OFTLHFRO C27

Chapter 27: Too Bitter to Cry

Teacher Mo gave Luo Mingchen an unexpected glance, but his strikes were by no means gentle.

Huo Xiang was in pain, yet he was stubbornly strong enough not to cry out.

When Teacher Mo finished, Huo Xiang glanced at his elder brother and said, “Teacher, can I take those five strikes in my brother’s place?”

The three boys who had just been crying as they left froze in shock and turned back, their eyes wide in disbelief.

Five strikes were very painful!

Was he crazy?

Teacher Mo looked at Huo Xiang’s red, swollen hand and asked, “Doesn’t it hurt?”

Huo Xiang answered seriously, “It hurts. But big brother was hurt a lot while protecting me. I don’t want him to suffer more pain.”

Huo Yuhui frowned. “Teacher, the fault I committed is mine to bear myself.”

Teacher Mo studied them, letting his eyes linger on Huo Xiang. “Are you sure you wish to take the punishment in your brother’s place?”

Huo Xiang nodded firmly. “Please, Teacher, allow it.”

“Xiang!” Huo Yuhui looked at him in disapproval.

“Brother, back at home, when those people beat us, it was always you who shielded me. I might still be weak now, but I want to make things a little better for you too. I don’t want you always getting hurt.”

With that, his gaze determined, Huo Xiang stretched out his hand. “Teacher, please strike me. But after this, don’t strike my brother again.”

Huo Yuhui was stunned. He hadn’t expected his usually carefree, absent-minded little brother to recall things from so long ago.

“Very well, I’ll grant your wish.”

Teacher Mo struck five times into Huo Xiang’s palm once more.

But Teacher Mo knew these five blows would wound Huo Yuhui’s heart more than if they had been delivered to him directly.

When it was done, Teacher Mo saw Huo Yuhui embrace his little brother in pain and spoke, “Remember always—you are brothers, and all of you are one family. If you commit a fault, they will suffer with you. Next time, before you act, think of those you care for.”

He then looked them over once more. “It is late. Go home.”

Huo Yuhui finally came to his senses, bowed respectfully, and said, “Thank you for your teaching, Teacher.”

Holding back tears with trembling hands, Huo Xiang also bowed, voice thick with sobs. “Thank you for your teaching, Teacher.”

Teacher Mo watched their retreating figures, admiration filling his eyes.

As the carriage left Taohua Town, the three boys who had once held the Huo brothers down during the fight couldn’t help but look at them.

Although Teacher Mo had transferred Huo Yuhui’s five strikes onto Huo Xiang, they didn’t feel resentment. Instead, they were shocked by the bond between the brothers.

Even though they had siblings of their own, their ties were nothing like this. It was already rare enough not to betray each other—let alone to shield one another this way.

Unsure how they felt, the three were unusually silent.

Once the ox-cart left the town, Huo Xiang finally burst into tears in Luo Mingchen’s arms. “Little Daddy, it hurts so much…”

Luo Mingchen, both amused and heartbroken, said, “Since you didn’t say a word, I thought you weren’t hurting.”

He took out some medicinal herbs from his space and held them to Huo Xiang’s mouth. “Chew this. Don’t swallow—just chew it into pieces and then apply it on your palm.”

“They were all watching me! I didn’t want them laughing at me!”

After saying this, Huo Xiang opened his mouth and bit into the herbs.

Little Huo Xinyue, who had watched her brother being punished, had been blowing on his palm ever since they got into the cart.

But the bitter taste of the herbs was overwhelming. Crying as he chewed, Huo Xiang soon found that it was so unbearably bitter he couldn’t even cry anymore.

When he finished chewing and spat the paste into his palm, Luo Mingchen added a little water. Huo Yuhui, though helpless, gently rubbed it on for him. “Don’t ever do something like this again, understood?”

Sniffling, Huo Xiang didn’t agree directly. Instead, he said, “Brother, I’ll definitely grow as strong as Daddy one day. That way, no one will ever dare bully us again.”

Huo Yuhui chuckled softly and pinched his cheek. “Fool.”

