Seeing Uncle Zhang’s mouth twitch as he opened it to speak again, Zhao Jinfeng hurriedly steered him outside, afraid he was about to drop another bombshell.
“Uncle Zhang, what are you going into town to buy today?”
“How are the crops doing?”
“What does Dahuang eat?”
“Leftovers? Oh, what kind of leftovers? What do they look like? How much does he eat?”
“Oh, right, right—you’re absolutely right. Your grandson certainly looks like he’ll make something of himself…”
Only after she had managed to lead Uncle Zhang half a li[1]Li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance whose length changed across historical periods. Its modern standard is 500 meters, but the novel does not establish the measure used in its setting. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717506_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717506_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); away did he pat his head and say, “Oh! You changing the subject made me forget what I wanted to ask. You’re a young woman living here by yourself, and there’s a man of unknown background in your house. Aren’t you afraid?”
Uncle Zhang had discussed it with his wife. This girl was beautiful and guileless; she had no idea how dangerous people in this world could be.
And Feng’s stepmother was no pushover, either!
Besides, Zhao Jinfeng was still in mourning. She had already rescued several men, and though saving a life was a tremendous kindness, it could still damage a young woman’s reputation.
“You’ve had such a run of trouble this year, Feng. Why not have a Taoist priest[2]A religious practitioner associated with Daoism. Fortune-telling and rituals to avert misfortune are also found in Chinese folk practice; their claimed effects are matters of belief. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717506_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717506_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); read your fortune and ward off disaster while you’re in town this time—”
Zhao Jinfeng felt her wicked heart soften a little more.
The other villagers in Niujia Village were always bullying her, but Uncle Zhang and his wife often stood up for her. Now and then they even brought her food, and when Aunt Zhang was bored, she would help curse out Zhao Jinfeng’s black-hearted stepmother.
The Zhangs were good people.
Next time, she wouldn’t take the wheel off their cart.
And she wouldn’t beat their dog again, either—
“Uncle Zhang, I know you mean well. It’s just that I’ve carried the reputation of being a jinx on my mother[3]This reflects a folk belief that someone’s fate can bring misfortune or death to relatives. It is a superstition, not an established cause of another person’s death. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717506_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717506_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); since I was little. Then my father died, and after having a Taoist priest read my fortune, my stepmother said I was a jinx on my father, too…” The young woman’s eyes reddened. “Now I get nervous whenever I see a Taoist priest. I’m afraid he’ll open his mouth and… there’ll be no place for me in Niujia Village.”
Uncle Zhang let out several long, pained sighs. “Then why not send Young Master Song over to my place? You’re an unmarried man and woman living together… The village will start gossiping again!”
No way!
She still had to catch the turtle in the jar[4]A Chinese idiom meaning to capture someone already trapped, making success seem assured. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717506_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717506_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
“Uncle Zhang, you’re a good man. I can’t put you in danger. To tell you the truth, Young Master Song was chased all the way to our village entrance. His enemies could show up at any time.” Zhao Jinfeng raised a finger to her lips, signaling him to keep quiet. “My life is worthless anyway, so I don’t have much to fear—”
The young woman looked on the verge of tears. “If I die, at least my mother won’t be able to force me to marry Shopkeeper Su—”
Then she put on a rueful expression. “Oh dear, listen to me… What nonsense am I saying?”
“Shopkeeper Su?” Uncle Zhang froze. “That old fellow who runs the grain shop in town? Good heavens, he’s old enough to be your father, Feng!”
Zhao Jinfeng covered her mouth in dismay, her eyes glistening. “Uncle Zhang, I only heard someone mention it. I don’t know what Mother is thinking… After all… I’m still in mourning…”
“That black-hearted woman!” Uncle Zhang’s mustache quivered with anger. “I told your father before he married her that she was no good! He died and was done with it, but how are you supposed to stand up to her?”
Zhao Jinfeng gave a bitter smile. “What can I do? I was just born unlucky.”
But Uncle Zhang’s eyes suddenly lit up as he remembered the handsome man he had seen in Zhao Jinfeng’s room. He hissed, and then dropped another bombshell.
“Girl, desperate times call for desperate measures. Don’t be so honest. That man you rescued looks like he comes from a wealthy family. Why don’t you… go all in… and leave with him!”
Zhao Jinfeng: ???
Old man, I thought you were an honest one, so I lied to you.
I didn’t realize you weren’t honest, either!
Zhao Jinfeng immediately put on a solemn expression. “Uncle, what are you saying? The Book of Rites[5]A classical Confucian collection concerned with ritual, etiquette, and social relationships. Its invocation here appeals to traditional ideas of proper marriage and conduct. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717506_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717506_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); says, ‘A woman who is formally betrothed becomes a wife; one who elopes becomes a concubine.’ My father taught me from childhood that a woman’s virtue lies in chastity and propriety. If I ran away with him, I would bring disgrace upon my family and shame my parents; I would debase myself and have no place to stand in this world. How could a gentleman commit such a disloyal and unfilial, unchaste and unrighteous act? And how could a respectable woman go along with it?”
