The sun blazed overhead as Ye Yun took Ye Chen to work in the fields, sweat soaking their backs. Even outside the busy farming season, Chen Guihua would drive them both out to the fields. Watching them toil like oxen made her feel thoroughly at ease.
At noon, the two rested beneath a tree, eating cold steamed buns with a few side dishes.
"Brother Yun, Brother Rong Zheng must have crossed the mountain and reached the deep mountains on the other side by now, right?"
"Mm, he probably set off first thing this morning."
"I hope Brother Rong Zheng comes back safely. He's a really, really good person." Ye Chen spoke as he ate, his words somewhat muffled.
"He will." Worried about Rong Zheng, Ye Yun ate distractedly and only answered in a low voice.
When they returned that evening, their eldest uncle's family had already finished dinner without leaving the brothers even any leftovers. Chen Guihua sat with one leg crossed over the other. Seeing Ye Yun enter, she ordered him around as if it were only natural:
"We've eaten. Hurry up and clear away the bowls and chopsticks in the kitchen. Oh, and don't touch the pork belly in there. If I find any missing tomorrow, you'll both be sorry."
Chen Guihua's youngest daughter, Ye Bao, was picking her teeth nearby. She cast a sidelong glance at Ye Yun. He hated Ye Yun. When they were little and her second uncle and his wife were still alive, they had raised Ye Yun well. Of course, Ye Yun had been born exceptionally good-looking to begin with, and all the children their age liked playing with him rather than with her.
Even back then, she had loathed that face of his. It served him right-he had jinxed both his parents to death, and now he had been reduced to being their family's servant, hadn't he?
Ye Yun answered and pulled Ye Chen along to the kitchen to tidy up. As he washed the dishes, voices drifted faintly from the main room. Ye Bao was begging Chen Guihua to arrange a marriage for her.
"Mother, I noticed recently that Rong Zheng has completely changed. He's so handsome. Go propose a match for me." Country families usually began looking for matches once their children turned sixteen. Ye Bao was already eighteen, but his mother could not bear to part with her and also felt that none of the village men deserved her precious daughter, so she had yet to arrange a match.
Ye Bao was ordinary-looking, but with Ye Yun and Ye Chen serving them these past few years, she hardly had to help with work in the fields or at home. Without exposure to the sun and rain, her complexion was fairer than those of the village girls and gers. As the saying went, fair skin hid many flaws.
On top of that, their family had seized thirty taels from Ye Yun's family. With money to spare, Chen Guihua was willing to have new clothes made for Ye Bao and buy her new jewelry. Dressed up like that, she looked quite presentable, like a young lady from town, drawing frequent overtures from the village men.
But she looked down on them, considering them all mud-legged peasants, dark, ugly, and utterly uncouth.
A few days earlier, she had run into Rong Zheng returning from town. He wore a navy-blue long robe and stood straight, his shoulders broad and his waist narrow. His looks had always been outstanding, and paired with his height, his bearing was utterly captivating. He had even studied in the past. He looked better than the young gentlemen in town, and she had taken a fancy to him at first sight.
"What damn use are good looks? He's so poor he can't keep food on the table. His land's been sold off until only three mu remain, and all he does is drink." Seeing her daughter's lovestruck face, Chen Guihua was furious at her lack of sense.
"He's changed a lot. He doesn't drink anymore, and I hear he's pretty good at hunting. People have seen him bring back plenty of game. If I married him, I'd have meat at every meal. Of course, I'd make sure to give you and Father your share too. Most importantly, his parents are both gone. I could run the household as soon as I married him. What an easy life that would be!"
For the past few days, Ye Bao had kept thinking about Rong Zheng's face, and the more she thought about him, the more she liked him. He was the most handsome man in the village. She would look so good going out with him.
"Hunting is a trade where you depend on luck to eat. It's dangerous. One careless moment and you could run into a wild beast. If he died outright, that would be one thing, but if he ended up half-dead, he'd become a burden to you. If you divorced and remarried then, you wouldn't get as good a match as you could the first time."
Unable to persuade Chen Guihua, Ye Bao grew anxious. "I don't care. I want to marry Rong Zheng. He's much better-looking than the young gentlemen in town. Our children would definitely be good-looking too."
"Silly girl, you're my own daughter. Would your mother ever harm you? I'll find you a good match. Oh, your brother knows people in town. You might even be able to marry into a family there."
Ye Bao was no fool. She knew perfectly well that a good-for-nothing like her brother Ye Yao, who never did any honest work, could hardly know any decent families in town. He came home for money every few months, yet their mother still treasured him and listened to everything he said.
Of course, she would not touch that sore spot, or her mother would turn on her.
Seeing Ye Bao fall silent, Chen Guihua comforted her earnestly. "Bao'er, you're young. You'll understand later that money matters far more than looks. No matter how good Rong Zheng is at hunting, he's still a mud-legged peasant, and one with hardly any land at that. You'd have to wait on him if you married him. Your mother raised you to be fair and delicate. Don't go doing something foolish. You should marry into a landlord's family at the very least."
Remembering that Ye Hou, the village landlord's second son, had come by several times to give Ye Bao gifts, she asked, "Oh, doesn't that Ye Hou have a thing for you?"
Ye Hou lived up to his name: he was solidly built and thick with flesh.
Remembering Ye Hou's face, which was even bigger than a basin, Ye Bao felt somewhat uncomfortable and said without interest, "I don't like him."
Ye Yun washed the dishes while listening to their conversation, his thoughts wandering. He felt that ever since Rong Zheng had changed, his bearing had only grown better. He held his head high and stood tall, handsome and striking.
He remembered Rong Zheng telling him with a serious expression that he liked him, his own reflection in those alluring peach-blossom eyes. At that moment, Rong Zheng's eyes had been filled with him alone.
Rong Zheng had also given him and his brother delicious food and said he would help them leave their eldest uncle's home. In the four years and more since their parents had died, living under someone else's roof had shown him the warmth and coldness of human nature. Being scolded and beaten day after day had left him and his brother treading on thin ice.
Never, never had anyone treated them as well as Rong Zheng did.
Someone so wonderful likes me. Ye Yun's heart swelled, filled with joy.
But then he heard that Ye Bao liked him too. Ye Bao had such high standards, yet even she wanted to marry Rong Zheng!
That's right. Now that he's changed for the better, lots of people will like him, won't they? At that thought, Ye Yun felt a little resentful that Rong Zheng was so good-looking and had other people coveting him. His thoughts took a turn, and he began to feel gloomy, scrubbing the bowls and chopsticks harder.
That's what you get for attracting people. That's what you get...
The innocent bowls and chopsticks suffered!
Rong Zheng got caught in the crossfire without doing a thing!
"Brother Yun, what's wrong?" Ye Chen sat on a low stool tending the fire, steaming the buns for their dinner. Chen Guihua and the others had probably eaten meat tonight, which was why they had not left even any scraps, but he was used to it. Seeing Ye Yun scrub the bowls and chopsticks so hard, he asked worriedly.
The voice pulled Ye Yun back from his wandering thoughts, and he hurriedly eased his grip. If he broke a bowl scrubbing it, Chen Guihua would definitely make trouble. "Nothing, nothing. I'm almost done washing these. Xiao Chen, are you hungry?"
"A little."
"Then I'll hurry. Set up the little table first."
Chen Guihua would not let them eat at the table in the main room, only allowing them to set up a little table in the kitchen. She said they would dirty the main room, but in truth, she simply disdained them.
He shook his head and let out a breath. He had actually become lost in thoughts of Rong Zheng.