Volume One, Chapter 13: What Are You Doing Mentioning Fuzhu in Front of the Child?

Yin Tiantian spent three days completing the embroidery work and delivered it to the county embroidery workshop.

“Tiantian?”

Zhang Jing was leaving the school after classes, carrying a stack of white paper, when he ran into Yin Tiantian coming out of the embroidery shop with her work.

“Just the right time to see you. The teacher asked me to take these study supplies to Brother Cui in Qinghe Village. The teacher said Brother Cui should rest and recover first, then come to the county school once he's healed.”

There was a hint of bitterness in his voice. This was all high-quality Xuan paper, expensive to buy—usually only used for copying books. And yet, the teacher had given it all to Cui Heng!

“Give it to me. No need to trouble yourself with another trip.”

She reached out her hand, but Zhang Jing hesitated before handing over the Xuan paper.

“Could you give me a few sheets? I’ve been running errands...”

Seeing his pitiful look, Yin Tiantian carefully placed the Xuan paper into her basket.

“No.”

He grew anxious.

“It’s Song, the teacher I introduced to you. Isn’t asking for a few sheets of Xuan paper reasonable?”

“But hasn’t our young master been helping you copy books?”

Yin Tiantian had collected her wages—fifty copper coins in total. Though not much, it was more than enough to buy several pounds of meat!

Zhang Jing followed Yin Tiantian to the butcher’s shop and saw her purchase two pounds of meat and several pounds of bones. He was immensely envious.

“Fine, if you won’t give me any...” Zhang Jing hadn’t eaten meat in a long time. He feared staying in the butcher shop any longer would make his mouth water and invite mockery.

As he turned to leave, a bundle of pork belly suddenly appeared before him.

“You’re always eating bland food, you’ll get sick and how will you study for the imperial exams? I’ll treat you to meat! But you know my family’s situation; I can only afford half a pound. If you think that’s too little, then...”

“I don’t mind!”

Zhang Jing eagerly took the meat, tied with a straw rope, and happily said, “If you ever need anything I can help with, just say the word!”

Yin Tiantian agreed. Half a pound of meat was all it took to win him over—what a good deal!

“Alright! Don’t refuse when the time comes! I have to go home now, see you next time!”

Yin Tiantian worried about her family. To save grain, the elderly couple often skipped lunch when she wasn’t home to watch over them. Last time she caught them secretly gnawing on bones in the kitchen—bones harder than teeth and indigestible!

“Young master, I’m home!”

No one was inside. Cui Heng sat in the yard, basking in the sun, with a cane beside him.

“Where are father and mother?”

“They said they went to look for wild vegetables...”

It was late autumn; the grass had turned yellow and withered—no wild vegetables to be found. Most likely, the elderly couple had ventured into the mountains. If they encountered wild beasts, the consequences would be dire!

“I’ll go find them!”

Yin Tiantian had just left the village entrance when a shout called out:

“Tiantian, hurry and help!”

Ergouzi was running home carrying Mrs. Shen on his back, with Mr. Shen limping behind, unable to catch up.

“What’s going on, Ergouzi?”

Yin Tiantian hurried over and saw Mrs. Shen’s lips pale and her face contorted in pain.

“What happened?”

Misunderstood by Yin Tiantian, Ergouzi looked distressed.

“Tiantian, I found Auntie caught in a steel trap on the mountain! She bled a lot!”

“Quick, take my mother home!”

The steel traps on the mountain weren’t set by the local villagers—they were expensive iron devices only affordable to hunters.

The hunters were fierce. Damaging one of their traps could bring trouble.

But there was no time to think of that now. These traps could break bones. Mrs. Shen was old; she must not be seriously hurt!

The trap was still clamped on Mrs. Shen’s leg. After placing her on the bed, Yin Tiantian squatted down to examine it, trying to remove the trap. But Mrs. Shen trembled in pain at the slightest touch, scaring Yin Tiantian into stopping.

Ergouzi and Mr. Shen also had no idea how to remove the trap. Everyone stood helplessly inside the house.

“Should I go get a doctor?”

The skin around the wound had already turned bluish-purple. Cui Heng glanced over and said, “Let me try.”

