Grass and willows inadvertently started to spit out green buds. It was a sign that winter had gone and spring had arrived.
None of the students at Qingming Hall was interested in enjoying the beautiful scenery, and all of them became even more listless towards the end of the school day. If they finished school today, they wouldn't have to come back tomorrow and could only return at the end of the year. When they went home, they would no longer need to learn to read and practise martial arts. More importantly, they would have to go back to a life where after they ate one meal, they had no idea where their next meal came[1].
One crying girl said to Zijin, "Zijin Jiejie[2], please plead with Madam. I still want to come to school tomorrow!"
Zijin smiled and said, "You must practise regularly when you return home. If you don't, you will soon forget what you learned in school. I will check them at the end of the year."
Looking at the children crying, Zijin felt unbearable, but she knew she could not change the situation. Thus, after saying a few words, she immediately left. As for Yuxi's instruction that parentless children would be sent to the farm, they had to be notified separately and could only be announced after some time.
When Zijin returned to the Yun residence, she told Yuxi that many of the children in the school were reluctant to leave. "They were crying so much that I almost shed tears too."
Yuxi remarked, "Now that spring has started, no one can die of hunger." There were wild vegetables everywhere outside the city. They would not die of hunger if they were willing to do something about it. Of course, wild vegetables wouldn't taste that good.
There was an old saying it was easy to go from frugality to luxury but challenging to go from luxury to frugality. Yuxi was also worried about this at the time, so she provided the children with food similar to what they ate at home. That way, they would not feel uncomfortable returning to their houses. She could help them for a while, but not for a lifetime.
Zijin didn't comment on this but asked, "Madam, what should I do with the children I have taken an interest in?"
Yuxi said, "Put them on the farm together and see if they can hold out without supervision. If they can, you can teach them martial arts in private, but if they can't, just forget about it." For those who practised martial arts, it would all be for nought if they didn't have the perseverance, even if they had the talent.
Zijin nodded a little.
When Lu Bai returned home and saw that his brother had not yet returned, he picked up a tree branch and wrote on the ground. He was so absorbed in writing that he wasn't even noticed that his brother was back. When Lu Bai finished writing, he saw an extra figure in the shack and realised that Lu Zhu had returned. Lu Bai smiled and called out, "Ge[3], when did you come back? You didn't even call me."
Lu Zhu, whose hair had been blown into a mess, looked at his little brother and said, "I just got in." It had snowed several times last year, but their shack had not collapsed, clearly showing how sturdy their place was.
Lu Bai saw that Lu Zhu did not look right and asked, "Ge[3], what's wrong? Is something wrong?" This was the first time he had seen his brother look like this!
Lu Zhu replied, "There is going to be a war soon, and our tavern is going to close." The business of these taverns came mainly from the soldiers. Now that there would be war, these soldiers would not be able to come out anymore, so naturally, the tavern would have to close down when it didn't have any business.
Lu Bai said, "Dage[4], isn't it always like this in previous years? The tavern is always closed in the third lunar month and reopens in the sixth. Now that spring has started, there are plenty of wild vegetables outside. So tomorrow I will go with Saozi[5] Hua and the others to dig up some wild vegetables in the countryside." Every year at the beginning of spring, Lu Bai would go with their next-door neighbours to dig up wild vegetables for them to eat at home.
Looking at his brother's round face, Lu Zhu sighed. "How can you get enough with just wild vegetables? You can't even get a full meal because of Ge[3]'s lack of ability."
Hearing this statement, Lu Bai responded, "If Gege[6] says such things again, I will be angry." If it weren't for his brother, he wouldn't be alive now.
After a pause, Lu Bai continued, "Ge[3], we managed to survive past years, and this year we have saved money! Ge[3], tomorrow we will exchange all that money for food. At that time, you could find some odd jobs outside. At the same time, I'll dig up wild vegetables to bring home. This way, we'll be able to survive well."
When Lu Zhu saw how well Lu Bai talked, his low mood also disappeared. As he stared at Lu Bai, who was earnestly writing just now, he thought it would have been good if he could continuously provide for Lu Bai to study at school, which caused his mood to be a little low. "Okay, I will go and buy food tomorrow morning." Don't look at their place as just a shack; the two brothers also had a secret base—a secret base for hiding grain.
Before the tavern was closed down, Lu Zhu thought he could earn a day's wages if he worked one more day. Lu Bai volunteered, "Ge[3], let me go buy the grain alone!" Seeing Lu Zhu's disapproval, Lu Bai continued, "Ge[3], did you forget that I have learnt martial arts at school? I can protect myself."
After Lu Bai kept bugging him for a little while, Lu Zhu took out the money he had buried, counted thirty large copper coins from it, and said, "Now the price of the grain is ten large copper coins per jin[7]. You buy three jin[7] first!" Lu Zhu was talking about coarse grains. The price for fine grains would have doubled, and ordinary people could not afford to buy them. Lu Zhu had a few hundred coins in his hand, but he wasn't assured about Lu Bai, so he only let him buy three jin[7] of grain first.
When Lu Bai arrived at the grain shop, he realised that the price of grain had gone up again and was now eleven coins per jin[7]. He had to buy the grain even though the price had gone up, so he purchased more than two jin[7] of grain.
After buying the grain, Lu Bai was ready to go back. When he came to a remote place, he was stopped by two beggars. One of the beggars noticed the grain in Lu Bai's hand, and his eyes lit up. He had not had a full meal for a long time. It wasn't easy to come across a small child buying grain, so how could he just let the child slip by? "Put your stuff down, and you can go."
