Chapter 40

The house was full and noisy. Seeing her come in, Mrs. Zhou smiled and urged, “Everyone's tired today, go home and sleep early.”
Zhou Chengkang fetched water for her to wash up, and only after they had washed did they return to the room. It's worth noting that the Zhou household had two washrooms, one for men and one for women.
“It was the third sister-in-law's idea; Mother thought having two would be more convenient. They were only finished a few days ago,” Zhou Chengkang explained softly, guiding her inside and helping dry her hair.
Her hair was thick and abundant; it took a long while to get it half-dry. Standing so close, Zhou Chengkang could only smell the sweet fragrance rising from her. He couldn't help dropping the cloth and, from behind, wrapped her in his arms, his hand resting on her slim waist. With a satisfied sigh he murmured, “I've finally married you.”
Li Qinghe let out a wry laugh.
Hearing her soft laugh, Zhou Chengkang breathed in the scent of her hair, clearly pleased. "It still feels unreal."
Li Qinghe was half amused, half exasperated, and pushed him. "My hair isn't dry yet, step back. We're already hugging; how can it still feel unreal?"
She couldn't shove him away. Instead he bent and scooped her up around the waist. Seeing her about to cry out, he shushed her gently. "There are quite a few people outside."
Li Qinghe glared at him and whispered, "The candlelight."
The room was lit, and now and then someone's silhouette crossed the window. Zhou understood, smiled at her, and softly laid her on the red "hundred-sons" bridal quilt, then stood to blow out the candle.
The night was still long.
The next morning Li Qinghe was woken by the man beside her, not with words but by his blowing and puffing. She opened her eyes to a dim dawn; it was still early. Turning to glare at him, she said, "Aren't you tired?"
"I'm not tired." Zhou Chengkang wrapped an arm around her. "I couldn't sleep last night, thinking about taking care of you, about our life, about our children..."
Li Qinghe couldn't take it and pulled the quilt over her head. "I'm tired!"
He chuckled low behind her. Sleep was out of the question. The two of them rose early, fed the fish in the pond, and then checked on the chicks. Quite a few had died in recent days, but with warmer weather and the chicks grown larger, they were mostly safe now.
After feeding the fish and chickens they went to the fields to look at the crops. The fallow land here was in bad shape, where other fields were lush and green, theirs produced stunted, yellowing shoots that looked as if they might die.
"It should be better next year," Zhou Chengkang comforted her.
When they returned home the sun was already up. In the yard the fifth sister was feeding the pigs; the first thing they heard was Zhang Haiyao's exaggerated voice: "The sun's already high and you still didn't get up. I thought I was lazy, but I never imagined..."
Third Brother saw the two by the gate and frowned. "Keep it down," he snapped.
On hearing that, Zhang Haiyao grew angrier. "Why should I hold my tongue? There's an extra person in the house, why should I be the one cooking now?"
She glanced at the two at the door, then surprised, looked toward Zhou Chengkang's room and back. "You went out?"
"We went to feed the fish," Zhou Chengkang replied, his face stern. "From now on, Third sister-in-law, you don't have to cook our meals."
Zhang Haiyao had been embarrassed, after all, they had gone out to work, not stayed in as she had accused. Hearing that, she couldn't hold back. "That's easy for you to say. If I suddenly stopped cooking just for you, Mother would scold me."
Zhou Chengkang didn't answer; he looked to Third Brother.
Third Brother immediately scolded, "My mother has never scolded you."
Zhang Haiyao snorted and turned into the kitchen.
The two of them went to the well to wash their hands. He said softly, "In the mornings Big Brother takes Eldest Sister-in-law into town to sell tofu. They rise early and sleep early, so they usually eat at home only once; Second Brother and the others rarely come back for meals. Mostly it's Third Brother and his household who eat at home, so Mother has had Third sister-in-law and Fifth sister do the cooking so they don't have to go to the fields."
By that accounting, before Zhou Chengkang married there hadn't been many people eating at home.
Then they heard Zhang Haiyao call, "Qinghe, hurry in and help me light the fire."
Zhou Chengkang patted Li Qinghe's shoulder and nudged her toward the room. "You didn't sleep well last night, go rest for a bit."
He was the one to blame for her poor sleep.
Watching him enter the kitchen, Li Qinghe frowned and followed. He was already tending the stove when Zhang Haiyao stared in astonishment. "Wait, why are you doing it? What kind of thing is this?"
"Can't I light the fire?" Zhou Chengkang shot back.
"Your wife is unbelievable, who lets you work while she rests..." Before Zhang Haiyao finished, Li Qinghe was already at the kitchen doorway. "I'll do it."
Saying that, she shoved Zhou Chengkang out without another word.
"That's more like it," Zhang Haiyao said, pleased. "Listen: from now on we'll rotate the cooking, one person cooks all day, or each person takes one meal, and the eldest sister-in-law will wash the dishes. That's the rule Mother set when I moved in."
Li Qinghe agreed without objection. At breakfast there were indeed far fewer people than the night before, only one table. They had just finished eating and hadn't cleared the dishes when someone arrived outside.
Mrs. He brought with her an older woman in her fifties, neatly dressed in clothes that looked almost new.
Mrs. Zhou hurried to greet her. "Aunty, come sit."
She then introduced her to Li Qinghe. "This is my aunt, call her Auntie. She's helped our family a great deal."
