Chapter 14

After finishing dinner, Fang Shi took it upon herself to tidy up and wash the dishes. As she entered the kitchen, her eyes landed on a large ceramic bowl sitting among her family's belongings—something that clearly didn’t belong there.

She picked it up, inspecting it closely. A faint crack ran along the rim, and behind it, a small shard of pottery, roughly the size of a fingernail, was missing.

The Song family wasn’t poor by any stretch, but they prided themselves on being frugal and careful. A damaged bowl like this? It wouldn’t be part of their daily use—not with the risk of cutting hands or mouths. At best, it might serve as a container for odds and ends, tucked away out of sight. So how had this damaged thing made its way into their kitchen?

Whose bowl was it?

Who had brought it here?

While Fang Shi turned the questions over in her mind, Song Dingxiang wandered into the kitchen, lending a hand. She spotted her mother scrutinizing the bowl and tilted her head. “Mom, what’s wrong with that bowl?”

Fang Shi’s lips curled into a scornful smile as she set the bowl firmly on the counter. “Oh, I know exactly whose bowl this is,” she said, her voice sharp with disdain. “I used to think that family was just too honest for their own good—that their poverty was bad luck. I even thought about helping them out. But now…” She let out a scoff, shaking her head. “It serves them right to be poor. Dishonest, scheming people—that’s all they are.”

Her words carried the weight of fresh resentment. Fang Shi hadn’t always thought so poorly of Old Third Song San’s family. But after Song Taohong had overstepped her bounds, bullying Song Dingxiang and meddling in her daughter’s marriage, Fang Shi’s perspective had shifted entirely.

Song Dingxiang glanced at the offending bowl and smiled faintly, a knowing look in her eyes. “Let’s keep our distance from them, Mom. I’ll show this to Grandmother—it’ll make things clear for everyone in the family.”

Meanwhile, the men in the main room were still chatting on the heated platform. Song Dingxiang took the bowl to show it to Li shi.

Li shi looked at it and said, "It's nothing. It's almost New Year's, right? We'll return this bowl to them later on. Let your mother not be so petty and end up getting herself worked up."

Therefore, actions speak louder than words. Song Dingxiang smiled and said, "My mother is really angry. She said if we hadn't noticed and used it, someone in our family might have cut themselves on the broken edge."

Zhang shi also saw the bowl and said, "Blame it on our eldest son's carelessness. He went to deliver fried fish and brought back this broken bowl. Who's to blame?"

Li shi slowly unbuttoned her worn-out clothes and said, "Men are not usually careful. But we know what their family is like, no need to make a fuss and let everyone know about it. It's unnecessary for everyone to know. It will only make us a laughingstock."

Song Dingxiang agreed and nodded her head, "I'll go tell my mother. If she goes out and gets into an argument, it will be embarrassing for us."

Li shi chuckled and said, "Don't underestimate your mother. She may be fierce at home, but she is clever outside. You should learn from her and not judge her too harshly."

Song Dingxiang left with the bowl.

Zhang shi said, "I should have a word with the eldest son. He didn't even bother to check the bowl properly. He left it in the kitchen, and if it weren't for my sister-in-law seeing it, we wouldn't have known about this incident."

She then looked at the two daughters-in-law and her daughter, saying, "From now on, don't talk to that family too much. Don't let them take advantage of you, understand?"

Shi shi and Jin Qiao'er, both in the early stages of pregnancy, exchanged nods with Zhang shi, their faces etched with concern. Worried about the well-being of her daughters-in-law during this delicate time, Zhang shi couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety.

She didn't let them do any heavy work and just let them sit on the heated platform and sew with Jin Qiao'er.

Li shi sighed and said, "Dafen's been holding a grudge against Song Taohong and the Xu family ever since that incident. And let's not forget your third uncle's family – they're a hopeless bunch. No wonder Dafen's been so irritable. Don't mention this to Dali; it's not worth it and will only upset him."

Zhang shi thought for a moment and agreed.

Two days passed, and in the middle of the night, Song Zhiyuan arrived with his son Song Junshan, looking tired and dusty. Fang shi was delighted to see them and immediately went to prepare hot water and clean clothes for them so they could freshen up.

