Chapter 18.
"Do you want to sleep with me?" Yu Ying asked Fu Ning.
Upon hearing this, the little girl seemed afraid of being rejected, so she timidly and softly nodded.
Fu An, who had come out to find his sister and take her back to bed, heard this and paused in surprise.
Just as Yu Ying was about to say something, Fu An, not wanting her to be upset, quickly said to his sister, "Don't be silly, come back and sleep with your brother."
Hearing her brother's voice, the little girl suddenly hugged Yu Ying's legs, seemingly not wanting to go back with him.
Yu Ying, suddenly embraced around the legs, paused, then looked down at the small figure below her.
The moonlight was bright enough to cast a soft glow, allowing one to see the figures.
Fu An, at a loss for words, heard Luo Shi's voice from inside the house, asking in a lowered tone, "An An, what's wrong with Ning Ning?"
Fu An replied, "Ning Ning wants to sleep with that..." He changed his term, "with Auntie."
Silence fell inside the house for a moment, then the sound of a bamboo stick touching the ground was heard, as if Luo Shi was coming out.
Yu Ying gently said to the little girl, "Let's go back to sleep now, and you'll see Auntie again when you wake up tomorrow."
Fu Wei, still awake, opened his eyes upon hearing Yu Ying refer to herself as "little auntie," gazing at the dark thatched roof.
His mood was inexplicably delicate.
Outside, Fu Ning was unwilling to let go.
Yu Ying hesitated for a moment.
The curtain had already been lifted, and Luo Shi had also made her way out.
Yu Ying finally decided, saying, "Let her sleep with me tonight."
Luo Shi expressed concern, "But Ning Ning is restless in her sleep; she might disturb you."
Yu Ying reassured, "It's fine, it won't be a problem."
Luo Shi hesitated, then called out "Ning Ning," instructing her, "Listen to what little auntie says."
Fu Ning, unable to speak, still nodded emphatically in response.
Yu Ying told Luo Shi, "I'll drink the tea made from the dried summer grass before going to sleep."
Luo Shi nodded, "That's good. After drinking it for a few days, An An, Ning Ning, and I haven't been coughing much at night."
Hearing his grandmother say this, Fu An realized that he had been sleeping well at night recently. Though he still coughed, it was nowhere near as severe as before.
It seemed that both his grandmother and sister had improved a lot.
Before helping his grandmother back, Fu An turned to look, watching the figure leading his sister into the house.
Once back in bed, Fu An whispered to his grandmother, "Grandma, she really seems different now. I didn't like the old auntie."
In the darkness, Luo Shi's face changed, and she spoke in a hushed tone, "Don't tell anyone about this, or your auntie might revert to her old self, and she might even leave our home."
Fu An was stunned, the thought of the auntie reverting to her frightening former self made him shrink, but the possibility of her leaving made him assertively promise, "I won't tell anyone!"
Fu Wei, overhearing the conversation, realized not only he had noticed the change, but even his mother had detected something.
Their lives had been so hard, but she had brought a glimmer of sweetness. Despite noticing something amiss, they didn't want to think too much about it, nor delve deeper.
Since Yu Liuniang had only been in Lingshui Village for a short time, people knew little about her. They couldn't understand the differences between her past and present.
But in another village a hundred miles away, the Yu family knew her best. If she were to return to the Yu family, it might not be easier than staying with the Fu family.
The grandmother and grandson eventually fell asleep, but Fu Wei remained wide awake.
In another room, Yu Ying fanned gently with a large palm-leaf fan, bringing a refreshing breeze to dispel some of the stuffiness.
Fu Ning's sleeping posture lacked a sense of security, curled up like a kitten and clinging close to Yu Ying.
Her breathing was slow, not disturbing at all.
Before sleep, Yu Ying had told her the story of Cinderella, and she had fallen asleep halfway through.
Overcome by drowsiness, Yu Ying too drifted off to sleep.
At dawn, Yu Ying woke up early, and the little girl woke with her.
She tied up her long hair, securing it with a thorn hairpin, then braided the girl's hair, finishing it with a cloth ribbon tied into a bow.
The neatly groomed little girl, with clear brows and bright eyes, was a delightful sight to behold.
When she brought Luo Shi out of the room, it was barely dawn, but Fu An was already up. He yawned, looked at his sister being led out by his aunt, and asked, "Are we going to the mountains again today?"
Yu Ying nodded, "Yes, but we need to go quickly and return quickly."
They had an agreement with the He family to reinforce the house today and also had to deliver mung bean jelly to Shopkeeper Chen, so they needed to be back home within an hour.
