Chapter 5: "L- Le- Le Ge, wants to know, have you... paid for your tuition?"
Just like that, in the end, the little boy stayed shamelessly.
Many years later, when the boy himself recalled it, he almost felt that he had accomplished an impossible feat.
After all, his da ge (1) had hardened wings (2), he had a hard heart and never said a word. The boy sometimes wondered if there was anything in the world that could change Wei Qian's mind.
But that year, after months of observation and weeks of hard work, he succeeded in impressing this hard-hearted bastard.
After staying at Wei Qian's house, the little boy slowly regained his ability to speak, only to remain mostly silent, as if he were worried that his presence would be too strong and invite dislike and abuse from others.
At first, he was afraid to get on the bed or sofa, but at night he shrank into a corner and slept on the ground like a small wild dog. It seemed that as long as he had a roof that to shelter from the wind and rain and a few mouthfuls of clean food, he would be satisfied.
Observing his behaviour, Wei Qian could not help remembering that when he was as old as this little thing, he had also been so careful to please his stepfather. He understood the significance of those actions, not only did he not find the boy strange, but he secretly developed a kind of hidden emotional connection.
Of course- he would not show this feeling. Wei Qian thought that as "head of the family", he should be arrogant at home.
He patiently washed the little guy clean, and afraid that he had lice, he shaved the little boy's head and found a piece of Xiao Bao's old clothes for him to wear. The bald boy wore the girl's cheap, lace-stripped skirt, but he didn’t complain. One could tell he was a well-behaved boy.
Wei Qian looked at him thoughtfully for a long time, a bad person could never say anything good (3) so he made the following comment: "You’re human yet you act like a dog” (4)
However, Wei Qian thought that people were probably very good-looking when they were young because they were small and had nothing to worry about, so their eyes were clean and reflective.
This absurd view was rejected by Sanpang- Sanpang said that beauty was beautiful, ugly was ugly, they were both innate and had nothing to do with age.
Sanpang, Wei Qian and Mazi were friends who grew up together and were like family from an early age. Sanpang was three or four years older than Wei Qian. Mazi was born a year before Wei Qian. They played with mud when they were young, and became gangsters when they grew up. Although they had never done anything charitable together, their friendship was very sincere.
When he reached puberty, Wei Qian grew vertically, getting thinner and taller. When it came to Sanpang, he grew horizontally. He was around 17-18 years old and he was already acting like a shameful chubby middle-aged man.
As for Mazi, it didn’t matter whether he was tall, short, fat, or thin. His densely packed acne made his head look like a rugged asteroid, which scared several people into bursting to tears when seen at night, so much so that his other qualities were ignored. (TN: Poor Mazi, puberty sucks!)
Sanpang, this dead fat, who looked like Zhu Bajie's second uncle (5), smelly and shameless liked to judge other people's beauty and ugliness. He sighed every time he saw Xiao Bao, he thought that little girl was really too shabby.
Because of their friendship, Sanpang was outspoken towards Wei Qian - usually whatever Wei Qian didn't like to hear was what he had to say.
Every time he arrived at Wei Qian's house, Sanpang would sadly drag Xiao Bao over and take a look at her, wailing and yelling, "Sister (6), my poor sister, how can your little face be so dark that you can't even find it in a coal pile?"
Wei Qian snatched back Xiao Bao: "Fuck you, we call this Hei Li Qiao." (7)
Sanpang continued to cry: "Your Gege tells lies with his eyes open. Why do you have such small eyes, how can this be Hei Li Qiao?"
Wei Qian said plausibly: "What's the matter with small eyes? We have small faces too and our eyes aren’t that big either? That flat-like-a-pan face of yours is cracked and riddled with pimples."
Sanpang: "Fuck off, your family needs your San Ge's handsome flat-like-a-pan face to be able to cook pancakes, you know? Hey, I'm not saying that having big or small eyes is the issue, but just look at that pug-like nose our sister has. It worries me to death, it looks like a door slammed into it. Qian'er, do you ever wonder why our little sister barely looks like mother? She doesn't resemble mother at all and you're not even worried about that! "
Wei Qian: "Bullshit, she's not my mother."
With that, Wei Qian carried Xiao Bao to a place level with his own line of sight and carefully looked at the face of the little girl who looked like her own father. Even if she was his flesh and blood, he had to admit that Sanpang was right. Xiao Bao's pitiful little collapsed nose really seemed to have no nasal bridge.
Wei Qian calculated anxiously that in the future, no matter what, she should protect her eyes, she could not be near-sighted, otherwise, the bridge of her nose wouldn’t even be able to hold up a pair of glasses.
But he still refused to admit his sister's ugliness, so he said eloquently: "What’s so important about the bridge of a nose? A high nose bridge doesn't make a good person."
