Ger, So Proud

Chapter 43

“Don’t be afraid. Cry your heart out. Uncle Zhang won’t hear you.”

He Ze gently patted Lin Yu’s back. He couldn’t see Lin Yu’s expression, but he could imagine it. The person in his arms had borne too much and had been suppressing it for too long.

He didn’t dare cry in front of Dad Zhang, didn’t dare cry in front of others, and perhaps… didn’t even dare cry alone. He forced himself to grow up, to become someone else’s pillar of support.

Since he was thirteen years old.

The sound of his crying reached He Ze’s ears and fell on his heart. With every sob, his heart tightened, and a burning, stifling feeling arose, choking his chest.

He couldn’t vent it.

Thinking of Wu Cui, who had been dragged out earlier, a flash of fierceness passed through He Ze’s eyes.

The crying went on for who knows how long until Lin Yu’s sobs gradually ceased. The sun was already setting in the west. The slanting sunlight cast their long, merged shadows on the ground.

Lin Yu wiped his face and stepped back from He Ze’s embrace. His face was flushed, perhaps from crying, the sun, or… something else unknown.

“He Ze, thank… thank you.”

Lin Yu, with his swollen eyes, looked at He Ze’s right shoulder, which was soaked. His face turned even redder.

He Ze suddenly laughed, “Had a good cry?”

“Had… had a good cry!”

Seeing He Ze’s smiling face, Lin Yu looked away in embarrassment.

“In the future…”

He Ze looked into Lin Yu’s eyes. They were red-rimmed, but those eyes, like freshly washed autumn water, shone bright.

He couldn’t help but reach out his hand.

“Hmm?”

Lin Yu suddenly looked up, and He Ze’s hand froze in mid-air. The air around them seemed to stagnate, a peculiar atmosphere flowing between them.

“It’s nothing. I… I thought your eyes were still red and that you might want to cry some more!” He Ze snapped back to reality, immediately retracting his hand, not even thinking about the sudden rush of emotion he felt.

“Oh… I’ve cried enough, why would I cry more!” Lin Yu gave He Ze a slightly annoyed look, then walked over to the table and sat down, casually asking, “Why did you come over today?”

Actually, when he saw He Ze today, his first reaction was fear, a deep fear.

The reason… he didn’t dare to think about it.

“Did you forget? We agreed to go to town. Uncle Zhao and I waited for you at the village entrance for a long time, but you didn’t come. Then Liu San came to find me, saying something happened at your place, so I rushed over.” He Ze said as he walked over to the table and sat opposite Lin Yu.

“So, you heard everything? Aren’t you afraid…”

“What?”

“I mean, aren’t you afraid that I’ll bring bad luck to you?” Lin Yu pursed his lips, staring intently at He Ze.

“What do you think?”

He Ze raised an eyebrow at him, smiling.

“You! If you’re afraid…”

“That’s just nonsense,” He Ze interrupted Lin Yu just as he lowered his head. “Rumors spread by people, three men make a tiger. No matter what people say outside, don’t forget? You are my lifesaver. If you were truly a jinx, that day, your arrow would have hit me instead of the bear.”

“But…”

“No buts. If you truly were a jinx, apart from Uncle Lin’s accidental death, why haven’t you caused the death of more Lin family members? Wouldn Uncle Zhang’s illness have healed after all these years? And as for the old man, he was over seventy—dying at that age isn’t unusual. The second one, his leg has healed, right? It was just an accident. The third one didn’t know how to swim yet insisted on fishing in deep water—that’s asking for trouble, isn’t it?”

“But…”

“…”

So, did all he said go to waste?

He Ze sighed deeply and suddenly gave Lin Yu a scrutinizing look, full of contemplation.

“What are you doing?”

Lin Yu pushed away He Ze’s face, which had come too close.

“Nothing,” He Ze shook his head, “just realized something. The old saying goes that people with developed limbs have simple minds. I think you…”

“What did you say?!”

“I said, why are you so dumb!” He Ze nonchalantly poked Lin Yu’s forehead. “Where’s the spirit you had when you hunted the bear with your bare hands? Now you’re letting a few rumors knock you down? Rumors are called rumors because they have no factual basis. Whether others believe them or not is secondary. The most important thing is, you mustn’t believe them yourself.”

“Anyway, I don’t believe in these things, so don’t worry.”

Seeing Lin Yu remain silent, He Ze added another sentence. Decades of ingrained beliefs don’t change easily, but if he could ease Lin Yu’s burden even a little, it would be worthwhile.

Many of these troubles stemmed from him, so it was his responsibility to resolve them. Lin Yu shouldn’t be hurt by baseless accusations.

“Alright… I understand,” Lin Yu finally spoke after a long pause, but then he abruptly changed the topic, “Do you think we can still make it to the town now?”

“Now?”

“The Lin family won’t back down so quickly… By tomorrow, my sickly third uncle might be hanging himself in the courtyard.”

