After the cock crowed three times, dawn broke over Yunji County.
He Yaozhen rose a little later than usual that day. As soon as she opened her eyes, she faintly heard an old woman’s scolding from the courtyard beyond two doors.
She hurriedly got dressed. Without even stopping to wash her face, she hastily twisted her hair into a bun and went out.
The moment she opened the main room’s door, the scolding grew louder.
“My Meng family has passed down the teachings of the sages for generations. Diligence, frugality, respect, and humility are the foundation of proper conduct. Yet at such a young age, you’re already learning to be lazy and cut corners. What will become of you in a few years? Your father works himself to the bone outside, and his wages are meager. How can you squander things like this?”
In the little square courtyard, an old woman was berating a young girl.
The old woman was Madam Zhao, He Yaozhen’s mother-in-law. She leaned on a wooden staff, and although her legs were not very nimble, that did nothing to diminish her booming voice.
The little girl was thin and frail as a bean sprout. She clutched a handful of chives in her left hand and kept wiping away her tears with her right. Her dejected appearance was exactly like He Yaozhen’s. She was He Yaozhen’s daughter.
At the sound of the door opening, both of them turned toward He Yaozhen.
The little girl seemed to have spotted her savior and hurried toward her. He Yaozhen tucked her behind herself, then met Madam Zhao’s eyes uneasily before lowering her gaze again.
Madam Zhao snorted and turned her anger on her.
“Daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law—you come after the son, and only then as a daughter-in-law. Filial duty comes before marital affection. Just because your husband stayed the night, have you forgotten your duties as a daughter-in-law? Your husband went out to work before dawn, yet you slept past breakfast. What is this—did you conceive a child last night and now think you can put on airs?”
Her mother-in-law’s harshness was nothing unusual, but He Yaozhen was thin-skinned and still flushed crimson under the ridicule.
She lowered her eyes and said timidly, “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have slept past the proper time. I’ll go prepare breakfast now.”
Madam Zhao said, “Fresh chives should be picked clean one stalk at a time. This girl, trying to save herself time and effort, actually chopped off all the roots in one stroke. Do you think our family is some wealthy household that can afford such waste?”
It turned out that the little girl had seen her grandmother wearing a stern expression first thing in the morning and had been afraid that her mother would be scolded. She had wanted to prepare breakfast for her mother, but as she picked the vegetables, she grew anxious. So she had thought of the quick solution of cutting through the mess in one stroke. Unfortunately, Madam Zhao had caught her in the act, leading to this scene.
He Yaozhen said, “It was Little Min’s fault.”
Little Meng Min began sobbing even harder behind her.
He Yaozhen said, “Mother, please forgive her this once for the sake of her young age. I’ll teach her when we go back inside… I’ll prepare breakfast right now. We’ll make chive pastries.”
“Your husband works hard outside and still hasn’t had any chive pastries made with fine flour and eggs,” Madam Zhao said.
He Yaozhen listened to her tone. “Then… shall I make them tonight instead?”
Madam Zhao gave a humph. “I have no appetite today. We’ll skip breakfast. Go do whatever you need to do.”
Since her mother-in-law would not eat, He Yaozhen and her daughter did not dare eat by themselves. He Yaozhen gathered the clothes her husband had changed out of the previous night, along with the bedding cover, and took her daughter to the water channel at the eastern end of the county to wash them.
Yunji County was a small county town under Jizhou Prefecture. Although it was somewhat remote, it lay near a mining area and had nearly ten thousand registered households.
A water channel ran straight across the county from west to east. Since its upper reaches connected to the canal used for grain transport, it was fed by abundant running water of good quality. Every household came to the channel to rinse rice, wash vegetables, and do laundry, and traveling merchants often brought their horses there to drink.
Although people said breakfast had already passed, it was still early. The morning mist had only just dispersed.
There were few people beside the channel. Next to the stone platform used for washing clothes, a plump woman was dragging a large bedding cover out of the water and onto the flagstones, panting as she wrung it out.
“Sister-in-law Yang, let me help you.”
He Yaozhen set her wooden basin beside the stone platform and went over with Meng Min to lend a hand.
“Oh, it’s the Instructor’s wife. I’m sorry to trouble you!”
The plump woman smiled politely but did not refuse their help. Everyone often washed clothes in the same place, and they were already familiar with one another. Helping each other was nothing unusual.
The three of them worked from either end, and soon they had wrung the bedding cover dry. He Yaozhen chose a clean stone platform and sat down to begin washing clothes as well. Little Meng Min obediently settled beside her back, picked up a twig, and began drawing on the ground.
