Chapter 227: Filial Piety (Part 2)

Taking advantage of the time Qu Jing was gnawing on the corn cob, Qin Huai strolled around the village.

Qin Huai's current range of activity was within a radius of 20 meters centered on Qu Jing, and the space wasn't small. Qu Jing's physical fitness was good, but her teeth were just normal human teeth, so gnawing on a corn cob was still very difficult. Even if she broke her teeth, she might not be able to gnaw off a few pieces.

A range of 20 meters was enough for Qin Huai to tour the village chief's house and the village chief's neighbor's house thoroughly.

In general, the conditions at the village chief's house were still okay. The house was a red brick house, and there were large pieces of furniture in the house that one could tell at a glance were made by a carpenter with average skills. There was a woodshed, a pigsty, and a courtyard.

There were two small piglets in the pigsty, seven or eight chickens in the courtyard, and two geese. The economic conditions were far ahead of the neighbors next door.

The houses next door were all adobe houses.

Qin Huai couldn't tell what era it was yet, but it was highly likely to be before the 1960s. Because even in the wealthy village chief's house, there were no traces of any modern technology.

There was no electricity, no tap water, no bicycles, not even enamel mugs. What reflected that the village chief's house had better conditions was that he had furniture, there were fewer patches on his clothes, everyone in the family could afford to wear pants, and there was cured meat in the kitchen.

When Qin Huai went to look next door, he found three or four children huddled on the kang, and because they had no pants to wear, they could only stay at home during the day.

"Oh my, how can you gnaw on a corn cob like that? Gnawing it raw will break your teeth. This has to be ground into powder before it can be eaten." The village chief's wife discovered Qu Jing gnawing on the corn cob and exclaimed, rushing into the room to snatch the corn cob away, facing Qu Jing's gaze that wanted to eat.

10 minutes later, Qu Jing was sitting in the kitchen eating boiled sweet potatoes.

A circle of onlookers sat around her.

The village chief, the village chief's wife, the village chief's eldest son's whole family, the second son's whole family, and the youngest son's whole family—the whole family, old and young, were all watching forcefully from the side, just because Qu Jing had just eaten 8 large sweet potatoes, two corn cobs, and three bowls of wild vegetable porridge right under their noses.

"Burp." Qu Jing let out a sound of being full after swallowing the last bite of sweet potato.

"Full, full!" The village chief's wife was ecstatic, afraid that Qu Jing would eat another sweet potato, and immediately rushed to her side to take away the other food in the bowl. "My goodness, eating like this, I'm afraid this girl will burst to death here and I won't be able to explain it to Old Qu."

The village chief was also full of doubt about life, seemingly thinking about whether urging the hunter to adopt Qu Jing was a correct choice. He shouldn't be pushing an old friend into a fire pit, right? Such a large appetite was something a normal family couldn't afford to raise, so throwing her away was reasonable.

Qu Jing had already changed into a set of clean old clothes, which were gray and had seven or eight patches on them. Her whole body was already clean, and she looked much better than before.

The village chief's wife didn't throw away the clothes she had on before. In the village chief's wife's words, they were good materials and could still be worn after sewing.

Qu Jing was full, and she didn't have any reaction. She sat quietly in the kitchen without moving, looking at everyone quietly.

The village chief's eldest son was a sturdy man. Seeing that Qu Jing didn't have much reaction after being full, he couldn't help but ask: "Could it be that she's a fool?"

Qu Jing had no reaction.

The village chief puffed on his tobacco pipe twice, revealing a worried look: "This is difficult. She can eat, she's mute, and she's a fool. Isn't this pushing Old Qu into a fire pit?"

The second son spoke: "Dad, you don't have to worry about other families wanting to raise her now. Don't worry, definitely no one will raise her."

The village chief was even more worried.

The youngest son asked foolishly: "Even if she's a fool, Uncle Qu can afford to raise her, right? Didn't he hunt a tiger seven or eight years ago and sell it to the county magistrate? He sold it for a lot of ocean dollars, Uncle Qu can definitely afford to raise her."

"What county magistrate, that's the county head."

