115 – Secrets of Lei Tie’s Past
After breakfast, Lei Tie arranged the festival gifts at the house gate. Today was the eighth of the ninth month in the Gregorian calendar of the Yunzhou Continent and the fifteenth of the eighth month in the calendar of the Great Xia Dynasty. It was the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The Mid-Autumn Festival was one of the important festivals of the Great Xia Dynasty. Therefore, Qin Mian’s family did not only give gifts to the servants, but also the employees in the processing yard. Each of the servants was given a bonus of 50 Wen and 5 jin of meat. Autumn was the harvest season, and this time was the busiest. It was necessary to improve the treatment of the servants. Meanwhile, each of the employees was given a jin of meat and a bonus, varied according to the level of performance; 8 to 10 Wen for lower and 30 Wen for higher.
Lei Tie held a book in his hand and read out the names and rewards that one deserved. Uncle Fu counted the money and put it into small purses; Lei-Qin Le and Lei-Qin Zhong were responsible for chopping and weighing meat; Lei-Qin Yuan and Lei-Qin Xin tied the small purse and meat together with a straw for easy distribution.
Uncle Quan helped Uncle Fu on the side. Uncle Quan and Aunt Quan were sincere people. Qin Mian allowed Miao Miao to learn to read with others in his Leisurely Farmhouse’s school, making the two felt grateful and were very loyal toward Qin Mian and Lei Tie.There were many people in the yard, but it was very quiet. Only the voice of Lei Tie, the clinking sound of copper coins, and the sound of cutting meat could be heard. No one dared to mess around in front of Lei Tie – everything was in order.
It was a good opportunity to show one’s face properly in front of the servants to enhance their loyalty to their employers. It was also a kind of reminder that the servants should not behave without discipline by relying on the master’s friendliness. Therefore, Qin Mian had Lei Tie to arrange for the festival gifts himself.
In the evening, Qin Mian and Lei Tie had an important event. At this time, Qin Mian was preparing dried food in the kitchen. He made 30 pieces of each kind of baked sesame pancake with meat stuffing, scallion pancake, cream custard bun, barbeque pork, and even cooked a pot of light soup to be put in the space.
White Spot’s two forepaws rested on the stovetop with great interest. It couldn’t eat any of these foods, and neither one knew what it was looking at.
Presently, when White Spot was on four, its height could reach Qin Mian’s waist; its body was almost twice that of an ordinary adult wolf. The old people in the village secretly said that this wolf was not an ordinary wolf but a wolf king. For a time, the villagers did not dare to get close to Leisurely Farmhouse, and those who went to work in the processing yard did not dare to make a sound when they walked. Later, they found that White Spot paid no heed to them, so they returned to normal behavior.
After Qin Mian finished his work, he washed and dried his hands. He carried a cup of hot tea into the living room, “A-Tie, are you finished?”
He brought the cup to Lei Tie’s mouth.Lei Tie bowed his head and took a sip. “Soon.”
Qin Mian sat at the side, waiting for the man to finish his work. He said to Uncle Fu, “Uncle Fu, Eldest Young Master and I are going on a long journey. We will come back in three or five days. The household affairs are left to you to manage. It’s time to harvest the paddy, soybeans, sweet potatoes, and peanuts. Uncle Fu, you should make an arrangement as soon as possible. If the weather changes, it will be bad.”
“Yes, Little Young Master can rest assured.”
After the servants left, Qin Mian and Lei Tie cleaned up and prepared to go out.
Lei-Qin Zhong hurried back, “Reporting, Eldest Young Master and Little Young Master. The old man has come.”
Lei Daqiang? Qin Mian raised his eyebrow. Since Wei Shi’s pregnancy, Lei Daqiang put almost all of his attention on Wei Shi’s body. Why would he come here today?
Lei Tie motioned Lei-Qin Zhong to withdraw.
Lei Daqiang had come, the Leisurely Farmhouse’s servants could not stop him outside the gate. Lei-Qin Zhong went to report first. After a short while, Lei-Qin Le brought Lei Daqiang over.
Lei Daqiang slowly strode forward along the cobblestone path, looking around, unable to contain his jealousy and indignant. This was his son’s farmhouse, but he hated that he couldn’t benefit from any of it. This son, Lei Tie, was truly unfilial and didn’t how to send more of whatever was produced in the orchard to the old house. Remembering the purpose of his coming today, he put aside these thoughts for the time being. With a kind smile on his face, he looked at Qin Mian and Lei Tie.
“Old man1 is here.” Qin Mian was neither hostile nor friendly.
Lei Tie dully looked at Lei Daqiang and didn’t even get up. He picked up the bow placed on one side and carefully wiped it.
“Eldest, eldest daughter-in-law, you are both at home. Isn’t today the Mid-Autumn Festival? I came to tell you that we’re having dinner together in the evening.” Lei Daqiang sat down on the soft settee, frowned, and glanced at Lei-Qin Le, “Why don’t you serve tea yet?”
Lei-Qin Le had his head and hands lowered, looking as if he didn’t hear it.
Qin Mian secretly snorted. He makes a show of authority even in someone else’s home.
“Lei-Qin Le, aren’t you going to dig peanuts today? What are you doing there?”
Lei-Qin Le said in a panic, “Please forgive, Little Young Master. Your servant didn’t hear your instructions just now, so I dare not act rashly. I’ll leave now.”
With that, he quickly left, and soon disappeared into the dense fruit-bearing forest.
Lei Daqiang pulled a long face.
