Chapter 59

Chapter 59

The next day, at first light, Old Man Zhao and Zhao Sandi [Third Son Zhao] were about to leave with He Jinyu.

It was all too sudden. From He Jinyu approaching Old Man Zhao to say he wanted to leave, to Old Man Zhao informing the family he would take the child to town the next day, it was so swift and decisive it left everyone scrambling.

Grandpa Zhao also said, "If this trip goes smoothly, Jinyu won't be coming back. If it doesn't go well, then none of us will return."

He wasn't saying this just to scare them, of course. Even though He Jinyu had once again suggested that the old man just drop him off on the main road and let him go to the Yu household alone—as long as no one saw him with the Zhao family, even if he had the misfortune of running into his enemies, the Zhao family wouldn't be in danger. At worst, he would just reunite with his parents and siblings in the underworld, and it wouldn't bring trouble to the Zhao family at all.

However, this idea was unanimously opposed by the whole family. Even though they knew that taking He Jinyu out this time might bring great disaster upon the household, affection doesn't work that way. When He Jinyu first came to their home, they might have actually gone along with his wish and simply left him on the road, leaving it to fate whether he would encounter family or enemies.

But now, there was no way they could abandon the child halfway. After living together day and night for so long, anyone would develop feelings. Not only would Old Man Zhao not do it, even Granny Wang couldn't bear it and absolutely refused to agree. She thought that if He Jinyu's grandfather and uncle had been searching for him all along—a Duke and a General are huge deals! They must have immense capabilities. As long as they were determined, they could have people waiting at the Yu family, or even at Tongjiang Town. As soon as He Jinyu showed his face, their people would surely spot him immediately.

Of course, the enemies would too.

However, Granny Wang had asked He Jinyu whether his parents had offended any major figures, and the answer was no.

Since they hadn't offended any major figures that even a child would know about, and it was the refugees who killed Prefect He and his wife, even if there was someone behind these refugees who was also secretly searching for He Jinyu, she put herself in their shoes. Given the blood feud involving her daughter and son-in-law, and the fact that the only grandson left behind was her own, if she were that Duke, she'd move heaven and earth to find the child.

She tended to believe that even if there were two parties simultaneously searching for He Jinyu, that Duke and General would be able to bring more resources to bear in this matter.

Because when He Yunzhang was killed, he was the sitting Prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture, an official of the Daxing Dynasty. Even if the enemies were hiding in the shadows, wanting to find the child to silence him, they would have to act covertly. In contrast, the Duke and General could conduct an open search.

They could use both private forces and official authority.

These were all Granny Wang's speculations. She tried to think of things in the best possible light. However, there's always the possibility of accidents. What if that Duke and General were utterly incompetent? Then the danger of this trip would increase significantly.

So she instructed the old man, "If things go wrong, you two should quickly take the child and run."

Old Man Zhao nodded. That was what he thought too, and he even said with a grin, "Leaving other things aside, I've never lost to anyone when it comes to running. Even the refugees couldn't outrun me."

Granny Wang couldn't help but roll her eyes. He killed two refugees, and look how he brags!

It was getting late. Old Man Zhao placed the child in the basket. After some thought, he said to the whole family, young and old, "If you have anything to say to the child, make it quick." If this trip went smoothly, Wang Jinyu would completely become He Jinyu. The child would be taken away by his relatives, and they, this foster family, whether due to the disparity in status or the vast distance between north and south, would likely never see him again in this lifetime.

The ones most affected were naturally the five boys. During this period, they had eaten, slept, and even farted under the same blanket with Wang Jinyu, forging a deep brotherly bond. Even if they occasionally quarreled over studies, they would immediately sling an arm over each other's shoulders and be good buddies again.

Now, hearing Grandpa say this, they understood that Wang Jinyu was really leaving, and this departure might be for a lifetime.

Too young to grasp how long a lifetime was, they only knew that they could never play together again in the future, that there would be no one to teach them characters and arithmetic, and that there would be one less little brother tagging along behind them.

Separated by the basket, He Jinyu stood inside, while the five boys stood outside. Everyone was filled with reluctance.

"Jinyu, whether you're at home or not, you'll always be our brother, for a lifetime," Zhao Xiaowu couldn't hide his disappointment. "In the future, without us brothers to back you up, if you encounter someone you can't beat, remember to run. Running away isn't shameful; getting beaten up is."

"Big Brother is right. If you can't beat them, run. You taught us that—a gentleman's revenge can wait ten years," Zhao Gu said. "We've remembered it; you mustn't forget it yourself."

He Jinyu nodded. Through the gaps in the basket, he carefully memorized everyone's faces and was also affected by the sorrow of parting, his eyes welling up. "I remember. If I can't beat them, I'll run. I won't try to be a hero. Xiao Wu, Gu Zi, Fengzi, A Deng, Xi'er, no matter where I am, you will always be my brothers. I won't forget you, and you mustn't forget me either."