Li Qinghe politely greeted her. Mrs. He was pleased; after sizing her up she said, "She's a good girl, Fourth Brother is fortunate."
With guests arrived, everyone quickly cleared the dishes. After Li Qinghe wiped the table and was about to leave, Mrs. Zhou called to her, "Qinghe, call Third sister-in-law and the others, there's something to discuss."
Even as the woman came in, Li Qinghe had a guess: a wedding yesterday and a visit today, no matter how she looked at it, it smelled like someone coming to collect a debt.
After all, many wedding gifts these days were copper coins; the Zhou family had probably taken in nearly an ounce of silver yesterday.
She didn't press for details, she already had an idea. Zhang Haiyao looked puzzled when she heard there was something to discuss. Once everyone assembled, Mrs. He smiled and said, "Back when the Zhou family was in trouble, I lent you twelve taels of silver. A few days ago my son wanted to move into town, he found a courtyard that's perfect: the light, the feng shui, the size. We've been looking for years, and finally one comes up, but we're short on cash..."
Though she didn't finish the sentence, everyone understood.
Mrs. Zhou grew a little anxious. Li Qinghe kept her head bowed and said nothing. Zhang Haiyao over there immediately said, "I just remembered my quilt hasn't been aired, I'll come back in a while."
Everyone knew if she ran off she wouldn't come back. Mrs. Zhou hurried, "Haiyao, airing the quilt can wait a while."
Zhang Haiyao turned, her face ugly and her tone blunt. "Mother, what do you want to say?"
Mrs. Zhou lowered her eyes. "The Zhou family is poor, everyone knows that. When the eldest married he only took five qian of silver as a small betrothal. The second was the same, five qian, and it was used for new clothes. I know I've failed as a mother and let them suffer. But with the third, first there was a three-tael small betrothal, and then you demanded five taels as the betrothal money; not to mention the red envelope when she came down from the sedan. When I married off my sons I never intended to spend so much silver."
"So what do you want now?" Zhang Haiyao asked directly. "I've only been married a few months, and now you're tallying these accounts, to what end? Expecting your daughter-in-law to pay back the betrothal money, who are you to demand that? If people heard, they'd laugh themselves silly."
"The money is what I borrowed," Third Brother said, giving her a tug. "At the time I said I couldn't come up with five taels for the betrothal; you told me to go and borrow it."
"Nonsense!" Zhang Haiyao snapped. "I told you to borrow it, but I never said I'd be the one to pay it back."
Mrs. He rose. "Talk it over, I'll come back tomorrow." She added, "The courtyard will hand over the silver and collect the deed the day after tomorrow." Then she left first.
Mrs. He, walking behind, sighed. "Don't blame your mother, she's suffered enough." She looked at Zhang Haiyao. "Don't think the Zhou family tricked you. When the third insisted on you, you knew their situation and still demanded so much. Normally, for a marriage, small betrothal plus bridal gifts and presents for going to the bride's home, at most two taels. You asked for that much, only you know why."
"What do you mean, why?" Zhang Haiyao shot back. "What's wrong with taking betrothal money when I married?"
"Not even the magistrate's daughter would demand five taels like this. I won't mince words: you wanted all of the Zhou brothers' years of savings for yourself." Mrs. He spoke sternly, bluntly calling out her motives. She looked to Zhou Chengcai. "Third son, you insisted on marrying her; now that you're married you should act like a man. Do you expect your mother to slave herself to death to pay your debts?"
Zhou Chengcai said nothing. Seeing this, Zhang Haiyao grew angrier; she glanced at the silent fourth brother and his wife and had a flash of inspiration. "What about Qinghe? Didn't she also get five taels!"
Li Qinghe raised an eyebrow. "That wasn't something I asked for, the Zhou family offered it of their own accord." Her words made clear she had no intention of handing it over.
Triumphant, Zhang Haiyao snapped, "Unless she pays it back, I won't either!"
Mrs. He waved her hand. "I'm going back now. You decide among yourselves."
Mrs. Zhou wore a face of deep worry. "I'll tell you plainly: to marry off my sons I sold last year's grain. What we eat now is all borrowed; we'll have to repay it after the autumn harvest."
Silence fell. Zhang Haiyao frowned. "If you can't get by, then split the household. Go run your own lives."
At those words the room grew even quieter.
While the parents live, the family does not split; to divide the household early is to curse the elders to hurry and die. Mrs. Zhou closed her eyes and after a long moment waved her hand. "I've raised you to this point; if I look at my conscience, I've done right by the Zhou family. Wait for the eldest to come home and bring the second in, we'll lay everything out today."
"There's something I must make clear first," Mrs. Zhou opened her eyes and looked at Zhang Haiyao. "Normally, bringing a girl into the family, two taels is enough. At first your family asked for a three-tael small betrothal and said they wanted nothing more. You're a town girl; if you felt slighted marrying into our home and asked for a little extra, I could accept that, that's why I allowed the match."
"But I won't agree to the rest of the betrothal money, the third son insisted on it and went to borrow it himself. That silver must be paid by you."
Zhou Chengcai muttered in response, that counted as an agreement, and Zhang Haiyao immediately flew into a rage. "What about Qinghe?"
"As for the fourth, he went to borrow on his own too," Mrs. Zhou said, head bent, voice heavy; her shoulders seemed to slump further. "I won't take responsibility for that debt either."
Li Qinghe felt uneasy. "I'll repay that silver. I hope Third Sister-in-law keeps her word as well."
"What!"