They Say I Can Curse People (19)

Chapter 50

Chang Fang’s family knew what she was doing. After she left with the police, she started a small business collecting medicinal herbs and such.

However, stereotypes are hard to change. In the eyes of this family, Chang Fang was just a slip of a girl who understood nothing of the ways of the world and didn’t know how to get things done. She was surely just running errands for the police; what kind of big money could she possibly earn?

Thus, when her Eldest Cousin emphasized, “Chang Fang really has made money, she even enrolled her younger sister in the town kindergarten,” Chang Fang’s mother didn’t take it seriously at all.

She replied, “Where would she get any real money? she’s just helping the police out with chores.”

As for the town kindergarten, Chang Fang’s mother figured she had probably just dropped the child off without necessarily paying much.

In any case, she had never heard of anyone making big money at seventeen or eighteen in her entire life. Where would such a person come from? Even if such people existed, they would have to be stars descended from heaven¹, and it certainly wouldn’t be a girl like Chang Fang.

“Your aunt will make you some egg noodles. It’s been so hot lately. Is your mother’s health alright?”

“My mom is doing fine. She even said she’d come visit you when she has time,” the Eldest Cousin said, before steering the conversation back to Chang Fang. “Speaking of which, Auntie, I’m not trying to blame Chang Fang, but the main thing is she went to give meat to Eldest Aunt’s family. Everyone else is asking why she didn’t come to my house. We raised her back then too, didn’t we? By doing this, she’s making it look like our family mistreated her.”

Chang Fang’s mother said, “She’s young and doesn’t know her manners. I’ll apologize on her behalf, so don’t hold it against her.”

“It’s not about manners, Auntie. I’ll say this even if it risks offending you: our family didn’t mistreat her at all back then. She ate whatever we ate, and we never let her go hungry. Back then, Eldest Aunt’s family used to scold her all the time. Now, she remembers Eldest Aunt’s kindness and brings them pork while pointedly leaving our family out. With her acting like this, what are people saying? My mother has cried privately several times over it.”

In his heart, he actually wanted to mention the matter of his younger brother being cursed to death. He wanted to say that after his brother died, he had scolded Chang Fang a couple of times, and his mother had hit him for it. In the past, thinking of this would make him angry. Now, thinking of it only reminded him of the words Chang Fang had whispered in his ear, and of the period when he dreamed of his brother every single day.

He didn’t dare think further on it, so naturally, he didn’t bring it up.

“I apologize for this, don’t take it to heart,” Chang Fang’s mother said as she opened the cupboard to take out eggs and dried noodles.

She had originally thought about not cooking this bowl of noodles, but now she had no choice. Chang Fang’s mother was also unhappy. Wasn’t he just coming here to blame her? Besides, Chang Fang hadn’t been a freeloader back then; she worked, cutting pig grass and feeding the pigs. He made it sound like Chang Fang had done nothing at all.

“I don’t have anything fancy here. Have some tea first, and I’ll cook you some egg noodles.”

“No need for the noodles, Auntie. I’m leaving in a bit. I came this time because I wanted to talk to you about Chang Fang… forget it, Auntie, you just focus on your pregnancy.”

The Eldest Cousin had originally wanted his aunt to act as a mediator. He couldn’t bring himself to lower his pride and ask Chang Fang how she was making money, so he thought of having his aunt lecture her. After all, Chang Fang had lived in his house for so long; she owed them a favor. He hadn’t expected that his aunt wouldn’t catch his drift at all.

Seeing that he couldn’t get through to his aunt, he went to the town to find Chang Fang himself.

Chang Fang had been very satisfied with her medicinal herb business. In the past, her labor earned her nothing, but now that she was making money, she was happy yet constantly afraid.

She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to keep it, afraid that all of this was just a flash in the pan.

Soon, she heard about Hua Jing from Yulan Town.

Hua Jing, like her, had no Hukou, and both came from families that favored boys over girls. But Hua Jing was so successful now. She was in the big city, had gone to university, was very capable, and very wealthy. Her family even had a telephone and a television.

Regarding the other girl’s “capability,” Chang Fang could only imagine that she was very good at studying. She didn’t know what specific skills were involved or how she made money; to her, that was an unknown realm.

As for herself… the supply of herbs was greatest at the beginning. After all, nobody used to pick the mugwort, wormwood, and wild chrysanthemums in the mountains. Now that they had been scoured over and over, these annual herbs were quickly disappearing.

As for the more expensive herbs like Sweetflag, Astragalus, and Tiger Ginger, they required several years to grow. With the current level of harvesting, there was only less and less to be found.

The amount of herbs she received over the last two days wasn’t as much as before, and it would only continue to dwindle.

Chang Fang truly felt this wouldn’t last. Most importantly, her appetite had been whetted.

When she first started, she made a significant amount of money on the very first day, more than one could earn doing construction for a day. After that, it kept rising. On her best day, she spent the whole day carrying herbs back and forth and made one hundred and ten yuan.

