Yan Xi glanced at the woman who had spoken. “Auntie Wu, you’re so generous, you open your basket first and let us have a look. We’re all from the same village, you wouldn’t refuse, would you?” Anyone can watch a show, if you’re allowed to add fuel to the fire, am I not allowed to answer back?
“You, you, you, is that how you talk? A junior with no manners of a junior. I’m your elder, what’s wrong with my saying a few words to you?” Xu Guihua didn’t expect Yan Xi to answer back, and had run into a soft nail.
“If you want to throw your weight around, go home and do it. You haven’t even managed your own household’s affairs and now you’re managing other people’s.” Yan Xi wasn’t going to indulge her. For what it was worth she had been here almost a week, and she could tell who was good to her and who was all honey on the lips. Having said this, Yan Xi paid her no more attention.
For a moment nobody on the ox cart said anything. Before, whenever they met Yan Xi she was all smiles and they had thought she was easy to talk to, who would have thought she was quick with her tongue? They hadn’t noticed before because nobody had ever fallen out with her.
Still, there were some who liked Yan Xi’s temperament. Say nothing else, at least a temperament like that wasn’t easily taken advantage of. It was hard enough for women as it was. In her own family it was all right, but once at her husband’s family, being able to stand up for herself was what mattered.
Thinking this, someone spoke up. “Enough, enough. Two grown women bullying one child and not ashamed of it. Whatever she bought is hers, she didn’t spend your silver, what are you managing it for? Making yourselves a laughingstock for nothing.”
After a while the mood on the cart gradually livened up again, and Yan Xi got in on a good deal of the gossip herself.
Take that Xu Guihua just now. They said her daughter was nineteen this year and still hadn’t found a husband’s family. Before, she had been betrothed to a young man from Yanshi Gully next door, but Wu Hehua carried on so, today she wanted a hair flower, tomorrow a handkerchief, the day after pastries. Even with mountains of gold and silver you couldn’t keep that up. Less than two months into the betrothal she had cost the man nearly a tael of silver, and you had to know that finding a wife only cost three to five taels, having that much spent on her before the wedding was already very good. But Wu Hehua wasn’t satisfied. Her appetite got bigger and bigger, and half a month before the wedding she absolutely insisted they buy her a gold bracelet, and if they didn’t buy it she wouldn’t marry. The man’s side came to talk it over several times, but Wu Hehua simply refused to see them, and Xu Guihua and Wu Laoyao didn’t intervene either. They felt that with the wedding coming, their daughter had to get the upper hand over him, so that once she married in she would run the household straight away and could help her brothers at home later on.
Who knew that this time the man’s side would stand firm. They said outright that if she didn’t want to marry then break the engagement, return the betrothal money and the things sent earlier, and what couldn’t be returned would be reckoned in silver, a wife like this they couldn’t afford.
At first the Wu family didn’t take it seriously. They thought there was only half a month to the wedding, and if it blew up the other side couldn’t stand the shame either, and they told Wu Hehua to hold steady, they didn’t believe the gold bracelet wouldn’t be sent over.
Who knew that the next day people came, but with them came the village head of Yanshi Gully, and some strongly built women.
The Wu family had never seen such a display, and hurried to fetch the village head of Yanjia Village (that is, the lizheng, the same person).
When Yan Fusheng arrived, Xu Guihua was throwing herself about on the ground, Wu Laoyao stood at the side smoking his pipe, and Wu Hehua was whimpering off to one side.
Seeing a crowd of strangers on the other side, he came forward and said, “Who are you people? What business do you have in our Yanjia Village?”
At this Village Head Liu of Yanshi Gully stepped out and made a bow. “You must be the village head of Yanjia Village. We are from Yanshi Gully, and we’ve come today on account of this worthless nephew of mine. Earlier, through a matchmaker’s introduction, he came to know this Wu family’s daughter. The betrothal money and the bride gifts were agreed, and the engagement was made with the parents of both sides as witnesses.”
“It was all right at first. The Wu family seemed amiable and the daughter seemed pretty, and who knew that a few days into the engagement she’d start finding ways to ask Liu Yang for things. They were engaged, after all, and there’s no harm in buying something for your betrothed, but the trouble is this girl has big ideas. The day before yesterday she went into town and absolutely insisted on buying a gold bracelet, and if they didn’t buy it she wouldn’t marry. Village Head Yan, you tell me, we’re all farm folk, whose family can afford a gold bracelet for a wedding? One bracelet is dozens of taels at the least. Isn’t that opening the lion’s mouth? And my nephew is single-minded about it, he took his father and went to talk it over several times, and they simply shut the door and wouldn’t come out. You tell me, what sort of business is this.”
“We’ve come today for nothing else, only to break off this match. From now on their marrying and ours are nothing to do with each other, and the bride gifts we gave before are to be returned in full.”
“You can’t, this match can’t be broken. There’s only half a month to the wedding, if the engagement’s broken what’s to become of our Hehua! We don’t want the gold bracelet anymore. How about you add a few taels of silver?” Xu Guihua cried out.
Yan Fusheng shot Xu Guihua a fierce look. This good-for-nothing creature. Was this the time to be adding to the bride gifts? They didn’t want your Hehua anymore. With in-laws like these, there’d never be a peaceful day.
“Brother Liu, I’m clear about this now. I’ll decide this match: let the two of them break it off. Hehua doesn’t have the good fortune for it.”
“Village Head, this match can’t be broken. Besides, the bride gifts have been accepted, where’s the sense in giving them back? I have no money. Either they marry on the appointed date, or the money counts as compensation for Hehua. We’re not the ones who wanted to break it off, why should we return the money?” Xu Guihua went on making trouble.
“Wu Laoyao, what do you say?” Yan Fusheng didn’t intend to wrangle with an old woman and called directly on the head of the household.
Wu Laoyao finally raised his head, and seeing the cold look in the village head’s eyes he knew that this time there really was no dodging it. He sighed and said, “We’ll do as the village head says.”
Now Yan Fusheng was satisfied. “Get back inside quickly and bring out the bride gifts and let them take them back. And if you dare hold back a single wen or half a coin, don’t blame me for driving your whole family out of Yanjia Village.”
Now Xu Guihua didn’t dare make a fuss either. She could only go in and bring the things out, and made up the difference in silver for what was missing, and handed it over meekly into Liu Yang’s hands. Watching all those good things go back, Xu Guihua’s heart bled, and she shot Wu Hehua several knife-like looks.
Once they had made sure everything matched, the people from Yanshi Gully got ready to go back, and as they left several of the women looked Wu Hehua over a few times. It seemed there would be a new topic when they got home.
After this business Wu Hehua’s reputation was thoroughly ruined. No decent family would want a wife like that. There were some widowers and men with something wrong with them who came to propose, and Wu Hehua cursed them up and down, and there were people who said out loud that they’d like to see what sort of man Wu Hehua could find. Dragging on and on, Wu Hehua was nineteen now. In an ordinary family a girl of nineteen could already be a mother, but she was still at home an old maid.
While the group talked and laughed the ox cart reached the big locust tree, and those who lived nearby all got off there. The ox cart would pass Yan Xi’s house, and when most of the people on the cart had gone Zhou Ping said, “Little Xi, from now on you must watch out for Zhang Zhaodi and Xu Guihua. Neither of those two is broad-minded, be careful they don’t play some trick behind your back.”