Dragon, Truly Shameless (Yuri Futa, Farming) - Chapter 14
Only after closing the courtyard gate, blocking the prying eyes of the outside world, did the old woman of the Shen family nimbly get up and quickly walk to the old man’s side.
“How did it go?”
“It’s settled. Our family doesn’t have to pay the money, but…” The old man said, his expression suddenly becoming serious as he leaned down and whispered something into the old woman’s ear.
Shen Qingming watched with her own eyes as the look in the old woman’s eyes changed from incomprehension to pity, and even a fleeting hint of resentment. That’s right, she saw displeasure in the eyes of the only person in this family who still cared about her, displeasure directed at her. She didn’t know what she had done wrong to be so disliked. She did the most work and ate the least food. Why were her relatives still like this? Wasn’t she doing enough?
So, in the days that followed, Shen Qingming always tried her best to do everything perfectly, silently cooking, silently cleaning the house, and then silently tidying up the messes. Even though she was as busy as a spinning top, the unease in her heart grew day by day. Finally, it reached mid-September, and the paddy fields were dyed golden. If there were no accidents, they could be harvested in another half-month.
Today, Taohua Village was particularly lively. The village’s Dragon King Temple had been rebuilt, and every household had taken out their meager food and grains, setting up altars directly in their courtyards to worship. By evening, a bright moon slowly rose in the sky. The moon was exceptionally round, clear and bright like an egg yolk, and the silhouettes of what looked like a human figure and a rabbit could vaguely be seen within it, the Moon Goddess Chang’e and the Jade Rabbit.
Today was the Mid-Autumn Festival, a day for people to remember their hometowns and offer wishes for good fortune since ancient times. Considering the approaching autumn harvest, the Dragon King statue had been repaired, and the village chief once again gathered the villagers, preparing to take this opportunity to invite the Dragon King back into the Dragon King Temple to protect the region.
The villagers responded enthusiastically. The Dragon King, wrapped in red cloth, was carried out and placed in a red sandalwood sedan chair to be carried into the Dragon King Temple. This was called “inviting the deity.”
With a heavy thud, the Dragon King stood firmly on the altar, his expression stern and majestic, his eyes bright. The shrimp soldiers and crab generals arranged at his feet revealed fierce gazes, warning the evil spirits nearby who dared to harm the people. The people took out incense and kowtowed to the Dragon King, praying for a smooth autumn harvest.
Shen Qingming stood in the distance watching. As someone recognized for miles around as “inauspicious,” she was not allowed to approach the Dragon King Temple. But today, she could watch from afar because today was the day she was to “enter the mountain.”
She still remembered the unease in her heart before going to bed last night, as if something bad was about to happen. Sure enough, when she returned to her room late at night to sleep, the old woman of the Shen family called her and brought her to the main room. The few steps from the kitchen to the main room felt like a lifetime to her.
“Grandma, what’s wrong?” She tried to appear calm, but her trembling voice betrayed her unease and helplessness.
“Daya, you’ve reached marriageable age this year, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“When a girl reaches marriageable age, she’s grown up and should get married independently. Now that your parents are gone, your two uncles aren’t in a good position to arrange a marriage for you.”
“Grandma wants me to get married?”
“That’s not what Grandma means. What Grandma means is that we’re not your parents after all. Years ago, your father and your two uncles divided the household, and Grandma and Grandpa lived with your two uncles. All these years, considering our relationship as grandparents and granddaughter, we let you stay in your two uncles’ homes. But now… you can see that the family’s conditions are getting worse day by day. It’s also unfair for you to squeeze in with your several cousins. You should move out in the future.”
“Move? Move where?”
“The village chief said you’ve caught the Dragon King’s eye, so you should move into the mountain.”
“The mountain? Grandma, I won’t move. I want to live at home. Please don’t drive me away, okay?”
“We’re not driving you away. The village chief said the Dragon King has taken a liking to you. The Dragon King wants someone, and Grandma, as a commoner, can’t refuse, can she?”
