Chapter 4: Fetching Water & Haircut
Hua Guo’er tightened his grip slightly on Mao’s arm. Even though he hadn’t received much education, he knew that cutting hair recklessly wasn’t a good thing. He had heard stories from the elders in the village, tales from ancient times when one punishment for criminals was shaving their heads.
Qu Qing’s face was faint, and he didn’t show a fierce expression to force them, but Hua Guo’er knew he couldn’t resist. It was their first day in this household, and Qu Qing could have sent Mao away. However, he chose not to. If accepting a haircut would allow him and Mao to stay, then what was the harm?
With this in mind, he agreed without hesitation, “Okay.”
Qu Qing also sighed in relief. After all, if the other party considered hair more valuable than life, he wouldn’t know what to do. He absolutely didn’t want to experience the feeling of feeding lice himself.
Turning around, Qu Qing took a wooden bucket and plunged it into the stream. Seeing this, Hua Guo’er wanted to go and fetch water, but Qu Qing glanced at his frail figure and delicate wrists, subtly blocking his attempt to grab the bucket. He refused, but then saw a visible sense of panic and unease on his face. Qu Qing hesitated and instructed Hua Guo’er to use a wooden basin and bring back half a basin of water.
At the mention of this, the fear on Hua Guo’er’s face dissipated, replaced by a faint joy.
Qu Qing understood. This man behaved this way because he was without support, living under someone else’s roof. He was in a constant state of uneasy dependency, constantly gauging others’ moods and doing more to prove his own worth.
When he was a child visiting other people’s homes, he had experienced similar feelings, but it hadn’t been to this extent.
Qu Qing casually glanced at the man who followed him, looking somewhat out of place and falling behind a few steps. The corner of his eye caught the man not following his instructions and filling the entire basin with water, so when he walked, the water sloshed from side to side, wetting his clothes. The smaller one beside him almost had to run to keep up, stumbling a few times. Qu Qing noticed that he fell several times that day, but he hadn’t seen a single tear from him.
Didn’t it hurt?
Qu Qing sighed and pretended to be tired, putting down the wooden bucket. Then, he switched hands and lifted it again. This time, his steps were considerably slower than earlier.
Initially, Hua Guo’er struggled to keep up with Qu Qing’s pace, and the water in the basin frequently spilled. He berated himself for his clumsiness and dared not lag behind. As for the struggling Mao, he didn’t have the time or courage to help him. Moreover, he didn’t want to risk upsetting Qu Qing. After all, Mao… had no blood relation to Qu Qing. In fact, he couldn’t be sure of Qu Qing’s intentions towards Mao.
If… if he wanted to drive Mao away, he would definitely leave too.
When Hua Guo’er was nervously pondering these thoughts, he saw Qu Qing suddenly stop. Then, to his surprise, keeping up with him didn’t seem so difficult anymore. Mao also managed to catch up by trotting with his short legs.
After entering the threshold, Qu Qing accelerated his pace, went to the kitchen to put down the wooden bucket, then turned around and took the wooden basin filled with water from the man. When he took it, the weight surprised him, making him feel somewhat strained. Hua Guo’er hadn’t reacted yet, and the arm that was almost giving out suddenly felt lighter. He looked up in surprise at Qu Qing’s back, not sure if he was rushing to use the water or just trying to help him.
Watching Qu Qing enter the kitchen, he hesitated. He wanted to go help, but remembered that even in his own home, he wasn’t allowed into the kitchen. It was a precaution against him and Mao. Generally, people didn’t allow outsiders into their kitchens. Thinking of this, he didn’t dare to follow him in or into the house. He stood in the yard, waiting for Qu Qing to come out and give him instructions. Until he was told otherwise, he wouldn’t dare touch anything in this house.
After fetching water and preparing firewood, Qu Qing searched for a long time only to find that there were neither firelighters nor matches. He was almost scratching his head in frustration, wishing he had a lighter in his hand at this moment.
In the end, he gave up, thinking that the native person outside should know how to start a fire. Now he was somewhat grateful that the mysterious person had provided him with a native roommate. Otherwise, as a modern person, he would be completely in the dark here.
Qu Qing walked out and saw the man with his back to him, pulling at his wet clothes while basking in the sun. The child next to him, although his clothes were not wet, imitated the adult’s actions, sunbathing in a well-practiced manner. Qu Qing found this scene quite amusing, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He called out to the person’s back, “Hey, what’s your name?”
The sudden voice startled the two, and Hua Guo’er immediately put down his clothes and turned around, while Mao also cautiously hid behind Hua Guo’er.
Seeing their nervous appearance, Qu Qing felt like he might be perceived as a village bandit. The smile in his eyes disappeared. Hua Guo’er probably realized that his behavior was a bit excessive but didn’t know how to express it. He hesitated before answering Qu Qing’s question, “I… am called Hua… Hua Guo’er. Everyone at home calls me Guo’er.”
“Oh…”
Qu Qing thought the name was quite casual. Although he had heard that in ancient times, poor families would give their children a humble name to make them easier to raise, this person seemed quite grown-up now. How could he still have such a name?
