Chapter 25: Never Leaving, Even If It Means Death

Liu Dongju, however, wasn’t thinking that much. She reached out and took ten yuan from her mother. “Mom, our family needs money urgently. Lend me ten yuan first! I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.” When she got married, her classmates had come for the wedding banquet. Now that it was her classmate’s turn to get married, not returning the favor would be inexcusable. If word got out, she’d have no face left in the village.

“Alright, alright! Take it!” Zhou Qiuxiang sighed softly. “But Dongkui’s really doing poorly, isn’t he? Can’t even come up with ten yuan.”

“Is Dad any better?” Liu Dongju retorted.

“That’s true,” Zhou Qiuxiang admitted with a nod.

In the countryside, making money was truly difficult. Earning a living by selling grain and vegetables was impossible no matter how hard you tried; she’d tried before and even got called out by the village secretary, almost being labeled a black marketeer.

Thinking back on it now, it was a bitter memory.

“Stop chatting and eat! The braised pork and ribs are getting cold,” Liu Xing couldn’t help but interject.

“Yes, yes! Let’s eat,” Zhou Qiuxiang quickly snapped back to attention.

Liu Dongju smiled, picked up a piece of braised pork, and placed it in Liu Xing’s bowl.

Her younger brother had grown up and could now help solve big problems for her. To be honest, it was a bit unexpected.

She’d originally planned to return home with the money that very night, since there were chickens and ducks at home that needed feeding. But now, it seemed there was no need to hurry—there were no valuable river snails in her husband’s village anyway.

So…

Tomorrow, she would have to collect more.

Let Liu Xing sell them so she could use the money to buy some meat for her husband, Dongkui.

At the thought of Dongkui, Liu Dongju felt a pang of worry. After all, she had left home after an argument; would Dongkui still be out looking for her?

Just as she was about to tell her mother she’d go back soon, a beam from a flashlight swept across the country road.

“Who’s there?” Liu Xing called out.

When he saw it was his brother-in-law, Zhao Dongkui, he quickly got up to open the door.

Liu Dongju saw this and couldn’t help but laugh, but she quickly pretended not to notice and ran off.

Zhou Qiuxiang, stunned for a moment, immediately understood what was happening. She chased after Liu Dongju, tugged her ear, and scolded, “You silly girl, your husband’s here and you still want to act up? Get out there and have dinner with him.”

“Alright!” Liu Dongju, grateful for the way out, agreed at once.

Liu Xing shook his head at the scene but didn’t interfere. Instead, he took his blanket and went to sleep in Liu Ye’s room.

There was no other way; with his sister’s family visiting, there were only four beds. Squeezing together was inevitable.

…

“Lazy pig brother, get up! The sun’s shining on your butt already.”

It was after nine in the morning when Liu Xing was awakened by Guazi’s shouting.

When he sat up, he saw the sun was already high in the sky. He hurriedly dressed and headed for the cowshed.

“Brother, what are you doing?” Guazi called out, tagging along behind.

“Taking the cows out to graze,” Liu Xing replied.

“Second Sister already went,” Guazi reminded him.

“What?” Liu Xing thought he must have misheard.

His second sister was always buried in her books and never even washed dishes, yet now she’d volunteered to graze the cows? Was he hearing things?

“Look, Second Sister and Black Calf are down by the river,” Guazi pointed with her little finger. “Big Sister and Brother-in-law went to collect river snails too, and they said you should sell them tomorrow.”

Liu Xing looked over and, finding things were just as Guazi said, couldn’t help but smile.

It seemed the money he’d given Second Sister last night had motivated Big Sister and Brother-in-law as well, making them so industrious.

As for Second Sister, maybe she felt grateful for the pocket money. Either way, it was a good start.

“Huh? Why are there so many people at the river today?” Liu Xing suddenly froze.

On the eastern bank, at least a dozen villagers had gathered, and even Liu Ye’s little head was bobbing among the river waves.

Seeing this, Liu Xing felt a headache coming on.

But he didn’t say anything. Instead, he picked up Guazi and went to the kitchen to wash up and have breakfast.

Clearly, Yang Dajun’s big mouth had let slip that river snails could fetch a good price, or else there wouldn’t be so many villagers collecting them so early in the morning.

Normally, apart from the handful tending cows, you wouldn’t see a soul by the riverbank at this hour.

After all, the humidity by the river made it unpleasant to linger there.

In the kitchen, Little Dot was eating White Rabbit candies.

Seeing Liu Xing carrying Guazi in, she quickly got up to greet them. “Uncle, I’m almost done eating your Rabbit candies. Are you going to buy more tomorrow?”

“Of course,” Liu Xing replied with a smile.

“Don’t buy any more. You should save money to get a wife,” Zhou Qiuxiang, chopping pigweed in the corner, reminded him.

“Get a wife?” Liu Xing smiled and didn’t answer the awkward question. He was only sixteen—still a long way from settling down.

“Don’t laugh. Look at Dashun—he had a son at sixteen. Now that you’ve quit school, you should save up to get married,” Zhou Qiuxiang glared at him.

