Chapter 31: A Visit to Her Parents' Home
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On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Sun family scrubbed every corner of the house, clearing away all the rubbish. By the twenty-ninth, Madam Su had risen early to prepare breakfast. She then roused Sun Shan and his four sisters. Today, they were going back to her parents’ home.
Sun Bomin loaded the New Year gifts onto a handcart. Madam Su’s family lived in Tiger Ridge Village in the neighboring township. From the name alone, one could tell that it lay deep in the mountains, where transportation was even more difficult.
The journey from Sun Family Village would take an hour and a half and required them to cross mountain after mountain. An ox cart could not make the trip, so they had no choice but to push a wheelbarrow.
At Madam Su’s urging, Sun Shan quickly finished his breakfast. That morning’s meal was pork porridge with dried scallops—fragrant, sweet, and delicious. He ate two large bowls.
Once everything had been packed, Madam Huang cautioned them, “Go early and come back early. The mountain roads are dangerous, so don’t return too late.”
Sun Bomin answered her, placed Sun Shan in the cart, and pushed it out of the courtyard.
Madam Su followed behind with another cart. The eldest daughter, Gu Yu, helped her, while the second, third, and fourth daughters trailed behind.
It was still very early, so there were few people in the village. They soon passed through the village entrance and set off toward Tiger Ridge Village.
Seated atop the cart piled high with New Year gifts, Sun Shan gazed around curiously at the scenery.
Sun Bomin asked him with concern, “Shanzi, are you cold?”
Sun Shan shook his head. He was wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket, thick cotton trousers, thick cotton socks, thick cotton shoes, and a hat. He was not cold in the slightest.
Madam Su pushed the cart behind them. Her load included a sack of rice and gifts for the festival: sweets, wine, pastries, pork, a large rooster, a duck, and more. It was quite heavy and difficult to push, but fortunately, her four daughters helped, easing the burden somewhat.
Sun Bomin’s cart carried a sack of sweet potatoes, the old cotton clothes brought back by Great-Aunt Sun, and the worn cotton clothes of several of the Sun sisters, all packed together in bundles large and small.
After walking for about an hour, they crossed a mountain.
The Sun family stopped to rest for a short while, eating rice cakes and taking a drink of water before continuing on their way.
Sun Shan looked at the mountains rising one behind another. In a daze, he realized that this truly was a remote, mountainous place, even more difficult to reach than Sun Family Village.
As for why Sun Bomin had married Madam Su, there was a well-known story behind it.
According to the villagers, Sun Bomin had once gone to the market to buy household necessities, while Madam Su had come down from the mountains to sell eggs and help support her family.
For reasons no one quite knew, Madam Su got into an argument with a group of local ruffians. The men crushed the eggs she had painstakingly saved and even struck her.
Sun Bomin had been young and full of righteous spirit. Seeing injustice, he had stepped forward to help.
In the ensuing scuffle, somehow or other, Madam Su and Sun Bomin ended up embracing one another.
And people from Madam Su’s village happened to see them.
Afterward, Madam Su’s parents came to Sun Bomin’s door and demanded that he take responsibility. If he refused to marry her, they said, the Su family would be drowned in gossip and scorn.
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In the end, Sun Bomin married Madam Su, who was thin, frail, and from a poor family.
To outsiders, Madam Su had clearly married above her station.
After entering the Sun household, however, she had conducted herself properly and worked tirelessly. Apart from taking so long to bear a son, she had satisfied everyone in most other respects.
After climbing over another mountain, Sun Shan finally saw houses ahead. The land here formed a basin, shaped like a sunken curve. Once they descended the mountain, they would reach Tiger Ridge Village.
Sun Shan’s bottom had grown sore from sitting, so he climbed down to walk.
Madam Su said nervously, “Shanzi, don’t fool around. Watch where you’re going, and be careful not to roll down the mountain.”
She then ordered her second daughter, Li Xia, to hold Sun Shan’s hand. Anyone else could suffer an accident, but Sun Shan could not.
After the jolting journey, the descent proved fairly easy. From the mountainside, the view below showed thatched huts and yellow-mud houses scattered among one another. At a glance, it was clearly a poor little mountain village in need of urgent aid.
They soon reached the foot of the mountain and arrived at the village entrance. Madam Su called out, “Head of the household, wait here. Don’t come into the village yet. I’m taking some things to my second sister.”
