When they returned to the bamboo grove, several villagers were already digging for bamboo shoots.
They noticed Jinxiu and the others, but their attention quickly fell on Xie Eryong’s bandaged hand.
The cloth wrapping was already stained red, with blood seeping through.
“Eryong, what happened to your hand?”
“Goodness! That’s a lot of blood!”
“Who’s this young lady? I don’t think I’ve seen her before.”
“I saw Matchmaker Lu come to our village yesterday with a young woman. That’s her. I heard she’s the bride found for Xie Jinnan.”
Jinxiu paid little attention to the villagers’ curious looks and gossip.
Xie Eryong looked rather embarrassed and simply said he’d accidentally cut himself while chopping firewood.
Only little Xiaoyu—the most outgoing child imaginable—solemnly announced,
“Thank you for your concern, Uncles and Aunties. My second brother is in so much pain he’s about to cry, so Sister-in-law and I are taking him to see the doctor.”
The villagers burst into laughter.
Xie Eryong wished the ground would swallow him whole.
An elderly woman with a slightly hunched back watched the three of them hurry out of the bamboo grove before clicking her tongue.
“With that much blood, I’m afraid Eryong’s hand is finished.”
“It can’t be that serious, Granny Bai! Don’t scare people.”
“Pah! I’m only telling the truth.”
The old woman everyone called Granny Bai planted her hands on her hips.
“The Xie family’s eldest branch is already in such miserable shape, yet they still brought home a jinx of a bride. Think about it! She’s only been in the family for two days, and Eryong has already chopped his hand open. Nothing like this ever happened before. Why is it such a coincidence that trouble starts the moment she arrives?”
After Granny Bai put it that way, everyone felt…
She seemed to have a point.
Blood had been shed on the second day after the bride entered the household.
No matter how they looked at it, it felt unlucky.
“If Eryong really loses the use of his hand…”
Someone drew in a sharp breath.
“…How is the Xie family’s eldest branch supposed to survive after this?”
“Exactly. The grandparents are already so old. Even if they’re still healthy, they won’t be able to work for many more years. Xie Changsheng and his wife are both in poor condition, Jinnan’s a scholar, Xiaoyu’s still a child… Eryong’s the only one in the family who can really do heavy labor.”
“The Xie family’s eldest branch has had terrible luck these past few years. Heaven really knows how to torment one family.”
Seeing everyone agree with her, Granny Bai looked immensely pleased.
The worse life became for the Xie grandparents…
The happier she was.
As for why…
That went back to her husband, Song Muhuo.
When he was young, Song Muhuo traveled as a merchant just like Old Master Xie, selling tea and cloth.
Once, he had agreed to deliver a shipment to a wealthy household in the county.
Unfortunately, there was a problem with the goods.
Not only did he lose the profit, he was likely going to lose a considerable amount of money as compensation.
Hearing that Old Master Xie had suitable merchandise on hand, he wanted to borrow it temporarily to fulfill the order.
But Old Master Xie’s goods had already been promised to another buyer and were due for delivery two days later.
Besides, the two families weren’t relatives.
Why should he jeopardize his own business to lend them the goods?
If he couldn’t replenish the stock in time, he’d only be causing trouble for himself.
Granny Bai never saw it that way.
She only remembered that Old Master Xie had refused to help.
Because of that, her family lost a large sum of silver.
The setback also crushed Song Muhuo’s spirit.
He gave up traveling as a merchant and returned home to farm honestly.
From that point on, the Song family steadily declined.
Meanwhile…
Old Master Xie’s trading business flourished.
The Xie family became richer with each passing year.
The more prosperous they grew…
The more bitter Granny Bai became.
Now that the Xie family’s eldest branch had fallen into such miserable circumstances, the old couple certainly couldn’t be happy.
Heaven truly has eyes.
This is their retribution!
The more she thought about it, the more satisfied she felt.
Just then—
A middle-aged woman emerged from the dense bamboo grove nearby.
Everyone immediately fell silent.
One villager glanced at the basket she was carrying and laughed awkwardly.
“Fusheng’s wife, you found quite a lot of bamboo shoots.”
The woman was Zhang Yuying, wife of Xie Fusheng from the second branch of the Xie family.
In other words…
She was Xie Jinnan’s second aunt.
She merely rolled her eyes, hitched up her basket, and strode away without a word.
