Shen Xihe’s ears burned red, and under the sunlight, he himself felt the heat. He glanced at Gu Xiao, then immediately looked away. Only belatedly did Shen Xihe realize—though he stood at a distance from her, their shadows were pressed closely together.
Gu Xiao’s shadow leaned against his own.
Shen Xihe shifted his hand upward, as if he were touching Gu Xiao’s head.
At noon the sun stood high, and the shadows didn’t move for a long while. Shen Xihe held that posture until suddenly his shoulder was tapped.
Da Wa grinned. “Uncle, do you want one with egg or with braised meat?”
He had asked twice already, but Uncle kept looking down—what was there to see on the ground?
Shen Xihe came back to himself. “Either is fine.”
Gu Xiao had already finished her flatbread. There weren’t many people around the stall now, and most of the goods were nearly sold, so she wasn’t needed. She put the oiled paper into the bamboo basket. “Sister-in-law, I’ll head back now. Third Brother, I’ll give you the robe tomorrow. If the other one needs mending, let Da Wa bring it to me tomorrow.”
Shen Xihe hadn’t expected her to leave so quickly. “That robe is fine, not too torn—it doesn’t need mending. You… be careful on the road.”
Whether it was mended or not didn’t really matter.
Gu Xiao nodded, took the robe, and went straight to the bookshop. The book was nearly repaired. She wanted to finish it today so she could focus on making umbrellas tomorrow.
Shen Xihe’s rest day was the day after tomorrow. Counting half a day, she could deliver the umbrellas the day after that.
Gu Xiao didn’t know how far Guangning was from Shengjing, but she imagined it couldn’t be too far. In just over a month, the umbrellas could be sold. It was now the end of April. By June, she would be able to leave the Shen household.
That thought gave Gu Xiao strength. All afternoon she focused solely on repairing the book. What had once been tattered, with pages scattered and torn, finally regained its proper form. The cover was a deep blue, the stitching slightly yellowed with age, and the once wrinkled, stained pages inside were now neat and smooth.
Gu Xiao rubbed her hands together and said to the bookshop clerk, “The book is repaired. Please ask Manager Zhang to come take a look.”
Manager Zhang soon arrived. He flipped through the book and exclaimed, “Marvelous! Miss Gu, you’ve truly saved me from trouble. If I encounter such difficulties again, I hope you won’t refuse.”
Gu Xiao replied, “Manager, you flatter me. I’ve only done my small part.”
In high spirits, Manager Zhang quickly had the silver brought out.
A rare copy like this couldn’t be measured in gold or silver. Just repairing it would earn Manager Zhang five taels. Giving Gu Xiao one tael still left him with four.
Receiving the silver, Gu Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. Once the tension eased, exhaustion hit her—her waist ached, her legs were sore, and even her lower abdomen throbbed faintly. She put the silver away and said to Manager Zhang, “The day after tomorrow I’ll deliver the umbrellas. You can see if they suit.”
On this point, Manager Zhang had no worries. Just from her fans, he knew her umbrellas would be no less fine. “I’ll await your good news, Miss Gu.”
It was already late. Gu Xiao left the bookshop, shivering as the wind struck her. Madam Zhou had given her twenty-three coins—enough for a jin of meat and a jin of brown sugar.
Truth be told, a jin of meat wasn’t nearly enough for the whole family. Chopped fine and mixed with a big basin of chives, each flatbread would hold only a trace of meat filling.
Gu Xiao stood before the butcher’s stall, gritted her teeth, and said, “Two jin of pork belly, please chop it into mince.”
A jin of pork cost thirteen coins. Gu Xiao handed over the coppers, and the butcher threw in two marrow bones. Beside the stall, a wooden tub held plenty of offal. Gu Xiao hesitated but didn’t buy any.
Offal was cheap, yes, but hard to clean. Washing intestines with flour and vinegar—she couldn’t bear the waste. And even cleaned, they weren’t easy to cook, not as practical as braised meat.
After buying the meat, Gu Xiao went straight to the grocery shop and weighed out a jin of brown sugar. Inside were large blocks of brown sugar, as well as longans and red dates—big and round. Gu Xiao thought of red date sugar cakes and longan brown sugar tea, then thought of her silver. By the time she left the shop, she was carrying an extra bag of red dates, a bag of osmanthus, and a bag of dried longans.
Gu Xiao: “…”
Why had she bought them? She could have resisted the craving. Why spend more? Red dates cost fifteen coins, osmanthus thirteen, longans twenty, pork thirteen. Madam Zhou had given her two extra coins. Altogether, sixty-nine coins.
Gu Xiao’s heart ached—everywhere hurt. But since she had bought them, she could eat them. She carried the goods to the flatbread stall. Second Brother was just closing up. Da-Ya saw Gu Xiao with so many things and said, “Little Aunt, let me help you.”
Gu Xiao handed her the bundles, then pulled out two red dates. The little girl was thin and small, but her features were delicate and pleasing. As an elder, Gu Xiao said, “Take these and eat. Isn’t it tiring, working all day?”
Of course it was tiring. She hadn’t rested once—hawking, baking, handling money. Da-Ya wasn’t skilled yet, so she had to watch and learn carefully.
Da-Ya looked at the red dates in her palm, then tucked them into her bosom. “It’s harder than at home—but we earned so much money!”
Gu Xiao said, “Earning money is good. Help your father more, and share your mother’s chores.”
Da-Ya nodded vigorously. “I know!”
Second Brother’s eyes crinkled with laughter, deep wrinkles at the corners. “She’s capable—not worse than Da Wa.”
