Chapter 81: Courage

Outside the Shen family courtyard, a large group of children rushed up, with nine or ten-year-olds leading the five or six-year-olds – it was quite lively.

Seeing Shen An stripping hemp, the kids showed keen initiative, enthusiastically pitching in to help.

Every child in the village had experience with hemp stripping; even the five or six-year-olds could clumsily manage, showing genuine effort despite their awkward movements.

Shen Ning watched with a smile, “Keep at it; I'll get you all some sugar water.”

She then happily skipped into the courtyard.

Shen An hadn't forgotten his promise to Shen Jin to share any good things. Looking around and not seeing Shen Jin and his brothers, he found it odd. Given how close the Chen household was and Shen Jin's penchant for food, he would normally have hurried over at the first hint of something good.

But surprisingly, he hadn’t come?

He called out to Hu Zi, “I'm going inside to help carry the bowls.”

And then he entered the courtyard.

He asked his sister, looking curious, “Didn’t you see Shen Jin?”

“I did see him,” replied Shen Ning, holding bamboo tubes and bowls.

"He saw us but didn’t come? That’s not like Shen Jin."

Shen Ning glanced sideways at her brother, “I know, he asked us to remember him if we had food, but he didn’t come out himself. I don’t feel like calling him. Last time, when I was delivering soy pulp to Aunt Chen, my third aunt cursed behind me. Shen Jin was there too, probably felt embarrassed.”

"They grew up together, often playfully fighting. Shen Jin has always been carefree, both good and bad. I remember when we were younger, our third aunt secretly made fried rice with eggs for us, and he would sneak some to share with her and our second brother. But that was a long time ago, maybe when Shen Jin was five or six years old?"

"He can be really annoying at times, especially as he got older, losing the charm he had as a child. His mouth can be the most irritating."

"Shen Jin has seen our third aunt scold me and our second brother before and even enjoyed it. But now, since their household has more to eat, Shen Jin comes over more often. Eating softens the heart, maybe he's formed a bond and now knows what embarrassment feels like."

"Shen An understood the reason after hearing Shen Ning. He knew their third aunt well and her words were never pleasant. He patted his sister's head soothingly, 'You never mentioned it. Don’t call him if you don’t want to. Don’t be upset.'"

"His sister should not be wronged."

Shen Ning lifted her chin, “I’m not upset. I just think there’s nothing good to say. Why should you and sister-in-law have to listen to that? Now that we’re doing better than them, I actually enjoy watching her get angry and frustrated.”

The young girl said this with a lift of her eyebrows and a laugh, joy evident in her eyes.

Shen An couldn’t help but smile along.

"As for Shen Jin, we’ll see later. There’s still sugar left, and Ning is not refusing to share, just stubborn about not calling him."

"Well, I’ll think about it. If it were just a few days ago after hearing our third aunt's scolding, I probably wouldn’t have wanted to deal with Shen Jin either."

"The half-filled jar of syrup was heavy. Shen An held it to pour the syrup into bowls, while Shen Ning carried them out to distribute."

"The house now had plenty of bowls, and with a few bamboo tubes added, there was enough for everyone."

"When Sang Luo returned, she saw a group of adorable children of various sizes outside her yard, holding bowls and sipping sugar water with squinted eyes, enjoying each sip immensely, their faces full of delight. All that was missing were chairs for them to rock back and forth."

"The children greeted Sang Luo in unison as they saw her."

"Sang Luo responded with a smile. She didn’t worry about the children's play; Shen An and Shen Ning always had things under control. Seeing that there was still time before lunch, she decided to fetch the clothes she had cut earlier and sat on the only stool in the kitchen yard to sew."

"While she was sewing, the chatter of the children outside was suddenly mixed with the clucking of hens. Sang Luo listened; it wasn’t just one, but two hens, their sounds moving about."

"Shen Ning came running in excitedly: 'Sister-in-law, the other two hens seem like they’re about to lay eggs!'"

"Sang Luo went out to see and found the two hens pacing back and forth, clucking nonstop, both of their faces oddly red."

"Indeed, Sang Luo could tell from the redness on the hens’ faces."

"'It looks like they’re about to lay eggs. Let’s not startle them.'"

"The children all fell silent, nodding with their bowls of sugar water in hand. Sang Luo’s words made not startling the hens while they laid eggs seem like a serious and solemn matter."

"Watching the hens standing still as statues, only sneaking peeks around, Sang Luo chuckled and went back to her sewing in the yard."

"The children, each with a bowl of sugar water, took their time sipping it for over a quarter of an hour. They then quietly washed the bowls and bamboo tubes with spring water outside, and Shen Ning and Shen An returned them to the kitchen. The children then gathered again to start peeling hemp."

"In doing all these activities, they hardly made any noise."

"The two hens clucked around outside for quite a while, but ultimately, they seemed to find their own nests the safest and eventually went into the chicken coop."

"As noon approached, one of the hens emerged clucking energetically, shaking its feathers and strutting about with evident pride."

"The children made faces at each other, wanting to check out the coop. Shen Ning, mindful of the other hen still inside, managed to restrain her curiosity."

"She didn’t have to wait long, however, as soon the second hen started clucking too and then marched out of the coop, head high and chest puffed."

"Seeing both hens out, Shen Ning and the little girls laughed and ran towards the coop, followed by San Niu’s sister, Qiao Er."

"The three girls squatted near the coop, tilting their heads in amusement."

