“That little girl… she’s strong! One day, all that strength will be useful.”
“Nothing else to do?”
A booming voice rang out, shaking Aman’s ears.
Tu Honglie was a brute of a man, tall and broad, even taller than Zhao Ye. Aman looked like a little dwarf beside him.
Everyone went about their work. Tu Honglie glanced at Aman. “We have a lot of pigs to slaughter today. Hurry with the water, don’t dawdle.”
“Yes, I’ll be quick.”
Aman worked hard, hauling water and carrying firewood. She hadn’t eaten breakfast and was already starving. Tu Honglie’s wife, weak and frail, stayed at home.
When she heard a little girl had come to work, she came over out of curiosity.
Seeing Aman’s boundless energy, she handed her a large steamed bun while Aman tended the fire.
Aman, surprised and grateful, looked at the kind-faced woman.
“I-I’m not hungry, thank you.”
“Eat, it’s okay.” The woman had observed Aman for a while; she must be hungry, judging by how she rubbed her stomach.
“You’re the little maid my husband hired?”
Aman immediately understood.
“Yes, I’m… I’m Aman, Shen Aman.”
“Miss Aman,” the woman said.
“Eat—it’s no trouble.” The woman smiled kindly. Aman sensed no malice, and she truly was hungry.
She took the bun, whispered a thank you, and devoured it.
The bun was delicious, filling her mouth completely.
“I can’t help my husband much. Since you’re here, you’ll have to work hard,” the woman said.
“Boss Tu paid me. Working… is my duty,” Aman replied between bites, anxious the woman might think her unfit as a girl working here.
Girls in this era had a hard time earning a living; they often faced judgment.
The woman only smiled. Suddenly, commotion came from the pigpen.
“The pigs are running! Chase them! Those are for the magistrate! We have to deliver them today!”
The fattest pigs, three to four hundred pounds each, broke out of their pens, rampaging. Even a few strong men struggled to restrain them.
The pigs charged straight toward Aman and the woman.
“Boss Tu, the pigs are running—”
“And your lady wife is there too!”
In Ningzhou, a wife was called “po-yi”. Aman had never heard this before.
The pigs barreled toward them. Tu Honglie’s men panicked—everyone knew how much he cared for his wife. If she got hurt, they’d be in trouble too.
Aman grabbed the woman and ran, but the woman couldn’t move fast. Glancing down, Aman saw tiny bound feet.
Aman gritted her teeth and hoisted her up—astonishing everyone there.
Several men tried to tie the pigs with ropes. The frightened pigs bucked and rolled, but Aman jumped in, pulling one rope with one hand and forcing the pig to comply.
At the right moment, the men secured the pigs’ legs to a wooden frame. Blood spilled, but Aman quickly grabbed a basin to catch it.
Tu Honglie, discussing business outside, heard the commotion. Seeing his wife shaken, he asked what had happened.
“Honglie, it’s all thanks to Miss Aman,” the woman said. With her bound feet, she couldn’t have escaped. Aman guessed she came from a wealthy family.
Aman had seen in the capital that wealthy girls often had their feet bound from age three—deformed feet considered beautiful. Poor girls, who had to work, rarely did this.
Aman herself had never bound her feet. She was the strongest in her family, needed for all the labor.
A wealthy daughter married to a butcher… Aman’s mind wandered—was this some dramatic romance of a domineering butcher and a rich girl?
Before she could daydream further, Tu Honglie intervened.
“Wanzhen, I’m glad you’re safe.”
Wanzhen… what a beautiful name.
Unlike Aman—Shen Zhi, a name her illiterate father had hastily given.
Older sisters were called Shen Xiaocao, Shen Xiaohua; brothers Shen Shitou; younger sister Shen Xiaoshu; and she became Shen Zhi. Her father named the children after whatever came to mind.
“Boss, that little girl is strong! We couldn’t control that beast, but Miss Aman subdued it in one move.”
The men all gave Aman thumbs up. Growing up, she’d heard people praise her strength the most.
Not beautiful, not very tall, but her strength was impressive.
She had never been bullied—anyone who dared, got a punch from her. Once, village boys chased kids with stones, including Aman. One punch, and a boy’s teeth were knocked out. Aman had to kneel in the courtyard all night.
“She’s got the strength of no ordinary girl.”
“Here, take this.”
Tu Honglie tossed her a money pouch.
Aman opened it—one hundred wen!
“Boss Tu, my daily wage is thirty wen… you… gave too much.”
Aman wanted to be greedy—everyone is sometimes—but she was truly in need.
“The remaining seventy wen is a gift,” Tu Honglie said.
Aman understood—she had saved his wife. The extra seventy wen was a reward. Holding the pouch, she felt light as air.
One hundred wen! Enough for a long time, and she could buy plenty of meat buns!
“Thank you, Boss Tu! Thank you, madam! You’re all such kind people, may you live long lives!”