The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book)- 18

 

| TBBOTOF | 18

Heshan Village was surrounded by mountains, and it was the largest among many villages built in the mountains. With abundant trees and towering peaks, the mountains sustained all life forms.

The people of Heshan Village often ventured into the mountains to a forest called Yuanbao Mountain. It's unclear when this name was given, but it was said that in the old days, when people relied on the heavens for their livelihoods, during times of drought when the fields yielded almost nothing, they had to venture into the mountains to forage for wild vegetables and fruits to stave off hunger. If lucky, they could even catch large wild animals.

Relying on the silver coins earned from hunting in the mountains, they considered it a treasure mountain. It helped them earn money and kept them alive. Thus, they named it Yuanbao Mountain.

Yuanbao Mountain was vast and tall, with one mountain range after another. However, deep within the forest, many wild beasts lived. Many people had ventured into the deep mountains in search of rare medicinal herbs, but unfortunately, none of them had ever returned.

That deep mountain became known as the land of death in the mouths of the villagers. Whoever entered, never returned.

As time went by and dynasties changed, the population of Heshan Village grew, and the area of cultivated land expanded. Gradually, fewer and fewer people went deep into Yuanbao Mountain.

They had grown accustomed to the peaceful life of farming and didn't want to risk their lives anymore. After all, they were not starving.

Wei Dong was one of the few who ventured into the mountains in search of treasures. At nineteen years old, he was stronger and more robust than others from a young age. Apart from farming, he had no other way to expend his energy, so he often went to the mountains. At that time, his parents were still alive.

The Wei family was one of the prominent families in the latter part of Hejian Village. Their ancestors were prolific, and as generations passed, the number of people with the Wei surname increased.

The Wei family was very united, but even in the most harmonious and loving families, conflicts arose with the increase in family members, and quarrels were inevitable.

Before Wei Dong's parents passed away, their family had a good relationship with relatives in the clan. However, as Wei Xi's health deteriorated after his mother gave birth prematurely, their relatives gradually distanced themselves from them.

Later, after his mother passed away, his father, mourning his wife, began drinking heavily, and his health deteriorated. The following year, during the Spring Festival, after drinking a few more cups, he fell asleep with a smile on his face and never woke up.

When Wei Dong lost his parents at the age of twelve, he was a semi-grown child. There was also his two-year-old younger brother, Wei Xi, who was weak due to his premature birth and needed constant care and good food and drink. Wei Dong felt anxious and insecure, so he sought help from relatives.

Initially, the relatives would give them some silver coins, not much, just enough to provide for the two brothers.

Wei Xi's condition was best described as extremely frail. Even a slight breeze could trigger a coughing fit, and if he didn't have a thick blanket during a rainstorm at night, he would develop a fever and faint. Ensuring they had enough to eat and drink only worsened his condition.

When Wei Xi was three years old, he fell seriously ill, and the exorbitant medical expenses prompted Wei Dong to kneel and beg all their relatives for help. He went from family to family, kowtowing and begging, but in the end, only a few people extended their help. They advised Wei Dong not to waste silver coins on treatment since it would be like pouring them down a bottomless pit, as Wei Xi wouldn't survive.

Wei Dong, with two taels of borrowed silver, cried bitterly as he knelt beside his brother's bed, vowing to save him and raise him. He sold the ancestral land that his father obtained during the division of family property, and also leased out their own and his brother's land to gather enough silver for Wei Xi's treatment.

While the illness was stabilized, Wei Xi's condition continued to deteriorate, and for a large part of the year, he lay bedridden.

The brothers knew that without money, they wouldn't survive. Wei Dong, having accompanied his father to Yuanbao Mountain to forage for wild vegetables and catch wild rabbits, was somewhat familiar with the area.

He hunted wild boars, killed stags, and even encountered a lone wolf searching for food in the mountains. In that battle, he nearly lost his life, covered in wounds with two ribs broken. However, he earned two hundred taels of silver by selling the wolf carcass.

After that, Wei Dong often ventured into the deep mountains. He would not sell the ginseng he found but instead used it to improve his brother's health. He hunted for food and only kept what was needed for their own consumption, selling the rest.

