Chapter 002: The Fisherman's Fire and the Sorrowful Sleep

In the makeshift shelter during the cold winter, it is solely the warmth from the stove that barely sustains a modicum of heat

Su Chen knew that he had been afflicted with a peculiar illness since childhood; whenever he shed tears that turned into blue stones, it would severely deplete his vitality and lead to a serious illness, nearly costing him half of his life, while also bringing a great disaster to this unstable household

Lingering outside the old fishing boat for a long time

His parents no longer want him and intend to sell him

This year, my family has not saved much money again; after a year of hard work, we have only managed to save four taels of silver. With the New Year approaching, we need to pay a boat tax to the county office, and this small amount of silver will be gone in an instant. We have caught fish to sell in the county town, but the weighing fees from the Giant Whale Guild have not yet been settled. At this rate, I fear we will not be able to survive this winter.

The two of them had never heard of the strange illness known as "tear fossil"

In the city of Gusu, wealthy families often take in impoverished boys and girls, typically around the age of ten or so, during the twelfth month of the lunar calendar. They raise them as household servants and maids, providing a placement fee of ten taels of silver, but require them to sign a lifelong contract of servitude.

The dreadful news that he had been unwilling to confront all these years has finally arrived

Near the door curtain in the hut, there is a small earthen stove made of red clay, on which sits a clay pot simmering a small pot of thin rice porridge. A few leaves of cabbage float on top, and there is not a trace of oil or salt in it.

Having him sell off the eldest child is akin to cutting away his very heart and draining his lifeblood

Old man Su's dark face was covered with wrinkles as he squatted by the stove, holding a cold pipe and taking slow, muffled puffs of smoke.

Old Su said nothing, and smoked his pipe even more vigorously

Sending the eldest child to a wealthy family in the county as a servant will lead to a hard life, often facing beatings and scoldings from the master. However, it can at least bring back ten taels of silver, which can be used to buy ginseng and medicine to sustain a life.

If there were other options, Old Lady Su would not want her child to become a servant in someone else's home

Child! Mother was wrong, come back

However, this winter, the family truly cannot endure any longer. If we do not send the eldest child to a wealthy household as a servant, what hope is there for survival at home?

Su Chen knelt on the cold, waterlogged bamboo raft, bowing three times in a formal manner towards the old fishing boat

Old Lady Su has been rambling on about the hardships she has endured over the years

On Su Chen's youthful face, sadness was hard to conceal. After finishing the worship, he stood up, and with great effort, his frozen red hands propped up the cold bamboo pole, slowly sliding towards the distant river channel

Old Lady Su was mending the old fishing net, murmuring to herself and sighing

Su Chen has always felt guilty about this

On the bow of the old fishing boat, there was a fishing basket filled with fish and shrimp, and on top of it lay a small cloth money pouch belonging to the eldest child, placed neatly and without a single wrinkle

One must not harbor the slightest resentment in one's heart

If the master is unkind and the servant is abused to death, it does not violate the law; at most, a little more silver will be compensated

Sending the eldest child to work as a servant in a wealthy household in the county ensures that he will at least have food and clothing, and perhaps he can save some money to marry a wife. However, if he stays at home and falls ill, where will the money for medical treatment come from

When one is left with no choice, it seems that one can only seek to borrow some usurious money from the local gentry, Zhou Dahuo of Zhouzhuang, and repay it next year. However, the interest on the gentry's money accumulates rapidly; while borrowing is easy, repayment is difficult.

Old Su has been gritting his teeth and holding on stubbornly all these years

The Su family has been engaged in fishing for generations in the water town of Zhouzhuang, with all five members of the family living on this old fishing boat

However, given our family's situation, where would we find extra money to buy ginseng?

At the innermost part of the shack, there is an old wooden bed and bedding that emits a faint musty odor. Inside the quilt, two dirty three- or four-year-old children are sleeping, curled up in the bedding, occasionally murmuring softly.

Child's father, the eldest is flesh that has fallen from my body as a mother. If there were any other way, I wouldn't want this either! Child's father, you must not forget, his illness is life-threatening! If his illness relapses this year, how are we supposed to live?

Su Chen also placed this small money pouch at the front of the fishing boat

Old Man Su's expression changed suddenly, and he hurriedly lifted the tattered curtain of the fishing boat, rushing out of the shed.