He said this because his mother had a straight and elegant nose, which was the best of facial features, which made her look energetic and impressive at first glance.
On the other hand, Wei Qian always hated all the qualities of his mother-no matter if she was beautiful or ugly.
In Wei Qian's heart, as long as Xiao Bao did not look like their mother, even if she became an ugly monster with a face full of blooming flowers like Mazi’s, he would still find it lovely.
Knowing about Wei Qian’s family circumstances, Sanpang did not argue with him. He took Xiao Bao from Wei Qian and pinched the bridge of her nose. Later, when she grew up, the bridge of her nose did not collapse as much, mostly because of the help of her fat Gege.
Sanpang pinched her nose and said, "Sister… I can't marry my sister” (8)
At this moment, Mazi pushed the door open and said with a smile:
"Sa- Sa- Sanpa- Sanpang,
Qi- Qi- …. Qian’er,
Xia- Xiao- Xiao Bao."
Sanpang, as though he was facing a great enemy, blocked Xiao Bao's ears: "Hey! You old man, don't talk in front of the child. She’ll learn to stutter from you. Her Gege will chop you into dumplings!"
Mazi was limited by his talent, and he couldn't sharpen his teeth all his life (9), so he had to follow a simple and honest life, and he didn't get angry when he heard what Sanpang said.
He rubbed his head and giggled (10). He stroked Xiao Bao's and the boy who he had returned with's heads, grabbed two pieces of candy from his pocket, and gave each of them a piece.
Mazi dropped out of school early, not because he didn't have the money to go to school, the reason was really hard to explain--until the fifth grade of elementary school, Mazi could only count to ninety-nine, and he couldn’t get to a three-digit number.
His teacher was so angry they made him copy all the numbers from 100 to 200 in order, 100 times. He copied it many times over and over again, neatly and diligently, without any cheating, but when the teacher took a look at the copied looks the results were… The same!
(TN: Poor stupid and cute Mazi)
Sanpang looked at his dumb and ugly Ge bitterly, and then said, "Ge, I can't marry ge..."
Sanpang had expressed his concern for the marital situation of another person at an extremely inappropriate time, to the point where Wei Qian concluded this dead-beat fatty was so gifted that he'd definitely become a pimp in the future.(11)
Wei Qian was very depressed about his friendships. Mazi was a fool, and Sanpang was a big fool. He was caught in the middle, and there was almost a kind of "the world is stupid, but I only understand" feeling to it.
The idiot Mazi asked: "L- Le- Le Ge, wants to know, have you... paid for your tuition?" These words directly pierced Wei Qian's sore spot, and his happy heart just now sank like a block of ice.
Wei Qian felt like he saw a ghost, but he didn't want to lose face in front of the two idiots, so he pretended to be indifferent, waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Oh, no hurry."
The big idiot Sanpang hurriedly said: "Oh, baby, brother, please, it's time for you to stop pretending. It's urgent! School is about to start! You must be anxious! Just say it, how much are you missing, with a few words, my brothers will help you find a way... You said the lot of us were naturally destined to go to school after we were born but we were never destined to carry on with our studies. You're the only promising one here, we want to help you succeed! ” (12)
Wei Qian felt as if his heart had been pinched by a hot hand.
For a second or two, he was speechless and his lips slightly trembled, but the next moment, he still persevered.
Maintaining his smelly, hard-hearted, big- tailed wolf persona.
"Okay, what’s the big deal," Wei Qian said casually without raising his eyelids, "I know what's in my heart, no need for you guys to worry about it, and tell Le Ge for me that it's okay."
Then he quickly changed the subject: "Oh, yes, that boy, I asked him what his name was, and he told me he was called "Boy", why the fuck did his parents name him that? I’ve been thinking about what name to give him for the past two days.”
Mazi was anxious for him, he wanted to add something, but the more anxious he became, the more he couldn't make it clear, at the end he was interrupted by Sanpang.
Sanpang knew Wei Qian's personality, on the outside he was an indifferent person who had lost all dignity/honour, but on the inside, he was a bastard who was unwilling to lose anything. Obviously, he didn’t want to continue this matter with the both of them, So he went along with Wei Qian's intentions and said: "Okay, your name is Wei Qian, so let him be called Wei Xu." (13)
Wei Qian laughed and scolded: "Go fuck yourself, weak stomach (Wei Xu), shouldn't it be stomach-ache (Wei Teng)?."
The three of them joked around, and after having their own dry food and drinks at Wei Qian's house, they separated.
Wei Qian thought that since Le Ge asked him about him, he would have to meet him in person, otherwise, it would be impolite. For pocket money, Wei Qian had been mixed up with a group of social scum, and Le Ge was them. As the eldest brother of the group of people, he was the most powerful man of the bunch.