After quickly washing Fu Ning, Yu Ying started her own washing routine.
Seeing that she was almost ready, Fu An didn't need reminding. He picked some mint leaves, crushed them to extract the juice, and applied it to his neck, wrists, and ankles.
Yu Ying scooped some mung bean jelly into two bowls, planning to give them to Aunt He's family at noon to cool off.
Once everything was prepared, she and Fu An left the house with her basket on her back.
The bryony fruits at the location she knew of could be harvested for another two or three days, so she planned to look for other places the next day.
With Fu An's help, they quickly filled three-quarters of the basket, enough for two deliveries.
They returned in just over half an hour, and as soon as they had put away the fruits, Uncle He and his family arrived.
Uncle He, his son, and another tall, dark, but strikingly handsome man with deep-set features came.
They brought several bundles of wood of varying thickness and some dry straw, while Aunt He and her daughter-in-law carried shovels and hoes.
Fu An mentioned that the tall man was a villager named Song Jun, the third son of the Song family. He grew up with Fu An's father and had been close to him, helping their family during the years his father was away.
Fu An added quietly, "The yams you took earlier were from Uncle Song."
Yu Ying: …
He still remembered that?
But quickly, as if afraid of upsetting her, Fu An added, "I won't mention it again."
Yu Ying glanced at him but said nothing, then went to talk with Aunt He and her daughter-in-law.
Aunt He explained, "Song Jun has been working as a long-term laborer for the gentry with our eldest. He heard about your need to build a room and offered to help."
Yu Ying looked at Song Jun and thanked him, "I really appreciate it."
Song Jun, seemingly a man of few words, didn't elaborate but simply said, "With Fu Wei not here, it's only right that I help."
When Fu Wei was exiled to Lingnan, half-dead and abandoned at the post station, it was Song Jun and He family's eldest son who brought him back.
In Ling Shui Village, the Fu family got along best with the He and Song families.
Recalling her visit to the He family to borrow medicinal wine for Fu Wei's fall, Aunt He asked after introducing Song Jun, "How's your man doing?"
Yu Ying replied, "He's not too badly hurt. After lunch, I'll apply some more medicinal wine to him."
Aunt He nodded, then discussed the day's plan with Yu Ying, "Your Uncle He suggested that since we're building a kitchen and there are many helpers, we might as well build a small thatched hut, so you don't always have to go outside for the toilet."
Yu Ying's face lit up with joy upon hearing Aunt He's suggestion.
She had been considering this but hesitated to suggest it, not wanting to trouble others. She had planned to learn how to build a thatched hut while they were constructing the main structure, with the idea of building a small one herself later.
With the thatched hut mentioned, Yu Ying no longer worried and discussed with Uncle He about extending the kitchen a bit longer, dividing it into two sections with a partition, reserving about four feet of space for a bath area.
The bathing area would be half a foot shorter than the kitchen. She intended to collect sand and stones from the river to fill the floor for better drainage, preventing mud from splashing onto their feet during washing and also to provide a slip-resistant surface.
After hearing Yu Ying's plan, everyone began to work.
They marked out an area about seven feet long and three to four feet wide with branches on the ground, and then started digging along the lines.
After lowering the ground for the bath area, they dug a deep trench along the marked lines, placed thicker logs at the corners, and surrounded the hut with branches thicker than fingers, tightly inserted into the trench. Once all were in place, they covered them with mud and secured the branches with sturdy grass ropes.
As the appointed time with Shopkeeper Chen approached, Yu Ying stopped helping and went to deliver the mung bean jelly.
Shopkeeper Chen had been waiting at the village entrance for a while.
Yu Ying hurried to the village entrance and handed a jar of mung bean jelly to Shopkeeper Chen.
Shopkeeper Chen said, "I've brought you two heads of cabbage. They're two coins per pound outside, and each one here is about two pounds. I'll charge you three coins each."
Yu Ying quickly expressed her gratitude, and then Shopkeeper Chen also gave her two radishes.
The cabbage was lush green, the radishes were large, and with a small basket of baby taro, Yu Ying spent a total of thirteen coins.
Observing the quality of the vegetables, Yu Ying asked, "Shopkeeper Chen, your vegetables grow so well. Where did you buy the seeds? I'd like to buy some to plant in my own yard."
Shopkeeper Chen chuckled, "These weren't bought; they're saved from our own crops. If you want, I can spare some seeds for you at a cheaper price than what you'd find in town."
After all, relying solely on wild vegetables wasn't sustainable. With a large empty space in the Fu family's yard, currently only planted with a small patch of mint, it would be better utilized for growing vegetables.
