The afternoon sun was scorching, the air rising in waves of heat, and the whole village was sweltering. The old trees by the dirt road wilted in the heat, their leaves bleached white. Cicadas hidden in the branches sang louder and louder, their calls piercing through the earthen walls and disturbing the farmers’ afternoon naps.
The village streets were quiet and heavy with heat, with few people moving about. Xie Yushu arrived home under the blazing sun.
She went straight to the kitchen and downed a large bowl of cooled boiled water to quench her thirst—she’d boiled it that morning and left it to cool. Summer days made her thirsty, so she always kept some ready.
Her clothes were soaked through with sweat. Xie Yushu wiped herself down with warm water, changed into a fresh shirt, rolled up her sleeves and pant legs, and gradually the heat subsided.
She poured the used water into the yard to cool the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a head peeking furtively in her direction.
The person stood by a tree not far from her gate, leaning against the trunk and craning their neck to peer at her.
Ever since she’d returned to the village, many people had been trying to pry into her affairs—openly or secretly. She didn’t have the time or energy to deal with them one by one, so she had no interest in investigating this one either. She picked up her basin and turned to go inside.
But when the person saw she wasn’t reacting and was about to ignore him and leave, he rushed straight up to her gate.
“Are you the new Xie Yushu?” Meng Dongxue called out indignantly through the wooden gate at her retreating back.
She’d been back in the village for a while now and didn’t consider herself new anymore, but this was the first time she’d seen this person. She didn’t bother to respond.
Meng Dongxue was used to being pampered. He considered himself the most handsome young man in the village and was used to being adored. He’d never met a woman who didn’t try to flatter him. This one had no sense of chivalry at all—standing there in the blazing heat, watching him suffer outside without a care.
And on top of that, he’d spoken to her first, and she still didn’t answer!
He couldn’t even recognize the characters of her name, but his mother said it was beautiful. The more he heard it, the more he didn’t want to admit it was actually a lovely name—just one he’d never heard before.
He thought, since his mother praised her, he’d come see for himself. It wouldn’t hurt.
Xie Yushu, who had just managed to cool down, was called back and started sweating again. She asked impatiently, “And who are you?”
Meng Dongxue huffed, “My name is Meng Dongxue. I’m the most handsome young man in the village.”
Xie Yushu frowned at his self-introduction, thinking this guy had some nerve. Wasn’t it said that men here were gentle and shy? This one was anything but.
Dongxue—as in winter snow, meaning fair-skinned? She gave him a cursory glance. He was indeed pale, but not the most handsome by any stretch.
His nose was a bit flat—not as straight and defined as Su Chi’s.
And Su Chi’s lips were nice too, with a faint pink tint.
Xie Yushu caught herself. Why was she thinking about that cold, distant man out of the blue? She forcibly stopped her train of thought and told herself to knock it off.
When she looked up again, the arrogant young man at her gate had vanished.
On his way back, Meng Dongxue’s heart pounded.
His mother hadn’t lied to him—this woman really was good-looking. Tall too, with no hint of cruelty in her features. She probably wouldn’t drink and beat her husband. She was the most attractive woman in the village—truly a match for him.
But she was also penniless. The Zhai family had no land, no fields. If he married her, how would they get by?
Meng Dongxue began to worry.
Sleepiness washed over Xie Yushu. She went back to her room and lay down for a while, leaving the buns warming in the pot for when she woke up.
Not long after Xie Yushu bought her buns, Su Chi’s filling jars ran dry. He set aside a few buns from the steamer, wrapped them up, packed his stall, and took the ox-cart home.
Back home, he counted out the month’s payment for the Liu family husband next door. Since he was out from dawn till dusk, he relied entirely on the Liu husband to look after his father during the day.
Every morning, besides preparing the bun fillings, he also made breakfast and lunch for Wang Wen. The Liu husband would come over on time to heat up the food and make sure Wang Wen ate.
Originally, Su Chi had offered five wen a day, but the Liu husband said it wasn’t necessary. They’d been neighbors for years, and he’d watched Su Chi grow up—heating up a meal was nothing. He didn’t want to take the money, but Su Chi insisted, and eventually, the Liu husband agreed to accept just two wen a day as a token.
Su Chi outwardly agreed, but he felt bad, so he’d send over large meat buns every few days.
The Liu husband, enjoying the meaty buns, took even better care of Wang Wen, often helping him wipe down and bathe.
Su Chi knocked on the Liu family gate with his copper coins. Spotting the Liu husband sweeping the yard, he called out, “Here’s last month’s payment—fifty-four wen. Please count it, Uncle.”
There had been three days of heavy rain last month, during which Su Chi hadn’t set up his stall, so the Liu husband had helped for twenty-seven days.
The Liu husband wiped his hands on his apron and took the money, grinning. “No need to count—I trust you completely.”
Su Chi also handed him a greaseproof bag of buns—several meat buns and cabbage buns, the Liu family’s favorites, which he’d specially set aside.
The Liu family husband was delighted to see the meat buns and vegetarian buns, but he still scolded Su Chi for being too generous with others. He pulled him inside like a thief, afraid that someone might see the heavy, warm buns in his arms.
