Spring in the Fields

(New novel, They Say I'm Hard to Kill. Please add it to your favorites. Bows ^_^~)

Blurb:

At twelve, Liu Sanchun was sold to the Spring Breeze House. She wasn't called Liu Sanchun back then. Later, the madam changed her surname and gave her a new name. From then on, she was simply Liu Sanchun of the Spring Breeze House.

At twenty-two, the madam's business was failing, and Liu Sanchun was getting older. With a sprig of grass tucked in her hair, she was sold off just like that.

After following the "honest man" she'd chosen home, she saw two dilapidated thatched huts on the verge of collapse and immediately regretted it.

She wanted to run away, but couldn't find her indenture contract, so she had no choice but to play along with the man for the time being. Every day, she had to deal with the drunken sot, and Liu Sanchun couldn't stand him. The one saving grace was that he never forced her to do "that sort of thing," and even remembered to leave her enough money for congee before buying his liquor.

Only later did she learn that the damn contract had been tossed into a wine jar long ago and had drifted off to who knew what far-flung corner.

Liu Sanchun thought, well, this is how things will be. They're both wretched souls, neither looks down on the other, so they might as well scrape by together. What else could they do, divorce?

Before he turned twenty-five, Du Zheng had dreamed of becoming a general. He joined the army as a teenager, brave and resourceful, and earned the favor of his superiors. At a young age, he became a deputy cavalry commander, a rising star.

After he turned twenty-five, Du Zheng was no more. There was only the drunkard Du Laosan, driven out of the family home by his elder sister-in-law, spending every day with wine and never sober again.

He thought he would one day rot inside a wine jar, until a faded, aging courtesan threw herself at him and begged desperately, clinging to his leg.

Du Zheng spent everything he had, ten taels of silver, to buy the woman and bring her home. How could he fail to notice the look of disdain she gave his house?

But so what? He didn't care about anything.

He continued to drown himself in wine, drinking until he passed out every day, until a slap landed hard across his face.

Later, Du Zheng thought he had to keep her. Without her, he would be afraid: afraid of this world, crawling with monsters and demons, afraid he would truly rot in the dirt without ever repaying the debts he owed.

He owed her so much. He would spend the rest of his life making it up to her. (Note added 2022.11.19)

Theme: No obstacle in life is insurmountable. Grit your teeth, push through, and you'll come out stronger.