This had been the pattern for years, yet he hadn't managed to save much silver.

Wei Xi's annual medical expenses for various herbs amounted to four to five hundred taels of silver. Wei Dong couldn't hunt all year round as he needed to give the wild animals time to reproduce and grow. Therefore, despite his bravery and strength, he rarely returned from the mountains empty-handed. However, he had hardly managed to save any silver.

Over the six years in the mountains, apart from replacing their adobe house with a brick and tile one, he had hardly saved any silver.

Despite being aware of his good looks and capabilities, and despite being able to earn a living, no matchmaker came knocking at his door.

Wei Dong also understood that others looked down on him because of his younger brother, considering him a burden.

Since there was no rush to get married, and since he hadn't found anyone he truly cared for, he didn't want to settle for a life with someone he didn't love.

Wei Xi, now nine years old, was thin and petite, about the same height as six-year-old Tang Yang. However, he had a handsome face, bearing a strong resemblance to his brother, with slightly yellowish skin, indicating his prolonged illness.

"Brother, you're finally back," Wei Xi eagerly approached from outside the courtyard. However, he walked faster than usual, which triggered a tickle in his throat, causing him to cough as soon as he finished speaking.

The coughing fit was so severe that his wax-yellow complexion turned slightly red.

Wei Dong put down the basket and gently patted his brother's back. "I told you not to walk so fast. Why didn't you listen?"

Wei Xi's face turned red from coughing, and Wei Dong, feeling helpless, could only wait for him to recover on his own.

After about half a moment, Wei Xi gradually quieted down, stood up straight, and wiped away the tears and mucus from his face with a handkerchief tucked in his clothes.

Wei Dong lowered his head and asked, "Have you eaten?"

In the morning, he had steamed mantou and stir-fried shredded meat with pickled vegetables, a large pot, fearing that his brother would go hungry if he returned late.

Wei Xi nodded and, after wiping away the mucus, bunched up the handkerchief and stuffed it back into his clothes.

Watching him perform this routine almost every day, Wei Dong suddenly remembered what Tang Xu had said after picking up the oil-paper bundle. He hated dirtiness and disorderliness, so he said, "If it's dirty, change it. Don't stuff the used one back into your clothes."

Wei Xi looked up at him and obediently nodded, "Okay, brother. Why did you come back so late? It's almost dark."

Usually, when his elder brother went out to sell hunted animals, he would return no later than the time of the monkey (3 p.m.), but now it was almost the time of the rooster (5 p.m.), and his elder brother had just returned when it was almost dark.

The rosy flush on Wei Xi's cheeks, caused by his coughing, gradually faded away as he glanced into the basket placed on the ground, noticing many packets of medicine inside.

He pursed his lips; it was always like this. His elder brother never brought anything other than medicine packets back.

Wei Dong tested his younger brother's temperature by placing a large hand on his forehead and continued, "I sold a whole goat for fifty taels. These medicines were prescribed by the head doctor of Rechuntang in the capital city. He said you should start taking them first, and when we have the chance, he'll take a look at your pulse and adjust the medicine accordingly."

Wei Xi's face twisted in discomfort and grievance.

Over the years, he had been drinking medicine day after day. He had heard many people call his elder brother stupid, say that he was a burden, and even predict that he wouldn't live long.

He had heard too much idle talk and had become numb to it.

Every time, his elder brother would take him to confront those who spread rumors, and then beat them up.

Even if the person was an elderly woman, his elder brother would drag out her husband and beat him mercilessly, ensuring they wouldn't dare to say such things again in his presence. 

Since then, Wei Dong's reputation had soured, and people in the village avoided them, fearing they might say something wrong and get beaten up.

"Brother..." Wei Xi thought of how his elder brother had lived in such poverty because of him and had been subjected to rumors and slander. With his head hung low, he whispered softly, "Brother, I... I don't want to take medicine anymore."

Wei Dong's hand, reaching into the basket for medicine packets, paused abruptly as he turned sharply to look at him, his eyes flashing coldly, his tone stern, "What did you say? Who dares to talk nonsense in front of you again, are they courting death?!"

Wei Xi met his gaze and instantly felt a chill run down his spine.

He quickly shook his head, quiet as a chicken.

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