sbdcsierra Chapter 1959 Leopard Skin Pillow
Chapter 1959 Leopard Skin Pillow
Chapter 1959 Leopard Skin Pillow
Li Ruhai never expected that without even mentioning Shen Qiushan, information about him would be so smoothly delivered to him.
"Oh my, that's really strange!" Li Ruhai feigned surprise and asked, "Does their family know about this?"
"What do you know?" The woman in black curled her lip and said, "Shen Qiushan's wife is incredibly powerful. If you knew, she could have killed him."
After saying this, she paused slightly, then added, "I'm telling you, you can't tell anyone else. Only my husband Liu Chuang and I know about this in the whole village. Nobody else knows."
Upon hearing this, the proprietress and the woman in blue quickly made assurances, while Li Ruhai smiled and said, "Auntie, I can't say. I'm an outsider; how could I get involved in this?"
Hearing Li Ruhai's words, none of the three women said anything. They believed Li Ruhai was right. How could an outsider who had only been in the forest farm for a few days cause trouble? They asked themselves honestly, they had lived half their lives and never had that kind of ability.
What they never expected was that Li Ruhai, who looked completely harmless, was thinking to himself, "Boss Shen, Boss Shen, if you dare to act tough with me again, I'll teach you a lesson."
At this moment, Li Ruhai was still unaware that Shen Qiushan had led a group of people to search for them all over the mountains.
Now, Li Ruhai has learned from Zhao Jun and is only gathering information as a precaution. If Shen Qiushan doesn't provoke them, Li Ruhai has no intention of spreading this shameful matter.
As Li Ruhai was thinking, the door of the convenience store was pulled open from the outside. Immediately afterwards, a woman carrying a basket and leading a child walked in.
The mother and daughter were none other than Song Daikui's wife and his little girl.
"Aunt Wang, give me two candles." After getting the goods from the shopkeeper, Song Daikui's wife said to the two women in blue and black, "Aunt Sun and Aunt Li, are you chatting here?"
Before Song Daikui's wife could finish speaking and the two women could reply, her little girl said, "Mom, I want a soda."
Kids like her want everything they see. When she saw Li Ruhai drinking soda, she wanted some too.
"You look like a bottle of soda!" Song Daikui's wife tugged at the child in an annoyed tone, and the little girl pouted as if about to cry. Seeing this, the proprietress quickly called to the little girl, "Hong, Grandma Wang will give you a piece of candy."
As she spoke, the proprietress was about to give the little girl a candy ball. After Song Daikui's wife politely declined, the little girl puffed out her cheeks and put the candy ball in her mouth.
"Where did your Da Kui go again?" At this moment, the woman in black asked Song Da Kui's wife, "I saw him heading east with Shen Qiushan this morning."
"We're going up the mountain," Song Daikui's wife mumbled in response. The woman in black pressed for details, "What are you going up the mountain for? Going up the mountain in this heat?"
"Ah, well..." Song Daikui's wife was just thinking about how to change the subject when she heard the little girl say, "My dad and the others went to fight bad guys."
"What?" The four people who had been gossiping were all taken aback. The woman in blue even asked directly, "Where did these bad guys come from in our forest farm?"
"No, no," Song Daikui's wife denied repeatedly, but the little girl exclaimed, "Yes, of course! My dad told me himself!"
The little girl wasn't lying. When Song Daikui left in the morning, she asked her father where he was going. Song Daikui couldn't tell the child that he was going out to fight, so he said he was going to fight bad guys.
Children are the most righteous. Knowing that her father went to fight bad guys, the little girl was filled with pride that she had nowhere to express.
When someone asked, her mother couldn't stop her. The little girl puffed out her chest and raised her head, saying, "My dad and my Uncle Shen went to that Zhao family gang."
"Huh?" Li Ruhai was taken aback, his eyes widening instantly.
When he arrived, he only told the three landlady women that he was there to hunt wolves, not that he was from the Zhao family gang. So the landlady women didn't think much of it and just assumed that Song Dai Kui had gone to fight someone.
It's not surprising that they have this kind of thinking. Although Song Daikui lives in this residential area, he doesn't have a job. Not to mention that he's idle all day, he does that for half the year.
"Little Red's mother," the woman in black said earnestly to Song Dai Kui's wife, "when you have free time, give your Dai Kui a good talk. With that time, go out and run some trails in the mountains. Even if you don't earn much, you can still make enough to support your child."
Song Daikui's wife blushed as she was told this. Her little girl was too young to tell right from wrong, and simply said, "Grandma Sun, my dad went hiking in the mountains. That day, he was with Uncle Shen and his group of people. They brought back such a big, big guy."
When she said "the eldest," the little girl gestured with both hands outwards.
"Little Hong, you're kidding me." The woman in blue smiled and scoffed, "A stick? Even a radish isn't that big."
"Hahaha..." The proprietress and the woman in black laughed, and Li Ruhai laughed along with them.
The little girl, who had been laughed at, immediately became anxious. She stepped forward and exclaimed, "It's true! My dad and the others cut down all the trees!"
