Chapter 24: Add Five Taels

After leaving the embroidery shop, they walked for a while until they reached a grain and oil store. Wen Lan felt a bit dazed as she touched the 163 wen remaining in her hand. Had she known, she wouldn't have eaten her portion of wontons; saving that little extra would have allowed them to buy another pound of brown rice to take home.

"Let's buy the rice first," Wen Ye suggested. Wen Lan nodded.

As the three girls approached the grain shop, the clerk stepped out and asked, "Young ladies, what would you like to buy?"

"Give me 16 pounds of brown rice," Wen Ye replied. In this era, grain yields were low, and everything was quite expensive. A pound of brown rice cost 10 wen, while refined white rice was half as much again, costing 20 wen per pound.

"Make it 17 pounds!" Wen Yu’er pressed the final 10 wen she had into Wen Ye’s hand, smiling. "It’s not enough to do anything anyway, so just use it to buy more grain for you all!" She had originally intended to buy fabric to make clothes for her brother, but with 10 feet of cotton cloth costing 400 wen, she had chosen to join Wen Ye in buying materials for embroidery instead, making it impossible to buy the fabric now.

"If you go home without fabric, will Uncle Shengli hit you?" Wen Ye asked.

"No," Wen Yu’er shook her head. Wen Ye and Wen Lan finally let out a sigh of relief.

Soon, the clerk weighed the rice, and with Wen Lan carrying the 17 pounds on her back, the three sisters headed home.

***

By the time they reached the village, it was already around 1:00 PM. Lin was sitting dejectedly on the threshold while Wen Yuan was chopping wood in the courtyard. Seeing his sisters return, he called out happily, "Big Sister! Second Sister! You're back!"

Wen Lan placed the 17 pounds of brown rice on the table. Wen Yuan’s eyes lit up at the sight of the rice—finally, they had something to eat! Lin breathed a sigh of relief, but then asked with some confusion, "Oh? Why is there so much? How much did you sell them for?" She knew the sisters had 40 handkerchiefs, which at 3 wen each should have fetched 120 wen, enough to buy 12 pounds of brown rice. The current weight seemed to be more than that.

Wen Lan hesitated, then recounted everything that had happened in town. Lin and Wen Yuan listened in stunned silence. They had earned over 600 wen, but had spent over 400 wen on plain handkerchiefs and silk thread! Lin felt a pang of heartache. Although she thought Wen Ye had spent the money impulsively, in their original plan, the day’s earnings were only supposed to be 120 wen.

Since the girls had brought back a few extra pounds of grain, it was an unexpected windfall. The money spent was money they hadn't planned on having anyway. Thinking this way, Lin began to feel happy again. Seventeen pounds of brown rice, mixed with wild vegetables and rice bran, would be enough to sustain their family of five for half a month.

"Mother, were you unable to borrow any money?" Wen Lan asked cautiously. Lin shook her head. Wen Ye had long since stopped holding onto that hope; in her memory, her maternal grandmother’s family was prone to fawning over the rich and trampling on the poor. Seeing that Lin was destitute, they wouldn't even acknowledge them as relatives, let alone lend them money.

"Let’s just go up the mountain more often to dig for wild vegetables," Wen Ye said. "We only need to scrape by for 15 days. After that, we’ll have a batch of embroidery ready to take to town and sell."

Lin smiled helplessly. "Do as you wish. Every little bit helps, but don't push yourselves too hard." In her view, selling a handkerchief for 30 wen was just good luck—they had happened to run into a wealthy young lady. Such luck wouldn't strike every time.

***

Over at Wen Yu’er’s house, the atmosphere was gloomy. Wen Yu’er had told her parents everything that happened in town.

"So, you didn't buy the fabric to make clothes and shoes for your brother?" Aunt Guihua sighed softly.

Wen Yu’er glanced at her guiltily. "Well... I spent the money on embroidery silk and plain handkerchiefs. Because... I felt this was an opportunity. If I could seize it, we could earn much more." The more she spoke, the quieter her voice became.

