Chapter 144

Chapter 144

Sweeping away fallen leaves and driving off snakes and insects, Mrs. Wang sprinkled medicinal powder around the laid-out reed mat.

Having shared a bed for most of their lives, she could tell what her old man was thinking just by the way he moved. He’d been back for most of the day, his brow furrowed tight, and she could tell he had something on his mind.

"What’s wrong?" She tossed him a clean sweat rag, casually grabbing the dirty rag draped around his neck, wringing it out—sweat dripping. "I’m washing your rags every day now. Driving a cart, you still shouldn’t be sweating this much."

"Driving a cart means swinging a whip, and in this steam-bath of a day, anyone not sweating is a cold corpse," Old Man Zhao shot back, getting a slap on the arm.

Mrs. Wang glared at him. "What the hell are you jabbering about? What’s really going on?" She hated hearing about corpses; she was a bit superstitious and couldn’t stand such talk.

Hesitating, Old Man Zhao didn’t hide it and gave a rough rundown of what he’d seen earlier, his brow deeply furrowed. "The rice fields still had straw piles standing. Going by the calendar, the main harvest is just half a month off. Normally, with new grain coming in, they shouldn’t be short on food. This village, nestled in the mountains—even if the old well ran dry, as long as people wanted to live, they could go into the hills, dig up tree roots, and chew on the sap to survive. How’d it come to someone hanging themselves?"

He hadn’t dared stick around. He’d seen plenty of dead bodies, killed men himself before, and witnessed gruesome sights—charred, bloated corpses. But a body hanging from the main room’s beam, covered in mosquitoes and flies, oozing yellow pus, and reeking so bad it made him shudder—that still gave him a jolt.

His legs felt like they were rooted to the yard, unable to move another step, and he didn’t have the heart to go closer and figure out if the person had hanged themselves or been strung up by someone else.

"The village was big, about the size of Peach-Plum Village, with plenty of houses at a glance. It was dead quiet, not a sound. At first glance, it looked like a ghost village—creepy." Peach-Plum Village was considered a large settlement in the surrounding area. "I only went into the first house at the edge of the village, but the smell seemed to be coming from more than one place."

Mrs. Wang opened her mouth, breaking out in a cold sweat even in this heat. She knew the drought would kill many, but along the way, perhaps because the drought wasn’t at its worst yet, she’d seen plenty of misery but no dead bodies.

It had even fooled her into thinking their family was just moving to a new place to settle down, that the hardship on the road was only physical exhaustion, and that the outside world’s changes had nothing to do with them.

Even chased by soldiers, waiting in line for water, with Zhao Xiaobao as their ace in the hole, she hadn’t really taken the drought seriously.

Now, the old man told her that someone—maybe even the whole village—had met with misfortune because of the drought. Was it because some bandits stole their grain? Or because staring at a dry well made life feel hopeless?

There were also old folks too frail to work, unwilling to burden their children, who’d sneak a rope over a beam and step off a stool in the dead of night.

She didn’t know why, but her heart felt heavy, and a bitter taste sat in her mouth.

"Let’s skirt the village tomorrow." Mrs. Wang sighed. They were just a group of refugees fleeing their homeland; even if they had a thousand thoughts, they had to keep them hidden. Stopping to bury the dead or right wrongs—they couldn’t do it—they were powerless.

"Yeah," Old Man Zhao agreed. "When I left the village, I saw a bunch of straw piles in the fields. Walking wears out your shoes, and I can tell everyone’s bottling up a lot of frustration. We can’t go on like this; we need to give them something to do."

Mrs. Wang rolled her eyes at him. "You don’t run the house, so you don’t know the price of oil and salt. You don’t walk, so you don’t know how your feet hurt. You drive the cart, your sons push the carts, and others carry the loads. ‘Give them something to do’—look at the ground. How many people can even stand after sitting down? You think all that sweat on the road was for nothing?"

Old Man Zhao huffed. "What kind of talk is that? I’m not some big shot sitting at home, waiting for my wife and sons to serve me! Don’t you talk to me like that. Haven’t I been in the kitchen plenty? Haven’t I held a bowl and chopsticks? I even know how many grains of salt we’ve got!" This old woman was driving him crazy.

He huffed, "Our family’s got everything we need. Zhao Xiaobao’s got all our stuff stored away. Before we left, I even cleared out the firewood pile, let alone the straw piles in the fields. But we can’t just take them out, can we? I figured since they’re right there, we could give each family a share. They’re light, easy to bundle up and tie to the carts. If we don’t give them something to do to take their minds off things, just look at Old Lady Zhou—she’s yelling every day, full of fire. Today, two old women nearly came to blows, all that wasted energy!"

He figured wearing straw sandals was better than going barefoot. The stones hurt the soles, and even the thickest calluses couldn’t take it. Weaving baskets and sandals—country folk all had that skill. Plodding along the road was dull, and over time, all that was left in their hearts was numbness and anger. Giving them something to do would keep their hands busy and stop their minds from wandering.

People needed to stay busy; idleness could kill.

Night fell quickly. The dry rations made at the previous stop hadn’t been finished, so no one cooked that evening.

In the middle of the night, Mrs. Wang was shaken awake by her eldest daughter-in-law. Seeing her third daughter-in-law curled up, pale-faced and sweating, she counted the days and immediately understood: "Is it your time of the month?"

Of the three daughters-in-law, only this one suffered terribly every month. As a woman herself, Mrs. Wang understood the pain well and was more considerate than most mothers-in-law. She pulled out a handkerchief to wipe Sun Shi’s face, then turned to shake her sleeping daughter: "Zhao Xiaobao, wake up. Get your mother a piece of brown sugar. Your third sister-in-law has a stomachache."

