RMCF: Chapter 17

 

Chapter 17

“He Ger, take a look. Do these earrings look good on me?”

Xu He was sweeping the floor. Hearing the voice, he looked up. Xu Shaochun sat beside the charcoal brazier, a bronze mirror in front of her. She was holding a pair of painted ceramic earrings, comparing them back and forth against her plump cheek.

He nodded. “They look good.”

On the table was a small mountain of gift boxes, all trophies Xu Shaochun had acquired during the New Year period. It had been truly busy, with many people sending gifts and visiting relatives or friends. She hadn't had the time to open many of the gift boxes, nor could she promptly return the ones she didn't like to those who sent gifts through Xu He. She could only accept them all.

Fortunately, during the New Year, people generally had more money on hand and were more willing to spend it than on ordinary days. As a result, the gifts were more valuable than usual, which pleased Xu Shaochun greatly.

Second sister was pleased, and Xu He was also satisfied. During the New Year, he had made numerous trips acting as a bridge for the village's promising young men sending gifts, managing to save up several dozen wen himself.

“Mother said Aunt is visiting today. You need to cook early. My hands are too clumsy and not as good as yours. I'll just keep Auntie company and chat.”

Xu Shaochun was very satisfied with her younger brother's response. She took a moment to glance at Xu He and secretly shook her head. Even during the New Year, he remained dressed in dusty gray clothes.

Xu He acknowledged. In any case, he didn't particularly enjoy conversing with elders, and they likewise found little to say to him—after all, they simply couldn't find common ground..

“Then I'll go attend to things outside.”

“Mm.”

Xu He left Xu Shaochun's warm room, which carried the scent of hundreds of flowers collected and dried in spring. He went to the courtyard to gather some firewood for the kitchen. With many guests coming and going during the New Year, the kitchen fire burned constantly, consuming wood rapidly. The large pile he had gathered before the New Year was almost entirely used up.

“He Ger!”

He was bending down gathering firewood when he heard someone calling from afar. Xu He straightened up and saw his aunt, her hair neatly combed and smooth, hips swaying, face radiant, coming along the ridge. He went over to open the courtyard gate.

“Knowing Aunt was coming, you're preparing to cook so early?”

Xu He replied politely, “Aunt doesn't visit often. We should receive you well.”

“Good, good.”

Xu Shaochun inside the house, hearing the voice, quickly put away her things and ran out with small steps. “Aunt!”

Liu Xiangmei, seeing her niece like a delicate flower, immediately left Xu He and went forward. “Shaochun has grown so much taller! Let Aunt take a good look at you. You've become even more lovely.”

“Aunt, come inside and sit. Mother started mentioning a couple of days ago that you were coming today. Shaochun specially lit charcoal in the room; it's very warm now. Can't let Aunt catch a chill when you return to the village.”

“This little one's words get sweeter and sweeter. Let's go inside. Aunt brought you some gifts.”

Watching the pair of aunt and niece enter the house chatting and laughing, Xu He carried the firewood to the kitchen.

His aunt had married into the city and lived better than them in the village. Every time she visited, his mother, Liu Xianglan, would bring out the best things to entertain her, not wanting to seem inferior in front of her city-dwelling sister.

Xu He knew this well. Even if his mother didn't instruct him, he knew to fetch a good piece of meat from the ice cellar, and beyond that, he’d need to catch at least one old hen as well.

He lit the fire and put rice in the pot, thinking about what dishes to prepare.

The old hen would definitely be used for soup. He could add some dried mushrooms collected in spring that they hadn't been willing to eat; the chicken giblets could be stir-fried into a small dish, the chicken blood could be made into a soup, and he could steam a fish. Every time his aunt visited, the meal was even better than the New Year's feast. Thinking about these dishes, no less than the New Year's Eve dinner, it should be about enough.

While scalding the chicken to pluck feathers, Liu Xianglan came to the kitchen carrying an oil-paper package. She first inspected the dishes Xu He had planned for the day and seemed quite satisfied, then placed what she was holding on the stove. “Your aunt brought a trotter. Cook it for lunch too. You decide how.”

Liu Xianglan had made herself up quite impressively today, even inserting the plain silver hairpin she was normally reluctant to wear even when going to town.

Xu He answered with a sound. That meant he didn't need to use the family's own pork.

Having a pig’s trotter was manageable. He could stew it with the winter bamboo shoots saved from before the New Year, which they hadn't eaten yet. His aunt liked it anyway; every year after winter began, she would ask his mother to dig some up in the village and send them to the city.

Liu Xianglan didn't offer to help Xu He tend the fire; she just swayed her hips and returned to the main hall.

“Hey, speaking of that Zhang Fangyuan from the fifth branch of the Zhang family in the village, do you know what he's up to?”

Liu Xiangmei cracked the sunflower seeds Liu Xianglan had brought out and started chatting idly.

Liu Xianglan found it strange. Ever since her sister married into town, every year she returned to the village to visit family, she would talk nonstop about the enjoyable city life. This was the first time she had brought up village gossip.

“Him? Wasn't he fooling around in town before? I don't know why, but suddenly, at the end of last year, he wanted to settle down and get married. He asked a matchmaker to propose matches everywhere, but then…”

Liu Xianglan vividly recounted the village's bizarre major incident to her sister. During the New Year, visiting relatives and friends, this matter was inevitably brought up at tables and behind stoves, with everyone sighing over it. “After he caught the thief, people's opinions of him changed a bit. He's been spending more time in the village.”

Liu Xiangmei listened with great interest. After all, she was from Jijiu Village before marrying, and now she could recount this major piece of village gossip in town. “So, has he found a match now?”

