"Come, let me hold you."
Mrs. Li obediently handed her daughter over to her mother.
"Look at this charming little face, you are blessed," the grandmother said, touching Tang Shiqi's small face tenderly.
Tang Shiqi's big, bright eyes rolled around, staring at her grandmother's face. The old woman's skin was sun-darkened with age spots. It somewhat resembled her mother's but also held a different expression from that of Mrs. Lai, her grandmother. Could it be that her grandmother and great-grandmother followed different patterns?
By this time, she still didn't know the surname of her current family; when she had read this book, seeing the submissive Mrs. Li, she had given up after two or three chapters, thinking that if the character was dead, then so be it.
The stepmother benefited while her five daughters suffered, yet she hadn't expected to find herself among them, feeling things differently now.
Mrs. Li's passive tendencies might have resulted from the male-dominated society, or likely because she gave birth to daughters, feeling a sense of failure towards her husband's family; she never protested against how her mother-in-law treated her. What was even harder to accept was that her father was a "filial son."
"Mother-in-law, it's time for dinner." Mrs. Lai, breaking her usual routine of not cooking, didn't go to her eldest daughter's place to look after the children and maintained her dignity by cooking in the kitchen.
Tang Shiqi and Mrs. Li couldn't go out to eat; today, she was lucky to see an egg in her mother's bowl.
For Daya and her three sisters, the happiest day was when their grandmother visited. They could sit at the table for a meal rather than just having porridge.
Their second and third aunts were competing in eating at the dinner table, without any of the grace expected of young ladies.
"Folks, we didn't previously farm much land and had to support so many people. Fortunately, Hongji and his father are both woodworkers, which helps supplement our household income somewhat," said Mrs. Lai, ostensibly bemoaning her lot but actually boasting. Who in the ten miles and eight villages didn't know they had two skilled carpenters in the family, even the rich wanted them for furniture making.
"Hmm, when our families became related through marriage, it was also because we thought your family was well-off. It is just that... Although a woman gives birth to girls, it is beyond her control. You should be more tolerant, allow her to recover her health properly, so that she may have a boy in her next pregnancy."
Mrs. Li's mother, Mrs. Qi, knew very well that this family was notoriously difficult to get along with—a common knowledge throughout the ten miles and eight villages. She also knew how they treated her own daughter. She couldn't reprimand them too much, fearing that they would become even more difficult with her daughter after she left.
After that day, Mrs. Li was unable to properly rest in confinement. There were bugs in the rice field that needed to be picked, and as August and September brought hotter weather during the season the rice flowered, she was busy in the fields every day and still had to cook meals once home.
During good weather, she also had to keep fetching firewood.
Tang Shiqi continued to grow, and at night she could feed a couple more times. During the day, she could only wait hopefully for Mrs. Li to return home.
Apart from Mrs. Li's milk, there was nothing else for her to eat; she could only go hungry.
Since birth, she hadn't wet the bed once, nor did she need diapers making her an exceptionally easy child to look after. Mrs. Li was relieved; she didn't have to wash diapers, and Er Ya, at merely five years old, could easily take care of her younger sister.
In the blink of an eye, a month passed, and Mrs. Li's child reached her one-month milestone. Far from having red eggs to celebrate, there wasn't even a monthly feast.
Each time she went out to work, she encountered people from the village or neighbors.
They kindly advised her not to touch cold water or go outside to work in the breeze just after giving birth.
Mrs. Li could only offer a wry smile upon hearing their words. If she could avoid going out into the wind to work or touching cold water, then she would be living in "comfort" at home, as her mother-in-law said. But how many times she had heard that word, she could no longer remember.
When Mrs. Li returned from working outside, she discovered a carriage in the courtyard. When did their family start having such rich visitors? She guessed that it had come for her husband's woodworking.
On the other side of the thatched cottage, a stranger sat drinking tea with Hongji and his father.
Just as they were about to prepare lunch, they noticed a visitor sitting in the living room furnished with wooden furniture.
The visitor was an old woman around 50 years old, attired in an ornate robe and skirt. She had a golden hairpin in her hair, a jade bracelet on her left wrist, silver on her right, and gold earrings. She was having tea with Mrs. Lai in the living room.
She beckoned Mrs. Li to come into the living room, sizing her up from top to bottom, and nodded with satisfaction, "Hmm, she looks quite good. I wonder if she has enough milk?"
"Plenty! The children at home don't need to eat anything else, they've all grown up on her milk." Mrs. Lai's greedy eyes gleamed at the thought of the silver soon to be in their grasp—Mrs. Li becoming a wet nurse meant a monthly salary, enough to buy grain without farming.
"Are you willing?" the old woman asked Mrs. Li.
"What?" Mrs. Li, hanging her head low in the presence of such a wealthy old woman, felt inferior and didn't understand what she meant.
"Our rich old man from the county is the wealthiest master around," the old woman said, "We have a Young Master who is two years old and in need of a wet nurse. I was introduced to you by others. Pack your things and come with me. You will have two taels of monthly salary, with food and lodging provided, and I will have you dressed in fine clothes."
"Can I refuse? If I go, what will become of my daughter?" Mrs. Li had no desire for the two taels of silver, knowing it would not end up in her pocket. If she went to be a wet nurse, only her poor daughter would suffer—the youngest child was just one-month-old, how could she bear to leave.
"Mrs. Li, don't be foolish, two taels of silver," Mrs. Lai said domineeringly and aggressively, used to ordering her daughter-in-law about.
"Just to be clear, there are strict rules there. Do well, and you will be rewarded. If not, there will be punishments," the old woman observed keenly, knowing this daughter-in-law was so honest and timid—someone like her would be more obedient in their household.
"Can I bring my youngest daughter with me?" Mrs. Li knew she had no power to resist but hoped to negotiate before submitting.
"No... the young madam made it clear when I left, as did the Old Lady. You are signing a live-in contract; you may come back one day a month to visit. Beyond that, I have no authority," the old woman replied.
Mrs. Li sobbed at the thought of not seeing her girls for a month, tears streaming down her face.
The old woman went out to the carriage and brought back a set of lake blue robes and skirts for Mrs. Li.
Mrs. Lai eyed the outfit covetously, wanting to snatch it away, but thinking of the silver she had just acquired, she suppressed the urge.
Mrs. Li went back to her room to change clothes and hugged her daughter on the bed, making sure to feed her before she left.
"Mommy, what a pretty dress," Er Ya and her two sisters gathered around Mrs. Li.
"Mm, take good care of your sisters while I'm gone. Without milk for the baby, let your eldest sister cook rice soup for her," she instructed.
Mrs. Li glanced outside; Daya had gone out to work and hadn't returned, so she wasn't able to instruct her personally.
"Mommy, why aren't you coming back?" Er Ya had never been away from her mother and couldn't grasp what she meant.
"Mrs. Li, hurry up," the old woman urged from outside.
Mrs. Li, with tears in her eyes, changed clothes and packed another two sets of clothes. She put on her best shoes and kissed each of her daughters on the face.
"Mommy, where are you going?" Er Ya was beginning to understand a little, clutching her youngest sister and leading the other two out after her.