A Mortal’s Immortal Gourd
Chapter 6: Huang Laocai

Ever since Ergouzi was kicked out by Uncle’s family, more than half a month had passed.

To the villagers, Ergouzi was probably already dead in some snowdrift.

When Ergouzi knocked on Huang Laocai’s front door, Huang Laocai nearly thought a ghost had come knocking.

Only after confirming he was alive did he let him in.

“I heard from your Uncle that you kept demanding to split from the family and go solo, and then ran away in a fit of anger.”

Leaving home alone in this kind of winter, with nothing to eat or drink, most likely means freezing or starving to death—though he didn’t say that outright.

“You could’ve just come over, why bring me pork!”

Though Huang Laocai said this with mock complaint, his hands warmly received the string of fatty meat from Ergouzi.

“It’s cold out, come inside and sit!”

At the doorway, Ergouzi tugged at his clothes and pants, trying his best to cover the hole in the seat before stepping into Huang Laocai’s house.

Huang Laocai’s home had three earthen brick houses with blue tile roofs, forming a half-circle, with a spacious courtyard in the middle.

Much more luxurious than Uncle’s place.

“Master Huang, I’d like to lease a few mu of land from you.”

After entering, Ergouzi hesitated for a while but couldn’t think of any fancy words, so he just got straight to the point.

“Oh! How old are you this year?”

Seeing Ergouzi show up with pork in hand, Huang Laocai had already guessed what he was here for—either to rent land or borrow money after the New Year.

But the Ergouzi in front of him didn’t even look fully grown, not even shoulder-high to an adult.

If he couldn’t farm well, he might not even be able to pay rent.

“I’m 14 this year!”

Ergouzi puffed up his thin chest, trying to prove himself.

“Don’t worry, Master Huang! I’ve worked in the fields every day for years. When it comes to farming, I know all the ins and outs!”

“Bad timing, all the land that was returned last year has already been rented out over the past few days!”

Hearing this, Ergouzi’s heart sank. Without land, even with his precious yellow gourd, he’d have nowhere to use it.

Though the place seemed full of barren hills and land, they all belonged to someone.

Without land, he wouldn’t even have a foothold.

“None at all? Even one mu would be fine!”

As he spoke, Ergouzi glanced at the fatty meat in Huang Laocai’s hand.

If he couldn’t rent land, that meat would’ve gone to waste. He was wondering if he could find a reason to ask for it back.

Huang Laocai also glanced at the meat. He couldn’t bear to return it now, but he also felt a bit guilty taking it.

After thinking it over, he slapped his forehead as if just remembering something.

“Look at my memory—I do have a piece of land.”

“But it’s pretty barren, newly cleared, and in a remote location. Do you want it?”

Ergouzi was overjoyed. With the yellow gourd treasure in his possession, he could grow crops even on an icy mountain top, so he didn’t care whether the land was fertile.

As for the remote location—that was perfect. No one would discover his gourd’s secret.

“One plot is enough. Where is it?”

“Shekou Mountain! That stubborn old mule died just a few days ago!”

Huang Laocai said with a meaningful tone.

Everyone around Shexi Village knew of Shekou Mountain.

It was where the Shexi stream originated. A mountain with a cave at its base, shaped like an open snake’s mouth.

From the snake mouth flowed a spring, forming the Shexi stream and the farmlands around Shexi Village.

But the village had a legend—that a snake demon had become a spirit in Shekou Mountain, and anyone who saw it would surely die!

People in the village feared this snake demon legend and normally avoided that direction.

Also, Shekou Mountain was upstream from the Shexi water source. There was no water there, and more rocks than soil—it had never been suitable for farming and had always been barren.

Last year, a non-believer in the village, nicknamed Old Stubborn Mule, insisted on clearing land at Shekou Mountain despite everyone’s warnings.

News of it spread throughout the village.

Forget the snake demon—the terrain alone made farming near-impossible.

Sure enough, after only a year of hard work, that stubborn mule worked himself to death.

“He cleared one mu of land but didn’t get to sow any crops. Now I’ll rent it to you. For the first three years, rent is only five dou of grain per year.”

“If you can clear more land up there, the first three years are rent-free!”

