Mud beads

At the end of September, a rain fell on the southern slope of the Qinling Mountains.

The Yu family's earthen courtyard was trampled to pieces, yellow water splattered next to the chicken coop, and corn cobs hung under the eaves with their outer husks not completely peeled off. The dampness caused a mixture of sweet and fishy smells and the smell of pigsty.

Yu Pandi knelt at the entrance of the main room, her face pressed against her arm. Her left cheek was swollen, and her lip was cut; she dared not touch it with her tongue. Her mother, Liu Guizhen, was exhausted from beating her and sat on the threshold, panting, still clutching half a broom in her hand.

They were discussing her price inside the room.

She heard her father, Yu Dahai, say, "Sixty thousand? Old Yue, it's not that I'm trying to rip you off. You city folks don't know how life is in the mountains. She didn't finish elementary school, and even if she goes out to work, someone will have to take care of her. At home, she can help her mother with some chores. Her brother will be starting junior high next year, and the family really can't afford to support two of them. If you want to take her away, you'd better settle the accounts first."

Grandpa Yue sat upright in the main room, his old military jacket hanging on the back of the chair. A village official stood beside him, a cigarette between his fingers, but he didn't smoke a drop, just smiled apologetically.

Toru Echizen stood by the door.

He didn't go inside, nor did he look at Yu Pandi.

He wore a greyish-white hoodie with clean cuffs, and his shoes were white too. There wasn't a single good spot in the mountains after the rain, yet he always managed to find stone slabs when he walked, as if he were born knowing where he wouldn't get dirty.

Liu Guizhen suddenly spoke up: "It's not that I don't want her to study, it's just that our family isn't destined for it. She's good at housework; she can cut pig feed, carry firewood, feed the chickens, and cook—she can do everything. Taking her away means one less person in the family, and one less source of hope. Her brother will be starting junior high next year; the tuition, uniforms, and travel expenses—all of that costs money!"

When Yu Pandi heard "her brother," her shoulders shrugged slightly.

Yu Zhaozu was a year younger than her and was in sixth grade at the town's primary school. When he came home from school today, he saw her being beaten and standing at the gate crying. She was crying because she had stolen some candy and hadn't shared it with him. Later, when he was tired of crying, Liu Guizhen put a boiled egg in his hand, and he stopped crying.

The candy was gone. Liu Guizhen pried open her mouth to look, but didn't see the candy, only a little white residue on her tongue. She said Yu Pandi was heartless and selfish, saying that her sister was working outside and sending money back home, yet she still dared to be selfish at home.

Yu Pandi wanted to explain that the candy was given to her by someone else, and that it was only for her.

She swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue. There was nothing in the house that was exclusively for her. Not food, not clothes, not even a bed. The wooden bed she and Yu Laidi had slept on was later given to her by Yu Zhaozu because he said it was too hot in the room, so Liu Guizhen moved to a small bed built next to the woodshed.

Toru Echizen was also there at that time.

He saw Yu Zhaozu crying, saw Liu Guizhen rummaging through Yu Pandi's pockets, and saw her being dragged by the hair and pressed to the ground. Yuejian Che didn't say anything, but only took half a step back.

Disgusted by dirt.

There was mud on the ground, and chicken droppings in the mud. Her hair was disheveled and stuck to her face. He could even smell a sour, rancid odor, not knowing if it came from her clothes or if the yard was just like that.

But he still smiled.

"Grandpa," he said, "take her away."

Yu Pandi heard his voice and slowly raised her head.

She couldn't see his face clearly. The dim light bulb in the main room shone behind him, as if adorning him with a halo of light. She had never seen anyone like him before—clean, handsome, and speaking softly. Even standing at her doorstep seemed like he was in the wrong place.

Yu Dahai immediately stopped arguing, his eyes darting around: "Young master, you're kind-hearted. We're not selling the child, we're just worried that she'll be left unattended in the city, and if she gets sick or suffers some misfortune later, we won't be able to afford it. Let's make it 100,000, including her food and clothing for the rest of her life."

The village official coughed and said, "Dahai, that's enough. They're sponsoring your child's education, not asking you to sell him."

