His Lordship the Village Head (Part One)

Wang Yang slept until dawn. Sunlight spilled over his face, and the birdsong and the sound of chopping wood gave him an illusion of peace. For a moment, he nearly forgot that he was not only in debt but also sitting on the ticking bomb of a false identity, with no idea when it might explode.

The moment he opened his eyes, he smelled food. He had not eaten a proper meal since arriving in this world, and his stomach immediately growled with hunger. When he stepped outside, he found food already laid out on the wooden table.

"Young Master Wang, you're awake! Come wash your face!"

Black Han put down his axe and brought Wang Yang the towel and basin he had prepared. Knowing that Wang Yang was not used to rubbing his teeth clean with his fingers, he had also provided salt water for rinsing, just as Wang Yang had used last time.

Once I've paid off my debt, I'll have to think about getting a toothbrush, Wang Yang thought.

"Where's little A-Wu?" Wang Yang asked after washing up.

"She went to gather river snails."

"Then let's wait for her to come back and eat together."

"Please eat, young master. She and I ate long ago. You were asleep, so we didn't dare wake you."

Well, that was embarrassing.

He had simply gotten up late.

"The food may have gone cold. Let me warm it up for you."

"Don't trouble yourself. I'm starving already."

This was his third meal since arriving in this world, and his most lavish yet: a bowl of pure cooked wheat, a boiled egg, a dish of pickled vegetables, and a jar of fish preserved in wine lees-the "Jar-Pickled Fish" Black Han had mentioned yesterday.

His first two meals had both been porridge. At last, he had something solid to eat!

The preserved fish was delicious too, without the slightest fishy taste.

Wang Yang spooned half the jar of fish onto his wheat and began eating it with the pickled vegetables.

After finishing half a bowl, he started peeling the egg, intending to mash it and mix it into his wheat. Then he thought of A-Wu and Black Han and set the egg and the remaining half jar of fish aside. He swept through everything else without leaving a crumb.

"A-Wu, what happened to you?" Black Han, who had been chopping wood outside, dropped his axe and hurried over to meet her.

"Nothing. Got into a fight. I beat up that little young master."

"The Village Head's grandson?!" Black Han's face drained of color.

"Yep, and his little lackey too. I took them both on! Tip over my snail bucket, and I'll beat them into sniveling worms!" A-Wu waved her little fist, bristling with the resolve to hunt down anyone who wronged her river snails, no matter how far they fled.

Black Han groaned. "My little ancestor, you've made trouble again!"

Hearing the father and daughter talking, Wang Yang stepped outside. Little A-Wu was covered in mud and carrying the small wooden bucket Black Han had made for her. She grinned triumphantly. "Look, young master! River snails! I'll make you snail porridge tonight!"

Wang Yang froze-not because of what she said, nor the mud on her clothes, nor anything to do with snail porridge. He had noticed that little A-Wu's long hair was gone, replaced by a short cut reaching only to her ears!

"Your hair..." Wang Yang said in surprise.

A-Wu scratched her head sheepishly. "It doesn't look ugly, does it?"

Black Han brought over water and a cloth and tenderly wiped his daughter's face. "A-Wu sold her hair. She said she'd promised last night to give you a good meal."

"I'll make you something delicious tomorrow morning!" Little A-Wu's words from last night suddenly echoed in Wang Yang's ears. He had merely smiled then, never imagining that those few words, "something delicious," would cost this little girl so much!

"Young master, was the food good today?" A-Wu asked anxiously, finally voicing the question that mattered most to her.

Wang Yang wanted to say it was delicious, but his throat felt clogged, so he only nodded.

Little A-Wu was delighted and chattered away about letting Wang Yang taste her snail porridge that evening.

Wang Yang was distracted. The image of A-Wu when he had first met her, her long hair swaying behind her, suddenly rose before his eyes and would not leave.

A shout interrupted his recollections.

"Blackie! Look! Just look at what your girl did to my grandson! Tell me! Can you keep this girl in line or not?"