Huang Laocai looked at Ergouzi’s scrawny figure—he looked no stronger than a chick. He only said this as a formality and didn’t actually expect him to clear more land.

The two made the deal and drew up a written contract on the spot.

Ergouzi rented one mu of land on Shekou Mountain. For the first three years, he’d pay five dou of unhulled rice annually, then afterward the rent would return to one shi.

If he cleared new land, he wouldn’t pay rent on it for three years...

The contract filled a whole page with black ink on white paper. Ergouzi could recognize over half of it, and could roughly guess the rest.

Luckily, before his parents died, they’d let him attend a private school for a year, giving him some foundation.

After their deaths, Big Dog had made him practice reading and writing every day.

After Big Dog died, Ergouzi secretly studied whenever his younger male cousin was reading or writing.

Ergouzi looked over the paper. It matched what they’d agreed on, so he picked up the brush and clumsily signed the three characters: “Zhang Ergou.”

He had a proper name—Zhang was his surname, and Ergou, meaning “barely surviving,” was his given name.

After signing, they each kept a copy. This would be the evidence if disputes arose later.

“It’s getting late, why not stay for dinner before heading out?”

Huang Laocai folded up the contract, tucked it into his chest pocket, and smilingly offered dinner.

Ergouzi hadn’t eaten since morning, and he was starving by now.

Seeing Huang Laocai’s warm invitation, he quickly thanked him.

“Thank you, Master!”

Huang Laocai immediately told his concubine to take the fatty pork to the kitchen to fry.

Not long after, the concubine brought out a dish.

The dish was placed on the table, still steaming. The aroma of meat filled the air.

Ergouzi desperately held back from drooling, but his mouth kept watering like a spring, and he couldn’t stop it.

In the end, he had to bow his head and swallow it down quietly, several times, trying not to make noise.

Only then did he lift his head and glance around, hoping no one had noticed.

Turns out Huang Laocai had been smilingly watching him the whole time.

Ergouzi’s face instantly turned red. So shameful, so undignified!

“Ergouzi, come sit and eat. I’ve already served your rice.”

At that moment, Huang Laocai and his sons were all seated, each with a bowl of white rice.

In the center of the table was a plate of pork fried with dried radish.

Ergouzi picked up a bowl of rice and started walking aside to eat.

For the past eight years in Uncle’s house, ever since Big Dog died, he was never allowed to eat at the same table.

He felt unworthy to share a table with Master Huang—it would seem unruly.

“Sit down! Just eat here. Since when do guests not sit at the table?”

Unable to resist, Ergouzi ended up sitting next to Huang Laocai’s eldest son, Huang Fugui, on the same bench.

He picked up the rice and shoveled a huge bite into his mouth.

This must be the power of Shexi Village’s richest man—white rice every meal.

“Ergouzi, eat some meat!”

“Don’t just eat rice!”

“Eat to your heart’s content—there’s plenty of white rice!”

Ergouzi picked up a chunk of fatty meat and two pieces of dried radish.

The radish had soaked up the pork fat—crunchy, sweet, and savory.

The pork belly was soft and tender, so juicy it dripped down his chin—so delicious he nearly swallowed his tongue.

He ate three big bowls of rice and five pieces of fatty meat.

After everyone had eaten, more than half the dish of pork and radish remained.

Honestly, Ergouzi felt like he could eat ten bowls of rice.

“Thank you, Master. I’ll head out now!”

By the time he left the Huang household, it was already getting dark.

A few villagers were still on the road, heading home.

As he rounded a house corner, he almost bumped into someone head-on.

“You... you…”

It was Uncle’s second son. When he saw Ergouzi, he stood stunned, speechless for a while.

“What, surprised I’m not dead?”

Ergouzi glared at the younger male cousin who often bullied him under the protection of adults.

That night he’d kicked him in the face with such joy.

Ergouzi looked around—no one else was nearby. Suddenly, he grabbed the cousin’s collar.

Slap slap slap…

A slap to the face, then another with the back of his hand. Left and right, he slapped more than ten times, until the cousin’s face started to swell.

“Just collecting a little interest today!”

After finishing, he pushed him to the ground and bolted off.