Qin Mian apologetically said, “Old man, you can see that we are packing up. We’re about to go on a long journey, I’m afraid we can’t spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with you. My family wishes you a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!”
“Do you truly think you can be the master of the house?” Lei Daqiang unhappily glared at Qin Mian, looked at Lei Tie, and indisputably said, “Lei Tie, you and your wife will have dinner with us tonight. It’s been decided.”
“Not going. My wife’s opinion is exactly my opinion.” Lei Tie did not lift his head.
Lei Daqiang frowned and adopted a fatherly attitude. “Eldest, Father isn’t telling you off, but you, because of this unknown origin feral little—”
Before he finished speaking, he was cut off by a pair of cold eyes. In an instant, his back was cold, his legs trembled, and he broke out in cold sweat. Lei Tie’s eyes were like two cold blades, appearing as if they would fly out at any time to stab him.
All of a sudden, his superiority died out. He dared not look directly at Lei Tie’s eyes as he mumbled, “You…”
“You can go,” Lei Tie coldly said.
Lei Daqiang summoned up his courage and slapped on the tea table. Then, he yelled, “How dare you speak to your father in this tone?”
Lei Tie stood up, a head higher than him, and looked down at him with indifferent eyes, “Why not? Since the day I was forced to run away from home by you and Du Shi, I am no longer your son. Do you want me to make it clearer?”
“You…” Lei Daqiang looked terrified and beyond belief. He actually wanted to take the opportunity of the Mid-Autumn Festival to reconcile with his eldest son. Why was he so cold-blooded and ungrateful? He suddenly recalled that Lei Tie had not called him ‘’father’’ for a long time.
Qin Mian thought the hurt in the old man’s eyes was ridiculous. If Lei Daqiang truly wanted to reconcile, why did he drag on until now? His sincerity was too cheap.
Lei Daqiang stood up, sighed, and reached out his hand to pat Lei Tie on the shoulder, “Eldest, you have to believe that Father still cares about you…”
Lei Tie avoided his hand. The disgust in his eyes made Lei Daqiang stiffen.
Unable to bear it anymore, Qin Mian wanted to speak, but Lei Tie embraced his shoulder and shook his head slightly. He looked at Lei Daqiang, “I believe.”
Before Lei Daqiang rejoiced, he heard him say, “I care about you too, so I found an equal wife for you. Are you satisfied?”
Lei Daqiang was stupefied and took a long time to digest the words. Did Lei Tie find Wei Shi for him? Why? He looked at Lei Tie, whose face was expressionless and his estranged eyes looked at him like a stranger. Then, he looked at Qin Mian, whose ironic smile was unpleasant to look at.
Lei Daqiang’s face was red and burning. He turned around in confusion and fled.
Qin Mian coldly watched him gradually walk away, tightly holding Lei Tie’s hand.
That year, the 12-year-old Lei Tie left Running Water Town with one tael silver given by Youngest Uncle Deng. He did not know where to go and decided to go north. After being abused by Du Shi for a long time, Lei Tie turned a bit clever and converted the silver into two pieces of broken silver and two hundred copper coins to hide them well. However, his luck was so bad that he caught the attention of some people. Before he went too far, he was stopped by a few scoundrels. At that time, the 12-year-old Lei Tie was thin and weak, he was not the opponent of four adults. The copper coins and the broken silvers were robbed. In the end, Lei Tie begged and did temporary jobs so that he wouldn’t die of starvation. Lei Tie’s first employer was a kind-hearted peasant woman, but her husband had a twisted heart – the man beat and scolded him. The old wound on Lei Tie had not healed, new ones were added.
If it were not for Lei Daqiang conniving Du Shi and neglecting Lei Tie, how could Lei Tie be so miserable? As long as he thought of the abuse that Lei Tie had suffered, Qin Mian couldn’t contain his hatred for Lei Daqiang and Du Shi. If it was not for the sake of Lei Xiangyi, Lei Xiangli, Lei Xiangzhi, and Lei Chuntao, he would have thought of countless ways to deal with Lei Daqiang and Du Shi. It was even a small favor to find him an extra wife.
“Wife?”
A warm big palm covered his face, pulling Qin Mian back to his senses. He said, “I’m fine. A-Tie, was it alright to tell Lei Daqiang what happened? Will he tell Wei Shi and Du Shi? Wei Shi’s very clever, very likely to guess what we did back then. Will she join hands with Du Shi to deal with us? And Du Shi – once she knew it, she’s going to have a deep hatred for us.”
Lei Tie shook his head, “For self-respect, Lei Daqiang won’t say it.”
Qin Mian understood after thinking about it. Lei Daqiang cared about Wei Shi very much. Telling Wei Shi about this meant that he had to admit he was manipulated by his own son, and his past might be revealed. Therefore, Lei Daqiang would not tell Wei Shi about it. Neither would Lei Daqiang tell Du Shi. Du Shi had a big mouth. If she knew about it, the whole family and the whole village would know. By that time, it would only attract more people to see the old house’s embarrassment. Lei Daqiang also had to consider Lei Xiangzhi.
In the tenth month, Lei Xiangzhi was going to take part in the college examination.
Qin Mian leaned on Lei Tie and pondered for a while about how should he and Lei Tie deal with it, in case Lei Daqiang told Du Shi and Wei Shi about this.
After he thought of a way, his expression turned to relax. He stood up. “Leave them alone. Let’s go.”
Note:
Footnotes
- Fun fact: The couple never again used the usual word ‘’爹/father’’ as the other Leis did, but ‘’Lao Ye Zi’’ which used to address an elderly man/or one’s father in respectful (or estranged in this case).
