Mud beads

Echigo doesn't see Pandi Yu every day.

I only think of doing something funny when I'm really bored.

But he soon discovered that Yu Pandi was very useful.

Life in the mountains is monotonous, and the signal is intermittent, so games lag after only a few rounds. In the morning, he accompanied Grandpa Yue to the village, listening to the old man recount how roads were built, how grain was carried, and how wounded soldiers were carried over mountains in the winter. In the afternoon, he returned to the old house and sat under the eaves, occasionally watching Yu Pandi pass by the door.

She passed by very frequently.

She carried firewood, fetched water, delivered meals, and cut pig feed. While other children her age in the village went to town with their schoolbags, she carried a basket and walked up the hillside.

Grandpa Yue said that the roads in this area used to be difficult to travel. People would carry mountain goods out and salt and cloth in, and in winter, the ground would be covered in hard mud. Now that the road has been built to the entrance of the village, life is much better.

As Yuejian Tetsu listened, his gaze fell on the purplish-blue mark on Yu Pandi's shoulder.

much better.

He thought, "The standard for good is really low."

When Yu Pandi passed by for the fifth time, Yuejian Che called out to her, "Aren't you in school?"

Yu Pandi paused for a moment, then lowered her head: "No."

Why?

"Younger brother, go first."

The answer was so abrupt and cryptic, yet Toru Kojima understood it. He rested his chin on his hand, looked at her sunburnt ears, and squinted.

"The school doesn't recognize younger brothers," he said. "If you want to go, you can go."

Yu Pandi remained silent.

Of course she can't.

There was only one schoolbag in the family, which was used by Yu Laidi before. One of the straps was broken, so Liu Guizhen sewed it up and gave it to Yu Zhaozu. Only one child in the family could afford to buy exercise books, only one child could wear clean shoes on rainy days, and only one child could eat eggs in the morning.

That person was never her.

She had never thought of these things before.

That's how life used to be. She had to get up at dawn, feed the pigs when they squealed, reheat the pot when it got cold, and find food for Yu Zhaozu when he cried out that he was hungry. She was like the rope hanging corn under the eaves, blown by the wind and rained on, never questioning why she was hanging there.

When Echizen asked a question, she felt as if she had been pricked with a needle.

The pain wasn't severe, but it was constant.

Koshima Toru, however, seemed not to understand. He placed a pencil and some paper on the windowsill and said, "Write your name."

Yu Pandi could only write a crooked "Yu".

She learned that in second grade. She couldn't write the character "盼娓" (Pan Di). When the teacher got to that part, Liu Guizhen came to the school, took her home, and said that no one was cooking at home.

Echizen watched her hold the pen. Her hands were rough, her knuckles cracked from frostbite, and the cracks hadn't fully healed by autumn. She gripped the pencil so tightly that the tip pierced the paper with each stroke.

"Stupid," he said.

He spoke very softly, as if joking.

Yu Pandi blushed.

Echizen Toru took the pencil and wrote her name on the paper. The three characters were neat and beautiful. After he finished writing, he handed the paper to her. She took it with both hands, as if receiving something precious.

Koshima Toru turned and went inside, throwing the pencil into the trash can.

She touched it.

He washed his hands twice.

The first time he used bar soap, the second time he used hand sanitizer. The tap was running, and he watched the foam slip through his fingers, feeling no emotion whatsoever. Whether Yu Pandi was grateful or embarrassed, it was all far removed from him. As distant as the mountain ridge behind the house—visible, but untouchable, and unnecessary to touch.

During dinner, Grandpa Yue asked about her. Yue Jianche sat at the table, his tone casual: "She's a village child. She doesn't go to school and can't write. I had nothing else to do, so I taught her a few characters."

Grandpa Yue glanced at him.

For the past two weeks, Etsuya Toru has behaved exceptionally well. He gets up early, walks with the elderly, doesn't mind the village food, and even helps villagers carry their things. Of course, the driver always ends up taking everything, and he only helps by the side. But to others, the fact that the young master can even bend over is already quite remarkable.

Grandpa Yue said, "If you really have the will, then teach well."

Echizen Toru smiled meekly, "I understand, Grandpa."

He needs his grandfather to see that he has changed for the better.

If things get better, he can go back to Chang'an sooner. Back to his room, his piano, his whisky, his games, and those days when he didn't have to smell the pigsty.

The next day, he asked Yu Pandi to buy him a case of bottled water from the village store and gave her 100 yuan. She ran very fast and returned with her palm open, not a single penny missing.

Echizen didn't take it, but pointed to the stone table: "Put it there."

She put the money down and stepped aside.

Grandpa Yue was just coming out of the house when he saw this scene.

"You've come all this way, so give them some money for their hard work," the old man said.

Toru Koshima gestured with his chin towards the loose change on the stone table: "Take it."

Yu Pandi dared not take it; there was too much.

Grandpa Yue said, "Take what's given to you."

She reached out her hand. She only took one coin. She gripped it so tightly that the edge dug into her flesh. Watching her hold the coin, Yuejian Che couldn't help but think, "The village kids don't even know how to be greedy; no wonder everyone can bully them."

Koshima Toru looked at her and suddenly said, "You're like a puppy."

Yu Pandi was stunned.

"How about I call you Little Yu?" he laughed. "Little dogs are obedient and run fast."

She didn't know if this was an insult.

In the village, some dogs were beaten, some ate leftovers, and some huddled in piles of firewood on rainy days. But even the dogs had names: Big Yellow, Blackie, and Flower Face. If someone called, they would wag their tails and run to them.

No one called her.

Liu Guizhen called her a money-losing brat, Yu Dahai called her a brat, and Yu Zhaozu called her a feeder. Yuejian Che called her a puppy, but his voice was very pleasant.

She nodded slightly.

Echizen Toru laughed out loud.

When he smiled, his eyes crinkled, and even Grandpa Yue said he looked like his grandmother—naturally lovable. Yu Pandi also thought he was lovable. Little did she know that he was thinking, "These village kids are really strange; they recognize every name I give them."

That evening, she went home to start a fire. The smoke from the stove stung her eyes, and Liu Guizhen scolded her for not chopping the firewood properly. Yu Zhaozu was reciting his lessons at the table, and when he couldn't recite them, he threw the book down.

Yu Pandi suddenly said, "I want to go to school."

The room fell silent for a moment.

The next moment, Liu Guizhen's slap landed without warning.

Yu Dahai came in from outside, and after hearing what she said, his face darkened even more: "Go to school? Who will you go to school for? Who will do the housework? Who will cook for your brother?"

Yu Zhaozu, clutching his book, hid to one side and whispered, "I'm bringing my own lunch tomorrow."

Liu Guizhen cursed even more fiercely.

Yu Pandi didn't say anything more. She held her head, hearing a ringing in her ears. That night, after everyone in the family had gone to sleep, she got up from the woodshed, tucked the piece of paper with her name on it into her pocket, and ran towards the end of the village.

The road was muddy. She tripped and fell, got up, and ran again.

The lights in the Yue family's old house are still on.

Echigo was playing a single-player game in his room when he heard the door open. He frowned and came out. The back of his phone's flashlight shone on her, and he paused.

Yu Pandi stood in the courtyard after the rain, covered in mud, her face swollen, and her hair stuck to her neck.

Tears only fell when she saw him.

"Brother," she called out.

Koshima Toru subconsciously took a step back.

"Don't come in," he said. "Stand there for now."