Sun Bomin nodded. “Hurry back. It would be best if no one saw us here.”
Madam Su lifted a sack of sweet potatoes from the cart. The four sisters—Gu Yu and the others—carried some clothes, sweets, rice cakes, and cured meat.
Sun Shan carried a strip of meat and followed Madam Su.
They turned left and right, passing through a small bamboo grove before coming upon two thatched huts enclosed by a little courtyard.
Madam Su did not call out. She opened the courtyard gate directly, walked to the thatched house, and called, “Second Sister, are you there?”
Someone inside answered. The door opened, revealing an elderly woman with hair half white, a face covered in wrinkles, and dark, weathered skin.
She looked far older than Madam Su, and one could tell at a glance that she had suffered greatly.
Three little girls followed behind her, ranging in age from twelve to six.
The elderly woman called, “Elder Sister.”
When she saw Gu Yu and Sun Shan, she said delightedly, “Gu Yu, Shanzi, you came too.”
Madam Su did not reply and walked into the house alone.
Sun Shan followed her inside. It was even more dilapidated than the exterior: two beds, one table, and several small stools.
The place was crude and worn, but at least it was clean and orderly.
The three little girls called out to their maternal aunt, cousin, and male cousin.
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Sun Shan could not tell which names belonged to which of the three girls, so he simply called each of them “Cousin.” Whoever answered was the one he meant.
Madam Su set down the gifts and told Gu Yu to take the three nieces outside. Taking advantage of his young age, Sun Shan declared that he was tired and sat on a stool, looking around restlessly.
Madam Su spoke in a low voice. “This sack is filled with sweet potatoes. Make them last so you can get through the winter. These winter clothes belong to Gu Yu and her sisters. They’re still quite new and warm, so give them to the girls. There’s also a packet of sweets, a packet of rice cakes, and some cured meat. Great-Aunt Sun brought them back, and I’ve set some aside for you.”
Second Aunt Su’s eyes reddened, and her voice caught as she said, “Elder Sister, does your husband and mother-in-law know you brought these things?”
Madam Su took her younger sister’s hand and comforted her. “Don’t worry. Mother-in-law and my husband both know. You know what they’re like—they’re the most easygoing people in the world.”
Second Aunt Su nodded. Her brother-in-law and elder sister’s mother-in-law were the kindest people she had ever met. Her elder sister was truly fortunate.
Madam Su glanced outside. No one was looking. She drew a money pouch from her trouser pocket and handed it to Second Aunt Su, whispering, “There are three hundred copper coins here. Keep them. If something happens, you’ll have money for an emergency.”
Second Aunt Su tried to refuse, but Madam Su firmly forced the pouch into her hands and said sternly, “I’m giving it to you, so take it. Hide it well. Don’t let anyone steal it.”
Uneasily, Second Aunt Su said, “Elder Sister, I truly cannot accept this. If my husband’s family finds out, life will become very difficult.”
Madam Su waved her off. “Great-Aunt Sun gave every family two ounces of silver, and your brother-in-law gave me one ounce to spend. Don’t worry. This is my money. Keep it.”
Second Aunt Su lowered her head. Tears spilled helplessly from her eyes, and she could not speak.
Madam Su sighed as well. There was nothing to be done. Her younger sister had simply been unlucky.
She quickly asked, “Your younger brother and his wife haven’t said anything to you, have they?”
Second Aunt Su shook her head. “Our father and mother are still here. She wouldn’t dare do anything to me.”
She merely hurled vicious words at her from time to time, but Second Aunt Su had long since grown accustomed to them.
Madam Su consoled her. “Don’t pay her any mind. She has no say in the household. For now, don’t think about anything else. Raise the three girls well. If you meet someone who doesn’t look down on you, you could marry again.”
Second Aunt Su hurriedly shook her head. “Elder Sister, I’m not marrying again. I’ll stay here in Tiger Ridge Village and raise my three daughters.”
Madam Su did not press her. To marry was one thing; to marry well was a matter of luck. If the marriage turned out badly, it was better not to marry at all.
How many men in this world were as responsible and honest as Shanzi’s father?
Madam Su believed that going to the market to sell eggs all those years ago had been the wisest thing she had ever done.
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