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Unlike his younger brother Zhang Shuishen, whose mouth was like a flowing river, the square-face brother Zhang Huoda was silent. He listened to the conversation the entire ride. Zhang Huoda sat in the corner of the cart. His pair of bright eyes looked at the branches and weeds that were gradually receding. The dry vines wrapped around the dark brown branches like gray rags. The extended branches shook in the cold wind.
Zhang Huoda’s square face was silent. His brother would whisper in his ear from time to time. “Isn’t that right, Ge? “My brother has also seen it.”…Things like that. He pursed his lips and spat out this word as if he was struggling to, “Mn.”
Besides “mn” there was only “mn”. It seemed he could only spit out monosyllabic words. What was more unexpected was this man seemed very down-to-earth.
Lin Lixuan was actually very curious about these two brothers. One was water, and the other was fire. One active, and one stoic. One hot, and one cold. But the water in their name was as enthusiastic as fire. And the brother with fire in their name was as calm as water. They really weren’t “worthy” of their names! He couldn’t help but joke with Zhang Shuishen, “It might be better to change names with your brother…”
“Hahaha!” Zhang Shuishen laughed three times, but he didn’t get angry at Lin Lixuan’s abrupt statement. Since he was a child, more than one person has told him this. Their neighbors also joked with his father, saying they were shocked by this pair of twins, one square-faced and one round-faced and how they chose their names.
The problem of fire and water, Zhang Shuishen had long been accustomed to it after all these years, not to mention, he himself had also thought about this matter. “My name is Shuishen. In water, even if it’s cold, I will swim desperately. I have to move, so I love to talk. My head is round, which is probably similar to the stones in the water. It has been rounded by flowing water…”
Zhang Shuishen said as he pointed at his round head and vividly showed that he was floating in the water, making Lin Lixuan and Village chief Zhao, who was smoking and sighing, laugh. Lin Lixuan admired his open mindedness. His brother, Zhang Huoda, pursed his lips and turned his head away.
Zhang Shuishen smiled to the back of his brother’s head and continued, “And my brother.” He chuckled and used his hand to cover his smile. “He’s called Huoda. Naturally when in fire, he burns brightly. He’s so hot he can’t move. Just like when a person doesn’t want to move on a hot day. He is also roasted and still stuck there. Hahaha!!!”
Zhang Shuishen’s crooked reasoning made Lin Lixuan and Village chief Zhao laugh. The three of them exchanged a look and smiled without showing teeth. Zhang Huoda saw all of this. He stopped looking at the trees or counting the leaves. His hand covered his forehead. He turned around, feeling a headache coming. His eyes squinted as he glared at his younger brother. His dark thick eyebrows fell into a straight line. With his square face, the momentum was terrifying.
Zhang Shuishen was not afraid of him at all. He grinned at him and didn’t take his threatening eyes to heart at all. If his brother dared to beat him, or if he dared do something to him, he would complain to his parents, and the two of them would scold him.
For over 20 years, Zhang Huoda already knew how to deal with their brother who always made him fiery and angry. His brother was a person who liked to play tricks, but he couldn’t take his anger on him. So he flicked his nose. It was best to ignore him. Zhang Huoda hugged his chest and turned around, only giving him a disgusted look.
Zhang Huoda, how much have you suffered from this brat in the past? You definitely can’t be angry!
He really should consider applying to the county magistrate again so that he didn’t have to work with his brother. Every time his brother came into contact with someone, he wanted to vomit. It was the same every time. It was fine if it was just that, but he had to be involved every single time. He really felt helpless. It was just that the County magistrate and Official Register loved to watch the fun and liked seeing this water and fire brother together. Sigh…
Zhang Shuishen squeezed his eyes and squinted at his brother who was cowardly sitting to the side with victorious joy in his eyes.
Although his older brother wasn’t good at talking, the county magistrate really liked him. Just because he had a shocking square face, very boxy. At a glance, you can tell this person doesn’t smile and is an honest worker. Whenever the county magistrate went out, he liked to bring this square-faced subordinate along the most.
Zhang Shuishen snorted, “When others look at my brother, thankfully they think ‘people are like their faces’ instead of ‘people are like their names’. He gives off an upright feeling just by looking at him. The name Huoda, as soon as you hear it, you would think he would be fiery….Tsk tsk tsk. That’s terrible.”
Once was the abyss of suffering1, while the other infuriated2 others…The one who took a step back laughed at the one who took two steps back. Lin Lixuan smiled and touched the head of the little donkey. Zhang Shuishen suddenly saw the face of the little donkey and was shocked by his handsome appearance. “Your donkey is really well raised. I’ve never seen a more spirited beast.”
The little donkey’s nostrils faced the sky, as if he knew someone was praising him. He chirped heavily, pulling the cart with renewed momentum. For a moment, it felt like a horse was pulling them.
Lin Lixuan had been accustomed to having his little donkey praised by others and gave him a radish as a reward. Zhao Liniang and Ger Yan were both good at raising animals. Their chickens, ducks, and the donkey were raised to be very spirited. The previous Lin Lixuan raised a turtle until it became a dried up turtle. The peanuts he’d planted before the new years also died. This plant and animal killer—he could probably still be saved.
After a while, they would need to do spring plowing. He would have to learn how to farm and raise livestock seriously.
Ger Yan stood at the entrance of the village, looking east and west. He paced back and forth between two trees. Lin Lixuan had been gone for a long time, and he didn’t know when he’d return. If he knew this would happen, he would have gone with him, then he wouldn’t be here worrying. The silver bills didn’t even warm their hands and Lin Lixuan was spending it already.
Such a large sum of money smashed into their house. Ger Yan was still floating from it. He frowned, and the cinnabar mole in between his eyebrows grew deeper. Why wasn’t Lin-dage back yet? It had already been so long—Did something happen?
No, no. He couldn’t think that way. Ger Yan scolded himself.
Zhao Liniang, who was calm at home, told him that the Official Register who managed the fields liked to procrastinate. If they take all afternoon, he might not be able to return. Ger Yan was anxious and waited at the entrance of the village, refusing to go home. Fortunately, there wasn’t anything happening at home either. It would be better if there was. If there was work to be done, he could be distracted, but now all he could do was sit and wait. HE wouldn’t wait any longer.
He looked at the branches of the big lotus tree beside him. Ger Yan was already familiar with every single branch. Every time he returned from the county town with Lin-dage, he saw this big lotus tree and knew he was almost home. He would always get excited. But this tree that usually brought him joy, was now making him anxious.
He didn’t know what he was worried about, but his heart couldn’t calm down.
Ger Yan stretched his neck and looked straight in the distance. When his neck was tired, he relaxed and rested for a bit before looking again. This happened until he seemed to have heard human voices? He listened carefully and realized there was also the sound of a donkey. His black, pearl-like eyes couldn’t help but shine.
- Shuisheng’s name is part of an idiom that means abyss of suffering. 水深火热 ↩︎
- This is also a play on Huoda’s name. If you’re very fiery, it could mean you have a big temper ↩︎
