I Am A Big Villain Chapter 27

The Best Brother in the World 1

Translator: Kies.h.i.+

Editor/proofreader: sleepymona

There was no city bustling, and in this quiet village, there were only three or five groups of sparrows chirping, and a couple of domestic big yellow dogs barking when strangers pa.s.s by.

This was not a very wealthy village. There were many small bungalows with half adobe and half brick everywhere, and some houses were in poor condition. All the houses' walls were piled up with cow dung wrapped in the mud. The roofs were heaped with straw and tree sticks. When it was a rainy day, you had to endure the water leakage at home.

Every yard in front of each house hanged with racks. Some planted with pumpkins, some with loofahs, vine fruits climbed all over the racks. There were all kinds of fruits and vegetables growing nearby. It was verdant and lush[1], and it added some vitality to this old dilapidated house that the city did not have.

What a beautiful place, ah!

Yan Chu stood on the muddy road not far from the village with a climbing stick and carried his half-person climbing bag, and his expression was inexplicable.

“This little brother, what did you come to our village for?”

An old man with white hair and a crutch looked at Yan Chu with a kind face but a little vigilance in his eyes.

The old man was not tall and had a hunched back. Standing not far away from Yan Chu, he barely reached the height of his chest. His face was rugosity and had old age spots, cloudy eyes, slightly yellowing teeth, and dressed in a washed white sweater and big underpants. He was the image of an ordinary old man in a mountain village.

“Dàye[2], I'm going to see the sunrise on the mountain. But I don't know if there's anyone in this village who can let me sleep for a night. I'll give them money.”

Yan Chu's current image was a tall, thin, black-framed young man with a climbing bag, a climbing stick, and a standard climber.

Wude[3] Village was a very deprived village, also one of the nation's key poverty alleviation targets. But after all, now the economy was remarkably developed, science and technology very advanced. Even such a poor village in the deep forests of old mountains also pulled the electric wire. In the village with more than 30 households, only two households bought a small color TV. Every night the other households that did not have TV would go to those two who had both to watch TV and news. They knew the frequent backpackers in news reports too.

“Just you alone?”

The old man hunched over and asked Yan Chu.

“Yes, just me.” Yan Chu smiled, with a straightforward big boy that seemed harmless to people and animals.

“The weather is not right these two days. Especially tonight is going to rain. If little brother wanted to see the sunrise, then I'm afraid you can't, ah.” The old man's vigilance to him was much smaller after hearing that he was alone.

Their village was relatively partial. However, because deep in the mountains, sometimes every few days many city children Who had nothing to do would eat their fill and explore the mountains.

Those people were generous, they only give them 100 kuai[4] for a night, and if they eat, they added 30 for each meal. For a mountain person with a per capita annual income of 2,000, it was tremendous of extra income.

Before, the mountain people were wary of those who come to the village, and later on, found that they really only came to play. As a result, the villagers often stared at those strange guests, but it was not like every tree or bush Is an enemy soldier[5] as before.

This old man had only one son in his family, so the people were not many. He had made up two spare rooms in his home, painted the limestone walls, and rented them out to the city people who came to play in the mountains.

His son was already forty years old this year. Because the mountains were poor, other village girls were not willing to marry to this ravine. He had to save money for his son and buy a daughter-in-law, ah.

Liu jiā's and Huang jiā's daughter-in-law were good in their village. They had given birth to several grandchildren. Later on, after he saved enough money, he would try to find Lai San the daughter-in-law seller where Liu jiā and Huang jiā bought a university girl. From hearsay, the gene of this kind of girl's child was good. These words couldn't go wrong.

The old man thought that he would save enough money in a short time. He smiled kindly and looked at Yan Chu more softly.

"Is it going to rain? The weather forecast didn't write either, ah?"

Yan Chu was like a young man who had just entered the society. He was very insecure. He touched his nose and said, “Dàye, how about like this? I'll stay in the village for a few more days. This can't keep raining, right?”

