Second Lu returned looking thoroughly displeased, accompanied by a young boy covered in injuries. Madam Xu, who had come back as well, was equally furious.
“That whole family is shameless! I spit on them!”
Yu Mian jumped in fright. When Madam Xu looked at the simple-minded boy, though, she couldn't bring herself to speak harshly to him. Seeing how timidly he shrank back, she poured him a bowl of sugar water. “Wait by the door,” she said gently.
Yu Mian's eyelashes trembled. “I won't drink it,” he whispered. “Save it for Brother.”
“Well…”
The village head glanced at Second Lu. With a helpless sigh, Second Lu went inside and explained to Lu Wanzhou what had happened. The two families had argued back and forth. In the end, even with Second Lu's stubborn wrangling and Constable Meng's “threats,” Eldest Yu had agreed to return only half the fields.
He stubbornly insisted the other half had been given to Yu Mian as a betrothal gift by Lu Wanzhou's father. He refused to budge on that point no matter what. Neither Second Lu nor the village head could do anything about it. After all, the elder Lu brother was dead, and there was no one left to confront Eldest Yu over his claim. In the end, they could only come back with the simple-minded boy and half the farmland.
“Wanzhou, your second uncle was no use at all.”
Lu Wanzhou was silent for a moment, then shook his head. “It's all right. Getting even half of it back is already very good.”
He remembered how, in the original story, the boy had practically lost a layer of skin in his struggle to escape the Yu family. Recovering half the land this time was already a remarkable stroke of luck.
The village head sighed. “The rest might be manageable, but… there's still that simple-minded boy.”
Judging by Second Lu's attitude, he was certainly willing to take care of his nephew. But having to bring along another little dependent as well was probably…
Second Lu frowned, too. Lu Wanzhou said quietly, “Second Uncle, you don't have to worry about it. I can look after Mianmian and live with him from now on.”
“Absolutely not. You're still so young, and you have to study. You should come to town with me. As for that… simple-minded boy, leave him in the village. He's the Yu family's own flesh and blood. They won't abandon him.”
Lu Wanzhou shook his head. “I've already troubled you more than enough, Second Uncle. I can manage on my own. Now that I have some land, I can support myself.”
“Your aunt is the kindest of women. Don't be frightened. When you come to our home, you can treat it as your own.”
Lu Wanzhou shook his head again. “Second Uncle, please don't try to persuade me anymore. I'm already ten. I can't rely on you for the rest of my life.”
“Thank you, Uncle Meng and Second Uncle, for making this trip for me. I have nothing of value to offer you now, so all I can do is thank you with words.”
Constable Meng waved a hand. “It was nothing.”
Second Lu was about to try persuading his nephew again when Lu Wanzhou smiled. “Second Uncle, everyone in the village knows me. Let me try living here for now. If I really can't manage, I'll come and find you, all right?”
Seeing the two at an impasse, the village head didn't know what else to say. Constable Meng, however, spoke up quietly. “Your nephew knows his own mind. Why not let him try? He's still in his own village, surrounded by people who know him. He's lost both parents and been through that ordeal with the Yu family. How could he dare move into another household so easily now?”
After thinking it over carefully, Second Lu had to admit there was sense in that, but he still couldn't help worrying.
The two remained at an impasse for a while before Second Lu finally nodded. “Then I'll have to trouble you, Village Head, to keep an eye on our Wanzhou. If anything happens, come and find me.”
The village head nodded. “All right.”
With Constable Meng still there, Second Lu couldn't stay long. He sat for a little while, then prepared to leave. Worried his nephew would have a hard time, he bought some rice, flour, and oil for him from the village head's household, then left him five hundred copper coins before departing.
Naturally, Lu Wanzhou didn't refuse. He truly needed money right now.
After everyone had gone, Lu Wanzhou beckoned to the little simpleton. Yu Mian stared blankly for a moment before slowly hobbling over to the bedside on his injured leg.
Lu Wanzhou studied his tangled hair and the injuries covering his face. “Does it hurt?” he asked gently.
Yu Mian froze for an instant, then shook his head. He gave a small, cautious smile, a trace of eagerness to please in his eyes. “D-doesn't hurt. It doesn't hurt.”
After speaking, Yu Mian lowered his head again, leaving Lu Wanzhou staring at the fluffy crown of his hair. Then he cautiously looked up once more.
“What's wrong?”
“I… I won't eat much. Brother, please… please don't leave me behind, all right?” When Yu Mian finished speaking, he lowered his head again. The room was very quiet. Lu Wanzhou could actually hear the tears pattering onto the chair. He lifted the little simpleton's chin and saw great tears rolling down his cheeks.
“What are you crying for?”
“I'm not crying.” Yu Mian tried hard to curl his lips into a smile, but he couldn't control himself. In the end, the tears only streamed down faster.
“All right, all right.”
“What a little fool.”
“How did you think of asking Uncle Village Head to save me?”
Yu Mian blinked, and after a long while, he whispered, “Father and Mother hit… hit me.”
“I ran away.”
“And then?”
“I met them. I told them to find Brother. Brother was in the mountain.” Yu Mian thought for a moment before adding softly, “My leg hurt. I couldn't walk anymore, so I showed them the way.”