How could Lu Bai put it down? The two or so jin[7] of grain could feed their brothers for days. The two beggars were both adults. Although Lu Bai had studied martial arts for three months, he could not beat them. Luckily, they only wanted the grain, not Lu Bai's life, so they grabbed them and left.
The pain in his body was minor, but the key was that the grain had been taken away. Lu Bai burst into tears when he found Lu Zhu at the tavern. "Ge[3], they took the grain. Ge[3], I'm so useless." The grain was bought with his brother's hard-earned money!
Lu Zhu also felt sorry for the looted grain, but when he looked at his younger brother's bloody nose and swollen face[8], he couldn't scold him anymore. He patted Lu Bai's shoulder and said, "Don't cry. Men don't shed tears when they bleed. If the grain is gone, then it's gone."
At this point, Lu Bai quickly said, "Ge[3], the price of the grain has gone up again today. It's now eleven coins per jin[7]. If we don't buy it today, the price will go up again tomorrow."
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Lu Zhu's expression looked weary. The price increase was so drastic this year, unlike previous years. "I'll talk to the shopkeeper right away."
After taking a leave, on their way back home, Lu Bai said, "Ge[3], it's not safe for just the two of us to go shopping for grain!" He was still feeling hurt over the robbed grain before. If the grain they were going to buy were snatched again, it would be like killing them!
Lu Zhu had already thought about it. "When we get back, I will ask Uncle Mo to go with me to buy it. We must also tell him to hurry up and buy grain to keep on hand." It was Uncle Mo and another uncle who helped build the brothers' shack back then.
Lu Bai's sharp-eyed caught sight of Hao Dazhuang from afar and said cheerfully, "Dage[4], look, that's Uncle Hao." Uncle Hao was referring to Hao Dazhuang.
Living up to the surname of Hao Dazhuang[9], he had come over this time to give the two brothers good news. When Lu Bai heard Hao Dazhuang say that he should go to the farm in the countryside, he asked, "Uncle Hao, why are we going to the farm instead of the school?"
Hao Dazhuang smiled and explained, "This time is different from school. You have to work on the farm. Of course, it is also alright if you don't want to go."
Without thinking, Lu Bai answered, "I'll go." He would be a fool if he chose not to go. If he went to the farm, he wouldn't have to worry about food rations, and his elder brother would be able to have enough to eat.
Hao Dazhuang smiled and nodded. "We'll meet at the school tomorrow at the beginning of the chenshi[10]! You may not be able to return home until the fifth or sixth lunar month."
Lu Bai nodded. "I know. Uncle Hao, will we still be able to practise martial arts when we go to the farm in the countryside?" After what happened today when the grain was robbed, Lu Bai felt that reading and writing was not the most important thing, unlike learning martial arts where one could protect oneself.
Hao Dazhuang said, "Yes, but this time when we go to the farm, the martial arts training will no longer be the same as in the school. It will be very hard at that time." What was taught in the academy was very simple. But on the farm, the martial arts training would be much more fierce.
Lu Bai vowed, "I'm not afraid of hardships."
Similarly, Jingbai also said, "Zijin Jiejie[2], I am not afraid of hardship. As long as I can learn real skills, I'm not afraid of hardship."
Zijin stroked Jingbai's head and said with a smile, "Alright then. Be at the school tomorrow at chenshi[10] sharp. You will go to the farm with the others then."
Jingbai nodded. "Don't worry, Zijin Jiejie[2]. I'll be at the school tomorrow."
After Manager Hao had finished with the matter, he handed the list to Yuxi. "Madam, there are fifty-six children in total." Like Jingbai, who did not belong to the category of parentless children, she was not included in the list.[T/C]
Yuxi looked at the list, nodded, and said, "Manager Hao, you have worked hard these days for these children." It was not an easy task to take care of so many children.
Hao Dazhuang replied with a smile, "It's not hard work. Madam, what arrangements should be made for these children when they arrive at the farm?" Some of the children were just over five years old, so they could not do any hard work.
Yuxi paused for a moment and said, "Manager Hao, there are a lot of things going on at the residence these days, and there is a shortage of manpower. I want you to come back to the residence and help out. Leave these children to Han Ji." Han Ji had more experience in management. He would consider things comprehensively and act thoroughly.
Hao Dazhuang was a bit lost when he heard this, but he knew that Yuxi would not mistreat these children, so he did not overthink it and said, "If there is anything, Madam, just give me an order."
Yuxi nodded her head. "Withdraw first. I will call you if there is anything."
Footnotes Full List
- (fig.), life is so hard that even three meals a day are not guaranteed- Cchatty https://www.cchatty.com/idiom/119887?hl=zh
- older sister
- older brother, short form for Gege
- eldest brother
- sister-in-law/older brother's wife
- older brother
- a traditional unit of weight, each containing 10 liang (市两) or 16 old liang (旧市两) and equivalent to 0.5 kilogram or 1.102 pounds
- Chinese idiom: badly battered
- Hmm. His surname is written as 郝 (hǎo). Probably because it sounds the same as 好 (hǎo), which means good, as he was bringing good news for the brothers.
- 7-9 am
- Oh, so Jingbai is on the list of children Zijin has taken an interest in being trained as the female bodyguard? 🤔 Go, go, Jingbai! 📣
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi