Xie Jiujiu preemptively emphasized, word by word, that her family was still in mourning, choking back the words that had already reached Xie Baozhu’s lips.
Uncle Yao, who had come along, was about the same age as Xie Dechang and had been closest to him when he was alive. However, his family was a collateral branch of the clan and held little influence. Back then, it had been quite a struggle for him to shamelessly secure a position managing Yun Ke Lai. With someone like him present, even if he did nothing, Xie Baozhu and the others had to restrain themselves somewhat.
Originally, only Xie Baozhu and Xie Tianyou were supposed to come to the Xie household today. They had passed by Uncle Yao’s house, where he spotted them and insisted on tagging along.
Seeing Xie Jiujiu’s stance, Uncle Yao chimed in from the side, “You’re in such a hurry even on the first day of the Lunar New Year. You haven’t even paid your New Year’s visit to my house, yet you came here first. What’s the big deal that has you so anxious?”
Uncle Yao was young in age but high in seniority, and his words were clearly a reproach to Xie Baozhu and Xie Tianyou.
In rural life, when no one picks fault, anything goes. But once someone does, even if Uncle Yao were to trample Xie Baozhu’s face into the ground today, he would have no choice but to endure it.
It was only then that Xie Tianyou nudged Xie Baozhu with his knee, realizing they had momentarily forgotten Uncle Yao’s past closeness with Xie Dechang.
With him here today, there was no way to bring up any business. The two mumbled a few bland pleasantries before rising to leave. Xie Wenji escorted them out, and only after hearing the front door close did Huang Juan turn to Xie Jiujiu with a grim expression.
The clan’s desire to swallow up Yun Ke Lai was hardly unexpected to Xie Jiujiu.
When Xie Dechang was still alive, he took Xie Jiujiu along every month to review the accounts. By the age of eight, she already knew the ins and outs of the restaurant’s operations—when prices for grains, oils, rice, vegetables, meat, and eggs rose or fell throughout the seasons, and what ingredients to stock up on for which festivals.
For the past three years, Yun Ke Lai had been managed by Manager Pan, hired by the Huang family, but Xie Jiujiu’s two paternal uncles had also been stationed at the restaurant every day. While they were no match for Manager Pan in business acumen, their hands reached farther than anyone else’s.
The small restaurant occupied two floors, with only eight tables fitting on the ground floor and three roughly partitioned private rooms on the second. Yet, it had four managers. Running a business this way, it was no surprise that it wasn’t doing well.
Yun Ke Lai wasn’t located in the most central part of the county town, but it had the advantage of being close to the southern city gate.
Just outside the southern gate was a dock by the lake, which connected to the Yanmen River. The dock bustled with activity year-round, so the restaurant never lacked customers.
Yet, during Xie Dechang’s lifetime, after deducting costs and expenses for socializing and gifts, the restaurant could earn at least three hundred taels of silver annually. Over the past three years, however, it had only brought in about one hundred and fifty taels each year.
In the first year, Xie Jiujiu had asked why the amount was so low. Manager Pan flushed red and explained that the gifts for the Three Festivals and Two Birthdays, used to maintain relations with the yamen, were handled by her paternal uncles. Each time, they withdrew substantial sums from the accounts.
Meanwhile, Xie Baozhu counted on his fingers, itemizing how much silver was spent on gifts for the various officials and the Six Offices Clerks at the yamen during the Three Festivals and Two Birthdays. Every expense had a clear origin, yet none of the figures were truthful.
After that, Xie Jiujiu stopped asking questions. Whatever amount others gave, she let her mother accept it. Asking too much would only put Manager Pan in an awkward position.
The annual salary Manager Pan received from Yun Ke Lai was fixed. It was already commendable that he could keep the restaurant operating normally without major issues.
But Yun Ke Lai belonged to her family. Having the manager and Xie family members manage it for the past three years was a last resort. Eventually, it had to be taken back.
Xie Baozhu used Yun Ke Lai’s silver to grease palms and build connections everywhere. The favors gained benefited him and the clan, while her own family gained nothing. As for Yun Ke Lai, it was hard to say whose property it would be considered in the eyes of outsiders in the future.
The hundred or so taels of silver received at the end of each year were more than enough for a simple life.
Maintaining the lifestyle the family once had wasn’t difficult either. But to build and sustain relationships through networking like her father did while he was alive, they would have to dip into the family’s savings.