Sister-in-law Yang began chatting. “A large piece like this should have had me call my sister-in-law over to help, but she went back to her mother’s home with my younger brother-in-law. If I hadn’t run into you today, Madam, I don’t know how much effort I would have had to spend by myself!”
He Yaozhen kept her head lowered as she beat the clothes and gave a soft affirmative murmur.
Little Meng Min, however, asked curiously, “Mother, what does ‘going back to one’s mother’s home’ mean?”
The mallet in He Yaozhen’s hand stopped. Sister-in-law Yang, too quick with her words, answered, “It means going to your grandmother’s house.”
Only after saying it did she remember the Instructor’s wife’s background. She hurriedly slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Oh dear, look at me! Madam, I’m so sorry…”
He Yaozhen lowered her head and smiled faintly. “It’s nothing.”
Little Meng Min was still curious. “Mother, who is Grandmother?”
He Yaozhen stroked her face. “Be a good girl, Little Min.”
The atmosphere grew somewhat awkward. He Yaozhen lowered her head and continued beating the wet clothes, one stroke after another, a faint melancholy rising in her heart.
Going back to one’s mother’s home… How wonderful.
Unlike her, who did not even have a mother’s home to return to.
Even the fact that her surname was He had been told to her by Madam Zhao, and Madam Zhao had also given her the name Yaozhen. Ever since she could remember, she had lived in the Meng family as a child bride, calling Madam Zhao her mother-in-law and Meng Zhi her husband.
Madam Zhao had been widowed at thirty and had raised her son alone. Her temperament was both hard and straightforward. He Yaozhen had grown up under her care from the age of two to fifteen, yet had rarely felt anything resembling a mother’s tenderness.
Only on her fifteenth birthday had Madam Zhao had a new dress made for her and commissioned a silver hairpin. That evening, she set out a banquet, combining He Yaozhen’s coming-of-age ceremony with her wedding. She arranged for He Yaozhen and Brother Meng to consummate their marriage, and from then on, He Yaozhen had truly become a daughter-in-law of the Meng family.
…She had never known what it felt like to return to her mother’s home.
Seeing He Yaozhen fall silent, Sister-in-law Yang hurried to make up for her careless remark.
“But every loss comes with a gain. Madam, you married well—that is a woman’s greatest blessing in life.”
“Just look at your Master Meng. He’s handsome, learned, and well regarded. Most importantly, he’s our county’s Instructor. The county magistrate ranks first and he ranks second—who in the entire county doesn’t respect him? A man who is pleasing to look at and useful besides, someone who can protect his wife—your good fortune is enough to make others green with envy!”
Sister-in-law Yang praised her husband without the slightest restraint. He Yaozhen grew both shy and embarrassed, her earlobes gradually burning hot.
“Good Sister-in-law, please stop,” she pleaded. “Otherwise, I’m leaving.”
She was fair and lovely, so the flush on her face was especially noticeable. Even her reflection in the water looked as though it had been brushed with rouge.
Sister-in-law Yang laughed heartily a few times. Knowing how easily embarrassed He Yaozhen was, she let the subject drop.
Yet the ripples in the water soon faded, while the ripples in Yaozhen’s heart remained unsettled for a long time.
Brother Meng…
He was indeed a good man. It was just that his temper resembled his mother’s too closely. He always wore a solemn expression, and he often frightened her.
But Yaozhen respected him as well. Brother Meng was five years older than she was, and was like both an elder brother and a father to her. He supported the household and took good care of her. At the same time, he was an exceptionally upright, incorruptible, and selfless official. Yaozhen respected his character from the bottom of her heart.
Though sometimes, he was a little too upright.
“Mother, I’m hungry.”
Meng Min was five years old that year, right at the age when children were growing fast. She had been frightened and had cried that morning, and now she could no longer endure her hunger. She tugged softly at Yaozhen’s sleeve.
Before leaving home, Yaozhen had hidden half a steamed corn bun for her. Now she took it out and gave it to her.
When Sister-in-law Yang saw it, she called out, “Oh dear, how can you give a little girl that? It might roughen her throat.”
She stood up and shouted into the alley, “Tiefu—Tiefu!”
Before long, a little boy came darting out of the alley. Yaozhen recognized him as Sister-in-law Yang’s son, two years older than Meng Min.
