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“Siniang, Siniang!”
“Ah!”
Liu Siniang heard someone calling her name. She looked up and noticed a cow cart beside her, filled with villagers. She realized she had been lost in her thoughts.
“Shugen’s Wife, Li Qing’s Wife, Aunt Jinhua, Sister Su Zhi, Brother Zi’an, you’ve just returned from the market, haven’t you?” Liu Siniang’s worried expression vanished, replaced by a smile.
Su Zhi said, “Sister, come sit in the cart with us. Let’s go back to the village together.”
Liu Siniang shook her head quickly. “No, thank you. The cart is already full. I’ll walk back myself.”
“It’s okay, we’ll make room for you. Come on up!”
Su Zhi, while speaking, held Shen Zi’an’s shoulder for support and sat down beside him, vacating her seat. She gestured for Liu Siniang to hurry up and get on the cart.
Li Qing’s wife smiled at Liu Siniang and said, “Sister, do you want to take a longer walk outside? Don’t you want to spend less time at home with your nasty mother-in-law? It’s understandable. Once you’re home, you’ll face all sorts of troubles and endless chores. It’s better to walk outside and feel light-hearted!”
Liu Siniang was caught off guard by their remarks, her face turning red and then pale. She stammered, “No, I didn’t mean to be lazy!”
Aunt Jinhua tapped Li Qing’s wife lightly and said, “You scared Siniang. You know she’s afraid of her old mother-in-law!”
Li Qing’s wife covered her mouth and said to Liu Siniang, “Sister, I don’t see you as an outsider, nor do I see these people around us as outsiders. That’s why I speak straightforwardly. I wouldn’t say these things in front of strangers. Actually, I still have something else to say! Even if you want to stay outside a little longer, you should still come up. Let Brother Zi’an slow down the cart a bit.”
Shugen’s wife also reached out to pull Liu Siniang, who then finally got on the cart.
Aunt Jinhua asked, “Siniang, we called you several times earlier, but you didn’t respond. Your complexion doesn’t look too good either. What’s on your mind? You’re usually in a hurry. Did something happen today?”
Li Qing’s wife added, “Yes, Siniang, I noticed earlier that your complexion didn’t look good. I know you well enough. You’re not someone who would slack off. What’s going on today?”
Liu Siniang looked at the several sisters-in-law and aunt, even Su Zhi was looking at her with concern. Her eyes reddened, and she took out a very old but clean handkerchief to wipe the corners of her eyes. She finally opened up about what had been weighing on her mind.
It turned out that today Liu Siniang had come to sell her braided cords and embroidered items. She had earned fifty-two copper coins, but she lost the money. She searched frantically everywhere but couldn’t find it. Eventually, realizing that she wouldn’t find it, she could only go back home. The thought of facing her mother-in-law’s scolding and beating upon her return made her anxious and afraid, and she didn’t dare to go home.
“So that’s what happened. No wonder you were acting strangely today! If your mother-in-law finds out you lost the money, it will definitely cause a big scene. She’s as tightfisted as they come, let alone fifty-two copper coins!”
Li Qing’s wife said, expressing her sympathy for Liu Siniang, “Don’t worry. How about we pool our resources for you? You can take it back and give it to your mother-in-law. Then, when you have the money in the future, you can pay us back.”
Aunt Jinhua also chimed in, “Yes. I bought quite a few things today, but I still have a dozen or so copper coins. You can use them for now.”
Tears welled up in Liu Siniang’s eyes again. She felt unlucky to have such a mother-in-law and sister-in-law, but the villagers were still kind to her. However, she quickly declined their offer, saying, “Thank you, aunties, sisters-in-law, but I can’t accept it. If I borrow from you, I’m afraid it will take a long time for me to pay it back. I simply don’t have the chance to have any silver coins.”
At home, Liu Siniang was the one who did all the work. Her mother-in-law was very tight-fisted with money, and her husband always handed over all the money to his mother, never leaving any for her. He said if she needed money, she should ask his mother. Even though she had complained about her mother-in-law not giving her any money, he didn’t believe her and accused her of speaking ill of his mother. If he ever gave her a few copper coins, his mother would take them away when he wasn’t around, scolding her for hoarding money and threatening to tell her husband, who wouldn’t intervene. Over time, her husband grew annoyed with her, and she gave up hope.
Shugen’s wife sympathetically patted Liu Siniang’s hand and said, “You’re really going through a lot. Where else could we find such a good daughter-in-law like you? The Zhao family has accumulated virtue for generations to be able to marry someone like you, but they don’t know how to cherish you.” She had initially wanted to say that there would be consequences, but considering that Liu Siniang was also from the Zhao family, she refrained. However, she thought it would be good if the Zhao family members faced consequences; perhaps then there would be a way out for Liu Siniang.
Su Zhi counted out fifty-two copper coins, wrapped them in a piece of blue cloth, and handed them to Liu Siniang. She said, “Here are fifty-two copper coins. We’ve known each other since childhood, and you’re like a sister to me. I won’t take no for an answer. You can repay me whenever you can. If you’re unable to, you can help me with some work, and we’ll consider it as payment.”
Liu Siniang wanted to refuse, but Su Zhi had already turned away after placing the small blue bundle in her hand. She looked at Su Zhi’s back and then at the heavy handkerchief bundle in her hand. Tears welled up in her eyes as she said, “Thank you.”
