Chapter 9: A Plan Backfires

By the time Su Wan finished cleaning the kitchen, darkness had fallen. The courtyard was quiet except for an occasional grunt from the pigsty. She washed her hands and returned to the west room.

No lamp was lit. Only a little moonlight came through the window, and Su Xue lay on the bed with her back to the door. Su Wan ignored her. She put away her sewing basket and felt the chest to make sure it had not been opened. Satisfied, she removed her outer clothes and was about to get into bed when Su Xue sat up.

“Su Wan.” Her voice was sharp.

Su Wan looked at her. “What is it?”

Su Xue stared back, her eyes full of resentment. “Father and Mother won’t agree to my marriage with the Xus. You must be pleased.”

Su Wan glanced at her without answering. She folded her outer garment and laid it on the wooden chest beside the bed.

Being ignored only made Su Xue angrier. “Don’t celebrate too soon. I’m going to marry into the Xu family. Nobody can stop me.”

Su Wan affected a puzzled look. “What does your marriage to the Xus have to do with me?”

Su Xue stared. Su Wan sat on the edge of the bed, let down her hair, and began combing it with a wooden comb.

“Why would I be pleased? I’m your sister, not your mother. It isn’t my concern.”

The answer frustrated Su Xue. She had expected Su Wan to argue, scold, or say something unpleasant, giving her an excuse to start a fight. But her sister would not take the bait.

After holding it in for some time, she said, “Stop pretending. You can’t bear to see me make a good marriage.”

Su Wan closed her eyes. “Whether the Xus are a good family is for you to decide. If you’re convinced Xu Xiuzhi has a future, go after him. When you wanted a new handkerchief, Mother bought it. When you didn’t want to work in the fields, she never really forced you. Have you ever failed to get what you wanted in the end?”

Su Xue’s eyes shifted as she thought about it. That was true. All her life, whenever she cried and made a scene, her parents had eventually given in. This time would be no different. If she stood firm, they would agree.

“Then tell them tomorrow: if they won’t consent to the Xu match, I’ll refuse to eat.”

Su Wan put away her comb and lay down with her back to her sister. Su Xue waited, but no answer came. Angry, she slapped the bedframe. “Did you hear me?”

Su Wan still said nothing. Su Xue’s chest tightened with anger, but she dared not shout for fear of bringing their parents in. She lay down again, gritting her teeth. When the Xus came to propose, when she married Xiuzhi and he passed his examinations, she would make Su Wan regret treating her this way.

The next morning, Madam Wang rose early as usual to make breakfast. Steam filled the kitchen. Rice porridge bubbled in the pot, with several coarse-flour flatbreads steaming above it. They had been reluctant to eat much of the meat the Huos brought the day before, so she sliced off only a little and stir-fried it with a small bowl of wild greens.

Su Dashan and Su Qing had fieldwork to do and ate quickly. Madam Li and Su Wan sat to one side, eating quietly. After several glances toward the west room, Madam Wang frowned. “Where’s Xue? It’s so late. Why isn’t she up?”

No one answered. Madam Wang looked at Su Wan. “You sleep in the same room. Didn’t she tell you anything?”

Su Wan swallowed her porridge. “She said that if you and Father won’t agree to the Xu match, she won’t get up for meals.”

The room went still. Su Qing stared, Madam Li’s chopsticks paused in midair, and Su Dashan’s face darkened. Madam Wang froze, then anger surged through her. She struck the wooden ladle against the side of the pot with a loud crack.

“She’s gone too far!”

She turned toward the west room, stopped halfway, and paced twice in fury. “A hunger strike? Let her starve, then! I must have owed her a debt in my last life, raising her only to have her turn against me!”

There was no sound from the west room. Su Xue had clearly heard, but refused to come out. The more Madam Wang thought about it, the angrier she became.

“For Xu Xiuzhi’s sake, she doesn’t even want her parents anymore. Does she know what Madam Qian is like? Does she know how the Xus live? Before we’ve done anything, she’s already learned to threaten the family with her own health. What nerve! If she’s so determined, let her refuse every last bite!”

Su Dashan set down his bowl. “Let her be.”

Madam Wang glared at him. “Let her be? What if she makes herself ill from hunger?”

He looked at her. The words on her lips caught in her throat. Angry and distressed, she wiped her eyes, returned to the kitchen, and ladled out the food. For all her harsh words, she left a bowl of porridge and half a flatbread warming by the pot. Su Wan saw and pretended not to.