"Jinyu, wait for me. When I grow up, I'll come help you fight," A Deng raised his arm, showing off his muscles. "Wait for me to come help you kill your enemies. I'll cut them down one by one; whoever comes will die."

He Jinyu's sad expression eased slightly as he smiled and nodded. "A Deng, I'll wait for you to come find me. Then, whatever I eat, you'll eat too. Just like at home, what you have, I'll have, and what I have, you'll have."

"Mm!" Zhao Deng raised his hand and high-fived him through the basket.

"When you go back, if anyone bullies you, remember their name and appearance. We brothers will beat them up for you later," Zhao Feng also said.

"Brother Jinyu, you mustn't forget us," the youngest, Zhao Xi, burst into tears. He had never called Wang Jinyu "brother" before, but now that Wang Jinyu wasn't forcing him, he willingly called him brother. "When I grow up, I'll go find you with Fourth Brother. You mustn't pretend not to know us. The road is so far..."

Poking his dirty little face through the basket, He Jinyu nodded. "Xi'er, you can come find me anytime. No matter where I am, as long as you find the right place and tell the gatekeeper your name, I promise no one will dare stop you."

The six boys went on. Now, not only was Zhao Xi shedding tears, but even the adults nearby couldn't hold back, looking away to wipe their eyes.

Granny Wang, holding Zhao Xiaobao who was silently crying into her shoulder, stepped forward. Looking at He Jinyu who was about to leave, she was too choked up to speak. Recalling their first meeting, she had been angry because Dashan had brought a child back without permission. When they decided to keep him, although she didn't show it, she had felt a knot of resentment in her heart.

But that slight unwillingness and reluctance gradually faded during their subsequent days together. Seeing such a precious child eating coarse meals at her home, his thin frame carrying firewood down from the mountain every day, not minding the filth of the chicken coop and outhouse, helping to feed the chickens daily, and without anyone reminding him, taking buckets of water to wash the wooden planks of the outhouse—calling her 'Grandma, Grandma' so tenderly that her heart softened and ached. Even now, he was still concerned about not implicating the family, suggesting that the old man just leave him on the road.

Such a good child, such a good child...

Patting her daughter who was crying so hard her little body shook in her arms, she nodded to her eldest daughter-in-law beside her.

Auntie Zhu stepped forward with a bag of warm buns and handed it to He Jinyu, saying gently, "Jinyu, these are buns Grandma and your aunts made for you. Take them to eat on the road. Our family doesn't have anything good, so we can only give you half a bag of buns. Don't hold it against us in your heart. I'm not one for fancy words; I just hope this trip goes smoothly for you and that you reunite with your family soon."

He Jinyu tightly gripped the cloth bag. The heavy weight in his hand seemed to press on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. He lowered his head, fighting back the sting in his nose. "Thank you, Grandma and Aunts. I've troubled you all with your care during this time. You've worked hard."

Auntie Zhu couldn't bear to hear him say such things and immediately choked up.

Luo-shi and Sun-shi also stepped forward to whisper a few parting words—to be safe, to take good care of himself, and the like. Except for Zhao Dashan, who was still unconscious, and Zhao Xiaobao, who was buried in Granny Wang's arms unwilling to look up, everyone came forward to say something to the child.

Perhaps in their hearts, they felt that Jinyu might really be leaving this time, and they were filled with reluctance.

Old Man Zhao placed two broad knives in a sack. Seeing that it was getting late and they couldn't delay any longer, he looked at his daughter, who had been refusing to look up, and called out, "Xiaobao, aren't you going to say goodbye to your Nephew Jin Yu? We're leaving."

Everyone looked at Zhao Xiaobao, who was clutching Granny Wang's clothes tightly, shaking her head frantically.

Granny Wang felt the clothes on her shoulder were already soaked through. The daughter in her arms was trembling from crying but stubbornly refused to look up or speak, as if by not saying anything, Wang Jinyu wouldn't leave.

He Jinyu held the cloth bag full of buns with one hand and tightly gripped a red ground fruit that had already been squeezed misshapen with the other. He always remembered that day when he first came to the Zhao family. She had leaned over the bedside, looked up with a smile, and called him "Nephew Jin Yu."

She said, "I am Auntie Xiaobao. You have to listen to Auntie."

After that, he had always been obedient, and Auntie Xiaobao had indeed acted with the dignity of an elder. At first, when mischievous boys in the village called him a beggar kid, said he had come from afar to rely on relatives, that he was a servant of the Zhao family who could only eat leftovers and had to cook and wash clothes in the kitchen like the women, and that during the autumn harvest, he would be tied up in the fields to cut rice—servants could only work, not eat—Auntie heard about it.

She angrily ran to those children's homes and tattled to their parents, causing those boys to be severely beaten when they returned home.