Second Brother patted Da-Ya’s shoulder with his large hand. “Alright, let’s go home. Your mother must be worried.” He pushed the cart, while Gu Xiao and Da-Ya walked alongside. After half an hour, they finally reached home.
Madam Zhou stood at the doorway. Once she saw them arrive, she turned back into the house.
Second Brother handed over the day’s earnings, and Gu Xiao showed Madam Zhou the things she had bought. They had made sixty-eight coins that day—more than yesterday.
Madam Zhou counted the money, then nodded. “Alright. Tidy up. We’ll eat soon.”
Second Brother answered and left the east room, leaving only Madam Zhou and Gu Xiao inside.
Gu Xiao said softly, “Mother, guess what I bought today.”
Madam Zhou replied, “I won’t guess. Surely you bought more useless things.”
“They’re not useless—they’re delicious.” Gu Xiao smiled. “I bought red dates, osmanthus, and longans. They smell sweet. Mother, try them.”
Madam Zhou had given her twenty-three coins, yet she had returned with so many things—it must have cost a lot.
Madam Zhou turned her head away. “I won’t eat them. You wasted money again!”
“How is it wasted? Red dates and longans nourish the blood. Second Sister-in-law is pregnant—she needs more supplements.” Gu Xiao thought of red date sugar cakes, and how honey would make them even better. The sweetness of honey was different from sugar.
“All she does is cry, as if I mistreat her,” Madam Zhou said angrily. In this household, the rule was simple: the more work you did, the more food you ate. That was the way of things.
Gu Xiao gently soothed Madam Zhou. “Of course not—you’ve done everything for this family. Now that there’s good food and drink, Second Sister-in-law will surely remember your kindness.”
Madam Zhou raised her brows. “Do I care?”
“Not at all, not at all,” Gu Xiao laughed. “Then tomorrow, why don’t you taste my cooking first?”
Madam Zhou liked Gu Xiao’s food, though she always felt reluctant to eat it. “I’ll… I’ll just have one bite. Enough, don’t talk about useless things. Let’s eat.”
That evening, they had a small bowl of thin porridge. Gu Xiao slipped two red dates back to her room to eat. The dates had thin skins and plenty of flesh, sweet on the tongue.
The Shen household had no steamer, and making one now wasn’t possible. For tomorrow’s red date cakes, she would have to use the big iron pot at home.
After washing up, Gu Xiao returned to her room to record the accounts: food, sixty-nine coins; book repair, one tael; current savings, one tael, nine coins, and thirty-one coppers.
Counting the silver eased her mind. Her stomachache faded, and she soon drifted into sleep. But in the side room, Second Brothers’ family of three was still awake.
Da-Ya whispered, “Mother, today we earned so much money!”
Madam Li, tender toward her daughter, squeezed her arm. “Earning more is good.”
Da-Ya added, “Auntie bought lots of things, and even gave me something to eat! I brought it back.”
Madam Li smiled, her eyes damp. “Mother doesn’t like these. Keep them for yourself.”
Second Brother lay beside her, patting her shoulder. “Ah, I wronged you this morning.”
Madam Li wiped her eyes. “Don’t talk about wrongs. If Da-Ya were a boy, Mother wouldn’t have…”
Second Brother said firmly, “What’s wrong with girls? Da-Ya is capable—no worse than boys. Even if you gave me another daughter, I’d be happy.”
Madam Li didn’t reply. She touched her belly. “Whether it’s a boy or girl isn’t ours to decide… Second Brother, when Third Brother succeeds, let’s split from the family. I only have one daughter, Da-Ya. I don’t ask for her to marry high.”
“Yes, once Third Brother succeeds, I’ll speak to Mother,” Second Brother said with a bitter smile. “Now sleep.”
Da-Ya had already fallen asleep. She was exhausted from the day’s work, and the dates Gu Xiao had given her lay beside her pillow, their fragrance sweet—if only she could eat them in her dreams.
The next morning, Second Brother took Da-Ya to the county to sell flatbreads. Madam Chen set out later, staying with Madam Li to tidy the house.
Gu Xiao stayed in her room making umbrellas. The handles were finished; what remained was pasting the paper to form the canopy. She carefully applied the oiled paper, securing it with prepared paste. Each sheet had to be aligned precisely with the ribs of the umbrella. After the paper came the umbrella top. Once the top was made, she would paint designs—mountains, rivers, all the world upon a single umbrella.
Gu Xiao rubbed her shoulders. Her head bent over the work left her waist sore and neck aching. She stood to stretch her wrists, then went out to fetch water to mix pigments.
Madam Chen was preparing to leave, just at that moment.
Da Wa and Er Wa pushed the cart, Madam Chen steadying the goods. Da Wa glanced back at Gu Xiao, something flashing across his mind. He stopped.
Madam Chen asked, “Why aren’t you moving?”
Da Wa drew in a breath. “Mother, don’t rush. I think I forgot something—let me remember.”
Gu Xiao fetched the water, ready to return inside. Whatever Da Wa was thinking surely had nothing to do with her. Once she finished painting the umbrella, she would knead dough to make brown sugar and red date cakes. Eggs beaten, red dates finely chopped, a big spoonful of brown sugar for sweetness—the steamed cakes would surely be delicious.
Da Wa’s mouth hung slightly open. What had he forgotten? It was something to do with Auntie. She had asked him to bring something.
Da Wa slapped his forehead. “I remember now! Auntie, my Uncle’s robe—has it been mended? I can take it over for you.”
Gu Xiao froze on the spot. What clothes?