He had been a member of a gang of social outcasts ever since he was a child. Le Ge was the oldest brother in the group, older than all of them, and had been in the gang for many years. His family had strong connections (TN: Powerful family). He was 100% loyal, he had a special place in his heart for his younger gang brothers and would gladly sacrifice his life for them
After Wei Qian's mother died, Le Ge never failed to take care of them, he was always busy doing favours and taking care of any affairs. At one point, Wei Qian felt that he was practically his own blood-related brother.
Le Ge, like he always was, was friendly toward him. First, he exchanged a few pleasantries with Wei Qian and then said, "I've heard about what happened to your family. Such a small kid, I don't know how many hardships you've suffered before stumbling upon us. It's not easy for a small kid like you to survive up til now. I think you'll become a great man in the future, becoming more successful than the rest of us will. If not, I'll have to call you a 'lil over-achiever' (TN: Xiao Yuan) (TN: I also think here Le Ge is referring to our little pup who's yet to be named)
"Wei Yuan? Well... that’s not very nice. Add a word, call him, Wei Zhiyuan, okay?"
Le Ge named him, and Wei Qian was naturally happy. At that time, Wei Qian was still young and wasn't very knowledgable.
Although he just merely managed to understand the three teachings and nine streams (14), he was limited by his age and knowledge, he could not understand the rules of adult society well, and he did not really know Le Ge.
What kind of person was he? Even if Le Ge farted right now, fourteen-year-old Wei Qian would think he was philosophical.
Le Ge asked again: "How old is that little thing?"
"He said he was eight years old." Wei Qian said, "I don't think so, he’s just about the same as Xiao Bao."
Le Ge gave a "hmm" and frowned, "Then have you thought about what to do in the future? If he doesn't have a Hukou (15), then it's useless to have a name."
Yes, Wei Qian's heart shook. Wei Zhiyuan had a name, but he was still a real "illegal citizen". In fact, if it weren’t for Wei Qian becoming a fucking prostitute who drank too much and pretended to be kind, Wei Qian would definitely be an "illegal citizen".
Wei Qian frowned. A Hukou was not easy to apply for. There was really nothing he could do about it. Le Ge deliberately paused for a while, and after making him feel troubled, he said leisurely: "If you can trust me, why don't you let me handle it first, what do you think?"
Wei Qian was taken aback on the spot: "I...I...this thing is so..."
He could hardly say a complete word for a while, Wei Qian lowered his head and smiled embarrassedly, and said to himself: "It's over, I'm almost stuttering like Mazi."
Le Ge touched his head affectionately, as he waited for his answer. Although Le Ge was young, he was an ambitious figure, and his ambition was to go astray. He was very scheming and suspicious.
Knowing that to succeed in the future, he must have subordinates loyal to him, and in the process of paving the way for himself, he took a fancy to Wei Qian. First of all, Wei Qian was at the right age, fourteen or fifteen years old. He had little knowledge. He was sensible and didn’t know much.
If he treated him well, he would easily become submissive. With so many little brothers, Le Ge only liked Wei Qian. It was also because Wei Qian was able to be reckless, fight, and survive. Those three qualities were already rare, not to mention that he was still academic.
When Le Ge first heard that this kid was able to take the high school entrance exam and was able to pass the exam, he was shocked.
Even though Le Ge was already a local figure, he was still a big gangster who had been mixed up with trouble since he was little. He never had anything to do with “academics.”
Wei Qian, this little boy, even though he was born in a poor ordinary family, would become a great weapon in the future, but fate has neglected him so much, and he did not have the same heart as Le Ge. Le Ge felt like he went out to buy stones at a flower and bird market and ended up with a valuable antique.
Le Ge thought in his heart that the only problem was that Wei Qian had a personality that was a little hard to manipulate. Although he rarely had a little respect for himself, he was absolutely unwilling to ask for help.
He (WQ) didn't have a lot of money to support a young boy to go to high school. In terms of Le Ge's current financial resources, even sending a child to study abroad was not worth a lot of money. Le Ge could see that this child was heavy-hearted and thin-skinned (TN: Idk if this was maybe a mix up in raws or WQ is just the opposite of a soft-hearted and thin-skinned person). He was afraid that such a person couldn’t be ungrateful.
At that time, a Hukou was much more lenient. As long as there was a way to spend a little money, it is still somewhat manoeuvrable, but no matter how manoeuvrable, it was not within Wei Qian's ability. So Wei Qian thought about it and did not unkindly refuse. He secretly wrote in his heart a debt of gratitude to Le Ge, he had to pay it back.
