Sworn Brother [Farming]

Blurb:

Luo Yun lay in bed, touching his face and tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He was thinking about men, wishing he had a strong man of his own.

His face was swollen. His aunt and uncle had beaten him.

That afternoon, his aunt and uncle had come to the house again to demand a chicken. He naturally refused, but they tried to take one by force. When he tried to stop them, his uncle slapped him and threw him to the ground. He couldn't tell whether his swollen face was from the slap or the fall.

One chicken wasn't a big deal. What frightened Luo Yun was that they might start by taking food, then move on to his fields, land, and house. His parents were gone, and at just seventeen, he couldn't protect his younger siblings or their home.

After much deliberation, determined to protect the property and farmland his parents had left behind and look after his young siblings, Luo Yun went in the middle of the night to knock on the door of the outsider living at the edge of the village.

Calling him an outsider wasn't quite right. His family lived in a neighboring village, and he had come here because he had nowhere else to go. Rumor had it that his family had thrown him out because he liked men. He had only been in the village for a few days, but the village chief's doorstep was already being trampled by villagers with bruised backsides. Nobody wanted the man to settle here.

That man needed to stay in the village, and Luo Yun and his siblings needed someone to rely on.

"I'm a man, and I'm not bad-looking." Luo Yun picked up a pebble and lightly tapped the cliff face beside the cave entrance, pretending it was a knock. Then he secretly touched his own backside, his legs trembling.

The man was really tall and strong. He could definitely beat up Luo Yun's uncle, but Luo Yun didn't know if he could handle the man's other thing.

Remembering the scenes he'd just seen in a dirty little book, Luo Yun was mortified. But the hateful man across from him only looked at him without saying a word. Just as Luo Yun was losing hope and preparing to leave, the man finally spoke.

"You want to be with me? Fine. Let's make a bond first."

A bond? What was that supposed to mean? Luo Yun didn't understand, but he vaguely thought it might be some kind of contract, so he simply nodded.

"Then let's make a bond."

A few things to know before reading:

1. There will be childbirth, but only at the end. At first, society has only two genders, male and female, and both characters believe men can't have children.

2. The story mostly focuses on everyday family life, without many dramatic ups and downs.

3. (More to come if I think of anything.)

Theme: Protect the ones you love, work hard, and build a comfortable life through your own efforts