Chapter 25

Chu Huan slept in the guest hall that night. The bedding was not thick, and as he curled up in it, he faintly detected a subtle fragrance. After some thought, he suddenly understood something.

If nothing went wrong, this bedding must have been taken from Su Niang's bed. Chu Huan had seen earlier that while the bedding on his mother's bed was thick, the bedding on Su Niang's bed was very thin. If there were extra bedding, it would have been taken out for use at the beginning of autumn and winter.

It seemed that Su Niang had no other choice. She couldn't let her young uncle, who had just returned home, freeze, so she had to take the bedding from her own bed and give it to Chu Huan.

After a long journey, Chu Huan finally felt at ease when he arrived home. He soon fell into a deep sleep. However, perhaps due to extreme fatigue, he snored loudly in the middle of the night. Su Niang, lying in bed, was unable to sleep due to the snoring. She got up, put on her clothes, and opened the door to peek out. Seeing that Chu Huan was sleeping soundly, she stomped her foot and muttered, "Even the pigs in the pen don't make this much noise. Can't a person sleep...!" She then twisted her slim waist and round buttocks and returned to her room.

The next morning, while Chu Huan was still sleeping soundly, he faintly heard the rooster crowing. He opened his eyes groggily and immediately saw the light was somewhat blinding. He shielded his eyes and noticed that the front door was already open. He caught a glimpse of a figure standing by the door and squinted to see who it was—none other than Su Niang.

In the dim light of the previous night, he couldn't see clearly, but now he could see that Su Niang was still wearing the green autumn jacket, with a gray apron tied around her waist. The apron had a few patches, and it made her waist look very slender, accentuating her ample chest.

Without any makeup, she had a natural charm. Her skin was very fair, and her hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin. A few strands of black hair fell on both sides of her face. Though she was a rural woman, she had a certain allure. However, at that moment, there was a hint of a cold smile on her face. Seeing that Chu Huan had opened his eyes, she immediately said, "Oh, you're up so early. I thought you'd sleep until noon." She pouted and added, "Well, you must be tired from the journey. You should rest well... Why don't you sleep a bit more? There's no water in the water tank, so I'll go to the lake and fetch two buckets of water!"

Chu Huan naturally understood that this was a sarcastic remark, but he didn't mind. He turned over and said, "Sister Su Niang, I'll go fetch the water." He saw a water tank and an old wooden bucket in the corner of the room. He went over and saw that the water in the tank was indeed scarce. He picked up the bucket and walked out. As he passed Su Niang, she propped her right hand on her waist and flicked the black hair by her cheek, saying, "Are you going out like that? Look at your clothes, they're all torn. If you go out like that, people will think you're a beggar." She said irritably, "Wait a moment!" She turned around and walked into her room, her hips swaying in the tight flowered skirt, like petals in the wind, very charming.

It seemed that her walking posture was natural, not intentionally done.

Soon, Su Niang came out with a set of clean clothes and handed them to Chu Huan, saying, "These are the clothes that Daliang wore. You can change into them first!" After Chu Huan took the clothes, she walked to the corner of the room, picked up a chicken, and found an egg. She picked it up happily and said to the hen, "Flower, you did well. Bring another one tomorrow!" Her enthusiasm for the hen seemed even greater than for Chu Huan.

Chu Huan was surprised. He hadn't noticed the hen in the corner last night, and it hadn't made a sound all night, showing that it was a very patient old hen.

Su Niang put the hen down, her face beaming with joy, and placed the egg in a small bamboo basket by the stove. She then counted the eggs, "One, two... eight... twelve, thirteen. Yes, thirteen. A few more, and we can sell them to buy new shoes for Mother!" She seemed to forget Chu Huan for a moment.

Seeing Su Niang's serious expression, Chu Huan felt a pang of emotion and looked at her with a gentle expression. Su Niang turned around and saw Chu Huan staring at her. For some reason, her face turned red, and she scowled, saying irritably, "What are you waiting for? Do you want to sleep more?"

Chu Huan said, "Oh," and came to his senses. He looked around and, with no other choice, went into Su Niang's room to change. The clothes, though simple and rustic, made Chu Huan look very spirited.

However, when he went into the room to change, he noticed that Su Niang's bed only had a sheet left. He touched it and felt the hard bed board underneath, realizing that the bedding he had used last night was the mattress from Su Niang's bed.

