SLH | Chapter 32

A Ray of Hope

“What happened? Ever since you came back from Aunt Cai’s house, you seem a bit uneasy,” Song Tingzhu asked with concern while helping Xiaomei design a new pattern.

Liu Xiaomei propped her chin and sighed, “I ran into two aunties on the road, and they said Qian Shuang’er is getting married in a few days.”

Song Tingzhu paused his brush, “Isn’t she only a year older than you? Why the rush?”

“They said it’s to gather money for her brother’s schooling,” the little girl sighed again. “Actually, Qian Shuang’er is nice, it’s just a pity she has such a useless dad.”

Song Tingzhu looked up, “Do you want to help her?”

“It’s their family’s business, even if I want to help, I can’t. Our family is struggling enough, we don’t have the means to help others. I just feel sorry for her. Aunt Meng is tough, I hope she can handle Uncle Qian and stop him from really selling Qian Shuang’er.”

The little girl looked worried, and seeing this, Song Tingzhu put down his brush and smiled, “If you really want to help her, there might be a way.”

Liu Xiaomei’s eyes lit up, “Really? Do you have a way, brother-in-law?”

“It’s just that it might affect her reputation, not sure if she’d be willing.”

“Reputation is not as important as life. I don’t think Uncle Qian would find her a good family anyway. But I’ll find a chance to ask her secretly. If she’s not willing, then I won’t interfere.”

Song Tingzhu praised, “That’s right, very thoughtful.”

Liu Xiaomei finally smiled, seeing her new pattern, she squinted her eyes and smiled, showing dimples.

“So pretty! I’ll show it to mom and sister-in-law. They’re better at embroidery than I am. When they have time, they can stitch a few stitches. Once it’s done, we can sell it in town for some money.”

Saying that, she ran off like the wind.

With nothing to do, Ruan Xiulian and Tang Chunxing sat in the courtyard doing embroidery. When they saw the new pattern Liu Xiaomei brought, they were stunned.

Ruan Xiulian said, “Tingzhu’s drawing of this bird is so lifelike, just like the real thing.”

Tang Chunxing followed with praise, “Indeed, I’ve never seen this bird before, it must not be from around here.”

“Brother-in-law said it’s a peacock, kept by wealthy families, ordinary people can’t see it.”

“So this is a peacock. Its tail is so long, much longer than the wild pheasants Second Brother catches.” Tang Chunxing held the pattern, reluctant to let go, and turned to ask Xiaomei, “Xiaomei, are you going to embroider a peacock?”

Liu Xiaomei shook her head, “I can’t do it well. Let sister-in-law and mom embroider it. I’ll just do flowers and plants.”

Tang Chunxing beamed, “Alright, sister-in-law will make sure to embroider it beautifully for you.”

After several sunny days, once the moisture in the wheat field evaporated, the villagers of Yunxi Village began bringing their wheat to the field to dry. Ruan Xiulian and Tang Chunxing were too busy with farm work to have time for peacock embroidery, working from dawn till dusk.

Liu Xiaomei found a chance to visit the Qian family. When Qian Shuang’er saw her, she cried in her arms for a long time. Hearing that there was a way to avoid marrying into the Huang family, she was willing to ruin her reputation or even scar her face.

“How silly, even if you scar your face, the Huang family wouldn’t call off the marriage. I had my second brother inquire in town, that Huang loves tormenting young girls and boys, the more fiery the better, but he doesn’t like those with bad reputations.”

Qian Shuang’er looked at her with red, swollen eyes, “Xiaomei, despite how my parents treated your family, you’re still willing to help me…”

Liu Xiaomei felt a surge of anger, “What your parents did has nothing to do with you. Ten years of sisterhood, and they broke it off without a blink. Do you know how angry Xiaoman and I were?”

“I didn’t want to either, I just felt too ashamed to face you.”

Qian Shuang’er lowered her head, tears dripping onto her knees, “Later, I wanted to find you, but dad locked me up at home, and mom said I should focus on embroidery, promising to find me a good match next year. Who knew dad wanted to marry me into the Huang family, mom disagreed, and they’ve been arguing ever since.”

“Alright, stop crying. If you don’t want to marry, we won’t let you. Brother-in-law already has a plan. If you’re willing, Xiaoman and I will go to town tomorrow to settle this.”

Qian Shuang’er nodded quickly, “I’m willing.”

“Alright, in a few days, there might be rumors in the village. Don’t take it to heart, just stay home and do your embroidery, and wait for the storm to pass before going out.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

Liu Xiaomei deliberately widened her eyes, “Now you know to listen to me.”

Qian Shuang’er hurriedly said, “If you’re still mad, you can hit me, I promise not to fight back.”

Liu Xiaomei pouted, “I’m not that heartless. When the village boys bullied me, it was you and Xiaoman who helped chase them away. You two treated me like a little sister, and I’ve always remembered your kindness. Now that you’re in trouble, of course, I’ll help.”

“Thank… thank you, Xiaomei, boohoo…”

“Oh, why are you crying again? Are you made of water with all these tears!”

Liu Xiaomei quickly took out a handkerchief to press on her face. Hearing voices from behind the tree, she peeked and saw it was Qian Shuang’er’s dad, and her heart skipped a beat.

“Quick, go home, your dad’s back!” She pulled her friend, pushing her into the yard, then lifted her skirt and ran off.

In the Liu family courtyard, Song Tingzhu was copying down wine-making recipes he had read in books over the past few days. Seeing Xiaomei return, he paused and asked, “Did you see Qian Shuang’er?”

