Gu Yun draped Lin Yue’s clothes over his shoulder and reached out to take the “bedding roll”.
The sparse weeds and reed stalks dripped with water, every one of them looking thoroughly battered. Clearly, they had not escaped Lin Yue’s assault.
He was certain Old Huo would curse the moment he came back and saw this. These were his treasures, after all. Fortunately, the man had already gone off to join his brothers and was living a better life now.
Lin Yue seemed lost in thought. Avoiding Gu Yun’s hand, he said, “No matter how small the matter, besides, I’m already better.” He stepped back twice and turned towards the hillside. He had almost reached the slope earlier when he spotted Gu Yun from afar. Sensing something was wrong, he had come over to take a look.
He did not believe it when the other man said he was fine. Sooner or later, he would learn the truth, so he did not press the matter.
Gu Yun trailed behind him like a tail.
The two of them reached the hillside together and squatted down to dry the “bedding roll”. The sun today was no worse than yesterday’s. By nightfall, the “bedding roll” ought to be dry.
“Clothes,” Lin Yue said, standing up.
Gu Yun handed them over.
If what Gu Yun said was true, and the two of them had already shared intimacy, then there was no need to be overly concerned about propriety. Lin Yue cleanly stripped off his soaked inner garment and changed into the outer robe. There was no room to be particular now. One garment inside, one outside, treating them as separate clothes to be washed in turn.
“I’m going into the county town to see if I can find work. Stay at home and wait for me. Don’t wander around. Be careful of kidnappers,” Lin Yue said.
Lin Yue had only dozed briefly sitting upright last night, and had risen at dawn. One reason was to sort out the “bedding roll” Old Huo had left behind so they could use it as bedding. Judging from the circumstances, they would likely be living beneath the bridge for quite a few days.
The second reason was to familiarise himself with the surrounding area. They had arrived too late yesterday, so he had not gone out to look around. Today, no matter what, he had to make a circuit of the place. Since the bridge culvert was now their home, he needed a clear understanding of the area nearby. If there were hidden dangers, it was better to know in advance and take precautions.
Gu Yun had been wondering how to subtly persuade him that it was time to find work, yet the man himself had already started thinking about earning a living.
Capable.
Joy welled up inside Gu Yun. Yet once it spread through his chest, a flicker of panic suddenly rose with it. Had the other man noticed something? Was he planning to use this opportunity to leave?
He abruptly grabbed the young man’s fingers and shot to his feet.
“I…”
His vision darkened and the world spun around him.
In his panic, he clung tightly to the other man. The other man was obviously startled. He could not see his expression, but vaguely heard his voice asking what was wrong, whether he was feeling unwell. There was no obvious anxiety in the tone, but there was concern.
After a while, Gu Yun recovered somewhat. He loosened his hold and smiled apologetically. “I’m fine.”
Apparently worried he might collapse again, Lin Yue gripped his arm and asked, “You’re even hiding it from me and refusing to tell the truth?”
Gu Yun could only answer, “I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I was only afraid you’d worry.”
Lin Yue said, “If you don’t want me to worry, then tell me honestly.”
Gu Yun hesitated for a moment before saying, “I haven’t been eating well lately…” He did not know how to explain malnutrition in a way the other man would understand. Carefully choosing his words, he finally managed, “My body’s become weaker. I feel faint sometimes.”
Lin Yue sighed softly. “A deficiency condition?”
“Yes.” Gu Yun silently committed those words to memory.
Lin Yue said, “I’ll take you back.”
Gu Yun hurriedly said, “I’ll go to the county town with you.”
Lin Yue did not agree. He merely looked at him quietly.
From his eyes, Gu Yun read the meaning clearly: don’t cause trouble for me.
He took one step back, then another. “I won’t go. Come back early. I’ll wait for you.”
Lin Yue rubbed his head.
His hair had already lost its sheen. Irritated at the sight, Gu Yun brushed the loose ends hanging to his collarbone back behind his neck. Hugging his knees, he sat in the dry patch beneath the bridge culvert and stared in the direction of the county town.
Time dragged unbearably long, just like those days he had hidden away in the mountains.
Wild thoughts crowded Gu Yun’s mind. In the end, he comforted himself by thinking that the other man would not leave quietly. If he had wanted to leave, he would have gone long ago. After repeatedly reassuring himself in this way, Gu Yun finally settled down.
