The Hand of Confession – Chapter 319

Volume 10: Days of Cultivating in the Republic of China

The River Earl Takes a Bride¹

Shen Maomao walked in front, hearing every last word of Sisi teasing Golden Retriever and couldn’t help but reveal the expression of a subway grandpa looking at his phone.

Golden Retriever’s romantic fortune is not shallow, huh.

Accompanied by Sisi’s crisp laughter, the women descended the stairs and sat down with the men, who had already divided up the rooms.

Everyone was unfamiliar with each other and had little to say, making the atmosphere in the dining room a bit awkward. Fortunately, this awkwardness didn’t last long. A few minutes later, the main door was opened from the outside, and Kang Yuanhuai walked in with several people carrying food containers.

Those people lightly and quietly placed the food containers on the table, taking out the dishes one by one. In no time, the table was full, and they even placed bowls and chopsticks in front of everyone.

Ten dishes, ten out of ten, perfect.[

Steam drifted in the air, carrying the fresh aroma of food. Perhaps because of the proximity to the water, eight of the ten dishes were fish, of different types and prepared in different ways.

Shen Maomao saw Golden Retriever’s nose twitch twice, and then he showed a disgusted expression.

After setting out the dishes, the people left with their food containers. Kang Yuanhuai gave some instructions to the last person and slipped him a silver dollar² as a tip.

Once everything was arranged, he walked into the dining room and said to the group, “Fellow students, you’ve been waiting. Please, eat.”

Hearing this, Gauss picked up his chopsticks, but when he turned his head, he saw that no one else had moved, so he silently put his chopsticks back down.

Kang Yuanhuai asked strangely, “Why isn’t anyone eating?”

Dahai said, “Mr. Kang hasn’t started eating yet. How could we be so bold as to eat first?”

Kang Yuanhuai smiled and shook his head. “You’re all being too much like strangers³. Just call me Yuanhuai.”

With that, he walked past Dahai, A’nan, and Gauss, sat down in the host’s seat, picked up a piece of fish in front of him with his chopsticks, and said to everyone, “Alright, everyone, please start eating. These are all specialty dishes of Huai Town. They won’t taste good if they get cold.”

Only then did the players start, aiming for the same dish he had just eaten from.

Gauss found it unclear but awesome, so he followed their example and took a piece of fish.

Shen Maomao was sitting relatively far away. It would have been impolite to stand up and reach for a dish in front of someone else, so she simply ate the small green vegetables in front of her and didn’t touch the fish at all.

Sisi harassed Golden Retriever as usual. “Shishi-meimei, why aren’t you eating fish? Just eating greens isn’t very nutritious. Look how skinny you are…”

Golden Retriever put down his chopsticks in embarrassment, pointed at himself, then at the fish, and waved his hands twice.

Sisi said, “You can’t eat fish?”

Golden Retriever nodded frantically.

Shen Maomao felt more and more that there was a problem with the fish.

Golden Retriever did eat fish. When they had gone out to eat together, he had eaten more enthusiastically than anyone.

But this was just her irresponsible guess. Maybe it would be safer to eat the fish; nothing was certain.

The meal lasted about half an hour. The restaurant sent someone to clear away the bowls and chopsticks, and Kang Yuanhuai asked, “Has everyone divided up the rooms?”

Everyone nodded.

Mingyue took the opportunity to make her request. “I’m timid. I’d like to share a room with Anjing. Is that okay?”

Kang Yuanhuai said helplessly, “Is there really a need to report such a matter to me? You don’t have to be so reserved. Just treat this place as your own home.”

The subtext was that it was fine.

Hearing this, Sisi glanced at Golden Retriever.

Golden Retriever avoided her gaze, looking down at the tops of his shoes, pretending to be lost in thought.

Putting aside the fact that he was a man, just in terms of relationship, he would rather share a room with Shen Maomao. This had nothing to do with selfish desire; it was purely because he felt that compared to Sisi, whose motives were unclear, Shen Maomao was safer.

Sisi sighed in disappointment and retracted her gaze.

Kang Yuanhuai spoke again. “Our luggage should be arriving shortly. I hope everyone can get this place cleaned up before it arrives. Now, I’ll assign everyone’s tasks…”

He was undoubtedly an excellent leader. They had only introduced themselves once, yet he had remembered all their names and could correctly match them to their faces—of course, this might also have something to do with how simple their names were.

He assigned the five girls relatively easier tasks, which meant the men would have to put in more effort. Dahai and A’nan didn’t seem to mind, while Gauss was slightly reluctant but didn’t dare say much. He just busied himself right behind Dahai, like a little fart-following bug⁴, clearly treating him as his backer.

Shen Maomao was wiping dust off the furniture with a small rag. As she was wiping, Golden Retriever sidled up to her and squeezed his eyes at her, as if to say, “See? Women really do get preferential treatment in instances!”

He was clearly a firm believer in this point, probably a lost cause.

She couldn’t be bothered with him and leisurely went to wipe furniture in another direction, looking for any clues along the way.

“Ding-dong—”

“Ding-dong—”

While they were busy, a doorbell suddenly rang. Shen Maomao was completely unprepared and was so startled that her whole body trembled.

Golden Retriever squeezed his eyes at her again, and Shen Maomao returned it with a big white eye⁵.

