CH 5
The village chief watched helplessly as old lady Qin cried her eyes out. There was nothing he could do to help the Su family.
This had been a difficult year and the other families in the village had their own troubles to deal with. None of them had the ability or resources to help the Su family get back on track, even if they wanted to.
He gave a sigh of frustration.
If only the adopted daughter was present, they might be able to come up with one or two temporary solutions. But as things developed… the village head couldn’t help but conclude that the Su family had raised that child for nothing. As expected, a daughter could not be relied upon.
The commotion attracted a large audience.
As soon as the village chief walked out the gate of the Su family’s home, the curious onlookers came running to him and asked about the situation.
Upon learning that Su Dalang was beaten into a cripple, they agreed that it was a regrettable situation. It seems that the Su family’s days are running out…
The old, weak, sick and disabled – all kinds of fragile incarnations of mankind had gathered in the family.
Several housewives exchanged glances with each other and wordlessly expressed their relief of avoiding a bullet.
Initially, some of them set their eyes on the Su family’s second son as their daughter’s future husband candidate because Su Erlang had the potential to become a scholar.
However, considering the current situation, they were now grateful that they had not initiated any forms of engagement talks. On the contrary, any such intentions had been completely erased from their minds.
They were secretly glad. If their own daughter had been married into the Su family, any hopes and dreams for a better life in the future would be dashed.
……
A tall, muscular woman with a pair of small eyes and a flat nose was carrying a hoe on her way home. When she saw a large group of people gathered in front of her house, a sudden sense of anxiety began to assault her.
Taking large strides, she increased her pace as she headed towards the crowd and she asked with a hoarse voice.
“What’s the occasion? Why are you gathered in front of my house?”
In response to her question, the noise around died down, leaving only a clear wail that sounded familiar.
The woman was shocked. Without waiting for an answer, she quickly shoved the crowd blocking her path and rushed into the house.
“Mother-in-law, what’s the matter? Why are you crying? Did someone bully you? I’ll smash that person with the swing of my hoe!” She said as she angrily raised the rake in her hand and looked around.
When she noticed the scene of her husband bedridden with a broken leg beyond the half-open door, her heart trembled as if she had been struck by accidental lightning.
“Clank!”
A metallic sound of the hoe hitting the ground reverberated as the grip in her hands loosened subconsciously.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and Lu Shi cried sadly.
“No way…. What had happened to you, head of the family? You were fine when you went out today. Why… How is that possible… Oh dear god, do thou intend to drive us towards the path of doom?”
……
Meanwhile, Su Jin remained unaware of the current adversities faced by the Su family.
Only after having her fill of food and drinks, did she remember the system she met last night.
She tried to call for it.
“System?”
“Ah… Here! I’m home—”
System#2250 blinked with its sparkling eyes in an adorable manner and responded cheerfully.
Was this the same little crybaby from last night? It sounded and felt like a completely different being.
System#2250 had spent the whole night in thoughts as it looked at the depleted point gauge. With a light sniffle, it finally resigned itself to its fate.
It tried its best to recall all kinds of advice it had received from its predecessors in the past.
One of them being as such – “One must leave a good impression on the Host. Systems that fail to gain the favour of their Host usually do not meet a good ending.”
According to the latest gossip floating around in the society of systems, the most popular and well-loved systems are those capable of appealing adorably to its Host!
The current system#2250 was no longer the crybaby that it was yesterday.
……
“Reporting to Your Highness. When we arrived, the bandit’s den was already burning in flames and none of the bandits were alive. As for the matter regarding Fu Qingling, it was reported that she had been secretly taken back to the estate of Duke Cheng’en. There were no serious injuries on her.”
Zuo Yi immediately stepped forward to make a report. After finishing the report, he stepped back and waited respectfully for further instructions from his master.
He could not comprehend the reason for his lord’s sudden interest in that gang of bandits, or how his master came to know that the young lady of Duke Cheng’en had been caught in it. In addition, the rescue target managed to escape even before they set out to save her.
It was strange. The way the situation developed was absolutely bizarre.
Despite all kinds of speculation in his mind, he kept a normal expression on his face.
