Chapter 2: The 250-Year-Old Bachelor: The Poor Bing Family Struggles to Marry…

Chapter 2: The 250-Year-Old Bachelor - The Bing family is so poor that even getting married is a challenge...

Now that Bing Wengu has arrived, naturally, this body will be fine.

However, Bing Dalang's body has been starved for years, leaving him weak and frail. It's quite possible that he might develop a high fever at night. Even though Bing Wengu has strong mental resilience and might pull through, he would inevitably suffer physical pain.

Bing Dalang's frail body really can't withstand much more.

Bing Wengu said to Liang Shi, "Mother, please go and get some willow bark to make tea."

Liang Shi wailed even louder, "My son, are you hungry? It's my fault. You're so sick, and we have no food at home to feed you. Now you have to drink willow bark tea to fill your stomach!"

Bing Wengu was getting a headache from Liang Shi's wailing. In the interstellar world, everyone keeps their distance, except for partners. Even parents respect personal space. Bing Wengu, having no partner and living alone for a long time, couldn't remember the last time he experienced such noise.

Bing Wengu weakly explained, "I'm not hungry. Willow bark tea can reduce high fever. I caught a chill in the river earlier today, so drinking willow bark tea can prevent a fever at night."

Liang Shi was taken aback, "Son, how do you know about medicine?"

Bing Wengu felt weak and his head was dizzy. He closed his eyes, "I read it in a book."

Since Bing Dalang was educated, he could easily blame everything on books. As the saying goes, books hold beauties and golden houses; it's not surprising to find anything in books.

Sure enough, Liang Shi didn't ask further and went to find willow bark for Bing Wengu.

After Liang Shi left, the Bing family heard that Bing Wengu had woken up and came in one by one to see him.

The Bing couple had eight children, five boys and three girls. In this dynasty, males and females are ranked separately. Bing Dalang is the third in the overall ranking, with two older sisters already married. Below him are four younger brothers, named by their father for good luck, following the phrase 'abundant harvest of the five grains'.

Bing Erlang is married with three sons, Bing Sanlang is also married with a daughter, and his wife is pregnant again, due in three or four months. Bing Silang is seventeen and still unmarried. The youngest, Bing Wulang, and Bing Sanniang are twins, only seven years old.

Knowing that Bing Wengu had been through a lot and was mentally fragile, they exchanged a few words, glanced at him, and left.

About a quarter of an hour later, Liang Shi brought a steaming bowl of willow bark tea to Bing Wengu's bedside, softly calling, "Da Lang, the willow bark tea is ready. Get up and drink some."

Bing Wengu opened his eyes, sat up leaning against the headboard, took the tea, tasted it, found it lukewarm, and downed it in one go.

Willow bark tea is bitter, with a strange, indescribable taste. Even Liang Shi, who's endured years of poverty, felt nauseous at the smell, let alone Bing Wengu, who was sick and should find it even harder to swallow. But Bing Wengu didn't flinch and gulped it down in one go, seemingly not finding it too unpleasant.

This broke Liang Shi's heart as she watched from the side. It all comes down to the family being too poor; the Bing family has been underfed for years, and having anything to eat is a blessing.

Liang Shi wiped her tears sadly, "It's all because we, your parents, are useless, making my son go hungry even when he's sick."

"It's the son who's failed," Bing Wengu said. "Parents have raised their son for over twenty years, and now that the son is an adult, he cannot support his parents. It's the son who's failed."

Liang Shi, caught off guard by Bing Wengu's words, cried even harder, choking on her words, "My son has gone through a great ordeal and has become sensible."

Bing Dalang would never have said such things, but he is Bing Wengu, not Bing Dalang.

Bing Wengu has been thinking about the spiritual connection he felt in his mind when he first arrived, in a daze.

At that time, his mind was in chaos, and he couldn't determine whether the man who connected with him in his mind was a figment of his imagination or real.

The first thing he did upon regaining consciousness was to confirm whether that person existed.

It's not that Bing Wengu is lustful; anyone who has been a bachelor for 250 years and suddenly finds out they might have a wife would be eager to confirm.

Bing Wengu asked, "Mother, is there someone in our village with a delicate appearance, phoenix eyes, and a small mole at the corner of the eye?"

