OFTLHFRO C3

Chapter 3 – I’ll Burn You Extra Spirit Money

As soon as the bathwater was ready, the three children were stripped down to their underpants and obediently stood side by side.

The midsummer night was warm, so Luo Mingchen himself wore nothing but a pair of shorts. He poured medicinal powder, collected from a mall in his spatial storage, into the water. “You’ve got too many lice on your heads. Unless you want me to shave you bald, don’t move.”

The three siblings responded meekly and stood still.

Luo Mingchen split the medicated water in the basin into three separate water spheres, each enveloping one child’s hair.

Huo Yuhui’s face was frozen in shock, while Huo Xiang’s eyes were filled with pure admiration.

The youngest, Huo Xinyue, couldn’t handle the itching caused by the lice writhing as they died. She squirmed and whimpered, wanting to scratch but unable to reach, her small mouth trembling in tears.

Luo Mingchen scooped her up and soothed, “Be good, Yueyue. When we’re done washing, we’ll have candy.”

Instantly distracted by the candy, Huo Xinyue forgot about the itch, clutching the sweet without caring about her scalp anymore.

Within five minutes, the water spheres were filled with dead lice.

Luo Mingchen cleaned Huo Xinyue first, then wrapped her in a small sheet from his space so she wouldn’t catch cold.

He set her aside with a lollipop in hand before moving on to scrub the other two children.

Huo Yuhui stared at the loofah-like scrubber Luo Mingchen was holding and the fragrant liquid that foamed far more luxuriously than the soap they’d used at home.

When he saw Huo Xiang tentatively poking at the bubbles, Luo Mingchen simply conjured a water sphere for him to play with.

Delighted, Huo Xiang exclaimed, “Little Daddy, this one won’t pop!”

Luo Mingchen chuckled. “Fun?”

Huo Xiang nodded hard. “Fun!”

Noticing Huo Yuhui’s curious gaze, Luo Mingchen made one for him too.

After the bath, all three children were squeaky clean. Luo Mingchen washed their dirty clothes—and his own—before hanging them on a bamboo pole to dry. He even scrubbed the bedsheets and bamboo mats in the room, replacing them with a cool mat and blanket from his space.

He found three roughly fitting night tunics for the children and changed into pajamas himself. Once the three had brushed their teeth after finishing their candy, he sent them to bed.

The courtyard wasn’t large but had three bedrooms, a separate kitchen, a spacious main hall, and even a detached outhouse tucked in a corner of the yard.

After using the outhouse earlier, Luo Mingchen was pleasantly surprised—it wasn’t the usual planked pit latrine but one made of solid stone, steady enough that even Huo Xinyue wouldn’t fall in.

Lying in bed, Luo Mingchen felt exhausted yet unable to sleep.

Only after tucking a kitchen knife beneath his pillow did he start to feel drowsy.

Knock, knock.

The soft rapping on the door snapped him awake, hand instantly gripping the knife’s handle.

“Little Daddy… are you asleep?” Huo Xiang whispered.

Relieved at hearing his voice, Luo Mingchen got up to open the door and asked helplessly, “What is it?”

Huo Xiang stood there clutching Huo Xinyue and murmured, “Little Daddy, we’re scared… Can we sleep with you?”

Luo Mingchen didn’t see Huo Yuhui and frowned. “Where’s your brother?”

“Big Brother’s asleep.”

Yet at that moment, Luo Mingchen spotted Huo Yuhui’s poorly hidden figure near the opposite doorway.

Well then…

“Stop hiding and come over,” Luo Mingchen called. “We’ll all sleep together.”

Huo Yuhui stiffened in embarrassment but walked over.

Huo Xiang, oblivious, said, “So Brother wasn’t asleep either.”

“…Mm.”

Taking Huo Xinyue from Huo Xiang’s arms, Luo Mingchen ushered them all inside.

The bed was big enough—more than enough for the four of them, especially since the three children were small. Two adults might have been cramped, but this was fine.

For the past two nights, worried Luo Mingchen would die in his sleep, the children had taken turns guarding him day and night.

Now, lying beside him, the siblings finally relaxed.

After a while, Huo Xiang asked softly, “Little Daddy, Daddy won’t come back anymore, right? Just like Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother, and Uncle?”

Huo Yuhui opened his eyes, silent grief spilling over as tears slid down his face.

They had finally found a new home, only for their adoptive father to die mysteriously far away…

Patting the boy nestled against him, Luo Mingchen murmured, “Even if they won’t come back, we still have to live well.”

Huo Xiang blinked, confused. “But what if I miss them?”

“Then look up at the stars,” Luo Mingchen said softly. “They’re all watching us from up there.”

“But there are so many stars. What if I can’t tell which ones they are?”

Luo Mingchen smiled faintly. “The brightest ones.”

Huo Xiang thought for a moment before speaking again. “What if I forget what Daddy looks like?”

At this, his voice grew downcast. “I’ve already forgotten what Mother and the others looked like.”

The topic was heavy. Seeing Huo Yuhui silently crying, Luo Mingchen reached out and gently smoothed his hair.

Unlike Huo Xiang, who didn’t fully grasp the meaning of death, Huo Yuhui understood all too well—making his grief even deeper.

“Let’s think about what to eat tomorrow instead,” Luo Mingchen suggested. “Food doesn’t last forever. We’ll need to find something to do, earn a bit of money.”

In this world, news didn’t travel fast. He could go to a distant county or town and sell vegetables and fruit without anyone questioning where they came from.

But that wasn’t sustainable. He wondered if the late father had left behind any farmland—at least something he could plant.

Listening quietly, Huo Yuhui pressed his lips together.

Eventually, lulled by the children’s steady breathing, Luo Mingchen drifted to sleep.

The next morning, he gathered the dry clothes, cooked a pot of white rice porridge, brought out some fermented bean curd, and made scallion-egg pancakes.

Watching them devour breakfast ravenously, Luo Mingchen smiled, feeling a quiet sense of accomplishment.

Caught under his gaze, Huo Yuhui blushed and tried to mind his table manners.

After breakfast, Luo Mingchen asked, “Did your father have any land?”

Huo Xiang, unsure, turned to his older brother.

After a brief hesitation, Huo Yuhui said, “Five mu of land.” 1

“Is it rented out?”

Luo Mingchen calculated silently. Five mu wasn’t small. Since the children’s father had died working with a trade caravan, the land was probably lying fallow rather than rented.

“No.”

At that, Huo Yuhui stood up. “Little Daddy, come with me.”

“Hm?”

Curious, Luo Mingchen followed.

Huo Yuhui led him to the side of the latrine, dug at a particular spot with a small hoe, and unearthed a medium-sized wine jar. Struggling, he pried it free and opened it.

“Little Daddy, this is the house deed, land deed, and field deed. There’s also a hundred taels in silver notes, five taels in loose silver, and a hundred copper coins.”

Staring at the jar’s contents, Luo Mingchen’s eyes widened. “How much is a catty of rice?” 2

Unclear why Luo Mingchen suddenly asked, Huo Yuhui still answered honestly. “Ten copper coins a catty.”

“One tael is a thousand coins?”

“Mm.”

Receiving confirmation, Luo Mingchen silently thought: Children’s father, rest easy. I’ll raise the kids well, pick you a good grave and coffin, and burn you extra spirit money every holiday.

Footnotes

 

1. 1. Mu (畝) – A traditional Chinese unit of area used for land measurement. One mu ≈ 666.7 square meters (about 0.165 acres). ↩

 

1. 1. Catty (斤) – A traditional unit of weight. One catty ≈ 500 grams (about 1.1 pounds). ↩