Chapter 105: The Accursed Scourge, Chi Xiao

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Wang Weng sat in worry.

A small household, each move meant greater hardship. Not to mention the new location, there was rent to pay every month, and what about daily meals? Should they buy grain to live on? Wang Dalang had an eye disease, and wherever the eldest branch moved, he and his elderly wife had to follow to take care of him. That meant four mouths to feed every day. How long could these few strings of coins last?

And then there was the village homestead and the hundred or so acres of wasteland on the hillside, painstakingly cultivated—they certainly couldn’t be abandoned. So the second and third branches, as well as the plow oxen, had to be kept.

At first glance, this plan seemed feasible, but on closer thought, it was difficult.

The labor from the second and third branches was too little. Second and Third Sons had to go to the wild hills to cut firewood every few days, leaving only Ahe to work the fields when they were away. The children from the third branch, Apeng and A’ai, were too young to help and required someone to look after them. How busy would the second and third branches be? How could Ashu learn bamboo weaving skills? Every child is precious; they couldn’t only care for the eldest branch and neglect the younger ones.

Don’t forget the corvée duty in April—this year it was Third Son’s turn. A Ge was a skilled craftsman, but Third Son still had to serve half a month of forced labor, plus travel time, meaning he would be away for at least twenty days. What about the crops? The hard-earned wasteland might have half the harvest ruined during those twenty days, and then the family might not even be able to pay the rent.

Huan Zhen was no longer the man he once was. The old man’s worries were fully understood by him. Since he had made a suggestion, he had already thought through the countermeasures. He said, “The elders should move with the eldest branch to Weiting, taking Ashu, Apeng, and A’ai. Weiting was originally an ‘Empty Pavilion,’ but after the first month of the lunar year, it was upgraded to a ‘Wild Pavilion.’ The surrounding wasteland is all open for cultivation and residence, with no rent required. The fields at home are hard to abandon, so we can hire tenant farmers. The neighboring Xunji Township suffered from a snow disaster, and many people temporarily live in the pavilion’s inn. After the first month, they will surely look for work. Hiring two tenant families should suffice.”

“Can we... really hire tenant farmers?”

“Of course. Don’t be stingy over the grain from these few dozen acres. If you can survive these two years, A Ge will pass the craftsman and master craftsman exams, and the family’s hardships will ease.”

Wang Weng was persuaded but still had a few doubts: “Will Weiting really allow us to live there?”

“I came first in this township’s militia competition and will take office as pavilion chief of Weiting after the Lantern Festival. Life in the early stages of building the pavilion is a bit hard, but the wasteland around the pavilion is rent-free, and all grain seed and vegetable seedlings come from the pavilion. If the elders don’t mind the hard work, the pavilion can also hire the two of you as ‘Pavilion Assistants’ to do cleaning and odd jobs, at least earning some grain rations.”

“Not hard? Not hard!” Lady Jia anxiously rubbed her knees.

“That’s not hard at all. Just don’t trouble Mr. Huan.”

One by one, Wang Weng’s worries found solutions, and joy appeared on his face.

“No trouble. Everything is according to laws and regulations.”

Knowing his father had agreed, Wang Dalang finally dared to breathe out. He was ill, and if he became a burden to his parents and siblings, increasingly so, he might as well have died.

Wang Xing was precocious and sensed the deep bone-chilling sorrow from his father’s suppressed pain. He leaned in, hugged his father’s arm tightly, silently vowed: I will work hard! From today on, I must fear no hardship, study reading and recitation well. I will stand ahead of my father and sister, shield them from wind and rain, and be doubly filial to our elders.

“I asked the tenant farmers of Landlord Jia; they pay fifty percent rent per mu yearly,” Huan Zhen continued, “But most of his land is good, so Second Son can charge only forty percent rent when hiring tenant farmers. Craftsmen’s households pay fifty percent rent. Calculated this way, the rental land you give to tenant farmers will yield at most ten percent surplus grain per mu annually. This is what I meant earlier—don’t be stingy over the grain from these few dozen acres. After all, the weather is unpredictable, and it’s very possible that this ten percent surplus won’t be left at all.”

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Wang Weng was more open-minded: “Rest assured, Mr. Huan. As long as the fields aren’t left fallow, we can support the tenant farmers with these rented lands for these two years. Before harvest, I will advance their rations to ensure they’re treated fairly. Alas, just across the river, I didn’t expect Xunji Township’s snow disaster to be so severe.”

