“Recruiting a live-in son-in-law isn’t that easy! That’s something only wealthy families do. With a family background like ours, what do we have to offer? Who could we possibly attract?”
Yu Jingui felt her mother was simply daydreaming. “The kind of men willing to marry into the wife’s family are either hoodlums and loafers or useless nobodies,” she snorted coldly.
“Wasn’t there a rumor that the third Bai son was going to be a live-in son-in-law?” Madam Qian recalled the rumors about Bai Lao San, and her mind began to wander.
Bai Lao San was no loafer, nor was he a useless nobody. He was handsome and capable. Yu Jingui still had two younger sisters who weren’t married yet; it wouldn’t be a bad idea to double the family ties by recruiting Bai Lao San for her sixth daughter.
“There was talk of that. He’s an apprentice at a lacquerware shop in town. The owner, Manager Xu, has only one daughter and wanted to recruit him. Manager Xu even came to the house a while back to propose the match. Don’t even get me started—Erzhuang’s grandmother gave him a thorough tongue-lashing and threw out all the fish, meat, fabric, and fruit he brought.”
Yu Jingui grabbed another handful of melon seeds, cracking them as she spoke. “Erzhuang’s grandmother said that if the third son ever dared to become a live-in son-in-law, she would act as if she never had that grandson.”
Madam Qian was surprised. “Since ancient times, marriages have been decided by parents. Does Erzhuang’s grandmother not care what your parents-in-law think?”
“Mother, have you forgotten? Who has the final say in the Bai family? It’s Erzhuang’s grandmother! If she hadn’t nodded back then, could I have even married in? Even if my parents-in-law were the ones deciding, they wouldn’t let the third son be a live-in son-in-law. My father-in-law might seem good-tempered, but if the third son really did that, he’d have his legs broken.”
That was true. Madam Qian had experienced Grandmother Bai’s combativeness and the power of the “honest man” Bai Muban’s temper.
“But there’s a reason the Bais are poor—a whole nest of stubborn mules who don’t know how to adapt. What’s the harm in giving up one of so many sons to be a live-in? Bai Lao San is also a blockhead. If you ask me, he should just ditch the family and follow Manager Xu to live a life of luxury,” Yu Jingui said with a face full of disdain.
In Yu Jingui’s eyes, the Bai family was a bunch of fools who stayed poor by sticking together, each pretending to be more principled than the last. They were so poor they were practically “drinking the northwest wind,” yet they refused to bow their heads. If they were so capable, they shouldn’t have sent her to her maiden home to borrow brown sugar and eggs.
“Still, things can change. Manager Xu was too benevolent. If he had played hardball…”
“Mother, they are a family that cares about their face; they have a business reputation to consider. They aren’t like us—no shop, no silver, just three mud huts and two acres of thin land. We can afford to be shameless and cling to the Bais. Don’t go getting ideas about Bai Lao San; he’s not like your son-in-law, who walks right into a trap. We already schemed to get one scholar son; if we plot against another, the Bai family would rather divorce me and burn everything down than let us win.”
Yu Jingui interrupted her mother. Although she regretted marrying into the Bai family, she didn’t actually want to be divorced.
Madam Qian, having her thoughts exposed, didn’t turn her embarrassment into anger this time. “Fine, I was just saying. I know that ‘forced melons aren’t sweet,'” she said.
Yu Jingui pouted at her mother. “You say that now, but which of us sisters wasn’t a ‘forced melon’ by you?”
Madam Qian: “…”
The conversation was over. Her daughter was acting like she had swallowed gunpowder today, stinging her mother with every sentence.
“The whole village is saying that since the Bais had a daughter, their days will get better. Now that your mother-in-law has given birth, maybe that lame Taoist’s words really will come true. Hurry back and serve your mother-in-law. Don’t let the eldest daughter-in-law get all the credit…”
Madam Qian found looking at Yu Jingui quite stifling now. She stood up and waved her hand, wanting to chase her daughter away.
“Mother, do you really believe the nonsense that lame Taoist spouted? Just because of one little brat, they could—”
“Fourth Sister! Fourth Sister! Something incredible happened!”
Before Yu Jingui could finish, the sixth Yu daughter, Yu Qingya, came running in, panting and making a scene. Yu Jingui was startled by her younger sister.
“What is it?”
“Fourth Sister, Sanlang’s uncle and fifth uncle caught so many big fish…”
Yu Qingya was out of breath, using her hands to describe the Bai men’s heroic feat of catching the fish. Yu Jingui was so shocked she forgot to crack her melon seeds.
“Qingya, are you serious? The ice on the river is so thick—how could they possibly catch fish?” Yu Jingui’s voice rose several octaves in disbelief.
“It’s true!” Yu Qingya nodded vigorously. “I just came from your house and saw it clearly. Two or three large wooden buckets full of big fish!”