“I came to shoot the sunrise, your village's slant is very high, I climbed the mountain alone for nearly two hours. I'm too lazy to go down the mountain and come back when the weather is fine. You can rest a.s.sured, I brought money. Anyway, before I went out, my parents said to your village collecting local cultural materials[6]. The return time is uncertain, so they will not be anxious either.”

Yan Chu held up the camera hanging in front of his neck. He looked like a fool with money coming quickly.

“That alright, but people in our village don't like taking pictures. You have to wait for the weather to get better to shoot at sunrise. You are not allowed to rouse disturbance in the village. Otherwise, if you are found out, you will be driven out.”

The old man smiled. The farmer had his own way to see the weather. By looking at this day, there was no problem with two or three days of heavy rain. On the other hand, to add the food expenses like this, he made four or five hundred more revenue in a flash, ah.

“Éi."[7]

Yan Chu agreed with a sound and followed the old man to his house.

When he left, he looked at the big stone tablet at the entrance of the village. The three characters of Wude Village written on it were clearly black. In the slightly gloomy weather, there unexpectedly was a faint red light.

Five Virtues——loyalty, filial piety, propriety, righteousness, and benevolence*

Hēhē![8]

*****

“Lǎo Gen tóu[9], is the young man who lives in your house okay?”

In the village's most luxurious qīng[10]-brick and grey-tile courtyards, several old and young people from several villages sat together, looking a little solemn.

“He hasn't been out all night except at mealtime. I've always watched him very attentively.” Said Lǎo Gen tóu, who was the old man that Yan Chu met when he came to the village, to the middle-aged man sitting opposite him.

“En[11], you pay more attention to him. I don't know whether it's the weather or something these past few days, my eyelids have been twitching, I feel restless.”

The middle-aged man, Lin Youde, was the village head of Wude Village. He rubbed his forehead and said with a sad face.

His physique was extraordinarily strong, 1,9 meter tall, a lump of meat from head to foot, a fierce-looking face, looked like a very not to be trifled with character. He was not only the village head but was also the hegemony in this village. The village's youths followed him blindly[12]. Because of him, people in other mountain villages were afraid to fight with them. In dividing the mountain forest land, they took a lot of advantage.

That was why Lin Youde's prestige in the village was particularly high, no less than those of the older generations.

“Gē, are you not being scared by that little skinny girl, right?”

Others were afraid of Lin Youde, but Lin Youde's dìdi was not necessarily afraid of him. Lin Youcai and his dàgē didn't look like they were born from the same womb. His body was extraordinarily thin, a grown man with barely 1,6 meter tall, sharp-nosed monkey[13], a vulgar face kind.

In this village, Lin Youde was the great hegemony, and Lin Youcai was the second hegemony. They were twins. It estimated that Lin Youde absorbed too many nutrients in their mother's womb, resulting in Lin Youcai almost several times not having the necessities of life in childhood, Lin family often told the eldest son, this was what he owed his dìdi, so he must take care of his dìdi in the future.

Lin Youde listened to his mother's words very much, and he really loved his dìdi very dearly. No one could go beyond Lin Youcai. His dìdi laughed at him, and Lin Youde was not angry at all.

“Pēi[14], lǎozi[15] will be frightened by that little skinny girl skin. That to say, she is not very understanding. Lǎo Zhang tóu's three sons already slept with her. Why can't lǎozi sleep with her? Dare to beat lǎozi, go to her mother![16]“

Lin Youde spat on the side, touched the scab on his face, there was still a white mark on the face. He remembered what happened that day.

Their village was comparably poor. There were very rare for girls from other villages who were willing to marry, but the older generation in the village was old-fas.h.i.+oned. They were unwilling to let their sons and daughters-in-law went out to work, scared they would never come back, and n.o.body to provide for them.

Gradually, the source of the village's daughter-in-law was no longer a normal marriage, but through the outside minivan traffickers[17], to buy a daughter-in-law.

Usually, a big yellow flower[18] girl demanded term was 30,000, slept off the discount to 25,000. For better looking or college students, the price would have higher. The current most expensive daughter-in-law in the village was Lǎo Zhang jiā's daughter-in-law that Lin Youde's mouth mentioned just a moment ago.

Zhang jiā had to spend their hard-earned savings to buy that girl. It cost 50,000 kuai.

Originally, Lǎo Zhang tóu was unwilling to buy her. Their family had to pay more than 30,000 kuai in total. Where could they afford such an expensive daughter-in-law? Lǎo Zhang tóu had three sons, the eldest son was 36, and the second son was 33 this year. The youngest was only 21. It estimated that his mother was too old when he was born. His brain was not functioning well, saliva and snot flowed down every day, only know to stare at the daughter-in-law's b.u.t.tocks and b.r.e.a.s.t.s. It was disgusting.

But who let the girl Lai San brought this time to belong to the most good-looking girl? Her skin was whiter than tofu, her big watery eyes were a rare sight. That girl was still very young, seemed only 16 or 17 years old. But it did not matter. Such a big girl could already have children in the village.

Many families in the village who wanted to buy a daughter-in-law were interested in that girl. But Lai San's asking price was too high. Later, the three sons of Lǎo Zhang wanted this girl. It estimated that the old man would not have money to buy a daughter-in-law for the second and the third son because their family was poor. They, the three brothers, simply wanted a wife.

That girl was very good-looking that they recognized her even if she was a shared wife.

Lǎo Zhang tóu thought it was the same thing. It was his sons anyway, all to be born was also his grandchildren. So he gritted his teeth, and spent a lot of money, including the insufficient more than ten thousand kuai which he borrowed from Lin Youde.

Lin Youde also liked that girl, ah. He lent money to Lǎo Zhang's jiā on a request, that was when the three sons of their family slept the girl, he could also sleep with her. So with this kind of promise, he lent the money.

Lǎo Zhang tóu and his three sons discussed it and agreed.

The villagers didn't know what the girl's name was. The girl was stubborn. After being sold to the village by traffickers, she begged them to let her go, and her family would give them a lot of money but didn't say anything else. She knew that they would not let her go afterward, only days full of hards.h.i.+p and cursing.

They called her Zhang jiā's daughter-in-law. On the wedding day, the girl was tied up, the whole village heard her shrill cry, and it lasted all night until her voice grew hoa.r.s.e and could not be heard anymore.

All the daughters-in-law bought into the village came like this. For the villagers, they had been used to it. As long as they had children, they would take root in the village. Not only in their village but also at the foot of the mountain, many families who couldn't afford a daughter-in-law were also looking for those acquaintances to buy them. Such a closed small county town was full of relatives. Everyone knew about buying the daughters-in-law matter. Whoever ran around to buy a daughter-in-law, everyone would help recruit people.

As long as they kept the station in the county, sooner or later, there would be a day to find someone out.

It was a beating, and the women became more numb as they failed to escape repeatedly.

More than three months ago, Lin Youde went to see Lǎo Zhang tóu's son the day after he got married. Lǎo Zhang did not dare to repudiate, so he asked his son to send him over. Who knew when he saw his daughter-in-law again, she was already a cold corpse.

Lin Youde said that the girl started to grab and scratched his face. He got angry and pushed her, who would have imagined that her head hit the cabinet on the kang[19]? Her blood rushed to the ground and immediately died.

The daughter-in-law that they bought with the big price was gone. Lǎo Zhang tóu and his three sons certainly wouldn't do it. But who let Lin Youde be the local tyrant of this village? Finally after discussed it, Lin Youde would help them buy a daughter-in-law again next time Lai San came. Of course, they couldn't buy the best one, and then they didn't have to pay back the money they borrowed before.