“Brother,” Huo Xiang whispered, “don’t call me a fool anymore. I heard that if people keep saying it, it’ll come true.”

“…Alright.”

Luo Mingchen did have siblings, but they were from his biological father’s side. Altogether, he had only seen them less than three times. There was never this much affection. Most had either gone to the base, or been devoured by zombies.

So watching these two brothers stirred something in his heart.

“Does your hand still hurt?”

Huo Xiang blinked in surprise. “Little Daddy, I… I don’t think it hurts anymore.”

“Then that’s good.”

Luo Mingchen had only been trying something out. Once, when someone was struck in the chest by a blow, they had eaten some of these mutated herbs and completely recovered within three hours.

Thinking of this, he took out more for Huo Yuhui. “Xiaohui, here, chew and swallow this. It should help.”

“Alright.”

Huo Yuhui obediently chewed and swallowed.

Seeing his brother’s calm face afterward, Huo Xiang was stunned. “Brother, wasn’t it bitter?”

“It was bitter… but not unbearable.”

Luo Mingchen gave them both condensed water to drink. “If you want to recover faster, don’t rinse immediately. Just drink some to wash it down.”

“Okay…”

After drinking, Huo Xiang looked uneasy. “Little Daddy, does this count as medicine water?”

“…Yes, let’s call it that,” Luo Mingchen sighed.

Huo Xiang had the typical nature of remembering food but not hardship. Once his pain eased, he threw it behind him, giggling again and already muttering about what they’d eat for dinner.

But that too was a blessing. At least he wouldn’t carry such heavy burdens in his heart.

After all, hating others used up too much energy.

By the time they got home, it was already dark. Each set about their own work.

After dinner, Luo Mingchen and Huo Yan began preparing tofu and rice puddings for the next day’s sale.

The injured brothers, together with their little sister, counted copper coins. A hundred made one string of cash.

Huo Xinyue counted the tens, Huo Xiang sorted them into piles, and Huo Yuhui bound them with iron wire of proper thickness.

Smiling brightly, Huo Xiang said, “We have so much money today.”

“There will be more in the future,” replied Huo Yuhui.

“Mm!”

“Mm!” little Huo Xinyue happily echoed her second brother.

The three siblings laughed together by lamplight, continuing to count.

Having just put a batch of rice puddings on to steam, Luo Mingchen and Huo Yan sat together by the stove. Looking out at the house, where the oil lamp was still burning, Luo Mingchen murmured, “We should get that town house in order sooner rather than later.”

The distance wasted too much time. He and Huo Yan didn’t mind, but with the children needing school, they’d lose sleep if it got too noisy.

Every night, Luo Mingchen saw Huo Yuhui studying late by lamplight—sometimes even practicing calligraphy until they went to bed.

Huo Yan understood what he meant. “Tomorrow we’ll go buy tiles and bricks.”

“Alright.”

The next day, before parting, Luo Mingchen gave Huo Yuhui a basket of fruit and some puddings to bring to the academy, meant for the timid boy who had testified for them and reported to Teacher.

“Little Daddy, I want some too,” Huo Xiang piped up with longing eyes.

“When you two come back, you can eat as much as you like, alright?”

With that promise, Huo Xiang beamed. “Alright!”

Watching the boys’ retreating figures, Luo Mingchen smiled at Huo Yan. “Looks like we could even sell that herb to a drugstore—it could fetch quite a bit.”

But Huo Yan shook his head. “These herbs aren’t sold in apothecaries. If they asked where we found them, what could we say? Medicine isn’t like food. Wrong usage can easily be traced back to us. And without power or backing, we’d make easy scapegoats.”

Hearing that, Luo Mingchen nodded. “Then never mind. We’ll wait until we’re desperate for money.”

“Good.”

But when they arrived at their usual half-month rental spot, they found it had already been taken over.

Footnotes:

• Mutated herbs – Clearly part of the novel’s fantasy/apocalyptic element: herbs with unusual healing properties, often discovered in wild or space.

• One string of cash (一貫錢, yīguàn qián) – In traditional Chinese currency, 100 copper coins were strung together with rope or wire to make one standard unit of value.