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A few days ago, Meier had been humiliated in the street by that little wretch Su Qingqing. When she returned home, her young mistress punished her further—twenty strikes with the paddle in front of all the servants. She had lost both face and dignity and had only just barely recovered enough to get out of bed today.
Tomorrow was the master’s fiftieth birthday, and the entire household was in chaos with preparations. No one had time to take care of her, so she had to visit Renjitang on her own to get medicine. Just as she arrived at the door of the pharmacy, she spotted that same little wretch coming out. Quietly, she trailed Su Qingqing all the way to the west gate.
If it weren’t for her injuries and the big celebration tomorrow, she would have taught that girl a lesson right here and now.
…
An hour and a half later, Su Qingqing finally arrived at the entrance of Jixiang Village.
The old man seemed to be deliberately annoying her, driving the donkey cart at a snail’s pace. A journey that should have taken one hour stretched to an hour and a half.
If not for his old age and the fact that she didn’t know how to drive a cart herself, she would have kicked him straight into the roadside ditch.
Su Qingqing jumped down smoothly from the cart, hoisted a huge earthen jar onto her shoulder, and walked straight toward Madam Wang’s house—without even sparing the old man a glance.
“Hey, girl, don’t you know how to respect your elders? You’re just gonna leave without saying a word? Next time you rent a cart, come find me—I’ll give you a discount!” the old man called after her retreating figure. Truthfully, he was still eyeing her red date cakes and candied hawthorn.
He had purposely dragged the cart ride out slowly, hoping she’d talk to him and ask him to hurry up. Then he could bargain for a taste of her sweets.
But this girl had stayed cold and silent the whole way, like an ice cube. Ah, my sweet red date cake and sugar-coated hawthorn… gone!
The old man smacked his lips wistfully, shook his head, and drove the donkey cart out of sight.
Carrying a jar several times bigger than herself, Su Qingqing walked through the village, drawing plenty of astonished stares.
“Su girl! When did you become so strong?” the village head’s daughter-in-law asked in surprise.
Before Su Qingqing could reply, a plump woman—who knew the truth from their chat by the river a few days ago—immediately chimed in, “You haven’t heard? She was struck by lightning the other day. Ever since she woke up, she’s been super strong! That jar’s nothing—Su girl can carry a whole ox!”
The daughter-in-law of the village head’s jaw dropped. “Seriously? An entire ox? Stronger than my son Da Hu? She’d be perfect for farming or carrying manure!”
She was intrigued—her second son, Er Hu, still didn’t have a wife…
Others in the village looked at Su Qingqing enviously. They wanted to be struck by lightning too! They wanted super strength! They wanted to carry an ox!
Su Qingqing: …Sorry, I’ve never carried an ox and I have zero interest in hauling manure, thank you very much.
The villagers sat beneath the big locust tree, chatting endlessly about how strong Su Qingqing had become.
Seeing that she wasn’t needed in the gossip circle, Su Qingqing continued to Madam Wang’s house to pick up her younger brother.
Su Zijin and Wang Tiedan were crouched at the entrance, happily playing with mud.
“Zijin-ge, your house looks so good!” Wang Tiedan admired the mud structure Su Zijin had built.
“Mm-hmm, I think it looks good too. When I grow up, I’ll carry sacks to earn money and build a house like this for my sister,” Su Zijin declared seriously.
Ever since he played with mud yesterday, he’d fallen in love with it. Today, he pulled his friend in to help him build a mud house—for his sister.
Then, with a stern expression, he added, “Tiedan, your grandma and your mom both said you can’t call me big brother. You have to call me uncle.
He had corrected the boy several times today, but Tiedan kept calling him big brother.
“Zijin-ge, you’re so embarrassing. You’re only one year older than me and already thinking about getting married—shame on you!” Tiedan teased. Everyone he called ‘uncle’ in the village was married. Clearly, Zijin wanted to get married too.
Su Zijin frowned. “I don’t want to get married! I’m still a baby!”
Listening to their silly little exchange, Su Qingqing felt warmth bloom in her heart—and couldn’t help but laugh.
She was touched that her brother wanted to build her a house. But the way the two boys talked was just hilarious.
“Zijin,” she called gently, watching his little back.
The moment he heard her voice, Su Zijin’s eyes lit up, and he forgot all about the mud. He jumped up excitedly and ran toward her. “Sister! You’re back! I missed you so much!”
As he bounced over to her, Su Qingqing said dotingly, “Look at you, all muddy like a little cat. Go wash your hands—we’re going home.”
She didn’t mind him playing in the mud. After all, toys were scarce in this era. Maybe I should consider making some toys for him.
“Okay! I’ll go wash now. Sister, was carrying all that heavy stuff hard? I’ll help you carry things to town when I get older!” he said proudly, puffing up his tiny chest.
Su Qingqing set down the jar and pinched his chubby little face. “You and Tiedan go wash your hands. When you’re older, you can help me.”
“I’ll help Sister Su carry stuff too when I grow up!” Tiedan chimed in, copying Su Zijin’s chest-puffing pose.
Su Qingqing laughed. “Alright, alright, when you two grow up, you can both help me. Now go wash up—I have something tasty for you later.”
Their eyes lit up, and the two little boys raced off to wash their hands.
Back at the Wang household, only Grandma Wang (Madam Pan) was home. Su Qingqing took out the pound of red date cakes and the pound of malt sugar she had bought—treats for Wang Tiedan.
Just as Madam Wang was about to decline, Su Qingqing looked at her pitifully and said, “Auntie Wang, I’ve been so busy lately. Could I ask you and Auntie Yang to help me sew some bedding?”
She then took out the fabric and cotton she had bought from town. Truthfully, she had been busy—but she also didn’t know how to sew.
Madam Wang was a little surprised. That was a lot of cloth and cotton, not to mention the treats she brought. This girl is really willing to spend money…
Still, she didn’t ask too much. As long as it wasn’t stolen or ill-gotten, it was none of her business.
“Su girl, you don’t have to be so polite. Just leave it here. I promise you and Zijin will be sleeping under new blankets by tomorrow night.”
The two boys came back from washing their hands, each holding a candied hawthorn skewer and licking them with blissful faces.
Madam Wang shot her grandson a playful glare, then handed Su Qingqing a jar of pickled cucumbers and another of preserved vegetables, insisting the siblings stay for dinner. Su Qingqing politely declined.
As the sister and brother returned to their small home at the edge of the village, the sun was setting and the sky gradually darkened.
“Big Sis, the candied hawthorn is so sweet. This is my first time eating one!” Su Zijin held it delicately, licking it slowly, unwilling to take big bites.
Seeing him like that made Su Qingqing’s heart ache a little. She patted his head and said softly, “Eat it, Zijin. If you like it, I’ll buy you more whenever I go to town.”
His eyes lit up—then quickly dimmed again. The family was still too poor. He should be more sensible.
“I don’t like it,” he said in a soft voice. “It’s too sour… way too sour.”