"Sister-in-law, stop hitting her. It's just a roast chicken, what's it worth!"
As a modern person, Wang Xu's concept of roast chicken was also that of a modern person.
A roast chicken bought on the street would cost no more than twenty yuan at most; a hundred yuan could stuff someone to death.
Unfortunately, this was the republic of china era, 1940 under Japanese occupation.
On the streets, people starving to death were a common sight. Ordinary families wouldn't see even a few ounces of meat all year round; roast chicken was something only people of status could eat.
To Xu Jiazhen, a roast chicken was ten days' worth of rations.
She worked hard washing clothes for others, and after ten days, the money she earned only allowed the mother and daughter to stay on the brink of starvation; she couldn't spare a single cent more.
Their eras were different. Wang Xu felt Xu Jiazhen was making a mountain out of a molehill, while Xu Jiazhen believed this was an unpayable debt. After seeing Wang Xu appear, instead of letting go of Feng Xia, she hit her even harder.
"Hey, stop hitting her! Are you crazy? You're hitting the child so hard she can't even breathe!" If Wang Xu had a good impression of Xu Jiazhen before, he was a bit frustrated now.
It was true Xu Jiazhen was a woman, but she was also an adult; how could a six-year-old child endure it?
After a few hits, Feng Xia burst into loud wails. She didn't even notice the chicken leg in her hand had dropped, sobbing until she was gasping.
"Brother, I can't afford to pay you back for your roast chicken. Take this dog away. He still has a few pounds of meat on him; that should be enough to cover your roast chicken." Xu Jiazhen stopped hitting the child and instead pointed at the Old Yellow Dog, insisting that Wang Xu take him away.
Wang Xu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This dog was clearly a mutt, and since he usually didn't get enough to eat, he was so hungry he wobbled while walking. What would Wang Xu even do with him?
Moreover, although Xu Jiazhen said this, her eyes were full of reluctance; she clearly had a deep bond with this dog.
Perhaps this old dog was left behind by Wealthy, who had been conscripted; he represented more than just a dog, but a form of longing. No matter how much of a scoundrel Wang Xu was, there was no need to take away what someone loved over a single roast chicken.
"Sister-in-law, we're neighbors. It's meaningless to be so calculative. If I took your dog away just for a roast chicken while living right next door, would we even be able to greet each other in the future?" Wang Xu laughed as he reached the end of his sentence.
Unfortunately, Xu Jiazhen didn't laugh. While she certainly couldn't bear to part with the dog, she didn't want to lose her integrity even more.
Without waiting for Wang Xu to act, Xu Jiazhen let go of Feng Xia and called Big Yellow to head out.
Seeing this attitude, Feng Xia cried even harder, shouting through her tears, "Mama, don't send Big Yellow away! I'll never do it again!"
"Big Yellow, come here." Xu Jiazhen didn't even look back, afraid she would lose her resolve.
Big Yellow was a dog and didn't understand what was happening. Hearing his mistress call him, he wagged his tail and followed her pleasingly, completely unaware of his fate.
Before long, Wang Xu heard a knock at the door. Without looking, he knew it was Xu Jiazhen bringing Big Yellow.
Creak... He opened the door, and sure enough, Xu Jiazhen and Big Yellow were outside, both looking very thin.
Wang Xu wanted to refuse, but he knew he couldn't.
This beauty who resembled Gong Li had a strong heart; she wouldn't leave unless he took Big Yellow.
Feng Xia's crying echoed in his ears, and the stubborn Xu Jiazhen stood before him. Wang Xu could do nothing but sigh.
"Sister-in-law, I'll look after this dog for you. When you have money, you can redeem it." Wang Xu felt very uncomfortable, having the illusion that he was some bully harrassing a widow and her child.
Xu Jiazhen bit her lower lip, nodded slightly, and commanded Big Yellow, "Big Yellow, go in."
Big Yellow was very perceptive. Hearing his mistress's command, he entered the door without hesitation.
Seeing Big Yellow go in, Xu Jiazhen slammed the door shut and didn't say another word.
"Woof, woof woof!" Big Yellow, now shut inside, saw the door close and began barking frantically while leaning against it.
