Chapter 66, "Two Ounces of Oil," reveals something ignited in the shadows...
Once the wish-fulfillment story is finished, it's time to return to reality.
The Republic of China did not have strict control over writing, but at times it still retained the legacy of the Qing Dynasty's literary inquisition. The plot that Yao Xiaoyu wrote down, if you remove the things like controlling the factory and liberating the bonded laborers, is no different from a prophecy. If she is extremely unlucky and is searched... Yao Xiaoyu is reluctant to destroy the paper and words, so she has to hide it well!
Yao Xiaoyu cut out the content from the story of the bonded laborers who had gained their freedom, sandwiched it between two large sheets of white paper, glued the white paper together, and made a seemingly normal piece of paper within a paper. Then she used a needle to make a hole in the corner of the paper and hung it on her loose-leaf notebook.
The best way to hide a tree is to drop it into a forest and only pierce it with a needle in the upper left corner. It's normal for a handmade loose-leaf notebook to have some minor flaws.
After Yao Xiaoyu completed the small task of keeping the paper hidden in plain sight, it was almost dark. She picked up the heavy beef and went downstairs, just in time for the noodles to be cooked. Yao Xiaoyu scooped out most of a bowl for Yao Xiaoli, and then she and Tao Xiaoxiao began to eat heartily.
A golden poached egg rests atop fresh noodles, accompanied by thinly sliced beef and stir-fried vegetables. Yao Xiaoyu ate with gusto, and even the soreness in her overused wrists seemed to lessen.
...
The reply from the local gossip arrived on the sixth day after the submission was sent. Along with the manuscript request, which was full of flattery, came four anonymous bank notes, which could be exchanged for a total of 170 silver dollars.
This was Yao Xiaoyu's special request. Withdrawing a large sum of money at once would be too conspicuous, while exchanging small amounts multiple times would not easily attract attention. The newspaper fully understood her need to conceal information. Not only were the recipient's address and name given by the post office and a pseudonym, but even the sender's name was not the one used in the local gossip column. It was very thoughtful of them.
The only problem was the payment—Yao Xiaoyu opened the letter and found the answer. The two articles totaled more than 21,000 words. Based on 21,000 words, the payment was 8 yuan per thousand words, which was 168 yuan in total. The newspaper rounded it up and gave her 170 yuan, hoping that Yao Xiaoyu would give them priority consideration when submitting articles next time.
With the financial dispute resolved, Yao Xiaoyu smiled and exchanged a forty-yuan banknote for a roast suckling pig. Tao Xiaoxiao's appetite was as formidable as ever. Despite Yao Xiaoyu's best efforts, the roasted pig was only missing a leg. Tao Xiaoxiao ate her own pig and even helped Yao Xiaoyu finish hers before patting her stomach and saying she was full.
"I wish I could eat that much."
Yao Xiaoyu looked at Tao Xiaoxiao, who was devouring the food with some envy. She wanted to eat her way through every street and alley in Shanghai, but her appetite was limited and she couldn't bear to waste food, so she would only order two or three dishes at most each time. She hadn't even finished eating at many restaurants yet.
Tao Xiaoxiao didn't hear what she said clearly and looked over with some confusion. Yao Xiaoyu shook her head to signal her to continue eating, and then picked up a soup dumpling with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. There was nothing to regret. Tao Xiaoxiao and she were bound together when they went out. It didn't matter that she had a small appetite. As long as Tao Xiaoxiao could eat, there was no fear of ordering too much food and wasting it.
Well, these soup dumplings are indeed a signature dish of this restaurant, just like the roast suckling pig. The thin, translucent skin of the dumplings is as thin as paper and as clear as glass. At first glance, you can only see the dark broth, but you only know that there is filling inside when you bite into it. The taste is excellent, but the portion is small and the price is high. However, looking at the chalky white porcelain cups with the soup dumplings and the bright green leaves underneath, you don't feel that the price of the dumplings is too outrageous.
Paying a premium based on appearance is normal.
...
