Qin Huai understood what he was saying from his mouth movements.
’Cutting flesh to save the mother, so this is how my illness can be cured.’
’I truly am a solitary star that brings disaster, cursing my father, my mother, my kin, my child, and in my old age, I still harm my granddaughter.’
Qu the Hunter muttered silently, walked back to the house in a daze, and after a long while, he wiped away tears that had dried long ago and lay down as if nothing had happened.
While drinking the meat soup, Qu the Hunter swallowed with exceptional difficulty.
"Grandpa, did you catch a cold? Is your throat uncomfortable?" Qu Jing asked.
"No." Qu the Hunter forced a smile, his voice a bit hoarse, "By the way, Jingjing, has it been a while since grandpa last made rice cakes for you?"
"We ate them during the New Year."
"Then it has indeed been some time since I made them." Qu the Hunter nodded, "There’s not much glutinous rice at home; when the rain stops, go to the town’s grain store and grocery store to see if there’s any glutinous rice for sale, and grandpa will make rice cakes for you."
"Sure." Qu Jing responded happily.
The next day, the sky cleared, and since Qu the Hunter only had the meat soup yesterday, Qu Jing was not afraid of him getting ill. Early in the morning, she boarded the ox cart to the town to buy glutinous rice.
Glutinous rice was a rare commodity in this era.
Qu Jing wasn’t lucky and couldn’t buy any. In fact, over the years, Qu the Hunter also found it difficult to buy glutinous rice, mostly trading his game with the people at the grocery store or supply and marketing cooperative.
The staff at the grocery store knew Qu Jing and told her to come back next month; if they got any glutinous rice, they would set it aside for her, continuing the old practice of trading for it with game.
Qu Jing could only return empty-handed.
When she got home, the wooden house was empty, but Qu Jing didn’t mind too much. After spring began, Qu the Hunter frequently went up the mountain. It had rained heavily yesterday, so he couldn’t go, but it was normal for him to check the traps today.
Qu Jing started cleaning the house.
Qu the Hunter rarely cleaned or tidied the house, that task usually fell to Qu Jing, and she knew better than Qu the Hunter where everything was stored at home.
In Qu the Hunter’s room, Qu Jing saw the hunting rifle hanging on the wall.
Qu Jing immediately felt something was wrong.
She hurriedly went to the kitchen to check, and on the wall where game was usually hung, she saw the bow and knife.
No one would go up the mountain without any weapons.
By the stove in the kitchen, there was a rice cake covered with a wet cloth.
Beside the rice cake was a piece of paper, torn from Qu Jing’s workbook, with wobbly characters that looked as if they were drawn, clearly written by a beginner.
[Jingjing, grandpa doesn’t want to hurt you anymore.
You are a good child, and grandpa is very happy to be your grandpa. Grandpa can’t accompany you to Beiping for your treatment anymore. Over the years, all the money grandpa saved is in the iron box in the cupboard, keep it safe, go to town to attend middle school, high school, and take the college entrance exam.
If you need anything, go find the village chief and live well.]
Qu Jing stood frozen as she looked at the paper.
Outside the house, the village chief’s voice called out: "Jingjing, Jingjing, is your grandpa here?"
"Just now Gou Dan told me, your grandpa went to the school to ask Teacher Li for many characters, and also asked Gou Dan and several students for words, saying he wanted to write something."
"My Gou Dan said your grandpa asked him how to write ’alive,’ is he at home? Is he okay? He isn’t too confused to want to live, is he?"
Qu Jing clutched the note and dashed out of the house, running up the mountain, with the village chief shouting, calling, and chasing behind but unable to catch up.
Although Qu Jing hadn’t climbed much in recent years, she was very familiar with the mountain path, especially the road into the deep mountains. She wouldn’t mistakenly wander outside as she did initially when trying to go deep into the mountains.
Qu Jing searched the mountain until nightfall.
On the morning of the third day, Qu Jing descended the mountain, lost in despair, and found the village chief and his wife waiting for her in the wooden house.
"Child, it’s so dangerous to run straight up the mountain. There are wolves, tigers, and bears in these hills. If something happened to you, how would we explain it to Old Qu!" The village chief’s wife rushed over when she saw Qu Jing was back, checking if she was injured.
Qu Jing stood numbly without resisting, and as the village chief’s wife checked her, she rolled up Qu Jing’s sleeve and screamed when she saw the hideous wound on Qu Jing’s left arm.
"Has my grandpa returned?" Qu Jing asked.
The village chief shook his head, sighed, "Old Qu... a kid from the village saw him go up the mountain."
"All the old hunters know where the bear’s den is."
The village chief didn’t say anything more.
Qu Jing nodded, walked dumbly into the wooden house.
Qin Huai knew, Qu Jing had failed the trial.
Qin Huai left the memory.