Professional Ethics of a Concubine

The two brothers didn't fight in the end. It was because they were so hungry that even talking nonsense was difficult.

After Xie Wenyuan put on his clothes, he looked around the house first, with a fresh look in his eyes.

However, the novelty soon wore off, and I was left speechless.

Too poor, too poor.

Can you call this a house? Can you call this a yard?! There's not even any decent furniture!

Even the poorest mountain village in their Great Zhao is much richer than this!

"There's not even a well at home? How do we get water?" Xie Wenyuan looked around and found a big problem.

"Use a shoulder pole to carry water. There is a well in the village." Xie Jin pointed to the water tank in the corner, as well as a long shoulder pole leaning to one side and two broken iron buckets.

Xie Wenyuan,...

I was born rich, old man, and have never experienced this kind of poverty.

This really broadens my horizons!

Xie Wenyuan stood in front of the empty water tank, stunned for a while, and asked a key question:

"Do you think we can really survive in this environment just by the two of us?"

Both of them are people who have everything provided for them, and there is always someone to serve them.

No matter which of these things you pick out, fetching water, chopping wood, washing clothes, cooking, and working in the fields, I can't do any of them!

"...So, this is a battle for survival." Xie Jin said with a serious face.

Xie Wenyuan rolled his eyes at him, "Alright, stop exaggerating. You should do the housework from now on. Look at me, I am so small that I can't even lift this bucket.

You are a big guy after all, just a little thinner, a little darker, a little uglier and a little more rustic than before.

Alas, if I meet your Imperial Concubine again, she won’t bother with a country bumpkin like you.”

"...Just shut up. Save your energy." Xie Jin said with a dark face.

What's the use of him? He only knows how to hurt his heart.

"Well, that's true. Let me save my energy and beg for food later." Xie Wenyuan sighed. He looked pitiful with his big head and thin body.

Xie Jin, ...

This time the stab was even more severe.

"Let's go, let's go. Let's find a way to fill our stomachs first." Xie Wenyuan pulled Xie Jin and walked out first.

Xie Jin looked at Xie Wenyuan beside him. Although he disliked him and felt bad about him, he was actually very glad to have him by his side.

If he were to end up in this place alone, not knowing where to find Qingzhi for the time being, he would probably be depressed to death.

-

It is July now, the slack season for farmers, and there is not much farm work to do in the fields.

The village would organize strong laborers to dig canals. Both men and women could participate, and work points were counted. However, even if they worked a full day, they would not earn much money.

The old men and women in the village, who are unable to do heavy work, would sit under the shade of the trees on the street and chat. The old ladies would even talk while sewing shoe soles or something.

The sun has gone down now and it is not as hot as it was during the day. It is also time for dinner and every household is lighting a fire and cooking.

It’s the perfect time to beg for food.

"Where are we going first?" Xie Wenyuan turned around and asked Xie Jin, "Where are we going to our grandparents' house or our uncles' house?"

Xie Jin searched his memory and frowned, "Let me tell you first, our relationship with them is not very good, so you should be mentally prepared."

"I was a little fool before this body, so it's normal for me to be disliked. What about you? What's wrong with you?" Xie Wenyuan asked curiously.

"He can't speak, he's a taciturn person." Xie Jin introduced them one by one.

"He doesn't have a good temper either. He gets angry and fights with others. He has beaten this body's third uncle. However, that third uncle really deserves to be beaten. He took the money from this body's father's blood selling and married himself a wife."

"Hey hey! Hearing this makes me excited. I love to deal with these little scumbags."

Xie Wenyuan wanted to roll up his sleeves, but found that he had no sleeves. However, this did not affect his aura. He stood up straight as if he was two meters eighty, but in fact he was less than one meter twoy tall.

Xie Jin had no problem with his excitement, and just said,

"We have to be careful with our words. Now that we are here, we need to be more professional. From now on, we can call each other dad and mom."

"Okay, Brother Dan." Xie Wenyuan agreed immediately.

"...Just call me brother!" Xie Jin reached out and hit him on the head.

Xie Wenyuan covered his head in pain, "Ouch, it hurts! You want to kill someone, you use so much force!"

"I didn't use any strength." Xie Jin was still puzzled. Seeing that he was in pain, he quickly asked him to stop and carefully checked the back of his head.

"There's a big bump on the back of your head. You must have hit your head before. Are you dizzy?"

Xie Wenyuan couldn't help but curse, "I'm not dizzy, but you hit me and it hurts a little. Ouch, I'm so miserable."

Xie Jin felt that he had been tricked. "Why don't we go to the infirmary?"

"With such poor conditions, what kind of medical care can we expect? Let's just leave it at that for now." Xie Wenyuan wanted to cry, "I miss my cousin so much!"

Xie Jin, ...

He wants it too!

-

"Hey, is this Erdan? Erdan is out, he's not stupid anymore!"

When they met some villagers on the way, they all asked in surprise when they saw Xie Wenyuan.

Xie Wenyuan,...

I thank you for your concern.

"Erdan, smile for uncle and see if you can laugh?" Someone teased Erdan Xie Wenyuan again.

Xie Wenyuan grinned at them, and they shouted in surprise again, "Oh, it seems that he is not that smart!"

"You are not smart, and your whole family is not smart!" Xie Wenyuan pinched his waist and cursed angrily, "You think you are teasing fools, but you are the fools!"

