Chapter 37

Page 1 of 3

Shen San and Madam Li still had no idea that, for the sake of a few mouthfuls of food, their son had practically wished he belonged to another family.

The couple had been at home for half the day. One sat beneath the eaves of the main room, while the other wandered around the courtyard, touching this and doing that. In truth, they spent most of their time in the courtyard, the best possible place from which to see anyone approaching from afar at a glance.

Qin Fangniang had returned, so Madam Sang ought to have returned as well.

Both husband and wife were keeping an eye on the outside, but for entirely different reasons.

Madam Li was nervous. What if they really came looking for them? She had no desire to be saddled with the eldest branch.

Shen San was different. His feelings were complicated. The fact that he and Madam Li could act in such perfect accord as husband and wife could only mean that birds of a feather truly did flock together. On many matters, their reactions were astonishingly alike.

They both disliked supporting idlers. They had both brought Madam Sang into the family, then tossed the entire eldest branch onto her shoulders and sent them away, soothing their consciences with the self-deceiving notion that they had done their duty.

In truth, even when the two of them differed slightly on certain matters, one was always assimilated by the other in the end. It all depended on whose will was stronger.

At that moment, the one thing Shen San and Madam Li agreed on without the slightest change was this: he still had no intention of doing anything that might cost him money.

That was simply his nature.

Of course, today his nature had been pushed aside by something stronger—his pride as a man.

Just imagine it. Every time he stepped outside and happened to run into someone from the village, there was the look in their eyes, the half-smiling expression, the questions they knowingly asked to his face, phrased so ambiguously that they could mean anything. Then, once he turned his back, there would be murmured whispers whose contents he could only guess at. The moment he looked around, the voices would fall silent and the subject would change.

Who could fail to understand?

Who could stand it?

Shen San had not left the house all day. He felt as though the whole village was watching him make a fool of himself.

This was even harder to accept than the last time Sang Luo had torn into them at their gate. On that occasion, only the several neighboring households had witnessed it, and the family division had happened months earlier. As for Madam Sang nearly starving to death, only Shen An, Shen Ning, and Madam Sang had spoken of it themselves. Who had actually seen it? Was she not still hale and hearty right here?

Even Shen San himself had not believed it. Naturally, he did not expect anyone else to believe it either.

But this matter was different.

The eldest branch was going to build a house. It was not he, their only senior relative, who had taken charge. Instead, the Chen family next door had stepped in to organize everything.

It was a tremendous slap delivered straight across his face.

Even if he had no desire to do anything for the eldest branch, that did not mean his dignity—as an elder or as a man—could be trampled into the mud while the entire village looked on, stamped down, and ground beneath their feet.

It simply would not do. The thought made every inch of Shen San uncomfortable. It was as though he had been stripped naked, leaving him unable to walk out through his own gate with his back straight like a proper man.

So while Madam Li did not wish for Sang Luo to come, Shen San desperately hoped that she would. He hoped she would make the trip and offer him a step down, preserving his dignity.

Even if he merely went around making arrangements and put on a show of helping for two days, he would still be able to hold his head high.

The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became. As the minutes passed, that anxiety grew increasingly intense.

Shen San could no longer sit still. He rose and paced around the courtyard with his hands clasped behind his back.

Just as he passed the gate, his eyes instinctively glanced outside, as they had countless times that morning.

But whom did he see this time?

Madam Sang!

Shen San instantly grew excited, then quickly composed himself. Pretending that he had not seen Sang Luo at all, he continued pacing until he reached the chair outside the main room, where he sat down.

It was like drinking a bowl of icy water on a sweltering summer day. All his anxiety vanished in an instant.

The corners of his lips rose involuntarily.

It was good that she had come. He was already thinking about how to strike the right balance: he would scold her enough to make his point, but not so harshly that he could not smoothly take charge of the work.

Then he would immediately visit the various households in the village and let those who had been laughing at him see that, when it came to an important matter like this, he was still the one they needed.

He also wondered whether, if Madam Sang spoke sensibly and showed that she still knew how to respect her elders, he might help for another day or two.

There was no stove over there. Would she ask him to arrange for the meals to be prepared here?

After all that, surely no one in the village would still have anything to gossip about him.

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

He rapidly weighed in his mind how much assistance he ought to offer, his fingers tapping lightly against his thigh without his realizing it.

Madam Li noticed that his expression was unusual. She glanced outside and saw Sang Luo.

Her heart immediately filled with wariness. Remembering the quarrel she had had with Madam Sang a few days earlier, a trace of viciousness flashed through her eyes.

Why should she have to spend both favors and grain helping Madam Sang arrange the construction of her house? If Madam Sang dared come inside, how shameless would she have to be?

The husband and wife each harbored their own thoughts as they watched Sang Luo draw near, nearer, closer still, and then walk right past them...!

Shen San sprang to his feet and hurried several steps to the gate. Looking outside, he saw Sang Luo walk straight into the neighboring Chen household.

For a moment, he could not even control his expression. His face became extremely ugly.

