Xin Shensi slowed her steps, setting Man Xiu down and supporting her as the old woman approached. Sweat dripped from her forehead, and she wiped it away casually.
Man Xiu stood on one leg, one hand tightly gripping the strap of the basket on her back, her head slightly bowed, too afraid to look at her grandmother. Her grandmother usually forbade her from going up the mountain. Today, she had sneaked out while everyone was away in the city.
“Xiu girl…” The old woman had spotted the unfamiliar face with her granddaughter from afar. She rushed over, not even pausing to catch her breath, and pinched the little troublemaker’s ear, scolding angrily, “You’re deliberately trying to make my life difficult, aren’t you? I told you not to wander up the mountain alone, but you didn’t take it to heart at all. It’s good that your leg’s hurt—at least I won’t have to worry anymore…”
Watching the old woman drag Man Xiu by the ear and pull her behind her, Xin Shensi couldn’t help but smile.
“Grandma, I was wrong.” Man Xiu’s lips trembled, and she began to sob, “You love mushrooms. It rained last night, so I thought I’d pick some. Who knew I’d step into a trap? I was so scared, I thought I’d never see you again, wu…” She was genuinely frightened. “If it weren’t for meeting Shan Niang, I might not have made it back…”
“Don’t say that.” The old woman cut her off, turning around. “Thank you so much! We still have two pounds of good meat and a slab of lard at home. If you don’t mind, young lady…”
“Just call me Shan Niang.” Xin Shensi glanced at the sniffling Man Xiu and said, “Meeting her was fate. I happened to be passing by and heard cries for help. If I’d ignored it, my conscience wouldn’t have let me rest.”
“Grandma… hic… Shan Niang isn’t from our village.” Man Xiu still remembered the situation. “She… hic… wasted a lot of time saving me, and it’s already late today. Why don’t we let her stay overnight at our house? We can make something nice to treat her.”
The old woman frowned, her eyes, narrowed by the flesh around them, studying the woman before her. She was very thin, so thin she was little more than a skeleton. Yet this very person had managed to carry Xiu girl down the mountain. How much did Xiu girl weigh?
Xin Shensi forced a smile. “If it’s inconvenient…”
“Let’s go back first and talk there.” Having seen hundreds of people at the market, she could tell this one had clear eyes and didn’t seem like a bad person. She hoisted her granddaughter onto her back and walked ahead. “My husband’s surname is Li. You can call me Granny Li.”
Xin Shensi paused briefly before following. “Alright.” She reached for the basket on Man Xiu’s back. “Let me carry it.”
Man Xiu didn’t refuse. “Shan Niang, my grandma’s braised pig’s head is the most delicious. You have to try it. I make good dough, but it’s too late today. Tomorrow, I’ll make you stuffed pancakes.”
“Thank you.” Xin Shensi breathed a quiet sigh of relief. At least she wouldn’t have to sleep rough tonight. The house at the end of the village, with its earthen walls topped with broken porcelain and sharp stones, was Man Xiu’s home. It was quite spacious.
Entering through the back door, the pigsty, chicken coop, and cowshed were all clearly visible, neat and tidy, showing the care of the household. The vegetables in the garden were thriving, with no weeds in sight. Nearby, the door to a thatched hut stood open, revealing a large stove inside. A wooden basin on the ground held cleaned pig intestines, trotters, and other parts. Passing by the door, there was a faint smell of blood and offal, but it wasn’t overpowering.
Reaching the front courtyard, there were three gray-tiled brick houses, with a low earthen hut attached, its roof topped with a chimney. In the yard stood a wooden frame about seven or eight feet tall, with a long cart parked beside it. In the southeast corner, there was also a well.
Granny Li carried her granddaughter into the main room, set her down on the heated brick bed, and immediately knelt to carefully remove her embroidered shoes, examining the injury. The top of her foot was already swollen and bruised, the discoloration almost visible through the skin.
“Grand… grandma, be gentle…” Man Xiu cried out in pain.
“Endure it.” Granny Li showed no pity, firmly feeling every bone to confirm no injury before releasing her foot and going back inside to fetch medicinal oil.
Xin Shensi set down the bamboo basket, stepped into the room, and met Man Xiu’s pitiful gaze, unable to hold back a laugh: “Learn your lesson, don’t go up the mountain alone again.”
“Aren’t you going up the mountain alone too?” Man Xiu twitched, thinking herself unlucky.
“I’m different from you.” The smile faded from Xin Shensi’s face. Seeing Granny Li come out, she fetched a small stool and placed it by the kang. In the sewing basket on the kang table were threads of all colors; a half-finished plum blossom knot lay there, its craftsmanship somewhat rough.
Granny Li sat on the small stool, poured a few drops of medicinal oil, and rubbed her hands together vigorously.
“My bones aren’t hurt, I can heal slowly.” Man Xiu retracted her foot, making a last-ditch effort.