Uncle Zhang kept exclaiming, “Oh, goodness,” thinking the girl was far too honest. No wonder her stepmother had sent her away to the countryside. “I’m not telling you to elope! Just string him along until he marries you. Then everything will be perfectly proper, won’t it?”
Holy crap!
Uncle Zhang, you really are my soulmate!
She even suspected that if she tried to force herself on Number Twelve, Uncle Zhang would come running from home to hold him down for her—
“Uncle Zhang!” Zhao Jinfeng said, every word written all over her face: disappointment. “A woman has only one thing to rely on in this life: her chastity. A marriage is arranged by one’s parents and matchmaker[6]In customary arranged marriages, families and matchmakers often played formal roles in negotiating a union. Practices varied, and the line expresses a traditional ideal of propriety. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717506_1_6').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717506_1_6', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, according to the rites of heaven and the order of human relations. How can those be cast aside? I know you mean well, but please don’t ever suggest such a thing again!”
With that, Zhao Jinfeng stormed off in a huff.
Uncle Zhang watched her go, shaking his head. “Why’d she get so worked up? I was only trying to help her come up with a plan.”
Zhao Jinfeng hurried back.
Song Sanlang—the duck she wanted to keep in her pot—was refusing to stay put and insisting on flapping his way out.
Her grand plan had run to nearly a thousand words, and she hadn’t even used a single one of the thirty-six schemes[7]A playful allusion to The Thirty-Six Stratagems, a traditional collection of strategic sayings often invoked in Chinese storytelling. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717506_1_7').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717506_1_7', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); for winning over men. Yet the duck had already taken off.
Back in the house, Feng found herself a little annoyed with Number Twelve, too.
Back in the house, Zhao Jinfeng found herself a little annoyed with Number Twelve, too.
She repeated to herself, yet again: Those first eleven male prospects put together hadn’t caused as much trouble as you!
The troublemaking man came eagerly over to make things even harder for her. “Uncle Zhang said bandits often appear around here. Has anyone in the village reported them to the authorities?”
Zhao Jinfeng’s heart gave a thump.
“Those bandits aren’t exactly vicious. They usually rob wealthy households and never go after the poor. And they only take money; they don’t kill.”
Number Twelve merely gave a cold laugh. “Bandits are bandits. There’s no such thing as good or bad ones. Showing mercy to bandits is unfair to decent people.”
Gang Leader Cao: Danger!
Zhao Jinfeng shrank back and didn’t argue. Instead, she asked him, “Young Master Song, you said earlier that you had other things to do in town. Is there anything I can help with?”
Song Zhi was taken aback.
Thinking of how Miss Zhao had cared for him these past two days, he ran his hand over the walking stick in his grasp and remembered how, even while being chased by a dog that day, she had still worried about his difficulties. He was moved. “I need to withdraw some money and have another walking stick made.”
So that was it.
No wonder the duck had been flapping so hard to get out.
Zhao Jinfeng kindly reminded him, “Young Master Song, when you’re out and about, don’t show your money. Be sure to put it away carefully after you withdraw it. The people in our village may be simple and honest, but there are still dishonest folk who steal and pilfer.”
For example, Zhao Jinfeng herself.
Anyone who bullied her would find that she came over at night and beat them—and their pigs and dogs, too.
Song Zhi smiled faintly. “My eyesight isn’t good. After I withdraw the money, I’ll have to trouble Miss Zhao to look after it for me.”
Zhao Jinfeng waved a hand. “We’re strangers who happened to meet. It wouldn’t be right for me to get involved in money matters. And you needn’t feel bad about staying here. The hundred taels you gave me before are more than enough to cover your treatment and injuries. There should even be a little left over, and I’ll return it all to you when you leave.”
Zhao Jinfeng puffed out her chest. “A gentleman worries about the Way[8]In Confucian moral language, the Way (Dao) refers to the proper ethical course, rather than a literal road. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717506_1_8').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717506_1_8', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, not poverty. Wealth comes and goes like flowing water; only virtue can give a person a firm place in the world. To bow before gold and silver is no different from a rat in the granary, is it?”
Excellent.
The poor but stubborn little white flower[9]A romance-fiction image of a fragile, innocent-seeming woman. Here it describes the persona Feng deliberately performs. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717506_1_9').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717506_1_9', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, who treated money like dirt—her character was firmly established.
Song Zhi murmured, repeating, “Wealth comes and goes like flowing water; only virtue can give a person a firm place in the world.”
See?
You’re quite taken with the little white flower heroine, too, aren’t you?
Just wait. I’ll make you fall for her hard!
Third Brother rose to his feet and clasped his hands in a salute. “I was shallow-minded, always trying to sully you with money. That was truly vulgar. In that case, please return the hundred taels I gave you yesterday. I’ll leave the cost of the medicine with you.”
Zhao Jinfeng: …
She hadn’t even had time to enjoy having the banknotes, and Third Brother had already taken them back.
Zhao Jinfeng felt she’d picked up a rock only to drop it on her own foot.
References[+]