Chapter 36: The Trouble with Overwhelming Sympathy

“Will you be spending the New Year in town or going back to the village this year?” Su Yi’an tucked the coins He Yunhuai handed her into her purse and looked up at Yun Niang.

After spending several days together, Su Yi’an had learned that Yun Niang and her husband lived in Yongyang Village but had no relatives there.

So where they spent the New Year didn’t really matter—it was just the two of them.

“We’ll go back to the village,” Yun Niang replied with a sigh. “We have three hunting dogs to care for. Town is convenient, but it’s not easy to keep dogs here.”

They returned to the village daily, partly to fetch pigs, but mostly because they couldn’t bear to leave their dogs alone.

Zhuang Shan went to the front to close the shop and moved the remaining meat to the backyard—some for their own New Year’s feast, and the rest purchased by Su Yi’an.

Pork prices had risen to thirty-six wen per pound, but Yun Niang still sold it to her at the old rate.

Feeling a little guilty, Su Yi’an, who’d noticed Yun Niang’s fondness for sausages, shared her recipe with her.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll learn it and open a stall to compete with you?” Yun Niang teased, her almond eyes fixed on Su Yi’an.

“Go ahead,” Su Yi’an said cheerfully. “I’ve already sold the recipe to several restaurants. By the New Year, sausages will be everywhere.”

Yun Niang had no such plans. The process sounded too tedious, and she couldn’t stand cleaning pig intestines every day.

The shop was packed with goods and would take a while to tidy up. While the others worked, Su Yi’an suggested she and Yun Niang take the two children out to do some shopping.

They didn’t need meat, but they still needed rice, flour, fruit, and sweets—essentials for a proper New Year.

Su Yi’an gave each child fifty copper coins for snacks. If they saw something more expensive, she promised to cover it.

After working so hard these past few weeks, wasn’t the point of earning money to enjoy a good New Year?

“Auntie, my mother asked me to give you this,” He Xingchen said, handing her the small bundle he’d been carrying.

Inside were Wanxu’s embroidery projects from the past few days: ten embroidered pouches and five handkerchiefs.

Wanxu had meant to give them to Su Yi’an yesterday but forgot after dinner. When she woke up, she asked He Xingchen to bring them.

“Let’s go to the embroidery shop first, then buy the rest,” Su Yi’an suggested.

No one objected—they were just browsing anyway.

The embroidery shop was bustling during the pre-holiday rush, filled with young women shopping for festive goods.

The shopkeeper was too busy to help, so he had a clerk inspect the embroidery and pay accordingly.

Though prices were up, the shop’s buying price hadn’t changed. Su Yi’an calculated that she received the same amount as before.

“Want to buy some thread to take home?” she asked Yun Niang, who was only looking.

Yun Niang: …

Yun Niang: “It’s bad luck to use needles during the New Year. I’ll buy some after.”

Su Yi’an had never heard of that custom. Now that she had, she decided not to buy thread either.

As they left the shop, they saw a small stall outside selling hair ornaments.

Though called hair flowers, they were really small blossoms made of bright fabric—each one surprisingly vivid.

Su Yi’an wasn’t especially interested, but little He Ningwen was captivated. Her round eyes stared intently at the rows of tiny flowers.

“I think the pale yellow one is pretty, and the red one is festive,” Su Yi’an said. Since they could be detached, she picked out two and held them up to her sister’s hair bun.

He Ningwen loved them all and couldn’t decide. In the end, she bought both pairs.

Having secured her treasures, she lost interest in everything else. After wandering around the market, she still had forty wen left.

As expected, He Xingchen hadn’t spent a single coin.

Even so, their baskets were full.

Su Yi’an had bought pastries and candied fruits, sampling everything she hadn’t tried before. The town’s snacks were plain in appearance, but their flavor was decent.

Yun Niang watched her buy a large piece of brown sugar after some candied melon. “Why so much?” she asked. “You’d have to drink sugar water every day for a while to finish that.”

“Wan Xu is due soon,” Su Yi’an explained. “I thought sugar water with eggs would be good for her.” She had the shopkeeper wrap it and placed it in her basket.

Yun Niang knew Wan Xu was pregnant, though she rarely interacted with the He Family aside from Su Yi’an.

“How far along is she?”

“Eight months now. She’ll probably give birth next month.” Though not her own child, Su Yi’an’s face lit up with joy as she spoke.

Seeing her radiant smile, Yun Niang couldn’t help teasing, “You love kids so much. Planning to have one yourself?”

Su Yi’an’s smile faltered. Other people’s children were fine—but having her own? Better not.

The Lunar New Year was the biggest holiday of the year.

Some village families used the occasion to hire butchers and sell pork to neighbors.

The price was the same as in town—thirty-six coins per pound—but not having to brave the cold made it more appealing.

