The stars in the sky had faded, and the heavens were as dark as ink. Yet not everyone could sense it.
Yu Chun threw on a coat, blew on a fire striker to light it, then lit the oil lamp. Yawning, she walked into the kitchen, pushed aside the ashes in the stove, added some dry leaves and a few sesame stalks, and blew through a bamboo tube. The fire caught. She added firewood, then coal, and began heating water.
She set up the steamer, chewed the end of a willow twig, put some tooth powder and water in her mouth, cracked an egg into a bowl, added a pinch of salt, stirred it evenly, skimmed off the foam, then added warm water equal to three eggs. After stirring again and removing the foam, she placed the bowl in the steamer. She ladled out hot water from the pot, added half a basin of cold water, poured in half a bowl of millet and dried sweet potatoes, and set the steamer in place.
She soaked more sweet potatoes in a wooden basin. Just as she finished, the courtyard gate creaked—it was her father.
“Father, are you going out to look for work again today?” Perhaps he felt the tension in the city, or perhaps the family money was running low—her father had shed his usual laziness and went to the docks every morning at this hour.
But where was there work?
Since the rebel forces completed their encirclement, the docks had shut down, and the city had fallen silent.
The only places with a bit of activity were the tavern where Yu Xiao worked and the butcher shops.
“You forgot—Manager Qian told me to remind you yesterday that no matter what, you must deliver the clothes today. Any later, and the client won’t want them.”
“I know. It’s still early—I’ll sew a few more and deliver them at noon. There won’t be any more orders after this.”
Yu Chun had overestimated herself. With a baby at home and her mother only able to do simple tasks, progress had been slow.
No matter how she taught her, her mother would always twist even the simplest straight stitch into a tangled mess.
Yu Chun herself was injured and overworked. She had fainted for a whole day, and only recovered after Yu Xiao found a barefoot doctor for acupuncture and spent a hundred coins on medicine.
So she hadn’t rushed as much—she finished 180 sets, two days late.
But she had no choice—money or life, she didn’t get to choose.
It was still good enough. Only thirty sets remained. She could finish five more this morning. The rest of the money could go to others—better that than delaying the client.
“I’ll help later,” her father sighed.
“Fine—but same as before, I’ll pay you,” Yu Chun said. Her father was clever and could sew decently. After practicing for several days, he could finish four or five sets a day—but he liked cutting corners, so Yu Chun still had to fix the finishing work.
“I don’t want your money! Keep it for the kids!” her father said, taking a puff from a makeshift cigarette made of eggplant leaves.
“You can’t have no money either. Who knows what this year will become? At least there’s still the corn they planted—harvest should come in two months. Grain on the black market is already two hundred coins per dou.”
“Alright. But you need to change your temperament. You have to learn to talk sweetly—can a woman survive without relying on a man?”
“I know!” Yu Chun’s patience snapped. “Stop nagging! I relied on him before—look at the bruise on my nose, it’s not even healed. He has a personality disorder. Keep this up and we’ll lose both money and lives. Do you really think we can outwit him?”
Since Cao Jie left, her father had been lecturing her daily on how women should be obedient and gentle to win a husband’s favor. From arguments to silent resentment, Yu Chun had finally learned—she avoided him.
“You raised a foolish daughter! With your temperament, who could you live with to old age?” her father turned to scold her mother.
“My sister is foolish, yet she earns two hundred coins a day. I’m foolish, I earn one hundred. You’re so capable—how much do you earn? If I hadn’t listened to my sister and turned money into grain and bought a house, would we even be alive? Do you know how refugees outside Luoyang are surviving? The rebels have taken all the grain—how much do a hundred thousand soldiers eat in a day? And they even eat people!”
“And yet we’re still surrounded!” her father retorted weakly, though he didn’t dare push too far—he knew his children were right.
“Sis, be careful lately. Things are chaotic—people are ambushing others in alleys because they can’t afford food.”