After breakfast, Su Dashan left with his hoe over his shoulder. Su Qing followed, and Madam Li went to help in the fields. Before leaving, Madam Wang glared toward the west room and deliberately raised her voice. “There’s no food left in the pot for her! If she wants to go hungry, let her!”

Despite the stern words, she fitted the lid tightly over the pot. Su Wan kept her head down as though she had noticed nothing. After her mother left, she lifted the lid…

In the west room, Su Xue was still lying in bed. She had been hungry for some time. She had skipped supper in a fit of anger, and the smell of porridge and meat that morning had made her stomach rumble repeatedly. But she was on a hunger strike; she could not come out too soon. She had to make her parents anxious, make them see she was serious.

She lay there a while longer. Only after Su Wan returned and she was sure their parents had gone did she sit up. She glanced at her sister, who was diligently embroidering the wedding quilt, curled her lip, and went to the kitchen.

Mother loved her best, she thought. However fiercely she scolded, she would surely leave her something to eat. Su Xue would eat, then lie down and pretend to be ill. When Mother came home and saw how listless she was, she would feel sorry for her and agree to the Xu match. The thought pleased her more and more.

She entered the kitchen and lifted the lid. Her smug expression froze. The pot was empty. Disbelieving, she searched the steamer beside it, but that was empty too. Had Mother really left her nothing?

Her face darkened. She hurried out, furious. “Su Wan!”

Su Wan sat beneath the window without looking up. “What?”

“Where’s the food?”

Her needle kept moving. “Didn’t we finish breakfast?”

“How could Mother not have saved me any?”

Su Wan finally looked up. “You’ll have to ask her.”

Su Xue had no answer. “Why didn’t you save me some? And you call yourself my sister.”

Su Wan secured the end of her thread. “Aren’t you refusing to eat?”

Su Xue opened her mouth.

“If you’re using a hunger strike to force our parents’ hand, then you have to actually go without food. What kind of hunger strike is it if you sneak into the kitchen halfway through?”

The words struck exactly where they hurt. Su Xue flushed, stamped her foot, and snapped, “Just you wait!” She returned to the bed in a huff.

The corners of Su Wan’s lips lifted briefly before she bent over her sewing again. The sun climbed higher. Herbs dried on bamboo trays in the courtyard, their leaves rustling in the breeze.

Su Wan stayed in the room all morning, working beneath the window. More than half the quilt’s edge was finished; a few more days would see it done. Su Xue tossed and turned, her stomach rumbling fiercely. At first she held out, but eventually hunger drove her to rise and search the room. Su Wan had put away her pastries and money securely, and Su Xue found nothing. The cupboard held only sewing supplies and old clothes. More irritated than ever, she lay down again.

At noon, Su Wan went to the kitchen and cooked herself a bowl of dough-drop soup. As the water boiled, the smell of flour drifted out. Su Xue could no longer stay in bed. She appeared at the kitchen door and saw Su Wan add two drops of oil and a few wild greens to her bowl. She swallowed.

“Why didn’t you call me when you made food?”

Su Wan held her bowl and glanced at her. “Aren’t you on a hunger strike?”

That again. Su Xue’s face darkened. “I’m not anymore.”

Su Wan nodded. “Then make your own.” She carried her bowl into the main room.

Su Xue looked at the empty pot, almost in tears with anger. How was she supposed to make dough-drop soup? Su Wan had always done the cooking. Only recently had Su Xue begun taking her turn, and she could burn a pot of pig feed, let alone make a meal for herself. In the end she drank half a ladle of cold water and went back to her room in a huff.

Madam Wang returned first that afternoon. As soon as she entered, she looked toward the west room. There was no sound inside. She said nothing, but kept thinking about the food she had left that morning. When she went into the kitchen to prepare supper, the first thing she did was lift the pot lid.

The pot was clean and empty. Madam Wang breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at the west room, her expression softening. Good. However much Xue protested, she could not truly go hungry.

Su Wan, sitting beneath the window, saw her mother’s expression clearly but said nothing. Madam Wang replaced the lid and set about making supper.

That night, the Su courtyard gradually fell quiet. The west room was pitch-dark. Su Xue tossed and turned, making the wooden bed creak. She had not eaten a proper meal since the previous evening, and by now her stomach was growling.

