Looking at the mother and son dressed in cotton clothes, Jiang Shuyue felt a sense of shared misfortune.
“I’m willing to go, but I have to pay rent for the house.”
When the little boy heard that Jiang Shuyue was willing to go, he happily tugged at her sleeve, as if afraid she would change her mind.
The woman did not refuse and introduced herself, saying, "My husband's surname is Su. You can call me aunt from now on."
"I am Nan Nan, Nan as in Nan Ke Yi Meng (a dream within a dream)."
"My surname is Jiang, and my given name is Shuyue. Nannan can call me Sister Yue'er." Seeing Nannan's adorable appearance, Jiang Shuyue couldn't help but pat his little head.
"Auntie, Qiuju is with me too. She's waiting for me up ahead. We haven't had lunch yet. Let's eat together and then go back!"
Jiang Shuyue looked at the woman's faded cotton dress and figured she must have fainted from hunger because she couldn't bear to eat.
"Thank you for your expense, young lady." Aunt Su nodded and smiled gracefully.
As long as the girl goes with her, the Su family will take good care of her in the future, which will repay the favor.
What Madam Su didn't expect was the kind of changes Jiang Shuyue would bring to the Su family after just one meeting.
Led by Aunt Su, Jiang Shuyue went to buy some more cotton wadding and cotton cloth.
When Qiuju learned that she had found a place to go, she was overjoyed.
Finally, I no longer have to live a life of constant wandering.
Seeing that Madam Su had a kind face, she felt relieved.
With cash in hand, Jiang Shuyue found a small restaurant and ordered three meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup.
Seeing Madam Su's elegant dining manner, Jiang Shuyue became even more certain of her suspicions: the Su family was definitely not a typical villager.
After the meal, Mrs. Su bought a few pounds of brown rice and some salt to take home.
Jiang Shuyue heard Madam Su say that they would be taking an oxcart back to the village soon.
She asked Qiuju to buy rice, flour, oil, and some daily necessities.
After leaving the county town, we turned off the main road and onto a small path. After walking for about an hour, we finally arrived at the foot of Yunling Mountain.
This is a small mountain village surrounded by mountains on three sides, with rolling hills behind it.
"The Su family's wife went to the county town today. Do you have guests at your house?" a nosy woman asked, looking at the mule cart.
"Yes! They are my family." Madam Su didn't exchange many pleasantries with the other women and led Jiang Shuyue and Qiuju home.
The Su family lived at the end of the village.
Along the way, villagers cast curious glances at us.
Nan Nan seemed to see through Jiang Shuyue's thoughts. He lowered his voice and said, "Sister Yue'er, when you're not driving the mule cart, you can walk along the path by the field."
After passing through a bamboo forest, three tiled houses and two thatched huts came into view.
"Sister Yue'er, this is our home. Our old house is over there."
Following the direction Nan Nan pointed, across a piece of land, you could see two tiled houses and a thatched hut.
Judging from the crumbling fence, the house looked like it hadn't been lived in for a long time.
Outside the fence, the bamboo groves are lush and verdant, and even in winter, there are still many trees growing along the path.
"Green bamboos lead into the secluded path, and green vines brush against my clothes," Jiang Shuyue recited aloud.
What a secluded mountain village!
"Mother! Brother, what is this...?"
As Jiang Shuyue was looking at the old house in the distance, a girl of about twelve years old came out of the house.
"Hui'er, come here quickly and greet Sister Su and Miss Qiuju." Aunt Su beckoned to the little girl.
The little girl stepped forward and performed a proper curtsy to Jiang Shuyue and Qiu Ju.
Jiang Shuyue and Qiuju quickly returned the greeting. Jiang Shuyue said, "Sister Hui'er, don't be so polite. I'll be troubling you in the future."
The little girl had eyebrows like crescent moons and a pair of large, clear, dark eyes as bright as black grapes.
With her fair, oval face, cherry lips, and delicate nose, she was clearly a beauty in the making.
She smiled and said, "Sister, please don't say 'I'm bothering you.' There are only my older brother and younger brother at home, so Hui'er finally has someone to keep her company."
"Sister, where are Dad and Big Brother?" Nan Nan, like a little adult, led Jiang Shuyue home.
"Father and my eldest brother went up the mountain to burn charcoal, and they won't be coming back today."
It is a custom for people in the mountains to have a barbecue before it snows. They keep the inferior charcoal for their own winter and select the best charcoal to sell in the county, hoping to get a good price.
Aunt Su said to Jiang Shuyue, "You and Qiuju can stay at our house tonight, and we'll go and clean up the old house together tomorrow."
Qiuju and Nannan led the mule cart into the yard. Su Hui learned that her mother and Jiang Shuyue had lunch in the county town, so she served them mint tea and pine nuts.
After exchanging pleasantries, Jiang Shuyue learned that Aunt Su's husband, Su Huai-ren, had once passed the imperial examination.
Su Huai-ren served as a Xie Lü Lang (Assistant Musician) in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, a rank of eighth grader, and worked diligently and conscientiously.
Those who passed the imperial examinations in Wanling Kingdom could continue their studies and participate in the imperial examinations.
Su Huai-ren was lucky; later he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and served as the Vice Minister of Rites.
However, he was also unfortunate, as he was framed by villains, his family property was confiscated, and he was demoted back to his hometown, almost being exiled.
Upon returning to his hometown, Su Huai-ren's parents were unable to bear the immense blow and both passed away the following year.
The imperial court had decreed that the descendants of demoted officials were not allowed to enter officialdom, but Su Huai-ren did not give up teaching his three children to read.
He said that all other pursuits are inferior, only studying is superior, and studying can enlighten the mind and make one understand things.
When talking about her husband, Aunt Su's eyes lit up, showing how much they loved each other.
After resting for a while, Aunt Su took Jiang Shuyue to see the old house.
“This house was where my husband lived before he passed the imperial examination. After we returned to our hometown, there were too many people to live in, so we borrowed money from my family and built the house we have now.”
When Aunt Su talked about the past, there was no ripple in her eyes, which showed that she had let go of the past and was content to be a farmer.
Jiang Shuyue walked into the courtyard, where the wild grass growing in the cracks between the stone slabs had already turned yellow.
The mottled window frames were covered with spider webs.
There are two main rooms. Behind the main room is a bedroom, while the other room has no partition wall, making it appear much more spacious.
The floor of the house was paved with bluestone slabs, which looked quite nice.
The bed and chairs in the room were old and looked quite dated.
"Once Su Jin gets home, he can find some wood to re-mortise and sturd it, and it will be stable." Aunt Su pushed the table and chairs; they wobbled a bit, and the mortise and tenon joints were already loose.
Before even seeing Su Jin, Jiang Shuyue could tell that if it weren't for Su Jin, this family would have fallen apart.
In front of the thatched hut were the woodshed and kitchen, and in the back was a small storage room.
Aunt Su said that the house was empty anyway, and it would be more lively if someone lived there, so she wouldn't charge rent.
Jiang Shuyue insisted on giving her one tael of silver, otherwise she would not stay.
Aunt Su couldn't refuse her, so she had no choice but to accept it.
And so, Jiang Shuyue and Qiuju settled down in this remote village.
On the tenth day of the sixth month of the following year, a baby's cry resounded through the sky.
A little boy was born.
"Yue'er, look how handsome this child is." After seeing the midwife off, Aunt Su turned around and held the child up for Jiang Shuyue to see.
Qiuju cleaned up the blood-stained mat, then turned around and craned her neck to look at the little guy wrapped in the fine cotton cloth.
"Miss, look! The young master's face is as red as a monkey's bottom!"
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