"Trees?" Li Ruhai frowned, then relaxed and smiled knowingly.
The three women who had been gossiping with him not long ago didn't understand. Seeing that the three were about to ask for more details, Song Daikui's wife greeted them and left with the little girl.
Watching Song Daikui's wife hurriedly leave, the proprietress and the others felt that something was wrong.
Li Ruhai knew what was going on. He looked away, picked up a cucumber from the table, and took a bite.
In Northeast China, cucumbers and tomatoes can be eaten as fruits.
Just as Li Ruhai was crunching on a cucumber, his eyes inadvertently caught sight of an object placed in the corner.
"Huh?" Li Ruhai was taken aback, stopped chewing, turned to look at the proprietress, and mumbled, "Auntie, what's that?"
To the left of the north window of the small shop, between the north and west walls, is a triangular wooden board. This board is about thirty centimeters away from the kang (a heated brick bed), and bedding is stacked on it.
Under the wooden board, on the kang (a heated brick bed), lay something that looked like a pillow. The pillow appeared very old, with what seemed to be a layer of velvet on the surface. It was mainly yellowish-brown and had several black round spots on it.
"Ah, hehe." The proprietress followed Li Ruhai's gaze and then chuckled, "That's a pillow."
After saying this, the proprietress paused for about half a second, and then added, "Leopard skin pillow."
"What? A leopard...skin pillow?" Li Ruhai tossed the unfinished cucumber onto the kang table, then got off the edge of the kang and said to the landlady, "Auntie, may I take a look at that pillow?"
"Go ahead and look," the proprietress said with a smile, waving her hand. "Take your time."
After receiving permission from the landlady, Li Ruhai climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and took the pillow in his hand.
……
"Li Ruhai has been gone for so long, why hasn't he come back yet?" It was Ma Yang who asked this question. As his mortal enemy, he was the one who was most "concerned" about Li Ruhai.
"You don't need to worry about him," Li Baoyu said with a smile as he lay on the kang (a heated brick bed). "He won't get lost anywhere."
Ma Yang blinked and muttered softly, "It would be better if he were gone."
No one in the room heard what Ma Yang was muttering, but at that moment Wang Qiang, who was smoking by the window, laughed and said, "I'm not afraid he'll lose anything, I'm afraid he'll lose everything."
“Uncle,” Zhao Jinhui said, speaking up for Li Ruhai, “he’s a complete stranger in this place, what could he possibly know?”
"Oh my god!" Wang Qiang curled his lip upon hearing this and said sarcastically, "You underestimate him."
At this point, Wang Qiang pointed at Zhao Jinhui and said, "That time, when we went to Yangjia Village to catch your father and his son who were cheating you, we sent Ruhai to gather information first. And then, this kid, well, he pretended to be a beggar."
“I know about this,” Zhao Jinhui replied with a smile, but Wang Qiang said, “What do you know? That kid acted so pitiful when he came to the village, saying that his father and mother were born later, that his father was his biological father and his mother was his stepmother. His stepmother also brought a child with her, and she treated him badly, so he couldn’t stay at home and ran away.”
"Huh?" Zhao Jinhui was dumbfounded. This person was really good at making up stories.
"Where did he hear that?" Xing San interjected, "From other people's stories, and he's trying to pin it on himself, isn't he?"
"I don't know," Wang Qiang said with a smile. "Anyway, he said his father's name is Li Yong and his mother's name is Jin Mei."
"Hahaha..." Everyone laughed heartily at this remark. After the laughter subsided, Jie Chen asked Wang Qiang, "Uncle, did Ru Hai say what the name of the child his mother brought over is?"
"Go to hell!" Li Baoyu sat up and smacked Xie Chen with his pestle.
Everyone burst into laughter, but Wang Qiang remained expressionless. He looked out the window and thought, "Damn it, that kid said my name was Wang Daqiang last time."
As the laughter subsided, Xie Chen, clutching his shoulder, said, "We should say this, but Ru Hai has been making a lot of progress lately."
"Hmm." Li Baoyu nodded and echoed, "He's much more sensible now, he doesn't know anything anymore."
"Achoo!" In the small shop in the residential area, Li Ruhai, who was being talked about, turned his head and sneezed.
When he turned back, Li Ruhai examined the pillow in front of him closely.
Li Ruhai could tell by touch that the so-called leopard skin pillow was actually an old-fashioned wooden pillow wrapped in leopard skin.
This pillow must be quite old. The once bright leopard skin has faded to a dull yellow, and it no longer looks bright. It looks old and stuffy.
The circular, coin-like patterns are no longer clear, and the edges are blurred and grayish.
Perhaps due to oily hair, this pillow doesn't look clean at all, as if it's covered with a layer of old grime.
The leopard's fur was dry and stiff, with some areas where the fur was worn thin and there were even areas where there was no fur at all, revealing the wrinkled and stiff hide.
Li Ruhai stroked the leopard-skin pillow, a surge of joy welling up inside him. The leopard skin on this pillow was so worn out that it would be worthless at the supply and marketing cooperative.