That was a massive sum! Although she had found an even larger amount of money before that, the meaning of this money was different. Finding money was luck and uncontrollable; earning money was something achieved through one’s own diligence, which gave her a sense of confidence.

That day, she had been so exhausted she had no strength left. Lying on the ground and touching that money, she felt she would become even richer.

But later, her income began to decline steadily. Now it was fixed at about twenty-some yuan a day. While that was still quite a lot of money, having experienced the joy of 110 yuan and the certainty that she would never go hungry again, looking at twenty yuan made her feel uneasy. She felt an inexplicable sense of panic.

She began to constantly agitate herself, forcing herself to think about what she would do if there were no more herbs later.

This was her habit. Just like when she was little and everything around her caused her pain, she was still used to turning these matters over and over in her mind.

It was at this time that her Eldest Cousin came to find her.

“Chang Fang, my mom told me to bring you some eggs.” The Eldest Cousin was internally reluctant to ask Chang Fang for help. He wanted to make money, but Chang Fang was his younger cousin, a pathetic creature who once lived under his roof and couldn’t even speak clearly. If he begged her to take him on, it would be far too undignified.

So, he chose a more dignified approach.

He brought twenty eggs, using the traditional manner of an eldest brother in the family visiting his younger sister.

“There is no need.” Chang Fang was quite surprised by Eldest Cousin’s behavior, but she still said, “I don’t usually eat at home. Even if you give me eggs, I won’t be able to eat them.”

“I’ve already brought them down. If you don’t take them, I’ll have to carry them all the way back,” Eldest Cousin said.

“I really don’t have a place to cook,” Chang Fang explained. “How about this? I’ll help Eldest Cousin sell these eggs?”

“Such a small amount of eggs won’t fetch much money.” Eldest Cousin didn’t want to keep haggling over eggs, but it was impossible for him to lower his pride and ask Chang Fang for a favor.

Thus, he said stiffly, “My mom said you should come over to our house for a meal when you have time.”

“I’ll go when I’m free later. Thank Second Aunt for thinking of me.” Chang Fang actually didn’t want to go, but she still had to give him some face verbally.

Yun Song had been paying close attention to Chang Fang these past few days. Now, seeing her called to the school gate, she naturally kept an eye out and walked over.

Once she arrived, it became even more impossible for Eldest Cousin to ask Chang Fang for help.

Yun Song said, “Chang Fang, come over and have dinner with Huanhuan today.”

Eldest Cousin heard Chang Fang tell him that she was going to dinner, yet she made no move to invite him along.

Eldest Cousin felt a stinging sensation. He felt that even if they had been unhappy with each other before, they were still relatives. Now that he had brought her eggs, no matter how you looked at it, shouldn’t Chang Fang invite him to eat with them?

But Chang Fang didn’t. She simply handed him ten yuan, telling him to go get a bowl of noodles at a restaurant in town, saying the noodles in town tasted better. Then she just left?

Eldest Cousin stood there, feeling humiliated.

He was the eldest brother. The poor wretch who used to live under his roof was now giving him ten yuan and telling him to go eat noodles? What kind of relative acted like this?

Who couldn’t afford a bowl of noodles? Who was she trying to impress with her wealth?

The noodle shop in town used fresh wet noodles², not dried ones. The owner kept insisting they were better than dried noodles.

“Have a bowl. If it’s not good, you don’t have to pay.”

Eldest Cousin found it quite novel. It was three yuan for a large bowl, and it even had shredded pork with pickled greens. He finished it quickly.

These noodles were indeed better than dried ones.

Despite this, he still felt very uncomfortable.

He didn’t know why this feeling was so distressing, as if admitting even a little bit of good about Chang Fang meant he had to face something even more terrifying.

He avoided thinking deeply about the issues involved.

All of it caused him pain.

Soon, his mind began to repeatedly replay the scene of the policeman calling out to Chang Fang. That scene made him feel a bit better.

He remembered what his aunt had said. How could Chang Fang possibly earn money? She must just be following the police around, acting as a low level assistant.

Besides, Chang Fang still didn’t understand social graces. What kind of person doesn’t treat a relative to a meal when they visit? Letting them go out to eat alone without even accompanying them? Someone like that certainly wouldn’t last long in business.

Thinking of this, he felt much more at ease. That must be it.

As for himself, he wouldn’t do business after all. He was different from Chang Fang; he had his own land and his own house. There was no need for him to go into business.

Furthermore, doing business surely required a patron. He had no background. If he worked himself to death, the money wouldn’t even end up in his own pocket anyway, so forget it.

And how long could medicinal herbs be dug for? He hadn’t found many during his recent trip into the mountains. Chang Fang was just taking advantage of what was there before. Once the herbs were gone, and with no land or house to live in, the police wouldn’t stay here forever. When that time came, Chang Fang would probably have to come back and beg Eldest Aunt’s family and his mother again.

Thinking this way, he stopped dwelling on the matter of Chang Fang making money, and his heart felt much lighter.

And so, as he headed back, he walked further and further away from Tonglin Town with every step, walking back into the mountains, back to his own home.

Translator’s Notes