The villagers all breathed a sigh of relief.
Then they thought about it again.
They hadn’t really said anything wrong.
They’d only spoken the truth.
Besides, everyone knew the second branch had never been as close to the eldest branch as the third branch was.
There was no reason for Zhang Yuying to pick a fight with them.
…
That morning, Xie Jinnan had gone to the fields with Xie Changsheng.
Although Xie Changsheng’s leg was injured, he still insisted on doing more work to help support the family.
Afraid his father would overexert himself and worsen the injury, Jinnan accompanied him to keep an eye on him.
When father and son returned from the fields, Xie Jinnan leaned the hoe against the courtyard wall beneath the eaves.
“Jinxiu, Xiaoyu, and Eryong went up the mountain. They still aren’t back at this hour. Jinnan, why don’t you go check on them?”
Old Madam Tian stepped out of Li Xiuhong’s room and spoke to him.
Eryong wasn’t nearly as steady as his elder brother.
He was always reckless.
She worried he might unknowingly lead Jinxiu and Xiaoyu too deep into the mountains.
Wild boars roamed the deep forest.
There were bears as well.
Just last year, someone from the neighboring village had gone searching for mushrooms deep in the mountains and encountered a black bear.
Half of the man’s nose had been bitten off.
“All right. I’ll go now.”
A trace of concern appeared on Xie Jinnan’s face.
He casually scooped some water from the water jar to rinse his hands before heading outside.
“Big Brother!”
It was Xiaoyu.
Jinnan glanced behind her.
“Where’s your sister-in-law?”
“You only care about Sister-in-law. You don’t even care about Second Brother.”
The little girl spoke like a tiny adult.
Jinnan replied lightly,
“Your second brother’s already a grown man. What could possibly happen to him?”
Xie Eryong’s inner thoughts: So many years of brotherhood… all wasted…
Xiaoyu pouted.
“Nothing much. He just chopped his hand while cutting firewood.”
Old Madam Tian also came outside.
“Who hurt their hand? Your sister-in-law?”
“Grandma, it’s Eryong.”
Jinnan answered instead.
Old Madam Tian’s eyebrows shot up.
“I knew that boy was too careless. Such a grown man, yet he still doesn’t watch what he’s doing.”
Xiaoyu immediately chimed in,
“That’s right! Too careless!”
Jinnan rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Xiaoyu, where are your sister-in-law and second brother now?”
“They’re at Doctor Ma’s house getting his paw treated.”
She had come back specifically to deliver the message.
“Grandma, Xiaoyu and I’ll go take a look.”
Although Xiaoyu insisted Eryong’s injury wasn’t serious, Old Madam Tian still worried.
She returned to her room, unlocked the large chest, and took out a small money box hidden at the bottom.
Inside lay a string of copper coins…
And a five-tael silver ingot.
This represented every bit of savings the family possessed.
It had to support the entire household, including Li Xiuhong’s medicine.
Without dwelling on their hardships, Old Madam Tian counted out forty copper coins and handed them to Jinnan.
“Make sure Doctor Ma treats Eryong properly. If it isn’t enough, come back for more.”
Doctor Ma’s full name was Ma Guicai.
He also lived near the end of the village, only two or three houses away from the Xie family.
Although his medical skills couldn’t compare to the physicians in town, he was more capable than ordinary people.
Whenever villagers suffered from headaches, fevers, or minor illnesses, they usually came to him for herbal medicine.
By the time Jinnan and Xiaoyu arrived at Doctor Ma’s house, Ma Guicai was applying medicinal powder to Eryong’s wound.
Jinxiu stood nearby watching.
“The cut isn’t deep. I’ll bandage it now, then prescribe two packets of medicine to help the wound heal.”
“And remember…”
“Don’t let the wound touch water for the next few days. Keep it clean.”
After applying the medicine, Ma Guicai took out clean bandages from his medical case.
“Mm-hmm! Got it!”
Eryong nodded repeatedly.
Jinnan examined his brother’s injury before turning toward Jinxiu, who had visibly relaxed.
“Don’t worry. Doctor Ma is quite reliable.”
Then he paused.
“…You all didn’t run into any danger in the mountains today, did you?”
Jinxiu scratched the back of her head.
“There wasn’t any real danger…”
“It’s just that someone got rejected by a girl, couldn’t vent his frustration…”
“…and ended up hurting himself instead.”