Liang Shi, hearing Bing Wengu's description, gradually stopped crying, "Are you talking about Nan Jia Xiao Geer, Nan Jinping?"

Bing Wengu searched through Bing Dalang's memories and finally found Nan Jinping in a dusty corner. When he compared the face he had glimpsed in his dazed state, it was a perfect match!

Bing Wengu was thrilled to bits. It turned out that the person wasn't a figment of his imagination after being a bachelor for 250 years, but a real, existing person.

Bing Wengu was so excited that he wished he could jump out of bed immediately and fly to the Nan family to propose marriage.

"Da Lang, has Nan Jia Xiao Ge been betrothed to anyone?" Bing Wengu suppressed his pounding heart, trying not to appear too desperate.

However, a look of horror appeared on Liang's face. "Son, how poor is our family! We don't even know where our next meal will come from. Don't even think about marriage."

"Bringing someone into our family would only mean they'd suffer hunger and hardship with us."

In fact, when Li Erniang grew up and reached the age to marry Bing Dalang, Liang had been secretly fretting. The family truly had no money for a wedding, but the two children had been betrothed since childhood, so the marriage had to happen. Liang had been worrying over the money.

Later, when the Li family called off the engagement, Liang couldn't quite tell whether she felt more sorrow or relief.

"Da Lang, when I arrived at the river, you were already on the shore. I had been wondering who saved you. Now that you're asking about Nan Jia Xiao Ge, was it him who saved you?" Liang asked.

From Bing Dalang's memories, Bing Wengu knew that in this era, there were three genders: men, women, and Shuang'er.

Physiologically, Shuang'er were the same as men, but because they could bear children, their social role was roughly equivalent to women. However, due to their low fertility, their status was even lower than that of women.

This led to societal expectations for Shuang'er being the same as for women.

The interstellar society was all about equality, but here, in this patriarchal era, the demands on women and Shuang'er were quite harsh.

For example, if Nan Jinping's act of jumping into the river to save an outsider were exposed, unless Bing Wengu married him, Nan Jinping would never be able to marry again. Even then, he would be saddled with a reputation for being frivolous, unchaste, and having had physical contact with an outsider, making it impossible for him to hold his head high for the rest of his life.

Therefore, Bing Wengu did not directly answer Liang's question. It wasn't a matter of whether he trusted Liang, but rather that the matter was too significant to discuss lightly.

Seeing her son's silence, Liang urged earnestly, "Da Lang, don't speak of this matter to anyone. If you don't say anything, Nan Jia Xiao Ge won't either, and then no one will know that he had physical contact with you."

"If no one knows, it won't hinder Nan Jia Xiao Ge's chances of marriage," Liang said with deep concern. "It's not that I don't want you to take responsibility, but our family is just too poor. Marrying him wouldn't be repaying a kindness; it would be seeking revenge!"

Liang's last four words nearly made Bing Wengu lose it. How poor must the Bing family be that even marriage would be considered an act of enmity!

When Bing Wengu was unconscious, he had already absorbed the original host's memories and had a rough understanding of the Bing family's poverty, so he didn't argue much with Liang.

In any case, whether he married Nan Jinping or not wasn't something Liang could decide. Once he recovered, making money would be the easiest thing.

Bing Wengu was worried that Nan Jinping might catch a cold and develop a high fever at night, so he wanted Liang to send some willow bark water to Nan Jinping.

"Mother, quietly take some willow bark water to Nan Jia Xiao Ge. Make sure no one else sees you, except Nan Jia Xiao Ge himself," Bing Wengu said. He didn't really want Liang to go, nor did he want anyone to know about this matter.

But now, his body was too weak to get out of bed, and he was afraid that Nan Jinping might develop a high fever from saving him. At this time, a high fever could be fatal, so he had no choice but to entrust Liang with the task.

"Alright. I'll go now and make sure no one else knows, including Nan Jia Xiao Ge's parents," Liang said. She didn't want Nan Jia Xiao Ge to marry into their family, but she also didn't want to repay kindness with enmity.

Liang rushed out and came back in no time. "Da Lang, I personally watched Nan Jia Xiao Ge drink a large bowl. I also told him to boil more water on his own. Don't worry, I handled this with discretion. Absolutely no one else knows."

