LRAB Chapter 21 Qin Rushan Reveals His Hidden Illness
Chapter 21 Qin Rushan Reveals His Hidden Illness
The sun was scorching, and the soil in the Zhao family's yard was steaming.
Li Xianglian squatted by the well, clutching the two wing roots of the speckled pheasant in her hands.
The chicken probably sensed its impending doom and frantically flapped its wings, its sharp claws leaving several bloody ridges on the back of her hand.
"What are you dawdling for! If you don't kill them soon, the sun will be setting!"
Zhao Xiaoyun sat in the shade by the main house entrance, her son Hu'er in her arms was gnawing on a peach shortbread, his face covered in crumbs. As she wiped her son's mouth, she glared at him and shouted, "If you don't dare to kill it, let my mother do it! What a useless piece of trash, can't even handle a chicken, has been eating for nothing all these years."
Xianglian ignored the harsh insults. She took a deep breath and touched the vein on the chicken's neck with her fingers.
With a swift motion, the knife fell, and warm, crimson blood gushed out, splattering onto her patched trousers.
The speckled chicken twitched a few more times in her hand and then lay still.
Looking at the bowl of bright red chicken blood, Xianglian felt not much fear, but rather a strange sense of pleasure.
The chicken is dead today, but who knows who will be the chicken to be slaughtered tomorrow night?
The rich aroma of stewed chicken soon filled the kitchen.
That was an old hen that had been stewed for over an hour; it was juicy and flavorful, with an irresistible aroma that could be carried by the wind for miles.
The Zhao family, including the mother and daughter and their spoiled little brat, sat around the low table, eating with their mouths full of oil.
Aunt Zhao was even more attentive, constantly putting chicken legs and wings into her grandson's bowl, and giving the easier-to-chew parts of the chicken breast to her daughter.
"Mom, it smells so good! I don't get to eat this much even once a year when I'm at my husband's house."
While chewing on the meat, Zhao Xiaoyun mumbled something indistinctly, glancing smugly toward the kitchen doorway.
There, Xianglian was holding a rough porcelain bowl with a chip in it, filled with thin cornmeal porridge, without even a single pickled vegetable.
Aunt Zhao slurped a piece of chicken butt with a loud slurping sound, spat out a bone, and sneered, "If it smells good, eat more. Some people are only meant to smell the aroma. That's what they call classifying people into different classes. Meat is for family, outsiders? Humph, they're lucky to deserve bran and wild vegetables."
Xianglian lowered her head and drank her porridge, not even lifting her eyelids.
The aroma of the chicken wafted into her nose, truly tempting her, but she didn't find it bitter at all.
Eat up, eat more. This is called a "last meal before death"!
In the Qin family courtyard, separated by only one wall.
Qin Rushan was shirtless, sharpening his knife. The axe he was rubbing against the whetstone made a "whoosh" sound, gleaming coldly.
He had good hearing, and every word of Zhao Xiaoyun's sharp and sarcastic voice from next door could penetrate his ears.
His brows furrowed into a deep frown, and his movements became increasingly ruthless, as if he were grinding the bones of that family.
Just then, the half-closed courtyard gate was pushed open from the outside.
"Oh, Rushan, busy, huh?"
A voice, carrying an official tone but sounding quite warm, came over.
Qin Rushan paused in his actions, then lifted his eyelids to glance at it.
The man was wearing a slightly worn Zhongshan suit, with a pen clipped to his pocket and a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) in his hand. He was smiling so much that the wrinkles on his face were all bunched up.
He is Liu Baoguo, the head of Hongxing Brigade and the village party secretary.
This old fox usually avoids "bad elements" like Qin Rushan, afraid of getting tainted by their bad luck. But today, the sun has risen in the west, and he actually took the initiative to come to my door.
Qin Rushan didn't get up. He remained seated imposingly on the small stool next to the whetstone, wiping the axe blade with a rag in his hand. His menacing aura, which kept strangers at bay, was still there.
"A rare guest indeed, Party Secretary." Qin Rushan's voice was cold, without even a word of politeness. "You want to see me about something?"
Liu Baoguo was taken aback by this cold attitude, and his smile almost vanished.
He was the man of the village, and everyone who saw him would offer him a cigarette and call him "Uncle." But Qin Rushan was a tough nut to crack.
However, thinking of his daughter's suicidal behavior and the wealth that this boy might have, Liu Baoguo managed to suppress his displeasure.
"Hey, can't I come see you if there's nothing else?"
Liu Baoguo walked into the courtyard without a care for the dirt. He found a wooden stool, sat down, and placed the bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) next to the whetstone. "I heard from Chunhua that your house leaked during the recent heavy rains. As the Party Secretary, I felt bad about it, so I came to check on you. You're a veteran who was transferred back to our village; you're a meritorious person, and the organization should take care of you."
Qin Rushan gave a half-smile, then slammed the gleaming axe into the ground with a loud thud, sending up a cloud of dirt.
"No need for that. I'm used to living in this dilapidated house. If the Party Secretary doesn't have anything else to do, I still have to go into the mountains to chop firewood."
This is a blatant order to leave.
Liu Baoguo's old face twitched twice, and he gave a dry laugh: "Look at your temper, it's like a firecracker. Uncle came here today not only for official business, but also for something personal that I want to have a heart-to-heart talk with you about."
He pulled out a pack of "Da Qianmen" cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, and handed it to Qin Rushan. Seeing that Qin Rushan didn't take it, he awkwardly lit it himself, took a deep drag, and used the smoke to conceal the shrewd glint in his eyes.
"Rushan, you're not getting any younger, are you? Twenty-six? Or twenty-seven?"
Liu Baoguo exhaled smoke rings, looking like a kind elder caring for a younger generation. "Look at all the people in this village who are your age, their kids are old enough to run errands. You're all alone, with nothing to do. It's good to have some money, but a man like that, without a caring woman at home to take care of him, is just a rootless duckweed."
Qin Rushan's fingers tightened slightly as he held the whetstone, a hint of impatience flashing in his eyes: "I'm used to it."
"What do you mean 'habitual'? You've never experienced the pleasures of a woman!"
Liu Baoguo leaned forward, lowered his voice, and said in an ambiguous tone, "Uncle won't beat around the bush with you. What do you think of my Chunhua? That girl may be a bit spoiled, but she's one of the prettiest girls in the village. She's been making a scene at home these past few days, saying... saying she's taken a liking to you."
After saying that, Liu Baoguo stared intently at Qin Rushan's face, trying to discern any emotional fluctuations from that stone-like expression.
In his view, this was simply a windfall.
Liu Baoguo was the local tyrant of the village. Marrying his daughter to a notorious, rough man was considered a step down for him!
Qin Rushan must be extremely grateful.
To everyone's surprise, Qin Rushan didn't even lift his eyelids. He picked up a water ladle, poured some water onto the whetstone, and continued sharpening the axe with a "whoosh."
"Chunhua has high standards; I'm not good enough for her." Qin Rushan's voice was as calm as a stagnant pool, yet it carried a chilling coldness. "The Party Secretary seems to have forgotten that everyone in the village says I'm a cursed star, bringing misfortune to my parents. Whoever marries me will be unlucky. Besides..."
He stopped what he was doing, his dark eyes fixed on Liu Baoguo, a self-deprecating smile playing on his lips. He pointed to his crotch: "I'm seriously injured, I'm a cripple. The whole village knows. The Party Secretary is pushing his daughter into a fire pit. If word gets out, aren't we afraid of being gossiped about?"