“Is that so? In that case, find a survivor who was involved in the incident and uncover the whole story from them.”
Ming Jue’s facial expression remained unchanged. He pursed his lips and his eyes seemed to be lost in thought.
Another deviation happened?
The Ducal household of Cheng’en is his maternal relatives on his grandmother’s side, and also the maternal family of the current Empress Fu.
In his previous life, Fu Qingling had met a tragic fate outside the capital, and when they found her body, it was too late.
When the Duke of Cheng’en learned of the news that his granddaughter, whom he had cherished since childhood, had suffered a tragic death, he suffocated in grief and never woke up again.
Since then, the Duke’s family had been shrouded in gloom as it headed towards its downfall. In the end, the Empress was deprived of her position and the entire clan was incarcerated…
Recalling the unpleasant events in the previous iteration, Ming Jue clenched up his fists. Within his slightly droopy eyelids, contains a pair of black pupils that were enveloped in darkness.
A gloomy atmosphere surrounded him.
……
After three days of continuous travel, Su Jin and her new ‘companion’ finally arrived at Fengyuan County, which was geographically located south of the Yanzhou Prefecture. Since she now had a partner to chat with, the journey never felt boring.
“Host, do you really intend to settle down permanently in the village and cultivate the fields?” System#2250 asked again, desperately trying to hold on to any tiny bit of hope.
“That goes without saying. A tenacious lady like myself would be best suited for farming. Every swing of the hoe would be precise and savage…”
System#2250: “…” (…Autist)1TL Note: I feel like there was a pun being made here. The raw only mentions 2 words – “自闭” which usually means autism. But in the case of an electronic device, it could also mean self-shutdown. i.e. the system couldn’t stand it anymore and turned itself off. Especially since it did not appear anymore in this chapter
Su Jin followed the memories of her body and found her way to Shangxi Village2TL note: Again, it is written as Xiaxi Village here in the raw ‘下溪村’ as opposed to Shangxi Village ‘上溪村’ . But in later chapters, both terms had been used interchangeably. The author was inconsistent in this, and I haven’t come across any meaningful reason for the switch, since 上 and 下 could be interpreted as upper and lower respectively. So for the sake of consistency, I’ll standardize everything as Shangxi village for now.. On the way, she could see plumes of smoke coming from the kitchens of many houses in the distant village.
A scene of tranquility and peace.
Yet, those words could never be more ill-fitted to describe the current state of the Su family.
……
The on-going commotion within the house was audible even from the other side of the walls. Occasionally, some passing neighbours would peep out of curiosity, but none of them had the courage to go near the house.
Present in the modest-sized yard of the Su family were a large number of burly men armed in wooden clubs, who were evaluating the bundle of old, weak, sick and disabled members of the Su family.
In the midst of that, the sound of objects being smashed could be heard from time to time as a representative threatened them, “This Master3‘爷’ in the raw, which normally translates to grandpa. In this case, the man used it as a slang to address himself to elevate his position / status which deserves respect from the surrounding people, even if he is not their grandpa. shall not let myself return empty-handed today. If you can’t pay up, hand over the title deed to the land. As for the residents, you guys… can see yourselves out. Make your choice.”
Even though Qin Shi usually behaved in a shrewd manner, she was just an ordinary widow. In the face of the group of real thugs, her face had lost all colours. The only thing she could do was to keep her head lowered and cry.
What a bunch of tyrants. Her eldest son had his leg broken by them. Now they wanted to extort the title deed to the house from her, which was the only valuable possession she had left. How was she going to survive from now on? What grave sins had her family committed to deserve such a fate!
Hugging her mother-in-law in one hand and a hoe in the other, Lu Shi trembled slightly, as if to squeeze out her last ounce of courage.
At first, after the head of the family’s leg was broken, the Su family thought the worst was over. No one expected that the situation would deteriorate. In less than two days, several people knocked on their doors asking for repayment. The visitors claimed that Su Dalang had accumulated gambling debts outside, and was crippled as a result. The Su family was still held liable for the debts owed.
But Lu Shi could not believe that claim. Her man was the deepest embodiment of honesty and sincerity. Even in his daily life, he passed his time uneventfully and hardly complained.
