Chapter 27

Chapter 27

At the county town gate, Wang Sanhu was crouching dejectedly, watching ants scurry back and forth on the ground.

"Brother Sanhu."

Hearing Shen Yuan's voice, Wang Sanhu snapped out of his daze and stood up, keeping his head down. "Oh, Xiao Yuan, you're here. Let's go home."

Shen Yuan noticed something was off with Wang Sanhu today; he kept his head lowered and wouldn't look at him.

"What's wrong, Brother Sanhu? Did something happen?" Shen Yuan bent down to get a look at Wang Sanhu's face, but Wang Sanhu turned his head away and blocked him with his hand.

"Aw, it's nothing, really. Just wasn't watching my step while carrying sacks at the docks and took a tumble. Scraped my face up, is all."

Shen Yuan frowned. "If it's really just a scrape from a fall, why won't you let me see?"

Wang Sanhu covered his face, knowing he couldn't fool him, and lowered his head with a sigh. "Sorry, Xiao Yuan. I lied to you."

"I figured." Shen Yuan moved Wang Sanhu's hand aside, revealing the hidden face.

The honest man's dark-skinned face was covered in bruises, blue and purple. It didn't look like a fall; it looked more like he'd been punched.

"Who hit you?" Shen Yuan's voice was cool and flat, making the listener uneasy.

Afraid Shen Yuan would try to stick up for him, Wang Sanhu forced a silly grin, trying to comfort Shen Yuan instead. "Hey, Brother Sanhu's fine. Doesn't even hurt. Just lost the job, gotta find new work tomorrow. Don't be upset, Xiao Yuan, really, it's nothing."

For folks like them from the village working away from home, getting roughed up a bit was a common occurrence.

Today, it was his own fault for being penny-wise and pound-foolish. Thinking about the upcoming summer tax and needing to save more money, he usually wouldn't dare say much when the petty officials docked his pay. But this time, in his anxiety, he had asked a few more questions about the reason.

The result was not only a severe beating but also getting his name crossed off the list, barred from carrying sacks at the docks again.

Wang Sanhu truly didn't feel much pain from the injuries on his face. He was worried about his livelihood afterward, blaming himself in his heart for pushing his luck and insisting on asking the petty officials for a reason.

And look what happened—offended someone, lost the job.

Sigh.

He didn't know if he could find work tomorrow at the labor agency.

Worried.

Listening to Wang Sanhu sigh all the way, Shen Yuan didn't know how to bring up the idea of trying out as a storyteller at the teahouse.

"Sigh—"

"Sigh—"

They both sighed at the same time. Wang Sanhu's ears perked up, and he turned to look at Shen Yuan, concerned. "What's wrong, Xiao Yuan? Something bothering you?"

Shen Yuan sighed again. "Ah, Brother Sanhu, you're already so worried, and you're still concerned about me?"

"Of course I'm worried about you." Wang Sanhu grew a bit anxious. "Whatever it is, tell Brother Sanhu. I'll definitely help you. Don't worry, tell me about it."

Shen Yuan heard a sob and immediately stopped talking. Seeing Wang Sanhu, a grown man, crying with tears in his eyes, he quickly used his sleeve to wipe them away. "Brother, why are you crying all of a sudden? Does it hurt somewhere badly?"

While wiping Wang Sanhu's tears, Shen Yuan said fiercely, "Brother Sanhu, tell me who hit you. Later, I'll definitely get back at them for you!"

Just which damned person dared lay such a heavy hand on his honest and simple Brother Sanhu!

They beat him so badly he was crying from the pain!

Wang Sanhu's eyes were red as he looked at Shen Yuan sheepishly. He used his own sleeve to wipe his tears, speaking with a nasal tone. "It's not physical pain, Xiao Yuan, don't worry, Brother Sanhu's fine. It's just... I'm so grateful to you, I don't know how to thank you enough."