Xu Jiazhen didn't return, leaving Wang Xu alone, looking at Big Yellow, feeling somewhat at a loss.
Big Yellow was a good dog, obedient, but he belonged to someone else.
Wang Xu really doubted that since this dog was so starved, he might turn around and bite him a couple of times after failing to find his owner.
As Wang Xu thought this, Big Yellow, unable to find his owner, stopped climbing the door and stared straight at him.
The man and the dog stared at each other. Wang Xu felt Big Yellow's gaze was a bit off, so he quickly backed away: "Good dog, there's braised meat here, it smells great!"
As he spoke, Wang Xu unhesitatingly threw the pig's head meat onto the ground.
Big Yellow leaned in to sniff it but didn't take a single bite, continuing to look at him like that.
Wang Xu continued to back away. The dog wouldn't eat the meat and just looked at him fiercely. What did this mean? Did he want to bite him?
As it turned out, Big Yellow had a peaceful temperament. After glancing at Wang Xu a few times, he stood on his hind legs again and went back to barking at the door.
"What a good dog!" Seeing that Big Yellow didn't intend to bite him and wouldn't even eat the meat he was given, Wang Xu felt relieved and thought the dog had character, just as much integrity as Xu Jiazhen.
Since the dog wouldn't eat, Wang Xu ate it himself.
Sitting in a chair, Wang Xu had a sip of wine and a bite of braised beef, finishing it all in no time.
After eating and drinking his fill, the sky grew dark. Wealthy families turned on electric lights, ordinary families lit oil lamps, and poor families were shrouded in darkness.
The house Wang Xu had newly bought had belonged to a company commander; there was no telephone, but electric lights were installed.
However, he didn't stay in the room for long, but instead went to the real world to check Xu Jiazhen's identity.
Returning to reality, he opened his laptop and searched for keywords like Xu Jiazhen, Qiu Xia, and Xu Fugui.
Soon, a movie came into view... "To Live".
Xu Fugui was originally the young master of a landlord's family. When he was young and ignorant, he gambled and visited prostitutes, quickly squandering the family fortune.
After falling into poverty, only his wife Jiazhen stayed by his side. The two supported each other, finally making Wealthy turn over a new leaf.
The good times didn't last. The Japanese invaded China, and the Nationalist defenders stationed in Tianjin were quickly defeated.
Wealthy went out to perform shadow puppetry and happened to run into the retreating army, where he was forcibly taken to the south as a conscript... The entire story of "To Live" was incredibly tragic, as if all misfortunes had befallen this family.
After Wealthy left, Feng Xia fell seriously ill. Because they had no money for treatment, the high fever left Feng Xia a deaf-mute.
After Wealthy returned, the suffering continued. They had a son named Youqing.
Because the family was poor, Youqing had to wake up early to help with work in the morning. As a result, he fell asleep in a corner at school and was crushed to death by collapsing wall bricks.
When Qiu Xia grew up, because she was a deaf-mute, she couldn't find a good match and married a worker named Erxi who had a slight limp.
First, Qiu Xia died of a hemorrhage during childbirth, and then Erxi was buried alive by a stone slab at a construction site, leaving only a sole descendant named Kugen.
Struck by this blow, Xu Jiazhen fell ill and soon passed away.
Similarly, Kugen's life was as bitter as his name. He suffered from a young age; the family was poor, and he had nothing to eat.
Wealthy pitied his grandson and boiled beans for him to eat. As it turned out, Kugen had never even eaten boiled beans before and literally stuffed himself to death.
Finally, as the sun set in the west, in the reflected shadows, there was only Wealthy and an Old Yellow Ox walking along the ridge in the cold wind.
Fortunately, the movie version was a bit better than the novel version, but not by much; it was still the same fate of a lone star of calamity.
Seeing this, Wang Xu was dumbfounded. Xu Jiazhen was strong and stubborn, and she was beautiful; he hadn't expected her fate to be so tragic.
And the Little Girl Feng Xia would become a deaf-mute at the age of six or seven because they had no money to treat her fever.
Wait, it seems the current Feng Xia is six or seven years old!