Eating, drinking, writing, and sleeping, before they knew it, the day arrived for the two articles by Paper Wedding Dress to be published. Yao Xiaoyu openly bought a few copies of Local Chronicles and tucked them into a thick stack of newspapers, without the Yao family noticing at all.
Compared to the various pseudonyms that always managed to stir up a storm, Paper Wedding Dress's debut article didn't generate much discussion. Yao Xiaoyu didn't know the newspaper's exact figures and could only guess that the article might not have suited the public's taste, resulting in a Waterloo.
Fortunately, she has already cashed out all the royalties from this article. As for the possibility that the royalties might decrease next time... well, let's just enjoy life while we can and see what happens after she finishes the next one.
The seemingly unsuccessful submission did not leave a shadow in Yao Xiaoyu's mind, while at the Shihu Qiwen newspaper office, everyone was busy with the second printing of the newspaper.
"We really don't have any stock on hand... We'll send you the first one we print."
"They're all sold out... Okay, we'll try to print another batch."
"...Even if you kill me, I can't conjure it up... Thank you for your understanding. I'll go to the printing factory to keep watch, and I'll deliver it as soon as I come out."
The phone rang again as soon as I hung up, and people kept coming and going at the door. The boss had already taken a rickshaw to the printing factory to place an additional order—although there was no discussion on the street after the two articles were published, people kept asking for more prints.
The local gossips had no idea where all these readers had come from, but that didn't dampen their spirits: the boss said that once this wave of activity was over, he would book a table at the Yipinxiang Grand Hall to treat everyone, with bonuses to be awarded separately.
Putting aside the prize money, the banquet at Yipinxiang is very expensive, costing fourteen silver dollars per table!
What does it matter if the article doesn't get much discussion? The money in hand is what really matters.
Blinded by money and lacking critical thinking, neither Yao Xiaoyu nor the common folk tales knew that as this Tai Chi article spread, something was quietly ignited in various corners of the world.
...
The woman lay in the corner of the woodshed, the blood-soaked straw emitting a putrid smell. Cockroaches and ants crawled around her, but she seemed oblivious, staring blankly upwards.
"Creak—"
The pushed-open door startled the mice away, and an older woman carrying a bowl walked in. She nudged the woman on the floor, but seeing that she didn't react, she wasn't in a hurry. Instead, she took out a newspaper from her chest and began to read an article, or rather, a passage from the article. And it wasn't just reading; it was reciting it from memory.
The woman holding the bowl was illiterate. Even though there wasn't a single obscure word in "Two Ounces of Oil," it was still too difficult for her. So she chose to memorize the parts that resonated with her the most, just to try her luck.
The woman on the ground remained as still as a statue, but as she recited the article while holding the newspaper, a flicker of emotion gradually appeared in her eyes. The woman, absorbed in the text, didn't notice, continuing to recite without pause.
[...Of course I know killing him will have no good outcome, and I understand that a woman whose husband has died can't protect the house, but my daughter is crying. She says she has no straw mat to wrap herself in, and can only wander in the underworld, unable even to be reincarnated, only waiting for her soul to dissipate.]
[...He died, his eyes wide open staring at me, but I only felt his pockets and found them empty. Then I stripped him of his clothes to exchange for copper coins, and used those coins to buy two straw mats. I wrapped one around my daughter and prepared one for myself.]
This passage describes the process of a woman's murderous intent towards her husband, from the moment she conceived the idea to the moment she acted on it, all while the woman carrying the bowl was carrying it. The woman listened quietly on the ground until the sound finally stopped, and then slowly asked a question.
"If a child doesn't have a straw mat to wrap around its body, can it really not be reincarnated?"
Perhaps because she hadn't spoken for a long time, the woman's voice sounded like it had been sanded on sandpaper, and she had to pause after uttering a few words. The woman holding the bowl didn't seem to mind, and just nodded earnestly.
"Really, it doesn't matter if it's a second-hand straw mat, a used straw mat, or a torn or broken one, but it must be used to wrap the baby's body so that the soul won't dissipate and can cross the Bridge of Helplessness. Otherwise, the baby will just be a wandering ghost."
