That day, after finishing work, with the afterglow of the sun still lingering on the eastern hills, Zhao Chunhua walked home happily, swinging her arms high and speaking loudly, greeting everyone she met: "Is Auntie back with the vegetables?" or "Is Sister going to the fields?"
As soon as someone replied, she would start to show off, both openly and subtly, deliberately saying that her eyes were tired from making clothes all day, while those of us in the fields had better eyesight because we could see the crops and grass.
Guo Que was already unhappy about not being selected as an embroiderer, and hearing Zhao Chunhua showing off made her even more upset. After everyone had walked away, she spat angrily and said, "What a disgrace."
Wang Xilai glared at his wife and said, "If you're so capable, you should be chosen as an embroiderer too."
Guo Que was filled with hatred and was not one to back down. He often fought with Wang Xilai, and now he was even more furious. "You lazy bum, you can't even go to build houses. I heard that the Lu family pays those who build houses thirty copper coins a day."
The couple blamed each other and started arguing on the roadside.
Li Xiuzhi hid around the corner and saw everything clearly. She waited until the road was quiet and she was sure no one was around before coming out. She had just finished her postpartum confinement and went to find the village chief to ask when the Lu family would recruit embroiderers next.
The village chief has been in high spirits these past few days. Yesterday, when he went to the village head's office, he ran into the village chief of Zhaojiatai. Village Chief Zhao envied Wangjia Village for having a Lu family, recruiting workers to build houses and embroiderers. These are all lucrative jobs. "Brother Wang," he said, "if your village needs any work in the future, whether it's building houses or embroidering, and you don't have enough manpower, just come to our village to recruit. We have plenty of girls and men."
Village Chief Wang was very proud and readily agreed. Now that Li Xiuzhi had come to ask about the matter again, he had a plan in mind. "Go home now. I've taken this to heart. As long as you have decent work to do, you won't be shortchanged."
Li Xiuzhi was overjoyed. She had missed the opportunity when the Lu family was recruiting embroiderers a few days ago because she was still in her postpartum period. She was determined to become an embroiderer next time. Her family was not poor in Lijiaba, and she had learned embroidery since she was a child, so she was quite skilled.
Wang Yehong walked slowly home, glancing back at the end of the village every now and then, but Li Zhen didn't come. So she walked back a bit and saw Li Zhen and Wang Lan talking in the distance.
Wang Lan gave Li Zhen some vegetables from behind the house, saying, "These cucumbers are growing too much; we can't finish them all at home. You can take them back and use them as a side dish."
With tears welling up in her eyes, Li Zhen expressed her gratitude to the Lu family for their care. "Thank you, Grandma Wang. My mother-in-law's pickled cucumbers are delicious. I'll bring some over for you to try. It's hot now, so eating something sour will make your meal more palatable."
"Oh, oh, oh, that's great! Yanmei's pickled cucumbers are the best ever."
After exchanging pleasantries, Li Zhen carried the cucumbers home. As she passed the corner, Wang Yehong emerged from behind the walnut tree, dawdling, and said, "Aunt Zhen, I'm sorry, because of me you had your wages docked."
The returned dress was made by Wang Yehong, which Li Zhen had always known. She was quite surprised that Wang Yehong would take the initiative to claim the dress. "Niece Yehong, don't worry about it. Just keep making clothes properly from now on. Sister Qin asked me to manage it because I don't know how, not because of you."
Wang Yehong promised to do it seriously in the future. After talking about it, her heart, which had been depressed all day, finally warmed up. After all, she was just a young girl with a simple mind. She enthusiastically took Li Zhen's arm and said, "Aunt Zhen, you are such a kind person."
Lu Yunfeng secretly found out that the woman Li Yang broke off the engagement with was named Li Yao, and that she had five or six older sisters, two younger sisters, and a younger brother.
Last autumn, I married a merchant from Shuixian County. Shuixian and Fenggu County are neighboring counties. Although Shuixian is called Shuixian (meaning "water county"), it is mountainous with little water. It was most severely affected by the drought a couple of years ago. I heard that bandits had emerged there. Later, the government troops from the prefecture suppressed them twice, resulting in many deaths. At that time, everyone in Fenggu County was in danger, fearing that bandits would come over. The county magistrate sent people to stake out the adjacent mountains and forests several times. Several small conflicts occurred. Fortunately, Wangjia Village was far away from Shuixian County, so there was no danger.
That girl's reputation was ruined, so she couldn't marry into a good family. She was a low-status merchant, and it's unclear whether she was married off through a match or assigned by the government. It won't be easy to find her now, but Lu Yu's marriage can't be delayed. We need to find out what happened as soon as possible and understand Li Yang's character.
When Lu Yunfeng arrived at the shop, Qin Xiaozhou and Lu Yunfeng headed towards Lijia Dam. Li Yao's family lived on the outermost edge of Lijia Dam, at the foot of the mountain. It seemed to be from a different village than the Lijia Dam area which was surrounded by lakes. There were no other houses around, just this one house standing alone at the foot of the mountain. The courtyard was made of earth and was dilapidated, with half of it collapsed. You could see the condition of the courtyard from outside.
Li Yao's house was bare. Two hunched old women were chopping firewood in the yard, and an old man was carrying water back. Strangely, a boy of about thirteen or fourteen years old was sitting under the eaves playing with crickets.
A thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy is practically half a laborer in the village; he has no time to play with crickets.
Qin Xiaozhou asked into the room, "Is this Li Yao's house?"
An old woman looked up, her eyes cloudy, and asked weakly, "What do you want?"
It seems this is the place. Qin Xiaozhou didn't beat around the bush and explained his purpose, "Why did your Li Yao get into a conflict with someone by the river?"
The old woman said expressionlessly, "That damned girl is a monster. It's a pity we didn't kill her. Her name can't kill her either. She's a menace to people while she's alive. Why are you asking these questions? Who are you?"
Li Yao originally meant premature death.
Qin Xiaozhou was shocked by the old woman's viciousness in giving a little girl such a name. "We naturally have something to discuss with her. Are you her mother?"
“That wretched child was born from a crack in a rock, not my child.” The old woman’s tone was full of hatred. “With such a sharp tongue, isn’t she afraid of stabbing herself to death?”
The old woman continued cursing, and Qin Xiaozhou and Lu Yunfeng couldn't get any information out of her. Just as they were about to return to the shop, a person came from afar, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Li Yao's family, is this Li Yao's family?"
The woman was in her thirties and had an impatient personality. "Mother and father of Li Yao, I've come to bring you good news. Your daughter has given birth, and it's a girl."
The old woman spat, "You rotten thing."
The woman's face changed drastically. "You old hag, I came here out of kindness to bring you good news, and you have such a face. Humph, I can't even be bothered to argue with someone as old as you who's about to be buried in the ground."
After saying that, she swayed her hips and walked away.
Qin Xiaozhou and Lu Yunfeng caught up with her and asked what was going on. They learned that the woman's name was Liu Hehua. She was also a merchant's wife. Unlike Li Yao's husband, Liu Hehua and her husband sold aquatic products by waterway. They would occasionally come to Lijia Dam to sell good stuff along the river. That's how they met Li Yao. This time, she happened to be passing through Lijia Dam and came to share the good news. Unexpectedly, she was scolded by Li Yao's family.
As Liu Hehua walked, she complained, "I've never seen parents like this. When their daughter was young, they wished she would die. Now that she's grown up, they want her to marry and raise money to support her younger brother. And now that their daughter has given birth, they don't even ask if she's doing well. It's truly a tragedy."
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