Chapter 2: A House Bare of Possessions

Chapter 2: A House Bare of Possessions

After the clan leader spoke, the villagers gathered in Qiu Huanian's courtyard gradually dispersed.

Today, they had seen quite a spectacle and caught a glimpse of Brother Hua's previously unknown side. They were eager to go back and tell their close friends and relatives all about it.

Qiu Huanian's father-in-law, Du Baoyan, was originally the most promising among the "Bao" generation in Du Village. He was a quick and skilled carpenter. After saving some money, instead of rushing to build a house or buy land, he had the foresight to send his eldest son to study.

His eldest son was also ambitious, passing the child scholar exam at the age of ten and being taken under the wing of a great Confucian scholar in the capital for further studies. Given time, he might have even become an official.

At one point, Du Baoyan's family was the envy of many in the surrounding villages.

Unfortunately, Du Baoyan died unexpectedly while serving corvée labor, leaving the family without a pillar of support and no means of income. Gradually, the family fell into decline.

They had hoped that the eldest son, who was in the capital, would eventually make a name for himself. However, just a month ago, a letter arrived saying that the eldest son's teacher had offended a noble and was imprisoned. The eldest son, unable to survive in the capital, was about to return to the village.

If they had known this would happen, Du Baoyan might as well have used the money for his son's education to buy a house and land instead!

In the countryside, entertainment was scarce, and these days, this family had become the topic of conversation during tea breaks. Everyone said it was fortunate that Widow Li had died two months earlier, sparing her the news of her son's ruined future. They also lamented that with Widow Li's death, the family was left with no one to support them.

Zhao had come to stir up trouble without knowing the whole story, thinking no one would dare to confront her.

Unfortunately for her, she miscalculated, ended up with egg on her face, and had to compensate with eggs and a chicken.

Who would have thought that Brother Hua, who had always been quiet and obedient under Widow Li's care, could be so fierce and yet so justified in his actions!

Qiu Huanian calmly accepted the varied gazes directed at him. After everyone had left, he closed the sturdy but aged wooden door and called the two children inside.

The Du family's house was a thatched cottage with one main room and two side rooms. The main room was in the center, with the side rooms on either side.

The right side room served as a storeroom, filled with grain and various miscellaneous items, and was the only one that was locked. The main room in the center was originally where Widow Li lived with her two children, but it had been temporarily vacant since her death. The left side room was Qiu Huanian's, and now all three family members lived there.

To save firewood, the small kang was only heated at night. In the chilly spring weather, the room was damp and cold. Qiu Huanian couldn't help but frown as he entered.

"Brother Hua, I'll go heat the kang. You and Jiu Jiu should rest for a while," Chun Sheng, though young, was already very smart and sensible.

"I'll go too," Jiu Jiu chimed in. "Brother Hua fell and needs to rest well."

Qiu Huanian felt a warmth in his heart as he looked at these two little ones. He patted their heads and said, "Be careful not to hurt yourselves. Once it's heated, I'll give you some candy."

It wasn't that he didn't want to help, but firstly, he didn't know how to heat this kind of kang, and secondly, in Du Village, such light tasks were usually done by children. Chun Sheng and Jiu Jiu were used to it, and not letting them do it would only make them uneasy.

For these resilient children who had grown up in adversity, the best way to overcome fear was not to rest quietly but to quickly return to their normal routines and find familiar tasks to do.

Jiu Jiu and Chun Sheng, holding hands, went out. Qiu Huanian didn't idle either. He needed to inventory everything in the house, relying on the original owner's memories, to get a clear picture.

Suddenly thrust into ancient times, it would be dishonest to say he didn't want to return. But Qiu Huanian knew that falling off a cliff was likely fatal, and the hope of returning home was slim. He should cherish this second chance at life.

He had assumed the original owner's identity and naturally had to take on his responsibilities, taking good care of the Du family's children according to the original owner's wishes.

If there was a possibility that the original owner hadn't died but had instead traveled to the modern world in his place, he also hoped that the original owner could take care of his parents on his behalf.

Qiu Huanian found the key to the storeroom and opened the door. There wasn't much inside, mostly carpentry tools and leftover wood left by Du Baoyan.

There were still two pecks of white rice and white flour, which were only eaten during festivals.

In addition, there was half a vat of corn, a vat of sorghum, a vat of pickles, and a large bag of dried vegetables. If they managed carefully, it could last the family of four half a year.

