Dead Man's Gold and Other Stories by Paul Yee

Author:Paul Yee
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Groundwood Books Ltd
Published: 2013-09-05T16:00:00+00:00

SEVEN

The Brothers

IN CHINA THERE once lived a poor widow who had two young sons but neither land nor family to support her. Though frail in health, she solicited odd jobs from neighbors, crouched in their paddy fields during planting and harvesting, and sewed late into the night. And she relied on the kindness of clan members and fellow villagers. Without them, she would have had to beg for food and coins from strangers in the market town. She tried to raise honest boys, but villagers told tales about the younger son, Ping, that made her sigh with sorrow.

They said whenever Ping was given a dish of food to take home, he gulped down the choice pieces before his mother and brother ever saw the meal. When he ran small errands for neighbors, he kept the change by claiming the cash had been lost.

When market stall-keepers accused him of stealing, his mother beat him with bamboo, but he grit his teeth and showed no remorse. Within days, she would hear fresh reports of thefts.

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