Song Zhiyuan took out a bulging purse from his pocket and threw it on the kang bed, making a heavy sound. He laughed, "There's a gathering in the town tomorrow, so we hurried back... Take it, take it, buy whatever you need."

Fang shi opened the purse and poured out a pile of copper coins and silver pieces. She picked one and handed it to Qiao'er, saying, "Use this to buy something for you, your husband, and your child. I won't be able to help you with small items though, as I need to prepare for New Year's with your aunt."

Qiao'er had already gotten used to her mother-in-law's generosity. When she first got married, her mother-in-law handed her money, almost scaring her.

Later, she realized that this was just how the Song family operated. The mother-in-law held onto the big funds while distributing the small ones among the children.

Everyone had their share and could buy whatever they wanted, so Qiao'er accepted the money calmly when Fang shi offered it.

She actually had saved up quite a bit of money herself, thinking that in the future, when her younger brothers-in-law all grew up and started their own families, she couldn't keep relying on her in-laws to provide for her own children.

Especially since her son was now over two years old, nearing three, and she planned to send him to school in a couple of years. Although her mother-in-law said she could use this money, she couldn't bring herself to not take any of it.

Actually, she knew deep down that this was her mother-in-law's way of giving her the opportunity to save up some money for her own little family.

Fang shi carefully arranged the remaining money, stacking the silver coins together and stringing the copper coins with a red thread. She neatly placed groups of one hundred copper coins in a box and then took out the account book to record this money, squiggling and twisting the characters.

Originally illiterate, Fang shi had learned a few words after marrying into the Song family. Even Li shi, who knew a few characters, kept account books. This habit of keeping accounts was actually taught to her by her mother-in-law, and now she was starting to pass on this knowledge to her daughters-in-law.

After finishing washing up, Song Zhiyuan sat on the kang bed and said, "These past few days have been really exhausting. I've been carrying such a large sum of money with me, and I can't even rest easy when sleeping with eldest son at night. I keep thinking about coming back. Has everything been okay at home these past few days?"

Due to the cold weather, the kang bed platform in the main room was the warmest place. To save firewood, the children had gone to sleep with their grandparents.

Fang shi had set up a curtain in the middle of the platform, with her and Song Zhiyuan sleeping at the head bed, and Song Junshan and Qiao'er at the foot. Many households did this to save firewood in the winter and stay warm by sleeping close together.

Some families would burn one load of firewood before sleeping until dawn, but the Song family occasionally woke up in the middle of the night to add more firewood to keep the house warm, making it easier for children or elderly family members to get up at night without getting cold.

Overall, this was all due to the hardworking nature of the family, as they collected firewood all year round. In a lazy household, they would surely freeze in winter.

"Everything is fine at home..." Fang shi thought and mentioned about returning the broken bowl to the Old Third Song San's family and the plan for the second daughter to use the money for the house to set up a shop.

Song Zhiyuan sighed Despite his junior position, criticizing Song Sanshu directly proved difficult. Nevertheless, he has courage to rebuke his cousin, Song Eight Brother, "I'm not going to pity their family anymore. What a mess they made, causing so much trouble. It's really giving me a headache."

After a pause, he talked about setting up a shop, "This money was earned by Zhou's hard work. Whether we build a house or set up a shop, we should at least ask for his opinion."

Fang shi said, "What opinion does he has? I can see that our second daughter will be able to stand on her own after marriage. He already listens to her now. He is hardworking too, always the first to fetch water when the backyard door opens in the morning. It doesn't take long before smoke starts rising from the chimney. Even in the dead of winter, he still goes out to collect firewood, afraid that our daughter will freeze."

She had seen it several times already, and ever since their daughter got married, their daughter-in-law was too lazy to get up when it was cold; it was all done by Zhou Yinuo. It was not easy indeed.

"We should still ask, at least we should ask." Song Zhiyuan yawned and said, "Let's not talk about it anymore, let's sleep now. We have to get up early tomorrow. We have to take two pigs to the town to sell. Once we sell them, we'll have to wait until next year to go back to the town. Let's sleep..."