However, the eldest son of the Du family was about to return, and his appetite was likely larger than Widow Li's. They would need to think of a way to ensure everyone had enough to eat.

In the southeast corner of the yard, there is a large pear tree, under which lies a vegetable plot. A row of chive roots and a row of green onions have already sprouted along the edge, while other vegetables have yet to be planted.

The chicken coop in the corner of the yard now only houses two old hens, which lay two eggs a day. These eggs are usually not eaten but saved until there are ten, then taken to town to exchange for money.

There is no separate kitchen. Under the south wall of the yard, there is a stove with two burners and two large iron pots. When cooking, utensils need to be fetched from the storeroom.

Qiu Huanian also found a money box in the innermost part of the cabinet in his room. This was given to the original owner by the widow Li before she died and represents all the family's savings. Over the years, the widow Li had come to regard the original owner as her most trusted person.

Opening the well-crafted wooden money box, inside were the deed to the thatched house, the deeds to six mu of land (two mu, about 0.33 acres, of irrigated land and four mu, about 0.66 acres, of dry land), two taels of silver, a pair of silver bracelets, and eighty-six copper coins.

In the area where Du Village is located, three copper coins can buy one egg, eight copper coins can buy one jin of white rice, and one jin of pork costs thirty-five copper coins.

Converting the purchasing power to modern currency, one copper coin is roughly equivalent to fifty cents, and one tael of silver is five hundred yuan, meaning the Du family's total savings amount to one thousand and forty-three yuan.

If this were the private savings of one person, it might be acceptable. But as the entire family savings of a household of four, it can only be described with one word—poor, very poor.

There was no other way. After Du Baoyan's death, the Du family had not earned any significant income. The money from selling the grain after setting aside the family's food supply was immediately spent on necessities like cloth, salt, and soybean oil.

Previously, two taels of silver were spent on medicine for the widow Li, and another two taels were spent on her funeral, leaving only this much.

This was only possible because Du Baoyan had prepared coffins for himself and his wife in advance, saving some silver.

Qiu Huanian sighed, thinking that in his previous life, he had been a model representative in rural poverty alleviation. Continuing this work in this life didn't seem too bad.

He didn't touch the silver but took out the copper coins and placed them in a pouch embroidered with rough flowers made by Jiu Jiu.

The family was simply too poor. Even the best cook can't make a meal without ingredients, and no matter how good an idea is, it requires some initial capital.

After Qiu Huanian finished organizing everything, Jiu Jiu and Chun Sheng returned. The small heated bed (kang) began to warm up, and Qiu Huanian called them to sit on the kang and share some candy. The two children politely refused, but their eyes lit up as they stared at the candy, melting Qiu Huanian's heart.

"You're still young. Eating too much candy is bad for your teeth. From now on, all the candy will be kept in the basket on the table. You can take one piece each day and supervise each other to make sure you don't eat more, okay?"

Chun Sheng and Jiu Jiu exchanged glances. "But Brother Hua, if we only have one piece a day, the candy will be gone soon."

The messenger who brought the letter had some connection with Du's eldest son. While returning home to visit relatives, he stopped by to deliver the letter. In his haste, he hadn't brought gifts but found a small bag of peanut candy for the children.

The bag contained only about twenty pieces of candy, and some had already been eaten. If they only had one piece a day, it would be gone in less than ten days.

"I promise, when you finish these, there'll be more candy in the basket."

Qiu Huanian handed each child a piece of candy. Unnoticed, Jiu Jiu also placed one in front of him. "Brother Hua, you have one too." Chun Sheng nodded in agreement.

Looking at the thin but bright faces of the two children, Qiu Huanian felt a softness in his heart and a surge of inexplicable emotion.

In his modern life, Qiu Huanian had eaten all sorts of things and initially didn't plan to compete with the children for the limited candy. However, Jiu Jiu and Chun Sheng were determined—if Qiu Huanian didn't eat, they wouldn't either. Reluctantly, Qiu Huanian unwrapped the slightly yellow peanut candy and popped it into his mouth.

The peanut candy had a crisp texture, and the peanuts inside were roasted, giving off a toasty aroma. It tasted quite good. For the village kids, this was like a taste of heaven. Jiu Jiu and Chun Sheng nibbled on their pieces, savoring each bite, reluctant to finish it quickly.