“Hehe—”

Hearing Lin Yu speak this way was rare, and He Ze couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alright, let’s go together. The weather is good today, and the moonlight should be bright tonight.”

“Okay.”

With that, the two shared a smile. This smile lifted their eyebrows and curled their lips, like a breeze rustling the hills, reddening the cherries, and greening the plantains.

When did he become so poetic? Yet at the moment, no other words came to mind.

He Ze was momentarily stunned. He always knew Lin Yu was good-looking, but at this moment, he was even more so.

“You’re much prettier when you smile.”

As they dragged the bear out of the courtyard, He Ze’s voice echoed softly. The red evening glow tinted Lin Yu’s ears a matching shade.

…

Despite what they had said earlier, when they borrowed an ox cart from Zhao Fugui’s home, He Ze also invited him along. Just now, he had spoken to comfort Lin Yu, but now, until the matter was resolved, he couldn’t let Lin Yu suffer further from rumors because of him.

Upon reaching the town, the bear was slung over Lin Yu’s shoulder. Initially, He Ze insisted on helping carry it, but Lin Yu refused.

“Both of us carrying it together is less comfortable than me carrying it alone! Besides, you’d get tired soon, and it would be a hassle!”

“…”

He Ze sighed helplessly and followed Lin Yu.

They first went to the butcher shop to have the bear skinned and its parts harvested. They kept the bear bile and paws for medicinal purposes, delivered the valuable parts to the pharmacy, retained two pounds of bear meat, and sold the rest to the butcher. The bear skin was sent to a tailor shop. After all these tasks, they finally settled everything.

In total, they earned eighteen taels of silver.

He Ze shook the silver in his hand and tossed half of it to Lin Yu. “Finally done!”

“This…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Take it back,” Lin Yu hesitated, trying to return the silver to He Ze. “I don’t need this much. Besides, remember the things you gave me last time? You didn’t take the IOU I made at Uncle Wang’s place. Consider this as repayment.”

“You still remember that?” He Ze frowned. Who would be this stubborn?

“Of course. How could I accept so much from you for no reason?”

“…”

He Ze rubbed his forehead, then looked at Lin Yu and decisively snatched his money pouch, tossing several taels of silver into it. “It’s true I gave you things, but you’ve helped me a lot too. It’s fair. And, in my eyes, it wasn’t a transaction. If you keep thinking like that, I won’t dare to ask for your help again.”

“…”

“Take it!” He Ze fastened the pouch back to Lin Yu’s waist and smiled. “But today we’ve been busy all day, and Uncle Zhao has been with us. Let’s go eat, and you can pay. How about that?”

“Alright!”

Lin Yu nodded.

However, they didn’t end up paying. When Shopkeeper Yu saw them, he invited them to eat. The three of them ate and drank until late, returning to the village only when the moon was high.

He Ze’s parents, He Youcai and Dad Li, had gone out earlier and returned before him, leaving him some food. But since He Ze had already eaten, he handed over ten taels of silver to them as soon as he entered.

“Remember the storytelling deal I mentioned? I signed the contract with Shopkeeper Yu, and this is the advance payment.”

After a detailed explanation, He Youcai and Li Shi were both happy and relieved. Their acceptance of the situation had clearly improved.

He Ze was also very pleased.

“Father, we sold half of our land before. Let’s buy it back now. Grain is the most important thing. Though the weather has been favorable these past two years, we must be prepared for anything.”

“I know,” He Youcai took a puff from his pipe. “When you told me not to trade the paddy field last time, I thought about it. I discussed it with your dad. We were planning to take on more work this year and save more to buy the land back. But look at you, you’ve made more money in such a short time than I could in a year or two! Good job, son!”

He Youcai patted He Ze’s back, grinning widely.

“Alright then, you and dad can handle the land purchase. I’ll stay out of it. If there are any issues with the money, just let me know.”

“Look at that confidence! My son is capable now. I’ll be counting on you from now on! Haha!”

“Father!”

“Alright, alright. It’s late now, go to bed early. In a while, when the bai zhi starts sprouting, you’ll be busy again.”

“Okay, I’m going to my room.”

He Ze responded, and as He Youcai watched him disappear into his room, he took another puff of his pipe and started humming a tune. It wasn’t until Dad Li brought a basin of hot water into the room and scolded him that he stopped humming.

The night grew deeper, the moon hung high, and the autumn wind began to stir. He Family Village was quiet, with only the faint sound of the wind rustling leaves on Xiangyang Mountain.

On such a dark and windy night, isn’t it the perfect time for murder and arson?

A knocking sound broke the silence. He Ze put on his outer robe and quietly slipped out of the courtyard.

Of course, he wasn’t going out to kill anyone, but for something else… heh.

Author’s Note: The speed dropped from 1500 to 500. What can I do? I’m also very frustrated, feeling down q.q. I’ll post another chapter tonight to make up for it, but I can’t guarantee the timing. Please bear with me.