Chapter 159 Let Him Die
159 Let Him Die
Tao Yinzhen was unconscious, and Ren Shuixing was slightly sober.
If he killed someone, who would help him farm and earn money to buy wine?
He quickly ran to the kitchen and brought a basin of cold water. He poured it all over Tao Yinzhen’s bruised face.
“Cough, cough ~” Tao Yinzhen woke up.
When she opened her eyes, her left eye was bleeding from the beating. It was terrifying.
When Ren Shuixing saw that she had come back to life, he heaved a sigh of relief and said in disdain, “Why are you pretending to be dead? Hurry up and get up. Bring the kid to pick mulberry fruits to exchange for copper coins.”
When Tao Yinzhen first started talking to Little Cat, Ren Shuixing had secretly overheard it.
The wild fruits that were everywhere could actually be exchanged for so much money. Ren Shuixing could already imagine the entire mountain turning into gold.
Little Cat shrank back and said carefully, “Father, it’s dark.”
He did not want to pick the fruits at all. All the copper coins that Ren Shuixing had obtained would definitely be used for drinking.
Besides, it was already dark. Madam Bai and the others must be resting. Madam Bai would not accept fruits that were not fresh.
Ren Shuixing thought that he did not want to go and said fiercely, “If you don’t go, I’ll beat you to death now!”
Little Cat hurriedly said, “Madam Bai only accepts good fruits. She won’t accept anything that isn’t fresh or if it is rotten. We won’t be able to exchange them for copper coins.”
Ren Shuixing complained, “How f*cking troublesome!”
Little Cat thought that he definitely didn’t have to go that day, but Ren Shuixing smiled and said, “Then get lost and pick the mulberry fruits for me! There will definitely be good ones after picking so many. I’ll choose them at home and send them over personally at dawn!”
In the middle of the night, there were snakes, insects, rats, ants, and barbs all over the mountain. Little Cat didn’t even have a pair of shoes, so how could he pick the mulberries? If he couldn’t finish picking them, he would be beaten up again.
Little Cat clenched his fists and looked at the speechless Tao Yinzhen with tears in her eyes. He could only listen to Ren Shuixing’s orders.
He could still take a beating, but his mother couldn’t now.
He could not get a single cent of the copper coins he had picked from the mulberries. He could not buy clothes or shoes. He could not get the favor of Madam Bai too.
Tears fell from Little Cat’s eyes. He felt so sad. So sad.
Tao Yinzhen regained some strength and looked at Little Cat’s bare feet. She held back her tears and went to the bedroom to get a thick old shirt. She split it into two and tied it to Little Cat’s feet with hemp rope.
They picked up the basket and left the room under Ren Shuixing’s scolding.
As soon as they went out, they saw many villagers from Lintian Village secretly walking towards the back of the mountain with all kinds of things.
It was not only Little Cat who had gone to Madam Bai’s house to sell the mulberries and earned copper coins. The other children went back to show off their earnings in a day, which shocked all the adults.
Just like Ren Shuixing, they felt that it was not wild fruits that were hanging all over the mountain now, but money.
If they had been faster and picked more, they would have earned at least a few hundred coins that day.
How could it be so easy to earn money from farming? It would be a blessing to be able to save a single cent in a year.
Everyone was afraid that others would finish picking all the wild fruits and brought the bamboo baskets into the mountains in the middle of the night. As for the children’s instructions to keep the fruits fresh and intact, no one took them to heart.
If the fruits looked bad, they could just discuss with Bai Wutong and exchange them for fewer copper coins.
As long as Bai Wutong was willing to accept it, there was no difference between the wild fruits that were picked and the money they had picked up.
Seeing so many shadows in the darkness, Ren Shuixing panicked. He did not want to do it himself, but he quickly ran home with the basket on his back and hurriedly said, “Walk faster, don’t let others beat you to it!”
If he earned a lot, he could gamble a little. Money could make money, and he could bid farewell to such a beggar life.
In the Lintian Village, many families had in-law relationships. Even if their families were earning money, they could not forget their in-law families. They pa.s.sed on the information to each other. So that night, the entire Lintian village suddenly became lively.
Some families were even in charge of holding torches. The entire family was sent out to pick fruits.
The moment Ren Shuixing learned that wild fruits could be exchanged for money, he had long treated these fruits as his own.
Seeing that so many people had come to take a share, he felt resentful, but there was nothing he could do to stop the others.
However, he remembered a forest with several thick mulberry trees. When he was young, he often slept on the trees. Even though Ren Shuixing was drunk now and his head was dizzy, he could still find his way.
Tao Yinzhen and Little Cat were walking too slowly. He kept urging them.
As they walked in the night, there were brambles and bushes everywhere. No matter how he urged them, cursed and hit them, the mother and son were still as slow as tortoises.
When it was finally time, Ren Shuixing ran forward excitedly. “Ah!” In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from Tao Yinzhen’s sight.
Little Cat’s voice trembled. “Father is gone,” he said fearfully.
When Tao Yinzhen heard the commotion just now, she guessed that Ren Shuixing must have fallen down the hill. She wanted to call for help, but when she saw Little Cat’s thin face that only had his eyes left, she thought of Ren Shuixing’s past atrocities against the mother and son. She gritted her teeth and pulled him in the other direction. “Let’s look in front.” However, she prayed in her heart that Ren Shuixing would fall to his death.
However, she did not see Little Cat look back at the place where Ren Shuixing had disappeared and smile excitedly.
After walking for a while with Little Cat, Tao Yinzhen encountered her fellow villagers who were picking fruits with torches.
When they saw Tao Yinzhen and Little Cat, they said arrogantly, “We discovered these mulberry trees first and want to pick them. Go the other side.”
Tao Yinzhen could not let Ren Shuixing disappear just like that. Otherwise, she would be suspected. She begged them, “My husband is missing. Please, can you help us find him?”
Her face was filled with new injuries. Under the jumping flames, she looked like a corpse that had just gotten up from the ground, scaring everyone.
Everyone cursed that she was bad luck and ignored her.
Everyone was busy picking fruits to earn money, so how could they have the time to look for that drunk Ren Shuixing?
Even if they found him, there was nothing to gain.
Uncle Huang pitied them and pointed at the forest in front. “The village chief is in front. Go find the village chief and see if he can help you find him.”
Then, he sighed and said, “Ren Shuixing might be sleeping drunk somewhere again. Maybe you can find him when you get home with the child.”
Tao Yinzhen lowered her eyes and said anxiously, “He came out with us and said that he wanted to pick the mulberries. It’s impossible for him to abandon us and run back.”
Uncle Huang said disdainfully, “What can’t he do? Go find the village chief.” With that, he waved his hand, looking like he didn’t want to delay his earning.
...
Tao Yinzhen nodded. She could only call Ren Shuixing’s name while pulling Little Cat to look for the village chief, Lin Chenghai.
Uncle Huang looked at their backs and sighed. “What a sin.”
Uncle Huang’s wife also sighed. “What’s there to look for after beating the mother and daughter up like that? They’d might as well let the drunkard die.”