Bing Wengu was lying in bed. "Mother, my head feels heavy. I'll sleep for a while."

"Alright," Liang said, getting up and placing a thin quilt over Bing Wengu before tiptoeing out.

Bing Wengu was indeed very tired. Having just experienced a self-destruction and then a spiritual communion, it was only because of his strong spiritual power that he wasn't completely incapacitated. Soon, Bing Wengu fell into a deep sleep.

He didn't know how long he had slept before being woken up again. This time, it was Bing Silang who woke him.

"Da Lang, get up and eat," Bing Silang said, placing a bowl of wild vegetable soup by the bedside and then nudging Bing Wengu.

Bing Wengu instinctively applied a martial arts hold and dislocated Bing Silang's arms.

Bing Wengu truly didn't mean to do it. Back in his time in the stars, he was a general, constantly battling on the front lines, fighting against the Swarm. He had developed instincts and muscle memory.

If someone approached him stealthily, his instinct was to subdue them.

"Ahhh!!!" Bing Silang cried out in pain like a wolf, rolling on the ground.

Bing Wengu looked at Bing Silang's pitiful state, disgusted and disdainfully let go.

Even if shattered in battle, their sentinels would never behave so pitifully.

"What's going on?" Liang Shi, hearing her fourth son's howls of pain, rushed in while asking.

Bing Wengu glanced outside, pulled Bing Silang up from the ground, and Bing Silang, wide-eyed, asked warily, "What else are you going to do?"

Bing Wengu sneered, grabbed Bing Silang's arms, and with a gentle push, popped them back into place.

By the time Liang Shi rushed in, Bing Wengu had already collapsed weakly back on the bed. Liang Shi glanced at Bing Silang, then at the frail Bing Wengu on the sickbed, and instantly blamed Bing Silang for bullying him.

Liang Shi slapped Bing Silang on the head, yelling like a furious mother, "Bing Feng! Your elder brother is sick. Can't you be more sensible and not provoke him?"

Bing Silang, still tear-streaked and in pain from the dislocation, was too stunned to react.

Bing Silang cried out in protest, "It was him, it was Bing Dalang who dislocated my arms."

Liang Shi, who had earlier heard her fourth son's voice from outside, looked suspiciously at Bing Wengu. She saw Bing Wengu weakly leaning against the bed, his eyes filled with confusion, as if completely clueless.

Thinking of her eldest son, who had barely survived, and the doctor's uncertain prognosis, Liang Shi's heart sided with him.

How could her frail eldest son harm the fourth son? It had to be Bing Silang trying to shift the blame. Bing Silang had done such things before.

"How many times have I told you, call your elder brother 'Da Xiong'! Don't call him 'Da Lang,' show some respect to your elder brother." Liang Shi twisted Bing Silang's ear and dragged him out, "He's your own brother, and now he's so seriously ill. Instead of being kind to him, you're causing trouble. You're asking for a beating!"

"Mom, mom, it wasn't me, it was my elder brother. He lunged at me and dislocated my arms!" Bing Silang struggled.

"Don't lie! The doctor said your brother might not survive the night..." Liang Shi's voice choked up again.

Bing Silang insisted, "But it really was him..."

Liang Shi, furious, said, "Bing Feng, at a time like this, you're still trying to defend yourself, even when your elder brother is... Since you're so unrepentant, you won't have dinner tonight."

Bing Wengu, hearing Bing Silang's cries outside, downed the wild vegetable soup in one gulp. His face betrayed no emotion, which made Liang Shi's eyes well up with tears again.

Even Liang Shi sometimes couldn't stand the taste of wild vegetables. But Bing Wengu, despite being seriously ill and in so much discomfort, didn't show any sign of disgust.

Liang Shi discreetly wiped her tears and told Bing Wengu, "Da Lang, focus on getting better. That's all that matters now."

"Mm," Bing Wengu replied.

Liang Shi walked out, and outside the door, Bing's father whispered urgently, "How is Da Lang?"

"Not good. He's too calm—it feels like the calm before a storm."

Bing's father said, "I never saw Da Lang care much about Li Erniang before. Why did he suddenly jump into the river for her?"