Chapter 25: A Future and a Hope

It was dusk when Old Third Wen finally returned home.

He had managed to rent five mu of land. Under the Great Qi dynasty, the agricultural tax on land is thirty percent. While tenant farmers are exempt from the land tax, the rent alone consumes sixty percent of the harvest.

Qingshui Village is located in the southern part of Great Qi, where the climate is warm, allowing for three harvests a year. The first crop, early rice, is sown from late February to early March and harvested in June. The second crop, late rice, is transplanted in June and harvested in October. The third crop is winter wheat, planted in October and harvested between February and March. In a good year, as long as one is diligent, one won't starve, even as a tenant.

To catch the transplantation period in early June, the plowing had to begin immediately. After renting the land that morning, Old Third Wen had gone straight to weeding, which was why he was home so late. The house was bare; even the hoe had been borrowed from Scholar Zhao. The couple was anxious, desperate to get into the fields and start earning money.

The next day, as the Wen sisters were busy with their embroidery, Old Third Wen and his wife wanted young Wen Yuan to join them in the fields, but Wen Ye intervened: "If we start plowing now, it will still be months before we harvest. Let little brother stay here to help us sort the threads. The more we embroider, the more we can trade for money to meet our immediate needs."

Mistress Lin realized the sense in this. Besides, someone had to stay home to cook, so she let Wen Yuan stay.

Old Third Wen said, "We are off to the fields then. I don't know why, but I feel full of energy this morning; I can't wait to plow two mu!"

Mistress Lin sighed with emotion, "Though we are poor, as long as the whole family is together and happy, we will naturally be full of strength."

Wen Lan and her younger brother laughed. Wen Ye just giggled behind her hands; she had added two large ladles of spiritual spring water to the water vat last night, so of course they had energy!

No sooner had the couple left than Wen Yu'er arrived, basket in hand. "Ye, let's work on our embroidery together."

"Alright, come in," said Wen Ye.

Wen Lan looked at Wen Yu'er with concern, "Yu'er, how is your brother's betrothal going?" Since Ergou's mother had left their home yesterday, she had been spreading rumors throughout the village that Da Zhuang was disfigured and cursed to die young, and that only her niece was kind-hearted enough to marry him. Now, she was demanding an additional five taels for the bride price, and the Da Zhuang family was hesitating.

Wen Yu'er gave a bitter smile, "It's alright, I suppose. The money we saved for the betrothal gift was all spent on my brother’s medical treatment. We finally saved enough, and now they want five more taels... Sigh! My mother went to see Ergou's mother last night and agreed to the extra, just to keep her from spreading rumors."

Wen Yuan pouted, "They are so mean. Brother Da Zhuang is such a good person; if they keep raising the price, it would be better not to marry at all."

"You don't understand, Yuanbao," Wen Yu'er shook her head. "If we break this engagement, Ergou's mother will continue to tell everyone my brother is a disfigured, short-lived wretch, and he’ll be a bachelor for life. I must work harder; every copper counts."

"Right, let's work hard and earn money!" Wen Lan agreed. "Little sister, we are still embroidering the rabbits, right?"

"Yes," said Wen Ye. "Miss Yao's birthday is in half a month. Once these handkerchiefs hit the market, everyone will want them. Let's make a profit while we can."

The girls laid a reed mat on the floor of the main room to escape the heat and sat down. They took out the rabbit patterns and began stitching them one by one. Wen Yuan sat by, sorting threads for them. Before the family had split up, Wen Lan had never been able to focus on her embroidery due to the endless chores. Now, with undivided attention and Wen Yuan’s help, their speed increased. It took them an average of three hours to finish one handkerchief.

At noon, Wen Yuan cooked a porridge of coarse grains mixed with rice bran and a handful of wild greens. It wasn't tasty, but it filled their bellies. The girls raced against time, wasting little on their meal.

After three days of this, the sisters had completed twenty-five rabbit handkerchiefs. Wen Yu'er worked faster and better than them; having an oil lamp at home, she even worked into the night, completing twenty on her own.

On the morning of the fourth day, as Wen Lan and Wen Yu'er were about to start, Wen Ye stopped them. "Wait. Let's not do rabbits today; let's try something else."

Wen Lan was puzzled. "Something else?"

"Let's do this!" Wen Ye produced a piece of paper with two kittens drawn on it—one sleeping, the other chasing a butterfly.

"Wow, it’s the same style as the rabbits, but it looks even more fun!" Wen Yu'er's eyes lit up.

Wen Ye explained, "Once Miss Yao's handkerchiefs become popular, many will try to copy them. We need to switch to something new so we can sell them at a higher price later."

Wen Lan and Wen Yu'er caught their breath. Selling one for thirty copper coins was already expensive—they were going to sell them for even more? But they trusted Wen Ye, so they agreed.

The kittens were harder than the rabbits. Not only were there two cats, but they also had to stitch butterflies and flowers. By the end of the day, each could only finish two and a half. They worked day and night, their hands aching and trembling from fatigue, as if suffering from tremors. Wen Yuan took over all the housework, including gathering firewood and washing clothes in the river. In the fields, Mistress Lin and Old Third Wen were turning the soil and sowing seeds; in just a few days, they had both turned two shades darker. The whole family worked in such synchronized desperation that they barely had the strength to speak.

Soon, fifteen days passed, and it was May 27th.

The household food supplies were dwindling, leaving only half a bowl of coarse grains and one egg. They made an egg and vegetable porridge for dinner. The porridge was so thin one could see their reflection in it, so Mistress Lin added a large handful of greens to fill them up.

Mistress Lin and Old Third Wen felt a deep bitterness. Old Third Wen took a sip of the porridge and spoke, "The rice seedlings are all transplanted, so the farm work has slowed down. I’ve agreed with Shengli to head to the city tomorrow morning to work as a porter."

This would save food at home and bring in extra money. Being a porter meant heavy lifting from dawn until dusk. It was backbreaking work that often led to illness and injury. The pay was six hundred copper coins a month, with food and lodging provided. Wen Yu'er's brother had been injured doing this, which was why many preferred to remain poor rather than risk it, fearing that the earnings wouldn't cover the medical bills. But with no grain left in the pot, Old Third Wen had to take the risk.

"Mother of my children, the fields and the house... I leave them to you," Old Third Wen said, his weary eyes filled with helplessness. He couldn't bear to leave them starving, but he had no choice.

"Don't worry, I will take good care of the fields," Mistress Lin said, forcing a smile to comfort him. "As for food, even if we run out of grain, there are wild greens on the mountains and fish in the river. We won't starve."

"Father, once we sell the embroidery tomorrow, we will buy some grain first," Wen Lan promised.

"Good, good children," Old Third Wen looked at them with comfort. "Once we make it through this month and I get my pay, you can save your embroidery earnings for your dowries."

Wen Lan nodded with a smile. Mistress Lin asked, "Lan, how many handkerchiefs have you saved up?"

"The plain ones we bought are all finished—sixty in total," Wen Lan said happily.

Mistress Lin breathed a sigh of relief, "That will sell for one hundred and eighty coins, enough for eighteen catties of coarse grains. If we mix it with wild greens and bran, it will last us a long time." She was still basing her figures on the old price of three coins each.

Old Third Wen smiled slightly at the thought of the grain. "Lan, Ye, thank you for your hard work."

"I helped too!" Wen Yuan chimed in.

"Yes, yes, you did," Wen Ye laughed, tapping his head.

The whole family laughed, dispelling the gloom in the room. Though they had no grain, the entire family was pulling in the same direction, filled with hope. Even the toil and hardship seemed to hold a thread of happiness.