Deciding this, Yu Ying asked Shopkeeper Chen to bring some seeds the next day.
After finalizing arrangements with Shopkeeper Chen, Yu Ying returned home.
Realizing she only had a few dozen copper coins left, Yu Ying sighed inwardly.
If she planned to help the Fu family retrieve Fu Wei and his wife from the stone quarry, she couldn't afford any extra expenses for now. Fortunately, no more immediate purchases were necessary.
However, she needed to find out how the service terms at the stone quarry were calculated to have a clearer idea.
Back in the yard, Yu Ying continued to help with the work.
While twisting grass ropes with Aunt He, Yu Ying brought up the matter.
"Aunt He, do you know how much silver is needed to be exempted from a year of service at the stone quarry?"
Aunt He responded, "How could I not know, with my second son working there?"
Speaking of her second son, Aunt He sighed and then said, "He still has about two years left. To get him out early would cost around two thousand five hundred coins."
Hearing this, Yu Ying felt a heavy weight in her heart.
Two years would cost two thousand five hundred coins, and three years, three thousand six hundred coins.
Yu Ying felt she couldn't just redeem Fu Dalang and ignore his wife; it was something she couldn't bring herself to do.
The quarry was a chaotic place, rife with ruthless and vicious people, and with even more bachelors. The fate of a woman without a man's protection there was all too predictable.
But to redeem both of them would cost over seventy taels of silver. She didn't even have a hundred coins on her now, and with less than two months left, where could she earn so much money?
Thinking this, Yu Ying felt a chill in her heart.
Aunt He sighed and then curiously asked, "Why did you suddenly ask about this?"
Yu Ying smiled and replied, "I just thought of An An and Ning Ning's parents and asked out of curiosity. I hadn’t expected it to cost so much silver."
Aunt He glanced at the two children helping to twist grass ropes at the other end and said helplessly, "Without money, we can only endure slowly."
Yu Ying also looked towards Fu An and Fu Ning, sighing softly.
Since she currently had no way to redeem their labor terms, she couldn't remain indifferent knowing that their lives might be in danger.
After pondering for a while, Yu Ying decided to find an opportunity to visit the quarry and see Fu Dalang, to warn him.
Perhaps the warning might help him avoid a deadly fate.
Chapter 18.
"Do you want to sleep with me?" Yu Ying asked Fu Ning.
Upon hearing this, the little girl seemed afraid of being rejected, so she timidly and softly nodded.
Fu An, who had come out to find his sister and take her back to bed, heard this and paused in surprise.
Just as Yu Ying was about to say something, Fu An, not wanting her to be upset, quickly said to his sister, "Don't be silly, come back and sleep with your brother."
Hearing her brother's voice, the little girl suddenly hugged Yu Ying's legs, seemingly not wanting to go back with him.
Yu Ying, suddenly embraced around the legs, paused, then looked down at the small figure below her.
The moonlight was bright enough to cast a soft glow, allowing one to see the figures.
Fu An, at a loss for words, heard Luo Shi's voice from inside the house, asking in a lowered tone, "An An, what's wrong with Ning Ning?"
Fu An replied, "Ning Ning wants to sleep with that..." He changed his term, "with Auntie."
Silence fell inside the house for a moment, then the sound of a bamboo stick touching the ground was heard, as if Luo Shi was coming out.
Yu Ying gently said to the little girl, "Let's go back to sleep now, and you'll see Auntie again when you wake up tomorrow."
Fu Wei, still awake, opened his eyes upon hearing Yu Ying refer to herself as "little auntie," gazing at the dark thatched roof.
His mood was inexplicably delicate.
Outside, Fu Ning was unwilling to let go.
Yu Ying hesitated for a moment.
The curtain had already been lifted, and Luo Shi had also made her way out.
Yu Ying finally decided, saying, "Let her sleep with me tonight."
Luo Shi expressed concern, "But Ning Ning is restless in her sleep; she might disturb you."
Yu Ying reassured, "It's fine, it won't be a problem."
Luo Shi hesitated, then called out "Ning Ning," instructing her, "Listen to what little auntie says."
Fu Ning, unable to speak, still nodded emphatically in response.
Yu Ying told Luo Shi, "I'll drink the tea made from the dried summer grass before going to sleep."
Luo Shi nodded, "That's good. After drinking it for a few days, An An, Ning Ning, and I haven't been coughing much at night."
Hearing his grandmother say this, Fu An realized that he had been sleeping well at night recently. Though he still coughed, it was nowhere near as severe as before.