She then added grumpily, “I wanted to eat fish too, so I asked Sanlang to give me one, but he refused. He said all the fish are for his ‘Auntie.’ It makes me so mad! I’m his aunt, yet I’m not as important as a newborn brat? Fourth Sister, you have to scold Sanlang for me. He’s taking the side of outsiders; he’s forgotten I used to carry him when he was little…”
Yu Qingya was indignant, her face red with anger.
Madam Qian was also stunned after hearing this. Was the Bai family’s little girl really that effective?
Yu Jingui suddenly stood up and started looking for her shoes.
“Slow down, watch out for your pregnancy,” Madam Qian said, kicking the shoes over to her.
Yu Jingui rubbed her belly and put on her shoes, her face full of wonder. She looked at Madam Qian and asked in a trembling voice, “Mother, could it be that what the lame Taoist said was true?”
Before Madam Qian could speak, Yu Qingya blurted out the village gossip. “…Now, everyone in the village is saying those fish were attracted by your sister-in-law, and that the Bai family’s fortune is only just beginning…”
Madam Qian suddenly perked up. “In the middle of winter, forget about catching big fish—no one has even seen a minnow. As soon as your sister-in-law arrives, the river has big fish. It’s obvious she brought them. What could a ‘greater fortune’ be? Maybe she’ll bring enough luck to make your husband a high-ranking official. You’ll be an official’s wife! Hurry back and take care of your mother-in-law while she’s recovering…”
Yu Jingui didn’t wait for her mother to finish; she bolted out the door.
“Hey! Remember your maiden family! Bring a few big fish back later!” Madam Qian shouted after her, then added, “You forgot the eggs and brown sugar!”
Yu Jingui didn’t hear a word; she rushed home in a whirlwind.
Madam Qian put the brown sugar away and handed the eggs to Yu Qingya. “Go to your fourth sister’s house and trade these for some big fish.”
The crowd of onlookers hadn’t dispersed yet. It was packed three layers deep, and the snow outside the courtyard had been trampled into slush. After reaching home, Yu Jingui had to exert a great deal of effort just to squeeze into the yard.
Under the large locust tree in the yard, three large wooden buckets and a large basin were lined up, all filled with fat, thrashing fish. The fish were truly plump! The cold sunlight reflecting off their scales made the whole yard seem brighter than usual. A few fish, restless, leaped into the air to perform; those with poor technique landed with a heavy thwack, carving shallow pits into the snow.
Despite being mentally prepared, Yu Jingui was still shocked by the sight. Could it be that the Bai family’s luck had really changed?
“Sanlang, did you really catch these in the river?” Yu Jingui rushed to her son and asked excitedly.
“Mother, Eldest Uncle took us to catch them,” Sanlang answered honestly.
Dalang, standing nearby, glanced at Sanlang and disagreed with his wording. “Aunt, we didn’t ‘catch’ them. We just smashed a hole in the ice, and the fish came up on their own.”
In his youthful voice, Dalang gestured with his hands, once again describing the scene of fish emerging one by one from the ice hole. Yu Jingui’s heart fluttered as she listened; it sounded as fantastical as the fairy tales told by the elders.
The surrounding villagers, though they had heard Dalang tell the story many times already, still listened with rapt attention, marveling at the tale. Afterward, a complex mix of envy and jealousy rose in their hearts. How did the Bai family get such luck?
“Incredible, the Bais have hit the jackpot,” the envious murmurs began again.
“Hmph, I think they’re just making a mystery of it because they don’t want to tell us how they caught them. That’s why they say the fish jumped out themselves,” someone muttered sourly.
“What do you know? If there was a ‘method,’ would the Bais have been this poor all these years? Just now, others went to the river to try, and forget about fish—they didn’t even see a scale. Er Gouzi from the village even fell through the ice,” someone else argued, defending the Bais.
“Why didn’t anyone else have the Bais’ luck? It’s because their little daughter is a Lucky Star. She brought them good luck the moment she was born. Look at how things were before—even drinking cold water would get stuck in their teeth. Now that they have a daughter, everything is different,” the village chief’s wife concluded, slapping her thigh.
Everyone nodded.
Although they were already convinced upon seeing the fish, the chief’s wife’s summary reinforced their belief. After all, she was an authority figure in the village.
“That’s right! Today it’s big fish; who knows what it will be tomorrow? It might even be gold. Grandmother Bai, watch where you walk—don’t let a gold bar trip you up!” someone joked.
This elicited a roar of laughter from the crowd.
“The more you talk, the more ridiculous it gets. My family just happened to catch a break with these fish; it has nothing to do with my newborn granddaughter. In our village, some have good grain harvests, some have cows that give birth to many calves—it’s nothing strange. Take Er Gouzi falling through the ice; even his male dog attracted a pack of females. Luck or not, it’s all empty talk.” Grandmother Bai stood in the yard with her hands tucked in her sleeves, her face calm.
She had just quietly pulled Bai Da Zhuang into the kitchen to ask about the details. His description matched Dalang’s. The spectacle of fish jumping out of the ice hole left Grandmother Bai feeling uneasy. She didn’t want the Bai family to become the center of village gossip.