Lin Yuhe knew she had those two gatekeepers to thank for the tip.
Stepping aside, she pulled a few bits of broken silver from her pouch and slipped them into the men’s hands when no one was looking. “Please accept this small token of my appreciation. If there is anything I should know in the future, I hope you two gentlemen will kindly guide me.”
The guards accepted the silver, beaming with delight. “Easily done, easily done!”
Leaving the academy, Little Yun noticed they weren’t taking their usual route home. “Auntie, this isn’t the way back.”
Yuhe patted her small head with a gentle smile. “I know. Auntie is taking Yun’er into the county town.”
Little Yun bounced with excitement, playfully pouting that Yuhe hadn’t told her sooner. “If I knew we were going to the county town, I would’ve worn the new dress Auntie Yunluo gave me!”
Following the fork down from the academy, they reached the main junction of Hongye Village and boarded the ox cart bound for the county town.
Since she rarely traveled far from home, Little Yun peeked around with wide, curious eyes, taking in everything along the road.
Yuhe quickly tallied her earnings in her head: she had made around twenty copper coins from selling the fruit cordial today. After tipping the two gatekeepers, she still had ten coins left over. Knowing it wouldn’t be enough to purchase fresh ingredients, she stopped by the money changer to withdraw another fifty coins.
Once she finished buying her supplies at the market, she asked the shop assistant to help carry the heavy bundles back to the ox cart.
Fourth Uncle was keeping watch beside the cart while waiting for more passengers. Taking advantage of the spare time, Yuhe led Little Yun on a leisurely stroll through the streets, stopping to buy her two rose-pink silk hair flowers that matched her red dress perfectly.
The child was easily pleased; with her shiny new silk flowers, Little Yun asked for nothing else, suddenly losing all interest even in the candied hawthorns she usually craved. Her sweet voice chattered away without end the entire way back, and seeing the girl so overjoyed brought a silly, helpless smile to Yuhe’s face as well.
As the two passed by a footwear shop, Yuhe paused in her tracks, remembering the worn-out cloth shoes on Xie Shuhuai’s feet that were nearly bursting at the toes.
She knew all too well that if she bought a pair for Shuhuai herself, he would refuse to wear them.
Glancing down at Little Yun, a clever idea formed in her mind. “Yun’er, let me test you—do you know what style of shoes your uncle wears?”
Little Yun puffed out her cheeks and let out a soft huff. “Auntie is so silly! You don’t even know? Watch Yun’er pick them!”
Without hesitation, Little Yun reached out and grabbed a pair of black cloth shoes meant for men.
Yuhe took the shoes from her, stretching out her thumb and index finger to measure the length against the sole. They were a touch too small. After marrying Shuhuai, she had crafted two pairs of shoes for him, using that exact finger span to measure his fit every single time.
“Yun’er, your uncle hates shoes that pinch his toes. Try picking another pair.”
Understanding Yuhe’s subtle hint, the shopkeeper brought over a slightly larger pair for Little Yun. Yuhe measured the sole again—it was a perfect match.
At that, she pulled out her coin pouch with a bright smile. “My, Yun’er is so clever! Since you picked them out yourself, these shoes count as your gift to him, and you should be the one to hand over the coins.”
Taking the pouch, Little Yun giggled happily as she counted out twenty copper coins for the shopkeeper.
By the time they returned home, dusk had fallen. Feeling quite tired, Yuhe went straight into the west room to rest.
It wasn’t long before Xie Shuhuai returned from the academy as well.
The moment he stepped into his room, Little Yun rushed over, holding up the fresh pair of cloth shoes. “Uncle, Yun’er bought these for you! Try them on, quickly!”
Shuhuai took one look and instantly recognized his size; he didn’t even need to try them on to know they would fit. Naturally, he didn’t believe for a second that Little Yun could pick out a pair that fit him so seamlessly.
Nor could it have been his mother—Mrs. Cui was currently in the middle of stitching a pair of soles for him, having mentioned just yesterday that she hadn’t even finished one.
Children were straightforward creatures. Seeing Shuhuai stand motionless for so long, Little Yun pouted in discontent. “Uncle, do you not like them?”
To confirm his suspicion, Shuhuai pulled Little Yun closer, asking softly, “Yun’er, who went to the market with you today?”
“Auntie!”
Instinctively, Xie Shuhuai’s gaze drifted through the half-open wooden window, landing straight on the west room across the courtyard.