A family in mourning shouldn’t draw too much attention, especially one like theirs, which had lost its head of household and was left with only women and children. If they drew even a little too much attention and gave the clan a handle, even reasonable matters could be twisted into unreasonable ones.
Xie Jiujiu had long planned to visit the clan after the mourning period ended. She hadn’t expected them to be more anxious than she was, showing up at her doorstep on the very first day of the new year.
“Sister, they’re definitely not here for anything good today. What should we do?”
“Don’t worry. After the new year, I have my own way of handling it.”
Xie Wenji wanted to ask what her plan was, but Huang Juan waved her hand to stop him. She knew her daughter well. Xie Jiujiu might appear calm now, but she was suppressing her anger. It was the new year—better not provoke the little ancestor further.
Thinking about the clan’s behavior, Huang Juan and Xie Wenji couldn’t even enjoy their dinner that evening.
Xie Jiujiu, however, managed to smile and urged her mother to eat more, warning that eating again before bed would surely lead to weight gain. As for her younger brother, she didn’t bother—a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy could fend for himself if he got hungry. He certainly wouldn’t starve.
Seeing her eldest daughter acting as if nothing bothered her, Huang Juan poked her twice in annoyance. Later that night, when she really felt hungry, she went to the kitchen to make Sweet Wine Egg Drop and brought it to her daughter’s room. As she did, she reached out to touch the spots she had poked earlier.
“Mom, are the things ready for tomorrow’s meal at Grandpa’s house?”
“We go every year. You don’t need to remind me about these things.”
Scalding glutinous rice wine was poured into the beaten eggs, stirring continuously to break the eggs into fluffy strands.
Huang Juan was generous with the eggs, making the Sweet Wine Egg Drop particularly thick. After mixing, she added a large spoonful of cold Sweet Wine Lees and pre-cooked glutinous rice balls. The sweet, fragrant dish was simply delicious.
“During the day, when your brother asked you, you said you had a plan. Can’t you tell me what it is in advance?”
“No, some methods lose their effectiveness if spoken too soon. I need to see what moves they make first, then I can counter them accordingly.”
The glutinous rice balls were filled with Black Sesame Filling, sweet and fragrant with sesame. Xie Jiujiu’s bowl was large, containing eight rice balls. She ate them one by one, her eyes narrowing with delight, as if the events of the day truly hadn’t bothered her.
“Counter their moves? I know you too well. First, you’re polite and reasonable. If reasoning doesn’t work, you get tough. And if being tough doesn’t work, you fight tooth and nail. Isn’t that right?”
These were all words Xie Dechang had said while holding his daughter and coaxing her when he was alive. Back then, Huang Juan had only listened to them as jokes. Later, she even told her husband, “How could such a tiny child understand anything about being unreasonable or not?”
Who would have thought that the daughter would take after her father? The older the girl grew, the more she resembled her husband. She seemed to greet everyone with a smile first, but in reality, no matter what she did, she had already drawn that line in her heart.
If someone didn’t cross that line, everything was fine. But if they insisted on stepping over her bottom line, then just wait and see—no matter what method she had to use, she would make that person suffer and admit defeat.
Xie Jiujiu didn’t mind her mother’s nagging. After finishing her Sweet Wine Egg Drop, she placed the empty bowl back in the kitchen, turned the corner, and entered the main room where Huang Juan lived, insisting on squeezing into the same bed with her mother.
According to custom, the first day of the Lunar New Year was spent at home, and the second day was for returning to the maternal home for a meal. No matter what little schemes the Xie family might have in mind, the New Year still had to be celebrated.
Early the next morning, Huang Juan took her three children back to her maternal home. Her eldest and second brothers and their wives were all there, but only the fourth brother, Huang He, had taken his wife back to her maternal home.
“Originally, Lao Si said he would wait until the fourth day of the New Year to accompany Luo Shi back to stay for a few more days. But a few days ago, word came from the in-laws that Luo Shi’s aunt, who had married far away, was coming home for the New Year this year. So yesterday, I told Lao Si to take Luo Shi and the youngest child back.”
Although Huang He was idle and spent his days wandering the streets, it couldn’t be denied that all the Huang family children were good-looking.
Luo Shi’s family ran a small martial arts school in the neighboring county town. Huang He had gone to the neighboring county to drink with friends and happened to pass by the martial arts school, where the young lady of the family took a liking to him.
Most martial arts instructors in small county town martial arts schools had several side jobs. Either they registered with a security agency and served as escorts when needed, or they worked as guards for wealthy households.