There was no way she would buy the story that her husband had gone to gamble behind their backs.
When Su Dalang regained consciousness, she questioned him about the matter. But the only result from it was his insistent claims that he had never gambled.
They could not figure out what happened.
However, the debtors produced an IOU with his handprint acknowledgement, which could not be fabricated. It was a debt of twenty taels of silver, an amount equivalent to demanding for her life.
The Su family in its current state could not even afford to pay twenty casted coins4TL Note: casted coins – 文 or wén, is the smallest denomination of money in ancient Chinese currency system. For a rough comparison, a string of 1000 casted coins is usually equivalent to one tael of silver, depending on the era, much less a massive debt of twenty taels. They had to buy expensive medicine to treat Su Dalang’s legs every day, and spent all their money on it.
Demanding for repayment of the debt in their current situation was tantamount to driving the Su family to their destruction.
The man lost patience and snapped.
“Smash this place. Since you couldn’t pay up, leave the land title behind and get out.”
With that order, several men raised their weapons and began to make a mess of this place, only to hear a scream.
A thin, dark-skinned boy of about ten years old rushed out from the side door and charged at the group of large men like a calf while yelling, “Who said you could bully my mother? I will beat you up.”
At the back, a three-year-old girl could be heard crying as she leaned against the doorsill. Her mother told them to hide in the wing room and not to make any noise. But… she was afraid, she was too scared.
This was not the first time the debt collector had come to the Su family’s house, and the debt collector had long lost all patience.
Annoyed by the nuisance caused by the young boy, the man’s rage escalated further. He spat angrily and kicked the boy hard, sending him rolling on the ground.
He yelled furiously, “You were the ones who owe the money. If you had no means to pay it back, don’t gamble in the first place. Now that you have lost the money, you want to renege on the debt? You think this Third Master here had come over to chit chat? Don’t blame this Master for being heartless. I’m just asking for the land title. You can take everything else with you when you leave.”
A house that was full of worthless junk. He wouldn’t take it even if it was given for free.
That was the first statement that welcomed Su Jin just as she was about to reach home. Her heart sank instantly, and she deduced the general situation.
This had been a difficult year and the other families in the village had their own troubles to deal with. None of them had the ability or resources to help the Su family get back on track, even if they wanted to.
He gave a sigh of frustration.
If only the adopted daughter was present, they might be able to come up with one or two temporary solutions. But as things developed… the village head couldn’t help but conclude that the Su family had raised that child for nothing. As expected, a daughter could not be relied upon.
The commotion attracted a large audience.
As soon as the village chief walked out the gate of the Su family’s home, the curious onlookers came running to him and asked about the situation.
Upon learning that Su Dalang was beaten into a cripple, they agreed that it was a regrettable situation. It seems that the Su family’s days are running out…
The old, weak, sick and disabled – all kinds of fragile incarnations of mankind had gathered in the family.
Several housewives exchanged glances with each other and wordlessly expressed their relief of avoiding a bullet.
Initially, some of them set their eyes on the Su family’s second son as their daughter’s future husband candidate because Su Erlang had the potential to become a scholar.
However, considering the current situation, they were now grateful that they had not initiated any forms of engagement talks. On the contrary, any such intentions had been completely erased from their minds.
They were secretly glad. If their own daughter had been married into the Su family, any hopes and dreams for a better life in the future would be dashed.
……
A tall, muscular woman with a pair of small eyes and a flat nose was carrying a hoe on her way home. When she saw a large group of people gathered in front of her house, a sudden sense of anxiety began to assault her.
Taking large strides, she increased her pace as she headed towards the crowd and she asked with a hoarse voice.
“What’s the occasion? Why are you gathered in front of my house?”
In response to her question, the noise around died down, leaving only a clear wail that sounded familiar.
The woman was shocked. Without waiting for an answer, she quickly shoved the crowd blocking her path and rushed into the house.
“Mother-in-law, what’s the matter? Why are you crying? Did someone bully you? I’ll smash that person with the swing of my hoe!” She said as she angrily raised the rake in her hand and looked around.
When she noticed the scene of her husband bedridden with a broken leg beyond the half-open door, her heart trembled as if she had been struck by accidental lightning.