"Shen Ning reached into the nest and triumphantly retrieved three eggs, running back to the courtyard: 'Sister-in-law, we have three eggs today!'"

"Hearing this, Sang Luo laughed, 'Great, we’ll steam them for lunch.'"

"Shen Ning happily agreed and ran to the kitchen with the eggs, thinking that they needed to find something to store the eggs in, now that they were getting three a day!"

"The children outside overheard Sang Luo’s mention of steamed eggs for lunch, their mouths watering. Hu Zi looked at Shen An with envy, 'Your sister-in-law is so generous, eating the eggs yourselves?'"

"In their family, eggs were mostly saved to sell for money; they seldom ate them."

"Shen An, with a twinkle in his eye, whispered to Hu Zi, 'My sister-in-law says these are 'Yun Ying' eggs, good for health. We had egg drop porridge with sugar this morning. It was delicious.'"

"Hu Zi: Even more envious now."

"Er Niu caught another significant detail, 'You have another meal at noon? Three meals a day?'"

"Shen An, among good friends and business partners, saw no need for secrecy and nodded, 'Sister-in-law says we were so malnourished before that we weakened our bodies. We need to slowly nourish ourselves back to health; otherwise, we won’t have good health in the future.'"

"Upon hearing this, Er Niu and Hu Zi looked at Shen An thoughtfully, then exchanged glances."

Er Niu: "Has Xiao An gained some weight?"

Hu Zi nodded, "He has put on some, he used to be so skinny."

Knowing it was because of previous severe hunger and bodily decline, their envy faded as they realized the hardships Shen An had endured, hardships they hadn’t faced themselves.

When Sang Luo started preparing lunch, Er Niu and Hu Zi promised to return in the afternoon to help peel hemp, leading the group of children back down the mountain to their village.

Unbeknownst to Er Niu and Hu Zi, for the duration of their stay on the mountain, Shen Yin and Shen Tie had been eagerly playing in the mud outside their home, keeping an eye on the path down the mountain.

The moment they saw people coming down, excitement surged, Shen Tie still played in the mud while Shen Yin ran back home: "Third brother, third brother, Er Niu and Hu Zi are back."

Shen Jin flipped over on his bed, roused by the news. Recalling the harsh words his mother had scolded him with and Shen Ning's attitude today, he lay back down, disheartened.

Seeing this, Shen Yin pouted and ran back outside.

He wasn’t close with Er Niu and Hu Zi, but was about the same age as San Niu, Shi Tou, and Chen Xiao Ya. He approached them, eyes wide with curiosity, "Did you guys eat at my second brother’s house today?"

San Niu and Shi Tou, unaware of Li Shi's scolding of Shen Ning, remembered that Shen Jin, Shen Yin, and Shen Tie used to join them for food, said, "We had sugar water, one bowl each. Why didn’t you come today?"

Chen Xiao Ya, who had overheard Li Shi's words while walking with Shen Ning, remained silent.

Not coming was the norm now, wasn't it? Sister Ning didn't even call Shen Jin today.

Shen Yin, unaware of these details, just fixated on the sugar water, his face falling with longing, almost to the point of tears.

"Sugar water, really sugar water. Why didn’t third brother go today?"

With that, he turned and ran towards home.

……

"Sugar water? One bowl each?"

Shen Jin couldn’t stay in bed any longer; it had been so long since he had tasted sugar, and they had none at home.

He rolled out of bed, put on his shoes, and paced restlessly around the room, circling several times before stopping: "Did you ask Shi Tou what they were doing up there?"

Shen Yin was puzzled, "Do I need to ask that?"

Shen Jin rolled his eyes heavenward, "What do you think? Just drinking a bowl of sugar water wouldn’t keep them there so long. Whenever someone eats there, don’t they always help out with some work?"

Shen Yin scratched his head, realizing the truth in that. Their first piece of pork fat had come from helping to clear land.

"Then wait, I’ll go ask again."

With these words, he turned and ran back out.

Soon, he returned like a whirlwind: "Got it, they said they were helping to peel hemp."

"Peeling hemp, huh."

Shen Jin's eyes flickered with an idea, “Got it, come help me cut hemp.”

Stripping hemp required no tools, and feeling embarrassed to go empty-handed, he decided to cut two bundles of hemp to trade for sugar water. This way, Shen Ning probably wouldn't send him away.

The more he thought about it, the more certain he became.

Yes, yes, yes – he wouldn’t be getting something for nothing; he’d exchange something for it.

As for his mother scolding Shen Ning last time, Shen Jin closed his eyes, convincing himself: I didn’t do the scolding, I didn’t do the scolding, I didn’t do the scolding.

Brainwashing himself successfully.

He quickly found a sickle in the kitchen and grabbed a bamboo stick to hand to Shen Yin, “Come on, let’s go cut hemp. You'll help me process it.”

He also instructed Shen Tie to stay home and watch their little sister, not to let her wake up alone, and not to tell their parents where he and Shen Yin were going. Then he rushed off with Shen Yin.

All for a sip of sugar water, his planning was thorough, bolstering his courage.

However, that courage lasted only briefly; after cutting one bundle of hemp, when Shen Yin thought they could leave, Shen Jin’s courage was nearly spent.

Under Shen Yin’s gaze, Shen Jin gritted his teeth, “Let’s cut one more bundle, one is too little.”

After cutting another bundle, Shen Yin thought it was time to leave, but Shen Jin, recalling how Shen Ning didn't even glance towards their house, hesitated again.

"...How about you go alone?"

Shen Yin: ???