Chapter 43

At that, Zhang Haiyao snorted, pulled the Third Brother Zhou back to eat, and Li Qinghe returned to the kitchen to cook. The piece of meat was still given to Mrs. Zhou.
She kept to herself, made a simple meal, shouldered a hoe and went to the backyard. She dug over the plot assigned to her and asked Mrs. Zhou for seeds to plant.
By the time she finished planting it was already afternoon. She fed the fish in the pond, checked on the chicks, and by the time she returned it was evening. She cooked the meat especially and carried it back into the house.
There was a small incident: as she was carrying the meat back in, she happened upon Zhang Haiyao coming out after clearing the dishes. Haiyao glanced at the plate and laughed, "I heard our sister‑in‑law worked at the tavern for two years. Could her cooking be better than girls raised in ordinary households like us? Let me try a bit."
Li Qinghe handed over the plate, "Actually it's not as good as yours," and, avoiding her, went straight back to her room.
In this household, Zhang Haiyao was the person she hated most, no contest.
Good things were always the first for her to claim.
Showing filial respect to Mrs. Zhou might make sense, but giving it to Zhang Haiyao? After getting it she'd be sulking and miserable for half a day. Why would Li Qinghe go out of her way to invite trouble?
Outside, dusk fell. Just as she couldn't resist the urge to go look toward the foot of West Mountain, Zhou Chengkang returned carrying a bundle of firewood.
Li Qinghe went to fetch water for him, but he took it himself, "I'll do it."
In the evening the two sat facing each other and talked about the day's events. When he heard how much she had sold them for, Zhou Chengkang was pleased, "At this rate we'll soon be able to build a house. Then we can eat whatever we want."
It had to be said: for a large family living together, having to share and take turns with only one kitchen and washroom was truly inconvenient.
They agreed he'd go up the mountain as usual the next day. After Li Qinghe went into town to sell the wild fowl to the tavern, they put out the candles early and slept. The next morning, just as they were about to get up, they heard shouting outside.
Meihua's voice wasn't loud but full of anger, "Everyone knows we need the kitchen every morning, right? If you're going to cook, can't you get up earlier? Or, like fourth sister‑in‑law, cook it last night?"
"We were being polite to you," Zhang Haiyao retorted without backing down. "The kitchen's for everyone, why can't I use it? It's fine to cook at night, but food cooked at night is cold in the morning; the two of us can't eat cold food. Is our sister‑in‑law trying to make us sick?"
The two women wouldn't give an inch. Mrs Zhou grew impatient, wrapped a robe around herself and went out, "So early, what's all the shouting about? I already said if you think it's inconvenient, build your own kitchen."
Zhang Haiyao snorted and turned into the kitchen. Furious, Meihua pinched the Eldest Brother Zhou several times.
That day Meihua's trip to town was pushed back by half an hour, and they hadn't made as much tofu as before. Li Qinghe didn't go to town with them. When the three returned in the afternoon, the tofu still hadn't all been sold and everyone looked glum. After the Eldest Brother Zhou came in and drank a mouthful of water, he shouldered his yoke and went out again, apparently intending to sell to the households in the village.
That evening, after Mrs. Zhou returned, Granny Liu came in with her daughter‑in‑law. The Eldest Brother Zhou's face was sullen; he knocked and called Li Qinghe and the others to the main room.
Once everyone had arrived, Granny Liu cleared her throat twice and said, "Daughter-in-law of the Zhou household, having her stay in your home these past few days has surely been an inconvenience, but this was agreed beforehand."
Mrs. Zhou stared at the plates on the table as if listening intently. Granny Liu looked around at everyone and said, "If you ask me, the hours for using the kitchen should be discussed. Every morning before mid-morning the three of us are busy making tofu; you can't come and hold us up. Young woman, to be blunt: if we do a good job, the eldest will have an easier life, wouldn't that also give you some peace of mind?"
"The kitchen isn't just for your family."
The moment she spoke, Zhang Haiyao knew it was because of her morning routine. If she stayed silent, the mornings would truly become theirs; any later attempt to use it would be her fault. She refused to accept that. She shot back, and feeling that wasn't enough, continued, "It's the slack season now; I don't have field work to do, so you can use it however you like. But isn't our family supposed to go up the mountain to fetch firewood today? When we're busy, we'll be up before dawn, and by mid-morning the sun's already blistering. By the time we finish eating, it's the hottest part of the day, how are we supposed to work then? We can't skip breakfast and go straight to the fields, can we? Who could manage that? Your demand makes no sense. Isn't that right, everyone?"
The "everyone" she referred to was mainly Li Qinghe.
Since the household split, Fifth sister had been doing her cooking after the others left, eating very late; Mrs. Zhou said nothing. She likely wouldn't object to setting the morning hours for making tofu.
Li Qinghe didn't speak. It was admittedly inconvenient, but she'd grown used to it. With the fine weather lately she made extra at night so she didn't have to show up in the morning. With so many people, some compromise was inevitable.
Seeing her silent, Zhang Haiyao shot her a disdainful glance, as if finding her too timid, and said, "Actually, it's not impossible for me to give up the morning kitchen hours, you'll just compensate me for my loss. It wouldn't take much: leave one piece of the tofu you make each day for me, and I promise I won't cook until after mid-morning!"
She gave the others a knowing look. "As for everyone else, that's for you to negotiate among yourselves!"
