The dirt path leading to Longxu Village was shrouded in darkness, illuminated only by the faint, pale glow of the silver moon hanging above the mountain peak. A biting night wind, carrying the chill of autumn, rustled the withered leaves along the roadside. Wu Kang walked forward heavily; his worn-out cloth shoes kicked up puffs of fine dust with every step. The empty bamboo baskets slung across his shoulders swayed heavily, and their wooden frames creaked.
A loud rumble from his belly reminded him that he hadn't had a drop to drink or a bite to eat since morning; yet, the cramping in his stomach was nothing compared to the suffocating dread that gripped his heart like a tightening vise. Every step closer to home felt like a march toward the executioner's block. Visions of the scene awaiting him filled his mind: his family's expectant faces and the inevitable storm of disappointment that would follow he revealed the truth.
When the low, thatched roof of the Wu family compound finally came into view, the entire village was silent as most of the villagers were in doors, resting. A warm, amber glow shone through the paper window of the main house, casting long shadows across the dirt courtyard. The aroma of cooked grain and salted vegetables wafted through the door's cracks, signaling that supper was ready.
Wu Kang stood motionless before the wooden gate for a long time, his hand hovering over the latch and trembling slightly. He wiped the cold, clammy sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and took a deep breath. His body shuddered involuntarily, before finally pushing the gate open.
The creak of the wooden gate's hinges instantly alerted the people inside. The heavy wooden door of the main house was pushed open, and Wu Kang's mother, Zhao, hurried into the courtyard, a beaming smile upon her weathered face. Behind her, the grandmother stepped onto the porch, squinting as she gazed expectantly into the dim yard.
"Kang'er! You're finally back!" Zhao called out, her joyful voice echoing through the quiet courtyard. She stepped forward, wiping her grease-stained hands on her apron: "We've been waiting hours for you! Your father insisted on delaying supper so the whole family could celebrate together! Tell me, how much silver did the town physician give you? Was it a basketful for fifty coppers, or did he pay extra because the herbs were fresh?"
Leaning on her wooden cane, Old Mrs. Wu stepped down over the stone threshold; her toothless mouth spread into an eager grin: "Yes, Kang'er, tell us! Did those wealthy townsfolk recognize the value of the treasures from our mountains? I was telling your mother just this morning, our family is about to strike it rich!"
Under their fervent gaze, Wu Kang stood frozen in the center of the courtyard. The ten cold copper coins in his pocket suddenly felt like red-hot coals, searing his thigh with pain. He lowered his head, unable to meet his mother's eyes, and gently unslung the carrying pole from his shoulders. The empty bamboo baskets landed on the earthen ground.
Seeing her son's slumped shoulders and disheveled appearance, Zhao's smile faltered for a moment, but her gaze quickly shifted to the two empty baskets, and her expression instantly grew even more excited: "Oh my! Mother, look! He's sold all the leaves! Both baskets are empty!" She clapped her hands in delight and reached out to tug at Wu Kang's arm: "That's wonderful! Simply wonderful! Come inside, Kang'er! Bring out that string of coins and let your grandfather see it, too!"
Wu Kang instinctively pulled his arm back slightly; a lump formed in his throat, and tears welled up in his eyes. He swallowed hard, his voice low and hoarse: "Mother... please, this..."
Inside the main room, the Wu family was gathered around a square wooden table. At the head sat the family's patriarch, Old Man Wu, resting his chin on his hands as he leaned against his wooden pipe. Beside him sat Wu Kang's father, Wu Dachuan, along with his two older brothers, Wu Long and Wu Hu. The three men stopped talking and looked toward the doorway; Wu Kang walked slowly in, closely followed by his mother and grandmother.
"Well?" Wu Dachuan set down his clay teacup and looked up at his youngest son: "You went into town today, did you manage to sell the goods?"
Wu Kang stood with his head bowed, his chest heaving with rapid breaths. The heat raising from the hearth made the air in the room feel stifling. Under the gaze of his six family members, a heavy silence spread, growing more oppressive with every passing second.
"Kang'er, why aren't you saying anything?" Zhao urged impatiently, giving his shoulder a shove: "Hand the money to your father! Just how many copper coins did you bring back?"
Wu Kang's hands, hidden within his sleeves, were trembling violently. Finally, buckling under the immense pressure, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a small handful of metal coins, and stumbled forward to place them in the center of the wooden table.
"Clink, clink."
Ten dull-colored copper coins scattered across the rough wood, coming to rest beside the pottery teapot.
A deathly silence instantly filled the room.
Zhao stared fixedly at the table, her eyes wide with bewildered disbelief. She blinked repeatedly, as if hoping the ten coins might magically transform into a heavy string of silver: "What... what is this?" she asked, her voice trembling: "Where is the rest of the money? Did you hide it in your pocket?"