He sat back down at his writing desk, saying no more about the shoes.
Little Yun, however, was not about to let him off so easily. She thrust the footwear right back into his hands, declaring stubbornly, “If you don’t wear them, Uncle, Yun’er is going to be very angry!”
Taking the shoes, Xie Shuhuai explained patiently, “Uncle will put them on right after I wash my feet.”
Satisfied with his promise, Little Yun turned and skipped happily out of the east room.
That evening, Mrs. Cui made noodle soup, a favorite of the entire household. After a good night’s rest, Yuhe felt her spirits thoroughly restored.
By the next day, she and Mrs. Cui were bustling about once more, working late into the morning before everything was ready.
Today, they had two full wooden buckets to carry. Yuhe didn’t dare carry them herself, and Mrs. Cui couldn’t manage both alone. Yuhe had already planned ahead, asking Fourth Uncle, who drove the ox cart, to help carry the load to the junction and haul it to the academy gates on his cart. She would simply pay him his fare for the trouble.
A crowd of familiar faces was already waiting when they arrived. Before Yuhe could even lay out her wares, the scholars automatically formed a orderly line.
While Mrs. Cui stepped inside the academy to deliver Shuhuai’s lunch, Yuhe found herself completely overwhelmed with work. Those buying fruit cordial served themselves using bamboo bowls, dropping their copper coins onto the small wooden board in front of her.
Yuhe didn’t have a spare second as she wrapped portions of glutinous rice with banana leaves.
Her new offering today was glutinous rice cakes. She had tinted the sticky rice with mulberry juice, giving it a vibrant color that instantly whetted the appetite. Wrapped in cut banana leaves, each bundle was stuffed with savory pickles and crispy fried dough twists, selling for five copper coins apiece. It was generously portioned and reasonably priced.
Before the fruit cordial had even sold out, the wooden bucket holding the glutinous rice was already scraped clean.
As the last student left, he made sure to urge her, “Mind that you come back tomorrow!”
Having grown familiar with her, the gatekeeper chuckled. “You’re far too generous! With portions this big, anyone else would charge at least ten copper coins apiece.”
Yuhe smiled gently. “It’s no matter. Earning a little less is fine, so long as they get a full meal.”
When they returned home after selling out both buckets, they found the Village Chief already sitting under their porch.
Both Yuhe and Mrs. Cui knew perfectly well why he had come.
Seeing the two return, the Village Chief got straight to the point. “Is the silver ready?”
Mrs. Cui remained silent, but Yuhe replied smoothly, “It is ready.”
While the Village Chief was still stunned by her prompt agreement, Yuhe stepped inside and emerged with half a string of copper coins.
The moment he saw it, his face darkened in rage. “I demanded one tael of silver! How dare you give me only five hundred coins?”
Yuhe replied with unhurried composure, “Village Chief, you said yourself that other households pay five hundred coins. It is only right that we contribute five hundred as well. Besides, the ancestral hall does not house any spirit tablets belonging to the Xie ancestors. By all rights, it would not be unreasonable if we didn’t offer a single coin. We only scraped this together so as not to make things difficult for you.”
Knowing he was in the wrong, the Village Chief dropped all reasoning and resorted to brute bullying. “Say no more! If you don’t hand over a full tael of silver, don’t even dream of drawing water from the ancient well again! A mere woman cannot make the decisions here—where is Xie Shuhuai?”
Yuhe showed not a single trace of fear. Sitting down on another long bench under the eaves, she countered sharply, “My husband is at the academy. In his absence, I can make the decisions for this household. When you asked for silver, you mentioned renovating the ancestral hall—now you bring up the ancient well. The inscription on that well shows it was built over a century ago, long before your ancestors ever set foot in Hongye Village. The ancient well is not your private property; you have no right to interfere!”
Fuming with rage and seeing that Yuhe was completely impervious to threats, the Village Chief sneered, “Now that your own father ignores you, let us see who will stand up for you!”
“That is no concern of yours, Village Chief, but you certainly cannot dictate our water supply,” Yuhe retorted calmly. “If you doubt it, we can go straight to the Xuyang County Yamen and ask the magistrate. My husband is a Scholar of the Provincial Examinations—a scholar with official standing—yet he has suffered your relentless bullying for years. Let us see how His Honor, the Magistrate, will rule on this matter!”