His stomach growled with hunger. He picked up the remaining wild fruit, carefully wiped one clean, and bit into it. Then he suddenly remembered something important and turned to count them.
One, two, three, four, five… eleven.
Lin Yue had not touched a single wild fruit.
The sour, numbing taste spread through his mouth, yet Gu Yun detected another feeling hidden within it. In the past, he too had been someone who would never touch such things.
If Lin Yue was going out to work, then he could not go without food. Unlike Gu Yun, who could curl up somewhere for days on end.
Gu Yun slowly ate several wild fruits, barely filling his stomach, then lowered his head to look at his indigo-lined short brown jacket.
By afternoon, a slant of sunlight shone into the bridge culvert, landing perfectly upon the jacket.
Warm and toasty.
Gu Yun pinched the padded garment in his hands and made up his mind.
…
Zhuyang County was only four or five kilometres from the bridge culvert, according to Gu Yun’s rough estimate.
The county walls were made of rammed earth and not especially large. To him, they even looked somewhat squat. A broad, level road led straight into the town.
At this hour, the road was crowded with people, mostly villagers hurrying home. One after another, they wore ragged clothes and famine-yellow faces devoid of smiles. Only after walking some distance could one spot a few smiling faces. Compared to the others, these people were generally better off, sitting atop swaying ox carts.
Gripping a snapped-off tree branch, Gu Yun walked step by step into the county town.
There were even more people inside the town, and correspondingly more smiling faces. One could even see a few decently dressed individuals.
The county town was not large. Gu Yun had been here several times already and had memorised most of the roads.
Without difficulty, he arrived at the pawnshop.
Walking up to the counter, Gu Yun removed his short padded jacket and cautiously asked whether they would accept the garment.
This short padded jacket, together with the brown cross-collared shirt worn close to the skin that could also serve as outerwear, as well as his trousers and the rest, had all been exchanged for his original clothes. Besides that, he had also traded for a meal.
Before transmigrating, it had been summer, scorching hot everywhere. He had been dressed in fashionable clothes, lightweight trainers, and a baseball cap, carrying his mobile phone, camera, power bank, and the rest as he and his friends embarked on their reckless rafting adventure.
In the end, he transmigrated, arriving amidst endless mountains. His cap, phone, and everything else had all been lost.
His friends were probably not so unlucky. After climbing out of the river, he had searched the surrounding area but failed to find them.
Following the river, he eventually walked out of the mountains and encountered his first village of this era.
Only then did he finally realise he had transmigrated.
The strange looks from others and the hunger twisting his stomach drove him to do the first thing after transmigrating: find a household that appeared relatively well-off and trade his clothes for garments appropriate to this era, together with a meal.
The family had only been willing to exchange clothes, unwilling to include a meal. Only after endless persuasion and talking himself hoarse had they finally agreed.
Coarse rice porridge boiled with beans, a plate of greens stir-fried with barely a trace of oil, and two small dishes of pickled vegetables.
Unexpectedly, it had become the best meal he had eaten since transmigrating. Sometimes, he even dreamed of taking another bite.
Gu Yun knew ancient clothing could be pawned, but he did not know whether such a tattered short padded jacket as his could be accepted, nor how much money it might fetch.
He hoped to exchange it for ten or so days’ worth of rations.
Lin Yue would probably need some time to find work, and even after finding work, wages would not come immediately. During that period, people still had to eat.
The shop assistant lay slumped over the counter, yawning repeatedly. Hearing the sound, he was just about to lose his temper when he poked his head out and his eyes suddenly lit up. His anger disappeared at once.
Tilting his chin, he said, “Little missus, what was it you wanted?”
Gu Yun did not correct the form of address. The county town was only so big. If he corrected him now, then one day Lin Yue might happen to run into him and strike up a conversation…
No matter what, every possible risk had to be smothered at the source.
He tried his best to speak smoothly and suppress his hometown accent. “Can this be pawned?” He handed over the short padded jacket.
The assistant took it and flipped it over several times. “Outer layer’s hemp cloth, inner lining’s hemp batting, and only a thin layer at that. This sort of clothing wasn’t worth much to begin with. On top of that, it’s this worn-out, and patched four times already. Look at it yourself. How much money do you think this thing can fetch?”
Gu Yun learned two new terms: hemp cloth and hemp batting.
In a low voice, he replied, “I can’t afford food anymore.”