This was a setting that Yao Xiaoyu created to help the protagonist overcome the psychological pressure of hitting her husband, but because it was written so realistically, many people, including women, took it as fact—how could such a detailed description be fake?
"It's written in the newspaper."
The woman holding the bowl thought for a moment and added.
If it's written in the newspaper, then it must be true. The woman on the ground had a deathly pale face, but a flame burned in her eyes. She didn't know where the strength came from, but she propped herself up and asked again:
"Can a baby that's already rotten to the bone be reincarnated after being wrapped in a straw mat?"
The woman holding the bowl nodded affirmatively, reciting the story she remembered perfectly, though she hadn't memorized the details:
"Yes, you can. Wrap a straw mat around your bones and you can still be reincarnated."
The woman holding the bowl looked at the woman who had half-sat up, and then seemed to think of something:
“Even if the body is gone, it’s fine. Wrap the doll’s clothes in a straw mat, circle around it three times, call the doll’s name, and say that this is a straw mat for her, and it can still be used.”
"If you don't have any clothes, just buy a new one—hair tie, socks, handkerchiefs, anything will do. Burn this new one, then wrap the ashes in a straw mat, and call it the same as if you've lost your body. That'll do too!"
"If you have money, it's best to burn some paper money for the dead. Aside from the chance of being reborn, life underground is no different from here. You can only live well if you have money."
The woman holding the bowl spoke slowly, and the woman on the ground's eyes gradually brightened. When she finished speaking, the woman on the ground tremblingly reached out and took the bowl. The bowl contained a soup of mixed flour dumplings the size of soybeans, with an egg resting on top.
The woman watched for a while, then ate the egg first, and then scooped up some dough balls with a spoon and swallowed them forcefully.
"That's right, nothing beats being alive when you're dead."
The woman's words seemed to carry a deeper meaning. The person on the ground just kept eating the noodles until he swallowed the last mouthful of soup, and then thanked the woman.
"It's nothing, they all come from humble backgrounds, of course we should help them if we can."
The woman carried the bowl outside, ate, and regained some strength. She slowly stood up, still trembling violently. She knew her body was completely broken, but she didn't want to die like this.
She married a man when she was thirteen, and her belly grew big that year. However, because she gave birth to a daughter, she was thrown to the ground. Her crying stopped halfway through. She tried to make a scene, but the man slapped her unconscious. When she woke up, there was only a pool of dark brown blood on the ground.
The second one was their son. When he was one year old, the man was playing with his son's hand, but he didn't hold on tightly enough, and the son's head hit the wall, and he died.
The third and fourth were both daughters, and they died shortly after birth.
The fifth was a son, who was called a monster by men because he had six fingers, and he suffered the same fate as his sisters.
The sixth and seventh were twin boys, whose eyes were glued to them until they were three years old. The man said he would take them to see the lights, but when they came back, his hands were empty. She cried and screamed, but the man only said that his son wanted to eat candied hawthorns. He was annoyed and thought of leaving the children behind for a while to scare them, but when he turned around, the children were gone.
This was her seventh childbirth, and she didn't have a baby. The man said she was unlucky, grabbed their daughter, spat on her, slammed the door, and left. She heard a cracking sound, and her daughter's body was folded in half.
She doesn't have much time left, but the children need to be reincarnated; we can't let them become wandering ghosts.
...
"Old Zhang, Old Wang, Old Li... Have we gotten ourselves into some trouble lately? How come so many people are dying?"
"Who knows? But it wasn't anything good anyway, so let it die."
Similar remarks have appeared in various parts of Shanghai, but just like watching a spectacle, they are only a topic of amusement when it doesn't happen to them personally. Some people even feel secretly pleased—if they hadn't died, where would they have gotten a wife!
Yao Xiaoyu knew nothing about these things. She just felt that the straw mat business seemed to be doing exceptionally well during this period, and even Wenrou and the others' handicrafts had turned into weaving straw mats.
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Author's note: I've come up with two new names for Xiaoxiao: 【潇笑】 and 【玉安】. Which one do you think is better, or do you have any other good names? I'm terrible at naming things, so I really can't think of any.
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