Yu Dahai flicked his cigarette ash onto the ground: "Sponsorship sounds nice, but taking her to the city, who can say for sure about her household registration, guardianship, and whether she'll get married in the future? You city folks don't understand. It's common for girls in the mountains not to go to school; it's not just our family. Common things are common things, but she's still someone my family raised to this age. Our eldest son goes out to work and isn't home much. The family will be relying on Zhaozu in the future, so we can't forget about it."

He spoke the word "daughter" as if he were talking about a pig that hadn't yet left the pen.

The village official's face was stiff from forcing a smile. He dared not press the old man, nor dared he offend Yu Dahai. Everyone in the village knew what kind of family each person was like. The Yu family's daughter had dropped out of elementary school and no one cared; today she was beaten like this, and still no one cared. But with city people sitting here, he couldn't say anything too harsh.

So he kept talking about sponsoring students, about education, and about good deeds.

Yu Dahai kept talking about money.

Liu Guizhen nodded in agreement: "One hundred thousand isn't much. Her brother will need money for his future education, medical treatment, and marriage. We're not greedy, but our family really has no other choice. You rich people spend more than that on a single meal."

Old Master Yue's face darkened.

He was a veteran military officer who went into business after retiring from the military; he had seen more people than there were flies in this room. He knew this wasn't about rescuing someone, but about pulling a child out of a rotten pot and putting them in another bowl. Yet, Koshima Toru rarely spoke up.

This grandson, whom he brought from Chang'an into the mountains, is the first person he's acted like a human being in half a month.

Grandpa Yue said, "Eighty thousand. After the formalities are completed, I'll give you another twenty thousand. The money is yours; you don't need to worry about the child's schooling, food, or medical care from now on."

Yu Dahai was silent for a moment, then asked, "Cash?"

Grandpa Yue looked at the village official. The official quickly replied, "We'll get it from the town. It can be done tomorrow morning."

"No way," Liu Guizhen said immediately. "Who knows if they'll change their minds tomorrow morning? Take half first. Your car is good, and the road is fast; you can still make it to town now."

Grandpa Yue did not respond to her words.

Echizen Toru lowered his head and chuckled.

He had seen many people talk about money. His uncles and aunts, the directors of his father's company, the heads of school foundations. In the Yue family's living room, money was usually not called money, but projects, resources, or favors. But in the Yu family, money was just money, stared at by pairs of eyes, greasy, eager, and blatantly unsightly.

But it's also more convenient.

"Let's write a written agreement tonight," Yu Dahai said, "so you don't go back on your word."

Yu Pandi lowered her head, picking at the mud with her fingers.

She didn't know how much 80,000 was. She only knew that Yu Zhaozu's exercise books cost five yuan each, and Liu Guizhen would complain for ages when she bought them. 80,000 was probably a lot, enough to buy a person.

Koshima Toru finally glanced at her.

She was looking at him too.

Her eyes were timid. She was dark-skinned and thin, with sharp cheekbones and a pointed chin, but her eyes were large, with downturned corners and dark pupils, like a puppy just picked up from a ditch, still trembling, yet already belonging to its owner.

She didn't know whether she should thank him or not.

Her mother said city people were cunning, and her father said no rich person was good. Yet, Yuejian Tetsu had given her candy, taught her to write her name, and even stood at the door when she was being beaten. She pieced together these fragmented memories, which culminated in a huge misunderstanding.

She thought he meant well.

Echizen Toru found it somewhat amusing.

He thought, "She's so stupid."

Did he save her? No. He just found the days in the mountains too boring, and it would be a shame if his source of amusement got killed.

After the agreement was written, Yu Dahai pressed his fingerprint on it. Liu Guizhen took the household registration book out from under the cabinet, dusted it off, and then hesitated before touching the cover.

"She's introverted and doesn't talk about things," Liu Guizhen said. "You have a lot of rules in the city, so you should take care of things. Just don't let her come back every few days. If the child's heart is scattered, it'll be bad for both sides."

Yu Dahai put away the document and grinned: "That's right. From now on, she'll be with you, so she'll be one of your people. We mountain folks aren't powerful enough to control her anyway."

Yu Pandi knelt at the door, and upon hearing that she was being handed over, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She was unaware that the candy that Echizen Toru had handed her two weeks ago already had a price tag on it.