Chapter 21: Distributing the Clothes

Waking up, the winter sunlight filtered through the window. Sun Shan pulled back his quilt, got dressed, and put on his padded slippers. His aunt and grandmother, who slept in the next room, were already gone.

Stepping out of the bedroom and crossing the main room, he found the house unusually quiet, which struck him as odd. He walked to the kitchen and saw his eldest sister, Guyu, boiling pig feed.

"Shan is awake," she said with a smile. "Come wash your face and have breakfast."

Sun Shan took the toothbrush, sprinkled some salt on it, brushed his teeth, and splashed his face with water. Feeling refreshed, he looked at the sun’s position; it was likely around 9:00 AM. Since arriving here, his greatest achievement had been learning to estimate the time by the sky. It had been difficult at first, but after asking many questions, he had eventually mastered it.

Guyu brought out a steaming bowl of rice porridge. "Shan, come eat some mussel porridge."

His aunt had brought the mussels back, insisting that Sun Shan should regularly eat porridge cooked with mussels and dried scallops for their nutritional value. This morning’s breakfast was mussel porridge, enough for the whole family. Guyu, however, found the smell a bit fishy and didn't care for it much.

Sun Shan took the bowl, sat on a stool, and asked concernedly, "Where are Grandmother and Aunt?" The house was empty except for Guyu.

Guyu watched the pig feed finish, scooped it into a wooden bucket, and prepared to feed the pigs. "The village chief came by this morning," she said with a smile. "He invited Aunt, Uncle, and cousin Yu to his fish pond to catch fish for a meal. Grandmother, Father, and Mother went to pick vegetables."

As for his three younger sisters, the second, Lixia, was herding the cattle, while the third and fourth were out cutting pig grass for the evening.

Sun Shan had just finished his porridge when he heard Yu’er’s voice through the wall. A moment later, the courtyard gate swung open. Sun Shan ran out to see, and Yu’er, his eyes shining, exclaimed, "Shan, come look! Such big fish!"

Curious about their size, Sun Shan walked over. They were indeed huge, weighing at least fifteen pounds each. He checked his Uncle He’s bucket; it held two more, easily ten pounds apiece. His aunt’s bucket also contained two, similarly sized.

"Cousin Yu, where did you catch these?" Sun Shan asked in surprise.

Yu’er chuckled, puffing out his chest. "From the village chief’s pond! His pond is full of big fish."

Early that morning, the village chief had come to the Sun family home and taken Aunt’s family to his pond. He had claimed the fish were hungriest in the early morning and would bite instantly. They hadn't been there long before catching five large ones.

Aunt placed the fish into a stone water vat and smiled. "I never imagined the fish in my eldest uncle’s pond had grown so large."

Just then, Madam Huang, Sun Bomin, and Madam Su returned from picking vegetables. They had pulled up some white radishes to braise with pork for lunch. Braised beef would have been better, but cows were protected animals; slaughtering one was a major event that required reporting to the local government.

"The village chief is very thoughtful to invite you all to catch fish so early," Madam Huang said.

"Grandmother," Yu’er added excitedly, "the village chief’s pond has so many fish, and every one of them is huge!"

Sun Bomin set down his hoe and laughed. "The village chief’s uncle has been raising those fish for three years without harvesting them. I heard they’re planning to harvest them in a couple of days to sell."

He wasn't sure why the chief had waited so long, perhaps just to let them grow fat. Fish sold well and fetched a high price around the New Year. In Huangyang County, there was a custom that on New Year’s Eve, one must steam a fish—the bigger, the better. It was kept to be eaten on New Year’s Day, symbolizing an abundance of food and wealth for the coming year. The village chief’s large fish would surely be popular with the wealthy and could be sold for a premium.

At that moment, the village chief walked in from outside. In rural compounds, doors were rarely closed, and anyone could enter. He carried a bucket filled with swamp eels and loaches. "Chunlan, you walked too fast," he said, catching his breath. "I told you to wait!"

He pointed to the eels and loaches in the bucket. "These are delicious—even fresher than fish." He grabbed a spare bucket from the Sun family and dumped them in.

Sun Chunlan quickly tried to stop him. "Uncle, we’ve already taken five big fish; that’s enough. Keep these for your own family."

Uncle He chimed in to agree, and Yu’er tugged at the village chief’s sleeve. "Grandfather, take them back to eat. We have plenty of fish."

The village chief rolled his eyes at the He family. "Just eat them! You only come back once a year, or at most once a year. If you came back often, I wouldn't give them to you anyway." Everyone burst into laughter.

"Thank you, Village Chief," Madam Huang said with a smile. "Yu’er is in for a treat today."

Sun Chunlan was also fond of swamp eels; the thought of them braised with rice made her mouth water. Thinking of something, she said to the village chief, "Uncle, I brought back some old clothes. You should take them and distribute them to the villagers, especially the elderly. I brought quite a few padded jackets and trousers."

The village chief’s eyes lit up. He had assumed she hadn't brought any this year. "Where are they? Let me see. I thank you on behalf of the village."

She had already organized them into four large sacks, categorized by thickness and whether they were for men, women, or children. Seeing the sacks, the village chief beamed. "Why so many this year?"

"Some were requested by Yu Niang," Sun Chunlan explained. "Her mother-in-law had some old clothes, so Yu Niang asked for them."

He Wenshu worked at the government office, and his wife’s family were officials as well; being wealthy, they often discarded clothes. Yu Niang, thinking of the Sun family village, had been bold enough to ask. Sun Chunlan had even advised her to establish her footing before asking for favors, not to be impatient.

The village chief immediately looked concerned. "How did Yu Niang ask? She’s only just married; she shouldn't be asking for things casually."

Aunt quickly explained that it had come up naturally in conversation, and Yu Niang’s mother-in-law had offered them. "Don't worry, she didn't specifically go out of her way to demand them."

The village chief breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the pile of clothes, he smiled again. "These are enough to distribute to almost everyone in the village."

The village kept a registry of who had received items the previous year to ensure fair distribution. Sun Bomin brought out a handcart, loaded the sacks, and followed the village chief to the ancestral hall. The village chief retrieved his registry, ready to distribute the clothes according to the headcount.