Chapter 34

In the small village of only twenty-two households, news that the Shen family's main house was building a kitchen and enclosing a courtyard had subtly spread from the riverside where the village women washed clothes.

When Li Shi went to wash clothes, she was baffled by questions from other village women. One, who didn't get along with her, asked with veiled malice whether the third branch of the Shen family had contributed money, questioning how selling a few wild vegetables could fund a house construction.

Help? As if! She hadn't even heard anything about building a house.

Li Shi, with a face turning blue, carelessly scrubbed the clothes a few times in the water, wrung them out, and threw them back in the basket. Carrying the basket, she returned home without hanging the clothes to dry. Tossing the basket under the eaves, she headed straight inside.

"Do you know that Sang Shi is building a house?"

Shen San, who was just getting out of bed and putting on his shoes and socks, was startled and then scoffed, "Her building a house? With what? Is she going to mix the mud and build it herself?"

He continued putting on his shoes and socks at a leisurely pace, saying, "Materials and labor for free, and no need to provide meals for those helping build the house? Serve them wild vegetable soup? Who would help her? Would you?"

He purely took Li Shi's information as a joke.

Li Shi glared at him, "I'm not joking. Several people by the creek where I was washing clothes were talking about it. They said she earned some money by selling wild vegetables and the Chen family next door is helping to gather people."

Shen San became even more incredulous, laughing so hard that the fine lines at the corners of his eyes crinkled, "Selling a bit of wild vegetables can build a house? Look at our side of the mountain, can you still find wild vegetables?"

At the doorway, Shen Jin poked his head out, "Dad, Auntie Sang sells wild vegetables, not just a little bit, but baskets and baskets of them."

The couple turned their heads to look at their son, surprised by his presence. Li Shi beckoned, "Come in and tell us, what kind of wild vegetables is Sang Shi selling in such large quantities?"

Shen San also looked at him.

Shen Jin, still eager to go to the fields to earn pork lard, didn't come inside but answered from the doorway, "Ferns, I saw her pick three large baskets of them yesterday."

Li Shi wanted to ask more, but Shen Jin glanced to the side and saw Shen Yin and Shen Tie already running out, knowing they must be off to work the fields in exchange for pork lard.

Unable to stay any longer, he turned and ran, calling out to Li Shi as he went: "Just came to tell you that Tianya wet the bed again, the blanket's all soaked."

By the time Li Shi ran out, he was already out of sight, and her chance to ask more questions vanished.

She turned to check the children's room, finding all three sons absent. Only the youngest, Tianya, was snuggled up on the inside of the bed, sound asleep. Li Shi felt the bedding and found it completely drenched...

Irritated, she smacked her daughter's bottom twice, waking her up to change her clothes while ignoring her wails. Then, she lifted Tianya and placed her in a small bamboo bed with railings at the front of the main room.

She took the wet bedding to wash and hang to dry, still preoccupied with the Shen family suddenly deciding to build a house without saying a word, making them the last in the village to know. Speaking to Shen San, who was washing up, she said, "You should go out and find out what’s going on. Sang Shi is up to something, not telling us about the house building. It’s like she wants the whole village to laugh at us.”

Shen San, already looking displeased and no longer amused by the news, brushed his teeth and washed his face in silence.

Li Shi, frustrated, bundled up the wet sheets and threw them into a wooden basin, then glared towards the Chen household, muttering spitefully, "That family has been acting strangely lately, sticking their noses everywhere, showing off what they can do."

……

Behind the Shen family’s thatched cottage, Shen Jin saw Chen Ershan and Chen Er Ya, busy with hoes and bamboo sticks, and his expression was equally bristled.

“Are you here to work for lard as well?”

His demeanor was on edge, tense voice ready to jump at Chen Ershan's confirmation.

Shen An had mentioned there weren’t many pieces of lard left. If Chen Ershan and his sister came to claim some, what would be left for him?

Was this stealing his work?

It was like stealing his life!

Chen Ershan, who had just learned the previous evening about Shen An and Shen Ning’s work in the fields, looked confused. He turned to Shen An and asked, "What lard?"

Shen An, exasperated, explained how Shen Jin was working in exchange for lard at his place.

Chen Ershan: "......"

He couldn't be bothered with Shen Jin and turned back to his work.

Shen Jin: "???"

What does this mean? What was that look just now?

Chen Xiaoya, standing nearby, looked at him with an expression very much like Chen Ershan’s. Disdainfully, she uttered, “You’re working in your own sibling’s fields and still want lard in exchange?”

Shen Jin finally understood the meaning behind Chen Ershan’s look and immediately got infuriated.

“Why can’t I? I’m earning my food with hard work, why shouldn’t I get any!” Recalling how many pieces of lard Shen Ning had given to the Chen siblings, his face puffed up like a blowfish: “Of course, you don’t need it; you already had your share, several pieces at that, enough for a few days’ worth of digging!”

Unable to listen anymore, Shen An glared at Shen Jin: "Are you still going to work or not?"

"Yes!"

Shen Jin bellowed out, his voice unusually loud!

He had to express his frustration and anger somehow!

Glaring at Shen Ning with a face full of resentment, his expression clearly accusing her of favoring others over her own family.

Shen Ning ignored him.

Shen Jin, not wanting to deal with Shen Ning either, snorted and turned away, then looked for Shen An with a rigid voice: “Mark it out, where do I work today?”

The sooner he finished, the sooner he could savor the lard, and then he wouldn't come back again.