This time, the two aunts from the Luo family had returned because a disciple from the martial arts school had escorted goods to their area. The Luo family patriarch had entrusted the disciple to deliver many gifts to them. The aunts, realizing that the New Year was approaching, decided to pack their things and return to their maternal home with the disciple to visit their family.
“They should go back. I heard that Sister-in-law’s aunt hasn’t returned for over ten years. It would be rude not to go.”
Huang He might be idle, but he often managed to bring some silver home from outside. Still, this wasn’t a sustainable way of life.
His wife’s family ran a small martial arts school in the neighboring county town. Not to mention the money they earned from teaching disciples over the years, just the commissions from introducing these disciples to security agencies or wealthy households, along with the annual gifts from the disciples, amounted to a considerable sum.
A wife married for her looks—would Lao Si still be so spirited in another ten years? By then, if he had neither prospects nor looks and still hadn’t learned how to please his father-in-law, Luo Shi might not be willing to stay with him.
“If you ask me, let them stay at Old Master Luo’s place a bit longer this time. They might as well stay until after the fifteenth before coming back.”
“If they come back on the fifteenth, so be it. I’ll have much more peace of mind with Lao Si not at home.”
“After the fifteenth, you’ll be Removing Mourning Clothes, right? It’s been three years since our son-in-law passed away. Time flies so fast.”
“Fly? It’s finally been three years. Once we’re out of mourning, Jiujiu should start looking for a match. Please keep an eye out for me—pay attention to those who are good-looking.”
“You don’t have to tell me that. Looks aren’t everything—character is what matters most…”
Xie Jiujiu’s maternal grandmother, Zhao Shi, only had Huang Juan as her daughter. Whenever she returned, mother and daughter would sit together, talking endlessly.
They chatted about everything under the sun, jumping from one topic to another, leaving Xie Zhiniang, the third child sitting next to Huang Juan, utterly confused. She looked up at her mother, wondering how they could keep such a lively conversation going when one sentence didn’t even connect to the next.
Xie Jiujiu paid no mind to what her mother and grandmother were discussing, as long as yesterday’s incident wasn’t brought up. She sat beside her eldest uncle, asking about matters at the yamen, listening to all sorts of stories, big and small. Uncle Huang was happy to share, and she was just as eager to listen.
Unexpectedly, just as firecrackers had been set off at noon and everyone was about to start eating, Granny Wang from the same alley came trotting over on her bound feet.
“Granny Tian, what brings you here at this hour? Has my sister Tian not brought her son-in-law home yet today?”
“They returned early this morning, bringing a long strip of meat and two chickens.”
Granny Tian was a small-footed old lady who appeared to be around fifty years old. It was said she had once been a young lady from a wealthy family—otherwise, her feet wouldn’t have been bound so small.
When she moved into this alley, she was alone with her two daughters. Over the years, she had made a living by working as a matchmaker and taking on odd jobs. Neat and tidy in appearance, she spoke reliably without nonsense, earning a reputation in the county town as a well-known Private Matchmaker.
“Jiujiu, come here. Granny has something to tell you.”
“Granny, have you found a good match for me and couldn’t wait until after the New Year?”
As Xie Jiujiu stood up, she casually took two Brown Sugar Eggs, a handful of Twisted Candy, and some Pine Nut Candy, wrapped them in a handkerchief, and handed them to Granny Tian. Regardless of why she had come, anyone who visited during the New Year was showing goodwill.
“Let me tell you something. Yesterday, someone from your family went to find Young Master Pei to write a note for gifts to be sent to the yamen. While waiting, they seemed to imply they didn’t want to return your family’s property. You must be careful about this and not let yourself be taken advantage of.”
“Thank you, Granny. I’ll keep that in mind. After the New Year, my family still has to deal with the Remove Mourning Clothes ceremony. Please thank the person who sent you the message for me. Once I’m out of mourning, I’ll come find you to talk.”
Granny Tian made her point in just a few words and didn’t linger. She knew Xie Jiujiu was the one in charge of the Xie family, so as long as she was informed and kept it in mind, that was enough.
Granny Tian came and left just as quickly. Huang Juan was busy amusing her younger brother’s little daughter and didn’t notice what was said. Xie Wenji, however, did. “Sister, what did Granny Tian want with you?”
“She introduced me to a son from a good family. We’ll discuss it at home after the New Year.”
Xie Jiujiu answered without missing a beat, and no one in the family doubted her, not even Xie Wenji, who frowned with concern. “What kind of person? Granny Tian should have given more details. Let me go quietly and make some inquiries first.”