abnabooks Chapter 15 Brown Rice, Meat Patties
Chapter 15 Brown Rice, Meat Patties
The next morning, the sun rose as usual.
Su Yu packed up the last of his valuables in the house, glanced at the roll of moldy bedding, and finally folded it up with no other choice.
"I don't know when I'll be able to return."
As Su Yu locked the weathered wooden door, a sense of desolation arose in his heart.
"Squeak!"
Just then, a crack quietly appeared in the door of Uncle Liu's house next door.
A tiny, thin hand, as thin as a matchstick, gripped the doorframe, while a pair of large, empty eyes, taking up half of her face, stared blankly at Su Yu.
She is Uncle Liu's youngest daughter, Ya'er.
She didn't speak, didn't come out, and didn't close the door, like a puppet whose soul had been taken away.
Su Yu frowned slightly, took two steps forward, and lowered his voice: "Girl, is something the matter?"
Ya'er didn't answer or make any move; she just quietly watched Su Yu.
"Cough cough cough!"
Suddenly, a heart-wrenching cough came from inside the room, as if the person was coughing up their lungs.
Su Yu sensed something was off about the voice and pushed the door open to enter.
Ya'er remained silently standing at the door, only her empty eyes following Su Yu's movements.
Inside the room, a strong smell of decay filled the air.
On the bed, Uncle Liu was curled up like a withered tree branch, covered with a tattered cotton quilt with holes, revealing his festering and blackened feet.
When Su Yu came over, Uncle Liu didn't open his eyes; his body was just trembling.
He won't live much longer.
Su Yu sighed inwardly, looked around the room, and saw cobwebs covering the beams and corners, and dust covering the only wooden table.
The stove was blackened, cold, and rough; it hadn't been used for a long time.
He turned around and looked at the little girl, who only reached his waist and was very thin. She was only ten years old, so light that she seemed like she could be blown away by a gust of wind.
Are you hungry?
Ya'er remained silent, but her thin little hand timidly clung to Su Yu's clothes, refusing to let go no matter what.
Su Yu remained silent for a moment, then turned and left.
Ya'er's eyes dimmed instantly, and her hand fell limply to her side.
But soon, the footsteps returned.
Su Yu strode in, carrying half a bag of brown rice.
The brown rice we bought at home before, we didn't finish after going to the martial arts school, and now there's quite a bit left.
"Bang."
The rice bag landed on the stove, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The muffled thud made Ya'er's eyes light up, and she stared at the rice bag with a strange look.
When Su Yu saw that inexplicable gaze, a ripple stirred in his otherwise calm heart.
Perhaps this is a kind of attachment to life.
After thinking for a moment, he took out his house key from his pocket and put it into that small, black hand that looked like a chicken claw: "Girl, this is my house key. When I'm not home, you can clean the house for me and keep an eye on it. This bag of rice is your payment."
"If anyone is looking for me, go to Su Hong's house at the east end of the village and inform him. If the house is clean when I return, I will receive wages."
Ya'er gripped the key tightly, her knuckles turning white, and nodded heavily.
……
White Ape Martial Arts School, residential area.
Su Yu returned to her room, took the bedding out to air it, and then went to the well to wash clothes.
Today was a day off, and the sun was shining brightly. Many apprentices were washing clothes, drying clothes, and chatting by the well.
"Have you heard? The Shattered Bone Martial Arts Academy recently recruited a genius who broke through a bottleneck in just half a month."
"What! So fast! Could it be superior talent?"
"Yes, that person's name is Zhou Heng. He has excellent physical constitution and has been taken in as a personal disciple by the master of the Shattered Bone Martial Arts School!"
Su Yu sighed as he listened. Breaking through a barrier once every half month, Zhou Heng's innate talent is truly amazing!
Now he has some understanding of physical attributes, which are divided into three grades: lower, middle, and upper.
Inferior aptitude, also known as poor, is a very common term used to describe people. Su Yu falls into this category, and for such people, learning martial arts is extremely difficult.