“Mm,” Yu Chun nodded. “I should’ve collected wages earlier instead of waiting to settle everything at once.”
She had underestimated the weight of copper coins. In dramas, sums were always in silver or gold—but copper coins were bulky.
Her wages totaled 4,260 coins—about twenty kilograms, roughly the size of a basketball. If she were robbed, she wouldn’t even be able to run.
“If I’m lucky, maybe they’ll pay in gold. Then I can exchange it at the Lin pawnshop.” A tael of gold was only the size of a peanut—she could hide it on the children.
“Dream on!” Yu Xiao mocked. “Do you even know who owns Hongyan Workshop?”
“How wouldn’t I? The Regent Prince’s!” That was exactly why she dared to hope—judging from their actions, they seemed reasonable and benevolent.
“Stop talking and get to work!” her father snapped, worried about the family’s livelihood.
Yu Chun heated some coarse grain cakes on the pan, took out the steamed eggs, and quickly dressed the children. Today, she planned to take them along.
She still remembered the gold the children had received. If the city fell, she might never go back to Hongyan Workshop.
Over the past days, she had also helped the children make a cloth rose. Cao Rong made the flower, Cao Fang added finger-painted petals, and Cao Rong wrote:
“Cao Rong and Cao Fang wish the beautiful lady happiness, health, peace, and joy.”
She planned to ask the administrative clerk to pass it along.
The money was life-saving for her—but to that woman, it might be nothing. Still, it could mean everything to them.
She could only repay it in the future.
For safety—and because she planned to stay home afterward—the whole family went together today.
Yu Xiao quickly washed up, drank a bowl of porridge, grabbed a cake, and rushed to work.
None of them thought much about retaliation. They lived honestly, worked diligently, and endured quietly—surely no one would kill over a few words. How could there be so many evil people in the world?
Yu Chun and her father hurried to finish sewing, ate a quick meal, and set out with the clothes. Her mother stayed home. Just after lunch, Yu Xiao returned on leave, and he and their father each carried a basket, with the children inside.
Because of Yu Chun’s recent illness, they also planned to visit the black market for medicine after getting paid. She also wanted to give the children some good memories—like during a pandemic, she thought—so she would take them around a bit.
“Going out as a whole family, Chun?”
“Yes. My mother is at home. Auntie, are you heading to the shop too?”
“Yes! I’ll go ahead!”
Yu Chun smiled. Aunt Zhu seemed to have changed recently—less talkative, almost avoiding her.
But Yu Chun didn’t care much. “Mother, call out if anything happens. I’ve let the dog loose—we’ll be back in half an hour.”
“Mhm!” Her mother nodded nervously—it was her first time alone at home, though it was still daytime.
Yu Chun set off quickly, passing by her neighbor Xian Niang, who was just rinsing her mouth at the gate.
“Out again, Sister Xian?”
“Yes. Going to the workshop?”
“Mm.”
“Hurry then! There have already been robberies and murders in the south. Be careful—our families may be poor, but our lives matter.”
“Mm.” There were patrols on the streets—what could happen in broad daylight?
Yu Chun turned to her still-instructing father. “I’ll go ahead!”
So slow—if they delayed any longer, the place might close.
“Coming, coming—”
“Remember, don’t open the door,” her father reminded.
“Don’t listen to Father’s nonsense, Mother. Don’t be afraid—we’ll be back soon,” Yu Xiao added, catching up.
Seeing Yu Xiao, Xian Niang stepped closer. “What a strong young man,” she said, even reaching out to touch his muscles.
“Sister Xian, don’t tease me!” Yu Xiao blushed.
“Oh, shy now? Big sister likes you!” she said, leaning closer to his ear. “Someone’s marked your sister—they’re planning to rob her. Be careful. Don’t look like you have money, or you’ll be targeted.”
“Mm.” Yu Xiao’s ears turned red—this time from anger. He gave a slight nod.
Then he quickened his pace to catch up.