Shen Jin bitterly thought to himself that when it was his turn to cook lard at home, he would grab not just one, but two handfuls, and eat it right in front of Shen Ning!

With a handful in each hand, he would take a noisy bite from one, then the other, determined to tantalize her with the aroma!

……

As Shen Jin stood with his back to Shen Ning, fantasizing about his day of triumph, Shen San had already completed half a round of the village, returning home with a long face.

The reason for only half a circuit was similar to Li Shi's experience; he too had been subjected to direct and indirect taunts, and those ambiguously mocking glances.

Going out was no longer an option for him; the village was abuzz with the news, and stepping outside would make him the subject of everyone’s scrutiny – like a monkey in a zoo.

Shen San felt a lump of frustration in his throat, wanting to call his sons to ask what more they knew, but realized that all three were not at home.

"Where did Shen Jin go? Off gallivanting early in the morning again?"

Li Shi, equally annoyed and noticing a hoe missing from the yard, deduced that Shen Jin had taken it.

“These past few days, who knows where he's been loitering; he probably won't be back before noon. But you don't need to look for him. What could a kid like him know? He's probably just playing around the hills and saw Sang Shi picking wild vegetables.”

After pondering for a moment, Li Shi asked Shen San, "Did you find out who in the village has been asked to help?"

Shen San's expression darkened further: "I didn’t ask specifically, but if the Chen family is the one finding help, it’s likely to be the Shi family, Lu family, and those few families in the village who previously helped with house building."

As for other families in the village, if he wasn’t directly involved in rallying support, who would bother to help Sang Shi, a woman with two young children?

The notion of neighborly simplicity is a joke; where was this simplicity when Sang Shi was forced to eat wild vegetables? Did anyone offer her even two sheng of grain?

Everyone’s struggling to feed themselves; the idea of simplicity and mutual aid only makes sense when there's a reasonably equivalent return. Without any return, who would bother to help?

If he were the one leading the project, almost every family with labor to spare in the village would contribute, knowing he would back them. In turn, this favor would be returned when those families need help in the future.

But now, it’s the Chen family stepping forward. Can they promise to repay these favors for Sang Shi and the now only nine-year-old Shen An?

Obviously not.

The biggest disadvantage for the Sang household is the lack of adult males.

Besides, the whole village knows of Sang Shi’s poverty, her diet of bran and wild vegetables. How much could she possibly earn from selling wild vegetables? If selling wild vegetables were lucrative, every rural family would be wealthy.

Without the expectation of returning favors, people expect at least a decent meal in return for their labor. Without the ability to repay favors or provide ample food, who would expend their energy on such an act of charity?

In recent years, the corvée labor was particularly heavy. In our village of twenty-two families, four strong men have died in just three years while serving their labor duties.

The strain on one's strength without adequate food to replenish leads to deteriorating health, a realization common to everyone. Naturally, people wish to extend their lives as long as possible.

Tentatively, Li Shi asked, “Do we need to help with the construction at their place?”

“No way!” Shen San replied without hesitation. “If she doesn’t come to ask for help, don’t expect me to volunteer.”

After saying this, he quickly remembered that Sang Shi hadn’t actually asked for his help, adding, “She didn’t ask this time, and she shouldn’t expect my help in the future either. She can just rely on the Chen family.”

Li Shi inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, especially pleased with the latter part of his statement, thinking to herself that Sang Shi better remain strong and not come asking.

She had been worried that her husband, considering Shen Lai's death, might still feel obliged to look after the main house. Building a house isn’t easy; the Sang household lacks even basic cooking facilities, and providing meals would be costly. She feared her husband, out of pride or soft-heartedness, might end up shouldering the cooking responsibilities.

How much money could one possibly make from selling wild vegetables? She dreaded the thought of having to provide additional food and possibly incurring costs herself.

Li Shi was not interested in such a loss-making endeavor.

As for the village gossip, let them talk.

With the events of their family division and her previous confrontation with Sang Shi at the courtyard gate, Li Shi had grown thick-skinned. Let them talk – it doesn’t cost her a thing, and saving on food and vegetables is the real benefit.

She then added fuel to the fire: “Exactly, Sang Shi seems to think she’s so mighty, not even considering us as her uncle and aunt. If such matters are left for the Chen family to initiate, it’s like a slap in our face. Why should we bother if she doesn’t care? The families are separated now. Whether her life is good or bad, it’s no longer our concern.”

"Shen San remained silent, his face dark."

"Li Shi knew she had stoked the fire perfectly, thinking, 'Let it burn, let it burn.' Smiling, she said, 'Fine, if you don’t feel like going out, just rest. There’s not much work in the fields these days. It's a good time to look after little Tian. I’ll go to the field. The vegetables need to be harvested, and I'll dry some in the sun. Otherwise, we won’t have much to eat in winter.'"

"Shen San nodded in response, and Li Shi left with two baskets in tow."

"As for the dirty bedsheet in the basin, Li Shi planned to wash it later in the evening. She didn’t want to face the gossipy women at the creek, who, under the guise of friendly chatter, would slyly gossip loudly enough for her to hear."

"It was infuriating enough."

"She was curious to see how many people from the other side would actually come to help, and for how many days they'd be willing to work."

"Who would want to do such strenuous labor without proper meals?"

"Would the Chen family really compensate for it?"

"In these times, not to mention grains, even vegetables were precious. They barely ate enough themselves, drying most of the harvest for winter. Was the Chen family supposed to be saints?"

"Li Shi was ready to watch the drama unfold."