Xin Shensi went outside to the well, lifted the cover, and drew up a bucket of water. Hearing a scream, she couldn’t help but shudder. After washing her hands, she returned to the room and saw Granny Li holding Man Xiu’s right leg between her knees, massaging the injured spot without any hesitation. She kept her distance. Taking the sewing basket, she moved to sit by the square table. She undid the plum blossom knot and began weaving it anew.
In her previous life, she had assisted her grandmother since she was five. Weaving wasn’t difficult; the patterns followed an order. With long exposure, she naturally learned. Running an online shop, knots sold well too, mainly because they weren’t expensive. Ordinary ones that caught the eye cost just a few yuan.
Of course, larger Chinese knots, such as the Ruyi knot or the Five Blessings knot… were not cheap. The weaving techniques weren’t complex, but they were time-consuming.
“Miss Shan, where are you from?” Granny Li’s hands didn’t lessen their force, her expression calm.
Xin Shensi had already thought about this: “I’m from Luohe City.”
Her accent sounded right, so Granny Li asked further: “Why are you alone out here?”
Xin Shensi didn’t want to deceive them, but her own situation was hard to explain. She lowered her head with a soft sigh, saying only: “Fate, I suppose.”
“Grandma…” Man Xiu tried to change the subject, but a sudden increase in pressure on her foot made her grimace: “It hurts, it hurts…”
Xin Shensi understood Granny Li: “My mother was a good family’s daughter, forced into a humble marriage due to an accident. She never complained, devoting herself to her husband. Unexpectedly, after my father gained promotion, he sought higher connections and tried to demote his wife to a concubine. She refused, so they separated, and she took me away. A girl like me…”
She didn’t finish, but Man Xiu empathized deeply, unable to hold back her anger: “Heartless and ungrateful, your father is truly despicable.” Just like Tang Meiniang.
A bitter taste filled Granny Li’s mouth: “Are you returning to Luohe City?”
Xin Shensi remained silent, weaving the knot. In truth, she didn’t know where she was headed.
Not receiving an answer, Granny Li didn’t mind, pouring a bit more medicinal oil into her palm. Man Xiu, numb from the pain, stared at Shan Si’s nimble hands.
A quiet stillness filled the room. Xin Shensi finished the plum blossom knot just as Granny Li finished massaging Man Xiu’s foot. She put the medicinal oil away inside: “I’ll go boil water; you two wash up first.”
Mentioning “washing,” Xin Shensi felt embarrassed again, forcing a bitter smile as she stood and went outside, pulling a cloth bag from her basket. The rabbit she had caught earlier was still breathing. She looked at Granny Li: “Can I trade this for a set of clothes? They don’t need to be good, just wearable.”
“I have clothes; you can wear mine.” Man Xiu called from inside.
Granny Li looked down at the rabbit, hesitating before asking: “You didn’t bring a change of clothes?”
“I brought food.” Xin Shensi whispered, her face burning red.
With a sigh, Granny Li turned and headed toward the west room. Moments later, she returned with a cloth bundle. “Tang Meiniang left behind two sets of clothes. Since you’re about her size, you can make do with these.”
Xin Shensi truly didn’t know what to say. In these times, ordinary folks couldn’t afford to buy fabric for even two sets of clothes in a year. Her mouth hung open for a long while before she finally managed to utter her thanks. Accepting the bundle with both hands, her eyes grew moist. “I’ve met kind people.”
“You saved Man Xiu.” Granny Li wasn’t this generous with just anyone. She bent down, picked up the rabbit, and carried it to the backyard.
Inside the house, Man Xiu felt somewhat displeased. Tang Meiniang had already run off, so why was her grandmother still keeping her clothes?
“Sister Shan, wear mine for tonight. Those two sets you’re holding need a good wash.”
Xin Shensi hugged the bundle tightly, her eyes brimming with a smile. “As you say.” Once the water was heated, she first helped Man Xiu wash her hair and bathe before tending to herself. She gently massaged her hair with soapberry water, let it soak for a while, then rinsed it clean. Sitting in the bathtub, she rubbed her swollen calves.
In the main room, Granny Li picked up the plum blossom knot from the sewing basket and examined it closely.
Man Xiu, sitting on the kang wringing out her hair, couldn’t help but praise, “She knots better than Chen Hongxia, works faster, and doesn’t hide her skills.” Pouting in frustration, she thought her grandmother was a bit naive. Over the years, their family had sent so much good meat to the Chen family, hoping that Madam Chen would teach her some needlework.
Madam Chen did teach her, but only some basic mending. The Chen daughter even avoided her when knotting. As for cutting fabric, she had figured it out herself while taking apart and repairing clothes.
After turning the knot over and examining it for a while, Granny Li finally placed it back in the sewing basket. She went out to the backyard and fetched two pig kidneys.
After washing up and trimming her nails, Xin Shensi gathered their dirty clothes into a basin, carried it to the well, washed them, and hung them to dry. Returning the basin to the room, she went to the kitchen to help.
For dinner, they had kidney soup, baked flatbreads, and stir-fried greens with cracklings.
After the meal, Granny Li retrieved a split pig’s head from the brine, rinsed it twice, and soaked it in a basin. Xin Shensi poured the rice into a winnowing basket, planning to leave the flour for Man Xiu to handle.
