A Sudden Awakening

"A Shui, thank you—truly, truly thank you. Without you, I really wouldn't have known what to do just now."

A burly man in his thirties wiped away tears, his eyes red-rimmed.

If Liang Qu had not stepped forward just now and made up his Autumn Tax, he would have been seized and sent to Lan Province to dig the Canal. That would have been a journey with nine chances of death and only one of life. Even if he survived by luck, who knew how long it would be before he returned?

By then, only his aged father and wife—the two people—would be left to raise two small children. How could the family not fall apart? How could it not collapse? Chen Qingjiang pulled Xiao Shunzi over from the side and pressed down on his head. "Shunzi, quick, kneel down and kowtow to Water Bro!"

"Hey, hey, Uncle Chen, there's no need, really." Liang Qu was alarmed and hurriedly pulled Shunzi over, smiling bitterly. "I saved Uncle Chen, so Xiao Shunzi has to kowtow to me. Then when Uncle Chen saved me last time, shouldn't I have kowtowed to Uncle Chen too? Is Uncle Chen unhappy with what I did and trying to remind me?"

"Ah, this..."

Chen Qingjiang wiped his tears twice more. Tongue-tied, he said nothing further about kneeling.

Seeing this, Liang Qu finally relaxed. All he could think was that the world was truly fucked up—poor people could not turn their lives around even a little.

Take the fishermen of Yi Xing City. They worked diligently their entire lives, only earning enough to eat, drink, pay taxes, and feed their old and young. Even if they were lucky enough to catch a Treasure Fish, they still could not rise up. At most, they could afford a couple of drinks, while even the simplest cold could easily kill them.

They could not even provide their own children with an education, much less let them practice martial arts. Perhaps joining the army was a way out? But that was wealth and honor gambled with one's life. More likely, the life would be gone, while someone else collected the wealth and honor.

"A Shui is truly righteous. He gave up the shortfall of one shi of rice just like that. He's learned martial arts, and his purse can't be all that full either, can it? He probably poured everything he had into it."

"It's like something out of a storybook."

"Chen Qingjiang really is lucky, getting to know A Shui."

Citizens returning from paying their taxes by the roadside—whether spreading the news or having witnessed it themselves—were all clicking their tongues in amazement.

Liang Qu said nothing. He had never intended to draw attention to himself. These days, there was no selection of filial and incorrupt officials; if he could make a fortune quietly, there was no need to broadcast it.

"Brother Li, carry Shunzi home and let Sister-in-law know. Uncle Chen and I will take Grandpa Chen to the clinic first. That whip was no light thing."

Shunzi was only six years old. After such a tremendous shock and a bout of crying, he was already exhausted and drifting off.

When Liang Qu had led him along just now, Xiao Shunzi had knocked his head against Liang Qu's leg several times. If he did not get proper rest, he might come down with a serious illness, making an already poor family even worse off.

"Alright."

Li LiBo agreed, his gaze upon Liang Qu complicated.

The two had originally only known each other, and their relationship had not been particularly close. It was only after LaiTou Zhang got beaten up that they had gradually become more familiar. Even then, they were more like drinking buddies—you treated me to a meal, I lent you my fishing net.

But now, Li LiBo realized that he did not understand Liang Qu at all. That was one shi of rice, nearly one tael of silver. Liang Qu had learned martial arts—where had he gotten that tael of silver? He probably would not even have food to eat afterward. What was the point? Li LiBo could not figure it out, but he felt Liang Qu was extraordinary, truly like one of those "figures" the storytellers spoke of.

"Sorry to trouble you, Brother Li."

"It's nothing. I can't bear to part with one shi of rice, but I can still spare a bit of strength."

Hoisting Shunzi onto his back, Li LiBo called out, "I'm off," then said no more and trudged onward with his head lowered.

"And sorry to trouble you too, A Shui."

"Uncle Chen, don't joke around. Let's hurry to the clinic. If we delay too long and the wound gets infected, that'll be trouble."

