Chapter 3: Xia Xiaoqi Is a Delicate Little Thing

Liu Chunhua cooked dinner by herself, cursing every last ancestor of her two daughters-in-law as she worked.

By the time the meal was on the table, her two daughters had returned from their outing with the children. Qiao Ran and Xia Xiaoqi came out of their rooms too.

On the table sat a basin of cracked-corn porridge, cabbage stewed with potatoes, and several salted duck eggs cut open.

Qiao Ran and Xiaoqi exchanged a look.

Wonderful. Xiaoqi disliked cabbage, and Qiao Ran disliked potatoes. Back in middle school, cabbage and potatoes had been the dish they hated most. Every time, after their Chinese teacher’s earnest reminders that every grain of food was hard-earned, they’d secretly dumped it into the trash.

But they couldn’t go hungry. Now that they were in an era of scarcity, they couldn’t be too picky.

So both reached for the salted duck eggs.

“Don’t touch those!” Liu Chunhua roared, snatching the plate away as if it held precious nuggets of gold instead of eggs.

Xiaoqi craned her neck and counted six eggs. Including the children, there were eight people in the household, so there really weren’t enough to go around.

Then she watched Liu Chunhua place eggs in front of her son, daughters, and grandchildren, leaving out only Qiao Ran and Xiaoqi.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Xiaoqi asked, puzzled. “Are there names carved on the eggs? Ours aren’t on them?”

Her younger sister-in-law, Lu Hongli, rolled her eyes. “We only keep two ducks. It took ages to save up these eggs. You want a share of everything. Why are you so greedy?”

“Right, you’re not greedy.” Xiaoqi reached over and took the egg in front of Lu Hongli. “If you don’t want it, don’t eat it. I’ll have it.”

Everyone stared at her in astonishment.

“Well, I’m a little greedy too,” Qiao Ran said. “Anyone else here who isn’t?”

At once, the others covered their eggs with their hands.

Only Lu Xiangnan watched his wife with deep, still eyes, revealing nothing of what he felt.

Lu Hongli pointed at Xiaoqi. “Have you lost your mind?”

Her second brother’s wife had always been shrewish, but she’d forced her way into the marriage with her own dowry. Since she’d been the one chasing after them, the Lus looked down on her.

The original Xia Xiaofang could throw tantrums and make a scene outside, but at home she was meek and obedient, terrified the Lu family might cast her out.

Ignoring everyone’s stares, Xiaoqi filled a bowl with porridge and dropped the egg into it, as if afraid someone might snatch it back.

Qiao Ran touched her nose, then turned to Lu Xiangnan. “Hubby, I want a duck egg too.”

“Pfft!” The elder sister-in-law, Lu Hongna, sprayed out a mouthful of porridge and nearly choked.

Lu Xiangnan’s eyes widened. His earlier composure vanished in unmistakable shock.

Xiaoqi bent over her porridge, snickering to herself.

“Eldest wife, what on earth are you playing at?” Liu Chunhua trembled with rage. “How can you say something like that? Aren’t you ashamed? If anyone heard you, how could I ever show my face?”

“He’s my own husband, not somebody else’s,” Qiao Ran muttered.

“Have you no shame?” Liu Chunhua scolded. “You shameless hussy! What evil’s gotten into you?”

“How am I shameless?” Qiao Ran argued. “Calling my own husband ‘hubby’ makes me shameless? Well, I’ll say it. Hubby, hubby, hubby!”

She spread her arms, intending to hug Lu Xiangnan and take advantage of the opportunity for a little contact, but he held her back.

“That’s enough, all of you.” His face was stern. “What kind of behavior is it to quarrel at the table?”

Then he handed Qiao Ran his salted duck egg.

She accepted it and raised her brows at Liu Chunhua in triumph.

After dinner, Xiaoqi and Qiao Ran naturally got up and headed outside.

Liu Chunhua hurriedly put down her bowl and chopsticks and followed them. “Where are you two going? Come back and clear the table and wash the dishes!”

“First ones finished don’t have to,” Xiaoqi said.

“Exactly,” Qiao Ran added. “Last ones finished wash up.”

Liu Chunhua was speechless.

The two daughters-in-law had been fine when they left that morning. How had they come back like completely different people? Her whole understanding of the world had been shaken to pieces.

Night fell, and bright moonlight covered Geshi Village like a thin silver veil.

Lu Xiangnan held a book, but he hadn’t taken in a single word. He knew his wife’s character, and her sudden change made no sense to him.

If he hadn’t been a firm believer in materialism, he might have suspected, like his mother, that Qiao Ni was possessed.

From the other side of the curtain came the sound of a woman panting. It rose and fell like the cries of a newly weaned kitten, teasing his ears with every breath.

Xiangnan grew annoyed. Had the woman gone mad? Making such indecent noises!

He got up and strode over, pulling the curtain aside. “What are you doing?”

Qiao Ran was on the floor doing push-ups. Startled by his sudden voice, her arms gave way and she fell to the floor.

Given her size, she hit the ground with a thump that raised a little dust.

Having made a fool of herself in front of this handsome younger man, Qiao Ran was so embarrassed she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

“Little brother,” she sighed, “you scared me half to death.”

Lu Xiangnan was embarrassed too. He’d thought she was doing something shameful, only to discover his own mind had been in the gutter.

To cover his embarrassment, he put on a stern face and scolded her. “What nonsense. One moment it’s ‘little brother,’ the next it’s ‘hu—’”

His face reddened, and he couldn’t bring himself to finish the word.

Qiao Ran got up, took a towel, and wiped the sweat from her face. Tilting her head, she looked at him. “Then what would you like me to call you? Little brother? Hubby?”

“Be quiet,” Xiangnan snapped under his breath.

Qiao Ran suddenly remembered the First Madam’s line: *Keep your voice down. Is this something to be proud of?*

She couldn’t help smiling.

Seeing her smile made Xiangnan both angry and self-conscious. Before he knew it, his earlobes had turned red.

Wow! A younger man who got shy. How was she supposed to stop herself from liking him even more?

Xia Xiaoqi had been born with a golden spoon in her mouth. Her forebears were founding heroes who had borne arms, and generation after generation had accumulated power and connections. By her father’s time, he was such a high-ranking official that a stamp of his foot could shake all of Jing City.

She was the youngest in the family and its only daughter. She’d grown up like a little princess, pampered and delicate.

Suddenly she’d been thrown into the seventies, where people scraped by on coarse grain and vegetables, and her room let in drafts from every side. Being with Qiao Ran during the day made it easier, but alone at night she couldn’t help feeling so miserable she wanted to cry.

The kang was hard and uncomfortable. Her pillow was stuffed with rice chaff that rustled whenever she moved and occasionally pricked her face. Outside, insects chirped incessantly, making sleep impossible for Xiaoqi, who was already a light sleeper.

She sat up and looked out the window. Moonlight cast the shadows of trees onto the paper panes, making them look like monsters brandishing their claws.

Sniffling, her eyes red, Xiaoqi went to find Qiao Ran.

She couldn’t sleep. She was scared. She needed comfort.