"You don't know, I got struck off the list at the docks today, can't go carry sacks anymore. Without that job, I really don't know what to do. Other jobs like repairs or building houses are hard to find too. My heart's been frying with worry. But you said there's a job I could try, and you even praised me for being good at telling stories. Xiao Yuan, don't laugh at me, I really don't know why, I just feel like crying."

Shen Yuan knew this was because he had too much weighing on his mind and had never received affirmation before.

He patted Wang Sanhu's back. "Brother Sanhu, you really are amazing! That day I listened to you talk about Brother Dagui, I was completely captivated. If you're free tomorrow, that's perfect. Come with me to the teahouse in the morning. I'll give you a story then, and you can try telling it."

Wang Sanhu felt happy and warm inside, but he also had concerns. "But if I don't do well, won't I cause trouble for you, Xiao Yuan?"

"How could that be?" Shen Yuan patted Wang Sanhu again, cheering him on. "Besides, we haven't even tried yet, how do you know you won't do well? Be more confident, Brother Sanhu. I think you'll do great. Even if it's not perfect, so what? It's no big deal as long as you're safe and sound. Actually, I'm planning to build a house later. If storytelling doesn't work out, Brother, you must come help me build it. You're skilled, hardworking, and diligent—I have faith in you!"

After Shen Yuan's pep talk, Wang Sanhu's heart felt illuminated.

Yeah, even if it didn't work out, so what! He was fine, whole and healthy, could endure hardship and was diligent. Even if work was hard to find, he'd manage.

"Xiao Yuan, thank you, Brother. If it weren't for you, I might have gone down a dark path today," Wang Sanhu thanked him in a muffled voice.

Shen Yuan waved his hand dismissively, saying cheerfully, "What's with the formalities between us brothers? Come on, let's go home and have some chicken soup. Eat well, eat your fill, and tomorrow we'll strive to secure that storyteller spot in one go."

Infected by Shen Yuan's cheerfulness, Wang Sanhu nodded repeatedly.

As long as a person is still alive, no matter how difficult things are, they're not insurmountable.

You can always tough it out!

Feeling warm inside for most of the journey, Wang Sanhu's smile finally froze. Scratching his head sheepishly, he asked Shen Yuan, "Xiao Yuan, I was so busy being happy, I forgot to ask... what exactly do you mean by 'storytelling'?"

Shen Yuan looked at the simple, honest man and couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. After laughing enough, he explained what storytelling meant.

Wang Sanhu used his limited understanding to process it—so it really was just telling stories.

Then he probably could do it.

With his biggest doubt cleared, the two brothers became cheerful again.

It drew the attention of people around them. In the surrounding villages, people often walked the same road and basically knew each other.

Someone asked, "Hey, Wang Sanhu, Shen Yuan, what are you two so happy about?"

Shen Yuan turned his head and smiled. "You can be happy for no reason too."

Wang Sanhu nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's right."

The person couldn't help but smile too. "You two are really something."

When they reached the village entrance, Shen Yuan invited Wang Sanhu to his house to take a bowl of chicken soup back. Wang Sanhu initially didn't want to accept, but Shen Yuan said he needed to eat well and be full to have energy for storytelling. He could only say, "Then I'll shamelessly have a bowl of your chicken soup."

Tomorrow, he would definitely give it his all and tell a story well, earn some money, buy Xiao Yuan a big hen to stew soup, and buy pork for his family too.

Carrying this hope, Wang Sanhu followed Shen Yuan to his house, only to find his mother inside Shen Yuan's fenced yard.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Wang Sanhu was confused.

But then he thought, maybe she went to the county town today to sell dried vegetables, finished selling, and came back to give Xiao Yuan the copper coins?

Wait, that doesn't make sense—why is Sister Liu Si here too?

Shen Yuan saw Auntie Ping and Sister Liu Si at his home, both with serious looks on their faces, and figured something must be wrong.

He quickened his pace and asked urgently, "Auntie Ping, Sister Liu Si, did something happen?"