Huan Zhen was somber and didn’t explain much. Actually, the snow was the same in both townships, which border each other, but many households in Xunji had shanty huts. Some elderly and children froze to death overnight. Many able-bodied young men lost toes or suffered frostbitten ears.

Crack...

Boom...

Firecrackers sounded from New Year's Eve through the eleventh day, every night until the Lantern Festival, embodying people’s wishes to drive away the old year and sickness.

The New Year’s festival was indeed magical—the children showed obvious growth. Wang Ai cleaned the peach figurines in front of each house without being told; Wang Peng swept the yard, fed the chickens, carried some wood from the cattle shed to the kitchen stove, then cleared the dirty grass and cow dung from the storeroom to the latrine’s outer wall to dry before burning.

The whole family was to support Wang Xing’s studies. From now on, Wang Xing was exempt from all chores; this was Wang Weng’s solemn instruction, clear and firm. At that moment, the old man stared hard at Third Son. Some words were left unspoken to avoid hurting feelings, but the message was clear: whoever disobeys must endure.

As for the matter of not dividing the household but only the dwelling, Wang Weng wanted to wait until Wang Ge returned after the Lantern Festival, when the whole family was together, before discussing it.

“Apeng, come.” Wang Sanlang called his second son inside. “Pretend you’re going out to play. Go check on your eldest brother.”

“Why? Didn’t I just see him the other day?”

“Tsk, you child, why ask why? There was such a strong wind last night, and he’s living there alone. What if he’s freezing?”

“He’s not alone, isn’t Weng there too?”

Wang Sanlang angrily pinched Wang Peng’s back twice. “I’m talking to you—are you not listening? I told you to go, so go!”

“I have to finish my chores first.” Wang Peng wiped his tears and left. The eldest mother said no hitting before the Lantern Festival. Father always thinks of eldest brother, but aren’t Ai and I also his children? Did the strong wind last night only blow at eldest brother?

On the southern bank of the Nanshan River, Wang Ge disembarked from the boat. The wind nearly made her lose her balance. It was already early spring, yet these days felt colder than any day before the New Year. She faced the wind, kept moving without stopping; only constant movement could warm her body gradually. The Lantern Festival holiday lasted from the eleventh to the nineteenth. Travel to and fro cost her three days each way, leaving only three days at home.

I miss home so much. Three days isn’t enough, but it’s better than nothing.

Kree!

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Wang Ge looked up and saw several cranes flying high above. She didn’t know if Chixiao was among them but waved her arms at the distant birds. The flock soon disappeared into the mountains, returning to the crane sanctuary.

Of course, Chixiao was among them. When it knocked on Wang Ge’s door yesterday, it felt something was amiss. Spiritual creatures often sense things deeper than humans. It anticipated Wang Ge’s departure, so it opened the sanctuary gate and urged the group of clumsy birds to fly up and bid her farewell.

The little companions returned and ganged up on Chixiao, pecking at it. Look, several of its beautiful feathers had been frozen off.

Chixiao had taken to sneaking around like a thief; it no longer walked gracefully, always tiptoeing. After being attacked, it returned to its resting place, tail facing out, and pried open the straw where it hid treasure, then suddenly cried out, “Kree!”

Was that the sentry sound of the “spinning wooden toy”?

Wearing a bamboo hat and disguised as a crane keeper, Xie Youru caught it, broom in hand, scaring Chixiao: “You little rascal! Look at you, a thief! Where did you get that wooden spinning toy?” He held out his other hand, revealing the wooden crane toy carved by Wang Ge.

Thinking its master was about to hit it, Chixiao quickly ran toward the door. When Xie Youru chased after it, Chixiao expertly opened the door with its beak and flapped away. It was terribly timid, and in flight, it lost three feathers. Feeling sorry, Xie Youru shouted, “Chixiao, come back! I was just trying to scare you.”

Kree!

But Chixiao was already far away.

Wang Ge walked on, feeling something was wrong. She tilted her head to shelter from the wind and looked back, then exclaimed in shock!

[Explanatory Notes:

“Rented land” refers to land on which rent is paid, usually by household. During the Western Jin dynasty, the minimum rent-bearing acreage for husband and wife was 70 mu (50 + 20 mu), with varying rent rates depending on locality. Land beyond this was owned outright by the household. Households with little labor could become tenant farmers for landlords, paying rent on the land without having to cultivate the government-mandated minimum wasteland areas (ancient mu were smaller than modern ones). Also, wasteland was allocated by government decree, not cultivated at will.

“Pavilion assistants” refers to workers doing odd jobs in the pavilion; “assistant” implies exemption from taxes and labor duties.]

(End of chapter)