Chapter 21: The Schemes of a Young Maiden

No matter how many mushrooms grew on the mountain, they couldn’t withstand the crowds of foragers. Soon, all the edible mushrooms in this patch of forest were picked clean, and people gradually left the mountain. Xinliu had only gathered a little over half a basket, her face pale the whole time, but afraid to venture further in because of the danger, she had no choice but to go home.

Upon entering the village, Xinliu’s home was in a different direction than An Yi’s, so they parted ways. At that moment, An Yi poured all the mushrooms from her own basket into Xinliu’s.

Xinliu looked at her in surprise. “Xier, you’re giving me all your mushrooms? What if your mother asks about them?”

An Yi laughed. “My mother sent me up the mountain just to play. She doesn’t care whether I bring back mushrooms or not.”

Qiao’er glanced at An Yi, then at Xinliu, gave a cold snort, and turned away.

Xinliu curled her lip and rolled her eyes, but then turned on a smile for An Yi. “Thank you, Xier.”

“You’re welcome,” An Yi replied, slinging her empty basket over her back and heading home.

Madam Luo was sitting in the yard with soybean dregs on her hands, sunning herself. When she saw An Yi return with an empty basket, she teased, “Xier, have the mushrooms on the mountain not sprouted yet?”

“I gave them to Xinliu,” An Yi replied.

Madam Luo smiled with delight and praised, “My good girl is growing up and learning to repay kindness.”

“Of course,” An Yi replied with a playful smile, setting down her basket and heading to the kitchen for water. “Mother, when should we move this straw inside?”

“We’ll wait for your second brother to come back; he can move it in,” Madam Luo answered, coming in to scrape the soybean dregs from her hands into the chicken feed trough before washing up and starting to cook.

That afternoon, not long after Madam Luo left, Qiao’er came over. As soon as she entered, she demanded, “Xier, are you friends with Xinliu now and not with me anymore?”

An Yi found Qiao’er’s accusatory manner amusing. “No, of course not.”

“You are! You gave all your mushrooms to Xinliu,” Qiao’er pouted.

An Yi only found it funnier. “Then tomorrow we’ll go pick mushrooms again, and I’ll give them all to you.”

“Oh, it’s not about the mushrooms! I’m not that petty,” Qiao’er stamped her foot in exasperation. “Xier, have you forgotten? If it weren’t for her suggesting we play by the pond, you never would have fallen in and gotten sick.”

An Yi was naturally suspicious, and on hearing this, she recalled what Xinliu had said at the village entrance. Her mind raced, but her face remained unmoved as she answered with a calm smile, “I fell in the pond because I was careless. You can’t blame Xinliu.”

“It wasn’t carelessness at all! You’re so foolish. If you keep insisting on being friends with her, I won’t be friends with you anymore!” Qiao’er turned and ran off.

An Yi gazed at the wide-open door, slowly closing her eyes to hide the chill in her gaze. She’d encountered this sort of calculated kindness before, back in her modern life, where people sought profit. But what was Xinliu after? The An family was not wealthy; there was no great fortune to covet. If not for money, then what? The only thing of value in the An family was Madam Luo’s embroidery skills. Perhaps they wished to use this favor to persuade Madam Luo to teach Xinliu embroidery. That would be a clever scheme.

A valuable skill is worth more than gold.

An Yi opened her eyes, a fleeting look of resolve crossing her features. It wouldn’t be hard to get to the bottom of this. If it was just a coincidence and not a plot, she would repay the kindness. But if it was indeed a scheme, then those responsible would pay with their lives for the innocent girl who died. Life for a life—that would be fair.

Having made up her mind, the next day An Yi went to Xinliu’s home to look for her. But Xinliu wasn’t there; she and Aunt Liu had gone to the vegetable plot to till the soil. An Yi didn’t know where their field was, nor did she intend to go searching. Once Xinliu learned she had come by, she would surely come looking for her in the afternoon. So An Yi decided to wait it out, like the patient fisherman waiting for the fish to bite.