It seemed that both his grandmother and sister had improved a lot.
Before helping his grandmother back, Fu An turned to look, watching the figure leading his sister into the house.
Once back in bed, Fu An whispered to his grandmother, "Grandma, she really seems different now. I didn't like the old auntie."
In the darkness, Luo Shi's face changed, and she spoke in a hushed tone, "Don't tell anyone about this, or your auntie might revert to her old self, and she might even leave our home."
Fu An was stunned, the thought of the auntie reverting to her frightening former self made him shrink, but the possibility of her leaving made him assertively promise, "I won't tell anyone!"
Fu Wei, overhearing the conversation, realized not only he had noticed the change, but even his mother had detected something.
Their lives had been so hard, but she had brought a glimmer of sweetness. Despite noticing something amiss, they didn't want to think too much about it, nor delve deeper.
Since Yu Liuniang had only been in Lingshui Village for a short time, people knew little about her. They couldn't understand the differences between her past and present.
But in another village a hundred miles away, the Yu family knew her best. If she were to return to the Yu family, it might not be easier than staying with the Fu family.
The grandmother and grandson eventually fell asleep, but Fu Wei remained wide awake.
In another room, Yu Ying fanned gently with a large palm-leaf fan, bringing a refreshing breeze to dispel some of the stuffiness.
Fu Ning's sleeping posture lacked a sense of security, curled up like a kitten and clinging close to Yu Ying.
Her breathing was slow, not disturbing at all.
Before sleep, Yu Ying had told her the story of Cinderella, and she had fallen asleep halfway through.
Overcome by drowsiness, Yu Ying too drifted off to sleep.
At dawn, Yu Ying woke up early, and the little girl woke with her.
She tied up her long hair, securing it with a thorn hairpin, then braided the girl's hair, finishing it with a cloth ribbon tied into a bow.
The neatly groomed little girl, with clear brows and bright eyes, was a delightful sight to behold.
When she brought Luo Shi out of the room, it was barely dawn, but Fu An was already up. He yawned, looked at his sister being led out by his aunt, and asked, "Are we going to the mountains again today?"
Yu Ying nodded, "Yes, but we need to go quickly and return quickly."
They had an agreement with the He family to reinforce the house today and also had to deliver mung bean jelly to Shopkeeper Chen, so they needed to be back home within an hour.
After quickly washing Fu Ning, Yu Ying started her own washing routine.
Seeing that she was almost ready, Fu An didn't need reminding. He picked some mint leaves, crushed them to extract the juice, and applied it to his neck, wrists, and ankles.
Yu Ying scooped some mung bean jelly into two bowls, planning to give them to Aunt He's family at noon to cool off.
Once everything was prepared, she and Fu An left the house with her basket on her back.
The bryony fruits at the location she knew of could be harvested for another two or three days, so she planned to look for other places the next day.
With Fu An's help, they quickly filled three-quarters of the basket, enough for two deliveries.
They returned in just over half an hour, and as soon as they had put away the fruits, Uncle He and his family arrived.
Uncle He, his son, and another tall, dark, but strikingly handsome man with deep-set features came.
They brought several bundles of wood of varying thickness and some dry straw, while Aunt He and her daughter-in-law carried shovels and hoes.
Fu An mentioned that the tall man was a villager named Song Jun, the third son of the Song family. He grew up with Fu An's father and had been close to him, helping their family during the years his father was away.
Fu An added quietly, "The yams you took earlier were from Uncle Song."
Yu Ying: …
He still remembered that?
But quickly, as if afraid of upsetting her, Fu An added, "I won't mention it again."
Yu Ying glanced at him but said nothing, then went to talk with Aunt He and her daughter-in-law.
Aunt He explained, "Song Jun has been working as a long-term laborer for the gentry with our eldest. He heard about your need to build a room and offered to help."
Yu Ying looked at Song Jun and thanked him, "I really appreciate it."
Song Jun, seemingly a man of few words, didn't elaborate but simply said, "With Fu Wei not here, it's only right that I help."
When Fu Wei was exiled to Lingnan, half-dead and abandoned at the post station, it was Song Jun and He family's eldest son who brought him back.
In Ling Shui Village, the Fu family got along best with the He and Song families.
Recalling her visit to the He family to borrow medicinal wine for Fu Wei's fall, Aunt He asked after introducing Song Jun, "How's your man doing?"
Yu Ying replied, "He's not too badly hurt. After lunch, I'll apply some more medicinal wine to him."
Aunt He nodded, then discussed the day's plan with Yu Ying, "Your Uncle He suggested that since we're building a kitchen and there are many helpers, we might as well build a small thatched hut, so you don't always have to go outside for the toilet."
