The Rake’s Tale of an Orphan

A House, A Deal, and a Gamble

As far as most people are concerned, you are nothing. Especially before you’ve achieved anything, you really don’t need to consider yourself a big deal. Face is yours, but dignity needs to be given by others. Rather than suffering through the pain of trying to protect your face, it’s better to just throw it away. —Random thoughts—

I had no choice but to go find the village head. He was at home feeding the pigs, wearing an apron like a woman, talking to the pigs in a strange, cackling voice. The village head’s fear of his wife was well-known in the village, which was why it was so strange to see such a big man feeding pigs while wearing an apron.

From a distance, I greeted him with enthusiasm, "Dad, feeding pigs today?" He was one of my many "dads."

The village head looked up when he saw me, but didn’t pay much attention. He casually said, "Ah, it’s the lamb! What’s up? You seem free today…” In our rundown village, children were either called "zai zi" or "ga zi" (lambs), since the elders thought it was easier to raise them. Fortunately, I didn’t have the surname "Gou," otherwise, I’d be called "dog cub."

Before I came here, I had already decided. If I directly told him to have his brother-in-law move, it would be useless. The village head would find a thousand excuses to avoid it. I could only try to use Old Wang’s name as leverage. After all, the ugly old man still had a certain status in the village. He was an old bachelor with no children or heirs—nobody wanted to offend him.

I put on a troubled face and said, “Dad, I’ve really run out of options. That ugly old man, Old Wang, has been acting strange lately. Today, he tossed all my bedding out of the house, saying he wouldn’t let me live there anymore. What should I do?"

The village head paused, clearly puzzled. He continued feeding the pigs while grumbling, "That old bachelor, always causing trouble for me… Hey, lamb, did you provoke him?"

I acted innocent and said, “Me? How could I provoke him? I’m like a grandson in front of him, I might as well call him grandpa…” Damn, he wants to be my father and take advantage of me. I’ll make him regret that.

The village head seemed uninterested and waved me off. "Alright, alright, go back. I’ll talk to Old Wang later. This old bachelor…"

Seeing that he was dismissing it, I didn’t press the issue about his brother-in-law. I had no choice but to go back to Old Wang’s.

When I entered the house, the ugly old man was squatting on the kang, puffing away at his big pipe, filling the room with thick smoke. It was better than nothing, at least it could mask other unpleasant smells.

I sat on the edge of the kang, grabbed the smoking tray, and rolled myself a big cigarette. After lighting it, I took a satisfying drag. Living with an old chain-smoker like Wang, I had long since gotten used to the haze. By the time I was eleven, I had already learned how to smoke.

I exhaled the smoke and said to Old Wang, "I went to find the village head. He just played dumb, didn’t even bring up his brother-in-law. What should I do?"

Old Wang took a couple more puffs, squinting his eyes, and replied, “Well, why don’t you just sell the house to the village head’s brother-in-law? I wouldn’t mind. We’ve lived together this long…”

I was stunned. How could this ugly bastard suddenly suggest selling the house? A moment ago, he couldn’t wait to kick me out. After a quick thought, I realized what he was trying to do. Damn it, he was trying to get his hands on my last bit of property. If I sold the house, he’d find some way to get the money, and then generously hand it over to his gambling buddies.

I cursed him silently, but still smiled and said, “Well, that’s a good idea. Just don’t know if the village head will agree…”

As soon as Old Wang heard I was willing to sell, he was immediately excited. He jumped up so quickly that his head almost hit the roof beam. He muttered indignantly, “He doesn’t agree? Why wouldn’t he? His brother-in-law has been living there for eight or nine years. What, is he going to back out now? Don’t worry, lamb, I’ve got this. Damn it, if you’re scared of him, I don’t believe that.”

His enthusiasm made it seem like he was doing it for my benefit, but I knew better. He had his own plans, wanting to pocket the house money for himself.

To be honest, Old Wang hadn’t treated me badly. Despite his flaws, he had done more for me than most people. He was an ugly man, no doubt, and he had his gambling problems, but over the years, he had cooked for me when I was hungry. Sure, the food was terrible, but it was better than starving. Compared to Zhou Er, another orphan in the village, I was doing far better. Zhou Er’s aunt treated him terribly, often sending him to school hungry.

However, Old Wang’s gambling habit was his biggest flaw. He was addicted, and whenever he had even a few coins, he’d rush to gamble. The worst part was that he was a fool about it. I knew those so-called "friends" were just scamming him, but he couldn’t see it. When I pointed it out, he refused to believe me, saying, “They’ve been my gambling buddies for years, they wouldn’t do that.”

I didn’t want to argue about it. Whether or not I could get the house back wasn’t a big deal to me. I had grown up in this village, and while the government’s aid was meager, the village people had helped raise me. Even if they had ridiculed me, made cruel jokes, or even forced me to bathe in the pigsty, I didn’t hold it against them. Their food kept me alive, and that’s enough for me. Even if they once called me "son," I didn’t mind. It was just a title, no different from calling me a pig or a cow. What mattered was being grateful. I never got too caught up in their past insults.

Old Wang, however, didn’t think the same way. As soon as I agreed to sell the house, he got even more excited and rushed off to find the village head. I didn’t follow. I felt a little awkward asking the village head’s brother-in-law for the house. After all, they’d always been kind to me, feeding me when I was hungry. It wasn’t easy to bring up something like this.

Old Wang came back after a long time, and his face was dark. He sat down and started smoking his pipe without saying a word. I could tell something was off.

Finally, Old Wang couldn’t hold it in any longer. He slammed down the pipe and started cursing, “Damn it, Liu Fu, that bastard! He’s taking advantage of us! His brother-in-law has been living in that house for years, and now he’s only offering two thousand five hundred! The house might not be much, but it comes with almost an acre of land. That’s worth three or four thousand, and he’s only offering half!”

I understood now. The village head had agreed to buy the house, but Old Wang didn’t like the price. He thought it should be worth more, so he was pissed off and started yelling.

I didn’t care much either way. Having the house or not didn’t change much for me. Even without it, I had gotten by just fine. I was only seventeen or eighteen at the time, so I didn’t fully understand the value of money. I was just going with the flow.

In the end, the village head’s brother-in-law bought the house. After Old Wang pushed him, he added another five hundred, bringing the total to three thousand.