After he finished, Yu Mian tilted his head. His eyes were clear and dark and bright. Looking at him then, he didn't seem simple-minded at all.
Lu Wanzhou rubbed the little fool's head and sighed helplessly. “All right. You saved my life, so you'll stay with me from now on. As long as I have a mouthful to eat, you'll have a mouthful, too.”
“Brother can have it all. Mianmian isn't greedy.”
Lu Wanzhou couldn't help it. He chuckled. “You really are a little fool.”
“I'm not a fool.”
“You are.”
“I'm not.” Yu Mian pouted, looking as though he might burst into tears. Afraid he really would cry, Lu Wanzhou waved his hands. “All right, all right, you're not a fool.”
The little fool really was slow on the uptake. His temper flared quickly, but it vanished just as fast. He was cheerful again now, eagerly carrying the sugar water over for Lu Wanzhou to drink.
Lu Wanzhou lay down a little longer. Once he felt some strength returning, he got up. He lifted the leg of the little fool's trousers and discovered wounds of all sizes, with bruises spreading blue and purple across his skin. It was a dreadful sight.
His left leg was especially bad, with a long gash running down it. Seeing Lu Wanzhou frown, Yu Mian whispered, “It doesn't hurt. I'm not hurting.”
“You're a fool, so of course you don't feel pain.”
Yu Mian's lower lip trembled, and enormous tears spilled from his eyes, catching Lu Wanzhou completely off guard.
“Are you a little crybaby? How can you cry so much?”
At those words, Yu Mian cried even harder. In the end, Lu Wanzhou had no choice but to soothe him hurriedly. “All right, all right. You're not a fool. Brother was wrong.”
Yu Mian's tears stopped when he heard that, but he was still sniffling softly. Looking at the little simpleton, who stood half a head shorter than him, Lu Wanzhou could only pat his back gently. “There, be good. Otherwise I won't keep you.”
At those words, Yu Mian's eyes quivered, and a shudder ran through him. “I'll be good. I'll be good. Please don't leave me.”
“If you stop crying, I'll keep you.”
Yu Mian blinked his large eyes, wiped his tears with his sleeve, and pulled his lips into a smile. Then he bent forward and presented his tear-streaked little face to Lu Wanzhou. “I'm not crying now,” he whispered.
Seeing the little fellow's reddened eyes, like those of a frightened rabbit in the mountains, Lu Wanzhou sighed. “All right. I know you're good.”
Lu Wanzhou was worried about the wound on the little fool's leg, so he took him to the village physician. They got some medicinal ointment before returning to the village head's home.
“Uncle Village Head, the two of us may have to stay at your house for one more night. But don't worry. We'll leave tomorrow.”
The village head waved a hand. “Stay as long as you need.”
Early the next morning, Lu Wanzhou asked the village head to accompany them to the Yu household so he could collect his belongings and bedding. Second Yu wasn't happy about it, but with the village head present, he didn't dare say anything more.
Madam Xu was a talkative woman. The previous evening, she'd told other people everything the Yu family had done. By today, the whole village knew, and a crowd had gathered outside the Yu family's gate to watch the commotion.
“That Eldest Yu and his family really are proof that you can't tell what's in a person's heart just by looking at their face.”
“Exactly. They've driven those two children out, and neither of them's even grown.”
“It's bad enough what they did to the Lu family's child, but Yu Mian is their own flesh and blood!”
“So what if he is? He's a boy of the marrying kind, and he's simple-minded besides. Still, the way they've acted really is vicious.”
“One simple-minded boy and one young scholar. Who knows whether they'll be able to survive on their own?”
“Ah, exactly.”
“I heard the young Scholar Lu was the one who wanted to leave. The Yu family raised them all those years. Surely, at least…”
“At least what? Take a look at the wound on Scholar Lu's forehead! And it's not as if the Yu family raised them for free.”
“I heard Elder Lu left eighteen taels of silver before he died, and Eldest Yu swallowed the lot.”
“Eighteen taels?”
“That's right. Did you think they were raising the boy out of charity? They've been farming his family's fields all along, too. When Scholar Lu tried to get them back, Eldest Yu kept half of them and handed that simple-minded boy over to young Lu. He claimed that the land was the betrothal gift Elder Lu had promised before his death. Elder Lu's dead now, so even if it isn't true, there's no one left to contradict him.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk… Put like that, Eldest Yu really has behaved disgracefully.”
“The couple were always so eager to help people around the village. If not for all this, who could have seen through them?”
“Exactly.”
Lu Wanzhou gathered his own belongings. As for Yu Mian, he owned only two sets of ragged clothes. He picked them up and went with him.
“Tsk, tsk. Life will be hard for those two little ones from now on.”
“It certainly will.”
“Who knows whether they'll even survive?”
“Ah, what a cruel world.”
The Lu family's furniture had been moved to the Yu household, too, but it was all large, heavy pieces. Not wanting to burden the village head and his wife, Lu Wanzhou said nothing about it and took only his books and clothing. The village head and his wife helped carry the bedding.
No one had lived in the Lu house for a long time, and dust covered everything. The village head's wife offered to help clean, but Lu Wanzhou declined. They were fellow villagers, not relatives. If he could do something himself, it was better not to trouble others.
Goodwill was a limited resource. Every time you called on it, there was a little less left.