Above that is the medium-sized root bone, which is further subdivided into lower-middle, middle, and upper-middle, with significant differences between each layer.
My cousin Su Can has above-average physical attributes, so he is indeed a little genius; his physical attributes are really good.
Above that is superior physical constitution, which is further subdivided into superior, upper-middle, and upper-top physical constitution.
Each of them, with their superior physical constitution, now appears to have a tremendous advantage in learning martial arts, placing them firmly among the ranks of true geniuses.
After washing her clothes, Su Yu returned to room number three and ran into Wang Hu.
He carried a bulging cloth bag on his back, his face beaming with joy.
Upon seeing Su Yu, he immediately greeted him warmly, "Brother Su, you're back too! I brought some flatbread with me, my mom just made it, please have a taste."
As he spoke, he took out a pancake the size of a plate from his cloth bag. It was golden and crispy, sprinkled with sesame seeds, and glistening with oil. A rich aroma of meat instantly filled the entire room.
Su Yu's mouth watered at the aroma. He took the flatbread, which felt heavy and was still warm.
"Brother Su, try it while it's hot, my mom makes it really delicious."
Su Yu nodded, took a bite, and found the crust crispy, the inside bursting with juice, and the rich, fatty and lean pork mixed with the aroma of scallions and noodles—it was truly delicious.
"Delicious! Little Tiger, your mother's cooking is amazing!"
Su Yu gave a heartfelt exclamation and continued to eat the pancake heartily. Before long, the pancake was completely gone.
"Brother Su, one more, please."
Su Yu waved his hand in refusal, "You eat it, your mother brought it to you, don't share it all." This flatbread is made with high-quality ingredients, so it must not be cheap. Recently, prices have skyrocketed, and if it were sold outside, it would cost at least a dozen copper coins.
"It's alright, Brother Su. My mom brought six. I'll give two to you and Brother Ma each."
Wang Hu desperately tried to stuff the food into Su Yu's arms, and Su Yu no longer hesitated. After taking it, the two sat on the edge of the bed and started eating and chatting.
"Little Tiger, what does your family do?"
"My dad was a blacksmith in Luhuo Lane. He was very strong and could eat seven or eight of these pancakes in one sitting. My mom said he was like a big brown bear!" Wang Hu gestured, his eyes full of pride.
Su Yu smiled. Xiao Hu was sturdy, looked robust, and had a lot of strength. He seemed to have taken after his father.
His father must have been a good blacksmith; to be able to make a living in the city and support his family, he must have been quite a skilled blacksmith.
As the two chatted, Ma Fei returned. As soon as he entered, he saw Su Yu and Wang Hu talking enthusiastically, and a hint of dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes.
"Brother Ma, I brought some flatbread, have a taste." Wang Hu didn't see Ma Fei's gaze and enthusiastically handed him the flatbread.
"I won't eat this stuff!" With that, Ma Fei slapped the pancake, knocking it to the ground.
Wang Hu's face immediately turned embarrassed, and he bent down to pick up the pancakes from the ground.
Ma Fei snorted coldly and went back to his bed.
Su Yu frowned slightly. Ma Fei was extremely narrow-minded. It seemed better to stay away from him in the future.
I felt that since we were classmates learning martial arts, it wouldn't be right to refuse him too much.
At this moment, Wang Xiaohu picked up the flatbread and wiped off the dust with some heartache, seemingly wanting to apologize to Ma Fei.
Su Yu frowned, pressed his shoulder forward, and gestured for him to return to his bed.
Wang Hu went back, seemingly understanding but not quite, and ate his pancake. During this time, Su Yu asked him for another one and praised it as delicious.
Wang Hu got excited and tried to strike up a conversation with Ma Fei again, but Su Yu helplessly pushed him back, thinking to herself that this kid was really a bit of a rascal.
Beside them, Ma Fei, who was lying on the bed with his back to the two of them, had a hint of resentment in his eyes.