Embroidered Phoenix Chronicle

Chapter 8

After finally squeezing out, Liulian's stomach was rumbling loudly. She found a clean food stall and ate a bowl of vegetarian noodles by herself. The roadside stalls stretched as far as the eye could see, selling food, jewelry, toys, handkerchiefs, tea, flowers, and the like. Seeing the longing looks on Liu Ma and Jiang Ma's faces, Liulian decided to risk her life to accompany them and squeeze through the stall again, even though her legs were already trembling with exhaustion.

Liu Ma maintained a distant, almost aloof, attitude towards the third son. When he insisted on paying the bills, she let him pay for his meals; when he wanted to carry things, she let him; she responded to his attentiveness with a gentle smile, completely at ease. Liu Ye'er could feign ignorance, but Jiang Ma couldn't, caught in the middle, feeling extremely awkward. Jiang Ma wanted to take Liu Ye'er aside, but Liu Ma wouldn't leave her side, saying seriously, "Master entrusted the Seventh Miss to us. If anything happens to her, will we still have our jobs?" Jiang Ma was somewhat related to the third son, and it was he who recommended her for the job; she desperately wanted to bring Liu Ma and the third son together. Hearing Liu Ma's words, she could only awkwardly force a smile. Jiang Ma wasn't stupid; a job paying four strings of cash a month wasn't easy to find, and lingering there made her feel incredibly embarrassed.

Suddenly, Aunt Jiang tugged at Aunt Liu's sleeve and whispered something. Instantly, the two women, as if facing a formidable enemy, grabbed Liu Ye'er and left the area. The third brother was extremely embarrassed, but there was no way to get out of the way, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and greet the cold-blooded Widow Yang.

Widow Yang stared resentfully at the man before her. The third brother was a regular customer at Widow Yang's tea stall; the two were inseparable, and he gave her most of the few coins he earned driving the cart. After Da Niu's death, several of his bachelor lovers eagerly offered to help, but this man chose to avoid it. Widow Yang wasn't stupid; she naturally understood his intentions. Besides, there was no engagement between them, and Widow Yang had no intention of marrying him. Their separation was no big deal; if one woman left, another would come. The tea stall didn't depend on him for its livelihood. However, Widow Yang couldn't swallow her anger.

"Is Third Brother also here to offer incense?" Widow Yang asked sourly.

"Did the Yang family's daughter also come to offer incense?"

"Da Niu's 27th birthday is today. I don't have money for a religious ceremony, so I found a master to chant some scriptures for him, hoping he'll be reborn into a good family in his next life." Widow Yang choked up a little. "Why hasn't Third Brother come over for tea these past few days?"

The third brother thought to himself, "You've taken at least a hundred strings of cash from me, and you still dare to complain about being poor!" But he couldn't say it aloud, so he just sighed with a face full of sympathy. Seeing him acting like a grandson, Widow Yang couldn't help but ask him, "Is it because Third Brother thinks my widow's family is unlucky? Or have you found someone you like? When are you going to have the wedding banquet?" Widow Yang had clearly seen through the third brother's obsequiousness towards Liu Ma, and couldn't help but stab him with her words.

Seeing that Widow Yang was like a stubborn pest, clinging to him relentlessly, and fearing that Aunt Liu would take offense, the third son was eager to escape. He gave a few perfunctory words and was about to leave, which made Widow Yang even more resentful. Widow Yang ran a tea stall, and business was quite good; she could support her family without any problem. However, she refused to do it honestly. She used the tea stall to invite people to gamble and take a cut, ruining her reputation. She looked down on the third son, but she couldn't tolerate him slipping away from her side! Widow Yang cursed Aunt Liu inwardly, thinking she was nothing more than a rough-working maid, clumsy and incompetent—what could she possibly compare to her! But on her face, she smiled and said, "I made some green dumplings; Third Brother, come and try them tomorrow!"

