Chapter 49

Li Qinghe had already turned and taken two steps when she stopped at the words. "I won't say anything unless someone directly asks. But I won't lie either."
If Li Fu asked and she still kept quiet, that would be too much.
In the fields Li Fu and Zhou Chengkang were chatting. Working alone and working with company felt very different; even if the work was tiring, having someone to talk to made the time pass and the work get done.
Li Qinghe carried the teapot over and poured them some. Li Fu took it. "Did Aunt Qian make this tea?"
Li Qinghe hummed in assent. Li Fu didn't press it, he knew his daughter and Madam Qian didn't get along and wasn't about to force a mother-daughter closeness. "You worked a lot today; you must be hungry. Has anyone started cooking at home?"
"I didn't go into the kitchen," Li Qinghe said, shrugging. "I don't know. There should be something to eat, though."
By the afternoon, when the sun was fiercest, the three of them packed up and went home to eat.
In the Li family's yard, dishes were already laid out on the stone table beneath the big tree. Madam Qian came out of the kitchen carrying bread. Seeing them enter she smiled, "Come and eat."
No matter how many times Zhou Chengkang came to the Li household, he was always a little reserved. Li Qinghe pulled him over to sit, then noticed the table held only a plate of greens, some pickles, and a bowl of soup, no meat at all. Something wasn't right; Li Fu had clearly said they'd have meat for lunch...
The two of them ate without changing expression or even exchanging glances. When Li Fu came in from the outhouse and sat down, he frowned at the spread. Madam Qian was peeking at his face and quickly said, "No, this morning I heard the meat in town wasn't good, so I didn't go. I'll go tomorrow for sure."
Li Fu's brow knit. Seeing Li Qinghe and the other, he soon softened. "Don't forget tomorrow. Buy at least something, what kind of thing is this?"
Nothing more was said. That afternoon Li Fu carried on as usual. The next day at lunch the table was still all vegetables. Madam Qian forced a smile. "I went, but halfway there I realized my money was gone."
Li Fu's face darkened immediately. "Why didn't you lose yourself while you were at it? You can't do anything right. Out to the fields this afternoon!"
A final verdict, no argument allowed.
By the afternoon, when Madam Qian came out again she had a sun bonnet pulled down over her head that hid her upper body. The village had its share of women who tried to avoid the sun, but nothing as exaggerated as this.
Li Fu saw it and frowned. "If you're going to wear that thing, you'd better put it on once you're in the fields. If you stroll around like that people won't just laugh at you, they'll laugh at Wanwan too. If folks in town start saying her mother is a village woman who won't even work in the sun, won't people mock her?"
At that, Madam Qian hurriedly stashed the bonnet away and came back out wearing a normal straw hat.
The fields at the Li place took several solid days of work before they were finished.
The grain was brought in. They repaid their debts and paid the grain tax, and what remained was stored by the new house. After autumn, the house there should be about ready and they can begin moving.
That morning, while Li Qinghe was washing up, Li Fu arrived carrying a piece of meat, as if he'd brought it on purpose. "I went to town this morning and saw some that looked fresh, so I brought it back for you."
This was probably compensation for the days they hadn't eaten meat. Li Qinghe didn't take it. "You eat it yourself, Father. I have eggs over there."
Without another word, Li Fu came in, handed her the meat, and started to walk away. He stopped after a few steps, came back, glanced around, and lowered his voice. "A couple of days ago I heard someone went to the house. Did you run into them?"
Li Qinghe felt conflicted. She'd known that if she kept quiet people nearby weren't blind, unlike that first time when it was still early and meeting someone by the roadside could be shrugged off, this time they had all come into the house; someone for sure had noticed, and given the tangled relationships it would definitely be talked about.
Seeing her silence, Li Fu's expression hardened. "It was Wanwan's father, wasn't it?"
See? She hadn't said a word and Li Fu already knew who it was.
"Yes. He even spoke to me." Li Qinghe thought for a moment. "Aunt Qian said he came and left right away and told me not to tell you. We were busy with the harvest then, so I didn't."
If it came to a quarrel, given Madam Qian's temper she'd be capable of refusing to cook or wash, ultimately making Li Fu suffer. Though he might take some grim pleasure in the fight, they could easily postpone the drama until after the harvest.
Li Qinghe held the piece of meat, watching Li Fu stride back. What good would being angry do? If Madam Qian cried, he would surely soften.
"Oh? Weren't people saying your father only dotes on that stepdaughter? Family is family, didn't he just bring you meat?" A sharp voice, Zhang Haiyao's, cut in.
So annoying!
She couldn't be bothered with her, carried the meat straight inside, and didn't expect Zhang Haiyao to follow her to the doorway. "Sister‑in‑law, sell me some of that meat," she called. "It's so hot, you won't be able to finish it anyway; it'd be a waste."
