Chapter 48

Gritting her teeth with Qingmiao on her back, Li Qinghe started down the hill. It was all downhill; after two turns she felt her calves begin to tremble, but the woman on her back said nothing for a long time except heavy breaths and low moans.
She felt a little afraid, there were so many acute conditions, like appendicitis, where stomach pain could turn life-threatening if it went wrong. Qingmiao had been close to her since they were children and remained her sister-in-law; among these sisters-in-law she was the one Li Qinghe got on with best. She couldn’t help whispering, "Qingmiao, you’re a lot heavier than that bundle I carried earlier."
After a long pause she heard Qingmiao reply, "I’ve told you I’m your second sister-in-law… and you compare me to a bundle of firewood?"
Li Qinghe’s mouth twitched into a smile, and she kept her steps quick and steady down the hill, hearing now and then a complaint from the person on her back.
Fifteen minutes later they reached the foot of the hill. Li Qinghe could barely stand and was thinking where to set her down when she saw Zhou Chengkang and another man coming toward them. Seeing the two collapsed, they hurried over. "What happened?"
Zhou Chengwu took the woman from her. Li Qinghe gasped twice for breath and saw that Qingmiao’s eyes were closed. "She fell and says her stomach hurts," she said.
The four of them rushed back to the Zhou household, hitched up a cart, and in less than half an hour they were at the clinic.
"She’s jarred the pregnancy," the doctor said after taking her pulse, his expression full of reproach. "How could she be doing heavy work and then fall… Whether the baby can be saved, we’ll have to wait and see."
The three stood frozen. In recent days Qingmiao had been carrying wood almost as well as the two brothers, quick and nimble, who would have guessed she was with child?
"Please, doctor, hurry and prepare whatever medicine she needs," Zhou Chengwu said anxiously, glancing at Qingmiao’s pale, closed face. "I have the silver to pay."
After getting the medicine, Li Qinghe carried it and the cart moved slowly on the way back. Qingmiao never woke; her head rested against Zhou Chengwu as if asleep.
At the village gate her parents were already waiting. From their stance it was clear they would have gone into town if the two didn’t return. Seeing their daughter unconscious, they were frantic. "What happened? Where did she hurt herself?"
Li Qinghe stepped to one side to let them onto the cart. "The pregnancy was affected. The doctor gave medicine and said she must rest and eat nourishing foods. I’ll catch one of our roosters and bring it back to make soup for her."
Hearing that, Li Qinghe’s mother looked astonished. "Pregnant?" Then, realizing, she thanked her. "Qinghe, thank you so much."
Li Qinghe felt a knot of worry. They’d all been cutting wood together these past few days; although everyone worked, Qingmiao had mostly been keeping her company. Now that something had happened she worried her in-laws might blame her. A reasonable family wouldn’t, of course, but if they were the sort to make trouble, they might well find fault.
By the time they finished talking they had reached Qingmiao’s house. Watching Zhou Chengwu carry her inside, the two of them returned to the Zhou household and then went to the new house to catch a rooster to take over.
When they arrived Qingmiao had woken. Pale, she grasped Li Qinghe’s hand. "I never expected this. Were you scared?"
"As long as you’re all right!" Li Qinghe said, seeing that although her face was pale, Qingmiao still seemed alert. "Does your stomach still hurt? Shall we call the doctor?"
"Just a little," Qingmiao said with a pained look. "They won’t let me get out of bed."
"Your health comes first," Li Qinghe said with a wry smile. "Lie down a few more days. Besides, there’s a baby, you must be careful. No more chopping wood for you."
When they mentioned chopping wood, the two of them exchanged a look and both burst out laughing.
Before long, Mrs. Zhou arrived after hearing the news, even bringing an old hen as a gift. The Li household grew lively; seeing that Li Qingmiao was indeed all right, there was an added air of celebration.
By the time they returned home it was late. Li Qinghe had been running around for half the day and worrying for the other half, more tiring than ordinary work, yet Mrs. Zhou insisted they all eat together.
They didn't refuse. The two of them sat down with Mrs. Zhou and Fifth Sister for dinner. Just as they were eating, Zhang Haiyao came in.
She supported her waist, smiled as she sat, and helped herself to a bun. "Sister-in-law's pregnant?"
Mrs. Zhou glanced at her and hummed.
Zhang Haiyao bit into her bun. "Mother, I saw you bring an old hen over just now. What about mine?"
Li Qinghe and Zhou Chengkang exchanged a look, this was uncommonly blunt.
Mrs. Zhou set down her bowl; the porcelain clicked against the wooden table with a soft thud. The room fell quiet; Fifth Sister was so startled she stopped chewing. "The chickens Fifth Sister and I raise, if we want to give them away, we will. If we tire of them, we'll slaughter them and feed the dogs. That's our business."
Surprised by Mrs. Zhou's sudden sternness, Zhang Haiyao froze, unable to chew her bun. Mrs. Zhou didn't let it rest. "Just because I'm silent about you eating that bun doesn't mean I'm willing to give it. People should know themselves. Don't make others loathe you and the dogs snarl, then act like you're so great."
"It's only a coarse bun, isn't it?" Zhang Haiyao's face went cold as she stood. "Fine, I won't eat it. Besides, the child in my belly might as well take another family's name."
With that she lifted the curtain and went out.