"Oh my, Erdan is quite fierce, but he's also very fluent in speaking, in this respect he's much better than his brother Tiedan!"

Xie Jin, ...

Can this be attributed to him?!

"Hahaha, so your name is Tiedan!" Xie Wenyuan immediately turned his head to look at Xie Jin and laughed at him.

Xie Jin, ...

This life is unbearable!

-

"Brother Tiedan, Brother Tiedan, your name is better than mine..."

"Erdan, shut up!"

The two of them finally arrived at their grandparents' house after arguing all the way.

The old couple has three sons and two daughters.

Tiedan and Erdan’s father is the second child, has a bad mouth and is the least liked by the old couple.

Also, Erdan was a fool and often beat and bit people when he was a child. Moreover, Erdan's mother was in poor health and could not do farm work.

The old couple separated Erdan's parents from their parents and lived separately, thinking that they were a burden to other family members.

This means not helping them and letting them go out alone to fend for themselves.

People earn less these days, so it's actually quite difficult to split up and live on your own. For Erdan's family, splitting up and living on their own is even worse.

When Erdan's mother's health deteriorated, she felt she was a burden to the family, so she hanged herself.

Erdan's mother hanged herself, and Erdan's father sold his blood to afford the coffin.

But half of the money from selling blood was snatched away by his younger brother. In this depressed state, selling blood and not having enough food to eat, Erdan's father's health became worse and worse.

Less than a year after Erdan's mother passed away, Erdan's father fell ill and had no money for treatment. He had to sell blood again, and because he was overworked, he also passed away.

Erdan and Tiedan were left alone.

The two brothers had no idea where to start. In this situation, they could eat relief rations, but there was not much of them. After they had eaten all of them, they had to borrow food from the brigade.

I have been living like this for a year and have managed to survive.

When Xie Wenyuan and Xie Jin arrived, they found that this old house was much better than their shabby home. At least it had a decent yard and house.

"Tiedan, why did you bring Erdan here?" Old man Xie was squatting at the door smoking welding fumes. When he saw them, he frowned and asked.

Although the name sounds weird, they still have the surname Xie. Xie Jin thinks it's fine because, after all, it's easier to change a name than a surname.

"What else can I do? Come here to beg for food. I'm starving." Xie Wenyuan said, touching his empty stomach.

Old man Xie widened his eyes in surprise and looked at Erdan, "Oh, Erdan is not stupid anymore!"

"Yes, yes, I'm not stupid anymore. To celebrate that I'm not stupid anymore, should I kill a chicken to celebrate?" Xie Wenyuan said immediately.

Old man Xie’s eyes widened even wider, mainly because he was shocked by his shameless request.

"You still want to kill the chicken?! An old hen in this yard is worth more than you!" Old man Xie yelled at him.

"If you're not stupid, then don't be stupid. You can still go to heaven. In the future, help your brother to work in the fields and earn some work points. You two won't starve to death."

"This old man is so cruel." Xie Wenyuan said to Xie Jin, "He actually said that I am not as valuable as an old hen. I have never been humiliated like this."

It’s so fresh!

Xie Jin nodded. It didn't sound very humane. After all, the original bodies of both of them were his grandsons.

However, in his eyes, the two of them were not as useful as a hen that lays eggs.

Even if they starved to death, he would probably just smoke a cigarette, sigh, and say that it was their bad luck.

"Brother Tiedan, let's go in and eat them out of money!" Xie Wenyuan said immediately, "No, they are already poor, let's eat up all their food and leave them with nothing to eat!"

Thanks, old man,...

I'm still around!

-

As the saying goes, if you are too aggressive, you will risk your life.

The two brothers Xie Wenyuan and Xie Jin acted as if they were not afraid of their lives and acted like a king. They used Xie Jin's kung fu to teach a lesson to the whole family, young and old, and successfully made them shut up and behave themselves.

The two of them finally had their meal.

However, I only ate until I was half full. The watery cornmeal soup, dried sweet potatoes, and steamed corn bread were awful.

After eating this meal, Xie Wenyuan wanted to cry even more.

"When I was on the grassland, I thought it was miserable enough to only eat meat every day. I was so shallow at that time."

When the two returned home, Xie Wenyuan lay on the dirty mat and couldn't help but say,

"Old man, I finally understand now that nothing is more important than a delicious bite."

Xie Jin, ...

Turning his head to look at the little old man, Xie Jin asked him to get off the bed.

"I'll go brush the mat and wash the sheets. They're so dirty. Don't you feel uncomfortable lying there?"

"I'll pretend I'm blind." Xie Wenyuan got up from the bed and helped take the mat and sheets outside. "But we don't have water at home. Do we have to fetch water to wash?"

This is a life-threatening situation!

"Let's go to the river and wash. It's not too dark yet. Let's go and wash our bodies at the same time." Xie Jin said to him.

"Is there soap at home?" Xie Wenyuan asked again.

Xie Jin searched around and found a piece of yellow, smelly soap. "This is it."

Xie Wenyuan looked at him with disdain, sighed, and had no choice but to accept it.

-

When washing the sheets, because Xie Jin was not very good at scrubbing, his hands loosened and the sheets fell into the river and almost floated away.

The two brothers hurriedly fished it out, looking extremely embarrassed.

Although I can't guarantee that it's clean, at least I've put in the effort to wash it.

How clean can you ask an emperor or a prince to wash his sheets? That's enough.