Mrs. Xia felt distressed thinking about those unpleasant matters. She let out a deep sigh, patted Xia Li’s hand and said, “Good daughter, Mother knows you’re filial. Your grandmother already sold me off once, and I’ve repaid all that needed repaying. Moreover, I contributed silver for your eldest uncle to become a butcher and your second uncle to open a blacksmith shop. They’re both doing well now and truly have no reason to covet what little we have left. Mother’s possessions must be left to you, my daughter – no one else shall scheme to take them. Having witnessed too many cases where kindness between relatives turns to enmity over trivial gains, I won’t play the fool.”
In ancient times, not every butcher could open a meat shop, nor every blacksmith a forge. They needed to be registered with the county authorities and obtain official approval. Mrs. Xia spent twenty taels of silver to help Xia Zhu and Xia Tie navigate county bureaucracy, plus ten additional taels as capital for Xia Tie to rent a shop in Sanhu Town where he opened his blacksmith business. She also gave Old Mrs. Xia twelve taels to purchase farmland. Both Xia Zhu and Xia Tie proved capable, managing their respective businesses well within few years. Thus, it wouldn’t be exaggeration to call Mrs. Xia the Xia family’s great benefactor.
Having spent over forty taels total supporting her maternal family, when Mrs. Xia noticed Old Mrs. Xia and her sister-in-law Little Mrs. Yang still eyeing her remaining funds, she decisively spent all her remaining silver. Not only did she build this luxurious courtyard, but she also insisted on digging a well for easier daily living. Later, no matter how hard Old Mrs. Xia and Little Mrs. Yang tried to squeeze more money from her, they couldn’t extract another coin. Seeing Mrs. Li taking embroidery work daily to support themselves, they finally believed she truly had no money left.
Most Xia family members were decent people who remembered her kindness, with the exception of Old Mrs. Xia and Little Mrs. Yang.
They believed that since Mrs. Xia returned to her maternal home as a widow with a daughter, all her possessions should belong to the family. They felt she shouldn’t have spent so much silver building the house and digging the well, nor wasted money educating a mere girl. To them, this showed unfilial behavior and favoring outsiders over family.
Old Mrs. Xia’s strong push for Mrs. Xia to adopt San Xiong reflected both the principle that “good water should not flow to other people’s fields” and her desire to ensure her daughter had support in old age. However, Little Mrs. Yang’s selfish and unreasonable nature, coupled with her laziness, led her to devise a scheme: have her son adopted to seize Mrs. Xia’s property, marry off Xia Li for bride price, then make Mrs. Xia work daily to support their whole family…
Though gentle-natured and clear-minded, Mrs. Xia avoided open conflict with her family. But the original host had been sharp-tongued – as she grew older, she often bluntly exposed the shameless schemes of the old lady and Little Mrs. Yang. Old Man Xia frequently scolded them, forcing them to restrain themselves.
Xia Li felt pleased hearing Mrs. Xia’s words – not because she cared about the property, but because she was moved by Mrs. Xia’s maternal love. Moreover, though Mrs. Xia appeared gentle and simple, she actually possessed good judgment. If they earned more money in future, there’d be no worry about her misjudging situations.
As mother and daughter were talking, they heard the gate creak open followed by a boy’s voice calling, “Auntie, Sister Li, open up!”
It was her eldest uncle’s son, Xia Erhu.
The Xia family hadn’t divided their property yet – Mrs. Xia’s parents lived together with one brother and two younger brothers.The eldest brother, Xia Zhu, was thirty-one years old and married to Li, who was an excellent woman—energetic, diligent, and on very good terms with Mrs. Xia. They had two children: the eldest daughter, Xia Dani, was twelve, and their son, Xia Erhu, was six. The large age gap between the two children was because a child born in between had fallen ill and died shortly after birth.
The second brother, Xia Tie, was Mrs. Xia’s twin brother and twenty-nine years old. He was married to Little Mrs. Yang, the niece of Old Mrs. Xia’s maiden family. Their eldest daughter, Xia Erni, was eleven, their eldest son, Xia Daxiong was nine, and their youngest son, Xia Sanbao, was five.