He was deeply moved. Without saying much, he picked up the bucket and went out. As he walked to the door, he saw the wolf skin he had brought back. He said to Su Niang, "Sister Su Niang, use this wolf skin on your bed. It will keep you warm at night." He had intended to give the wolf skin to his mother, but her bed already had thick bedding, and Su Niang had taken good care of it. Su Niang's bed, however, was very hard, and a woman's body might not withstand it.

After saying this, Chu Huan left with the bucket.

Su Niang watched Chu Huan walk away, then went over to touch the wolf skin. Her face showed a hint of joy, and she murmured, "It's really soft. It will keep me warm." But her smile quickly faded, and she muttered, "Away for eight years, not a word, and now you bring a wolf skin to make up for it. What a nice idea...!" She picked up the wolf skin, feeling the soft fur, and finally took it back to her room with a happy smile.

...

Chu Huan went out and knew that there was a small river not far from the village. The villagers went there to fetch water and do laundry. He passed a few houses, and although it was just dawn, the villagers had already opened their doors.

As Chu Huan passed by, the villagers looked at him curiously, and he smiled and nodded. The passersby didn't recognize him and didn't acknowledge him. After a short walk, he saw several farmers coming towards him, their faces grave, muttering to each other. Even when Chu Huan stopped and smiled, nodding to them, they seemed not to notice, sighing as they walked past. Chu Huan faintly heard one of them say, "We should all chip in some money. No matter what, since Daxuan is gone, he should be buried properly!"

Chu Huan was puzzled, not knowing what had happened, but he felt a sense of unease. He arrived at the river, washed his face, and then carried a bucket of water back home.

When he got home, Su Niang was already cooking porridge by the stove. He poured the water into the tank, which was only half full, and then went to fetch two more buckets of water.

Just as he was about to rest and check on his mother, Su Niang said, "We don't have much firewood left!" She didn't look at Chu Huan and didn't say anything more.

Chu Huan looked at the stove and saw that the firewood was indeed scarce. He also knew that winter was approaching, and without firewood, it would be even harder to survive the winter.

With the weather getting colder and winter approaching, he realized he needed to prepare more firewood. He chuckled and said, "I'll go chop some wood now!" He remembered that there was a dense forest at the eastern end of the village, and in late autumn, he could certainly find plenty of firewood there.

After being away for eight years and seeing the poverty at home, Chu Huan felt deeply ashamed. Although the body he controlled was another soul, this body was still his, and he was willing to do anything to help. He wanted to make up for their hardships and ensure they had a better life in the future.

There was an axe at home, but it had a small chip and was a bit rusty. Chu Huan found a stone outside to sharpen it and took a thick rope from home before leaving.

He walked east and suddenly saw a large house not far ahead, at the eastern end of the village, which was very different from the other low houses.

The house was made of blue bricks and white tiles, with a walled courtyard, clearly different from the other houses. Chu Huan was puzzled, as he remembered that the village was full of poor people and had no such large houses.

As he approached the house, he heard crying and a voice with a sobbing tone shouting, "You killed my brother! I will take you to the authorities... Sob, my brother was killed by you...!"

Chu Huan was very curious and quickened his pace. He saw the front door of the house, which was a conspicuous red, tightly closed. In front of the door, a small person was crying and shouting. Chu Huan recognized the figure as somewhat familiar but couldn't immediately recall where he had seen him. After a moment of thought, he finally remembered.

On his way home last night, he had passed a lake where he had taken a bath. He had seen a few figures on the shore, one of whom was crying. He hadn't gone ashore then, but he had seen clearly that the person crying by the lake was the same person in front of the house.

He heard the person shouting about his brother's death and that his brother had been forced to death by the people in the large house. Although he didn't understand the details, he frowned.

At that moment, he heard barking from inside the courtyard. The front door creaked open, and two fierce wolf dogs rushed out. The small person, seeing the dogs, cried out and took a few steps back. He accidentally stepped on a stone and fell to the ground.

The two wolf dogs seemed ready to pounce, but they were restrained by ropes around their necks. A man holding the ropes came out of the house, wearing a blue silk robe and a purple fur-trimmed jacket, with a silk belt and a soft hat. He was about thirty years old, with an unremarkable appearance. He pointed at the fallen person and laughed, "Look, look, two dogs scared him so much he wet his pants. Such a dog's offspring dares to come to my door and shout. Does he want to die?"

Two men followed him, one in black tight-fitting clothes, looking very strong, and the other in a black robe, thin and wearing a black hat. He had two small, beady eyes and pointed at the small person, shouting, "A nobody's offspring, get lost! Our Master Feng is in a good mood today and will let you off. If you don't leave quickly, I'll break your legs!"

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