Lǎo Zhang's jiā recognized these pent-up unspoken grievances. That night, a group of men threw the girl's body into the mountains, where there were wolves, allowing the beasts to shred her corpse into pieces, and then pretended the newly bought daughter-in-law stealthy runaway and attacked by livestock facade.

They were the only ones who knew about Lin Youde's murder.

Lǎo Gen tóu did not know this, only just at the girl died when she stealthily run away into the deep in the mountains after Lin Youde slept with her. After listening to Lin Youcai and Lin Youde's jokes, he just smiled.

“Nevertheless, let her go as soon as possible, OK? After a while, Lai San should deliver new goods.”

Lin Youde didn't believe in supernatural beings. If there were ghosts, those women who commited suicide after they bought them in the early years should have come to them for revenge. Now their village was not living well.

In the final a.n.a.lysis, that girl was not tactful. Being slept by several people was not sleep. Foolish and unreasonable, she deserved to die.

“You can rest a.s.sured that on rainy days Lai San will not take people up the mountain. After that, it is time to see the sunrise. When the weather cleared up, he will leave after taking photos. He will not be able to touch Lai San.”

Lǎo Gen tóu smiled innocently, showing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

The people on the side also laughed. Lai San came, meaning that the village had new daughters-in-law. Were daughters-in-law far away from having grandchildren? The incense in the village had been pa.s.sed down from generation to generation. They had the face to see their ancestors when they were dead, ah.

Let's Talk Corner:
The beginning of chapter:
Kies.h.i.+: This time is in mountain…
Mona: I like the sea more……

Reading about buying “yellow flowers”:
Kies.h.i.+: No wonder Yan Chu laughed at the village's name! WTF?! (╬⁽⁽ ⁰ ⁾⁾ Д ⁽⁽ ⁰ ⁾⁾)

Many thanks in advance for liking, reading, and responding <(_ _*)="">

[1] 郁郁葱葱 [yù yù cōngcōng]: verdant and lush (idiom); which means that the vegetation is lush and green, and it also describes the beautiful and vigorous appearance

[2] 大爷 [dà ye]: Sir; uncle; uncle (a respectful form of address for an elderly man); father's elder brother

[3] 五德 [wǔ dé]: Five Virtues, see this paragraph,

[4] 块 [kuài]: money currency units; the colloquial term for yuan

[5] 草木皆兵 [cǎomù jiē bīng]: lit. every tree or bush an enemy soldier (idiom); fig. to panic and treat everyone as an enemy; to feel beleaguered

[6] 采风 [cǎifēng]: to collect local cultural materials (recording folk songs, taking photos, etc.)

[7] 诶 [èi]: hey (to express agreement)

[8] 呵呵 [hēhē]: (onom.) gentle laughter; chuckle

[9] 老 [lǎo]: prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity; old (of people); venerable (person)

老头 [lǎo tóu]: old fellow; old man; father; husband

[10] 青 [qīng]: nature's color; green or blue; greenish black

[11] 嗯 [en]: interjection indicating approval, appreciation or agreement

[12] 马首是瞻 [mǎ shǒu shì zhān]: to follow blindly (idiom); to take as one's only guide

[13] 尖嘴猴腮的 [jiān zuǐ hóu sāi]: sharp-nosed monkey; a sharp mouth and a thin cheek; describe people who are ugly and vulgar;

[14] 呸 [pēi]: pah!; bah!; pooh!; to spit (in contempt)

[15] 老子[lǎozi]: father; daddy; “I, your father” (in anger, or out of contempt); I (used arrogantly or jocularly)

[16] 去他娘的 [qù tā niáng de]: taboo curse word, literally translates as "go to her mother", similar with 去你妈的 [qù nǐ mā de], it basically means "f*** off"

[17] 人贩子 [rén fànzǐ]: trafficker; refers to some adults who are abducting or selling children, and most of them rely on selling children for a living

[18] 黄花 [huánghuā]: yellow flowers (of various types); a young virgin (boy or girl)

[19] 炕 [kàng]: kang (a heatable brick bed)