"But didn't the county head already get beaten to death by horse bandits?"

"That was the previous one, this one ran away three years ago."

"Ah? Then why do we still have to pay taxes?"

"The ones collecting taxes aren't the same batch. The past two years it was that what's-his-name, Wang Tiger, who was beaten away, collecting taxes."

"Then what is it now?"

"Seems to be New China."

"Is there a county head?"

"There should be. Didn't Dad go to some place to attend a meeting last year? It scared the third one so much he thought they were going to press-gang him, so he packed his things and ran into the mountains. He couldn't find the road, and in the end, it was Uncle Qu who found him."

Qu Jing just opened her eyes and listened to the people in the village chief's house chattering about some things without focus, her face full of "I don't understand but I'm eager to learn." Finally, it was the village chief who knocked on his tobacco pipe, and everyone stopped discussing.

"Old Qu will come to deliver grain tonight. When the time comes, I'll tell him about the girl's situation, and he can decide whether to raise her or not," the village chief said, making the final decision, and left.

After the village chief left, everyone continued to discuss chattering.

Perhaps because they felt Qu Jing was young and a little fool who couldn't speak, they didn't avoid her when saying anything. If she wanted to listen, she could sit on the side and listen, as long as she didn't try to gnaw on sweet potatoes again.

If she kept eating, everyone was really afraid she would burst to death.

Based on everyone's discussion, Qin Huai summarized some key information.

First, this village was Guo Village, and most of the people in the village were surnamed Guo. Hunter Qu was actually from Guo Village; he was surnamed Qu because he was adopted by the previous hunter in the village.

In terms of kinship, Hunter Qu was actually the village chief's cousin once removed.

Hunter Qu didn't live in the village, but at the foot of the mountain. That place was closer to the mountain and more dangerous. When there wasn't enough food in the mountains, wolves and wild boars often came down the mountain to find food, and occasionally there would be fierce beasts like bears and tigers coming down the mountain.

The hunter guarded the mountain, which was actually guarding the village. If fierce beasts came down the mountain, he would fire his gun to warn them. A few years ago, tigers came down the mountain and bit many people to death. In the end, it was Hunter Qu who killed them, and the villagers all remembered Hunter Qu's kindness. Hunter Qu wasn't willing to go into the city to buy grain, cloth, and daily necessities, so the villagers helped him buy them or exchanged them directly.

As for Hunter Qu, he was actually a big celebrity in this area.

Not because he once fought a tiger, but because of a sentence from a wandering fortune teller decades ago.

Hunter Qu's original name was Guo Erdan. When he was a child, his father went to the city to work and had his leg broken by his employer. After the wound became infected, he lay on the bed for more than ten days, struggling and dying in pain.

Then a wandering Taoist priest came to the village to collect grain and tell fortunes. Guo's mother gave half a bowl of porridge, and it was calculated that Guo Erdan was a "Heavenly Lone Star" fate.

He would kill his father, mother, relatives, and children. Guo's mother believed it deeply, feeling that Guo's father was killed by him. When she remarried and took the child, she even took her daughter, but left behind her youngest son, Guo Erdan, throwing him at the foot of the mountain to wait for death.

Then Guo Erdan was picked up by the old hunter.

The old hunter was surnamed Qu, was an outsider, and had a good skill in hunting. Originally, his family was happy and satisfied, and he had a son and a daughter, both of whom were raised very well. As a result, his daughter was spotted by a local wealthy family, who forcibly bought her to be a maid, and she died within two years.

His son went to ask for an explanation, and there was no sign of him alive or dead.

After his children were gone, Hunter Qu's wife died of a serious illness in a winter.

Under these circumstances, Hunter Qu picked up Guo Erdan. He wasn't afraid of the "Heavenly Lone Star" fate the wandering fortune teller spoke of, so he adopted Guo Erdan and changed his name. Guo Erdan became Qu Shan. After the old hunter died, Qu Shan became the new hunter and also inherited the old hunter's title. Others called him Hunter Qu.

Hunter Qu had married a wife in his early years, who died of illness.

Later, someone introduced a second wife, who died in childbirth, and both mother and child died.