Mrs. Zhou's chest heaved with anger. Li Qinghe worried that she might get ill from the rage and hurried to soothe her. "Mother, don't be angry. If you don't like what she says, just treat it as nonsense. Who takes a fart seriously? It's not worth feeling bad over."
Fifth Sister quietly poured a cup of water and set it by her hand. Mrs. Zhou sighed and took a sip. "I'd be upset if the child took someone else's name, true. But whoever the child takes a name from, first there has to be a child. For now...it's fine."
Those words made a strange sort of sense. If it weren't for marrying in, with the number of brothers in that house some might still be single. As long as she could reconcile it herself, that was enough.
"Eat, don't let her spoil your good mood." Mrs. Zhou looked at the two of them. "Don't be too busy every day. The child matters."
Li Qinghe wasn't really anxious. She was still young, knew more about these things, and thought it better to wait a couple of years: a little older, childbirth would be less risky, and by then they'd be settled over there and not so busy, which would be better for the child.
Zhou Chengkang took up the thread, smiling. "Mother, don't worry about us. We know what we're doing."
Mrs. Zhou put down her chopsticks. "You two are the most reassuring. Over with the eldest, his wife may have her schemes, but she does have a skill. The second son married in, his reputation isn't great, but the Li elders treat him well. I'm not worried about you; it's just..."
Her gaze turned toward Third Son's room; she shook her head in exasperation. "That wretch! Spent so much silver on her and said she was a town girl, I couldn't stomach her. Claims she was pampered in a wealthy home, so shallow!"
She shook her head. "I only hope the child won't take after her. She never thinks of earning her own living, only of taking a share. Lucky for her my flesh and blood aren't for sale, otherwise I'd have her torn apart."
Zhou Chengkang murmured words of comfort. Li Qinghe said nothing; in truth she agreed with Mrs. Zhou, but she couldn't voice it, if she joined in the complaints they'd accuse her of being meddlesome and stirring up trouble.
In the days that followed, the two still went up the mountain to cut firewood. For over a month they filled the woodshed and backyard at the new house to overflowing. There was no more need to cut; the autumn harvest had begun.
This autumn, besides the fallow land, Zhou Chengkang had received a plot and a small paddy field when the family divided up. But this year the yield was poor: first they had to pay the grain tax, and then repay the one hundred jin of grain they owed, what remained wouldn't be much.
For peasant families, the autumn harvest meant working day and night; the days were too hot, so many people took advantage of the moonlight to cut the wheat.
Their land wasn't much, so they went in the mornings and evenings, resting when the sun grew strong, and finished in two or three days. It was worth noting that once the Zhou brothers split up, the family yard felt particularly cramped; there was no room to dry grain. So Li Qinghe and her husband moved their harvest straight to the new house, their large yard was more than enough.
After the fields were harvested, a few acres of wheat remained on the fallow land. "A few acres" in name only, the yield was small; after paying the grain tax it would be like working for nothing. Still, such land would yield more each year.
Once the two of them brought their grain home, many households in the village were only just getting started, like Li Fu's family.
This year Madam Qian still didn't go into the fields, leaving Li Fu to work alone. Her behavior drew much criticism; it's one thing to rest in the slack season, but during the busy autumn harvest not helping is inexcusable. If a sudden rain ruined the crop, they'd be left to go hungry.
After finishing their own chores, Zhou Chengkang went to help Mrs. Zhou for a day; once they had cut everything and carried it home, he went to the Lis' house.
Li Qinghe went too. Madam Qian truly only stayed home to cook; because the two of them went to help, Li Fu even took some silver to send her into town to buy some meat.
They said they were helping, but in reality only Zhou Chengkang was there mornings and evenings. Li Qinghe had to feed the fish and chickens, go back to the new house to turn and dry the grain, and had little free time; she was the one who carried tea out to the fields.
That day she left early, thinking the water already at the field wouldn't be finished, so she didn't bring any. Before long the water was gone; fetching water was certainly her job, those two wouldn't fight her for it.
Carrying the teapot, she found there was no water at the new house, and she hadn't boiled any in the Zhou yard either, so she went back to the Lis to fetch some. Madam Qian was tidying up at home, and the tea should have been prepared.
She had just entered the yard when she saw someone coming out of the house, a familiar face.
Zhao Tianfu.
She was bold, walking right into the house. Last time Li Qinghe saw the two of them together it was when Zhao Wanwan was discussing marriage with the Hu family; she never expected they'd come straight into the house this time.
Seeing her return with the teapot, Madam Qian, standing under the eaves, was stunned. For heaven's sake, Zhao Tianfu had truly just come by, he'd only just arrived and was on his way out, who would have thought they'd run into each other like this.
"This is Qinghe, right?" Zhao Tianfu greeted first. He'd put on some weight, round-faced, a red-tipped nose and ruddy cheeks, the sort of look long heavy drinking leaves. "Wanwan told me you've been looking after her; Uncle Zhao remembers that. If you ever need anything, come to me." He thumped his chest. "I'll help as much as I can."
Madam Qian hurried him along, anxious. "Hurry up and go, enough talk."
Zhao Tianfu left with a grin. Madam Qian stepped forward to take Li Qinghe's teapot. "No water left, huh? I put some on, freshly boiled tea to quench your thirst."
Li Qinghe stood beneath the big tree in the yard, watching Madam Qian quickly pour the tea in the kitchen. She took it, turned, and walked out.
"Qinghe," Madam Qian called after her. "There's nothing between Wanwan's father and me. Could you please pretend you didn't see anything?"