After Shen Yubai came down with tuberculosis, he stopped eating with the rest of the Shen Residence. Madam Luo always brought his meals to his room separately.
Today, as usual, it was sorghum porridge.
It was called sorghum porridge, but in truth it was mostly water, with a few scraps of greens floating on top.
Clearly, someone had ladled out the rice water from the surface.
It only served to fool his stomach. At most, he would be hungry again half an hour later.
The grains at the bottom of the pot must have been divided among the other branches of the family.
Shen Yubai’s expression darkened.
Madam Luo lifted the bowl and stirred the rice water with a spoon, managing a strained smile. “Today I asked your Grandmother to give you a little more sorghum. It’s all hidden at the bottom of the bowl. Once you finish the rice water, you’ll see it.”
“Mother, we don’t have to eat this tonight.”
Madam Luo stiffened, about to say something, but Shen Yubai told her to shut the door.
Closing the wooden door wasn’t enough. She had to bolt it, too, and close the window.
When Madam Luo finished and sat back down on the bed, she saw Shen Yubai shift aside, revealing four transparent rectangular containers. Inside them were white rice and dishes.
She stared at Shen Yubai in shock. “Where did this food come from?”
“The Fairy[1]In Chinese folklore and fantasy, a fairy may be understood as a supernatural or immortal woman, rather than the winged fairy common in Western stories. Here it reflects Shen Yubai’s view of his … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717531_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717531_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); gave it to me.”
Shen Yubai didn’t want to tell his mother about the scroll.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her. A secret had to be known by as few people as possible.
Besides, he wasn’t lying. Su Jin was a fairy.
“You mustn’t tell anyone about this. If you do, neither of us will survive.”
Shen Yubai’s warning startled Madam Luo, and she swallowed the question that had been on the tip of her tongue.
She nodded in a panic, then covered her mouth with both hands, afraid to ask or say anything more.
In her eyes, as someone who didn’t know a single written character, her literate son knew far more than she did. She only had to listen to what he said.
Following his instructions, they lifted the lids, and the aroma of the food wafted around them.
Mother and son swallowed hard.
Shen Yubai took the bowl with steamed egg for himself and gave Madam Luo the other one, which had meat in it.
The smooth, delicate steamed egg gave off an enticing aroma. Shen Yubai scooped up a spoonful. The custard quivered faintly as it showcased its exquisite tenderness on his tongue.
The egg’s fragrance blossomed across his taste buds, its flavor brought out perfectly by just the right seasoning.
He couldn’t help taking one bite after another, and a deep sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.
The rice was fragrant, sweet, and delicate—nothing like the coarse sorghum rice.
Shen Yubai’s appetite returned. He ate half a bowl of rice, finishing all the steamed egg and stir-fried cucumber.
Beside him, Madam Luo happily began picking the meat from her bowl and putting it into Shen Yubai’s. He stopped her. “My body can’t handle this much meat, Mother. You eat it.”
“I don’t like meat. I’ll put it away, and you can have it when you feel like eating.”
Madam Luo cheerfully picked out all the meat, wrapped it in oil paper, and tucked it beneath the bedding to keep it pressed down.
After checking several times to make sure no one would notice, she picked up the sorghum broth and drank it.
At Shen Yubai’s insistence, she ate some of the white rice. But she refused to touch the vegetables and meat, no matter what he said.
The remaining food went back into the two transparent food containers and was hidden by the head of the bed.
By the time they finished eating, dusk had begun to fall.
Rural families were too frugal to light oil lamps, so they went to bed early once it grew too dark to see.
Nights were hard for Shen Yubai to endure.
He coughed all night and couldn’t sleep peacefully at all.
After Madam Luo left, Shen Yubai lay down. A cup of water and a clean cloth lay on the wooden chair beside the bed, ready for another night of coughing until dawn.
Perhaps writing the letter that afternoon had tired him out. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
He closed his eyes, and before long, he lost consciousness.
When he opened them again, the sun was already high in the sky.
A flicker of surprise crossed Shen Yubai’s dark eyes. Had he really slept through the whole night?
He hadn’t coughed once all night, and his chest felt much less constricted. He was also in far better spirits than before.
Shen Yubai dug out the medicine and clutched it tightly, as if he were holding on to the hope of living.
Medicine from a thousand years in the future was astonishing. Just one dose had greatly reduced his coughing.
If he took it long-term, could it really cure his tuberculosis?
A storm stirred in Shen Yubai’s dark eyes.