“Alright, my feet should be rested enough by tomorrow morning to walk. We still have some cracklings at home—we can chop some leeks, mix them into a filling, and bake flatbreads.”
Two people who didn’t know how to manage a household had come together. Granny Li’s lips curved slightly. It had been a long time since Man Xiu had been this happy.
As night fell, an oil lamp was lit in the room. With nothing else to do, Xin Shensi brought the sewing basket and sat beside Man Xiu. “Do you knot for yourself or to sell?”
Man Xiu blushed. “I’d like to earn some silver from it, but the embroidery shops in town aren’t blind.” She helped separate the threads. “But the knots you make are pretty and delicate—the embroidery shops would definitely buy them.”
“Plum blossom knots aren’t hard to make. I can teach you.” Xin Shensi noticed her hands pause while separating the threads and looked up. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Man Xiu smiled. “I can’t take advantage of you like this.” Trading two sets of clothes Tang Meiniang didn’t want for someone else’s skill—she wasn’t that shameless.
“If you’re willing to learn, I can teach you a few more patterns.” Xin Shensi didn’t consider this any remarkable craft.
Of course she wanted to learn, but Man Xiu hesitated. “This jacket I’m wearing, I made it myself. For this skill of mine, my grandmother sent at least two pigs to Chen the embroideress in the front village over four years. Chen’s husband loves pig tails with his wine, so my grandmother never sold a single tail.” She picked up the plum blossom knot. “Just this little thing, if you send it to an embroidery shop, it sells for five or six wen. After deducting two wen for the silk thread, you can net three wen. If you make a few during idle moments each day, you can save quite a bit over a month.”
After four years of learning needlework, her jacket didn’t even have a single flower on it. Xin Shensi understood Man Xiu’s meaning and joked, “Don’t worry, I won’t need Granny to send me pigs.”
“You really want to teach me?”
“You don’t want to learn?”
Frowning in thought for a moment, Man Xiu said very earnestly, “Then I’ll offer you a cup of tea.”
“No need for that,” Xin Shensi said with a laugh. “How much you learn depends on your own ability.”
Granny Li finished feeding the pigs, fetched a bucket of water for the old ox, and returned to the house to see her granddaughter intently watching Shan Si’s hands, learning to make knots. She cursed Chen the embroideress in her heart.
That old woman, taking on apprentices all the same, was all attentive and eager with Teacher Zhong’s daughter, but so impatient with her own Xiuya, and even the daughter she raised fawned on the high and trampled on the low. What was wrong with her Xiuya besides having no parents or brothers? She went to the side room, dug out the crutch her son had used when he was alive, wiped it clean.
That night, Xin Shensi slept alone in the west room, sleeping soundly through the night. The next day, before dawn, she woke up. She lounged in bed for a while, and hearing movement outside, she got up.
In the kitchen, Granny Li was boiling water. Seeing Shan Si, her hand adding firewood to the stove slowed.
“Good morning, Granny.”
“There are hairbrushes in that cabinet over there, all made by myself. Take one to use.”
“Thank you, Granny.”
Watching her take the hairbrush and turn to leave, Granny Li took a breath and said, “You teach Xiuya to make knots, I’ll provide your food and drink. On the day you want to leave, you don’t even need to say goodbye, alright?” She knew Chen the embroideress was no good, but she still begged her, just wanting her granddaughter to learn more skills to rely on, so she could speak with her back straight when she married into her husband’s family in the future.
Xin Shensi was a bit surprised; she had originally planned to leave at noon.
Seeing she didn’t agree, Granny Li added, “When traveling outside, you need silver. The knots you make here, I’ll take them to the embroidery workshop to sell. The silver from the sale, after deducting the cost of thread, all goes to you.”
Xin Shensi was a bit tempted; she was indeed most in need of silver right now.
“And your body needs nourishment too. Where else has good broth like mine?”
Not hesitating for long, Xin Shensi turned back. “I’ll teach for now.” She didn’t say how long she’d stay. “Man Xiu is a good daughter, and with you considering everything for her, she won’t do poorly in the future.”
“Early in the morning, I’ll take your auspicious words.” Granny Li rarely showed a smile.
After a night, the swelling on Man Xiu’s foot had subsided considerably. She put on her clothes, leaned on the crutch, walked a few steps in the room to get used to it, then went outside.
“Grandma, I’m up. Are you slaughtering pigs today?”
“No, I’m going north to Zhanghekou this morning to look at piglets. If they’re good, I plan to bring two back.” So what if Xiuya has no father or brothers? All fourteen mu of land in the family are her dowry. Granny Li felt her own body was still strong, she could work a few more years. She threw two handfuls of corn into the pot, grabbed half a handful of rice, stirred it, covered the pot lid, and returned behind the stove.
“Alright.” Man Xiu poured the two or three pounds of flour from the small table into the clay basin. “I’ll make a few more flatbreads. Take a couple with you to eat when you’re hungry.”
Xin Shensi returned with the chives she had cut, removed the dead leaves, and took them to the well to wash.