"Not selling, not enough to eat." Li Qinghe answered quickly. "The extras are for Mother. Do you want to fight her for them?"
If she dared to say that, they'd really hand the meat over to her!
Zhang Haiyao naturally didn't dare accept. Since she was pregnant, the household would deliberately prepare better things for her to eat; elders pampering her was normal, but you couldn't openly snatch them. If someone slapped the label of 'unfilial' on you, you'd be the target of everyone's scorn.
Zhang Haiyao snorted lightly. "Hoarding food."
There was no reasoning with her, when she ate, she never shared. Li Qinghe didn't give it another thought and took the meat to the kitchen to steam buns.
In the night, a woman's shriek suddenly rang out in the Zhou courtyard. "Where's my silver?"
Li Qinghe and the other were roused. Outside it wasn't even dawn; Meihua was shouting, "Mother, mother, my silver is gone, can you help me look...?"
Someone nearby, probably Eldest Brother Zhou, seemed to be trying to calm her, but Meihua shouted louder, "What late hour? This is the silver I earned from two hard weeks, if it's not found, nobody is sleeping tonight!"
She cried again in a panic, "Mother, my silver's missing."
Mrs. Zhou wrapped on a robe and rose, then came to knock on their door. "Get up."
When they came out, everyone had gathered in the main room. Meihua's eyes were red, she'd clearly been crying. Granny Liu stood in the corner with her arms folded, face clouded.
Mrs. Zhou rapped the table. "In the middle of the night you've roused everyone, what on earth is going on? Tell us."
"The silver's missing." Meihua burst into tears as she spoke. "I slave away getting up at midnight, working from dawn to dark, and now it's all gone in an instant."
Mrs. Zhou grew impatient. "Be clear! We're not asking how you earned it, every family's silver is hard‑won."
"I kept it by the bedside," Mei sobbed. "I got up earlier to make tofu and reached for it, and it was gone. I've turned the whole bed over several times, it's not there. It must be a thief."
Mrs. Zhou frowned. "How much silver?"
Meihua wiped her tears. "I counted it carefully, one tael of silver, and 230 copper coins."
She spoke with conviction. Mrs. Zhou swept her gaze over those gathered and, after a pause, said, "Think again carefully, did you move it somewhere? This house is all family; you can't go making wild accusations."
"Family?" Meihua's voice sharpened. "They say the hardest thieves to guard against are your own. No one has left this house, it must be someone from the household."
Zhang Haiyao gave a derisive snort. "I've never been in your room."
Meihua and her family left early and shut their door early at night; sometimes days would pass without running into them. It wasn't convenient, and Li Qinghe and the other had never been in her room.
Eldest Brother Zhou tugged at her. "Lower your voice."
Meihua abandoned her usual meekness, yanked her sleeve back, and snapped, "It's the thief who should be ashamed, not me, why should I hush up?"
She looked furious. "I'm putting it out there, if we don't find the silver tonight, nobody sleeps. If it's still missing tomorrow, no one leaves the house and no one works."
Mrs. Zhou's face darkened. "Are you sure the silver is gone?"
"What do you mean by that, Mother?" Meihua shot back. "If it weren't missing, I'd be busy making tofu for money at this hour. I've been in this house a year, I'm not one to make trouble for no reason."
Mrs. Zhou looked to the fifth sister. "Fifth sister, did you see anyone enter your sister‑in‑law's room?"
The fifth sister shook her head. "I didn't see anyone."
"Then search." Meihua said as if it were obvious.
"Fat chance!" Zhang Haiyao spoke up. "There's more than that little silver in my room."
Li Qinghe refused a search as well. "Silver all looks the same, how would you even recognize yours?"
The atmosphere froze. Granny Liu spoke, "If the silver can't be found, I'll take my daughters‑in‑law and go back home. Where there are many people, there are many quarrels, and they even harbor a family thief... tsk, tsk..." That final tsk was loaded, as if to declare the Zhou household utterly shameful.
"Sister‑in‑law, what are you implying?" Mrs. Zhou looked at her. "All this fuss, your aim is to move out, isn't it?"
"I'm not thinking of moving, I've been here a year even if I'm not settled. But with a thief in the house, it's impossible to stay. No matter how much I earn, none of it ends up in my pocket. I was planning to save enough to build a house, so they'd set up on their own..."
Granny Liu said earnestly, "Sister, if we don't live here, in a couple of years when we've saved enough silver, we'll go back to Wang Village and build a house. How about that?"
"Not interested!" Mrs. Zhou said sternly, turning to the eldest son. "Eldest, do you want to move out too?"
The eldest son shook his head. "It's just the silver that's gone, Mei's upset."
"If you can't keep silver safe, then don't take it at all. I've kept money in this house for years and haven't lost a single coin." Mrs. Zhou glanced at Meihua with contempt. "From now on, you don't accept silver, let the eldest manage it!"