Aunt Jinhua patted Liu Siniang’s hand and sighed.
During the journey, none of them discussed Liu Siniang’s family matters. It was pointless to talk about such things. Every family had its own difficulties, and people like Liu Siniang’s mother-in-law were impossible to reason with. They talked about other interesting things instead, but the conversation eventually circled back to Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi, their house, and the heated kang Su Zhi had built.
When they arrived in the village, both Shugen’s and Li Qing’s wife and Aunt Jinhua got off the cart. Liu Siniang’s house was still on the east side of the river, so she followed them across the bridge. However, just as they crossed the bridge, they bumped into her mother-in-law. Liu Siniang was so frightened that she quickly jumped off the cart.
Su Zhi watched as Liu Siniang reacted to seeing her mother-in-law, resembling a rabbit encountering a wolf. She couldn’t help but think that she was relatively fortunate. Despite being brought to such an awful household, her husband cherished her, her father-in-law, although hot-tempered, didn’t abuse her as his daughter-in-law, and her mother-in-law, despite being cunning, still cared about her reputation. Except for the third branch of the Shen family, who were shameless, Shen Zi’an’s other siblings were either harmless or temporarily harmless. Compared to Liu Siniang, who faced her husband’s indifference, her mother-in-law’s persecution, and her sister-in-law’s troubles, Su Zhi’s situation was much better!
“Why did you come back so late? You wandered off and didn’t even know how to come back alive! Hurry up and go cook! Where’s the meat you bought?!” Liu Siniang’s mother-in-law’s maiden family name was Wang, but everyone in the village called her Granny Zhao’.
Granny Zhao watched as her daughter-in-law returned on the ox cart. She first glanced at the ox and cart, then stared at the goods on the cart with eyes clouded by greed and jealousy. She then glanced at Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi without acknowledging them, immediately berating her daughter-in-law upon seeing her empty hands.
“You were told to sell the goods and buy some pork back, right?! What on earth were you thinking?! You’re absolutely useless! Feeding you is just wasting food! Even pigs know to come when they’re fed! You can’t even remember such a simple thing! You’re worse than a pig! All that food you eat is just wasted! You won’t be eating tonight!”
Liu Siniang stood there enduring the scolding, knowing that even if she tried to explain, it would be futile and only result in harsher words.
Su Zhi listened as Liu Siniang was berated, her brows furrowing. The first time she had met Liu Siniang, she had witnessed her being scolded by this old woman, and now, seeing it happen again, Su Zhi couldn’t help but wonder if this woman couldn’t bear a day without scolding Liu Siniang?!
“Excuse me, madam, you’ve misunderstood Siniang. She did go to buy pork, but all the good cuts were sold out, so she didn’t buy any. Fortunately, we bought some good meat here. Why don’t we give some to you?”
In the end, Su Zhi decided to speak up. She mentioned that Liu Siniang had indeed gone to buy meat because Liu Siniang had fifty-two copper coins with her. This woman, who would be penny-pinching even to her daughter-in-law without a single penny, must have known how much money Liu Siniang could bring back from selling goods!
Su Zhi wouldn’t kindly offer the meat to her for free; it was obvious that none of that meat would reach Liu Siniang’s mouth even in the tiniest portion. Why should she give meat to this wicked mother-in-law? The best course of action was to relent by selling, hoping it would spare Liu Siniang from some scolding. Regardless, Liu Siniang had shown kindness to Su Zhi, even when she was still sick and facing a bad reputation.
Upon hearing Su Zhi’s words, Granny Zhao’s expression softened considerably. She was aware that this young couple had money now, owning the large courtyard nearby. She knew she should keep on good terms with them.
“Fourth Shen, is this your wife? She looks good and knows how to speak, much better than my daughter-in-law. Little Hua isn’t feeling well today and wants to eat meat, but this foolish girl forgot. You two should give me some!”
Su Zhi thought to herself, encountering another shameless person who dared to ask others to give her meat, despite what she had said!
Shen Zi’an’s expression remained neutral as he took out a piece of meat from a basket and said, “This piece weighs two catties, it’s the best pork belly, mostly fat and little lean. The cheapest price is sixteen copper coins per catty, so two catties would be thirty-two copper coins. But I’ll let you have it for thirty coins.”
Upon seeing that Shen Zi’an ignored her request to “give” the meat, and noticing his stern expression, Granny Zhao knew better than to argue with him. She also knew that Shen Zi’an was a formidable person, someone who had faced off a tiger before and emerged victorious. Reluctant to provoke him, she thought to herself that the meat was indeed excellent. Seeing that it clearly weighed more than two catties, getting it for thirty coins was a good deal. So, she called out to Liu Siniang, instructing her to pay.
Liu Siniang had already returned Su Zhi’s handkerchief to her while they were still in the cart. Now, she opened her own worn-out handkerchief, counted out thirty coins, and handed them to Su Zhi. Then, she took the meat from Shen Zi’an’s hands.
Granny Zhao bid farewell to Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi, saying they should visit her home sometime. Then, she urged Liu Siniang to leave.
Watching Liu Siniang’s departing figure, Su Zhi couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. She had earned money today, but at the cost of being scolded. If she hadn’t brought back any money, she might have been beaten as well.
Little did Su Zhi expect that shortly after they parted ways, Liu Siniang would indeed be beaten, and it would lead to a big incident.