Every time the New Year arrives, it feels like experiencing a great calamity

In this difficult world, merely surviving is already a blessing from heaven, and who would dare to hope for anything more

They have done their best

The annual boat tax of five taels imposed by the county office and the monthly weighing fee of one tael charged by the Giant Whale Gang have become a heavy burden for the family, suffocating them to the point where they can hardly breathe.

Perhaps the child's mother is right

This winter, the fishing yield has been extremely poor, and the financial situation at home is severely lacking, leaving no extra money at all

Inferior old dry tobacco leaves are quite harsh, occasionally causing a few coughs

... ...

Since he was about five or six years old and began to understand things, he started helping his parents with various chores. By the age of over ten, he could independently catch small fish and shrimp to earn a little money, trying every possible way to help alleviate his parents' burden. He saved up copper coins to buy ginseng and medicine, also striving to ensure his own survival

Outside the dilapidated old fishing boat of the Su family

Dear parents, take care; forgive your child for not being able to fulfill filial piety at your knees

It is time to go to Gusu County to find a job, to support myself, and perhaps even earn some extra coins to send back home, helping to lighten the burden on my parents

I am still short by exactly 2 taels of silver, which is equivalent to 2,000 wen of copper coins, making this winter very difficult to endure

After much contemplation, Old Lady Su, with a sorrowful expression, finally articulated an idea

However, it is now the depths of winter, and there are very few large fish in the lake. With the New Year approaching, in this short span of just over a month, even if one does not sleep at night, it is impossible to earn even two taels of silver.

If there is no money to buy ginseng medicine, and Dawa's life is lost, then there will be nothing left

He is more mature and understanding than his peers, yet he is ultimately just a naïve twelve-year-old boy. Faced with the dramatic changes in his fate, he feels helpless, lost, and bewildered

The entrance to the shack is covered by a tattered curtain, worn out from prolonged use and frayed, allowing the cold wind to seep through. The biting cold rushes into the fishing cabin through the gaps in the curtain.

Big Baby ~ ~ Come back !

Su Chen displayed an expression of absolute determination

The small bag of accumulated copper coins is not much, and cannot even buy a single ginseng plant. The New Year is approaching, and I will save these coins to buy two new garments for my younger siblings, so that my parents may have a little less worry

In the shack, Su Laoniang occasionally sighed with a sense of lament.

The old fishing boat has a makeshift shelter made of bamboo strips and bundled dry straw for its roof. Inside the shelter, a layer of yellow mud has been applied to fend off the cold wind, which has long since dried and cracked, leaving many gaps.

Old Su was furious, trembling all over with excitement, pointing at Old Su's wife, seemingly enraged that she would actually say such a thing

When the eldest child was just born, Su Laoniang did not have enough milk. The child cried out of hunger, and blue tears fell onto the bed, forming two small blue stones.

In his arms, there remained only a small cloth pouch containing more than ten pieces of green tear stones, as well as half of a cold steamed bun that had not been finished during the dawn fishing. Aside from these, there were no other valuable possessions.

Old Su seemed to faintly hear the sound of water outside the old fishing boat's shed. At first, he did not pay much attention, thinking it was other fishermen getting up early to fish in the big lake, splashing water as they passed near the old fishing boat.

Old Lady Su was busy at work, stitching a worn fishing net by the bedside, her face marked by sorrow

In the misty dawn, the river is shrouded in fog, with only a few scattered lights from fishermen's homes barely visible, making them stand out. Along the bank of a river in the water town of Zhouzhuang, an old fishing boat belonging to the Su family is moored.

He does not want to die

If Da Wa were to hear that he was going to be sold, he would surely be unable to withstand such a shock and might not know what foolish thing to do

A dry twig is burning under the stove, emitting a hissing spark outward

Su Chen did not dare to cry, biting his lip tightly, feeling a pang of sorrow in his heart, and forcing himself to hold back the tears welling up in his eyes

Old Su is an experienced fisherman, and he is certainly well aware of these accounts

The old fishing boat, shrouded in mist, with the dim yellow glow of the oil lamp.

This year, the fishing harvest has been poor, and now there is not even enough money to pay the boat tax to the county office or the weighing fees to the Giant Whale Gang, falling short by a full two taels of silver. If he were to cry tears of blue stone, without silver to buy ginseng medicine to save his life, he would surely not survive this winter

Beside the stove, there is an old wooden barrel containing a few small crucian carp that are barely alive, their mouths opening and closing weakly

In just a short while, Da Wa's complexion turned pale and his lips turned purple, and it was evident that he was in critical condition

I have left

Old man Su's wrinkled face was filled with shock

Without the medicine, one will die

If Da Wa sheds tears once more, and the family has no money to buy ginseng medicine to prolong life, I fear that he may truly succumb to illness.