The third brother, Xia Shan, was nineteen and currently serving in the military. Fortunately, his station wasn’t far away, so he could return home for a couple of days each month.
There was also a younger sister, Xia Meiniang, twenty-six years old, who had married into a neighboring county and had almost lost contact with the family.
The original host disliked Old Mrs. Xia and Little Mrs. Yang the most, while her favorite people were her maternal grandfather, Old Man Xia, her third uncle, Xia Shan, and Xia Erhu. She occasionally gave Erhu a few coins to buy candy and taught him to read and write. The bond between the cousins was very strong.
When the mother and daughter heard it was him, both broke into smiles. Mrs. Xia quickly stood up to open the door.
Erhu was the best-looking child in the Xia family. Everyone said he resembled his eldest aunt, Xia Lanniang, the most—fair-skinned and delicate, with bright teeth and red lips. He was also exceptionally clean and intelligent, not at all like a butcher’s son. Because of this, Xia Zhu had no intention of having him inherit the family trade. Instead, he planned to send him to a private school once he turned seven. While they didn’t dare dream of him passing the imperial exams to become a scholar-official, if he could at least earn the xiucai degree, he might one day become a teacher like Teacher Li, elevating the Xia family’s status.
The little boy came in carrying a small piece of pork liver and two marrow bones. Seeing Xia Li sitting in the yard, he was so surprised that he jumped up and down in front of her, exclaiming exaggeratedly, “Sister Li is up and about! That’s wonderful!” Then he held out the liver and bones like a treasure, saying, “And I’ve brought these good things! I’ll have dinner here too, to celebrate Sister Li’s recovery.”
Xia Li smiled and pinched his cheek lightly. “Alright, you’ll have dinner at your aunt’s today. We’ll have Auntie stir-fry some Fried Liver Slices and simmer a big bone soup.”
Erhu jumped for joy again and handed the items to Mrs. Xia.
Mrs. Xia didn’t take them immediately, saying, “If your grandmother sees this, she’ll scold your father again. Don’t cause trouble—take them back home quickly.”
Erhu grinned. “I came through the bamboo grove. No one saw me.”
Xia Zhu sold meat at the southwestern entrance of the village, and he was the only butcher serving several nearby villages. Due to the villagers’ limited purchasing power, he only sold half a pig each day. In the countryside, not every butcher had a pig to slaughter daily. If Xia Zhu had a pig to slaughter, he would keep half for sale. If not, he would buy half a pig from another butcher.
In cooler weather, any unsold meat would be sold the next day. In hot weather, it would be discounted, and if there were still leftover bones and a little meat, the family would eat it themselves. However, Xia Zhu often managed to set aside a bit of meat or bones every few days and had Erhu secretly bring them to Mrs. Xia’s house.
Only then did Mrs. Xia smile and take the liver and bones, placing them in the kitchen.
Although the Xia family now lived comfortably and could afford meat almost daily, Old Mrs. Xia’s frugality had become second nature. Not only did she skimp on oil when cooking—often opting for stewing instead—she also strictly rationed portions, never preparing an extra grain of rice. In contrast, Mrs. Xia was skilled in the kitchen and generous with oil, making even simple vegetable dishes flavorful and well-seasoned. This was why Xia Erhu disliked eating at his own home and frequently came to his aunt’s house for meals.
After chatting and laughing for a while, Mrs. Xia noticed the setting sun dipping westward and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. With her daughter recovered from illness, she was overjoyed and decided to cook several dishes her daughter loved.
The countryside dusk was enchanting. The slanting sun hung low, painting the sky with brilliant clouds, and everything in the world seemed gilded in golden light. Wisps of cooking smoke rose from every rooftop.
Gazing at this beautiful scenery, with the little boy chattering nonstop beside her, Xia Li’s mood grew even brighter.
To live a second life, still surrounded by family—how wonderful!