Villagers avoided offal. Preparing it properly took too much effort and seasoning—it was easier to buy more meat instead.

As a result, offal was dirt cheap: a large bucket for only ten coins.

Mother He’s family had been using up sausage casings at a shocking rate.

Now that she’d sold the recipe, demand for intestines had soared, and there were fewer available. She decided to stockpile what she could.

When she heard the Wang Family was selling offal, she went early in the morning with a bucket and coins in hand.

The Wangs, wealthy tofu vendors, raised two pigs yearly, slaughtering them for the New Year.

Mother He arrived early, but the yard was crowded. Unable to squeeze through, she waited outside with her bucket.

Just then, she saw Second Aunt He walk in.

The woman had refused to go out in the cold, but didn’t trust her daughter-in-law with money—worried she might pocket it.

“You know what to buy, right?” Second Aunt He said. When Sister Xing didn’t reply, she pinched her arm.

Sister Xing kept her head down, flinching at the touch.

Unaware of Mother He’s presence, Second Aunt He handed over the coins and shoved her forward.

Clutching thirty-five copper coins, Sister Xing whispered, “I want a pound of pork.”

“Speak up! Are you going to die?” Second Aunt He snapped.

“I want a pound of pork,” Sister Xing said more loudly.

People turned. Recognizing her, they made way.

Her life since marrying into that family had been hard. With a mother-in-law like that, how could it not?

Wangshi sliced a piece of pork and weighed it—exactly one pound.

But when she saw the coins, she frowned. “Pork is thirty-six coins a pound. You only have thirty-five.”

“Isn’t it thirty-five?” Sister Xing asked, confused. She hadn’t had meat in so long, she’d remembered the wrong price.

Someone in the crowd sneered, “The price’s been thirty-six for weeks! Has your family not bought any?”

Sister Xing flushed with embarrassment. She looked to Second Aunt He, who had no more coins on her.

Too proud to admit her mistake, Second Aunt He slapped Sister Xing hard. The girl staggered back two steps.

“You lost money on the way over? Why not lose yourself instead!” she barked, raising her hand again.

The villagers looked on, their eyes full of pity. Sister Xing hadn’t lost anything—she’d just been given too little.

“Why are you hitting the girl?” Mother He spoke up, moved by pity.

Everyone knew the truth: the coins had been short from the start.

“Mind your business!” Second Aunt He spat. “If you feel bad for her, why don’t you make up the difference?”

Mother He ignored her. She stepped forward, gave Wangshi ten coins, and asked for a bucket of offal.

Second Aunt He scoffed, sneering at her. Even her family eats offal, and she’s meddling in others’ affairs?

Then she shoved Sister Xing forward again. “Ask your aunt for one more coin.”

Sister Xing stumbled, nearly falling. But she couldn’t bring herself to ask.

Seeing her standing there, soaked in shame, Mother He handed her a coin. “Take this.”

Without another word, she picked up her bucket and left.

The courtyard fell silent.

Villagers had disliked the Eldest Branch for bringing bad luck. But now… they didn’t seem so bad after all.

“Still acting high and mighty while eating offal,” Second Aunt He muttered, refusing to acknowledge the kindness.

Wangshi took the coin and handed Sister Xing the meat.

Second Aunt He scowled at it. “What kind of meat is that? Where’s the fat?”

She tried to swap it.

“Everyone got the same cut. You’re lucky you can even afford meat,” Yang Ersao snapped as she passed by, proudly carrying two pounds of pork.

Embarrassed by a junior’s rebuke, Second Aunt He stormed home, dragging Sister Xing and muttering curses.

Mother He never mentioned the incident.

But the next evening, He Zhong showed up with a bundle of firewood.

“Aunt, thank you for yesterday,” he said. He’d just returned from town, where he’d been working.

When Sister Xing told him what happened, he immediately went to chop firewood.

“Take it back,” Mother He said. “I can’t accept this.” Firewood was too valuable in winter.

He Zhong insisted. When she still refused, he dropped the firewood in the courtyard and ran off.

Left with no choice, she accepted it.

But just as she brought it inside, shouting erupted outside.

Second Aunt He had followed He Zhong to the mountain earlier. Thinking the firewood was for their family, she was furious when it wasn’t.

Now she was in the Eldest Branch’s courtyard, hurling curses. Her voice drew neighbors to their doors.

Su Yi’an and He Yunhuai came out, but she wouldn’t leave.

She stubbornly insisted it was all the fault of the Eldest Branch, accusing Mother He of deliberately driving a wedge between her and her son.

The commotion in the courtyard showed no sign of stopping. Wan Xu, restless and uneasy, couldn’t sit still any longer and pushed open the door to see what was happening.

To her shock, Second Aunt He’s ranting had grown even more frenzied. When someone tried to restrain her, she shoved them away.

In a moment of blind fury, she pushed Wan Xu so hard that she stumbled and fell.