It wasn’t dinnertime yet, so the Liu husband, seeing Su Chi had some free time, took his hand and sat him down for a chat.
They sat on small stools in the yard, mainly with the Liu husband doing the talking.
Su Chi was in town almost all day and was quite slow on village news—most of what he heard came from the Liu husband.
The Liu husband animatedly recounted what had been going on at their neighbor’s house—Xie Yushu’s place. Since the three households were so close together, nothing at the Zhai house escaped his notice.
He said that Tian Kang and Meng Dongxue had both come to see her, and that several other families in the village had their eyes on Xie Yushu, wanting her to marry into their homes.
He also mentioned that Meng Dongxue was utterly shameless—what unmarried young man would go looking for a woman on his own? Luckily, there weren’t many people around at the time, probably just him who saw it, or the gossip would have been relentless.
Su Chi listened to the Liu husband winking and whispering these romantic tidbits about Xie Yushu. He had no interest in them—in fact, he found them distasteful.
He lowered his gaze, his hands unconsciously gripping the vegetables he was helping to clean a little harder. He thought, with a hint of annoyance, that ever since she arrived, the men in the village had become restless.
Clearly, this woman was anything but proper.
When the Liu husband had said his fill, Su Chi stood up, said goodbye, and returned home.
Watching Su Chi leave, the Liu husband breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he’d gotten all the gossip off his chest.
Other than his own wife, Su Chi was the only one he could talk to about these things.
Especially the matter with Meng Dongxue—he didn’t dare spread that around.
The Meng family was fiercely protective of their own. If anyone gossiped about Meng Dongxue and they found out, it wouldn’t end well. Especially Meng Su’s husband, who had a fierce temper—that’s how the youngest son had grown up so spoiled and unable to endure hardship.
Su Chi was honest and discreet, never spreading rumors. The Liu husband felt completely at ease sharing these things with him.
Back home, Su Chi was brewing the medicine for Wang Wen’s evening dose. The strong herbal smell spread through the neighborhood, reaching even Xie Yushu’s house, filling it with the heavy scent of medicinal herbs.
She’d just woken up from her nap when the odor hit her. Her brow furrowed involuntarily—she’d always hated the smell of medicine. Grimacing, she got out of bed.
The buns were still warm on the stove. She was about to open the lid and eat when a sudden bout of fierce barking erupted outside. The sound grew louder, as if right at her gate. Irritated, Xie Yushu went out to shoo the dog away.
She had no idea what had gotten into the dog, barking nonstop like that.
Stepping outside, she saw it was the village’s stray black dog, which she’d spotted several times before. It was now barking furiously at the Su family’s gate.
Dogs had keen noses—maybe it was drawn by the strong medicinal smell, Xie Yushu guessed casually.
She shouted “Shoo, shoo!” to drive it away. The black dog, afraid of people, backed off but kept on barking.
During a lull in the barking, Xie Yushu thought she heard weak coughing sounds coming from Su Chi’s house.
She remembered that Su Chi’s father had been sick for some time now. She’d heard that his condition wasn’t improving, with some heartless people even saying it was a terminal illness and he didn’t have long to live.
The barking was driving Xie Yushu crazy. She crouched down to find a small stone to throw at it, and the black dog, seeing her squat down, wisely turned tail and ran off.
Driven by some inexplicable curiosity, Xie Yushu found herself walking into Su Chi’s yard. By the time she snapped out of it, she was already standing outside the door of his father’s room.
Inside, Su Chi was holding a bowl of warm water, helping his father drink it in small sips. The medicine still needed more time, so he was having him drink water to soothe his throat.
Wang Wen’s throat was terribly itchy—no amount of water seemed to help. He waved his hand at his son, signaling he didn’t want to drink anymore.
Worried, Su Chi set the water bowl aside and gently patted his back, hoping to ease his discomfort.
The inner door wasn’t fully closed. Standing outside, Xie Yushu peered in and saw that all the windows and doors were shut tight. She caught a whiff of something and wrinkled her nose.
Even through the crack, she could smell the stale, stagnant air of the sealed room—that particular odor of a long-term invalid, mixed with the bitterness of herbal dregs. But that was all—there was no foul stench.
Xie Yushu figured that was thanks to Su Chi being clean and diligent in his care, keeping the room relatively tidy.
Su Chi got up, covered Wang Wen with a thin blanket, and waited until his father seemed to have drifted off to sleep before quietly leaving the room.
Stepping out, he was startled by Xie Yushu standing right there. He flinched, nearly dropping the water bowl. Regaining his composure, he was about to ask what she wanted, but she spoke first.
Xie Yushu had barely restrained herself from walking in and opening the windows for him. She’d waited patiently until he came out before blurting out: “You should open the windows. That way, the air in the room will circulate—it’s good for a patient’s recovery. Shutting everything up like this isn’t helping your father; it’ll only make things worse.”
She didn’t know the specifics of his father’s illness, but no matter what it was, keeping the room ventilated was essential.
Su Chi was stunned. That was all she’d come to say? And when had she even arrived?
He couldn’t help but complain inwardly—she’d come so quietly, she’d nearly scared him to death.
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