Chapter 6: In Town

Chapter 6: The Town

That's right, we need to get this child some things. Wang Xiuxiu snapped back to reality.

Last night, she'd heard Gu Wen say that since Xue Geer was sold to the Gu family, the Yin family hadn't let the kid take a single thing except the clothes on his back.

Wang Xiuxiu's eyes landed on Yin Hongxue again. She couldn't help but purse her lips, looking down on how the Yin family did things.

It wasn't that she was picky, honestly. That outfit—patches on top of patches, with holes still gaping at the shoulders and cuffs—would've been cut up for shoe soles long ago, in her book.

Once she'd figured that out, Wang Xiuxiu didn't say much, just nodded and said, "Alright, I'll give you the money later."

"No need, Mother. I've got my own money."

Buying Yin Hongxue had cost six taels of silver, and the family fund had covered half, giving him that money earlier to bring to his dad's place. So Chen Youyan was too embarrassed to ask his mother-in-law to shell out again.

Gu Daniu and Wang Xiuxiu only had one kid, Gu Wen, so even though the Gu family hadn't split up the household, the elders still handled the money.

But after Gu Wen got married, Wang Xiuxiu told him to only chip in a hundred wen to the family pot each month and keep the rest for himself.

It wasn't much—just for show.

After all, farming families didn't have many big expenses, and Gu Daniu could earn enough that the couple didn't need to be eyeing their kid's money.

So when Chen Youyan said that, Wang Xiuxiu didn't push it and just nodded again.

Seeing that his wife and son-in-law had it sorted, Gu Daniu didn't say much either, just slurped down half a bowl of porridge in one go.

The Wuliu estate by the river needed building repairs, and Steward Song had already put down a deposit with Gu Daniu earlier. Today he needed to let the others know, and also go talk to Steward Song about ordering bricks and tiles.

Meanwhile, Gu Chaoning, who'd been quietly brooding, trying to figure out how to talk Chen Youyan into it, suddenly looked up.

His dark, shiny eyes were full of joy.

Chen Youyan snorted at that. He'd raised the boy himself—of course he knew what was going through his head.

But for Chen Youyan, schooling came first. He flat-out crushed the little brat's hopes.

"We're not bringing you."

He expected Gu Chaoning to complain, but instead, the boy's face didn't change, and he just nodded calmly.

Gu Chaoning quickly figured out what his dad was up to.

He'd been thinking about it wrong from the start.

His dad Chen Youyan was quick and decisive by nature. Since he'd brought Yin Hongxue home to raise, he'd definitely do it right.

Today's egg pancakes—usually only made for special occasions—were proof of that.

Gu Chaoning was pleased and thrilled. He immediately grabbed an egg pancake and dropped it in Chen Youyan's bowl. Seeing Gu Muan on the side yelling "Ah ah," Gu Chaoning went ahead and gave everyone at the table one.

The adults all praised him one by one, Gu Muan giggled, and Yin Hongxue smiled and thanked him too.

Gu Chaoning felt a weird, hard-to-describe feeling.

Who'd have thought? He'd been worrying about Yin Hongxue, and now he was this happy.

Chen Youyan gave Gu Chaoning a strange look but didn't say anything else.

The family of seven quickly finished breakfast, and everyone went off to do their own thing.

Gu Chaoning slung his book bag over his shoulder, watched his dad leave, and then headed to the village school on the west side of the village.

Years back, Xiaohé Village had produced a jinshi—Gu Xingzhi, the owner of the Wuliu estate that Gu Daniu was heading to today.

Now serving as the county magistrate in Yonghuai County down south, he knew all too well how hard it was for farm kids to study, and how tough it was to go it alone after gaining knowledge.

So, as much as he could, he'd talked it over with the village head of Xiaohé Village and put up the money to build a village school.

Tuition was free for Gu Xingzhi's own clan, half off for fellow villagers, and full price for kids from other villages.

Thanks to Gu Xingzhi's example and the half-off tuition, just about every boy in Xiaohé Village went to the village school.

Gu Chaoning walked to the school, gradually going from being alone to being part of a crowd.

They'd just had a day off yesterday, so everyone was still hyped up, chattering about all sorts of stuff.

The hottest topic was that the Gu family had gotten a new little boy.

"Chaoning, my mom said your family's got a new little brother, is that true?"

"My dad said so too—is he cute? Is he older or younger than An Geer?"

"He's gotta be older than An Geer. My mom said Uncle Chen bought him to be Chaoning's child bridegroom!"

"Oh, I know what a child bridegroom is! So does that mean he'll play with Chaoning every day?"

"Chaoning, I just saw Uncle Gu driving the mule cart with Uncle Chen and the others—where'd they go? Why didn't they bring you?"

A bunch of kids, one after another, babbled away. Even though every question was aimed at Gu Chaoning, he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

He didn't mind, though. He strolled along easy, listening to their kid chatter with a smile.

Since his rebirth, the nerves that had been wound so tight were loosening up more and more each day.

He figured his dad and the others should've reached the big ginkgo tree on the road to town by now.

"Tree!" Gu Muan sat in Chen Youyan's lap. The little one had sharp eyes and spotted the big ginkgo tree from afar—its lush green branches swaying in the wind.

Everyone in Xiaohé Village knew that seeing the ginkgo tree meant the journey was almost halfway done.

Walking from Xiaohé Village to Dukou Town took an hour; by cart, it was faster—half an hour would do.