"There is no money left," Wu Kang choked out, his voice cracking as tears streamed down his cheeks. He buried his face in his rough hands, his shoulders shaking violently with sobs: "That's all there is. Ten copper coins. That's all I got in exchange."
"Ten copper coins?!" Zhao shrieked, her piercing, high-pitched voice ringing the small cottage: "Two huge baskets of herbs, and you only got ten copper coins?! Did you lose them on the way? Or did a thief rob you in town? Speak up, you stupid boy!"
"No one stole my money!" Wu Kang shouted: "Nobody wanted them! I walked all over town until I was hoarse from shouting! People laughed at me, calling me a country bumpkin selling roadside weeds! A rich young master outside the teahouse mocked me, saying even mules wouldn't eat that grass!"
"Nonsense!" Old Lady Wu interjected, banging her cane heavily against the floor: "Didn't you go to the medicine shops? Surely those physicians would know the quality when they saw it!"
"I went to every single medicine pharmacy in Liyu Town!" Wu Kang responded: "Baicao Hall, Tongren Clinic, I went to them all! Every doctor threw me out! They said these were just useless ditch weeds; without secret processing methods, they had no medicinal value whatsoever! They called them nothing but firewood! One old physician took pity on me because I didn't have money for food; he gave me those ten copper coins just so I'd leave the baskets behind... to be used as kindling!!"
These words struck like a thunderbolt, leaving everyone in the room dumbfounded.
Zhao staggered backward, her face as pale as a sheet of paper. She gripped the back of the wooden chair tightly to steady herself, her mouth open and her face a mask of disbelief: "Kindling... ten copper coins... just for kindling...?"
Wu Kang's two older brothers, Wu Long and Wu Hu, exchanged a look of alarm. Wu Dachuan's face darkened instantly; veins bulged on his forehead, and the knuckles of the hand clutching his teacup turned white from the strain.
"Crack!"
A sharp, resounding smack echoed through the room, Old Man Wu slammed his wooden pipe heavily onto the table. The elderly patriarch slowly rose to his feet, his tall frame trembling slightly with rage. His wrinkled face flushed, and his gaze, cloudy yet piercing, swept coldly over Zhao and Old Mrs. Wu.
"Ignorant! Shortsighted! Greedy fools!" Old Man Wu roared, his voice exploding like a thunderclap in the cramped room. Pointing a long, bony finger directly at Zhao's nose, he shouted sternly: "I told you long ago to stop indulging in those greedy, delusional fantasies! Jing Ger is an educated youth from the city! If any old weed from the roadside could be sold for money, do you take him for a fool, spending thirty copper coins every day on useless rubbish? You think yourselves clever, but in reality, you are nothing more than a pack of shameless, ridiculous clowns!"
Zhao shark back under her father-in-law's fury, her lips trembling as she stammered: "Father... I... I was only thinking about the family's income..."
"Shut up!" Old Man Wu shouted: "Income?! Just because of your foolish greed, you forced Kang'er to go to town looking like a fool, only to humiliate himself in front of the entire market! And what's worse is that you've ruined our agreement with Jing Ger! Thirty coppers a day! A full thirty coppers! That's two silver and ten coppers a week, enough to keep the whole family in meat and grain for a season! Now, it's all gone!"
Old Mrs. Wu tried to interject, her voice quavering: "Old man, don't be too hard on our daughter-in-law... We didn't know at the time..."
"You didn't know because your eyes were blinded by the thought of silver!" Old Man Wu snapped, glaring at his wife: "The two of you spent every afternoon gossiping by the village well, whispering about how to squeeze more money out of Jing Ger! You egged Kang'er on to take two baskets today, openly defying the rules! Did you think that just because Jing Ger is pregnant and living in our village, he was an easy target to push around?"
Wu Dachuan rose from the table, he was ashamed and angry. He turned and glared at his wife: "Father is right! All week long, you've done nothing but complain that thirty copper wasn't enough. You kept harping on about how we were being shortchanged and filling Kang'er's head with delusions about that wealthy physician in town. Look at the mess you've made now! Not only was Kang'er humiliated, but our herbal medicine business was completely ruined."
Madame Zhao covered her face and wept uncontrollably; her shoulders slumped, and the arrogant bluster she once displayed was gone. Deep down, she knew her husband was right. Had they simply played by the rules, sticking to the one basket a day set by Bai Jing, they could have steadily earned thirty copper every afternoon without a worry in the world. Instead, driven by insatiable greed, they had ended up with a mere ten copper while losing everything else.
A deathly silence returned to the room, broken only by the crackling of the hearth fire and the low, muffled sobs of the mother and son.