Le Ge made small talk with him. He didn't mention the tuition fee. Wei Qian couldn't handle the account anyway, this kid would accept his help, but he couldn’t talk about the tuition fee. It was too easy to hurt the self-esteem of young people. But Le Ge was not in a hurry, he could see that Wei Qian really wanted to study, otherwise, his grades would not be so good.
So he waited. One day Wei Qian would take the initiative to ask himself. Before leaving, Le Ge said meaningfully, "Why are you polite with brother? Qian'er, remember, you can come to see brother if you encounter any difficulties in the future, do you hear me? As long as it’s within my abilities, the sky can fall and I will carry it for you. Don't carry it all by yourself, we’re brothers after all”
After he finished his speech, he patted Wei Qian's shoulder roughly and looked at the helpless teenager. He felt that he had done a good job giving vague hints to the boy. The fact that the boy was talented, yet he would not be able to do anything in the future, was simply unacceptable. (16)
Translator Notes: click here to skip
(1) I'll be using Dage for big brother and also Ge/ Gege when it's used with someone's name if you're unfamiliar with Asian novels here's an explanation courtesy of Quora: It's very common in Asian culture to call friend/stranger who is older than you, but still in one generation (the age difference is not very far away), using elder brother/elder sister calling like you call your siblings. In Chinese and also Taiwan (Mandarin) they call Gege (elder bro) and Jiejie (elder sis). Source Link
(2) An idiom, in Chinese it is used to describe a person who is not only independent but one who no longer obeys others and seeks no advice from those who are maybe more experienced.
“翅膀硬了 (chìbǎng yìng le)” Source Link
(3) Another idiom :P Directly translates into: The dog can't spit out ivory (狗口里吐不出象牙)
Meaning that a bad person can't say good things, read the definition here
(4) Yep yep, another idiom. (人模狗样 ) Used to mock someone, basically comparing them to a dog. Source Link
(5) Pictures freaked me out lololol:
Zhu Bajie is a complex and developed character in the novel. He looks like a terrible monster, part human and part pig, who often gets himself and his companions into trouble through his laziness, gluttony, and propensity for lusting after pretty women.
He's actually a pretty interesting character: Source Link
(6) Once again they're not actually related, just a form of addressing someone.
(7) When someone's complexion is dark but pretty: Source Link
(8) I think this line can be interpreted in two ways, either he knows that they won't be able to get married in the future and is sad that he can't marry them himself, or he's sad that he can't marry them off.
(9) Sharpen your teeth (on someone) - to be angry at someone, accumulate anger, schedule hostile actions against anyone.
(10) Like the Gif below, Mazi is so cyuut.
(11) Yeah I don't know what the correlation is either, let's just go with the author's idea lololol
(12) All kids are required to go to school but it seems like they weren't destined to keep studying. It has the idiom- 有缘无分: "destined to meet but not fated to be together." (stolen from my editor lol)
(13) Xu (虚) connotations - emptiness; void; abstract theory or guiding principles; empty or unoccupied; diffident or timid; false; humble or modest; (of health) weak; virtual; in vain
(14) The three teachings/religions and nine streams:
I think this is trying to say that WQ hadn't yet understood the world, or only barely did.Three religions refer to the three traditional religions-Confucianism, Buddhism (Buddhism) and Taoism. Don't know how to explain the 9 streams in a short footnote but you can read about it here
(15) Hukou is a system of household registration used in mainland China. The system itself is more properly called "huji", and has origins in ancient China; hukou is the registration of an individual in the system. Source Link
(16) An idiom was involved here so here's an explanation stolen from my editor :P - The idiom 'grass snakes and grey threads' refers to how snakes are sneaky, they won't leave any footprint, but they'll still leave indents in the grass when they pass by. Same with threads, if you drag a thread through some charcoal it will barely leave a trace. So that's how Le Ge is referring to his hints.
Wow this one was a tough chapted XC! If my editor is reading this and sees the 20+ footnotes I've shoved to you forgive me!! They helped through all of them ahh what an angel UwU
Think it was hard beacause of all the wordplay and references :P
Hope you enjoyed!!I have an abnormal soft spot for Mazi, he just seems so sweet! This author uses a lot of idioms which are the bane of my existance </3 Remember to stay safe you guys, hope you enjoy the rest of your day :D If you have any corrections or feedback please leave them below, I tried my best to add footnotes to clear things up but this chapter might still be confusing...
Just want to add to get faster notifications you can download the wix app version of my site and you should get notifs for when I post (Only problem is footnote links don't work so you can't just click the number to go straight to the footnote wuwuwu) OR you can follow me on twitter @cocofujoshi where I announce releases/notices if you don't want to do either just know that a new chapter should come out every Tuesday at 12pm (UK time) <3