The third brother didn't dare to respond and just mumbled in response. Widow Yang wouldn't let him go, and suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Third brother, where did you buy your shoes? How come they're so..." Although she didn't say the word "ugly," it was clearly written on her face.

"Seventh Miss learned to make it. I'm not particular about these things; as long as I have something to wear, that's fine!"

"Seventh Miss? Oh~ that jinx from the Changsheng family, how remarkable, she's even learned to make shoes! Humph."

The third brother was speechless. He seized an opportunity to say goodbye. Widow Yang watched his retreating figure and muttered, "Hurry up and go! That big-footed rascal runs fast; if you're late, he'll run off with someone else!"

The sun was already setting, and the return journey was crowded with people, each carrying a large bundle, and everyone's backs ached. Liu Lian carried her bundle directly to the upper room, respectfully handing an old man Huo a Sichuan fan with a mottled bamboo frame and gold-studded nails, saying, "Godfather, this is for you." She then pulled out a rose-purple headband and presented it to the old woman. The old couple exchanged a glance, feeling greatly gratified! Next, Liu Lian took out an amber fan pendant, a small box of silk hair ornaments, a Luban lock, and a colorful lacquered longevity charm, and presented them to her sixth sister. The sixth sister covered her mouth with a handkerchief and laughed, "You have a conscience, your parents didn't love you for nothing!" As she spoke, the sixth sister took out a box of lip rouge and a box of rouge from her own bundle and stuffed them into her hands, laughing, "You're a grown-up now, you should learn to dress yourself up!" The old couple Huo gave Liu Lian a pale yellow handkerchief. Liu Lian then handed out a dozen plain satin handkerchiefs to Aunt Liu and Aunt Jiang, saying with a smile, "You two have worked hard these past few days, take these to wipe your sweat!" The two looked at each other with delight and thanked her profusely. Liu Lian, still smiling, took out two boxes of pepper-salt flaky pastries and placed them on the table, saying to Old Man Huo, "Godfather, these are for the people in the outer courtyard to try." The old man laughed heartily and asked mischievously, "And what about you? What did you buy for yourself?" Liu Lian was taken aback, then pointed to the last packet of candied fruit and said, "This is enough for me!" Little Tiger and Eldest Brother had already opened the paper packets and stuffed the bright red crabapple candied fruit into their mouths. Eldest Brother's eyes were squinting from the sourness, and saliva was dripping down his face. Little Tiger was even more protective of the packet of candied fruit, unable to get his hands on it. Everyone couldn't help but laugh, and Aunt Jiang chimed in, "Seventh Miss, you didn't buy the right candied fruit, it can fly away!" This made everyone in the room burst into laughter.

After the lights were turned off, the old lady was still thinking about how sensible, kind, and considerate Liu Ye'er was. Old Master Huo sternly instructed her not to let things continue like this. "She's an orphan. How many days can we take care of her? If she marries into a kind family, that's fine, but if she marries into a powerful one, how can she handle it? Then she'll have in-laws to care for and sisters-in-law to deal with. If she's so loose with her money, she'll have all her things taken away in a few days!" Although he said this, the old man was actually quite pleased. It wasn't about the value of the gift, but the sentiment behind it. His adopted daughter giving him gifts greatly satisfied his vanity. It was only the beginning of summer, not yet time to get a fan, which was a slight disappointment.

Sixth Sister examined the fan pendant from all angles. Qian Xuewen felt a little wronged, but not wanting to offend his wife over such a small matter, he had no choice but to "gift" the fan pendant to her. Sixth Sister nodded in satisfaction, "The color is too bright; it's not suitable for a man. Seventh Sister has poor taste." Xuewen nodded against his conscience.

In the west room, Liu Ma stared blankly at several handkerchiefs. The handkerchiefs were white, smooth, and soft—they were fine things. Looking at the handkerchiefs and then at the sleeping Liu Ye'er, she felt a pang of sadness.

Exhausted from lingering, he slept soundly and sweetly.