But if it falls into Li Ruhai's hands, he can use the old methods to hype up this leopard-skin pillow, and it will be worth a lot of money!
"Why is this pillow like this?" Li Ruhai asked the proprietress, holding the pillow.
"Ah, hehe." The proprietress chuckled and pointed to the leopard-skin pillow in Li Ruhai's hand, saying, "That was brought from my maternal grandmother's home before she married my father-in-law."
The "grandma" and "father-in-law" mentioned by the proprietress are her husband's grandparents.
"Oh my!" Li Ruhai exclaimed in surprise upon hearing this, "The old woman's wet nurse must be from a wealthy family."
“Of course,” the proprietress said. “Her family used to be big landowners.”
“Yes…” Li Ruhai responded, and was about to continue when he saw the woman in blue purse her lips and laugh, “Why doesn’t that big landlord use a tiger skin?”
"What do you know, sister-in-law?" the proprietress laughed. "My family gossips say that there used to be an Empress Wei who made pillows out of leopard skin."
"The loudspeaker? Empress Wei?" Li Ruhai was taken aback. He had a nickname in Yushu Township: "Little Loudspeaker." As for the Empress Wei... Li Ruhai guessed that she must be Wu Zetian's daughter-in-law.
"So what? Is a leopard skin pillow good?" the woman in blue asked. The proprietress replied, "I'll tell you what. I'll tell you if you're scared and sleep on this pillow."
"Really?" The woman in black looked incredulous. The proprietress nodded and said, "Yes, my grandmother has always been shameless since she was a child. I heard from my mother-in-law that when that old lady went out to play or something, she would step on the ashes left over from people burning paper money, and she couldn't even come home without them."
Later, her family had someone make this pillow for her, and she just needed to use it. So, she brought this pillow with her when she got married.
Hearing the landlady's words, the woman in black curiously took the leopard-skin pillow from Li Ruhai's hand and huddled together with the woman in blue to examine it closely.
Li Ruhai was skeptical of what the proprietress said, but that wasn't important to him. What mattered to him was that the pillow was made of leopard skin. And for some people, leopard skin was a priceless treasure.
Without hesitation, Li Ruhai asked the proprietress directly, "Auntie, is that old lady no longer here?"
"She's gone," the proprietress laughed. "I'm so old now, she's been gone for ages."
"Ah, if it's gone, then I won't need it anymore," Li Ruhai muttered to himself, then said to the shopkeeper, "Auntie, could you... sell me this pillow?"
"Huh?" The three women, including the proprietress, were all taken aback. The proprietress looked at Li Ruhai in surprise and asked, "Child, what do you need this pillow for?"
"I...I..." Li Ruhai couldn't very well say that he could sell the pillow for a lot of money, so he had a sudden inspiration and said to the shopkeeper, "Auntie, how about my family? I have an older brother."
My brother makes a living by hunting. But he's a real coward; he got terrified by a black bear that time. Ever since then, if anyone mentions a black bear to him during the day, he's guaranteed to dream about it at night.
He was terrified; whenever he dreamed of a bear, he would wet the bed.
At this point, Li Ruhai looked bitter and said, "This problem has been going on for two years. His wife, whom he married after the New Year, still hangs out the quilts and mattresses to dry every few days. This family doesn't seem to have any children, just the young couple. What kind of impression will this make on the neighbors?"
The proprietress frowned, empathizing with the situation. Seeing this, Li Ruhai quickly pressed his advantage, saying, "Auntie, if it works out, I'll throw you a couple of coins, and then you can let me take this pillow. If it can cure my brother's ailment, our whole family will be eternally grateful. If it can't, we'll give up."
When Li Ruhai spoke his last words, he lowered his head deeply, and his voice was trembling with sobs.
"Oh dear." Seeing this, the proprietress quickly stepped forward to comfort Li Ruhai, saying, "Child, what are you doing? Hurry up... don't you want this pillow? You can take it!"
"That won't do!" Li Ruhai waved his hands repeatedly, but the proprietress said, "This old, worn-out pillow is so tattered, we don't usually use it. Sometimes when I'm tired from work and my back hurts, I lie on the kang (heated brick bed) and use it to soothe it. If your brother can use it, you can take it!"
After saying this, the proprietress turned around, took the leopard-skin pillow from the woman in blue, and then stuffed it into Li Ruhai's arms.
"No, no!" Li Ruhai said, but then tucked the pillow under his arm. Then, Li Ruhai took out some money from his pocket and said to the proprietress, "Auntie, I have to give you a couple of coins."
Unlike Ma Yang, Li Ruhai was rich. He would have been even richer if Jin Xiaomei hadn't given him that blow.
Li Ruhai wanted to give it to the landlady, but she refused, and the two started arguing inside the house.
Finally, persuaded by the two women in black and blue, the proprietress accepted fifty yuan from Li Ruhai.
"Auntie, thank you!" Before leaving, Li Ruhai bowed deeply to the landlady and ran outside.
"This child..." The landlady watched Li Ruhai's departing figure, and then heard Li Ruhai's voice carried on the wind: "My brother is saved!"
The proprietress said, "Such deep brotherly affection."