Watching the villagers with their various expressions, Grandmother Bai fell into deep thought.
The Bai family had encountered a stroke of good luck, and while Grandmother Bai was happy to hear the villagers’ auspicious words, the way the stories were becoming increasingly fantastical made her heart race with unease. When she walked through the village today, the gossip from the “Information Corps” at the village entrance had reached her ears—they were even bringing up talk of Empresses and Dowagers. Initially, she had ignored it as a joke, but after the incident with the fish, the tone had shifted.
To Grandmother Bai, catching so many large fish was something she would rather believe was the work of the baby girl’s deceased biological mother returning a favor for the family’s kindness, rather than luck brought by the baby herself. As for the lame Taoist’s prophecy, she didn’t believe a single word of it. This was real life, not a supernatural folk tale.
“Auntie Bai, when will you bring your little ‘Lucky Star’ granddaughter out for us all to see?”
“Does the little Lucky Star need a godmother? If she acknowledges me as her godmother, maybe our family can share in some of that luck.”
“What are you dreaming about? You’d be better off kneeling and asking Auntie Bai to be your godmother so you can become a daughter of the Bai family instead.”
The courtyard was bustling with constant laughter and chatter. Finally, Grandmother Bai waved her hand to interrupt everyone.
“My son has a new daughter, which is a great joy for the Bai family. Ordinarily, we should be giving out red-dyed eggs to share the happiness with our neighbors. However, it’s freezing cold and we couldn’t buy eggs, but we just happened to catch these buckets of fish. Each family take one to share in the joy. Please, don’t look down on it.”
According to the customs of Shenshu Village, a family should send red eggs to neighbors when a child is born. Grandmother Bai figured that since they had no eggs, they might as well give fish. She saw it as a way to accumulate merit for her newly arrived granddaughter. Furthermore, with the Bai family catching so many fish, there would inevitably be some jealous eyes in the village. It was better to use the fish to block any ill intentions before they could manifest.
Upon hearing there was fish to eat, the crowd erupted again, praising the Bai family for their generosity.
“My goodness, this is truly a family of merit!”
“The Bai family is impressive! They haven’t even struck it rich yet, but they’re already thinking of their neighbors.”
“A family as virtuous as the Bais deserves to prosper—prosper greatly!”
Blessings were showered upon the courtyard like they cost nothing. Grandmother Bai cheerfully directed Bai Muban, her grandsons, and her daughters-in-law to distribute the fish. One by one, the fish were handed to the villagers, who were so delighted their smiles reached their ears. Such large fish, weighing several pounds each, were enough for an entire family to have a rare feast.
“Everyone, I have one more favor to ask. My granddaughter is just a common village girl. Please don’t go around talking nonsense about her bringing luck or fortune anymore. Our lives are made by our own efforts; we can’t go believing the words of monks and Taoists.”
Grandmother Bai pressed her palms together and smilingly made her request to the crowd. Low profile! The Bai family wanted to keep a low profile! The villagers wore expressions that said “we understand,” while readily agreeing with their mouths.
Yu Jingui watched as the large fish were given away for free, her heart aching with every gift. How much silver could those have been worth?
“Sister-in-law, has Grandma gone senile? Giving these fish away for nothing? Wouldn’t it be better to sell them for silver? Let’s go and talk some sense into her,” Yu Jingui whispered, tugging at Xie Chuntao’s sleeve.
“Our Little Sister-in-law has joined the family; what’s wrong with giving away a few fish? Grandma is happy, and we should be happy too,” Xie Chuntao replied.
Hmph, look at you, always trying to suck up to the elders! Yu Jingui was dissatisfied with Xie Chuntao for going along with the “nonsense.”
“The family is so poor, yet instead of trading the fish for silver, we’re just ‘slapping our own faces to look fat’ by acting rich.”
“Sister-in-law, how can you say that? These are our neighbors; they’ve helped us plenty in the past. Now that we have so many fish, it’s only natural to share them.” Xie Chuntao looked at Yu Jingui with confusion, then added, “You’re pregnant, so don’t worry yourself. Today is a day of great joy; it’s best if we all stay happy.”
Happy? Happy my foot!
Listen to you, Xie Chuntao, putting on airs as the eldest daughter-in-law in front of me. Just wait until I give birth to a daughter; I’ll definitely outshine you. Yu Jingui rubbed her belly, as if drawing strength from it.
Fine, so they were giving away fish? Fatty water shouldn’t flow into outsiders’ fields.
“Sixth Sister, take these two big ones back to Mother,” Yu Jingui said defiantly, scooping up the two largest carp and handing them to Yu Qingya.
Most of the villagers of Shenshu Village were simple and honest. Knowing the Bai family’s life had always been difficult, they couldn’t just take the fish for nothing. Besides, since a new baby girl had arrived, they felt they should offer some blessings in return. After the villagers took their fish home, some brought back rice or flour, some carried oil or grain, some brought handfuls of green vegetables, and others brought eggs as return gifts.
With the exchange complete, the crowd dispersed, leaving only the family in the courtyard. Grandmother Bai began directing the family to work.
“This big red koi is a spiritual creature. Da Zhuang, take it back to the river and release it.” Grandmother Bai had specifically kept the red carp in a separate basin. It looked just like the auspicious carp on New Year paintings; she couldn’t bear to kill it, so she decided to set it free.
“Understood!” Bai Da Zhuang carried the basin out to release the fish.
