Back on the main mountain path, Rong Zheng saw Ye Yun give the basket to Ye Chen to carry. It was packed with vegetables, so big and heavy that it hid Ye Chen's frail little body.
As he wondered about this, he saw Ye Yun expertly shoulder a huge bundle of firewood hidden in the grass. Its weight bent his thin, tall frame.
Shocked, Rong Zheng hurriedly told Ye Yun to put it down and reached for the bundle. "Why are you carrying so much firewood? Let me. You help Xiao Chen with the basket."
"I'm used to it. I can carry it. Go ahead of us. Xiao Chen and I will follow behind. It wouldn't be good if the villagers saw us." Ye Yun held the firewood firmly, refusing to let Rong Zheng take it.
Just then, a dry stick caught Ye Yun's sleeve and pulled it up. Seeing the bruises covering his arm, Rong Zheng felt an inexplicable pang. In his urgency, he pulled up Ye Yun's sleeve, his eyes filled with shock.
"Have you been beaten at your eldest uncle's house?"
This was outright abuse. A thought struck him, and he turned to look at Ye Chen's arms. They were bruised too, though noticeably less so.
Rong Zheng had moved too quickly. With both hands holding the firewood, Ye Yun could not stop him in time, and Ye Chen had not reacted yet.
A moment later, Ye Chen saw Rong Zheng rudely inspecting Ye Yun's arm. Young as he was, he knew this was wrong.
He shoved Rong Zheng away. His little body trembled slightly as he pulled Ye Yun aside, his defensive stance unmistakable.
He knew Brother Yun was his only family, the only person who treated him well. He was afraid, but he still had to stand in front of him.
When he was little, Brother Yun had stood in front of him and taken beatings for him.
Anger surged through Rong Zheng. Back in the modern world, he could never bear to see the weak bullied, or abuse and domestic violence. His sense of justice made it all the more intolerable. As an heir to a family of ancient martial artists, he had to step forward whenever it was within his power.
He took a deep breath and looked at the wariness in the brothers' eyes.
He felt he had been impulsive. He should not have pulled up Ye Yun's sleeve in his urgency. In this era, that was an offensive act. He hurriedly apologized.
"Don't be afraid. I didn't mean to offend you. Seeing the bruises on your arms... I was too shocked, and very angry. Did your eldest uncle beat you?"
Ye Yun saw the concern in Rong Zheng's eyes. This man had just roasted chicken for them, spoke gently and politely, and treated them sincerely. Being around him felt very comfortable.
It was the first time he had met someone like this. What came naturally through his words and actions made people unconsciously lower their guard.
Honestly, he had a good impression of Rong Zheng. He drew Ye Chen aside and told him to wait up ahead, then turned back.
"Thank you for the roast chicken. It was delicious. We haven't had any meat in a long time. I..."
His nose stung, and he stopped.
Perhaps it was because no one had asked whether he had been beaten in so long. The villagers around them were used to seeing it. They might feel sympathy, but no one would stop it. He no longer hoped anyone would save them from their misery.
"Thank you, truly. Xiao Chen and I have to hurry back. We'll be scolded if we take too long."
He sniffed, avoided Rong Zheng, and hurried away.
Rong Zheng gazed after their retreating figures for a long time, one shouldering heavy firewood, the other carrying a huge basket. The midday sunlight shone into his eyes, and he found it unbearably glaring.
The way Ye Yun had struggled to suppress his emotions kept replaying in his mind.
He thought Ye Yun must have been suffering terribly inside.
He decided to ask around once he got down the mountain and find out exactly what was happening. From the looks of it, being beaten seemed to be a regular occurrence for them.
On their way back, the brothers hurried down the mountain. Ye Chen asked, "Is Brother Rong Zheng a good person?"
Ye Yun was silent for a long time, images of Rong Zheng surfacing in his mind:
His worried expression as he told them not to venture deep into the wild woods, his gentle smile when he gave them roast chicken, the anger in his eyes instantly turning to concern and distress when he learned they had been beaten...
"He's a good person."
After returning home, Rong Zheng took a wild rabbit over to Wang Zhang-shi's house next door.
These days, he occasionally stewed chicken or rabbit at home and sometimes brought Auntie Zhang's family a bowl. As a result, the moment her five-year-old grandson saw him enter the courtyard, his eyes lit up, and he shot over like a little cannonball to hug Rong Zheng's leg.
Here was "meat" on legs!
Auntie Zhang could hardly bear to watch. Meat was so expensive these days, yet Rong Zheng was so generous with it.
To thank Rong Zheng, she had even sent her eldest son, Wang Ze, to hoe his land for a day.
She felt that Rong Zheng had become much easier to get along with since pulling himself together.
Before, when Rong Zheng-the original owner of the body-came home from school in town, he rarely spoke to them, giving the mistaken impression that he was arrogant.
In truth, he was mostly just shy and did not enjoy chatting about everyday family affairs. Naturally, he had little to discuss with the neighbors and usually did little more than greet them.
It had fallen entirely to his parents to maintain good relations with the neighbors.
"Rong Zheng, you're here! Did the hunt go well today?" Auntie Zhang came out to greet him. Seeing her little grandson clinging to Rong Zheng's leg again, she scolded, "Wang Xiao Le, let go." As she spoke, she moved to pull him away.
"Auntie, it's fine." He picked up Wang Xiao Le with one arm. The boy was a little over five and chubby. As the family's only grandson at present, he was thoroughly doted on by Auntie Zhang's whole family.