Yu Ying's face lit up with joy upon hearing Aunt He's suggestion.
She had been considering this but hesitated to suggest it, not wanting to trouble others. She had planned to learn how to build a thatched hut while they were constructing the main structure, with the idea of building a small one herself later.
With the thatched hut mentioned, Yu Ying no longer worried and discussed with Uncle He about extending the kitchen a bit longer, dividing it into two sections with a partition, reserving about four feet of space for a bath area.
The bathing area would be half a foot shorter than the kitchen. She intended to collect sand and stones from the river to fill the floor for better drainage, preventing mud from splashing onto their feet during washing and also to provide a slip-resistant surface.
After hearing Yu Ying's plan, everyone began to work.
They marked out an area about seven feet long and three to four feet wide with branches on the ground, and then started digging along the lines.
After lowering the ground for the bath area, they dug a deep trench along the marked lines, placed thicker logs at the corners, and surrounded the hut with branches thicker than fingers, tightly inserted into the trench. Once all were in place, they covered them with mud and secured the branches with sturdy grass ropes.
As the appointed time with Shopkeeper Chen approached, Yu Ying stopped helping and went to deliver the mung bean jelly.
Shopkeeper Chen had been waiting at the village entrance for a while.
Yu Ying hurried to the village entrance and handed a jar of mung bean jelly to Shopkeeper Chen.
Shopkeeper Chen said, "I've brought you two heads of cabbage. They're two coins per pound outside, and each one here is about two pounds. I'll charge you three coins each."
Yu Ying quickly expressed her gratitude, and then Shopkeeper Chen also gave her two radishes.
The cabbage was lush green, the radishes were large, and with a small basket of baby taro, Yu Ying spent a total of thirteen coins.
Observing the quality of the vegetables, Yu Ying asked, "Shopkeeper Chen, your vegetables grow so well. Where did you buy the seeds? I'd like to buy some to plant in my own yard."
Shopkeeper Chen chuckled, "These weren't bought; they're saved from our own crops. If you want, I can spare some seeds for you at a cheaper price than what you'd find in town."
After all, relying solely on wild vegetables wasn't sustainable. With a large empty space in the Fu family's yard, currently only planted with a small patch of mint, it would be better utilized for growing vegetables.
Deciding this, Yu Ying asked Shopkeeper Chen to bring some seeds the next day.
After finalizing arrangements with Shopkeeper Chen, Yu Ying returned home.
Realizing she only had a few dozen copper coins left, Yu Ying sighed inwardly.
If she planned to help the Fu family retrieve Fu Wei and his wife from the stone quarry, she couldn't afford any extra expenses for now. Fortunately, no more immediate purchases were necessary.
However, she needed to find out how the service terms at the stone quarry were calculated to have a clearer idea.
Back in the yard, Yu Ying continued to help with the work.
While twisting grass ropes with Aunt He, Yu Ying brought up the matter.
"Aunt He, do you know how much silver is needed to be exempted from a year of service at the stone quarry?"
Aunt He responded, "How could I not know, with my second son working there?"
Speaking of her second son, Aunt He sighed and then said, "He still has about two years left. To get him out early would cost around two thousand five hundred coins."
Hearing this, Yu Ying felt a heavy weight in her heart.
Two years would cost two thousand five hundred coins, and three years, three thousand six hundred coins.
Yu Ying felt she couldn't just redeem Fu Dalang and ignore his wife; it was something she couldn't bring herself to do.
The quarry was a chaotic place, rife with ruthless and vicious people, and with even more bachelors. The fate of a woman without a man's protection there was all too predictable.
But to redeem both of them would cost over seventy taels of silver. She didn't even have a hundred coins on her now, and with less than two months left, where could she earn so much money?
Thinking this, Yu Ying felt a chill in her heart.
Aunt He sighed and then curiously asked, "Why did you suddenly ask about this?"
Yu Ying smiled and replied, "I just thought of An An and Ning Ning's parents and asked out of curiosity. I hadn’t expected it to cost so much silver."
Aunt He glanced at the two children helping to twist grass ropes at the other end and said helplessly, "Without money, we can only endure slowly."
Yu Ying also looked towards Fu An and Fu Ning, sighing softly.
Since she currently had no way to redeem their labor terms, she couldn't remain indifferent knowing that their lives might be in danger.
After pondering for a while, Yu Ying decided to find an opportunity to visit the quarry and see Fu Dalang, to warn him.
Perhaps the warning might help him avoid a deadly fate.
