Chapter 5: Bath & Meal
Shaving Gou’er’s head took quite a bit of effort. When Qu Qing saw the crew cut he had created with a kitchen knife, it didn’t look bad, but it felt somewhat strange. Qu Qing couldn’t help but smile, and Mao’er on the side were also very surprised as he looked at Guo’er’s greatly transformed appearance.
Gou’er touched the top of his hand with some discomfort, feeling a chill on his head.
Qu Qing cleaned the hair on the kitchen knife and said, “Alright, although it looks a bit strange, it’s all for getting rid of the lice. Endure it, and new hair will grow in a few months. Now, it’s Mao’er’s turn.” With that, he turned his gaze to the little cat.
Gou’er nodded and got up, bringing Mao’er to the chair. He thought Mao’er might be scared, but surprisingly, Mao’er boldly tilted his head to look at Qu Qing.
In the sunlight, Qu Qing inspected Mao’er’s face. It was a bit dirty, and some hair covered his eyes. Bending down, Qu Qing lifted the hair from Mao’er’s forehead. Mao’er instinctively flinched, a clear sign of fear, but he didn’t run away. This was mainly because Gou’er firmly held Mao’er’s shoulders.
Qu Qing had seen how children cried uncontrollably when getting their hair cut, and he didn’t want to deal with that. So, he silently agreed to Gou’er’s actions.
Through this opportunity, he finally saw the complete little face of Mao’er clearly. Strangely, Mao’er only opened his right eye; the left eye remained tightly shut. Qu Qing found it a bit perplexing. Could it be that this child was born with only one eye?
Though puzzled, his hands didn’t stop. He took tufts of Mao’er’s tangled hair, deliberately ignoring the lice, and efficiently shaved it it into an inch.
Satisfied with his work, Qu Qing nodded. Then, he started fixing his own hair. Without a mirror, he relied on his sense of touch.
The big and small ones next to him, who had already been shaved, stared at his movements with fascination and didn’t blink for a long time.
After finishing his hair, Qu Qing looked at the sun and guessed that it was already around three or four o’clock. He was ready to start cleaning again. Seeing the hair on the ground, he felt that it was a pity to lose it like this. If only he could use it somehow. Pausing for a moment, he turned to Gou’er and asked, “Can hair be sold for money?”
Gou’er nodded, “In our village, we collect fallen hair and sell it to the peddler who comes every once in a while. We can sell it by weight or exchange it for small items.”
“Good.” This was a piece of good news. Qu Qing crouched down, gathered the long hair, and brought it into the kitchen. Since the water was already hot, he poured it onto the hair in a wooden basin. This was to get rid of the lice.
Then, he took a cloth, dampened it, and went to thoroughly clean the wooden bed. Turning around, he saw Gou’er, who was staring at him with eager eyes at the door. It was then that he realized he was not alone now, so he asked him to find a broom to clean the yard first.
Because of the good weather, the wooden bed dried up quickly after wiping. Qu Qing went out with the cloth, Gou’er was sweeping the floor seriously while Mao’er is following him around. When he saw him come out, although he didn’t stop his movements, his gaze was following Qu Qing.
Qu Qing went to check the straw that had been left out to dry in the yard. Feeling that it was ready, he picked up a large bundle and walked straight into the room. Gou’er saw this and put down the broom to come and help. By the time Qu Qing finished arranging the straw on the bed, Gou’er had brought in another bundle. Qu Qing glanced at him, said nothing, and accepted the straw, carefully arranging it to prevent it from pricking. During this time, Gou’er actively brought in the remaining straw bundles one by one to help him.
With an assistant, Qu Qing simply concentrated on organizing while laying down these straws. He thought whether, at this stage, he could use these straws to weave a mattress if he didn’t have the ability to buy one. It’s just that he doesn’t know this craft, and even if he wants to fumble around, he doesn’t have enough tools. However, he can’t sleep on the straw pile all the time and must find ways to improve it. Sleeping on such a bed is definitely uncomfortable.
As he fiddled around and casually grabbed the straw that was brought in, he felt something was off. Turning his head to look, he realized that Mao’er was also helping out. He casually patted Mao’er’s head and continued with his work after taking the straw.
Feeling the touch, Mao’er instinctively closed his other eye, thinking of Gou’er’s instructions not to upset this man. He stood still, thinking he might be beaten and scolded, but he didn’t expect the man to use such warm hands to touch his head.
Mao’er looked at Qu Qing’s broad back, feeling something blossoming in his heart. The world became very bright, and he couldn’t help but open his other eye. In the azure pupils, a beautiful lake appeared, reflecting the sky’s colors. In this beautiful lake, there was a reflection of a person.
“Mao’er—!” When Gou’er came in and saw the child had opened his other eye, he immediately widened his eyes, thinking about the dreadful consequences of being discovered, he lost his reason and cried out.
Mao’er suddenly realized he had done something wrong, immediately turned around and ran out. Qu Qing turned around just in time to only see his back as it dashed away. But in its haste, it stumbled over the doorstep. Qu Qing glanced at him, made sure he was okay as he got up, then turned to Gou’er with a puzzled expression, “What’s the matter?”
Guo’er smiled ingratiatingly, “Nothing, I just… just…” He couldn’t come up with an excuse and didn’t dare to tell Qu Qing the real reason.
