“Hua Niang?” The pounding of her washing mallet slowed. “Auntie, what is my name?”
The old woman was taken aback, looking somewhat puzzled as she turned to Yang Shu. “What state is your mother in now?” She was afraid she might say something wrong.
Zhou Qiong made room for her. “Auntie, I’ve suddenly come to my senses, but these past years are all a blur. I’ve forgotten many things and am afraid I might misremember. Please don’t worry.”
The old woman squatted down beside her, gazing at her. “I understand, I understand. It’s all that accursed human trafficker’s doing. When you were first sold to our village, you were perfectly fine—speaking normally, and quite good-looking too. Probably suffered some shock, then suddenly went mad. You’ve been mad all these years. It’s good that you’re awake now. Those two children finally have someone to rely on. These past years, those two have had it so hard.”
So she wasn’t born mad; she was driven mad after being sold here. And to think, she was actually sold by a human trafficker to this remote, impoverished place. What a tragedy.
“Mother, since you don’t need our help, I’ll head to the mountains. I’ll take Xiao Miao back to get the baskets and air out the bedding while we’re at it.”
“Go ahead then. Be careful and don’t come back too late.”
“Grandma, I want to go up the mountain with Brother Xiao Shu and the others too.”
“Go on, go on. You can’t sit still anyway.”
The old woman smiled as she saw the children off. “We’re next-door neighbors. It’s been five or six years since your family moved here after splitting from the main household. My surname is Feng.”
“You just called me Hua Niang?”
“That’s what your family calls you. I thought it was your name. Don’t tell me you’re not called Hua Niang?”
“My name is Zhou Qiong.” She smiled. “You can call me A-Qiong.”
“Alright, I’ll call you A-Qiong from now on. Both our families have had hard lives. Gui Bao’s grandfather passed away early. I worked hard to raise Gui Bao’s father, but before the boy could grow up, both his parents fell ill and passed away one after the other, leaving Gui Bao alone. I’m just an old woman; I don’t know if I can raise him properly.”
“Auntie, don’t be too disheartened. The harder it is, the more you must live well. Otherwise, Gui Bao would truly be alone. We’re in the same boat. Now that I’m better, I definitely won’t let the children suffer like they did before.”
The old woman looked at her and nodded. “I believe now that you’re truly better. There were times before when you spoke normally, but you never reasoned with me like this. You were often impatient when you spoke. This is truly good.”
She glanced at the clothes Zhou Qiong was pounding. “Today, Gui Bao kept telling me to use fruit water to wash clothes from now on. When I was about to go out, he wouldn’t let me take wood ash, saying there are fruits here. What’s going on? I see your clothes can be pounded to lather and come out clean. Could it really be washed with fruit water? He picked a lot over there earlier.”
“Auntie, this fruit is called Wuhuanzi. The water from rubbing its flesh can be used to wash things. If you don’t believe me, you can try washing your hands with some from that basin over there. It cleans easily. Don’t rub the fruit yourself; I rubbed plenty this morning. You can just use it directly.”
The old woman took a piece of clothing from the basin, wet it in the river, then tried pouring some water from the basin onto it. Following Zhou Qiong’s signal, she rubbed it and began pounding vigorously. Before long, black water appeared on the stone. Delighted, she exclaimed, “It’s true! It really can wash things clean.”
"The stain removal isn't all that effective either, but it's definitely much better than using that plant ash."
"Such a convenient thing, and I never knew about it before—it grew right before my eyes, yet I never used it. What a waste of a lifetime," the old woman sighed with a smile. "You're the clever one, A'Qiong. Do you remember where you came from?"
Zhou Qiong shook her head, "I don't remember. I don't remember anything from the past."
"It's just as well you don't remember. You're better now, and you have two children with you. For their sake, you should settle down here and live well."
The old woman continued washing while exclaiming in amazement, "No wonder Gui Bao insisted on washing everything at home yesterday when he went back. I thought he just wanted to join in the fun after seeing you tidy up your place, but it turns out it was because of this. With such a good thing, we really should take some time to clean up the house properly. When I went to your place earlier, I saw how neat and tidy your room was, and the two children were also cleaned up nicely today."
Zhou Qiong noticed her occasionally supporting her waist while pounding the clothes, "Auntie, does your back hurt?"
"It's just from working in the fields yesterday, bent over for too long. It'll be fine after resting for a couple of days. It's nothing serious. When you get old, you're just not as useful anymore."
Zhou Qiong glanced around, "Auntie, why don't you leave the clothes here? I'll wash them for you after I finish mine. You can go sit and rest on that big rock over there."
"How can that be? I can't let you wash them all by yourself!"
"Why not? I'm washing anyway today. If your back didn't hurt, it would be one thing, but since it does, you should rest. Otherwise, it might get worse from bending over too much. Xiao Shu told me how much you helped us during my difficult days."
The old woman's eyes crinkled with a smile, "Well, if you put it that way, I won't stand on ceremony. I'll take a seat then."
"Please do. And while you're at it, tell me about the village. I've just recovered and don't know anything. I'm afraid I'll make a fool of myself when I go out."
"Gossipy women are everywhere. Just don't take their words to heart."
"Xiao Shu said that for the past two years, it's been his third uncle and you who have been helping us. We're very grateful. Do you know what kind of people his third uncle's family is like? I heard them say we also have an eldest uncle in this family."
"Yes, your family has three brothers. Your husband was the second eldest. The eldest brother is called Yang Gongfang, and his wife's surname is Zhang. The younger brother is called Yang Gongcai, and his wife's surname is Wu. You should remember all this. Except for Xiao Shu's father, everyone else is still around. I won't say much about your eldest brother's family—you didn't have much contact with them. Your third brother is a decent person. Although his wife has a bit of a temper, over all these years, when the children went to their door, they never refused to give them food. Sometimes their nagging might sound harsh, but life is hard for everyone. Anyone would be the same."
Zhou Qiong pursed her lips, "What is this place called? Where is the nearest market town? Is it far from here?"
"This is Yangjia Village. What, do you want to go to town? That's not convenient at all. It takes about two hours to walk there."
"I was thinking of going out to see if I could find work. We have no food or money at home now. We have to find a way to earn some money to buy food. We can't keep relying on others for help."
The woman gaped at her words, "You want to go out to work? What kind of work is there for women? Unless you have skills like embroidery or sewing clothes?"
"No, I don't know how to embroider or make clothes."
"Then what kind of work do you want to do? Even men might not find work when they go out. You'd probably suffer a lot, and if you go, the two children will go back to how they were before."
The woman lowered her head in thought, then looked at her. "Your family actually still has one mu of land. Before, when you weren't well, your eldest brother's side tricked you out of it. The grain they give each year isn't enough either. I think, after the harvest in August, you should go and take it back to farm yourself."
"Mm." She nodded. "I'll definitely reclaim the land, but before that, I still need to earn some money. Otherwise, without money to buy seeds, having land won't be of any use."