Chapter 26: Shopping for Goods

Zhang Hongzhuang declined Li Sumei’s invitation.

In the East Wing.

Xiao Su Huan and her older brother had played until they were tired and were now practicing their grip by holding the small rattle that her father had made for her.

At that moment, her mother and second aunt returned.

They explained everything that had happened earlier to Old Madam Su, and then apologized, saying, “Sorry, Mother, Uncle still refuses to come live with us. He has moved into the old house at the east end of the village.”

Old Madam Su put Xiao Su Huan on the kang (a traditional Chinese heated platform) to play, and upon hearing this, she worriedly asked, “How’s the old house? Is there anything missing?”

Wu Chunhe and Li Sumei exchanged glances.

When they went with Uncle to the old house earlier, they found that although the house was quite old, the thatched roof and fence were regularly repaired. Uncle was very familiar with the place, and after pulling out the keys, he invited them in to drink some hot water. He also found a package of herbs from an old wooden cupboard to help with warmth and sent them back with the instruction to boil it and drink it.

After further inquiry, they learned that whenever Zhang Hongzhuang did something that displeased Zhang Lishi, he would be kicked out, which is why he had returned to that old house.

The old house had actually been built with the help of the village head, Wang Baorui.

Old Madam Su’s concerns were indeed justified. Uncle was clearly not doing well in Zhang’s household.

Wu Chunhe remembered Uncle’s simple smile and felt a pang in her heart. She handed the herbal packet to Li Sumei, signaling her to talk about the situation.

Li Sumei looked into Old Madam Su’s worried eyes and, hiding the truth, smiled as she placed the packet on the table and said, “The old house is fine, except for the thin walls which make it a bit cold. I’ll ask Lao Wu to help thicken the walls next time. Also, although Uncle knows we tricked him, he’s very generous about it. He didn’t get angry. He even worried that we young wives might not be used to the northern cold and specially prepared some herbal medicine for us. I asked him, and he said he made it himself.”

At this, Liu Yingying, who had been embroidering by the light, raised her head in curiosity. “Mother, you said Uncle can make charcoal and also make medicinal herbs—how does he have so many skills?”

Li Sumei was always reliable in handling matters, and Old Madam Su was reassured upon hearing her. She smiled and said, “When I was young, my brother wasn’t in good health, so I took over my father’s tofu stand. With the money from selling tofu, I sent him to the pharmacy to learn from a doctor for two years. Who knew he didn’t learn much, but he did learn how to teach me to take care of my health…”

At this point, her gaze dimmed as she lowered her eyes, the redness creeping into her eyelids. “But when I left, my brother still didn’t know how to make charcoal.”

After so many years, her brother had aged more than her, even though she was the older sister.

His hands were covered with frostbite.

Xiao Su Huan, sensing the sorrow in Old Madam Su’s aura, crawled into her arms with her little legs and looked up at her with bright eyes, handing her the little rattle. “Yi ya—Yi ya—”

Li Sumei, seeing this, quickly smiled and said, “Mother, look, your granddaughter is telling you not to be sad. She can’t bear to see you upset.”

Xiao Su Huan nodded in agreement, and after handing the rattle to Old Madam Su, she crawled back onto the kang and grabbed a small brush. Wearing a bright red flowered belly band, she sat upright with an earnest expression on her little face. Her chubby hands held the wet brush as she scribbled on the rice paper her second brother had given her, trying to practice writing.

Old Madam Su, holding the rattle, felt warmth in her heart. “Luckily, we have a little blessing at home. Things are slowly getting better…”

Xiao Su Huan remained focused on her writing, her little face looking extremely serious.

She was determined to master her strokes and draw beautiful symbols as soon as possible.

At that moment, a voice called out from outside the door:

“Mother! Wife! We’re back!”

It was the voices of Su Laosan and Su Laosi.

Old Madam Su smiled. “Oh, the ones who went shopping are back. Come, dear granddaughter, let’s go see what your third and fourth uncles bought.”

It turned out that Su Laosan and Su Laosi had left early in the morning and had just returned from shopping.