She turned toward Su Wan. Seeing that her sister appeared asleep, she quietly sat up. Su Wan kept her eyes closed, but listened. Su Xue stepped down softly, found her shoes in the dark, and eased the door open before heading to the kitchen.

Su Wan did not open her eyes. She knew exactly what her sister was doing. For Su Xue to hold out this long after a day without food was already an achievement.

In the kitchen, Su Xue felt her way to the stove and searched the rice jar and flour sack. Both were there, but she did not know how to cook them. Porridge would take too long anyway. Then she remembered there should be eggs in the crock.

She found two and brightened. She ladled half a scoop of water into the pot, put the eggs in, and crouched to light the fire. But she had scarcely ever tended a stove. She packed in too much firewood; the moment a small flame caught, smoke billowed out and brought tears to her eyes.

Coughing, she covered her mouth to muffle the sound and, flustered, pushed two more sticks into the firebox. That made matters worse. Smoke rushed into the kitchen and seeped through the crack around the door.

Su Wan smelled it from the bedroom. She sat up and called loudly enough to be heard, “Fire!”

The cry woke the whole family. Su Dashan sat bolt upright in the east room. Madam Wang scrambled out after him, frightened, not even stopping to put on her shoes properly. “Where? Where’s the fire?”

Su Qing and Madam Li rushed out too. Madam Li had thrown a garment over her shoulders, and her hair was still loose. The smell of smoke grew stronger in the courtyard. Su Dashan grabbed a bucket and ran to the well; Su Qing hurried to draw water. Father and son rushed into the kitchen one after the other, just as Su Xue emerged looking guilty.

Madam Wang seized her. “What were you doing in there?”

Su Xue went pale but insisted, “Nothing.”

Madam Wang’s eyes widened. “How could there be so much smoke if you did nothing?”

Su Xue hid her hands behind her back. “I… I don’t know. I came in to look.”

Madam Li covered her nose and peered into the kitchen. “Mother, the fire isn’t out yet!”

Su Dashan and Su Qing hurried inside, pulled the wood from the firebox, and poured water over it. The fire had not spread, but the kitchen was full of smoke, and the water in the pot had barely warmed.

Madam Wang needed no further explanation. She reached for Su Xue’s arm. “Show me your hands!”

Su Xue backed away. “Mother, what are you doing?”

“I said show me!” Madam Wang pulled hard, bringing her daughter’s hands out from behind her back. Two eggs were still clutched in them.

The courtyard fell silent. Su Wan stood in the west-room doorway with an outer garment over her shoulders, watching quietly. Madam Wang stared at the eggs, her face black with anger.

“Su Xue, weren’t you on a hunger strike? Weren’t you so determined? What are you doing with eggs?”

Su Xue flushed. She had been hungry all day and already felt aggrieved; now the whole family had caught her outside the kitchen, and she was mortified. She flung off her mother’s hand. “Do you really want me to starve to death?”

Madam Wang laughed in anger. “I want you to starve? Who said she wouldn’t eat? Who used a hunger strike to threaten this family? If you’re so determined, don’t sneak out to cook eggs!”

“You forced me!” Su Xue’s voice rose to a shriek. “If you agreed to my marriage, would I be refusing food? Mother, all you see now is Su Wan. You don’t care about me at all!”

Madam Wang’s chest tightened. “How dare you say that? Look at yourself! For Xu Xiuzhi, you’re fighting the whole family. Would your own parents ever want to harm you?”

“If you won’t let me marry him, you are harming me! I’m your own daughter. Why can’t you bear to see me happy?”

Madam Wang raised her hand to strike. Su Xue stood with her neck stiff. “Go on! Beat me to death! None of you wants me to marry Xiuzhi. What’s the point of living?”

“You!” Madam Wang’s hand trembled, but she could not bring it down.

Su Dashan emerged from the kitchen, his face grim. “Enough!” His voice was not loud, but it silenced the courtyard. Su Xue stopped crying for a moment.

He looked at her, then at his wife. “Making this much noise in the middle of the night—what will the neighbors think if they hear?”

Madam Wang’s eyes reddened. “Look at what she’s done!”

“All of you, back inside,” Su Dashan said more sternly. “Whatever it is, we’ll discuss it tomorrow.”

Madam Wang gritted her teeth and snatched the eggs from Su Xue’s hands. “You still want eggs? Dream on!” She took them back into the kitchen and returned them to the crock.

Su Xue stood trembling with anger. Su Wan glanced at her and went back to their room. Su Xue followed, shut the door, and demanded in a low voice, “Was it you who shouted?”