Village Head Zhang stormed over, followed by a little boy with a black eye and mud all over him.

Little A-Wu shot him a look, and the boy immediately hid behind Village Head Zhang.

"Please calm down, Your Lordship. I've already given her a stern scolding!" Black Han signaled to A-Wu with his eyes and said gravely, "Well? Apologize to the little young master!"

A-Wu shrugged and put on a smile. "Come here, little young master. Let me apologize."

The boy trembled in terror and did not dare emerge from behind his grandfather. He knew this girl was mad!

"Look at you! Your grandfather's right here. What are you afraid of?" The Village Head glared at A-Wu and pulled the boy out from behind him.

A-Wu stepped forward. Like a bird startled by a bowstring, the boy instinctively tried to flee backward. Wang Yang chuckled inwardly. Little A-Wu really beat the fear into him!

A-Wu bowed. "I'm sorry, little young master. Even though you laughed at my hair, said I had no mother, tipped over my snail bucket, and attacked me together with Da Fei, I shouldn't have fought back. I should have stood still and let you beat me. I'm sorry. I was wrong."

In truth, A-Wu had struck first. Not only that, but in the exchange of insults beforehand, she had answered every single one. The little young master had tipped over her snail bucket only after losing that battle of words. Yet the way A-Wu told it gave the whole affair a different face. Still, it was true that the little young master had provoked her first.

The Village Head had not asked his grandson exactly what had happened; he only knew A-Wu had beaten him. Her words left him stunned. Black Han was taken in too, imagining how terribly his daughter must have been wronged!

"You... you're lying! You hit me first!" The little boy finally seized on the crucial point.

"So you and Da Fei never hit me, is that it? Do you dare swear to it in front of His Lordship the Village Head?" Little A-Wu demanded, raising her voice.

Well played, little A-Wu!

Wang Yang had guessed what A-Wu was up to and watched eagerly to see how she would "subdue the enemy."

You hit first, and we fought back. We were fighting each other! The boy had never intended to deny hitting her back, but faced with A-Wu's forceful, self-righteous questioning, he began to stammer instead. He also completely forgot to accuse A-Wu of insulting him by saying he "wasn't his parents' real child."

The Village Head was no child. A-Wu had first said, "I shouldn't have fought back," and now she was demanding to know whether his grandson had hit her at all. Clearly, her account was neither complete nor truthful. His face darkened as he said:

"You can see the grown tree in the sapling. So young, and already so perverse and unruly! When she grows up, she'll be either a shrew or a termagant! No wonder she's a Double Fifth. Bad luck for anyone who goes near her!" Then he told his grandson, "Stay away from her from now on!"

A-Wu murmured, "If you can see the grown tree in the sapling, then Your Lordship must have been just like the little young master as a child."

The Village Head flew into a rage. "You really think I can't deal with you?"

Black Han hurried forward and pressed down on A-Wu's head. "Apologize to His Lordship at once!"

Little A-Wu stiffened her neck, her face full of defiance.

Wang Yang came over. "Apologize for what? Children had a fight, and no one was hurt. What is there to apologize for?"

The moment Black Han heard Wang Yang speak, he let go.

The Village Head pulled his grandson forward and snapped, "Look! His eye's black and blue! How dare you say he isn't hurt!"

Wang Yang looked at the boy's bruised right eye, displeasure crossing his face. He pulled A-Wu over and scolded her. "Honestly, you! Why didn't you make them match?"

Note: Selling hair was not uncommon in ancient times. The historical account cited in the author's note concerns the mother of Tao Kan, a renowned minister of the Eastern Jin, who sold her hair to entertain a guest. Hair sold this way was generally made into wigs. Yes, China's wig culture predates Europe's by a considerable margin. Wigs were not merely for appearance; on certain occasions, etiquette required them. You won't see anything about wigs in the "Jingzhou Arc," but they will appear in the "Jinling Arc."