He pressed his lips together, took out the medicine, and swallowed a capsule according to the dosage on the instructions, washing it down with the cup of water on the stool beside his bed.
He drank too quickly and choked, setting off another bout of coughing.
Outside the door, his Little Aunt[2]A family address that distinguishes a younger aunt by generation or seniority; here Shen Xiulian is Shen Yubai’s father’s younger sister. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717531_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717531_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, Shen Xiulian, said, “You go back to your parents’ home and spend the whole morning there. I come looking for you to discuss something, and you’re nowhere to be found!”
Madam Luo replied, sounding a little uneasy, “My parents’ home is a bit far. The journey there and back took some time.”
She had set out for her parents’ home before dawn and returned before lunch, all because she was afraid her husband’s family would be displeased.
She had hurried as much as she could, and her Little Aunt still wasn’t happy with her.
Shen Xiulian gave a cold snort. “Father and Mother want you in the main room,” she said, then turned and left.
Madam Luo came into the room, slipped an oil-paper packet into Shen Yubai’s hand, and hurried after her.
Shen Yubai watched Madam Luo’s retreating figure in silence.
Usually, Grandmother was the one who summoned his mother. Today, Grandfather was waiting in the main room. It seemed the matter had something to do with his branch of the family.
He got out of bed and slowly made his way toward the main room, leaning against the wall for support.
By the time he entered, two unnatural spots of red had appeared on his pale cheeks, and a fine sheen of sweat covered his forehead.
When the others in the main room saw him come in, each of them instinctively shifted a few steps farther away.
Shen Yubai stopped where he was.
Madam Luo hurried to bring a chair over for him. “Why did you get out of bed?”
“I feel a little better today, so I came to see Grandfather and Grandmother.”
He bowed his head slightly to the two elders seated at the head of the room, offering the proper respect of a younger family member.
“You have tuberculosis, and you’re still wandering around? What if you infect someone else?”
His Little Aunt, Shen Xiulian, snapped angrily.
The others said nothing, but stayed well away from Shen Yubai, watching him warily. A trace of undisguised distaste lingered in their eyes.
Madam Luo quickly said, “I haven’t caught it after all this time, which shows Yubai’s illness isn’t contagious.”
Shen Xiulian was about to say more, but Old Man Shen barked, “Enough. Eldest, get to the point.”
Eldest Uncle Shen Shouzhong smiled. “Teacher Zhu from the clan school[3]A school organized or supported by an extended family lineage, often to educate its descendants and prepare them for scholarly examinations. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717531_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717531_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); thinks highly of Hongye and intends to take him as a disciple[4]Formal acceptance as a teacher’s disciple could imply an enduring mentor-student bond, traditionally marked by respect and gifts. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717531_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717531_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.”
At this point, it is worth explaining the relationships in the Shen Residence.
Old Man Shen and Madam Zheng had three sons and one daughter: the eldest, Shen Shouzhong; the second, Shen Shouyi; and the third, Shen Shouxin, who was Shen Yubai’s father.
The youngest was their daughter, Shen Xiulian. She was fifteen that year and had a betrothal, but had not yet married.
Hongye was the only son of the eldest, Shen Shouzhong, and thus the eldest grandson of the Shen family. He studied at the clan school.
After Shen Yubai fell ill, Hongye had become the Shen Residence’s hope for rising to prominence again.
At this good news, smiles spread across the faces of the Shen Residence members.
“Teacher Zhu is the most learned teacher at our clan school. Clan Head Shen went to great lengths to invite him from outside. If Hongye can become his disciple, it’ll bring honor to our family within the clan.”
Shen Shouzhong spoke at length, praising the good news to everyone.
Madam Zheng immediately said, “Hongye really is capable. There are so many students at the clan school, and Teacher Zhu chose him alone.”
“Mother is right. That’s why we think we can’t be stingy with Teacher Zhu’s gift. His inkstone is chipped, and as it happens, Yubai has a fine one. I was wondering if we could give it to Teacher Zhu.”
All the Shen Residence members turned their eyes to Shen Yubai and Madam Luo.
Shen Yubai felt as if he’d been struck a heavy blow.
So they had their eyes on his inkstone.
Madam Luo hurriedly said, “That was the tenth-birthday gift Shen Shouxin gave Yubai. He treasures it like his own eyes…”
Madam Zheng cut her off. “Who knows how long he’ll live? He has no use for an inkstone. Why keep it? Better to give it to Teacher Zhu and secure Hongye a promising future!”
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