Zhao Xiaobao blinked awake, rubbed the corner of her mouth, and slurred sleepily, "Mom, I dreamed you were frying little fish for me. The fish just came out of the pan, and I was about to take the first bite."

A child’s innocent words soothed the heart. Mrs. Wang’s face was full of affection, her smile impossible to hide. She pinched her daughter’s nose and coaxed, "Alright, alright, Mom knows. You want fried little fish. Tomorrow, I’ll set a trap in the pond, and whatever I catch, I’ll fry for you. Wake up now. Your third sister-in-law isn’t feeling well. Do you remember where the brown sugar is? Get a piece for Mom, and there’s warm water on the stove..."

She wanted to have her daughter take her to the magical place, but with so many people around and no cover, she didn’t dare risk it.

Hearing that her third sister-in-law was unwell, Zhao Xiaobao’s yawn stopped abruptly. Her little face serious, she crawled over to the other end of the mat where Sun Shi lay. In the moonlight, she saw her bitten lip and felt a pang of sympathy. She rummaged through the wooden cabinet, dropped a big piece of brown sugar into the bamboo tube her eldest sister-in-law had uncorked, poured in warm water, and even grabbed a chopstick from the stove to hand to her sister-in-law for stirring.

"Third sister-in-law, wake up. Drink the sugar water."

Sun Shi, half-conscious, heard her eldest sister-in-law’s voice. She was weak all over, her hands and feet limp, her lower abdomen cramping, and a steady flow slipping out below. She was too embarrassed to know what to do. Knowing her period had come, her first instinct was to play dead, not daring to disturb her sisters-in-law and mother-in-law’s rest.

"Mom, eldest sister-in-law, did I wake you?" She gritted her teeth and sat up, the pain intense. Luo Shi reached out to support her.

"Don’t say that. Drink the sugar water quickly." Luo Shi let her lean against her. The third brother was on night watch, out with the other men guarding the carts.

"Third sister-in-law, drink more. There’s plenty of brown sugar in the cabinet, enough for you." Zhao Xiaobao knelt beside her, reaching out a small hand to rub her belly. "Zhao Xiaobao will rub it, and it won’t hurt anymore."

Lying in her second sister-in-law’s arms, being fed water by her eldest sister-in-law, with her little sister-in-law rubbing her belly and her mother-in-law watching over her, Sun Shi felt a sudden urge to cry.

How lucky was she? As a girl, she never dared to imagine such a life after marriage. She’d thought she’d be worn down by her mother-in-law, enduring all the suffering a daughter-in-law should, only getting to live her own life after her in-laws passed and the brothers split the household.

She’d overthought it. She really had.

"Thank you, Zhao Xiaobao. Third sister-in-law will be fine after drinking the sugar water." Sun Shi gave a pale smile, careful not to smile too much, as any movement made the flow below worse. Blushing, she finished the sugar water.

"With so many people around, it’s not convenient to go in," Mrs. Wang said, seeing her discomfort. "Lie down and rest for now. I’ll call you later."

Sun Shi was indeed uncomfortable, so she obediently lay down.

Half-asleep, she felt herself being shaken awake again. Opening her eyes, she saw her eldest sister-in-law holding clothes and her eldest and second brothers, both sweating. Supported by her second sister-in-law, she stood up and heard her eldest brother say, "Second brother and I will guard here. You go ahead."

Go where?

As she stood, the sticky sensation between her legs brought her back to reality. She instinctively clamped her legs together, her face red as blood, not daring to look at her eldest brother-in-law. She just followed her second sister-in-law. A dozen steps away, where there had been empty space, a makeshift shelter had been set up. Zhu Shi said, "Sanitary belts, clothes—everything’s here. Can you manage on your own, or do you need help?"

How could she ask her sister-in-law for help with something like this? Sun Shi quickly shook her head. "Elder sister-in-law, I can manage. I’m so sorry to trouble you all. And eldest brother, helping set up the shelter so late..."

"Don’t say that. We’re family." Zhu Shi pulled Luo Shi to stand guard outside the shelter, speaking through the curtain. "Take your time changing. We’re right here at the door. No one will come."

"Okay."

Mrs. Wang rolled up the straw mat Sun Shi had been sleeping on; it was stained with blood. Luckily, it was dark, and everyone else was fast asleep. Apart from the family, no one had seen. She wasn’t bothered, but she worried her third daughter-in-law would be too embarrassed to face anyone. When they returned, she had Luo Shi carry the mat to the shelter. Tomorrow, before anyone noticed, she’d have Zhao Xiaobao put it in the magical place to wash and reuse.

"How is she?" she asked.

Sun Shi hung her head, embarrassed to have caused the whole family to fuss so late at night. Mumbling, she said, "Much better."

Mrs. Wang nodded. "It’s still dark. Get some sleep."

Without laying out a new mat, the women and girl huddled together, gazing at the starry sky and listening to the insects, as sleepiness washed over them.

"For the next few days, you can rest in the cart," Mrs. Wang said with a yawn. "Eldest and second daughters-in-law, you’ll work a bit harder and help with the chores. When your own time comes, you’ll rest too. I won’t play favorites."

Sun Shi didn’t force herself or put on fake refusals that would waste her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law’s genuine kindness. Softly, she replied, "Okay."

Zhu Shi and Luo Shi smiled. "What’s hard about it? Da Tou’s belongings are all in there, and the men and boys handle the outside work. We’ve got it easy."

Mrs. Wang smiled too, patting their hands. "It’s good that you sisters-in-law get along like this. Whether now or after your father and I are gone and you split the household, blood ties are the closest. Everyone has tough times. Helping each other is how you get through."

"Mom, we know," the three said in unison.

"Sleep now." Mrs. Wang pulled her already-sleeping daughter close. Soon, her gentle patting hand rested on the mat, and she too drifted off into dreams.