“Haven't heard. He was in a hurry before, but maybe the incident with the Guang family upset him. Now that people aren't saying thing about him anymore, he's on the contrary, not continuing to seek marriage anymore.”

Hearing this, Liu Xiangmei smiled meaningfully and slapped Liu Xianglan's thigh. “I think you probably don't know yet that he's rented a stall in town and started a business!”

“Ah? What business is he in?”

Liu Xiangmei said, “What business can a butcher do? Of course, buying and selling livestock, selling meat in the meat market! That young man is very easy to talk to. I bought this meat from his stall today. He recognized me at a glance and even gave me a ride back to the village.”

Liu Xianglan's mouth hung open in disbelief, finding it hard to match the person her sister described with the burly, fierce-looking Zhang Fangyuan.

“On the way, I chatted idly and asked about his cart and horse. Guess what? He bought them himself, specifically for his business to haul things.” The more Liu Xiangmei spoke, the more satisfied she felt. “The young man is strong and sturdy. I think you could consider him for Shaochun.”

“You must have mistaken him for someone else!”

Liu Xianglan looked at her sister suspiciously. Having a cart and horse and doing business in the meat market sounded like something out of a story. But if this person was Zhang Fangyuan, she found it rather unbelievable.

“Hey, I've been talking for so long, and you still don't believe me! He said himself he's Zhang Fangyuan from the fifth branch of the Zhang family, the one whose parents are gone. Could there be another Zhang in the village with the same background?” Liu Xiangmei knit her brow gracefully, pointing outside. “I got off the cart over there on that path. He continued driving the cart and horse further up. Isn't Zhang Fangyuan's house right up in that direction?”

Liu Xianglan fell silent, murmuring, “Could it be that he's turned over a new leaf?"

Liu Xiangmei spoke earnestly, “You, when looking at people, only focus on their past. You need to look at the present and the future too. Plan carefully. Since Shaochun has such good qualities, you must choose a good family for her. You and your husband have no sons; you'll have to rely on your son-in-law in the future.”

Speaking of her daughter, whom Liu Xianglan was proud of, her face glowed, and she spoke confidently. “I've more or less made up my mind about Shaochun's husband. There's already a candidate.”

Liu Xiangmei raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. “Oh?”

Liu Xianglan spoke spiritedly. “You know the Fei family in our village, that scholarly family. Their only son passed the child civil service exam early and is studying in town. I heard he's very talented. He's taking the provincial examination this spring.”

“Madam Fei has already had tea with me a couple of times. We've already communicated our intentions. Once the district exam is over, they'll come to propose.”

Scholars had good conditions, they could write, and if they earned an official rank, the court would reward money and goods. Everyone coveted such a popular son-in-law candidate even in town, let alone in rural households. However, “It's not that easy to pass. What if he doesn't pass?”

Liu Xianglan felt her sister was shortsighted. “If not this year, try again next year! Very few pass on their first try. It's always a gradual process. Scholar Fei is an outstanding talent. Many families in the village want to form a marriage alliance. Even the village chief's family has hinted at the Fei family several times, but they didn't agree. Of course, how could a scholar fancy the village chief's daughter, who's as fat as a taro?"

Liu Xiangmei, however, didn't acknowledge her sister's smugness. “You should still be cautious and look around more. That Zhang Fangyuan is really quite good.”

“Sister, if you think that Zhang Fangyuan is so good, why not betroth your own Yuanyuan to him?”

Liu Xiangmei knew her sister was being sarcastic and said impatiently, “I'm giving you good advice, and you don't appreciate it? Yuanyuan has been engaged to her cousin for a long time; you know that. I actually regret agreeing so early on, without looking around more.”

Xu He was in the small room next to the central hall, taking out bamboo shoots to peel. Hearing his mother and aunt's conversation, he was surprised that Zhang Fangyuan was actually doing business in town. No wonder he hadn't seen him around for quite some days. He placed the peeled shoots in a basin, thinking that guy was really something, to have even impressed his city-dwelling aunt who usually looked down on everyone.

Seeing her sister rarely show such regret, Liu Xianglan realized she truly thought highly of Zhang Fangyuan and said, “I'll look into it more. If he really is better than the Fei family son… things aren't set in stone yet; there's still room for change.”

Hearing this made Liu Xiangmei feel somewhat better, but she also knew her sister preferred scholars. “Say, He Ger isn't young anymore either. He's only a few months younger than Shaochun. He'll have to marry eventually anyway. Why don't you consider…”

The sentence hung unfinished, but both understood the implication. Xu He, who was about to return to the kitchen, didn't expect the topic to fall on him for once and couldn't help pausing his steps.

“What a nice thought! Look at He Ger's… qualities. It would be good if even two men in the village wanted him. That Zhang Fangyuan used to fool around in town all the time; I heard he even guarded brothels. He's seen all sorts of beauties. Even if he can't find a wife, he probably wouldn't fancy someone like He Ger—not much to look at, doesn't know how to talk, only knows how to work."

“…Actually, when he came to our house to slaughter the pig before, he secretly glanced at Shaochun…”

His heart gave out a sharp pang. Actually, Xu He had heard words like this many times before, but for some reason, today they left him feeling particularly stifled.

Xu He made no sound, tightened his grip on the basin at his waist, and silently returned to the kitchen.

Liu Xiangmei sighed softly. With Zhang Fangyuan's looks, he could indeed aim for someone more attractive. Now, with his improved conditions and his reputation recovered, he might even become arrogant.

This Zhang Fangyuan was quite clever, knowing to improve his own circumstances first instead of rushing to seek a marriage.

Thinking this, she found the young man even more impressive.

Considering she only had this one close sister to discuss such matters with, and no other girls or gers to arrange for, she laid out her thoughts again and carefully tried to persuade her sister once more.

 

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