What was worse, the two households on the other side had evidently seen Sang Luo before they did and had been waiting to watch the spectacle. They had witnessed his entire reaction. Shen San felt even more miserable. He turned and left at once, no longer willing to remain in the main room, and went straight back into his own quarters.

Rarely had Shen San been so furious that his vision nearly blacked out. Madam Li, on the other hand, almost laughed aloud in the courtyard.

Madam Sang had done wonderfully. Madam Li knew her own husband too well. After losing such a tremendous amount of face, he would never again be of any use to the eldest branch, no matter how desperately they begged.

The gloom that had weighed on her all day finally gave way to sunshine.

...

Sang Luo had gone to see Granny Chen in order to entrust her with the arrangements for the next day's meals.

Old Man Chen happened to be there as well. He said, "The main task tomorrow will be cutting trees. If we finish it all in the morning, we'll spend the afternoon digging clay from North Mountain and carrying it back for you. Most of the good yellow clay in our village is found in that area. They'll bring their own axes, baskets, and shoulder poles. I didn't call too many people either. Aunt Tian has already told you about it, hasn't she?"

Sang Luo nodded. "She has."

On the way back from the county seat, Qin Fangniang had already told her exactly which households had been hired and how many people each would send.

One household belonged to the Shi family. Shi Erlang was now the only able-bodied man left at home, so he would come alone. The other was the Lu family, which had a fairly large household; two brothers would come to help.

With Old Man Chen and his son, that made five men in all.

Sang Luo said to Granny Chen, "Granny, I still have to run my stall, and I can't set aside the other work either. I'll entrust all the meals to you. For now, please use the grain we bought today after pounding it. The salt can stay here for you to use as well. Tomorrow I'll buy more grain in the county seat and bring it back. Apart from the rice, I'll give you twenty-five coins a day. You can use it to buy some meat and vegetables and arrange the meals as you see fit."

"How many coins?" Granny Chen was startled. "There are only eight people, counting the five workers and your own family. Twenty-five coins for vegetables? Are you planning to serve meat as the main dish?"

"Unless you're buying meat for rendering fat, even good pork with an equal balance of lean and fat costs only fifteen coins a pound. Are you planning to serve a whole pound of meat every day?"

Old Man Chen assumed that Sang Luo was young and did not understand the local customs, so he hurriedly explained, "Wife of A Lie, when people in the village provide meals for those helping to build a house, each household usually prepares food according to its means. But meat is generally just chopped into the vegetable dishes. That counts as a meat dish. As long as everyone's stomach is full, having some meat in the vegetables is already considered generous hospitality. You don't need to serve large cuts of meat."

Granny Chen added, "Eggs cost one coin each, and those count as meat dishes too. Vegetables are cheap. For eight people, you can make the meal fairly generous with five vegetable dishes. Two meals a day would cost only three or four coins, and even that would be more than enough. You don't need to buy anything elsewhere; you can buy it all from me.

"You haven't hired many people—only five. Little An and Little Ning are still children and won't eat much. You don't need to spend so much in one day.

"For two meals a day, half a pound of meat would be more than respectable. You could also buy pork liver or pork heart. Those count as meat dishes too, but they cost much less. If you shop carefully, fifteen coins a day would be more than enough.

"If you trust me, leave fifteen coins here for each day to begin with. That should be about right. If it isn't enough, I'll come ask you for more. If there is anything left over, I'll return it to you."

The old woman gave her a rapid lesson in how to spend less while still preparing reasonably respectable meals. Sang Luo listened with a smile.

"I wouldn't trust anyone before I trusted you. But there won't be eight people eating. There will be twelve. You, Auntie, and the two children should eat with us."

Granny Chen froze for a moment, then waved her hands. "There's no need. Lending you the kitchen is one thing, but having our whole family eat with you is another matter entirely. We'll simply cook something at home."

Sang Luo put on a half-playful, half-reproachful expression. "Why are you being so formal with me? There are four adults in your household, and three of them will be working for me. Auntie is also going to run the stall with me. Do you really think I'm the sort of person who would quibble over food? Surely I can spare a bite for Erlang and the little girl. Besides, the two children haven't been idle either, have they? They've gone to my house to clear the land. Don't tell me you know nothing about that."

Granny Chen fell silent.

"That's not the point," she said. "Building a house already costs a great deal. How can our entire family live off you?"

Not to mention that strong laborers ate a great deal. They normally lacked oil and meat, and if they cooked white rice, each person could easily eat a quart of grain a day. Five people meant five quarts. If twelve people ate together, even if they restrained themselves, the amount consumed would still be considerable. The single bushel of grain Madam Sang had bought that day might well be reduced to nothing but bran by the end of one day.

Before she could finish muttering, Sang Luo slipped an arm around hers.

"Let me consider it my way of thanking you, Grandpa Chen, and Uncle and Auntie for always thinking so carefully about me and working so hard to make all these arrangements. Please don't refuse again. If I really made Auntie and the children eat separately, I would have no face left. I wouldn't dare come to your house again."

