurry to the kitchen and prepare the ginger soup.

As far as he was concerned, so long as the old beggar’s health was not seriously compromised, the other matters should pose no problem.

When Liu Dongju heard that the little beggar was called Lanlan, she smiled and promptly turned back to the kitchen.

About fifty minutes later, the ginger soup was ready.

Seeing Guazi and Zhao Jing playing in an open patch of ground nearby, she waved them over.

“Stop playing and come do something useful.”

“What useful thing?” Guazi asked, raising her little head.

“Take a bowl of ginger soup to Lanlan’s grandfather. Be careful—it’s hot.”

Liu Dongju placed the ginger soup from the stove into a bamboo basket and handed it to Guazi.

“Who is Lanlan?” Guazi asked, puzzled.

Zhao Jing was confused as well.

There did not seem to be any girl named Lanlan in Old House Village.

“The little beggar’s grandfather,” Liu Dongju explained in a lowered voice.

“Oh!”

Guazi suddenly understood. She picked up the bamboo basket and hurried toward the old beggar by the roadside.

Curious, Zhao Jing hopped along after her.

…

By evening, after everyone’s efforts, the collapsed earthen-brick house had finally been completely cleared away.

Seeing that there were no outsiders nearby, Village Chief Zhao asked Liu Xing, “How do you plan to have Zhao Hu rebuild it? Should he follow the original design, or build a new-style house?”

“Of course he should build a new-style house with fired brick. What would be the point of rebuilding it exactly as it was?” Liu Xing glanced at the sky. “But it won’t happen today. We’ll discuss everything tomorrow. I’ll draw up a design tonight.”

The earthen-brick houses of the seventies and eighties had many flaws in their design.

Although Liu Xing had never formally studied masonry, he had at least seen many houses with sound, practical layouts. For the shoe shop’s future development, it was better to give the matter some careful thought.

Of course, it was not especially difficult.

There were only a little over twenty thousand water-clean bricks available. No matter how he built it, he could only construct a single-story house with a tiled roof. A two-story duplex was impossible under the present conditions.

Several years from now, when supplies became more abundant—when prefabricated slabs, cement, steel, and other construction materials no longer required ration coupons—it would be wiser to demolish the house and rebuild it then.

Seeing that Liu Xing had already made up his mind, Village Chief Zhao asked no further questions. He simply sat down with a cheerful smile and rested.

The aroma of stir-fried dishes drifted from the kitchen.

Guazi, Little Dot, Zhao Jing, and the other children playing beneath the pomelo tree caught the scent. One after another, they ran to the kitchen door, craning their necks and swallowing as they watched.

“Out, out! Dinner won’t be ready for a while yet.”

Laughing, Liu Dongju waved them away. When she saw Lanlan standing nearby and watching as well, she reached into the cupboard and took out the last of the fried dough twists. There were not many left, so she handed them directly to Lanlan.

“Take these and share them with everyone.”

“Thank you.”

Lanlan nodded repeatedly, then ran off with Guazi, Little Dot, Zhao Jing, and the other children.

By the roadside, the old beggar saw how happy Lanlan was in her clean clothes and slowly came over, leaning on his wooden staff.

As he walked, he suddenly tossed the staff aside and straightened his back.

Liu Xing could not help staring. Only then did he realize that the old beggar was very tall—at least six feet in his estimation.

Moreover, the way he walked, with long, powerful strides and an imposing presence even in silence, suggested that before falling into poverty, he might have been a highly respected old physician.

Liu Xing had reached this conclusion because only that afternoon, the old beggar had still looked deathly ill.

Yet after drinking the medicine he had prescribed, the man had recovered so quickly.

If Liu Xing had not witnessed it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it.

When the old beggar approached, he first cupped his hands respectfully toward Village Chief Zhao, then said to Liu Xing, “Thank you for the ginger soup your elder sister prepared. I’ve decided to take Lanlan to seek refuge with some relatives. If everything goes smoothly, I will certainly reward you handsomely when I return.”

“Heh. Do I look like someone short of money?” Liu Xing replied with a smile.

“Indeed. I spoke without thinking.” The old beggar looked somewhat embarrassed.

“If you want to leave, I won’t stop you. But if you don’t mind, stay and have dinner with us.”

Liu Xing had just seen Liu Dongju carrying out a basin of boiled fish, so he extended the invitation.

“All right!”

This time, the old beggar did not refuse.

Village Chief Zhao patted the long bench beside the dining table, and the old beggar stroked his beard before sitting down.

Liu Xing took the seat opposite him. When Zhao Liang brought over a bottle of good liquor, Liu Xing accepted it and asked the old beggar, “Would you like a drink?”

“I don’t drink,” the old beggar politely declined.

“Not drinking is good, too.”

When his elder sister called from the kitchen for help carrying out the dishes, Liu Xing hurried over.

When he emerged, he was carrying two more plates.

Just as he was about to set them on the table, Zhao Liang, who had been chatting with Zhao Biao nearby, suddenly darted behind him in a panic. Beads of sweat had broken out across his forehead.

“What’s wrong with you?” Liu Xing asked irritably.

“Zhao Gou has come looking for me.”

Zhao Liang pointed toward the two figures on the road.

“So he’s here. What’s there to be afraid of?” Liu Xing asked, puzzled, as he placed the dishes on the table.

“He must have come to cause trouble for me,” Zhao Liang replied, shrinking his neck.

He said this because he had not spent time with Zhao Gou for two whole days. In the past, that would have earned him either a brutal beating or a vicious scolding.

In short, Zhao Gou’s arrival at Zhao Dongkui’s house could not possibly mean anything good.

Yet, contrary to expectations, Zhao Gou had not come to find Zhao Liang.

He had come to find Village Chief Zhao.

As he arrived just in time for dinner, he laughed heartily and, without wasting words, sat down beside the village chief.

“You’re living quite comfortably these days. Your dinner even has fish and meat!”

“Stop making sarcastic remarks. Say what you came to say. If you want to eat, go get yourself a bowl,” Village Chief Zhao replied irritably.

He could not exactly say that he hated Zhao Gou.

But neither did he wish to have anything to do with the man.

Zhao Gou was unreasonable and overbearing, a notorious local tyrant in Old House Village.

“All right, all right, I’ll tell you!”

“My mother’s old rheumatism has flared up again. She asked me to find out whether you still have any of that topical medicine you gave her before.”

Seeing Zhao Hu, Zhao Biao, Zhao Jianzhong, Zhao Long, Nie Quan, Nie Sun, and more than a dozen other villagers from Old House Village present, Zhao Gou put aside his joking manner and explained his purpose seriously.