The assistant thought to himself that this little missus was probably from out of town. The way she spoke was strange. He had to listen carefully just to understand her.
He said, “Your family’s fallen on hard times, hasn’t it? Ah, honestly, you really are foolish. Look, turn left, then left again, then right, walk all the way to the end, and there’s the Wang residence. Master Wang’s especially fond of young and pretty girls. The household’s buying servant girls today. If you go in and get lucky, you might even become a concubine and turn into a mistress yourself. Every day you’d eat white rice and meat, with gold glittering from your head to your hands. That’s the dream of countless people.”
Gu Yun repeated the long speech in his mind and understood.
His expression darkened slightly. But being under another man’s roof, he quickly adjusted himself and pretended not to understand the implications behind the words.
“Master Wang’s family really is wealthy. My family really has fallen on hard times. Big brother, please just take the clothes.”
The assistant rolled his eyes.
Can’t understand human speech? Women really are muddle-headed.
The assistant said, “What I mean is, I can recommend you to the Wang household as a servant girl. You’re good-looking. If you seize the chance, you could become one of the Wang family’s concubines. I don’t want anything from you. Once you’re living the rich life, just don’t forget my kindness.”
Gu Yun blinked. “Ah?”
“What do you mean ‘ah’? Call your father or brothers over here. I’ll speak to them.”
Gu Yun said, “I have a husband.”
Upon hearing this, the shop assistant’s face immediately darkened. He stopped talking about becoming a concubine, scratched at his hand, and impatiently said, “Dead pawn or live pawn? A dead pawn’s worth a bit more money.”
Gu Yun asked, “How much more?”
“A brand-new padded short jacket like yours would only fetch one tael on the market to begin with. Yours has to be depreciated. By my estimate, at the absolute most it’s worth one hundred and fifty wen.”
The assistant raised a finger, weighed the padded short jacket in his hand, then pulled over the abacus and clattered away at it.
“For a live pawn, I’ll give you thirty-six wen. For a dead pawn, fifty-six wen. Little missus, you’ve probably never seen much of the world, so let me explain things clearly first.
“With a live pawn, you can redeem it within six months by bringing back the principal and interest. Interest is six per cent a month, so that’s three wen a month… As for a dead pawn, the item belongs to the pawnshop outright. Understand? Don’t go saying I cheated you.”
Gu Yun said, “Can you repeat that?”
The assistant truly wanted to refuse the business altogether, but unfortunately the pawnshop owner was not him, nor was he the manager.
Coldly, he repeated himself once more. “Did you hear it clearly this time?”
The person opposite him did not respond.
The assistant slapped the counter. “Where’s your husband? Call your husband over here. There’s no explaining things clearly to a little missus like you. You’re wasting my time.”
Gu Yun did not move. Just as the other party was about to drive him away, he slowly spoke.
“Five per cent interest should only be a little over two wen. You charged me extra.”
To be exact, it should have been 2.16 wen.
The explanation of live pawns and dead pawns had involved terminology Gu Yun had never encountered before, so he had listened in a daze. Only by piecing together the context and combining it with the historical knowledge he already possessed did he finally understand.
On one hand, he privately marvelled at how high the interest rates were here. On the other, he calculated the interest in his head. Numbers, at least, he understood. In fact, numbers had been the first thing he learned after arriving in this world.
His conclusion was that the other man was taking advantage of him.
The interest was already outrageously high, and yet the man still wanted to skim extra off him.
More than half a wen. One wen could buy a flatbread, or two jin of radishes or cabbage. By that logic, 0.84 wen could keep him alive for several more days.
Black-hearted bastard!
Gu Yun could not tolerate it.
Once Gu Yun understood the difference in value between a live pawn and a dead pawn, he no longer intended to dead-pawn the jacket. It was not worth it.
The weather would only grow colder. If he did not want to freeze to death, then he needed a thick garment. A new padded short jacket cost a whole tael, and there was no telling whether prices would rise further. Even if he sold himself, he still would not be able to afford one.
Lin Yue would definitely find work.
Which meant that within six months, he would certainly be able to redeem his clothes.
The assistant raised his brows. “You shrew, what nonsense are you talking? I’m someone hired by the pawnshop. I earn several hundred wen a day. I can write, calculate, and identify all kinds of goods. In future I’ll be promoted to shop manager. Someone as capable as me would stoop to coveting your tiny bit of money?”