Good heavens.

Granny Chen had never encountered such a situation before.

Her son and daughter-in-law had never acted spoiled with her.

This was unbearable.

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

Granny Chen was rendered speechless.

Sang Luo raised her brows and waited.

Granny Chen finally said, "Fine, fine. Have Erlang carry clay to your house as well."

Sang Luo smiled and poured the twenty-five coins she had counted out beforehand from her purse onto the table. She pushed them toward Granny Chen.

"Then let it remain twenty-five coins. Please keep them."

Granny Chen hurriedly shook her head. "No, there's no need. The women and children in our family won't sit at the table. We'll just take a little food and eat beneath it. Add two vegetable dishes, and that will be enough. Why spend so much money?"

How much grain would they consume over so many days?

The old woman remembered that when she had first taken pity on Sang Luo and wanted to help her, she had grudgingly added a second quart of rice to the two quarts she already planned to provide.

But now her entire family would be eating—six people in all. Even counting herself, who would be preparing the meals, only three of them would be working. One person would be feeding six mouths, and building a house was not something that could be completed in a day or two. With so few workers, the construction would take even longer.

Granny Chen privately decided that she must have been dazed into agreeing when Madam Sang had slipped her arm around her and softened her voice.

Thinking of this, she quickly added, "If our whole family eats with you, I won't charge you for the vegetables. You really don't need to give me so much."

She counted out eight coins and pushed them back toward Sang Luo.

"Take these back. Otherwise, I'll simply cook separately."

Sang Luo was speechless.

What was one supposed to say to this old woman?

She truly refused to take advantage of anyone.

Or perhaps the entire Chen family had inherited the temperament of the old woman and her husband.

Sang Luo looked at Granny Chen. Granny Chen looked back at her. In the end, Sang Luo was the first to surrender.

"All right. Then I'll entrust everything to you. Thank you for all your hard work, you and Grandpa Chen."

She gathered up the eight coins Granny Chen had pushed toward her and placed them back in her purse.

Only then did Granny Chen smile.

"That's more like it. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to eat in peace. Leave everything to me. Rest assured, it won't interfere with your Immortal Tofu business."

Old Man Chen's weather-beaten face also broke into a smile.

"Tomorrow we'll cut the trees and carry the clay. In the afternoon, after you return, we'll mark out the foundation. The morning after that, you can simply go to the county seat. You won't need to worry about anything here."

Once the arrangements for beginning work the next day had been settled, Sang Luo brought up another matter.

"Tomorrow is the fifteenth, which means it will be the market day in Sanli Village. Auntie and I are both selling in the county seat now, so we won't be able to attend the market. I wanted to ask whether, when you go there tomorrow morning to buy vegetables, you might take ten or twenty pieces of Immortal Tofu along and try selling them. It won't delay you much; you can sell them while you're there."

Granny Chen's eyes lit up.

"Why not? If I don't take too many, I can go early and return early. It won't interfere with buying vegetables or preparing the meals."

Sang Luo curved her eyes into a smile.

"All right. I'll gather some more ingredients later and prepare the portion you'll sell tomorrow morning tonight."

With that, she prepared to leave.

Granny Chen was about to nod when she remembered something. She called Sang Luo back and asked her to wait.

She went into the house and returned shortly afterward with a small cloth pouch.

"I didn't think of this earlier. If you go into the mountains, the few hills near the village won't matter. But if you venture deeper, especially into places where the vegetation is thick, sprinkle plenty of this around your trouser cuffs and over your shoes. It helps repel snakes."

Sang Luo was delighted.

"You have something this useful?"

Granny Chen smiled.

"It's nothing valuable. If you find it useful, come ask me for more after you've used it up."

Her father in her maiden family had been a hunter. This was a folk remedy passed down from her family. Unfortunately, that year of drought had brought bandits everywhere, and everyone had fled for their lives. She had been separated from her family ever since. She did not know whether her parents, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, and nephews were still alive, or where they had ended up. There had been no news at all.

The snake-repelling powder was only useful once a year, when the family went into the mountains in autumn to gather wild fruit, so Granny Chen had not thought of it before.

Sang Luo, however, was delighted. With this powder, she would dare venture somewhat deeper into the mountains. She thanked Granny Chen repeatedly and said with a smile, "I depend on the mountains for a couple of mouthfuls of food, so I certainly won't stand on ceremony with you. Just don't get tired of me coming to bother you."

Granny Chen laughed and promised she would not. Only then did Sang Luo take her leave, happily carrying the pouch of snake-repelling powder home.

After she had gone, Granny Chen said to Old Man Chen, "What a good-natured girl. She remembers every little kindness and always thinks of repaying it. I wonder whether that couple next door will regret what they did to her so bitterly that their guts turn green."

The couple she meant, naturally, were Shen San and Madam Li from next door.

Whether they would regret it remained unknown. But there was no need to wait for the vague future the old woman had mentioned.

The very next day, Madam Li was furious enough for everyone.