Wen Shengli sat on a low stool, puffing on his dry tobacco pipe, his face full of worry. The family wasn't well-off to begin with, and now, not only had she failed to bring back the fabric, but she had spent their remaining money. Although the plain handkerchiefs and silk thread could be sold once embroidered, this wasn't a contract with a shop; they were now running their own business, and whether they could sell the finished products remained unknown.

Aunt Guihua sighed and couldn't help but glare at her daughter. Thirty wen for a handkerchief? How could such a good thing happen? It was just a case of blind luck. This girl was still far too naive. However, the money was spent, so they would just have to treat it as a lesson.

Aunt Guihua smiled and said, "There's no rush for the fabric. We’ll just eat a little less, and once we sell the eggs in a few days, we can buy it then."

Just as she was speaking, a laugh rang out. "Oh my, the couple is both here!" A village woman in her early forties walked in. It was Er Gou’s mother, the most gossipy person in the village, short and stout. "I went back to my maiden home today. You’re supposed to present the betrothal gifts in a month. My sister-in-law says the dowry needs to be increased by another 5 taels."

The faces of Wen Yu’er’s family sank instantly. Wen Yu’er had an older brother named Wen Dazhuang, who had long worked as a porter in the county town and was already betrothed to Er Gou’s mother’s niece. Earlier that year, Dazhuang had been injured while moving cargo; it had not only drained the family’s savings but had also left him disfigured, leading his fiancée’s family to look upon him with great disdain. The betrothal was set for the sixth of next month, and Wen Yu’er had gone to town to buy fabric for new clothes so that Dazhuang would look presentable.

"We had already agreed on 8 taels for the betrothal gift," Aunt Guihua said anxiously. "To suddenly add another 5 taels... that, that... that isn't according to custom."

"Who told your Dazhuang to get disfigured! That scar running from his forehead to his face is frightening enough, but it also broke his brow. A broken brow means a short life. My sister-in-law had someone calculate it: that scar will shorten his life, and he won't live past 25! If Fangfang marries him, she'll be a widow by 25. It’s already a mercy that we haven't called off the engagement." Er Gou’s mother sighed and spread her hands. "If you think it’s too expensive, you can just call it off. After all, being disfigured and short-lived is nothing to joke about."

Aunt Guihua looked distressed. "Er Gou’s mother, we are all simple farmers; life isn't easy for anyone. If you insist on this extra 5 taels... then we won't be able to afford the wedding banquet!"

"That won't do!" Er Gou’s mother’s eyes widened. "Who doesn't hold a wedding banquet? Are we in a famine, or are you so poor you can't even afford a meal? If you don't hold a banquet, wouldn't it be an utter disgrace?" She added, "Think it over. I’ve delivered the message—without 13 taels for the betrothal, Fangfang will not marry." With that, she left.

The Wen family frowned. They had emptied their entire savings just to scrape together the 8 taels for the original gift. Eight taels was already considered quite high in these parts. To demand another 5 taels now was to drive them to the brink. Furthermore, the wedding date was only six months away. A banquet would cost at least another ten taels; where were they supposed to find that?

Watching her parents' worried faces, Wen Yu’er said urgently, "Father, Mother, I will work hard on the embroidery. Ye-ya said we could make a big profit in fifteen days. I’ll be able to help Big Brother then."

"That’s enough, that’s enough," Aunt Guihua smiled. "Keep those few hundred wen for your own dowry. Your father and I will find a way to manage your brother’s betrothal money."

Wen Shengli took a heavy drag on his pipe. "If we sell the two pigs, we can get four or five taels. In a few days, after the early rice harvest, I’ll go out and work as a porter with your brother. We'll borrow the rest, and we'll manage to hold the banquet somehow."

Wen Yu’er and Aunt Guihua were heartbroken. They had originally planned to sell only one pig, and with Dazhuang’s wages and a small loan, they would have had enough for the banquet. Now, with the sudden demand for 5 more taels, they would have to sell both. One of them was a sow they were hoping would produce piglets, but that was no longer an option. And beyond that, the thought of Wen Shengli going to work as a porter—a dangerous job—weighed heavily on them.