Chapter 40.1

Translated by Aviana

Yang laoyezi, seeing Yang Tiezhu’s unsightly look, couldn’t help but beseech him: “Laoer —“

老 爷子 (lǎoyézi): polite appellation for an elderly male

老二 (lǎo’èr): appellation for the second-eldest child in a family

Yang Tiezhu glanced around; he looked at his family members’ faces and at Yang laoyezi’s pleading face. His old face was full of wrinkles and lines, making it unable to cover up his aging appearance and tiredness….

Nevertheless, his heart couldn’t help but go cold…

After a good while, he stood up before spitting out a sentence…

“I’ll go into the mountains tomorrow. However, the end result of hunting cannot be assured. It would be better for you also to make other preparations. This is the only time; in future, there wouldn’t be any next time.” After saying so, regardless of everyone else’s reactions, pulling his wife, he turned around and left.

Lin Qingwan, who was being pulled out of the main room by Yang Tiezhu, turned around and looked at the unconcealable joyful expressions of everyone. They seemed as if they hadn’t heard Yang Tiezhu saying that there wouldn’t be next time. Apart from the third branch’s husband and wife, everyone seemed to be relieved. Only the third branch seemed to have helplessness all over their face but didn’t have any ability to open their mouth.

Sigh…Lin Qingwan felt her thoughts earlier were truly ridiculous, extremely ridiculous. Perhaps, compassion was applicable to other people but not to this group of people.

Both of them went back to their rooms, washed their faces, and rinsed their mouths with hot water before laying down on the kang. This while, Yang Tiezhu remained silent. It was unknown what he was thinking.

Lin Qingwan was somewhat worried. She was aware that this tall and sturdy man was not as strong as he appeared to be. Their behavior earlier must have broken his heart…

Lin Qingwan felt a bit regretful; why didn’t she just open her mouth earlier and block their mouths. She was aware that this sort of action is somewhat like firing after the horse. However, at that time, Yang Tiezhu had already made up his decision. As his wife, she still had an understanding of respecting her husband’s thoughts in other’s presence. Also, his willingness to do this must be due to giving them consideration, right?

马后炮 (mǎhòupào): literally, firing after the horse. Figuratively, it means belated action or giving advice in hindsight .

She moved and cuddled into his arms. Usually, every time they went to bed, Yang Tiezhu would always hold her in his embrace. But today, him not doing so made her feel quite unaccustomed.

Yang Tiezhu, feeling his wife cuddle him, couldn’t help but tighten his hold.

Yang Tiezhu looked at the beams on the roof for a good while before sighing deeply, releasing the stuffy feeling he had been holding for a while in his heart.

“I don’t want you to go into the mountains–” Lin Qingwan buried her head into his chest and whispered in a low voice, “Let’s not do this. Let’s just give them silver. You don’t go.”

She was not a miser. It’s just that if she and Yang Tiezhu generously took out silver from their pockets this time, in the future, they will try to look for more, further not letting them live peacefully. Once there is a first time, there would always be a second time. At that time, they won’t take a moment to consider if they have silver; they will only think that the second branch is wealthy….

How could Yang Tiezhu not understand his wife’s thoughts? That’s why that time, he also didn’t open his mouth and let his wife speak and followed along.

Lin Qingwan may still not understand Yang jia’s people’s thoughts, but he understands them well.

On the battlefield, he had encountered nine deaths before being able to survive and return back. Moreover, it had been several years since he had seen his family members. At that time, he was homesick and felt his family nevertheless was still good to him; despite of the fact that at that time when the imperial court ordered all the abled men to go to the battlefield, there was still Yang Tieshuan who was of optimal age, they sent him who fell one year short of the optimal age in the notice.

九死一生 (jiǔ sǐ yī shēng): nine deaths and still alive (idiom); a narrow escape / .a new lease of life

When he just came back, he saw that the days at home were truly hard and felt bitter in his heart. He didn’t possess any skills, so he thought of using the skills taught by the old hunter to help his family out.

The first time he went into the mountains for hunting and brought back silver, he was also excited and filled with pride upon seeing the surprised and happy faces of the family. But over time, something seemed to have changed….

Ultimately, what has changed?

Yang Tiezhu pondered over it many times, but he couldn’t come up with anything.

He only knew that he took the initiative to go to the mountains to help his family earn money in the beginning. But gradually, it became his eldest brother and eldest sao requesting and urging him upon his mother’s request. In the end, he was fed up with it and became unwilling to go, causing his mother to employ various means to force him…

Sao ( 嫂): older brother’s wife / sister-in-law

Although the old hunter taught him a lot of hunting skills, at that time, he was still young, so the old hunter never let him hunt. He only passed on his own experiences and taught him how to recognize the topography to help him not lose his way in the mountains. The first time he truly went for hunting was soon after he came from the military–

That time, he was also scared, he was also afraid of wild animals’ hungry look…every time he ran into a large animal, he also had an urge of running away…however, he endured it, when he recalled his family’s broken thatched house, his nephews who were all skin and bones, worried appearances of his parents to pay for laosi’s shuxiu…he wrestled over and over with the preys, and got hurt again and again in the process. At that time, Laohei had also become quite old, and the two puppies were too young. He had no choice but to go alone into the mountains and fight bravely…Fortunately, his innate strength and luck were both good, and the injuries he sustained were only minor…Afterwards, he gradually became more and more experienced, he also became more and more agile and soon Dahei, and Erhei also grew up and started assisting him; it was like a tiger that has grown wings. Gradually, he could enter into mountains as if he was treading on a leveled ground…

束脩 (shùxiū): payment for private tutor

老四 (lǎosì): appellation used to address fourth child in the family

如虎添翼 (rúhǔtiānyì): lit. like a tiger that has grown wings / with redoubled power (idiom)

( Reminder: Laohei is Dahei’ and Erhei’s (the two wolf dogs raised by Yang Tiezhu) mother. )

The days in his family also began to become easier and easier. But, some things gradually started changing…perhaps those things have never changed, it was him all along who was unwilling to face it….

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