“Clank!”
A metallic sound of the hoe hitting the ground reverberated as the grip in her hands loosened subconsciously.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and Lu Shi cried sadly.
“No way…. What had happened to you, head of the family? You were fine when you went out today. Why… How is that possible… Oh dear god, do thou intend to drive us towards the path of doom?”
……
Meanwhile, Su Jin remained unaware of the current adversities faced by the Su family.
Only after having her fill of food and drinks, did she remember the system she met last night.
She tried to call for it.
“System?”
“Ah… Here! I’m home—”
System#2250 blinked with its sparkling eyes in an adorable manner and responded cheerfully.
Was this the same little crybaby from last night? It sounded and felt like a completely different being.
System#2250 had spent the whole night in thoughts as it looked at the depleted point gauge. With a light sniffle, it finally resigned itself to its fate.
It tried its best to recall all kinds of advice it had received from its predecessors in the past.
One of them being as such – “One must leave a good impression on the Host. Systems that fail to gain the favour of their Host usually do not meet a good ending.”
According to the latest gossip floating around in the society of systems, the most popular and well-loved systems are those capable of appealing adorably to its Host!
The current system#2250 was no longer the crybaby that it was yesterday.
……
“Reporting to Your Highness. When we arrived, the bandit’s den was already burning in flames and none of the bandits were alive. As for the matter regarding Fu Qingling, it was reported that she had been secretly taken back to the estate of Duke Cheng’en. There were no serious injuries on her.”
Zuo Yi immediately stepped forward to make a report. After finishing the report, he stepped back and waited respectfully for further instructions from his master.
He could not comprehend the reason for his lord’s sudden interest in that gang of bandits, or how his master came to know that the young lady of Duke Cheng’en had been caught in it. In addition, the rescue target managed to escape even before they set out to save her.
It was strange. The way the situation developed was absolutely bizarre.
Despite all kinds of speculation in his mind, he kept a normal expression on his face.
“Is that so? In that case, find a survivor who was involved in the incident and uncover the whole story from them.”
Ming Jue’s facial expression remained unchanged. He pursed his lips and his eyes seemed to be lost in thought.
Another deviation happened?
The Ducal household of Cheng’en is his maternal relatives on his grandmother’s side, and also the maternal family of the current Empress Fu.
In his previous life, Fu Qingling had met a tragic fate outside the capital, and when they found her body, it was too late.
When the Duke of Cheng’en learned of the news that his granddaughter, whom he had cherished since childhood, had suffered a tragic death, he suffocated in grief and never woke up again.
Since then, the Duke’s family had been shrouded in gloom as it headed towards its downfall. In the end, the Empress was deprived of her position and the entire clan was incarcerated…
Recalling the unpleasant events in the previous iteration, Ming Jue clenched up his fists. Within his slightly droopy eyelids, contains a pair of black pupils that were enveloped in darkness.
A gloomy atmosphere surrounded him.
……
After three days of continuous travel, Su Jin and her new ‘companion’ finally arrived at Fengyuan County, which was geographically located south of the Yanzhou Prefecture. Since she now had a partner to chat with, the journey never felt boring.
“Host, do you really intend to settle down permanently in the village and cultivate the fields?” System#2250 asked again, desperately trying to hold on to any tiny bit of hope.
“That goes without saying. A tenacious lady like myself would be best suited for farming. Every swing of the hoe would be precise and savage…”
System#2250: “…” (…Autist)1TL Note: I feel like there was a pun being made here. The raw only mentions 2 words – “自闭” which usually means autism. But in the case of an electronic device, it could also mean self-shutdown. i.e. the system couldn’t stand it anymore and turned itself off. Especially since it did not appear anymore in this chapter
Su Jin followed the memories of her body and found her way to Shangxi Village2TL note: Again, it is written as Xiaxi Village here in the raw ‘下溪村’ as opposed to Shangxi Village ‘上溪村’ . But in later chapters, both terms had been used interchangeably. The author was inconsistent in this, and I haven’t come across any meaningful reason for the switch, since 上 and 下 could be interpreted as upper and lower respectively. So for the sake of consistency, I’ll standardize everything as Shangxi village for now.. On the way, she could see plumes of smoke coming from the kitchens of many houses in the distant village.