The clerk's whip had been vicious and fierce, tearing open a bloody welt across Chen Renxing's body. Chen Renxing was old—how could he withstand it? He had fainted from the blow. They needed to apply medicine and bandage him quickly.

"Infected? What's that?"

"It means falling ill. Wounds that have drawn blood can easily become diseased and fester."

"Oh, oh, oh. Then let's hurry."

The two carried Chen Renxing and quickly arrived at a small clinic in Yi Xing City, where they had the Doctor treat his external injuries.

Once his clothing was pulled aside, the bloody wound made hearts pound in terror.

Liang Qu watched the Doctor's methods from start to finish. First, he cleaned the wound with boiled and cooled water, then applied medicinal powder and wrapped it with steamed white cloth.

It seemed this world had no term for infection, yet it understood the concept.

"Your honored father is advanced in years and has suffered such a severe blow. He will need careful recuperation. Fortunately, the wound itself is not serious. I'll write you a prescription. Have the medicine prepared according to it and take it on time every day."

"Alright, thank you, Doctor."

"Xiao Zhang, take these two to get their medicine."

"Please follow me, gentlemen."

Liang Qu and Chen Qingjiang then followed him to collect the medicine.

Once the medicine had been prepared, Liang Qu frowned and pointed at several chunks among it. "Little Physician Zhang, could you help replace these few ingredients with ones that have clearer edges and corners?"

The Zhang-surnamed clerk froze, looking embarrassed. Without saying much, he directly replaced the medicinal ingredients.

Chen Qingjiang looked puzzled, but he did not ask in front of him.

"Including the consultation fee, the total is eight qian and seven fen."

That was far too expensive. Liang Qu was shocked. A simple external injury had cost nearly one tael of silver.

Chen Qingjiang asked, "Can we write an IOU?"

"Yes."

The clerk expertly drew up the note, with the date and interest written quite clearly. Evidently, he had done this many times before.

Only after they left the clinic with his father on his back did Chen Qingjiang ask Liang Qu, "Why did A Shui have him replace the medicine just now?"

"His medicine had no edges or corners. Generally, medicine without edges or corners is old stock—either it was used before and dried again, or it molded and was cleaned up afterward. The former is still alright; at worst, it works less effectively and costs more money. But the latter can make you sick if you take it. Of course, I can't be certain. I was just being cautious."

Chen Qingjiang was greatly surprised. "Where did you learn all that?"

He had watched A Shui grow up. He had never attended school, yet over the past two months, he seemed to have become a different person.

When Chen Qingjiang had returned home a few days ago, he had already heard from the elders in the family that A Shui had not only learned martial arts, but was also very skilled at Fishing. Now it seemed he understood all sorts of impressive knowledge as well.

Liang Qu scratched his head, but before he could explain, Chen Qingjiang had already come up with his own answer.

"A Shui, you've had a sudden awakening! Amazing!"

Liang Qu smiled awkwardly.

That's Right—he had had a sudden awakening! The uniquely Chinese child's explanation for unlocking cheats: whenever someone suddenly became formidable, it was usually because they had had a sudden awakening.

When terrible schoolwork suddenly became excellent, that was a sudden awakening.

When a dull, honest man suddenly became an expert at love, that was also a sudden awakening.

When an angler who could not catch a fish became a master fisherman, that was still a sudden awakening.

Perfect. It saved him the trouble of finding an excuse.

"What a pity. If Brother Liang could see how promising you are now, that would be wonderful." Chen Qingjiang suddenly sighed. Then he realized he should not have said that and fell silent again. After a long while, he said, "I'll repay that one shi of grain as soon as I can."

Liang Qu had wanted to say there was no need to repay it, but seeing Chen Qingjiang's earnest expression, he guessed the man would not listen even if he said so. "I'm not in a hurry. Pay off the clinic first. And the weather is about to get colder—you can't let Xiao Shunzi and Xiao Kui go hungry. If they fall ill because of repaying the debt, that would be more loss than gain."

Chen Qingjiang nodded.

The two men walked home in silence.