Chapter 6: Laying It All Bare

When Su Wan returned with half a basket of tender bamboo shoots and herbs, Madam Wang was out. Su Wan set the basket beside the well, picked out the shoots, and placed the herbs one by one in a wooden basin. The ground at the foot of the mountain was muddy, and soil clung to the roots. She needed to wash them while they were fresh, or they would not look as good once dried.

Inside, Su Xue heard her return. She came out and watched Su Wan crouching by the well. Though she tried to hold back, she could not resist walking over.

“You really don’t have a care in the world, Sister.”

Su Wan continued ladling water. “What makes you say that?”

“The match is settled, and you’re still here washing weeds. You’ll soon be the Huo family’s daughter-in-law, with plenty to eat and wear. Are you still concerned about a few copper coins?”

Su Wan understood that Matchmaker Wang must have come. She rubbed the soil from an herb root and set it in a bamboo basket. “A few coins are still money. I won’t turn them down.”

The answer left Su Xue momentarily speechless. Her face darkened. “That’s right. You’ve known how to pretend to be hardworking since you were little. Now your act has paid off, and you’ve fooled the Huos too. Eight taels of betrothal silver! Mother can hardly stop smiling.”

Su Wan looked up. “Do you regret it?”

Su Xue stiffened. “Who regrets it? I don’t care about the Huos.”

“Then why are you so sour?”

Su Xue’s eyes widened. “Who are you calling sour?”

Su Wan poured the dirty water out of the basin and drew a fresh ladleful. “Whoever answers.”

Su Xue clenched her handkerchief until it wrinkled. She wanted to retort but feared Madam Wang might hear. Their parents had all their attention on Su Wan’s wedding now; making another scene would only make them dislike her.

She gave a cold laugh. “Fine. Keep talking tough. Once you’re married, don’t come crying back home.”

She turned and walked away. Su Wan watched her go, her gaze cooling.

She finished washing the herbs, spread them on bamboo trays, and set them in the sunniest spot by the wall. She shelled the bamboo shoots, cut them into thin strips, and soaked them in clean water to draw out the bitterness.

By the time she finished, the sky was darkening. She went into the kitchen to prepare supper. During that time, Su Xue went out and returned just before the meal. The smile on her face told Su Wan where she had been, but she pretended not to know.

After supper, Madam Wang called Su Wan into the main room. Su Dashan sat at the table smoking his pipe, with Su Qing and Madam Li there as well. Su Xue had meant to return to her room, but when she heard the words “Huo family,” she lingered by the doorway. Madam Wang saw her and did not send her away; everyone would learn the news sooner or later.

“Wan, Matchmaker Wang came today.” Madam Wang could not keep the delight from her voice. “The Huos have proposed the twenty-sixth day of the fourth month for the wedding.”

Su Wan nodded. “I understand.”

“It’s a little rushed, but your father and I started preparing trousseaus for both you girls long ago. The Huos are sincere too. We’ll make sure you have a proper wedding.”

Her smile deepened. “They’re offering eight taels of silver, two bolts of cloth, a silver hairpin, six packets of pastries, two chickens, and ten jin of meat.”

Madam Li drew in a breath. Su Qing looked up. “The Huos really do value Wan.”

“Don’t they?” Madam Wang said. “What other family in the village could offer so much? Madam Guo sent word through the matchmaker that she’s very pleased with Wan and won’t treat her poorly after she marries in.”

Su Wan listened without speaking. Madam Wang took her daughter’s hand. It was not particularly soft; calluses lined the palm, and faint marks from washing clothes crossed the back. As she held it, her eyes grew warm.

“For the next month, stay in your room and embroider your wedding clothes and quilts. You don’t have to worry about any other work.”

Su Wan looked at her. “I really don’t?”

“No, you don’t,” Madam Wang said firmly. “You’ve done enough all these years. A wedding is important; the clothes must be done properly, and the quilts need finishing too. Your sister-in-law and I can manage the housework, and so can Xue.”

Su Xue’s expression changed at the doorway. Before she could speak, Madam Wang looked at her. “Especially you, Xue. Your sister is getting married. You’ll do more this month instead of hiding in your room and avoiding work.”

Su Xue resented it, but did not dare argue too openly. She gave a low snort.

Su Wan watched the exchange. “All right,” she said softly.

Her answer was calm, but warmth stirred in her heart. She had carried the family’s work since she was ten: washing, cooking, feeding the chickens and pigs, gathering fodder, drying vegetables, and helping in the fields. She had done it all.

Madam Wang did care for her. She had simply grown accustomed to her sensible daughter, accustomed to her never complaining of tiredness. For her mother to say this now was no small thing.

The next morning, Matchmaker Wang arrived at dawn. Su Wan had just combed her hair and had not yet gone to the kitchen.