Sister-in-law Yang said to Tiefu, “Your second aunt boiled a basketful of eggs before she went out this morning. Go back and get a few for Little Sister Min to eat.”
At that, Yaozhen hurriedly rose to stop her. “Sister-in-law Yang, that won’t do—”
“What do you mean, it won’t do? They’re not golden eggs or silver eggs. No matter what, we can’t let a child go hungry.”
Yaozhen was gentle by nature. How could she possibly argue with the bold and warmhearted Sister-in-law Yang? Their homes were close by, and Tiefu returned in a gust of wind. He stuffed four or five boiled eggs and two fresh peaches into Meng Min’s arms, then said with a grin, “Eat up, Little Sister Min!”
Meng Min wanted to eat them, but she did not dare. She looked cautiously toward Yaozhen, swallowed, and let a trace of longing show in her grape-like eyes.
Mumbling, she said, “Mother… I… I don’t want them.”
A wave of bitterness rose in Yaozhen’s heart.
Little Min was only five years old.
When Yaozhen had been young, she had also looked on whenever she saw other mothers giving their children candied fruit. She had worn that same expression of longing mixed with fear.
But… she had not had a mother, while Little Min did. How could she let her daughter suffer and pity herself as Yaozhen had?
Thus, the impulsive words escaped her lips.
“It’s all right. Eat them.”
Meng Min’s eyes lit up at once.
She peeled an egg and held it first to Yaozhen’s mouth. “Mother, you eat first.”
Yaozhen took a bite no bigger than a fingernail. “All right, Mother isn’t hungry. You eat it.”
Meng Min sat happily to one side and ate the egg. Yaozhen continued washing clothes, but as she looked at the
garment in her hands—her husband’s garment—a trace of unease arose in her heart.
After a while, she secretly comforted herself: It’s fine. They’re only a few eggs. Sister-in-law Yang won’t go around telling everyone.
Yet she had underestimated just how warmhearted Sister-in-law Yang was.
After washing their clothes, the women each returned home. On the way, Yaozhen instructed Meng Min, “When we get home, don’t mention that Aunt Yang gave you eggs. Do you understand?”
Meng Min did not understand why, but she always listened to her mother, so she nodded.
He Yaozhen had many chores to do each day. Her husband was busy with official duties, and her mother-in-law’s legs were inconvenient. She managed everything inside and outside the household herself.
So after hanging out the clothes, Yaozhen went to water the vegetable garden. Once she had finished, she hurried back to prepare lunch for her mother-in-law. While Madam Zhao lay resting in the courtyard that afternoon, Yaozhen cleaned the two main rooms and the central hall until not a speck of dust remained. When Madam Zhao awoke from her nap, Yaozhen helped her to the loom, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law began weaving and spinning together.
The sun had already sunk past the mountaintop. In about another hour, Meng Zhi would be finishing work and coming
home.
Then someone suddenly knocked at the door.
Yaozhen was kneading dough to make chive pastries and could not get away. Madam Zhao rose to answer it. When she opened the door, she saw Sister-in-law Yang standing outside with a basket of eggs.
Sister-in-law Yang beamed.
“The old lady hasn’t eaten yet, has she? I brought you a basket of fresh eggs to try!”
It turned out that after seeing Tiefu and Meng Min getting along well that morning, a bold idea had begun stirring in her heart. At noon, she had even dreamed that her son had married into the Instructor’s family, that he had been promoted through his father-in-law’s influence and become an official himself, and that he had won his mother a set of robes signifying her rank as the mother of an honored official.
When Sister-in-law Yang awoke, she was so excited that she could barely contain herself. She felt there was great promise in the matter and wanted to quickly establish a good relationship with the womenfolk of the Instructor’s household.
Taking advantage of the opportunity created by that morning’s gift of eggs, she had brought another basket of fresh ones to their door.
In the kitchen, Yaozhen heard Sister-in-law Yang’s voice. Her heart suddenly sank, and she hurriedly put down the spatula and went out.
…Unfortunately, she was already too late.
Madam Zhao was driving Sister-in-law Yang away.
“No, no, we don’t accept gifts in this house. Don’t come here to make trouble!”
“They’re for the children…”
“The child doesn’t like eggs!”
“How could that be? I think she does.” Sister-in-law Yang chuckled cheerfully. “She ate four in one go this morning—she can eat even more than my Tiefu!”
Madam Zhao froze for a moment, then frowned.
“What did you say? Who ate four eggs?”
He Yaozhen’s heart gave a hard thump. The color had already drained from her face.