On her way home, An Yi ran into Luo Deyou, Luo Dezhong, and Luo Dongping’s son, Luo Mingliang. The three boys had gone to the mountain to dig for wild vegetables, and luck had favored them—they’d found two nests of wild eggs, more than twenty altogether—and were grinning from ear to ear.

“Xier, little sister, here! Take six eggs home and have Auntie cook them for you,” Luo Deyou said, counting out six eggs for her.

“No, that’s all right. We have eggs at home,” An Yi declined.

“Our eggs have to be traded for oil and salt. These are wild eggs your second brother found—they’re delicious! Take them,” Luo Deyou insisted, putting the eggs in her hand.

Luo Deyou and Luo Mingliang chimed in, “Take them, Xier.”

An Yi accepted graciously. “Thank you, second brother, third brother, fourth brother.”

“When did you get so polite? No need for thanks among family! Head home now, and be careful not to break the eggs,” Luo Deyou reminded her.

Back home, An Yi handed the wild eggs to Madam Luo. “Mother, let’s save these for dinner.”

Madam Luo understood she wanted to wait to eat them with An Jian. She stroked An Yi’s head and smiled. “All right.”

That afternoon, after a nap, An Yi heard Madam Luo’s voice: “Xinliu is here! Come in, come in. Xier’s still sleeping; I’ll go wake her up.”

As she spoke, Madam Luo entered with Xinliu.

“Xier, Xinliu’s come to play. Get up now,” Madam Luo said with a cheerful smile.

“Xinliu, you’re here,” An Yi greeted her with a smile.

“I came to play with you,” Xinliu replied. Seeing Madam Luo helping An Yi dress, she was momentarily stunned, then looked on with envy.

“Xinliu, wait a moment,” An Yi said, and went off to the outhouse.

Madam Luo smiled warmly. “Xinliu, stay for dinner.”

“Auntie, there’s no need. I just came to chat with Xier for a bit,” Xinliu replied.

Madam Luo fetched some sunflower seeds and peanuts left over from New Year’s, placing them on the table. “Don’t be a stranger; treat this as your own home.”

Xinliu smiled faintly.

When An Yi returned from the outhouse, Madam Luo exchanged a few more pleasantries and then excused herself.

“Xier, did you come to my house this morning for something?” Xinliu asked once they were alone.

An Yi sat down beside her. “Xinliu, I’ve thought about it. Once I learn embroidery, I’ll teach you.”

Xinliu was taken aback and shook her head. “No, Auntie would never agree.”

An Yi took her hand, meeting her gaze. “Xinliu, I’ll talk to my mother. She’ll agree. If your mother hadn’t saved me, I’d have drowned. Teaching you embroidery is the least I can do to repay that life-saving kindness.”

Xinliu pulled her hand away and looked down. “No need, Xier. My hands aren’t fit for embroidery.”

An Yi never took her eyes off Xinliu’s face. Though Xinliu quickly lowered her head to hide her expression, An Yi still caught a fleeting look of guilt in her eyes. In that moment, she understood that her fall into the water had not been an accident. Rage rose in her heart, though her face remained unchanged, her voice even more earnest. “Xinliu, I asked my mother about it. Coarse hands can be made delicate again. I’ll have my mother help you—don’t worry.”

“My hands are already like this. There’s no fixing them,” Xinliu replied, turning her head away and twisting her fingers together nervously. “Even if they could be healed, I don’t have the time. I’m the eldest at home—I have to do farm work and look after my siblings.”

An Yi lowered her eyes to look at Xinliu’s tightly intertwined fingers, her gaze thoughtful. To harm a childhood friend and still feel some remorse was only natural, but such faint guilt was nothing compared to a lost life. “Shall I have my mother talk to your mother? Maybe she’ll agree.”

“No need, Xier.” Xinliu looked up at her. “Thank you, but really, there’s no need. I’ve been out too long already—I should go.”

With that, Xinliu hurriedly got up and left.

—End of chapter—

Note: Apologies, I thought I’d set the schedule correctly for updates, but it turns out I made a mistake with the time.