The matchmaker sat down with a smile. “Sister Wang, I’ve come for Wan’s birth date and hour. The Huos want to compare them for the wedding date. The date is already set, but we must still observe the proper rites.”

Madam Wang promptly gave her the details. Matchmaker Wang wrote them down. “Wan is a fortunate girl. The Huos are in a hurry, but they sincerely want her as their daughter-in-law.”

Madam Wang smiled from ear to ear. “We’ll have to trouble you to make a few more trips.”

“It’s my job.” The matchmaker put away the paper and hurried off without even finishing her water.

From that day on, Su Wan truly stopped doing the housework. After breakfast, she returned to her room and brought out the wedding garment she had been embroidering for three years.

When she was fourteen and had reached her adult height, Madam Wang had given her a length of red cloth and told her to embroider it when she had time. There had been so much work at home that she could manage only a few stitches at night by lamplight. After three years, the garment was nearly finished.

She spread the red cloth on the bed. Flowers decorated the cuffs and hem, not especially elaborate but neat. She ran a hand over the stitches and considered what remained. Finishing the garment and embroidering two wedding quilts could be done in a month.

Without her doing the chores, however, the household soon fell into disorder. Su Xue scattered chaff across half the courtyard while feeding the chickens. She built the fire too high under the pig feed and burned a layer onto the bottom of the pot. When washing clothes, she rubbed them a couple of times and left the collars and cuffs dirty.

Madam Wang’s temper flared. “Are you washing those clothes or just soaking them in water?”

Su Xue felt terribly wronged. “I’ve never done it before. How could I know how straight away?”

“Your sister could do it at ten! Who taught her? She learned on her own.”

Su Xue said nothing, but blamed Su Wan for every bit of it.

The atmosphere at supper that evening was strained. Madam Wang picked up a bite of vegetables and frowned. “Xue, you used too much salt.”

Su Xue slammed her chopsticks on the table. “Too much salt, too little salt—it’s always my fault! Everything is my fault! Sister has it easy, sitting in her room embroidering her wedding clothes without touching a single chore. It’s only a wedding. Does she think she’s a young lady of some grand house now, waiting all day for meals to be served? She’s living like someone in heaven!”

The table fell silent. Su Dashan’s face darkened, and Madam Wang’s chopsticks stopped in her hand. Madam Li glanced at Su Wan, angry on her behalf.

Su Wan took her time. She set down her bowl and looked at Su Xue. “I took over the housework when I was ten, and I’ve done it ever since.”

She held out her hands, then looked at Su Xue’s fair, unmarked ones. “Look at my hands, then look at yours. Which of us is the pampered young lady?”

Su Xue flushed scarlet. Su Wan did not raise her voice, but every word was clear.

“I always thought you were young, and Mother worked hard enough already. As the elder sister and eldest daughter, I thought I should do more. I didn’t realize you had come to take it for granted.”

Madam Wang’s eyes stung. Su Dashan lowered his head and set his pipe beside the table, leaving it there for a long time.

“You’re right about one thing,” Su Wan continued. “I am getting married. For the next month, I won’t do any of the housework. I’d like to experience the life you’ve had all these years.”

Su Xue could find no answer. She opened her mouth and finally managed, “You just resent me.”

“If I truly resented you,” Su Wan said evenly, “I wouldn’t have stopped at saying this today.”

Su Xue’s face changed color. She abandoned her meal and ran back to the west room. Furious, Madam Wang started after her, but Su Dashan stopped her. “Let her go.”

No one said much more through the rest of the meal.

Late that night, Su Dashan and Madam Wang were still awake in the east room. “What Wan said today weighed on me,” Madam Wang murmured. “We really have been unfair to her.”

Su Dashan took a draw on his pipe. “She was sensible, so we kept giving her more to carry. But a sensible child shouldn’t always be the one who loses out.”

Madam Wang wiped the corner of her eye. “The betrothal gifts…”

“Let Wan take everything the Huos give her.”

Madam Wang stared. “Everything?”

“Everything.” His voice was firm. “We’ll add two taels from the family and make it ten. Ten for completeness and good fortune. Prepare a good trousseau too, so the Huos won’t look down on her.”

Madam Wang gritted her teeth and nodded. “All right. That’s what we’ll do.”

“And Xue needs discipline. If her temper isn’t corrected, she’ll suffer for it one day.”

Madam Wang sighed. “I know. I’ve spoiled her too much.”

Outside, wind crossed the courtyard, rustling the herbs on the bamboo trays. Su Wan sat by the window, her needle passing through the red cloth. Though her parents spoke quietly, her ability let her hear every word.

Two taels was no small sum for the Su family. She lowered her eyes, calm and clearheaded. She would accept the trousseau. It was not greed; it was security earned through seven years of hard work.

On the bed, Su Xue glanced at her sister embroidering. Her eyes settled on the wedding garment, and, remembering her humiliation at supper, a flicker passed through them.