Su Wan sat on the edge of the bed. “Smoke was coming into the room. Was I supposed to wait until the house really caught fire?”

Su Xue could not answer. She knew Su Wan had done it deliberately, but could find no way to argue. In the end, she climbed into bed and cried beneath the covers. Su Wan lay down again and closed her eyes. Let her cry. This was only the beginning.

The next morning, Su Xue did get up early. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she wore a cold expression, banging things about as she worked. Madam Wang ignored her and cooked breakfast with an equally stern face.

Porridge boiled in the pot and flatbreads steamed above it. When Madam Wang served the porridge, she still left a bowl for Su Xue, though her tone was curt. “Eat it or don’t.”

Su Xue was desperately hungry. This time she did not dare keep up the act; she sat down and ate. Halfway through the meal, a woman’s voice called from outside the courtyard. “Sister Wang, are you home?”

“I’m here!” Madam Wang wiped her hands and hurried out. A woman in a dark jacket stood at the gate, her hair glossy and neatly combed, a smile spread across her face. Madam Wang recognized Matchmaker Sun from Xu Family Village. Her reputation was not as good as Matchmaker Wang’s.

Why was she here? Remembering what Su Xue had said, Madam Wang’s heart skipped, though she kept it from her face. “Sister Sun, what brings you here today?”

Matchmaker Sun came in with an eager smile. “Sister Wang, congratulations!”

Madam Wang pretended not to understand. “What for?”

The matchmaker patted the handkerchief in her hand. “I’ve come to arrange a match for your second daughter.”

In the kitchen, Su Dashan put down his bowl. Su Qing and Madam Li exchanged a glance. Su Xue had been eating porridge, but her eyes lit up at the words. She hurriedly set down her bowl and listened.

Su Wan glanced at her and continued eating. Su Xue edged closer and whispered, “Did you hear? The Xus have come to propose!” Her face shone with triumph. “I knew Xiuzhi wouldn’t let me down.”

Su Wan gave a noncommittal hum. When Su Xue noticed her father, brother, and sister-in-law looking at her, she promptly sat straight and listened in silence.

In the main room, Madam Wang sat down, pretending ignorance. “Which family?”

“Who else? Scholar Xu’s family in Xu Family Village. Everyone for miles around knows him. He earned his scholar’s degree young, and even the county magistrate praised his talent and his writing. It’s only a matter of time before he passes the provincial examination.”

Madam Wang did not respond. Seeing her lack of enthusiasm, Matchmaker Sun continued her praise. “Your second daughter is pretty and clever. Scholar Xu took a liking to her at first sight. Scholars have high standards; not just any girl could catch his eye.”

Su Xue’s cheeks grew hot, and sweetness filled her heart. She knew Xiuzhi must like her.

Madam Wang asked, “If the Xus have come to propose, they should have some terms in mind. How much have they prepared in betrothal gifts?”

The matchmaker’s smile faded a little. “You know the Xus’ circumstances, Sister Wang. Xiuzhi’s studies come first, and the family spends its money on them. But they’re sincere. They’re offering a hundred copper coins.”

The mood changed inside and out. Madam Wang raised her voice. “What? Only a hundred copper coins?”

In the kitchen, Su Xue’s smile froze. A hundred coins? Su Wan looked up at her; her sister’s expression had already soured.

In the main room, Matchmaker Sun hurried to smooth things over. “Don’t be upset. The gifts may be modest, but the Xus offer a future. When Scholar Xu passes his examinations, your second daughter will be an official’s wife. By then, not just a hundred copper coins but even a hundred taels will be nothing.”

Madam Wang sneered. “He has to pass first. If my daughter marries him now, will his prospects put food on her table?”

The matchmaker’s smile faltered. “You can’t put it like that. A scholar’s family has refinement and honor. You can’t count every little expense the way farming families do.”

Madam Wang’s face darkened further. “We are a farming family. We count rice, flour, oil, and salt because that’s how we live. The Xus want to marry my daughter for a hundred coins, and you have the nerve to say so?”

In the kitchen, Su Xue’s face flushed, then paled. She wanted to rush out and speak for Xu Xiuzhi, but the hundred-coin offer left a knot in her chest.

The Huos had given Su Wan eight taels of silver, two bolts of cloth, a silver hairpin, meat, chickens, and pastries. Yet the Xus offered her only a hundred copper coins? What could a hundred coins buy?