Such a little girl, younger than him, yet she dared to stand up for him.

Seeing Grandpa throw the knives into the basket and knowing they were really leaving, he could no longer hold back and called out to the little girl buried in Grandma's arms, "Zhao Xiaobao!"

Zhao Xiaobao, with eyes swollen like walnuts, her face covered in snot and tears, turned her head and shouted angrily, "I am Auntie Xiaobao!"

"Auntie Xiaobao." He Jinyu shook the red ground fruit in his hand, looking at her tear-streaked face, smiling brilliantly. "Thank you for the red ground fruit, Auntie Xiaobao. It's especially sweet. I've never eaten such a sweet fruit before."

"I picked a big one for you," Zhao Xiaobao snorted, wiping her tears with her hand. She kicked her legs, and Granny Wang carried her over.

The two children, one standing in the basket, the other held in her mother's arms, gazed at each other.

"Nephew Jin Yu, close your eyes," Zhao Xiaobao suddenly said.

He Jinyu didn't ask why and simply closed his eyes.

"Close them tighter. Cover them with both hands. You can't open them until Auntie says so," Zhao Xiaobao took out the peach. The expressions of the people around changed slightly, but no one said anything.

He Jinyu obediently covered his eyes with both hands. In the darkness, his hearing and sense of smell became especially sharp.

He smelled a strange, delicate fragrance, exactly like the one that had flashed by last night.

Zhao Xiaobao opened her mouth wide and took two big bites, snot and tears and all. Then she stuffed a big, soggy bite of the peach into He Jinyu's mouth. Thinking that she was about to lose a nephew, she started crying sadly again. "Eat it, eat it. Eat up now, for the journey ahead."

Hearing his little aunt’s inauspicious words, He Jinyu took a couple of chews. The icy thing in his mouth instantly melted into water and vanished between his lips and teeth.

He paused, then curved his mouth into a gentle smile and said softly, “Thank you, Little Aunt Xiaobao, for the new fruit. It’s even sweeter than the red ground fruit.”

“Of course! I wouldn’t give it to just anyone,” Zhao Xiaobao said, her voice choked with tears. “You’re my nephew, that’s why I gave it to you.”

Old Man Zhao and his wife, Wang Shi, exchanged a glance, both sighing inwardly. In truth, they had also considered it—since the child was about to leave, and Xiaobao had picked the peaches, should they let him have a bite? After all, he had called them Grandpa and Grandma for so long, and the family had nothing good to send him off with. The poor have the worries of the poor, the wealthy have the sorrows of the wealthy. It seemed like he was heading for a better life, but who could really tell?

However, after much deliberation, the old couple ultimately abandoned the idea. No matter what, Xiaobao’s safety came first; it was better not to invite unnecessary trouble.

Yet, in the end, Xiaobao still gave it to him to eat.

A child’s mind isn’t so complicated. Xiaobao regarded Jinyu as her own nephew, and now that he was leaving, she just wanted him to have something good to eat.

So… let him eat it.

…

He Jinyu never opened his eyes until they left Sunset Village.

This time, it was Old Man Zhao and Zhao Sandi who took him to town. They didn’t descend the mountain but took the mountain path instead.

Along the way, they encountered many villagers heading down the mountain with their families. The villagers had probably received word, knowing that they were the ones who had wiped out the refugees. One side had no desire to communicate, the other didn’t dare to speak up, so there was no delay at all.

After eight hours on the mountain path, with two breaks in between, they reached the town around noon.

Having experienced the refugees invading the village, being forced to hide in the mountains, and then descending… Old Man Zhao had thought the outside world had descended into complete chaos. But looking at the people traveling on the main road, the bustling town entrance with people coming and going, aside from their slightly hurried steps, it seemed not much different from before.

There were no refugees wielding large knives, burning, killing, and looting; no people fleeing in all directions. It was completely different from what he had imagined.

“Dad, why is it so peaceful out here?” Zhao Sandi’s tense body seemed almost comical. He had thought the outside would be full of refugees and had prepared himself to fight all the way to the Yu family.

“How should I know!” Old Man Zhao snapped irritably. The weight on his back made him look like a fool—he was carrying two large knives! Now he not only had to guard against refugees but also against ordinary people, lest they think he and his son were the refugees.

Damn it, were they the only ones suffering in Sunset Village??

Everyone else was living peaceful lives, while they were the only ones fighting refugees to the death??

Old Man Zhao’s mindset was a bit shattered. Seriously, why? They were all in the same town, and their village was even more remote. How did those damned refugees end up running to their remote mountain corner?!

His unbalanced heart, however, instantly blossomed with joy after entering the town and finding out why Tongjiang Town was enjoying such a “peaceful and prosperous age.”

“Jin Yu, did you hear that? Your aunt actually led troops back to the Yu family!”