Grandmother Bai continued her arrangements. “Chuntao, clean a few fish. We’ll have stewed fish for lunch.”
“Right away!” Xie Chuntao went to the kitchen, fetched a knife, and with a sharp shink, aimed at the largest fish to begin gutting it.
“Muban, take the remaining fish that we can’t eat and sell them in town tomorrow. Buy a nursing goat for our granddaughter so she has milk.”
Bai Muban came out of the house and said, “No need to wait for tomorrow. While it’s still early, I’ll go to the neighboring Great Li Village and trade some fish for a goat.”
Grandmother Bai agreed with her husband’s plan. Every household in Great Li Village raised goats. Her granddaughter’s milk supply couldn’t be interrupted; the sooner they traded, the sooner she could eat.
“Dalang, go inside and get your father’s coat for your grandfather. It’s cold on the road; he should wear an extra layer,” Xie Chuntao called out to her son, wanting to keep her father-in-law warm. Grandmother Bai was very satisfied with her eldest daughter-in-law’s filial piety.
Yu Jingui stood under the eaves with her arms crossed, pouting at Xie Chuntao and cursing her in her heart for being a “teacher’s pet” who went out of her way to please the elders.
The eldest daughter-in-law was busy everywhere, but what about the second daughter-in-law? Where was she hiding and slacking off?
Grandmother Bai turned her head and caught Yu Jingui before she could hide her pout. Her gaze pierced through like a knife.
“Jingui, your sister-in-law is busy with everything; are you just going to stand there and watch?” Grandmother Bai asked crossly.
“Grandma, it’s not like that… I’m pregnant…”
“Which wife in this family hasn’t been pregnant? You’re the only one who hangs it from your mouth like a protective talisman every single day.”
Being scolded by Grandmother Bai left Yu Jingui fuming. Normally, she would have kept quiet, as Grandmother Bai was the ultimate authority in the house. But now, she was pregnant, and she had a strong premonition that it was a girl. Yu Jingui rubbed her belly; the “daughter” gave her courage.
“Grandma, it’s not that I don’t want to work, it’s that my daughter is precious and won’t let me work.” Yu Jingui confidently puffed out her flat stomach.
Grandmother Bai’s gaze landed on Yu Jingui’s belly, and she let out a cold laugh. “Did I ask you to do heavy labor? Would it kill you to hand your sister-in-law a ladle of water? If you really give birth to a daughter, I’ll personally ask the ancestors to grant you a title. We’ll just see if you actually have that kind of luck.”
What did that mean? Was she looking down on Yu Jingui’s womb? The old woman’s insults were truly vicious.
Yu Jingui was so angry her chest felt tight. She spun around and stomped into her own room in the side wing. With so many people in the house, how could they not function without her? The more they told her to work, the less she would do. She carried the Bai family’s daughter in her womb; she would rise in status because of her child. Her mother-in-law had given birth to a girl and was hiding in her room without showing her face; as a daughter-in-law, Yu Jingui felt she was just following suit by putting on airs.
In reality, farm wives who were pregnant usually didn’t have the luxury of being “delicate.” They would still cook, do laundry, and tend the fires with their heavy bellies. Some women even gave birth and had to be back in the fields before their recovery month was over. However, the Bai family was different. Though poor, they never mistreated their daughters-in-law. When a wife was pregnant, they tried to let her rest as much as possible.
Because of this, Grandmother Bai wasn’t truly furious about Yu Jingui’s laziness and attitude. She simply felt that with the family so busy, it wasn’t too much to ask Yu Jingui to hand over some firewood. Yet, it was always her—putting on airs and pushing all the work onto Xie Chuntao. If she didn’t humble Yu Jingui’s temperament now, the woman might start riding over everyone’s heads in the future.
“Grandma, let my sister-in-law rest. I can handle this little bit of work,” Xie Chuntao said, feeling that with the joy of the new baby, it wasn’t right for the elders and juniors to argue over chores.
“Mother, let me tend the fire,” Madam Zhen said, coming out to offer her help after hearing the bickering between her daughter-in-law and the elderly matriarch.
“No, stay in your room and keep the baby company,” Grandmother Bai waved her off with a look of mock disdain. “I’m afraid you’ll burn the kitchen down.”
Xie Chuntao saw her mother-in-law go back into the room with an embarrassed look. She had always found it strange—her mother-in-law was perfect in every way, except that she wasn’t very good at starting fires or cooking, nor did she know how to do farm work. She couldn’t understand how a village woman could be unskilled at such simple tasks, and could only conclude that her mother-in-law simply wasn’t “born for labor.”
“Grandma, you’ve been busy for half the day. You should rest too,” Xie Chuntao said.
“I’m not tired.” Grandmother Bai scurried off on her small feet to the woodpile to gather kindling.
“Dalang, come help your mother with the stove.”
“Coming, Mother!” Dalang was very obedient. He always helped with the chores, and at Xie Chuntao’s command, he ducked into the kitchen.
“Fifth Brother, help me carry the water,” Xie Chuntao directed Bai Zhaomei.
“Sure thing, Sister-in-law!” Bai Zhaomei nodded, lifting two buckets of water as if it were child’s play.
Bai Sanlang was young, but seeing everyone else working, he didn’t want to be left behind. He moved his short legs to help Grandmother Bai pull out pieces of firewood.
The Bai family was a hive of activity. Smoke rose from the kitchen chimney as the savory aroma of stewed fish began to waft through the air.