Yin Hongxue had never been to town before. He was full of anticipation, curiosity, and nervous excitement. Hearing Gu Muan's words, he looked over too.

It was a huge ginkgo tree, Yin Hongxue thought. Sitting on the mule cart, he could barely see its top from so far away.

The ginkgo's spreading crown was like the oil-paper umbrella his father had bought for his stepmother—the one only opened on sunny days.

The wind blew through it, rustling, and the umbrella transformed into green cloth fluttering in the sunlight, as if freshly washed.

Light danced and leaped through the gaps, as beautiful as the dream he'd had that morning.

As they drew closer, Yin Hongxue finally tore his gaze away from the dazzling green and noticed the trunk supporting those green branches.

So tall—even taller than his father when he was drunk and angry.

Gu Wen noticed Yin Hongxue's gaze, and that proud-dad energy kicked in again.

"Big, isn't it? It takes three of me to get my arms around this tree!" He launched into the story of when he was seventeen and measured the tree with a few other guys.

Gu Muan, who had heard this story over a dozen times, clapped his hands over his ears. Chen Youyan, who had heard it over a hundred times, was done with it. He was about to say something when he caught the unusually serious look in Yin Hongxue's eyes.

Well, that shut Chen Youyan up before he even started.

Gu Wen noticed that Yin Hongxue enjoyed listening, and he really got into it, turning one sentence into ten with all his ad-libbing.

And so, amid Gu Wen's blabbering, impassioned storytelling, Dukou Town finally rolled into view.

"Whoa!" Gu Muan was the first to start waving his hands like crazy.

Having been to Dukou Town a dozen times, Gu Muan knew that seeing this wall meant tasty food was coming soon!

Yin Hongxue looked up, and the first thing that hit him was just how many people there were.

Because Dukou Town had a dock, it was just as lively as the county seat. The town entrance was packed, all hustle and bustle.

Because of the crowd, Gu Wen hopped off the mule cart and led it along on foot, while Chen Youyan stayed close to Yin Hongxue, keeping an eye on both kids.

No sooner had they entered the town than Yin Hongxue, who had never been to Dukou Town before, didn't know where to look first.

"Sugar art! Pretty and tasty sugar art! Two wen each!"

"Candy!" Gu Muan shouted excitedly.

Not far away, an old man with graying hair was hawking his goods. Beside him was a small stove, with golden syrup bubbling away in a pot, and a bunch of kids crowded around.

The old man held a ladle in his hand, and with a few quick flicks, he whipped up a tiger with its jaws wide open. A kid next to him cracked up as he grabbed his sugar art.

Just as Yin Hongxue was about to watch the next one, the cart jerked to a stop. Gu Wen hoisted Gu Muan up with one arm and Yin Hongxue with the other, striding toward the sugar painting stall.

"Chen Fu—"

Chen Youyan waved him off and pulled the cart the other way.

"Outta the way! Outta the way! Fresh big carp! Straight outta the water!"

Gu Wen quickened his pace, and a burly guy walked past him with two sopping wet wooden buckets on a pole. The fish were flopping around in the buckets, and a silver-black one flicked its tail, sending up a spray of glittering water.

"Hey, hey, big guy, hold up! I want one!"

"How much? Are they really fresh out of the water?"

"Aw, ma'am, you don't know me—I sell here all the time. I'm all about honesty."

The group moved off, and Yin Hongxue squirmed in Gu Wen's arms, still wanting to watch, but then he got bounced up and down twice, and Gu Wen's voice sounded.

"What shapes do you two want?"

Gu Muan was practically drooling. He pointed at the sugar syrup and shouted loudly: "Pig!"

Gu Muan loved pork, and he always asked for a little pig for his sugar painting. Gu Wen couldn't help but chuckle, then gave Yin Hongxue a little bounce. "And you, Xue Geer?"

Scared by the bouncing, Yin Hongxue grabbed Gu Wen's shoulder with both hands instead of one. He was still thinking about that pretty silver-black carp and blurted out without thinking: "Fish!"

"You got it," Gu Wen called out to the old man. "Old-timer, one pig and one fish!"

With that, he crouched down and gave Gu Muan another little bounce. The little guy unclenched his fist, which was holding four copper coins tightly, and giggled as he dropped them into the open wooden box on the table.

"Coming right up!" The old man had been watching the money box, and when he saw four more coins drop in, he grinned from ear to ear.

As they waited, Chen Youyan came over with a basket on his back.

Gu Wen, who had been glued to the old man's sugar painting, turned around. "All set?"

"Yeah," Chen Youyan said, pulling out a small wooden token and handing it to Gu Wen. "You keep it."

Yin Hongxue looked over too, and seeing Chen Youyan alone, he asked in a small voice, "A-die, where's the cart?"

"I left it with someone to watch," Chen Youyan said, pointing to a wooden shed in the distance. Since he was up high in Gu Wen's arms, Yin Hongxue could just make out a bunch of mule carts, donkey carts, and ox carts.

There were even a couple of horse-drawn carriages.

The Gu family's cart was right there in the mix.

Chen Youyan smiled and explained to Yin Hongxue.

The town was packed, so carts couldn't get around easily. Some clever folks had set up a parking lot at the edge of town.

Five wen a day. You pay, and the guy gives you half a wooden token, keeping the other half. When you come back for your cart, you match the token.

Chen Youyan never trusted it, so he always made the big, burly Gu Wen hold onto it.