With her worries cleared, Li Sangyue fell fast asleep. Her family left her undisturbed, and by the time she finally woke up, it was already evening. Having slept the entire afternoon, she felt lightheaded and achy, as if a steamroller had flattened her. She emerged from her room rubbing her back, only to find Tuan-jie typing away at a computer in the living room.
“You are finally awake,” Tuan-jie said, glancing over her shoulder before returning to her work.
Sangyue walked over and leaned lazily against the back of the chair, letting out a long yawn. “What are you doing?”
“Staying at my post,” Tuan-jie replied, turning the monitor toward her. “It is time to update the product images.”
This task used to fall to Lin Yin, but Tuan-jie had learned the ropes as well. Now, she filled in whenever Lin Yin was busy. Sangyue looked at the screen and yawned several more times. Feeling utterly drained, she decided to head outside to wash her face. Tuan-jie grabbed her arm. “Wait, I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?” Sangyue stopped.
Tuan-jie looked left and right to ensure the grandmothers were in the courtyard before lowering her voice to a whisper. “This afternoon, your younger great-aunt brought two bags of dried sweet potatoes to the warehouse. Lin Yin and I checked them; they were old stock from last year and looked terrible. Many were made from bug-infested potatoes and had a strange smell. We refused to take them, and she was quite unhappy about it, grumbling at the door for a long time.”
Sangyue’s younger great-aunt was quite a character. Whenever something went wrong, she blamed Sangyue’s family, and in the past, she often showed up to cause a scene. The goods they collected from the villagers were meant for their livestream sales, so the quality had to be top-notch. The great-aunt’s dried sweet potatoes were so bad that even pigs would not eat them. If they had accepted them, they would only be causing trouble for Sangyue. They could not let that happen. It was better to offend her than to ruin the business. Since Tuan-jie and Lin Yin lived with Sangyue and were treated like family by the grandmothers, they took it upon themselves to handle the difficult situations that Sangyue might find awkward.
Knowing exactly what kind of person her great-aunt was, Li Sangyue patted Tuan-jie on the shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Do not mention it. We cannot let our own reputation be ruined, right?”
Sangyue said nothing more. She knew her younger great-aunt all too well. The woman used to come over constantly just to upset her grandmothers. Every time, her maternal grandmother would get angry and vow to cut ties, but once her temper cooled, she would pity her sister for having no children and being lonely in her old age.
Just that afternoon, Sangyue had made savory bean porridge. After giving a large bowl to the neighbors, her grandmother had also sent a bowl to the great-aunt. Even then, there was no word of thanks, only complaints. As a member of the younger generation, Sangyue found it hard to advise her grandmother. Some things could be said by outsiders but not by her; speaking up would only hurt her grandmother’s feelings. Her paternal grandmother was fine, as she had married into the family and was not as emotionally attached, but for her maternal grandmother, it was her own sister. She could not let go when they were young, and it was even harder now that they were old. It was a delicate situation that was best left alone.
Sangyue went outside and washed her face with cold water. She felt a bit more alert, yet she was still uncomfortable. She felt feverish, and the back of her neck was burning, so she sprayed another half bottle of suppressant. Feeling hungry, she circled the kitchen and found a bag of sangza on the counter. She broke off a handful to eat and walked toward the front gate.
A group of children was playing hopscotch outside, their voices filled with chatter and laughter. Bajiao, the fat cat, had occupied a stool. When Sangyue walked over, it did not move an inch, merely lifting its eyes. No one in the house had more of an ego than this cat. It was a troublemaker, too; it had turned Qin Nian’s face pale with fright the other day. Sangyue suspected it had done so on purpose. Bajiao was generally wary of strangers unless that person was visibly afraid of it. In those cases, it would wickedly lean against their legs just to enjoy the reaction.
She picked up Bajiao and set it down, taking the stool to listen to her grandmother chatting with their neighbor. The neighbor, Li Dongling, was the village’s famous informant; she knew everything about everyone.
“I heard someone wants to set your Ningjun up with a partner. It is the owner of the hardware store in town. Apparently, Ningjun went there to buy something, and the owner took an immediate liking to her. She wants a mutual acquaintance to ask if Ningjun is interested. Is that true?”
Hearing gossip about her own mother, Li Sangyue immediately perked up. Lin Yin leaned in as well, both of them pricking up their ears to listen. Grandmother lowered her head and brushed the dust off her trousers. “That is not happening. Do not listen to nonsense.”
In truth, there had been such an inquiry, but she simply did not want to discuss it.
“They are telling the story with such detail,” Li Dongling insisted, confident in her intelligence.
“Who said that? Whoever is spreading rumors, I will tear their mouth apart,” Grandmother said, growing angry.
Li Dongling chuckled. Having been neighbors for so many years, she understood her old friend. Grandmother was easygoing about most things, but she was fiercely protective of Ningjun and Sangyue. She would not tolerate a single bad word about them. In the past, anyone who gossiped about Sangyue had been cornered in their own homes and scolded by Grandmother until they learned to avoid her.
“I did not think it was true, either. Your Ningjun is more beautiful than the twenty-year-olds in our village. If she wanted to find someone, she would not look around here, would she?”
“My Ningjun is not looking. She is not looking for anyone.”
The hardware store owner was in her sixties. How did she have the nerve to think of Ningjun?