A scene of tranquility and peace.
Yet, those words could never be more ill-fitted to describe the current state of the Su family.
……
The on-going commotion within the house was audible even from the other side of the walls. Occasionally, some passing neighbours would peep out of curiosity, but none of them had the courage to go near the house.
Present in the modest-sized yard of the Su family were a large number of burly men armed in wooden clubs, who were evaluating the bundle of old, weak, sick and disabled members of the Su family.
In the midst of that, the sound of objects being smashed could be heard from time to time as a representative threatened them, “This Master3‘爷’ in the raw, which normally translates to grandpa. In this case, the man used it as a slang to address himself to elevate his position / status which deserves respect from the surrounding people, even if he is not their grandpa. shall not let myself return empty-handed today. If you can’t pay up, hand over the title deed to the land. As for the residents, you guys… can see yourselves out. Make your choice.”
Even though Qin Shi usually behaved in a shrewd manner, she was just an ordinary widow. In the face of the group of real thugs, her face had lost all colours. The only thing she could do was to keep her head lowered and cry.
What a bunch of tyrants. Her eldest son had his leg broken by them. Now they wanted to extort the title deed to the house from her, which was the only valuable possession she had left. How was she going to survive from now on? What grave sins had her family committed to deserve such a fate!
Hugging her mother-in-law in one hand and a hoe in the other, Lu Shi trembled slightly, as if to squeeze out her last ounce of courage.
At first, after the head of the family’s leg was broken, the Su family thought the worst was over. No one expected that the situation would deteriorate. In less than two days, several people knocked on their doors asking for repayment. The visitors claimed that Su Dalang had accumulated gambling debts outside, and was crippled as a result. The Su family was still held liable for the debts owed.
But Lu Shi could not believe that claim. Her man was the deepest embodiment of honesty and sincerity. Even in his daily life, he passed his time uneventfully and hardly complained.
There was no way she would buy the story that her husband had gone to gamble behind their backs.
When Su Dalang regained consciousness, she questioned him about the matter. But the only result from it was his insistent claims that he had never gambled.
They could not figure out what happened.
However, the debtors produced an IOU with his handprint acknowledgement, which could not be fabricated. It was a debt of twenty taels of silver, an amount equivalent to demanding for her life.
The Su family in its current state could not even afford to pay twenty casted coins4TL Note: casted coins – 文 or wén, is the smallest denomination of money in ancient Chinese currency system. For a rough comparison, a string of 1000 casted coins is usually equivalent to one tael of silver, depending on the era, much less a massive debt of twenty taels. They had to buy expensive medicine to treat Su Dalang’s legs every day, and spent all their money on it.
Demanding for repayment of the debt in their current situation was tantamount to driving the Su family to their destruction.
The man lost patience and snapped.
“Smash this place. Since you couldn’t pay up, leave the land title behind and get out.”
With that order, several men raised their weapons and began to make a mess of this place, only to hear a scream.
A thin, dark-skinned boy of about ten years old rushed out from the side door and charged at the group of large men like a calf while yelling, “Who said you could bully my mother? I will beat you up.”
At the back, a three-year-old girl could be heard crying as she leaned against the doorsill. Her mother told them to hide in the wing room and not to make any noise. But… she was afraid, she was too scared.
This was not the first time the debt collector had come to the Su family’s house, and the debt collector had long lost all patience.
Annoyed by the nuisance caused by the young boy, the man’s rage escalated further. He spat angrily and kicked the boy hard, sending him rolling on the ground.
He yelled furiously, “You were the ones who owe the money. If you had no means to pay it back, don’t gamble in the first place. Now that you have lost the money, you want to renege on the debt? You think this Third Master here had come over to chit chat? Don’t blame this Master for being heartless. I’m just asking for the land title. You can take everything else with you when you leave.”
A house that was full of worthless junk. He wouldn’t take it even if it was given for free.
That was the first statement that welcomed Su Jin just as she was about to reach home. Her heart sank instantly, and she deduced the general situation.
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