Blissful Days After Widowhood

The boy’s hair was disheveled. He was wearing a dirty cloak, and a pair of ripped straw sandals. His face and hands were so dirty that they couldn’t see him. At that moment, he was kneeling under the table, gobbling down the porridge. When he realized that someone was watching, he raised his face, with dark eyes, sharp chin, and made a whimpering and threatening sound from his mouth, like a ruthless little beast.

“Whose child is this? So scary!” Mrs. Wang was startled, and quickly stood up and asked the people around her.

Lao Liutou next to them heard the movement and came over to explain, “Don’t shout, don’t shout, this is not someone’s child, he’s an orphan on our pier.”

Hearing that, Mrs. Wang became more angry, “This world is not easy, but it’s too much to leave a child like a cat here. Does no one care?”

Lao Liutou put his index finger to his lips again, and made a silent gesture, “It’s not that no one cares, it’s that it’s not in our control.”

Afraid that Mrs. Wang would continue to shout, Lao Liutou talked about the ins and outs.

“We have all kinds of ships on the dock, and there are more ships. There is an ocean-going ship, I don’t know if you have heard of it.”

Mrs. Wang felt that it was strangely familiar, but for a while she couldn’t remember where she had heard it.

She didn’t remember it, but Gu Yin did. Wasn’t that the boat company that recruited female workers before? Mrs. Wang’s two sisters-in-law wanted her to apply for that job.

Lao Liutou continued, “The ocean-going ship passed by here a few months ago, and hired coolies to carry the goods. The coolies all looked strange when they came back, saying that some of the boxes were heavy and some were light, and there was also a cry inside. It didn’t look like goods, but like people.”

Mrs. Wang was so shocked that she felt cold. 

Lao Liutou also sighed, “Anyway, the day after that trip, this child appeared out of thin air. The guy from the shipping company came back to inquire and said they missed a piece of ‘goods’ and asked us if we had seen it. At that time, everyone didn’t know that he was asking about the child. An official just patrolled here and heard that they had lost something so he kindly wanted to help them find it. That man ran away in a hurry, and then we found out. People can’t just watch this child starve to death in our place. Usually he doesn’t show up in the morning, and only comes out in the evening. I think he is starving today.”

Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang felt sad when they heard it. Gu Yin turned around and went to the pot and got the porridge again. Mrs. Wang then asked Lao Liutou, “Since the people from the ocean-going ship line have been scared away, why didn’t you send this child to the yamen? It’s better than living like a wild cat on this pier.”

At that time, Aunt Ge came over to deliver the steamer, and when she heard what they were talking about, she took over and said, “It would be nice if it was as simple as that, but this child can’t speak and didn’t seem to understand people. He also has a temperament like a small animal, biting every person he encounters. The last time an official wanted to take him away, he was so panicked that he almost jumped into the river. Since then, no one dared to take him away forcibly, for fear that he would arm himself.”

Mrs. Wang may not believe what others said, but she had to believe it when it came from someone like Aunt Ge who liked children.

Although she could not see the face of the child under the table clearly, he was only two or three years old by looking at the size of his hands and feet. Such a child should be able to speak and understand. Growing up like this, and being so afraid of people, one could imagine how he lived in the past. He must not be treated as good as a pig or a dog.

While they were talking, Gu Yin got another bowl and a steamed bun.

She blew it cold first, and then put the two items on the tray and passed them under the low table.

The child suddenly saw her approaching, and instinctively wanted to back away, but when he smelled the tempting aroma of food in her hands, he hesitated again instinctively.

Gu Yin handed it over and left immediately, the child retracted his little feet that wanted to escape, and started eating hard while holding the bowl.

After the adults finished speaking, they looked under the table. There were only two empty bowls left under the table, and no one was there.

Because of that incident, after returning home, even when Mrs. Wang learned that she had earned more than 100 silver, there was no smile on her face.

Gu Yin’s heart was also gloomy. Although she had long guessed that the ocean-going shipping line was doing dirty business of human trafficking, she had a different mood when she heard it in reality.

It was run by the god-son of the imperial eunuch. The formalities were complete, and it was backed by a big tree. Not to mention ordinary people like them, even the local county magistrate would not dare to speak up. Otherwise, the one in charge should have investigated and dealt with that business long ago, so that they would not have dared to recruit female workers in an open way.

“In the past, when your father and Qingyi first went to the battlefield, I always hoped that they would win the battle and return home early.” Wang Shi laughed, “But what kind of life do we ordinary people have? Everyone knows it in their hearts. It’s better that they are gone now than to be the lackey of a foolish Emperor!”

Gu Yin quickly got up and closed the door of the house, “Don’t say such a thing. We weren’t  willing to help in the fight, but because of the situation, they were forced to go.”