Xiao Su Huan immediately put down the brush and happily rushed into Old Madam Su’s arms, allowing her to carry her outside to see what her uncles had bought.

Liu Yingying also put down her embroidery, and she, along with Wu Chunhe and Li Sumei, walked outside together.

Su Laosan and Su Laosi had bought quite a few things, and their baskets were full. There were 200 pounds of flour, 50 pounds of rice, 50 pounds of glutinous rice, five bags of seasonings like salt, sugar, ginger, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorns, two jars of soy sauce, 100 pounds of pig lard, two new oil cans, two sets of new bowls and chopsticks, three rolls of striped cotton cloth, three rolls of floral cotton fabric, 60 pounds of cotton, and other miscellaneous items such as melon seeds, peanuts, candy, soap powder for washing clothes, shampoo and soap for bathing, wine and tea for guests, winter cabbage seeds, spring planting seeds, firecrackers for a new house, red paper for spring couplets, lanterns for lighting, lamp oil, wicks, candles, heating stoves, and wooden basins.

They had carried all the grain back, and the rest were sent to the house directly by the bullock cart after paying extra for the transportation.

When the family heard they had returned with the goods, they all rushed out to look at everything with joy, flipping through this and that.

Zhang Xiaolan came out of the kitchen with tea, serving a cup to both Su Laosan and Su Laosi. She scolded them lightly, “Drink slowly, look at you, buying so many things, spending so much money. Your mother should have let us go with you.”

Old Madam Su, happily holding her granddaughter, looked on at them, “These things are all necessary. Su Laosan, Su Laosi, how much did all of this cost?”

She handed them a hundred taels of silver. Su Laosan took out a ledger, where he had carefully noted everything they had bought. The ledger even contained receipts from the grain shop, fabric store, and other shops. “Mother, this time we bought flour and rice, pig lard, cloth, and cotton, which were more expensive, but the rest wasn’t too bad. The flour cost 660 wen, rice cost 330 wen, lard cost 330 wen. We originally planned to buy vegetable oil, but because of the drought in Central Plains these past years, the price of vegetable oil has gone up higher than lard, so we didn’t buy any. The six rolls of cloth cost one tael and two silver, the cotton cost 13 taels and five silver.”

“I thought that with the disaster years, salt and sugar would rise, but it turns out Beijing is different. These two things haven’t gone up, still 25 wen per jin. The extra costs were two bowls of meat soup with two buns, and the bullock cart fare for the round trip.”

As Old Madam Su listened, she looked at the receipts and calculated the amounts. She sighed, “The fabric in Beijing is more expensive than outside. The cotton isn’t too bad, though. It only went up by 25 wen.”

Su Laosan took out a box with new toys—rattles, dolls, wooden figurines, and new headbands for Wuyā and handed them to Li Sumei. “Sister-in-law, why haven’t I seen Er Ge (Second Brother) and Lao Wu?”

“Girl, look at what your third and fourth uncles brought for you!”

Li Sumei, while showing Xiao Su Huan the items from the box, smiled and replied to Su Laosan, “I don’t know. As soon as they got back, they disappeared.”

Old Madam Su closed the ledger and the money box, smiling as she explained, “They went with the officials from the yamen (government office) to do a report on the bodies. They’ll probably return in the afternoon. Su Laosan, Su Laosi, put all this grain in the kitchen. Lao San and Lao Wu’s wives, come with me to boil the lard. Er Ge’s wife, you go ask Uncle to help. We’ll take off the old locks and replace them with the new ones that your third and fourth uncles bought. Keep the keys safe. Lao Si’s wife, you stay with the children.”

“When Er Ge and Lao Wu come back, we’ll set off the firecrackers and have a good meal to celebrate our move. Tomorrow, we’ll take some gifts and go to the village head to buy land.”

“Alright, Mother!”

Everyone scattered to begin their tasks, but just then, Yan Qi and Yan Xing rushed in hurriedly, “It’s bad! Grandma, our milk goat is going to die!”