Later, the world became chaotic, and there were wars and press-ganging everywhere. Originally, a lone household like Hunter Qu's wouldn't be press-ganged no matter what, but later on, the soldiers and bandits who were press-ganging didn't care about the basic law either. Hunter Qu was press-ganged, but he escaped and continued to be a hunter.

This year, Hunter Qu was forty-seven. This age was indeed the age to be a grandfather in this era. His hair was gray, and his body and energy were not as good as before. Seven or eight years ago, he could still fight tigers, but now he basically just made traps to catch rabbits.

Over the years, the village chief had been urging Hunter Qu to adopt a child, so that when he was really old and couldn't work, there would at least be someone to support him in his old age and perform his funeral rites.

But Hunter Qu seemed to really believe in the fortune teller's words from back then, feeling that he was a "Heavenly Lone Star" and didn't need to harm the children of good families. Over the years, it wasn't that families with many children didn't see that Hunter Qu had good conditions and wanted to adopt their children to him, but they were all rejected by Hunter Qu.

Even those who threw their children at Hunter Qu's door overnight would be sent by Hunter Qu to the village chief's house overnight, asking the village chief to send the children back.

Over the years, the village chief might not know about other things, but he knew clearly how old the children in the nearby villages were.

This was why when Hunter Qu skillfully led Qu Jing to the village chief's house today, the village chief felt that this was an opportunity after clarifying the situation.

Qu Jing's situation was exactly the same as Hunter Qu's back then.

No matter how old the child was, throwing them into the mountains, especially deep mountains, meant the parents had made up their minds not to raise them and wanted the child to die.

The village chief was betting that Hunter Qu couldn't remain indifferent when seeing himself from decades ago.

As for whether it was a boy or a girl, the village chief felt it didn't matter. Hunter Qu was already at this age. In this era, living to 60 in the village was considered a long life. Anyway, everyone only had a dozen years left to live, so they just wanted someone to support them in their old age and perform their funeral rites. Boys and girls were the same at this time.

This was the village chief's original idea.

But when the village chief discovered that Qu Jing might be a fool, the village chief felt that he might have pitted his cousin.

In the evening, the sky outside was almost dark. The village chief's wife took advantage of the remaining light to distribute food to everyone without having to eat in the dark. There weren't enough chairs in the house, so basically everyone held their bowls and stood or squatted to eat.

In fact, there weren't enough bowls either. Several children shared a bowl, you eat a bite, I eat a bite, directly grabbing with their hands. Whoever had food didn't dislike anyone.

Because Qu Jing had a large appetite and someone to manage her food, she was assigned a chipped large bowl and three sweet potatoes.

Qu Jing squatted in the courtyard silently gnawing on sweet potatoes, her two eyes staring at the chickens in the chicken coop, looking really like a little fool.

The village chief held a sweet potato, in no mood to eat, standing at the door of his house with a worried face, waiting for Hunter Qu.

Hunter Qu came.

He carried a basket on his back, and the basket was full of sweet potatoes, as well as a small bag of rice and a rabbit. Seeing the village chief squatting at the door waiting for him, Hunter Qu put the basket down.

"Is it enough?"

The village chief's eyes lit up when he saw the rabbit. While excited, he was also guilty, and said repeatedly: "Enough, enough. Even if the girl you picked up can eat more, it's enough."

"I have something to tell you." The village chief pulled Hunter Qu into the courtyard and muttered about what everyone had observed in the afternoon.

Can't speak, no reaction, staring straight, and can eat—very consistent with everyone's stereotype of a fool.

"I said, even if she had an illness and couldn't speak, the girl was raised until she was this big and looked pretty good. No matter how heartless the family was, they couldn't throw her directly into the mountains to feed the wolves. She must have been burned stupid, and her appetite is large, so they threw her nearby where she could walk back, and that's why they specifically found a far place to throw her into the mountains."

The village chief analyzed it and looked at Hunter Qu: "Are you still raising her?"

Hunter Qu looked at Qu Jing.

Qu Jing was burying her head in gnawing on sweet potatoes.

Hunter Qu didn't hesitate: "Raising her."