Whenever that time came, his parents would wear worried expressions, spending more than half a year's savings to buy a ginseng root from the pharmacy in the county town, which they would simmer in fish soup to replenish his vitality

Old Man Su could not help but feel anxious

Su Chen stood alone on the small bamboo raft, the joy of returning from fishing had long since vanished, his face pale as snow, his eyes filled with a sense of despair, his frail and thin body trembling uncontrollably, his small hands tightly gripping the bamboo pole in his grasp

Although serving as a servant, the servants of wealthy families in the county town are dressed decently, and the rice and flour they eat are better than those of fishing families, which is certainly better than starving or dying from illness

A dim oil lamp hangs from the soot-blackened ceiling, its oil nearly depleted, casting a flickering red glow that barely illuminates the conditions within the shack

Old Su fell silent, puffing on his cold cigarette with a soft sound, his head drooping even lower. How could he not understand what Old Su's wife was saying?

However, life is very difficult, which has led Su Laoniang to understand a fundamental truth long ago: finding a way to survive is the most important principle. This is their fate, and it is also Su Chen's fate

However, upon hearing with his own ears that his parents intended to sell him to a wealthy family in the county as a servant, Su Chen felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his heart filled with deep pain

In the dead of night, I took the child to the county town to seek a doctor. We searched through dozens of pharmacies in the city, and the doctors were astonished, stating that this was an unheard-of illness, even unrecorded in medical texts and literature.

Every day before dawn, my father goes to the large lake to fish, only resting at sunset. My mother accompanies him during the day to help cast the nets, and at night she mends the nets and weaves clothes, often staying up late into the night before resting

Su Chen's mind was in a state of confusion, filled only with emptiness, as he struggled to hold back the tears welling in his eyes

There is no other way; he can only go down to the lake every day before dawn, desperately trying to catch a few more fish. He is a simple and honest fisherman who has endured life this way all his life

Some doctors even say that this is a disease of early demise, and even if saved this time, the child will still not live beyond two or three years before dying, so it is better to let it go.

Old Lady Su was also flustered, stumbling out of the cabin, her heart-wrenching cries echoing across the river surface

It was just... just that he heard his parents discussing selling him to a wealthy family in the county as a servant, and Su Chen truly felt very distressed, so distressed that he wanted to cry out.

Da Wa has been sensible since childhood, rarely crying, and it is a rare occurrence for him to shed tears even once throughout the entire year

Did Da Wa hear what his mother just said

They hurriedly spent nearly half a year's savings to purchase a ten-year-old wild ginseng from the pharmacy, which indeed saved the life of the eldest child, who gradually recovered to the age of twelve

However, crying out will lead to a serious illness, and he has no money to buy expensive ginseng medicine

Old Su mostly smoked silently, contemplating the matter until Da Wa returned, intending to discuss it thoroughly with him. ... Da Wa, perhaps would ... . ... agree.

Su Chen paddled a small bamboo raft, laden with a basket full of fish and shrimp, heading towards an old fishing boat docked along the banks of the water town of Zhouzhuang. His excited little face was flushed, eager to return to the old fishing boat to see his father and mother

For the honest fishermen of Zhouzhuang, the Giant Whale Gang is like a ferocious tiger or a vicious wolf that devours people without leaving a trace, bullying men and dominating women, extorting and plundering, more ruthless than the officials of the yamen, leaving them with no courage to resist in the slightest

His parents worked hard to raise him for 12 years, their hair turning white early, their kindness as heavy as a mountain

The boat tax of Gusu County is five taels of silver each year, which must be paid before the Lunar New Year; otherwise, the fierce and intimidating yamen runners from the county office will come to the villages to collect it, seizing the fishing boats and preventing them from going out to sea

In recent years, the Su family has deliberately set aside one or two silver coins each year specifically to buy ginseng for the eldest son. If the eldest son were to cry tears of blue stone, they would immediately use the ginseng medicine to restore his vitality and prolong his life

He felt a chill throughout his body, on the verge of stiffness. He rubbed his hands and feet vigorously and gently placed a fishing basket filled with fish and shrimp on the front of the old fishing boat.

He tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and took a long time to recover from this dreadful news

Over the years, Old Su has been saving every single copper coin to accumulate enough money to buy ginseng medicine, so how could he possibly be unaware of this

No one knows when the eldest child will cry next

The fallen strange stone is known as 'Heaven's Hate Stone', which has leaked its vital energy. Using ginseng medicine to replenish the vital energy may temporarily prolong life. However, it can only provide a temporary solution and cannot cure the root of the illness

... ...

Second younger brother, third younger sister, we part ways here; elder brother can no longer watch over you every day! You must grow up well and fulfill filial piety for our parents on behalf of elder brother

Do not be deceived by the fact that the eldest child has been calm and sensible since childhood, not impulsive. However, deep down, he possesses a fierce tenacity, the kind of stubborn youth who would swallow his broken teeth along with the blood without uttering a word.

Every time Su Chen caught a big fish at night, he would secretly keep a copper coin when accompanying the fishermen of Zhouzhuang to the county town to sell the catch, in case he shed tears of blue stone, so that he could buy ginseng and medicine to prolong his life

After some thought, I untied a small cloth money pouch from my waist, which contained over forty to fifty copper coins

His teeth were clenched tightly on his lower lip, almost drawing blood.

The Giant Whale Gang is one of the five major underworld factions within the thirteen counties of Wu County, dominating Taihu Lake. For over a hundred years, it has roamed freely within the vast territory of Wu County, monopolizing thousands of miles of lakes and river transport, imposing a weighing fee on the fishermen of Zhouzhuang, amounting to one or two taels of silver each month

However, over the past decade, Su Chen has cried several times, spending a considerable amount of money on ginseng and medicinal herbs.

Su Chen's occasional bouts of strange illness each year only add to the burden, weighing down on him like an additional heavy stone atop these already significant pressures

Child's father, let us send the eldest to a wealthy family in the county to serve as a helper. The eldest is now twelve years old, has become sensible, and is capable of doing some heavy work. If we find a kind-hearted wealthy family for him, he will have a means of livelihood

Shut up! Can the child be sold?

After much effort, the old master finally agreed to examine the eldest child. Upon seeing the child, who was on the verge of death, he remarked that the illness was quite peculiar, suggesting it was the legendary 'Heavenly Hate Disease,' a condition that the heavens had cursed, preventing the child from surviving

Therefore, as long as impoverished families have even a glimmer of hope, they will not send their children to serve as servants for wealthy families, placing their lives in the hands of others

It seems that this illness of mine cannot be cured for a lifetime, and I can no longer continue to burden my family. Without the burden of my strange illness, the pressure on my family can be significantly alleviated

However, within the dark river channel, a haze enveloped the heavens and the earth, obscuring any trace of Su Chen's solitary little bamboo raft.

However, Su Laodie and Su Laoniang did not abandon their eldest son. They heard from the people in the county town that the Master Hanshan of the Hanshan Taoist Temple possessed great powers and could accomplish anything. Thus, they knelt outside the Hanshan Taoist Temple at the west gate of the county town for three days and three nights, earnestly pleading with the old temple master

The name "Chen" for the eldest child was casually given by the Zhenren of Hanshan, who said that among all things in the world, only dust is the most worthless, not despised by the heavens, and thus easy to survive.

Most fishermen in Zhouzhuang Water Town live in such poverty. It is already quite good if they can have a bit of oil, salt, and meat during the festivals and holidays

Upon thinking of this, Old Su fell silent, burying his head in worry as he took deep puffs of his old dry tobacco

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This is the belongings of the eldest child, but the person is nowhere to be found

If one falls ill... then let it be left to fate outside!

His fragile life is like a flickering bamboo lamp in the fishing light, which could be extinguished at any moment by a gust of cold wind

If fishermen are unable to sell their fish, their livelihood is cut off, which leads to a dead end

After signing the contract of servitude, one is no longer a commoner but a lowly subject, and the individual belongs entirely to the master

Suddenly, he thought of Da Wa going to the small river to fish at night, and at this time, he would almost be back. Could it be the sound of Da Wa's bamboo raft?

Fishermen must pay monthly; otherwise, the Giant Whale Gang will not allow them to transport fish to the county for sale. No matter how many fish they catch, they will only rot on the fishing boat.

This method is also quite simple, but the medicinal herbs are very expensive

Having endured this calamity, by next spring, there will be more large fish in the great lake, and only then can the income improve slightly

Old Lady Su wept, her tears streaming down her face, expressing her sorrow