Judging from his appearance, Qu Qing did not continue to inquire and asked him to continue cleaning the yard.
After arranging the straw on the bed, he began to bend down and tidy up the scattered things on the ground. After a rough cleanup, he went out to see that the sun was about to set. He thought his bedding should be almost dry by now, so he went outside to get it.
When he returned, he placed the freshly washed bedding on the bed, then started to put on the bedsheet. Suddenly, he remembered the water still hot in the kitchen. Looking outside at the two dirty figures cleaning, he went to the kitchen and saw a large pot of boiling water with only a small flame underneath. He also noticed that the hair in the wooden basin had been neatly arranged and soaked in the basin at some point..
He picked up the hair, wrung it dry, tied it up with a few straws, and hung it on the pear tree outside. Then he took the wooden bucket, stopped Guo’er from following, and fetched a bucket of cold water. He very seriously instructed both of them to go to the kitchen and take a bath.
“From head to toe, every corner must be cleaned thoroughly, understand? This is soap horn, use this to wash, the water is already in it. Also…” He went to his bed and found two pieces of his own clothes. Since Mao’er was too small, he took a short shirt. “These two are clean clothes. After washing, wear this. Do you understand?”
This was the sternest Qu Qing had been all day. Mao’er thought to himself, this person must be very clean. Seeing himself covered in dust, he didn’t mention that he had already washed yesterday. He obediently took the clothes and took Mao’er to bathe.
Qu Qing’s expression softened, turned around and looked around the yard, after cleaning, it looks much more comfortable. The house is also almost clean, even those dust and stains on the cupboards have been wiped. The whole broken thatched hut has a kind of new feeling. He put the bedding on, neatly folded his clothes, put them in the wooden box, and arranged everything. He went to the yard and looked at the pear tree full of blossoms, thinking about what he had learned today.
He almost turned over every corner of the house and could confirm that the original owner was indeed very poor. He didn’t find anything like coins in the house. He organized his current possessions: a three-acre land deed, this dilapidated thatched hut, the rickety table and chairs, and the few bags of seeds in the adjacent room. In the kitchen, there was a third of a rice bin filled with rice infested with weevils, a large pot, a wooden basin, a wooden bucket, a small iron pot, and a few sets of bowls and chopsticks. As for farming tools, there was only a sickle and two rusty hoes, along with a bamboo backpack.
Most of the items were scattered around. It was only when he saw these farming tools that he realized deeply that, starting from today, he would be living here for ten years. If nothing unexpected happened, he would have to rely on his own hands to become a genuine farmer and work the land with his back facing the sky.
Even someone who had never farmed knew that making a living from farming was definitely not easy. Moreover, as someone who had lived in an industrial society, he had almost no contact with agriculture. Yet now, he had to rely on farming to support himself. It all felt surreal.
Initially, Qu Qing found all of this very difficult to accept. But then he thought about the huge sum of money he had received and the average monthly salary of 25,000. He felt— I can do this!
At worst, I’ll just treat farming as part of the job description.
With that in mind, he decided to start working tomorrow.
Feeling somewhat settled, he began to plan for tonight’s dinner. However, since the kitchen was occupied, he went for a walk in the back mountains, which was to get a preliminary understanding of the environment here. After a while, he returned and saw the two of them washing their wet clothes and hanging them on the branches of the pear tree.
After checking and seeing that they were indeed clean, Qu Qing nodded in satisfaction. Then, he went to fetch water to cook rice. There were no vegetables, so he had to go get a few potatoes and handed them to the nearby Gou’er for him to peel them out and cut them well.
He started to prepare and clean the stove.
When the rice was cooked, he made a stir-fried potato shreds dish. Fortunately, although there weren’t many things in the house, there were still basic items like firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, etc. It’s just that the quantity was not optimistic. He needed to figure out a way to replenish these items.
While stir frying, Gou’er was salivating heavily on the side, and Mao’er outside also had one eye wide open, its belly growling.
The fragrant smell of the cooked dishes wafted out. Qu Qing handed a bowl to Mao’er to carry to the table inside the house. Then, he turned around to get bowls and serve the rice. Three bowls of rice – two large ones and one small one – and the rice was a little mushy. After all, it wasn’t cooked in a rice cooker.
When Gou’er came in and saw the three bowls of white rice, feeling a bit stunned. When Qu Qing handed him a bowl, he was somewhat incredulous. Could it be for himself and Mao’er? He immediately denied the idea, thinking perhaps it was a strange habit of Qu Qing’s to eat three bowls of rice? After all, even at home, rice was precious and would never be served to him.
One dish, three bowls of rice. Qu Qing took three pairs of chopsticks to the table, sat down, and saw the two standing in front, eagerly eyeing the food on the table, drooling. He picked up a bowl and said to them, “Come sit down.”
Gou’er hesitated, and Mao’er poked the dog, swallowing heavily.
“Are you waiting for me to feed you?” Qu Qing asked.
The two hurriedly sat down, still eagerly eyeing the steaming food in front of them, but still hesitant to touch them.
Qu Qing felt somewhat helpless, so he picked up a few pieces of shred potatoes with chopsticks and placed it on their bowl.
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Translator’s Note:
I apologize for the delay. It took a long time for our WiFi to get repaired T-T.