It was clearly extortion, yet somehow it sounded reasonable.
When the Mei family had been the ones making tofu, everyone bent to accommodate them, out of family ties they agreed. Now that they no longer felt obliged to yield, asking for a little advantage made perfect sense.
But Granny Liu was truly angered by those words. She jumped to her feet, furious but not arguing with Zhang Haiyao, and fixed Mrs. Zhou with a look. "This isn't fair, is it? When this marriage was arranged, how did we agree it would be? The eldest was supposed to bring me into the household to support me in my old age. Now your family behaves like this... are you trying to drive me to an early grave?"
"I won't stay in this house any longer." Granny Liu fumed. "I'm afraid I'll be driven to an early grave. Since you won't speak up, I'll take them back to Liujia Village, my family home. I have a house there and a big kitchen for making tofu. It's only a quarter of an hour from town, do you think an extra quarter hour every day is nothing? I won't deign to stay in this household!"
"No." Mrs. Zhou finally spoke, looking at the enraged Granny Liu. "Sister-in-law, now that this marriage is settled, Meihua is already a daughter-in-law of the Zhou family and must observe our rules. I won't stop you if you want to go back home, but she and the eldest son are not permitted to leave. As for using the kitchen, like I said: you sort it out among yourselves. If you can't agree, build your own."
She paused, glanced at the dark courtyard, and added, "Tomorrow I'll measure the yard and divide the land evenly between the households. It will make it easier for you to build a kitchen if you wish."
Granny Liu looked astonished. Meihua kept her head down and began to cry.
Zhang Haiyao folded her arms and smiled triumphantly. "I said it: give me a piece of tofu, helping others helps yourself. If each household sets aside one piece early, I won't be so unreasonable."
Meihua sobbed harder. Mrs. Zhou looked at her and said in a serious tone, "Meihua, don't feel wronged. I'm not singling you out, everyone is the same under my roof."
Meihua wiped her eyes. "They say the eldest should look after the elderly. Mother, I'm not asking you to show favoritism, but could you be a little fairer?"
Li Qinghe raised an eyebrow. Meihua's plea for fairness was, in truth, already rather fair, what she meant was that since Mrs. Zhou would rely on them in her old age, she wanted a little bias in their favor.
"Third sister's husband's family is in town, I've heard everything these past days. The Zhang family not only refused the small betrothal gift and bride-price we sent, they even gave her a sizable dowry. And the fourth sister, so much land and even a pond; though they must work hard, their life will be comfortable. It's only us left..."
Her tears fell. "It's us who go out at dawn and return at dusk to earn a few hard coins, and you still force us like this, what kind of hearts have you? If this household can't tolerate me, then as my mother said, we'll go back to Liujia Village."
At the mention of returning to Liujia Village again, Mrs. Zhou's face darkened. "Like I said: now that you've married into the Zhou family, as your mother-in-law I won't be swayed, you cannot leave. If you truly go, then this household will have no eldest daughter-in-law."
Meihua's face went white in an instant.
She looked at the eldest son, raised a hand to cut him off, and said solemnly, "If you're going to tell me that going to Liujia Village is only temporary, then if you go don't come back. I'm not raising only you, there are other sons who won't leave me unburied. If I can earn my keep I'll live; if I can't, I'll die and someone will bury me. Whether you're here or not won't make a difference."
The eldest son's attempt to plead stuck in his throat; his eyes reddened. "Mother, rest assured, your son will never leave the Zhou family for as long as he lives."
Meihua's pale face drained to an ashen hue; she averted her eyes and let the tears fall.
After that dispute, the next morning the eldest and his companion stopped their tofu-making and began hiring someone to build a kitchen.
Zhou Chengkang still went to help. With money to build the kitchen, the work went quickly. In two days the kitchen and the stove were finished.
After she finished in the kitchen, Meihua even invited the two of them over to eat; she didn’t invite Mrs. Zhou, but she packed a bit of every dish and sent it to the main room.
She invited four or five people, and by the time they were done the place was a mess. Li Qinghe helped tidy up while Meihua washed the dishes and stole a glance into the courtyard, lowering her voice. “Fourth sister-in-law, don’t you think Haiyao is going too far? She won’t give an inch. Of course, her family does business; she’s sharp as a tack. The last couple of days she’s been making sour remarks, saying I’m so stingy I wouldn’t even spare a piece of tofu each day…”
“If you ask me, as long as she’s here this household won’t have any peace. I really heard one of the Zhangs’ servants say she’s got seven or eight taels of silver, enough to build a house. Why don’t we…figure out a way to get her to go find a plot and build a house elsewhere?”
She lowered her voice for that last suggestion.
Li Qinghe kept washing the dishes and, seeing how eager she sounded, asked, “What way?”
“I haven’t thought that far yet, but I know you’ll move sooner or later, so you can keep away from her. But can you trust her staying here in the house? Out of sight, who knows how she’ll mistreat your mother.”
That made sense; it would require a long-term plan.
Li Qinghe didn’t deny the idea of going out to build a house herself, she planned to, in fact. When June brought the best weather she would hire people to raise a house, leave it to dry for months, and move in before winter.
Besides, the pond and the chicks over there needed careful tending, and once she moved she wanted to buy more chicks. With a whole stretch of fallow land, there would be other things to do as well.