Unable to squat, Cui Heng had Yin Tiantian and Mr. Shen lift Mrs. Shen’s leg.

He dismantled the trap’s mechanism and easily removed it.

Examining Mrs. Shen’s ankle, he said, “Fortunately, no bones are broken. Clean the wound, bandage it well, and she should be fine.”

“Still, we should call a doctor. Auntie looks seriously hurt!” Ergouzi glanced at Yin Tiantian. She was finally willing to talk to him!

“I’m fine. No need for a doctor!”

Mrs. Shen tried to pull her foot back. Her feet were dirty and calloused, usually hidden beneath her skirt. With so many watching, this little injury was nothing; no need to waste money on a doctor!

“Brother Heng is right, I’m okay! A doctor is far away, and Tiantian still needs to take care of Brother Heng. That’s already hard enough!”

“I’ll go get the doctor!”

Ergouzi volunteered but was stopped at the door by Wang Cuihua.

“No one wants you, so why meddle in their affairs? Are you bored? When they eat meat, they won’t even spare you a drop of soup. Go home! Did I send you out to pick up manure?”

Ergouzi wailed as Wang Cuihua dragged him back.

Yin Tiantian stayed in the kitchen a while, then brought a basin of warm water to clean Mrs. Shen’s wound.

“I’ll do it myself!” Mrs. Shen protested, embarrassed, but Yin Tiantian gently held her.

“Mother, with me and the young master at home, you don’t need to risk going into the mountains. You and father must stay well, so I and the young master have no worries behind us...”

The wound on Mrs. Shen’s ankle was gruesome. Yin Tiantian crushed some herbs and applied them, then wrapped the injury with cotton cloth.

“I just want to lighten your burden a little...”

Mrs. Shen lowered her head. Mr. Shen emptied the forsythia they gathered into the yard to dry and swept the courtyard.

The water used to wash Mrs. Shen’s feet had turned black. Cui Heng looked at Yin Tiantian, who showed no signs of disgust.

“Mother, your well-being is the greatest help to us.”

Mrs. Shen looked sad, but Yin Tiantian didn’t comfort her. She took the meat wrapped in dry grass from the basket, careful not to let the juices stain the young master’s paper or the embroidery cloth, tucking it deep at the bottom.

Her words were harsh but true. Mrs. Shen was about to say something when Yin Tiantian handed her cloth purchased from the city.

“Mother, make a pair of shoes for the young master. He’s never worn shoes made by you. Before, the clothes and shoes Fuzhu wore were all made by you. If you don’t make shoes for the young master, he’ll be sad!”

Mrs. Shen snapped back to reality.

“To make shoes, first I have to prepare the glue to bind the soles...”

Mrs. Shen was hesitant. Yin Tiantian smiled, “Mother, just wait, I’ll start making the glue now!”

She boiled some glue in a pot and handed it to Mrs. Shen. Then she went to the kitchen, planning to prepare the meat she bought. This time, they could eat dumplings. She chopped the pork belly into mince, added radish, and used flour ground by Mr. Shen from wheat dried in the sun at the village entrance—perfect for making dumplings.

The bones were saved to simmer soup the next morning.

When the dumplings were cooked and served, Mr. and Mrs. Shen tried to decline but insisted Cui Heng and Yin Tiantian eat first, saying they weren’t hungry and just wanted some soup.

Yin Tiantian’s face darkened.

“I painstakingly minced the meat and made dumplings. If you don’t want them, I’ll feed them to the pigs!”

“How could we bear to feed the meat to the pigs?”

Mr. and Mrs. Shen were torn but reluctantly ate.

All two pounds of meat were wrapped in dumplings. Full and satisfied, Mr. and Mrs. Shen grew lazy and drowsy, lying down on the kang bed in Cui Heng’s room.

“Fuzhu used to love dumplings the most. I wonder if the Hou Mansion ever made dumplings for him?”

“Would the Hou Mansion lack dumplings? Probably too many delicious foods; he might not even remember dumplings!”

Mr. Shen scolded Mrs. Shen, “Why do you bring up Fuzhu in front of the child?”

They looked at Cui Heng’s face. He lowered his head, staring at the bean lamp on the table, lost in thought.