Candy, candy...

Qiu Huanian's eyes lit up as he recalled a memory that perfectly suited their current situation—a small business that could quickly generate income.

In his previous life, Qiu Huanian had graduated from a prestigious university and worked in a large company, enduring the grueling 9 AM to 9 PM, six days a week work schedule for several years. He increasingly missed the days of his childhood spent with his grandparents in the countryside.

After witnessing a colleague die from overwork and another colleague being fired due to severe depression, he made up his mind to resign and return to the countryside. Using the savings from his years of work, he renovated the old family house and started a new life.

He wasn't afraid of hard work, nor did he want to laze around like a salted fish. He believed that even in working hard, you should aim for the life you really want.

After settling down, he began sharing videos of his rural life online and became a blogger in the rural lifestyle community.

During this period, he mastered a variety of skills for creating video content and also helped popularize the agricultural products of the village, leading many impoverished villagers to prosperity. He was honored with the title "Model for Poverty Alleviation" by the local government.

Now, having traveled back to ancient times, those skills that were once only used in videos have become his real means of livelihood.

After pondering it several times, Qiu Huanian felt more and more that this idea was feasible and couldn't sit still.

He has always been a man of action, saying what he means and meaning what he says. Once, to counter online trolls, he live-streamed himself harvesting ten acres of wheat in half a month, earning him the nickname "The Hardest Worker in the Lifestyle Category" among his fans.

Qiu Huanian took out a large wooden basin with a diameter of more than three feet from the storeroom, filled it halfway with water, and then scooped a large handful of plant ash from the stove, dissolving it in a ladle. He then poured only the clear water from the top into the large wooden basin.

Jiu Jiu and Chun Sheng curiously ran out, "Brother Hua, what are you doing?"

"Making candy for you," Qiu Huanian replied with a smile.

Candy? Jiu Jiu swallowed hard, puzzled by the need for so much water and plant ash to make candy.

Chun Sheng's face scrunched up in worry, resembling a little dumpling, afraid that Brother Hua might have hurt his brain.

Qiu Huanian rolled up his sleeves, took two pecks of sorghum (an old unit of measurement) from the jar, soaked them in the water basin, and spread them out with his hands.

"Brother Hua... is this for making candy?" Chun Sheng opened his mouth.

"Making candy," Qiu Huanian nodded with a smile, deliberately not explaining further.

Teasing children is fun, especially when they're well-behaved and cute.

Qiu Huanian wanted to tease them a bit more when suddenly there was a knock at the gate. He got up, shook his hands, and went to open the door. It was Bao Shan's wife, sent by the village chief to help deliver compensation.

"Thank you, Auntie. Please come in and sit," Qiu Huanian said, stepping aside.

Du Bao Shan was one of the youngest in the Bao generation in Du Village. His wife, not yet thirty, had delicate eyebrows and charming eyes; her smile was warm and lively.

"My husband and your father-in-law are cousins from the same grandfather. Our families are close, so don't be so formal. My maiden name is Hu; you can call me Auntie Hu."

Qiu Huanian recalled this relative from the original host's memory and found that the two families were indeed relatively close in the village, though not particularly intimate.

Mainly because Li the Widow had not been socializing much in recent years and didn't interact much with anyone.

"What's your name, Auntie?" Qiu Huanian asked with a smile.

"Me? I'm Hu Qiuyan."

"Then I'll call you Auntie Qiuyan from now on."

Hu Qiuyan was momentarily stunned, feeling a mix of emotions, with a faint hint of joy.

She walked into the yard and handed the basket to Qiu Huanian, "Here are nine eggs, and a chicken that's been slaughtered, including the innards and feathers. Sister-in-law Bao Quan is tight-fisted; she chose an old rooster that could hardly walk. I thought it might be inconvenient for you here, so I had my husband slaughter and pluck it before bringing it over."

Her gaze inadvertently swept over the large wooden basin soaking sorghum under the eaves, and she exclaimed, "Brother Hua, why are you soaking so much sorghum? You only need to soak a little bit in advance for porridge each day. Soaking too much might spoil it."

Qiu Huanian had been anticipating her question.

He smiled and temporarily placed the items on the outdoor stove, repeating what he had just told the children, "Auntie Qiuyan, I'm going to make candy for Jiu Jiu and Chun Sheng."