*

The next morning, Zhou Yinuo brought Dingxiang to the Song family. They had woken up early that day because Song Zhiyuan had gone to the pigsty early to catch pigs, waking up Dingxiang in the process.

After catching the pigs, Song Zhiyuan took his son and two nephews and drove the ox cart straight to the town. Fang shi and Zhang shi waited with their daughters-in-law and children for the arrival of the ox cart.

As it was the last gathering before the New Year, there were still quite a few people going to town. When they reached the village entrance, the ox cart driven by Lao Liu was already full of people. They had to wait for the next ride or hitch a ride with the village chief's cart.

Fang shi noticed that Lao Liu's cart was full of people and said, "Alright, Lao Liu, you go ahead. We'll hitch a ride with someone else."

Just as she said that, the village chief's cart came by.

Lao Liu's cart was simple, with just a canopy and two patchy blankets inside to cover the legs. It charged two copper coins per person, with no charge for children, making it quite affordable.

On the other hand, the village chief's cart was more grand, drawn by a big black mule. The canopy was well-constructed, but it was more expensive, charging four copper coins per person.

Those who couldn't bear to ride the cart usually walked with companions to the town. However, with the snow piled up and not yet melting, the journey was tough.

"Aunt Seven, Aunt Eleven." The driver was the village chief's youngest son, a spirited young man. He greeted them from afar, saying, "I knew you'd be waiting for me here. Hop on the cart quickly; I'll fill it up with passengers."

The cart already had several of the village chief's daughters-in-law sitting inside. They motioned Fang shi and Zhang shi to get on the cart.

Since the cart was padded with cotton quilts, the children didn't take a seat and sat on the floor instead. The curtain of the cart was lowered, making it warm inside.

Zhou Yinuo helped Dingxiang onto the cart and sat at the front with the village chief's son. Since the cart was filled with women, he didn't feel comfortable sitting with them.

The women chatted and gossiped all the way. They consciously avoided talking about the marriage issue of the daughter of the Third Song family but lavished praise on Zhou Yinuo and Dingxiang.

"The couple looks so perfect together. Our Dingxiang is so lively, and Tiezhu looks good too. Their children will definitely be beautiful in the future."

"Hey, don't call him Tiezhu anymore. Didn't Fourth Uncle take him to change his household registration? He's now called Zhou Yinuo. Look, it's no wonder he's from a family with educated people; he has a good name."

"I hear you also calls him that, right Aunt?"

Fang shi chuckled, "It's just a nickname. I can't switch it abruptly. My father-in-law thought it wouldn't sound good if he were called Tiezhu countless times in the future. Changing his name to a more formal one would be more pleasant."

"It does sound nice. My father-in-law also said this name is really good."

"When does Dingxiang plan to have children?"

Fang shi replied, "Oh, there's no rush now, she's only fourteen. We can wait a few years for Zhou Yinuo to come back before thinking about having children."

Although this statement was understood by everyone else, it was actually a back-up plan left for Song Dingxiang. If Zhou Yinuo couldn't return, and Song Dingxiang wanted to remarry into a good family, it wouldn't be a problem without children to hold her back.

"I estimate he'll be back in three to five years. How old will Dingxiang be by then? Her body will be ready, and having two children in three years won't be a problem."

The mule cart traveled quickly, and they soon arrived in town.

Fang shi and Zhang shi both paid money, and the village chief's son didn't refuse, as they all hoped to earn some extra income from this.

Song Zhiyuan's ox cart stopped at the large cart shop, where they borrowed two tables and set up a stall at the entrance to butcher and sell the pigs.

Business was booming.

By the time Fang shi arrived, most of the pigs had already been sold.

"Let's go, let's go for a walk first. Don't just play around, make sure to keep an eye on your own children." Fang shi organized the group, leading a contingent of women along with Zhou Yinuo acting as their bodyguard into the marketplace.

——— Author's Note: I had garlic for lunch...

Oh well, I'll skip the workout today, to avoid running into the trainer.