Kang Yuanhuai was on the second floor moving a table with Dahai. Hearing the sound, he poked his head out and shouted downstairs, “That should be the luggage. Whoever’s free, please get it!”

Sisi tossed her rag aside and volunteered, “I’ll go.”

Anjing glanced at her, said nothing, and continued to diligently wipe the floor.

Sisi went to open the door. Shen Maomao stood near the entrance and peeked outside, looking past Sisi and the flatbed cart parked at the door toward the calm, waveless river surface.

A few small boats were stopped on the river, with fishermen standing on them casting nets. A white egret skimmed the water’s surface, then boldly landed on a boat, stealthily snatched a fish from the fisherman’s boat, and swallowed it in three down, five divided by two⁶. The fisherman didn’t shoo it away. After eating, it flapped its wings, circled above the boat, and let out a cheerful cry.

It was truly a fine scene of harmony between man and nature.

Sisi turned back and called to them, “The luggage is here! Come help me!”

The women put down their work and went over to help her move the luggage.

There were nine black suitcases on the cart, likely issued uniformly by the school. Their names were taped on them. The group carried the suitcases into the house, stacked them neatly on a table, and the NPC who delivered them pedaled away on his cart, pulling the door closed for them on his way out.

…

The work was more than Kang Yuanhuai had anticipated. It wasn’t until the sky had darkened slightly that they finished cleaning the entire house. Then they distributed the luggage and returned to their respective rooms. After organizing their toiletries, they gathered downstairs again.

The first floor was brightly lit, showing no signs of a horror game atmosphere.

Dinner was not much different from lunch—another table full of fish.

Shen Maomao’s spirits were low. She only ate a couple of bites perfunctorily before putting down her chopsticks.

Kang Yuanhuai looked at her and asked, “What’s wrong? Is the food not to your liking?”

Shen Maomao shook her head. “I’m trying to lose weight, so I have to eat less at night.”

Sisi chimed in, “Rabbit-meimei, you’re so thin and you still want to lose weight? You’re not fat at all. Girls look better with a bit of meat on them.”

Although she meant well, Shen Maomao still felt hurt, because her meat never grew in the right places.

She glanced at Sisi’s chest and gave a slightly sour smile. “Ah… thank you, but I’m already used to eating less at night.”

Sisi took the opportunity to get closer to her. “Rabbit, will you be scared sleeping alone at night? Want to sleep with your big sister?”

Golden Retriever’s head snapped around, his braided pigtails flying. His two eyes were like a pair of searchlights, staring straight at them.

Shen Maomao thought to herself, If I sleep with you tonight, Lou Jingmo will come after me with a knife the moment I step outside. So, she put on a troubled expression. “Sorry… I’m not really used to sleeping with other people.”

Golden Retriever silently retracted his gaze.

Sisi helplessly put down her chopsticks and sighed, “Aiya, the little girls these days are all so brave.”

Shen Maomao smiled without speaking.

After dinner, it started to rain again outside, so the group sat in the house drinking tea and chatting. Most of the time, it was Kang Yuanhuai briefing them on the game’s background and the players’ identities.

From his words, they learned that the ten of them were all students from a nearby university. The reason they came to Huai Town was to study the town’s folk culture, similar to a modern social practice for school credit.

According to Kang Yuanhuai, they had met once before setting out. Because Kang Yuanhuai was a local and more familiar with the situation, he was chosen as the team leader.

Huai Town was built along the water, with beautiful and unique scenery. The Huai River passed through the town, where it split into several different branches. One part flowed into the sea, while another part converged to form Ye Lake, which was located not far from the front of the house they were staying in.

It was currently late June, a time of abundant rainfall. Outside, the raindrops formed continuous lines, and a damp chill squeezed in through the open door.

Mingyue shivered, and Shen Maomao, who was sitting by the door, went over and closed it.

After she sat back down, Kang Yuanhuai looked at his pocket watch and said, “Let’s call it a day here. Everyone has had a long day, so get a good rest. Tomorrow, I’ll take you all for a stroll to appreciate the local customs and get familiar with the townspeople, so that we can watch the ceremony up close when the River Earl takes a bride.”

The River Earl takes a bride?

If she wasn’t mistaken, this meant throwing a beautiful woman into the river to drown—what was there to celebrate about a custom like this?

Shen Maomao felt she had probably grasped the key point.

It was likely that the one to be “married” would be a lucky goose⁷ chosen from among the players.

She remembered learning about this story in middle school. It told of a corrupt official who, in order to embezzle money, deceived the common people by saying that only by marrying a bride to the River Earl could they ensure favorable weather, using the opportunity to scrape the people’s fat⁸.

If it were just about the River Earl taking a bride, she wouldn’t have connected the two, but the location in the story seemed to be called Ye County⁹.

Of course, in the end, the corrupt official was severely punished by the story’s protagonist, Ximen Bao¹⁰, and the official’s accomplices also lost their lives. The lie of the River Earl taking a bride collapses without being attacked¹¹. Ximen Bao abolished the evil sacrificial custom and helped the people divert water to irrigate their fields, making the local populace prosperous.

What connection could such a story have with this instance?

Were they on the side of the corrupt official, or the side of the common people?

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