“No, I won’t move, I won’t go, I won’t go.”
“Huh? Usually you’re the most obedient and sensible. Why are you being so stubborn this time?”
“I won’t go!”
“Since you’re grown up, you can’t always rely on your uncles’ home, can you? It just so happens that tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the village is inviting the deity. You should take advantage of the good fortune and enter the mountain. Don’t be afraid. You could escape from a tiger’s mouth, which shows that the Dragon King likes you. Find a way to make a living in the mountain, and you might even meet a hunter boy and entrust your life to him. That way, you might change your unlucky fate of suffering, right?”
“Grandma.”
“Listen to Grandma. How could Grandma deceive you? Tomorrow, Grandma will prepare some things for you, and you can enter the mountain.”
The old woman of the Shen family kept chattering, but Shen Qingming couldn’t hear anything anymore. She didn’t know what expression she had worn back then, whether she had begged with tears in her eyes or looked lost and helpless. Now, she couldn’t remember anything. She only remembered the solitary lamp in the main room that night. The oil lamp gave off a dim light, flickering from time to time because of the wind, just like her world, sometimes bright, sometimes dark, teetering on the brink of collapse.
Shen Qingming knew for the first time that wanting to live could also be called… being stubborn. Pulled back from her reverie, she was awakened by the old woman’s words.
The old woman of the Shen family had come before her at some point, her rough, wrinkled hands holding a few incense sticks, handing them to her.
“Worship the Dragon King. Let him know you’re entering the mountain, so wild beasts won’t target you.”
Shen Qingming lowered her head, staring blankly at the dirty hem of her clothes, holding the incense sticks without moving. The old woman sighed and handed her a bundle. “Take this. Grandma could only find these things for you. There should be a lot of wild fruits and vegetables in the mountain now. You’re capable. It’s not impossible for you to find a safe place to live.”
“Grandma,” Shen Qingming murmured, her eyes red-rimmed.
“Think positively. Women always have to shed tears when they worship their parents-in-law. Now you’re just leaving home early.”
The old woman of the Shen family finished speaking and left in a hurry, leaving Shen Qingming standing there for a long time, her feet rooted to the spot. Shed tears when worshiping parents-in-law? This was nothing like that. After the deity invitation ceremony ended, the villagers went home in groups. Madam Li saw her still standing there, hesitating to speak, and finally didn’t utter a single word.
The incense in her hand had burned halfway down. Shen Qingming clasped her hands together, holding the incense, and bowed towards the Dragon King Temple.
I don’t want to leave the village, don’t want to enter the mountain, don’t want to be alone. Please let them keep me.
Please, let me return to the village.
I don’t want to die.
She silently repeated the wish that she had repeated countless times in her heart, but just like many times before…
The dragon never responded to her.
Shen Qingming bowed again. The incense had burned out, turning into ashes scattered in the wind, and her tears had dried.
The sun was setting, and the dazzling sunlight turned into a purplish-red, hanging high in the sky, excessively red. In Shen Qingming’s eyes, today’s sunset was as red as fresh bl00d.
Shen Qingming held the bundle that the old woman of the Shen family had given her. The bundle was bulging and quite heavy. Inside was all her belongings from the old Shen family… two sets of clothes to change into. Ironically, in fifteen years, she only had two sets of clothes to change into, and they were leftovers from the other girls. In the countryside, younger children wore the clothes of older children. Because she was the smallest and thinnest among the girls, she basically wore the clothes of her several cousins, mostly the clothes of the fifth sister. One could imagine what kind of clothes they were.
Pushing aside the clothes that looked like dried vegetables, underneath were a firestone and ten naan breads, obviously something the old woman had tried her best to get for her, otherwise, she probably wouldn’t have had any food at all.
Shen Qingming touched the naan breads, her eyes stinging again. Perhaps these naan breads were just meager comfort, but they were better than nothing. She glanced at the old Shen family’s house in the distance, then turned around with despair and entered the mountain.