Auntie Ping's face, usually stern, now didn't have a trace of a smile. "Officials came to collect taxes today."

Both Shen Yuan and Wang Sanhu were taken aback. Shen Yuan said, "It's only the end of March. Even by May, there's still a whole month left. What taxes are they collecting now?"

Sister Liu Si frowned. "They said it's for bandit suppression—an advance payment of the bandit suppression tax. Each household has to pay five hundred coins as a separate charge. The summer tax in May is a whole other thing."

Wang Sanhu widened his eyes, his face filled with anger. "How can they do this! Are they trying to drive people to their deaths?"

Shen Yuan also frowned deeply. He had truly underestimated the greed of the county magistrate—swallowing a huge sum even before suppressing the bandits.

Every two years, the yamen would post notices informing the people of Qingyun County about basic conditions, with petty officials reading them aloud nearby.

Shen Yuan recalled related information he had heard previously. Qingyun County was a medium-sized county in the state of Wu, with five thousand households before the war and three thousand after.

Five hundred coins per household meant fifteen thousand taels of silver.

And then, a month later in May, they would greedily take another sum.

Truly insatiable.

"Those officials, every one of them carried knives. If a household didn't hand over the copper coins, they'd just take anything valuable." Auntie Ping glanced at the worn door of the main room. "Your fourth brother, usually so quiet, refused to let go of the newly made table this time, even when they beat him until his head was bleeding. If it weren't for Xiao Dong and Xiao Xi coming back in time, and later Liu Shu bringing a group of children to protect him, he might have been beaten to death."

Auntie Ping sighed. "Everyone knew you weren't home. Auntie and Village Head Liu rushed over as fast as we could, but we were still a step too late. Fortunately, the tax money was paid, so they won't come back. Xiao Yuan, you should go check on your younger siblings. The children are probably badly frightened."

Sister Liu Si also nodded. "Yes, you go see them first. If there's any work to do, Auntie Ping and I will help you with it."

Worried about his younger siblings, Shen Yuan handed the clay pot containing the chicken soup to Sister Liu Si. "Please help heat this up, Sister Liu Si. I'll go check on Dongdong and the others."

Sister Liu Si took the pot and told him to go ahead and not worry.

The main room was dimly lit, with four children huddled together in a corner of the bed.

"Dongdong, Xixi, Nannan, Beibei, big brother is back."

In the quiet room, faint rustling sounds slowly emerged, followed by Shen Xi's tearful cry. "Big brother! Wuwuwuwuwu—"

Hearing his younger brother's cries, Shen Yuan's heart raced with panic. He hurried to the bedside, and Shen Xi immediately threw himself into his arms. The suppressed fear could no longer be contained, and he began to wail loudly.

Shen Dong and Shen Nan were the same. Shen Nan was still tightly holding their younger sister, Shen Bei. The four children, like duckweeds finding an anchor, clung to their big brother, releasing the fear they had been holding back.

"Don't be scared, don't be scared anymore. Big brother is back."

Shen Yuan held his younger siblings and gently soothed them.

Beibei was terrified, crying at the top of her lungs.

The little one was only ten months old and had known earlier not to cry, keeping her lips tightly pursed. Only when she felt her big brother had returned did she dare to let out her cries.

Shen Yuan bent down to wipe his younger siblings' faces and noticed that not only was Nannan covered in injuries, but Dongdong and Xixi were also bruised.

Only little Beibei had no injuries on her face, but the baby was badly frightened. Her big eyes blinked, filled with mist.

All the children had tears as big as beans sliding down their faces, their eyelashes completely soaked.

Shen Yuan patiently wiped their tears and carefully comforted them.

After a while, the children cried themselves out. Only then did Shen Yuan ask if the injuries on their faces were all inflicted by the officials.

Shen Dong and Shen Xi pursed their lips and lowered their heads.

This was clearly the look of guilt after doing something wrong.