Chapter 26: Scared Out of Their Wits

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Early the next morning, the Su family eagerly set about building themselves a new home.

Yet before half a day had passed, they were all left staring blankly at one another.

Even the simplest thatched hut needed timber for a frame.

They had spent hours clearing snow from the mountain behind them, gathering dead grass and thorny branches, then binding and weaving them together. But all that was enough for no more than a roof.

Without a frame to support it, their efforts were useless.

Su Da and Su Er searched every nearby hillside, but could not find a single tree. There was not even any bamboo.

“What are we supposed to do?” the two brothers asked each other helplessly.

The women stood in silence, worry furrowing their brows.

Old Man Su squatted beside the thatch screen, equally at a loss. By habit, he reached for his waist, only to remember that he had not brought his tobacco pipe.

“Father, Mother, can’t we build a house?” Su Wen and Su Wu were still young. Sensing that their shelter was slipping away, their eyes reddened and their lips trembled as they began to sob. “Does that mean we won’t have anywhere to live again?”

He Daxiang pulled the two boys into her arms and patted their heads soothingly. “What are you crying for? Who said we won’t have anywhere to live? Your father and uncles will bring back some timber later. We’ll certainly have a place to stay!”

Su Er clenched his teeth and sprang to his feet. “I’ll go ask at the supervision office! The families around us managed to build houses. There’s no way the whole of Tobei Mountain doesn’t have even a single piece of timber!”

At that moment, the gate of the nearest courtyard, a dozen or so yards away, opened. A middle-aged woman in a blue-gray padded jacket and cotton trousers came out, cracking sunflower seeds as she lazily approached. She raised her brows and sneered.

“Don’t bother asking. There isn’t a soul at the supervision office. Going there would be pointless. Those sent into exile live or die by Heaven’s will. If they can endure, they endure. If they can’t, they’re tossed into the mass graveyard behind the mountain and burned. You want to go there and ask for timber? What a fine dream.”

The Su family stared at her in astonishment. “How can there be no one at the supervision office?”

“Why would there be no one? They were scared witless, of course. Every official who dared to throw his weight around on Tobei Mountain ended up dead. After so many deaths, who would dare come here? Heh heh heh!”

“…”

Su Da glanced at his family’s troubled faces and boldly asked the woman, “If there’s no one at the supervision office, and there’s no timber anywhere on these mountains, how did you build your house and courtyard?”

“All the trees on the mountain have already been cut down. Of course you can’t find any timber. If you want some, go to Fengyun City and buy it.”

The woman shook the shells from her hand and dusted off her palms. Then she lifted her brows.

“If you don’t dare go to Fengyun City, you can buy it from me. I still have extra building materials in my courtyard. Looking at your large family, with all those old and young, you’ll need at least four or five rooms. Thirty taels of silver, and I’ll take care of everything. Think it over and come find me.”

“Th-th-thirty taels?!”

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“I’m already giving you a bargain! If you don’t like it, go buy the materials in Fengyun City yourselves! Just be careful that you don’t lose your lives there before you manage to bring anything back! Think about it: is thirty taels worth your lives or not? Hmph!”

The woman curled her lip. With her brows raised, she looked particularly sharp and mean.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Fengyun City is crawling with villains. Swing a stick and you’ll hit three desperate criminals. Anyone without real ability can go there, but may never come back.”

Having said her piece, the woman turned and left without lingering.

Even after the courtyard gate in the distance closed again, the Su family remained unable to recover from the blow.

Fengyun City. It was Fengyun City again!

There was no one in charge at the supervision office, and the materials they needed could only be found in Fengyun City. Setting aside whether the city was truly as dangerous as the woman claimed, the matter of money alone was enough to stop them. Their family had none.

Thirty taels of silver! Where were they supposed to get that?

Back when they had still lived in Big Locust Village, their family’s savings for an entire year amounted to no more than a hundred copper coins, and even that had been considered a lot.

The little more than one tael of silver they had later earned from selling pears had all been spent on the journey.

The Su family sat crouched on the ground, their eyes vacant as a bleak despair began to grow in their hearts.

Seeing this, Old Madam Su hugged Sweet Treasure tightly and ground her teeth.

“What are you all hanging your heads for? At worst, we go without a house and sleep under the open sky! If that won’t do, we can find a cave and make do there! I refuse to believe Heaven truly means to force us to death! No matter how dangerous or difficult it gets, this old woman will take the three boys and Sweet Treasure and hold on!”

Her words struck the others awake.

Indeed, what good was despair going to do?

The most important thing was to stay alive.

They still had three little children to raise, as well as Sweet Treasure, who was still nursing.

Even if their bones were broken, they had to bring those children up!

“Mother, we’ll hold on together!”

“Together!”

The despondency of a moment ago vanished. Su Da and Su Er stopped bothering with the thatch screen and prepared to search the mountain again for somewhere they could stay temporarily. A cave or a sheltered hollow would do.

Liu Yuelan and the other two young women refused to sit idle either. They agreed to enter the mountain together and search separately from the men.

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This little corner of the world was suddenly filled with boundless vitality once more.

In the small courtyard not far away, the sharp-tongued woman listened to the spirited shouts coming from outside. She curled her lip and snorted.

“These newcomers truly have no idea how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is. Just wait a little longer and let’s see whether they can still laugh. Of all the exile settlements in Northern Yue, Tobei Mountain is the hardest place to survive!”

“Cough, cough, cough! A-Xian, we still have plenty of timber in our courtyard. It would help them out. Why not give it to them?”

A soft voice came from inside the house, low and weak.

The woman reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Her voice turned shrill.

“Rubbish! Don’t even think about it! We didn’t get that timber for free, so why should we give it to them? If they have no money, I’d rather burn it as firewood than give it away! And if you insist on playing the good Samaritan, I’ll never forgive you!”

Light footsteps sounded in the main room. A pale, slender middle-aged man walked out. Even his sickly appearance could not conceal his handsome features. He covered his lips and coughed twice more before saying helplessly, “A-Xian, which person sent into exile could possibly have dozens of taels hidden on them? Besides, the timber is only taking up space here. That family has both old people and children. Give it to them.”

The woman darkened her expression and turned her head away. “No!”

The man sighed softly. “You…”

With that, he left the main room and headed toward the courtyard gate, coughing lightly every three steps and gasping heavily every five.

“What are you doing?” the woman called after him.

“I’m going to ask them to come and carry away the firewood.”

“You dare!”

The man paused beside the gate and looked back. His deep eyes held helplessness, affection, and a gentle smile.

“…”

The woman’s face flushed. After stammering for a moment, she gritted her teeth.

“Fine, fine, fine! They can have it! I’ll go call them myself, all right? Get back inside at once! You cough whenever the wind blows, and you still want to give me more to worry about?”

The corners of the man’s lips curved into a faint smile. “All right.”

“...Ahem.”

Her face grew even redder. Pretending to be fierce, she glared at him.

“You wretched man, you know exactly how to manipulate me! Do you have any idea how much good food thirty taels of silver could buy you? Always trying to play the saint!”

“You simply can’t stop being hard-mouthed. If you hadn’t softened, would you ever have gone out of your way to warn them?”

Her old secret exposed, the woman flew into an embarrassed rage. Yet she could not bring herself to be harsh with the man, so she stormed out of the courtyard.