From the way she spoke, it was clear she couldn’t wait to have a grandchild.

Liu Xing felt helpless. After scooping a bowl of porridge and setting it on the stove, he said, “Given our family’s situation, how can I get married? You wouldn’t make my future wife sleep in the pigsty, would you?”

At this, Zhou Qiuxiang was left speechless.

It was true. Liu Xing’s bed was the one his eldest sister had left behind. If he were to get married, this wouldn’t do.

They’d need to buy a new bed, build a new house, get furniture, a bicycle, and a sewing machine. Adding it all up, even selling herself wouldn’t be enough!

Seeing his mother at a loss for words, Liu Xing took his porridge and went outside, squatting by the door to eat at a leisurely pace.

After finishing, he took Guazi and Little Dot to stroll along the riverbank.

He saw many villagers walking along the country road with large woven bags headed for the riverbank, and he couldn’t help but shake his head.

If they kept collecting river snails this frantically, the snails would soon be wiped out.

So, he decided to take this opportunity to rest for now.

Near noon, he brought Guazi and Little Dot back home, carrying a large bundle of wild scallions and celery.

Since he was heading to the city to sell river snails the next day, these wild greens would come in handy, even if they didn’t fetch much. At least there’d be enough to buy Guazi a few meat buns.

If luck was on his side, he might even trade for a pair of shoes.

That way, Guazi wouldn’t have to run around barefoot anymore.

And Little Dot deserved a pair too—she was barefoot right now as well.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he saw Second Sister, Liu Ziran, coming back with the Black Calf.

But she didn’t look well; her hands and feet were covered in swollen welts.

It was obvious she’d been bitten by cattle flies—ordinary mosquitoes couldn’t do that kind of damage.

Liu Xing shook his head, took the cow rope from Liu Ziran’s hands, and suggested, “Second Sister, go to the kitchen and rub some grain alcohol on those bites—it’ll reduce the swelling quickly.”

“Alright,” Liu Ziran nodded slowly.

But the unwillingness in her eyes was impossible to hide.

She was frustrated because she never imagined grazing cows could be this hard.

She’d always thought at home that Liu Xing had the easiest job, but now she realized he had the toughest and most tiring one, especially with those pesky cattle flies driving her crazy.

Liu Xing smiled at her but didn’t say much more, leading Black Calf back to the cowshed.

After securing the calf, he returned home to help wash river snails.

Soon, his brother-in-law Zhao Dongkui came back with a large bucket of river crabs. “Pretty good haul today!” Liu Xing remarked.

“Don’t even mention it. There were too many people collecting river snails—there was almost a fight. There’s no way we’ll have this kind of catch again tomorrow,” Zhao Dongkui replied helplessly.

“Well, this kind of business has no overhead. Who wouldn’t want in?” Liu Xing laughed. “Are you selling these river snails yourself, or want me to do it?”

“Of course you should sell them. I don’t have your skills or the time. After lunch, I have to go back and haul manure for fertilizer,” Zhao Dongkui replied sheepishly.

“Alright then,” Liu Xing nodded and said no more.

Zhao Dongkui went to the river to fetch Liu Dongju. When they returned, they brought back not only half a bamboo basket of river snails but also a load of lotus roots.

Seeing lunch wasn’t ready yet, Liu Dongju picked up the lotus roots to wash them.

Liu Xing quickly stopped her. “Big Sister, don’t wash the lotus roots. They should be sold with the mud on—then people think they’re fresh, you know?”

“Really?” Liu Dongju laughed awkwardly.

To be honest, it was the first time she’d heard such a thing.

But she didn’t question Liu Xing and helped wash the river snails instead.

Liu Ye and Liu Ziran soon joined the snail-washing crew.

With so many hands, they finished in half an hour.

From the kitchen came the aroma of cooked food.

Feeling awkward about freeloading, Zhao Dongkui suggested cooking all the river crabs as a side dish for wine.

But Liu Xing stopped him, pointing out that those river crabs were money. If he really wanted to cook and eat them, Liu Xing wouldn’t object, but that pot could be worth ten, even dozens of yuan.

Zhao Dongkui was startled and immediately dropped the idea.

After lunch, he called for Liu Dongju and Little Dot to go home.

But Little Dot flat-out refused to leave.

When Zhao Dongkui asked why, she pouted and said, “I haven’t finished Grandma’s Rabbit candies and fried dough twists. I’m not going.”

“Rabbit candies” were White Rabbit milk candies. Being so young, she couldn’t pronounce the name properly and just called them “Rabbit candies.”

As soon as she said this, Liu Xing, Zhou Qiuxiang, Liu Ye, and Liu Ziran, who were resting in the sun-drying yard, all burst out laughing.

Liu Ziran even laughed until tears ran down her cheeks.

It’s said that children always speak their minds, but Little Dot’s words were too blunt—she didn’t want to leave simply because she was fixated on the White Rabbit candies and fried dough twists.

If word got out, people would laugh themselves silly.