He didn’t express any opinions on this simple and casual name. Then, his gaze shifted to the child, “What’s his name?”
The joy in Hua Guo’er’s eyes flashed, and his voice became a bit louder. He hurriedly pulled Mao to the front to introduce, “He’s called Mao’er, with no surname…”
Because his family didn’t allow him to use their surname for this adopted child and didn’t give him a name, he decided to give the child a name similar to his own.
Mao’er and Guo’er? Qu Qing silently repeated in his mind, sighing that it really lacked thoughtfulness, revealing an air of being disregarded. Judging from the reaction of the middle-aged woman during the day, the status of this duo in the house was probably very low.
[guo: dog, mao: cat]
“I see. So, Guo’er, can you make a fire?”
Qu Qing’s voice was calm and affable, unlike the crude and impolite common villagers. He couldn’t understand why he used to dislike this person so much. However, at this moment, he felt that there was nothing wrong with him.
“Yes, I can, I can do all the household chores, and I do them well.”
“Then, come and heat water.”
After the instructions, Guo’er went inside, found the flint, and skillfully lit the fire. Qu Qing now understood how they started fires here and thought that he must try it himself later.
After cleaning the pot and heating the water, he went outside to search for scissors again. After looking for a long time, not to mention scissors, he didn’t even find a small knife. Considering that cutting hair was necessary, Qu Qing finally turned his attention to the kitchen’s vegetable knife.
Must cut hair.
After cleaning the big pot and boiling water, he went outside, searching through boxes and cabinets again for scissors. After a while, not finding any scissors or even a small knife, he realized he had to cut hair. Finally, Qu Qing turned his gaze to the kitchen’s vegetable knife.
It was necessary to cut hair.
Thinking about those lice, Qu Qing picked up the kitchen knife, inspected the somewhat dull blade, and found a bowl. He used the bottom of the bowl to sharpen the knife.
Guo’er, who was squatting next to him and gathering firewood for the fire, heard the sound of sharpening his knife and felt inexplicably scared. He quietly looked up at Qu Qing several times. Outside, Mao’er, because Qu Qing was inside, didn’t dare to come in. He peeked inside and moved away whenever Qu Qing came out. Now, watching Qu Qing sharpening the knife, he observed the adult’s actions with one eye, looking puzzled.
After sharpening the knife, Qu Qing fetched a stool and placed it in the courtyard. He held the knife in his hand and saw the fearful gazes of the two. He thought for a moment, then gathered his long hair in his hand and cut it off from the roots.
Everyone, big and small, was shocked and stunned when they saw his actions.
After cutting off his hair, Qu Qing felt considerably lighter on his head. However, feeling the uneven cut, he thought he probably needed to find a way to fix it; otherwise, it would definitely look terrible.
Holding the hair he had just cut, approximately more than half a meter long, he thought about how washing it earlier had almost drowned him, wasting a lot of soap horns. Shaving it off was a good idea; otherwise, he wouldn’t have had time to deal with so much hair. Looking at the two, he tried to keep his voice gentle and asked, “Mao’er, Guo’er, which one of you wants to go first?”
Guo’er blushed when he heard his name, then pulled Mao’er to the front and said, “I’ll go first.”
Qu Qing nodded, letting him sit on the chair. Considering that it was necessary to completely eliminate lice, he couldn’t give them any chance to hide. It shouldn’t be too short either, so he decided to leave a finger joint-length of hair and began cutting.
As Qu Qing felt the strands of Guo’er’s hair in his hands, watching the once-belonging body parts gradually move away, Guo’er, who initially thought he might feel sad, strangely found himself not sad at all. Instead, there was a indescribable joy.
He was personally cutting hair for himself and Mao’er. Did this mean that he wouldn’t chase them away?
Only when shaving his head did Qu Qing notice that there was still undissolved youthfulness between his brows and eyes, so he curiously asked, “How old are you this year?”
“I… I’ll be eighteen next month…” Speaking of this, he slightly lowered his head and eyes. In fact, his family counted the age in nominal years. His mother often whispered in his ear that he was about to be a nineteen-year-old man and wondered why he still couldn’t get married. He knew he was getting older, and most families wouldn’t prefer someone his age. So when he spoke, he intentionally stated his actual age. Anyway… this is not a lie. Even so, he still felt a bit guilty and didn’t dare to look at Qu Qing.
Having no idea about what was going on in his mind, Qu Qing silently sighed, realizing that at the age of seventeen, he was still just a big child.
The curious Mao’er standing on the side watched as Qu Qing shaved the hair of Guo’er with interest, eyes blinking non-stop. Perhaps it was because Qu Qing’s movements were gentle, and he had never spoken harshly to him, so his fear was not as intense as before. He even sneakily glanced at Qu Qing with a curious gaze.
When Qu Qing lifted his head, he met the eyes of the child and gave him a friendly smile.
Mao’er immediately lowered his head again, burying it in his chest.
Qu Qing suddenly felt a bit distressed. Could it be that he smiled so terrifyingly?
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