Liu Xiaomei looked relaxed, “Yes, I did. Tomorrow, Xiaoman and I will go to town to spread the news.”

Song Tingzhu reminded, “Remember to spend a few coins to hire a couple of beggars, don’t show up yourself.”

“I know, brother-in-law.”

Liu Xiaomei rolled up her sleeves. After feeding the chickens and ducks, she played with Xia Ge’er, making string figures, and said, “Xiaoman said she wants to go to the back mountain to dig wild vegetables and make wild vegetable dumplings. Let’s dig some herbs too. We haven’t gone for a few days, there must be plenty of herbs on the mountain now.”

Seeing the little girl’s money-grubbing look, Song Tingzhu couldn’t help but smile.

“Then go ahead.”

“Xia Ge’er wants to go too.” Xia Ge’er said without looking up, tugging on the string.

Song Tingzhu’s eyes filled with laughter, “Of course, you won’t be left out.”

After lunch and a little rest, when the sun wasn’t so hot, the four of them set off to the back mountain with their baskets.

Passing by the bamboo forest, Xu Xiaoman pointed at a patch of wild grass by the road and asked, “Brother-in-law, is this a medicinal herb?”

Xu Xiaoman wasn’t good at recognizing herbs, even if they were right in front of her. Despite this, she had managed to earn a few coins over the past few days and had saved up about twenty.

“No, it’s not. That one is.” Xia Ge’er answered first, then looked up at Song Tingzhu, tugging on his clothes, and asked in a childish voice, “Uncle, did I get it right?”

“Yes,” Song Tingzhu replied with a smile.

“Even Xia Ge’er has learned to identify herbs.” Xu Xiaoman said dejectedly, “Forget it, I’ll just dig my wild vegetables.”

“It’s just that you’re not good at this.” Liu Xiaomei comforted her friend, “Don’t be discouraged, you have many strengths, like your embroidery is better than mine, you cook delicious food, and you’re great at taking care of people.”

Xu Xiaoman perked up a bit, “Really?”

“Of course, it’s true. When you find someone in the future, I’ll have to approve first, or I won’t agree.”

Xu Xiaoman laughed, “Alright, you’ll be the first to know.”

The two friends linked arms and went to dig wild vegetables, while Xia Ge’er carried a small wooden hoe his dad made for him, digging here and there.

Song Tingzhu used a stick to check the grass and unexpectedly found a few fresh bamboo shoots. Songshan County was in the north, and after the summer solstice, fresh bamboo shoots were rare.

“Wow, bamboo shoots!” Liu Xiaomei exclaimed as she came over with her basket.

Song Tingzhu said, “We can make bamboo shoot stir-fry tonight.”

This morning, her husband brought home a dead rabbit, skinned but not yet eaten. Now they had found bamboo shoots, perfect for making bamboo shoot rabbit stew to improve the family’s meals.

Three bamboo shoots, with one larger one given to Xiaoman, and everyone was all smiles, chatting and digging wild vegetables, unknowingly entering the deep mountain.

“Brother-in-law, we should head back now. The elders say there are tigers, wolves, and bears in the deep mountains, all man-eaters. If we encounter one, we’re doomed.”

“Yeah, we should, we should go.”

Liu Xiaomei and Xu Xiaoman clung to each other, and Xia Ge’er also hid behind Song Tingzhu, his watery eyes full of vigilance and unease as he stared into the depths of the forest.

Song Tingzhu furrowed his brow and immediately led the three back the way they came.

But somehow, they couldn’t find the way back and had to find another path down the mountain.

In the deep mountain, the forest was dense and dark, eerie and frightening.

Xu Xiaoman clung tightly to Xiaomei’s arm, trembling, “Xiaomei, did you hear that? It sounds like a beast growling…”

Liu Xiaomei’s lips trembled, “There are no beast growls, stop scaring yourself.”

Song Tingzhu carried Xia Ge’er at the back, the little boy in his arms was frightened by their conversation, his small face pale.

“Uncle, I’m scared.”

“Don’t be afraid, Uncle is here.”

Song Tingzhu gently pressed Xia Ge’er’s head, letting him rest on his shoulder.

Half an hour later””

“Brother-in-law, did we go the wrong way? It didn’t take this long to climb the mountain,” Xu Xiaoman couldn’t help but ask.

Song Tingzhu glanced around, his tone certain, “No, just a bit further and we’ll be out.”

“Alright, alright.”

Liu Xiaomei teased him, “You said you wanted to visit the Three Yan Temple, but you’re so timid, you’d be scared stiff before even entering the garden.”

Xu Xiaoman whispered, “That’s different, the ghosts and gods in the Three Yan Temple are clay statues, they’re fake. But there are real beasts in the deep mountains, if one jumps out, we wouldn’t even be enough to fill its teeth.”

“I don’t believe any beast can eat three grown people at once, you’re just bluffing.”

“I…”

Xu Xiaoman was about to retort when Xiaomei interrupted.

“We’re out, we can see some sunlight!”

“Brother-in-law, we’re out!”

Liu Xiaomei beamed with joy, turning to look at Song Tingzhu, who was smiling at some trees with small white flowers.

“Brother-in-law?”

Song Tingzhu snapped out of it, smiling, “A ray of hope, we’ve stumbled upon a few honeysuckle trees.”

———————–
Author’s Note: I’m done for, my Xiaomi monitor’s DP port is broken again, I’m going to freak out [crying].