Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
In the early morning of April, the spring chill lingered.
Song Jiu stared with bloodshot eyes as he pushed open the broken door leaning against the earthen wall. Outside, a few half-grown children were dragging a large bunch of alfalfa, chopping it with a sickle.
Feeling somewhat dazed, Song Jiu had kept watch half the night and only managed to doze off for a bit in the early hours, only to be awakened by the crowing of roosters at dawn. Just as he had finally managed to cover himself with his clothes for a brief rest, the sounds of children's laughter and the ruckus of Black Pig came from outside.
"What are you doing?" Song Jiu looked around. The children seemed barely taller than the sickle itself. Two little girls were gripping the thick back of the sickle while a boy was trying to shove alfalfa under the blade with his small hands. Seeing the girls' shaky hands holding the sickle made Song Jiu nervous; if it slipped, it could easily chop the boy in two.
"We're chopping pig grass," the boy grinned, wiping sweat from his forehead as he stepped back and waved his hand dramatically. "Chop!"
The two little girls giggled and let go, and with a swift "thud," the heavy blade fell, slicing through the alfalfa beneath it.
Song Jiu stared blankly for a moment until he saw the boy reach down to pick up the now shorter alfalfa and shove it under the blade again. He snapped back to reality, strode over to push the children aside, and said, "Go play somewhere else." With that, he rolled up his sleeves and took over their task. The three little ones obediently brushed off the grass dust from their hands and stood aside in a row, watching closely as Song Jiu demonstrated how to chop pig grass. A Hai and another companion also woke up, rubbing their eyes while watching Brother Jiu labor away, their minds blank.
In truth, Song Jiu was not unfamiliar with farm work. His family lived in the city, but they still had a few acres of thin farmland left in their hometown. His parents had regular jobs and were busy taking care of him and his sister, leaving no time for farming, so they entrusted it to relatives living in the village. During their childhood, whenever there was a holiday, he and his sister would return home with their parents and occasionally help out in the fields. At first, it was quite novel; however, as time went on, they realized that there was more work to be done each time they returned. From then on, they vowed never to go back to the village again.
Song Jiu stretched his back and faced the rising sun, lost in thoughts of days gone by. As he pondered and worked, before long, he had chopped all the alfalfa that the children had brought.
" Brother Jiu, what's wrong with you?" A Hai cautiously approached him with a hesitant expression. The Brother Jiu who had been so furious last night seemed to have changed overnight.
Song Jiu shot him a glare and turned back to his work. He glanced at the pig trough filled with foul water and then asked the children, "How do you usually feed them? Do you have any feed?"
"We do," said the boy proudly as he ran over to where they had passed by last night on the meadow pile and bent down to pull out a fertilizer bag.
"Go help out; why are you just standing there?" Song Jiu shot him a sideways glance. A Hai jolted awake at that and hurried over to take charge of the fertilizer bag.
Wiping sweat from his brow, Song Jiu chuckled at some thought that crossed his mind. He bent down to look for something and pulled over a large iron basin from beside the shed, slamming it onto the ground before pointing at A Hai's fertilizer bag. "Pour it."
"Okay! I’ll pour!" A Hai didn’t bother with anything else; clumsily tearing open the bag's string closure, he tipped it over awkwardly, spilling half a bag of brown feed into the basin.
"Stop, stop, stop! It's not for you to eat, why pour so much?" Song Jiu shot him a glare, then approached the child with a smile. "Where's the water? Bring some water for your big brother."
"Okay!" The little boy patted his chest and pulled out a dirty soft hose from under the grass. This time, without needing Song Jiu to say anything, A Hai took the initiative and looked around in confusion, unsure of what to do.
Song Jiu couldn't expect much from this former young master. He snatched the hose and plunged it into the iron basin. The little boy from the meadow grinned widely, reaching in to feel around. The hose made a few sputtering sounds before a gentle stream of water began to flow out.
"Damn, running water!" A Hai exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise. "What the hell, running water for cooking pigs?"
"River water," Song Jiu said as he caught some in his hand, noticing fine silt slipping through his fingers.
A Hai wasn't quite sure about this but felt that today Brother Jiu had shown him another skill. Previously, he only knew that Brother Jiu was ruthless and could kill zombies; today he realized that Brother Jiu was also quite skilled in farming.
Song Jiu didn't have time to care about the two young men's bewildered looks. He rolled up his sleeves and tossed the chopped alfalfa into the basin, mixing it with water and feed until it formed a sticky paste. The next steps were clear to A Hai and the others; they took small shovels from the two little girls and scooped the mixed feed into the empty pig trough. The fat black pig waddled over through the mud, snuffling around in the trough and happily devouring its meal.
"Eat up! The fatter you get, the better for slaughtering you," A Hai muttered sadly while squatting by the pigpen. The black pig found him annoying and kicked up a spray of mud, driving away this incessantly nagging fellow.
