Zhang Xiangliang felt a deep bitterness in his heart.
I had thought of this as soon as I entered the door. The more confident I was when I argued with Landlord Wang yesterday, the more embarrassed I felt now.
Zhang Xiangliang managed to have a meal at the Ye family's house, but remained silent on the way back.
Ye Ting was oblivious to social cues, sitting on the bed the whole way, constantly wiping away tears, saying how much work she had done at her parents' home, how she had broken ice to wash clothes in the winter, and how her hands had developed sores that were unbearably itchy.
Zhang Xiangliang didn't respond to a single word.
Upon returning to Longmen Town, they found that long queues of people were still waiting to collect supplies.
Yin Jin'an carried Jiu Tian on his shoulders, and Jiu Tian was happily eating a candy ball.
Both the adult and the child were wearing masks.
The two figures became the most beautiful sight in the town.
Although Jiutian wore a mask, those who knew her recognized her; she was the only child her age wearing a Taoist robe.
Ye Ting watched as she sat on another person's shoulders. The person was tall and imposing, and even with a mask on, his imposing presence was undeniable.
But he insisted on having a child sit on his shoulders and eat a candy ball.
"She's so lucky!" Ye Ting said. "When I was little, I never even had enough to eat, let alone candy balls. There wasn't enough food at home, and I was always the last to eat. When there was no rice left in the pot, I could only scrape off a little bit of the crispy rice, add some water, and drink the broth from rinsing the pot..."
Zhang Xiangliang silently pushed his cart to the stall selling candied hawthorns, took out two coins from his pocket, bought a string of candied hawthorns, and handed it to her.
Ye Ting held the candied fruit and wiped away her tears again: "No one has ever bought me candied fruit before. I used to watch other people eat it and always wondered what it tasted like. I heard people say it was sweet and sour and very delicious."
Zhang Xiangliang sighed inwardly and said, "Try it and see if it tastes like what others have described."
"It's very sweet, with a perfect balance of sweet and sour, it's really delicious."
She ate it carefully, filled with regret. If she had brought a skewer back with her before going to her parents' home, Xiaowei could have had some.
Back at the Zhang family home, Aunt Zhang saw her holding a string of candied fruit balls but didn't say anything. Her daughter-in-law wasn't having an easy time at her parents' home, so it wasn't unreasonable for her son to buy her a string of candied fruit balls.
However, Aunt Zhang looked at her and felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Seeing that her son seemed sullen, Aunt Zhang thought to herself that he was probably being mistreated at the Ye family's house.
Back in his room, Zhang Xiangliang asked Ye Ting, "Ye Ting, tell me the truth, did you take the charity clothes yesterday?"
Ye Ting seemed startled, clutching the hem of her clothes, and said nervously, "I... I have so many clothes. Some people don't want them, and I thought it would be a waste to throw them away, so I brought them back."
"Where did you take it? Where did you put it?"
Zhang Xiangliang thought that if she told the truth, he would apologize to Landlord Wang and Jiutian on her behalf.
“Everyone else had them. My older brother and Xiaowei had never worn such warm clothes in winter, so I picked them up and gave them to them. Anyway, they were unwanted by others, so it was free…”
"You went back to your parents' house again yesterday? Are you sure those clothes were unwanted by someone else?"
Zhang Xiangliang's heart pounded. She had only been married for three days, but she had already gone to her parents' home three times.
He thought of the divination performed by the Nine Heavens...
"They didn't say they wanted it, so I picked it up."
“You…” Zhang Xiangliang’s heart was bleeding. His Zhang family may be poor, but they were not shameless.
Picking up clothes? How come you're so good at picking them up?
“Tingting, those people who are receiving clothes are all poor families designated by the county magistrate. They braved the wind and snow to come and receive clothes, so why would they refuse them? How can you withhold their clothes?”
"You're insulting me? It's just a few pieces of clothing! It's not that I'm withholding their money, it's that they didn't say they wanted them..."
There were over sixty sets, but I only managed to salvage these few pieces; it's not like I stole them.
"We were giving them away for free anyway, so what difference does it make if we get one less or one more?"
Zhang Xiangliang was so angry he vomited blood.
But now that the clothes have already been given to Ye Xuyang and the others, he can't very well ask for them back.
He dared not shout at her, for fear that Aunt Zhang would hear and have a bad impression of his daughter-in-law.
Zhang Xiangliang said patiently, "Tingting, don't do this kind of thing again."
"I know, I won't do it anymore," Ye Ting said, crying. "I was just terrified of the cold in winter, so I started collecting discarded clothes. I used to wear Ye Wei's old clothes in winter, they didn't even cover my waist, and I had to break open the ice to wash them..."
Zhang Xiangliang remained silent, left the bridal chamber, found Aunt Zhang, and said, "Mother, give me a few taels of silver, I need it urgently."
"How many ounces?"
"Three ounces."
Three taels of silver was more than a year's worth of food and clothing for this family. Aunt Zhang couldn't help but ask, "What do you need so much silver for?"
"Mother, please don't ask, I need it urgently."
Aunt Zhang knew that her eldest son was honest and kind, and that he needed the money because he had to spend it.
Aunt Zhang took three ounces and handed them to Zhang Xiangliang without asking any questions.
After receiving the silver, Zhang Xiangliang went to Landlord Wang's house and, with great difficulty, knelt down to apologize to him, begging him not to tell anyone.
Landlord Wang wasn't a bad person. He took the money and said, "Don't worry, this matter ends with me. Xiangliang, I'm not trying to criticize you, but your wife is of terrible character."
The heavens are supposed to be helping the poor, yet you shortchange them on clothes! Those who know will assume your wife deliberately withheld the money, while those who don't will think the heavens are cheating on the poor and seeking fame.
If a good deed is compromised, it damages the person's reputation. And reputation is something no amount of money can buy back.
Zhang Xiangliang apologized again.
Landlord Wang gave up, took the silver and went to buy a few more sets, then put them back as relief supplies.
He instructed Da Bao, "From now on, the Zhang family is not allowed to participate in any activities. Also, go and inform Zhang Tiezhu that we will no longer rent land to them after the New Year."
Da Bao responded and went to the Zhang family.
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