“Sangyue is right here. Do not say such things and make the child overthink. You are turning groundless rumors into facts.”
“Old sister, do not blame me. It was those gossiping women who started it. I only overheard a few words the other day.”
“Then do not speak of it in front of the child again.”
“Fine, fine. I will not say another word.”
Seeing that Grandmother was still upset, Li Dongling changed the subject. “By the way, who was that young person at your house the other day? She was quite handsome, like a movie star. Someone saw her and Sangyue picking peaches on the mountain and said they were chatting and laughing the whole way.”
How did the conversation turn back to her? Li Sangyue felt gloomy. Before the neighbor could catch her for questioning, she quickly slipped back into the courtyard. The villagers truly loved to gossip; if it was not about her mother, it was about her. They simply had too much free time.
Her maternal grandmother was turning seventy-five soon, and her birthday was approaching. Her mother, Ningjun, discussed how they should celebrate.
“When Huainiu threw a birthday party for her mother before the New Year, your grandmother looked so envious. She only says she does not want a party because she is afraid of us spending money, but deep down, she really wants one. I am thinking we do not need a massive celebration. We can just invite relatives and friends over for two or three tables of food. That way, your grandmother will be happy without worrying too much about the cost.”
Huainiu was Li Dongling’s daughter. She owned a furniture store in the county seat and was very filial. She threw a birthday party for her mother every year, making all the villagers envious. Li Dongling praised her daughter to everyone she met. She especially enjoyed boasting in front of Sangyue’s younger great-aunt because she disliked how the great-aunt used to criticize the grandmothers. Li Dongling was doing it to stand up for her friend of several decades.
Regarding the birthday celebration, Li Sangyue agreed wholeheartedly. “That is a great idea. I wanted to do it last year, too.”
Last year, her grandmother had ended up in the hospital after eating leftovers. She had spent her birthday on a hospital bed with an IV drip, so there had been no heart for a banquet then. On that day, Sangyue had taken Taiyang to the hospital. When Taiyang leaned against the bed and said “Happy Birthday,” her grandmother’s eyes had turned red as she held the child’s hand, praising her for being so sensible. This year, everyone was healthy and safe, so they had to hold a banquet to make the old lady happy.
“Then I will go to town tomorrow to order the longevity peaches and cakes,” Li Ningjun planned.
In Taining, celebrating an elder’s birthday was a significant event. One had to prepare longevity peaches and cakes. There were specific shops in town for this, but they required advance orders. Additionally, one had to buy new clothes and shoes for the elder to wear on their birthday, symbolizing the addition of blessings and longevity. Since the party would be at home, there would be much to buy. Sangyue, having no plans for the next day, decided to go along. She could help her mother choose and carry the heavy bags.
Li Ningjun turned her daughter around and looked at the reddened gland on the back of her neck, her eyes full of worry. “Your heat cycle is far too abnormal this time. You have used so much suppressant, yet it is not working. I am worried every time you step out the door.”
Sangyue touched her neck and feigned a lighthearted tone. “I feel much better today, Mom. It is fine. I have been cooped up at home for days; if I do not go out, I will start to grow mold.”
“Nonsense,” Li Ningjun said, playfully poking her forehead.
Sangyue just covered her forehead and giggled. Staying at home was indeed boring, and she was not about to miss a chance to go out. Unable to remain firm, Li Ningjun agreed to let her come along to town. Taiyang had been listening nearby. Seeing that her mother and grandmother had no intention of taking her, she grew anxious. “Mom, Grandma, I want to go too!” she cried, throwing herself against her mother’s legs.
Sangyue scooped up her daughter’s round waist. “You never want to miss out on anything, do you? Grandma and I are going for business, not for play.”
Tomorrow was market day in town. It would be crowded and inconvenient to bring a child. Taiyang simply rubbed her face against her mother’s chest, saying nothing but continuing to snuggle until Sangyue’s heart softened.
“Alright, alright. We will take you.” She was powerless against her daughter. Her mother often said Taiyang took after her in this regard; Sangyue used the same tactic to follow the adults when she was little.
Li Ningjun stood up from the bedside. “It is getting late. You and Taiyang should get to sleep. We need to wake up early tomorrow to head to town. If we are late, it will be crowded, hot, and sunny. You cannot handle the heat right now.”
Seeing her daughter suffer through her heat, Li Ningjun’s hatred for that person named Qin intensified. She felt she should have strangled the woman on the mountain that day and buried her to serve as fertilizer for the peach trees.
Li Sangyue collapsed onto the pillow with Taiyang, grinning at her mother. “I know, Mom. Mom, could you turn off the light for us?”
Though the switch was right by the bed, she was feeling lazy and did not want to move.
“Grandma, turn off the light!” Taiyang chirped, snuggling happily in her mother’s arms.
Li Ningjun leaned over and rubbed their heads one by one before pulling the summer quilt over them. Her voice was as gentle as water. “Alright, Grandma will turn off the light.”
She adjusted the electric fan to oscillation mode so it would not blow directly on them. She walked to the door and switched off the light, plunging the room into darkness as she slowly closed the door, cutting off the faint light from the living room.
Li Sangyue closed her eyes in peace and fell into a beautiful sleep, holding her daughter. Of course, she was inevitably woken up by the heat in the middle of the night.