"Alright then, what else do you need? Just tell me; I’ve got your back today," Song Jiu said casually as he pinched the little boy's cheek and smiled. "Who told you to come here to work? You won't need that knife anymore; don't bother with it."
"No work means no food."
A familiar female voice floated over. Song Jiu and the others turned their heads in unison to see Chef Jia walking towards them. Last night it had been too dark to see her clearly, but now in the morning light, they finally got a good look at her.
Her slightly curled long hair fell naturally over her shoulders, showing a faint chestnut color in the sunlight. Strands of hair fell across her face, lightly obscuring her unadorned profile; beneath delicate willow-like brows were sharp eyes that conveyed an air of aloofness without needing words. She wore a mask covering her mouth and nose, which only emphasized the displeased expression in her eyes. Dressed in black clothes and pants with muddy boots on her feet, it was clear these children had been sent by her to do chores.
Song Jiu narrowed his eyes and straightened up; his earlier good mood faded gradually with her arrival.
Chef Jia walked past the three young men and leaned over to inspect the pig trough. She nodded in satisfaction and said, "Not bad; it's not completely useless."
"You have some nerve, letting these kids do this work when they're barely old enough," Song Jiu said, immediately regretting it. He wondered what had possessed him to meddle in such matters.
Chef Jia turned around, watching him with interest for a while before removing his mask. "Go on, say what you want to say all at once. It seems like you’ve been holding in a lot of frustration since last night."
Song Jiu bit his lip and chose not to respond. Looking at the ageless face before him only made him more irritated.
"Good, no more words. Bring your companions and follow me," Chef Jia said with a sneer, sending the three children away as he walked past the pigpen toward the shed.
After hesitating for a moment, Song Jiu called A Hai and the others to follow. It was just work; they could handle it.
However, Chef Jia didn’t seem inclined to let them continue as laborers. He entered the shed and looked around, smiling as he asked, "Are you satisfied with this living environment?"
"It's fine; as long as it keeps out the wind and rain," Song Jiu replied curtly. He still had no idea what role this woman played here. Annoyed or not, he had to endure.
"Mm." Chef Jia nodded vaguely, pacing around for a couple of laps before asking, "I noticed you were quite efficient with your work earlier. Have you done this before?"
"Yes, I grew up in the countryside, so I'm familiar with this kind of labor." Talking about farming made his thoughts drift back to the past—back to those busy springs and autumn harvests, back to the home he shared with his father, mother, and sister.
"The kitchen is short-staffed. You three will work with me from now on. If you do well, I'll make sure to give you extra credits," Chef Jia suddenly threw out an olive branch, disrupting Song Jiu's train of thought.
"Credits?"
"Yes, we keep track of credits here. All resources are distributed according to labor. If you think you're here for a free ride, you're mistaken." Chef Jia pursed his lips, sizing up the three young men with a teasing look. "But I won’t force you; if you’re not willing, just say so."
"Do we have a choice?" Song Jiu scoffed, indicating that they were completely unfamiliar with the rules here.
"Of course," Chef Jia replied, abandoning his previous reticence and explaining, "If you don’t want to work, you can go find Xiao Zhu."
"He will arrange other tasks for us."
"He will send you all out."
Thus, a group of ambitious young people, eager to overturn Riverside Fortress, found themselves once again under the tutelage of Chef Jia after enduring a night of harsh winds and rain. Unlike the previous night when they were still considered guests, from this day forward, they became proper kitchen helpers.
After reaching an unequal agreement, Chef Jia took them directly to the Vegetable Greenhouse. Not far from the greenhouse was a pigpen, just as Song Jiu had guessed. This area was at the back of the fortress, specifically designated for breeding and planting. Chef Jia seemed in good spirits after taking on new apprentices and showed them around all the livestock pens and vegetable fields in the greenhouse. He particularly explained the water diversion methods used here and various important details regarding logistics. For a moment, Song Jiu felt as if he had applied for a new job; at first, he was multitasking, paying attention to the surrounding details. However, it wasn't long before he was brainwashed by Cook, walking and memorizing information until lunchtime. While he hardly remembered any strategic plans, he had memorized the water usage methods, field distributions, and feed preparations thoroughly.
" Brother Jiu, this woman used to be involved in pyramid schemes, didn't she?" A Hai said while holding a porcelain bowl and slurping noodles loudly. "We need to think of something; we're not here just to be laborers."
"Yeah, yeah! Qian'er Brother has disappeared too, and neither Dream Fan nor that little girl has shown up," another young man chimed in.
"Don't rush; this woman is not simple. Don't reveal our intentions," Song Jiu frowned and thought for a moment before standing up. "Let's focus on what we need to do; we can talk about it tonight."
"Oh hey, Brother Jiu, where are you going?"
"To get food. These noodles are quite good; eat more."
Comment 0 Comment Count