He thought of Ye Chen, who was only eight, still at an age to act spoiled with his family, yet his little hands were already covered in calluses.
"Auntie, this rabbit is for Xiao Le."
"Oh, we couldn't possibly accept it. A rabbit this fat could sell for a tael of silver." Wang Zhang-shi waved her hands repeatedly. Hunting was not easy for Rong Zheng. She could not take advantage of him by accepting a whole rabbit.
But when Wang Xiao Le heard the rabbit was for him, he immediately undermined her. "Xiao Le wants the rabbit! Xiao Le wants the rabbit!"
Wang Zhang-shi gently pinched Wang Xiao Le's little cheek. "We can't accept something so valuable." She refused again.
"Hunting isn't easy. Keep it and sell it. I'll get you some wild greens. They're very fresh."
"Actually, I wanted to ask your family for a favor. Tomorrow I'm going to town to buy vegetable seeds. I'm planning to plant vegetables on all three mu of land, and I'd like to ask Wang Ze and his wife to help finish planting.
"I'll be going into the mountains to hunt in a few days, and I plan to stay for three or four days this time, so I won't be going to the fields. Sorry to trouble Brother Wang Ze with the fieldwork over those days. Could this rabbit serve as payment?"
Rong Zheng roughly knew the wages for hiring someone to work in the fields: about fifty copper coins per person per day. He estimated that the two of them could finish in no more than four days.
As for staying in the mountains for three or four days, he planned to cross the mountain and venture farther into the wild woods. Relying on pheasants and wild rabbits alone would not earn much, as they were too common.
As the saying went, riches were found amid danger. He planned to cross the mountain and venture deep into the forest to hunt foxes, especially white and red foxes. Their pelts were rare and expensive, much favored by wealthy households. But they were difficult to catch. Even lying in wait on a mountain for several days might not yield one.
He had spent over a month familiarizing himself with hunting techniques. He would not call himself experienced, but he had gained quite a few insights.
With his martial arts, he might not win a fight against a wild beast, but escaping would definitely be no problem.
At worst, he could leap into a tree to escape danger. He would just have to bring enough dry provisions. Who knew whether a wild beast might be exceptionally patient and keep waiting for him to come down?
"That's a small matter," Wang Zhang-shi said. "I'll tell Wang Ze tonight. Hmm, planting your three mu should take two days at most. Just pay a hundred and fifty copper coins. There's no need for a whole rabbit."
"I'll still have to trouble you for help in the future. If you won't accept this, I'll be too embarrassed to ask your family again."
After much persuasion, Auntie Zhang accepted the wild rabbit and found a cage to put it in.
Seeing the rabbit shut in the cage, Wang Xiao Le wriggled in Rong Zheng's arms to be put down, then dashed over to the cage and happily began playing with it.
Rong Zheng sat in the courtyard and casually opened a conversation. "Coming down the mountain just now, I ran into Ye Yun and his brother from our village. The firewood they were carrying was almost bending them double."
Country women always loved discussing everyday family affairs. Give them the slightest opening, and they could spin a whole tale-the legendary village intelligence agents.
Sure enough, Auntie Zhang sighed repeatedly.
"Those two brothers, they really are pitiful. That eldest uncle's family is utterly heartless. They're his own late younger brother's children, after all. Not only did he seize Ye Yun's family savings and farmland, he doesn't even look after the two properly. He just watches Chen Guihua torment, beat, and scold them. You have no idea how bitter and mean that Chen Guihua is. She beats them so viciously..."
...On and on she went. Rong Zheng barely needed to prompt her at all before Auntie Zhang poured out all sorts of things about the brothers.
Never enough food or warm clothes, worked like oxen all day, beatings and scoldings a daily occurrence... A raging fire burned in Rong Zheng's heart as he listened. Only with effort did he restrain himself and remain outwardly calm.
"Ah, sometimes when I run into those brothers on the mountain, I share some fruit with them. Their faces are so sallow it isn't normal," Wang Zhang-shi said sympathetically.
"Don't they have any other relatives in the village?"
"There were only two brothers in the Ye family. One was Ye Yun's father, and the other is his eldest uncle. Their other relatives are neither particularly close nor particularly distant. Who would dare stand up for them? For a country family, feeding two extra mouths costs quite a bit.
"At the time, that eldest uncle promised to raise the brothers. Since he was their closest relative, Village Chief Ye could only agree.
"Their eldest uncle took all the savings and farmland then. Getting them to cough it back up would be very difficult. With no money or land, who would be willing to raise those brothers?
"Village Chief Ye has spoken to him several times, but that eldest uncle is a hypocritical, crafty fellow. He acts one way to your face and another behind your back, and still lets Chen Guihua abuse them as usual."
Rong Zheng's heart ached. He absolutely could not stand by and do nothing. Ye Yun and Ye Chen had given him something to eat when he first transmigrated. He would remember that kindness for the rest of his life.
Ye Yun, that youth with such clear eyes, should not have to endure suffering like this.
"I'll come by again when I have time. I'll head home now." Having learned what he wanted to know, Rong Zheng prepared to leave.
"Come over for dinner tonight?"
"No, thank you. I have to go to town early tomorrow morning, so I need to get everything ready at home."
"Then wait a moment." Auntie Zhang hurried to the kitchen and returned with wild greens and cured pork. "Vegetables stir-fried with cured pork are delicious. Take this home and try it. I'm quite good at curing meat!"
Rong Zheng thanked her and accepted them.