"Back then, my mother threw me into the mountains. My life was hard, I stayed in the mountains for a night and wasn't carried away by wolves, and was picked up by my father later."

"This child's life is harder than mine. When I met her, she was almost entering the deep mountains. Looking at her appearance, she had been in the mountains for at least 5 days. She knew how to find water, and used tree branches to catch small fish by the stream. She knew how to find fruit, and was holding wild fruit she hadn't finished eating in her arms. She was alert enough, hearing movement and knowing to hide. If she hadn't been unable to stand, she wouldn't have been discovered by me."

"My life is hard, I killed my biological father, killed two wives, and my own daughter was gone before she was even born."

"This child's life is harder than mine. If no one raises her, I will."

"I've delivered the grain, keep her at your place for a few days. I only have one bed at home, I'll find a carpenter tomorrow to make a small bed, and I'll pick her up after the bed is made." After speaking, Hunter Qu was about to leave.

"Keep her for a few days? How many days is this? Don't find Guo Big Head in our village to make it, he does work the slowest. You find Zhang's fourth son, he makes beds fast."

"I'm telling you, at most 5 days. After 5 days, this grain won't be enough to eat. Your daughter has a very large appetite. You didn't see it this afternoon, she even scared my wife, who was afraid she would burst to death."

"What daughter, my granddaughter," Hunter Qu said without looking back. "I'll bring another basket tomorrow."

"Bring two eggs, your granddaughter ate an egg today!"

"Wait, you haven't named her yet! What is your granddaughter called? You can't just call her 'little girl, little girl'. She's already a fool, what if she thinks her name is 'little girl'? This name is too ugly, it's not as good as my Da Ni, Er Ni, and San Ni."

Hunter Qu's footsteps paused, and he turned his head.

"Who said my granddaughter is a fool?" Hunter Qu said dissatisfiedly. "If you were thrown into the mountains, you wouldn't necessarily live for 5 days. My granddaughter must have my surname, Qu... Qu... just call her Qu Jing, 'Quiet'."

The village chief looked at Hunter Qu's retreating back and muttered in a low voice: "Mute, can she not be quiet?"

"Qu Jing... Jing, when I named Da Ni back then, why didn't I think of this name? Guo Jing sounds much better than Guo Da Ni, sigh."

"Eldest son's wife, Old Qu's granddaughter will sleep with Da Ya, Er Ya, and San Ya tonight. Old woman, Old Qu said he'll bring another basket of grain tomorrow, go boil two more sweet potatoes for his granddaughter, and add an egg. Make Old Qu return 4 tomorrow!"

"Boil again? Don't burst her. Have you forgotten how the fool son of Landlord Qian died? He was burst to death by eating white flour steamed buns." The village chief's wife was a bit worried.

"That's different. The girl has been hungry in the mountains for five or six days. If I had been hungry in the mountains for five or six days, I would have eaten more than her. And I feel she might not be a fool." As he spoke, the village chief looked at Qu Jing, and Qu Jing returned him a look of "I can still eat."

The village chief walked toward Qu Jing and said gently: "Little girl, from today on you are Old Qu's granddaughter. Do you remember the one who just delivered grain to you and led you down the mountain? If you remember, nod."

Qu Jing nodded.

"From now on your name is Qu Jing, the 'Quiet' of quiet. Do you remember? If you remember, nod."

Qu Jing continued to nod.

The village chief was happy: "Look, not a fool."

The village chief's wife shook her head helplessly: "Fools also have different situations, it's not like all fools don't understand words. The fool in the village next to my maiden home still knows how to wear clothes and eat, and knows how to run home when it rains."

"You teach Qu Jing more these two days, it's best if this girl can take care of herself. Old Qu doesn't know how to raise children, and this is a bit of a fool, even harder to raise."

"I know." The village chief's wife nodded, took Qu Jing's hand, and walked into the house. "This child being able to be Old Qu's granddaughter is also a blessing."

Qu Jing wasn't very willing to leave, and turned her head to point at the chicken coop.

"The egg will be boiled later," the village chief's wife said.

Only then did Qu Jing follow obediently.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 228 =====