The morning after breakfast, Shen Zhuxi set out.

Li Wu carried a crock of fermented tofu under his left arm and held a wooden bucket in his right hand, walking easily at her side.

“What gift did you prepare for the mother pig?” Shen Zhuxi asked curiously.

Li Wu had busied himself in the kitchen the evening before and hadn’t let her watch. She still had no idea what was inside the bucket.

She ventured a guess: “Is it leftover ingredients?”

“No,” Li Wu said without hesitation.

Shen Zhuxi was still uneasy. “Don’t use our leftovers as a gift — that would be terribly rude.”

“It’s a gift for a pig. What does propriety have to do with it?” Li Wu said, unconcerned.

“Even so, it will pass through Sister Zhou’s hands first. If—”

“Relax.” Li Wu cut off her fussing with the air of someone stating an undeniable fact. “This is the gift a pig would want most.”

The gift a pig would want most? What could that possibly be?

Shen Zhuxi couldn’t help voicing the question aloud. Li Wu only said, “You’ll see when we get there.”

When the two of them reached the Zhou house, Shen Zhuxi stepped forward and rapped lightly on the bamboo fence gate.

“That soft knocking — who’s going to hear you? There’s no gatekeeper here—” Li Wu raised his voice and bellowed: “Auntie Zhou!”

Shen Zhuxi jumped in surprise. She was just about to scold him for being so impolite when Sister Zhou’s cheerful voice rang out from inside.

“Coming!”

Shen Zhuxi silently swallowed the reprimand she’d been about to give.

The bamboo fence gate was quickly opened from inside. Sister Zhou, wearing the same plain cloth clothes as the day before, looked up and broke into a delighted smile the moment she saw Shen Zhuxi outside. She stretched out both hands, wiped them on her waist, and pushed the gate open as wide as it would go.

“Both of you, come in and sit down!”

After Shen Zhuxi and Li Wu entered the Zhou yard, Li Wu looked at Sister Zhou and asked:

“Is anyone else home?”

“Just me,” Sister Zhou said. “Those two didn’t come back yesterday — it’s fine.”

Shen Zhuxi didn’t understand the exchange between them, but Li Wu had already walked straight toward the Zhou kitchen. “Shen Zhuxi has brought you a crock of fermented tofu,” he said. “Rose-flavored. It’s from the Lanxi Fermented Tofu Workshop.”

“The Lanxi Workshop? No, no — that place is famous for being expensive. You keep it for yourselves!” Sister Zhou panicked the moment she heard the name. She shook her head repeatedly and reached out to intercept him.

“It cost nothing. We have another crock at home — the extra was sold off.” Li Wu sidestepped Sister Zhou, bent down, and ducked into the low-ceilinged kitchen. “I’ve left it next to your pickling crocks.”

“Well… truly, thank you, Brother Li, and thank you, Madam Li.” Sister Zhou smiled, a little abashed. “I have nothing much to offer in return. My sow just had her litter — perhaps you’d like to take one of the piglets…”

“No, no, no. We’re not raising pigs.” Shen Zhuxi beat Li Wu to it, shaking her head like a rattle.

“A pig is out of the question, but I do have a favor to ask,” Li Wu said.

“Whatever it is, Brother Li, just say the word — if it’s within Sister Zhou’s power, I won’t refuse!”

“It’s nothing major.” Li Wu glanced at Shen Zhuxi. “I’m often away from home. Help me keep an eye on her.”

Shen Zhuxi felt a blush creep up her face. She had two perfectly good hands and feet — she could look after herself perfectly well. Yet Li Wu was treating her like a child.

Her ability to manage on her own was admittedly lacking, but she could learn!

Sister Zhou burst out laughing at this. “Is that all? We’re neighbors — even without you asking, I’d have done it anyway!”

“And there’s this—” Li Wu lifted the wooden bucket. “A gift from Shen Zhuxi for your mother pig.”

Sister Zhou stared blankly, then looked over at Shen Zhuxi in puzzlement. “For the pig?”

“She said your pig just gave birth, so there should be a congratulatory gift,” Li Wu said.

Shen Zhuxi nodded in agreement. Could she go see the piglets now?

“Madam Li truly has the heart of a bodhisattva.” Sister Zhou pressed her lips together in a smile. She took the bucket from Li Wu’s hands and lifted the lid. Shen Zhuxi looked eagerly inside.

A familiar, peculiar smell immediately hit her — the bucket was filled to the brim with a thick, pale lotus-white liquid, and floating on top of it was none other than her lotus root stuffed with honey.

Shen Zhuxi was stunned. She was horrified. She was mortified — Li Wu had actually mixed together all their leftover soup and food scraps and presented it as a gift?

Was this goodwill or an act of war?

She was scrambling frantically for words to explain when Sister Zhou put the lid back on and said cheerfully, “What a fine gift. It’s just the thing to help the mother pig get her strength back.”

Shen Zhuxi was thoroughly baffled. She waited until Sister Zhou was walking ahead of them, then leaned toward Li Wu and asked quietly, “This is the gift a pig wants most?”

“What else?” Li Wu gave her a sidelong glance. “Did you think pigs are like you, all decked out in gold and silver? What they love most is slop.”

“…Pigs like eating things like that?”

“Pigs generally don’t get to eat anything this fine,” Li Wu said. “If I told you what they normally eat, I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to stomach pork anymore.”

Shen Zhuxi decided to drop the matter. Some things were better left not fully understood.

When they reached the pigpen in the backyard, Sister Zhou poured the contents of the bucket into the feed trough right before their eyes. The mother pig had already recovered her energy, and the moment she saw food flowing into the trough she trotted right over, buried her wide head in it, and began eating with great gusto.

The way she wolfed everything down reminded Shen Zhuxi of Li Kun eating.

Watching the sow eat with such contentment, the last trace of Shen Zhuxi’s misgivings dissolved completely. So the gift a pig truly wanted most really was slop!

Shen Zhuxi made up her mind then and there — from now on, whenever there was food left over at home, she would bring it here for Sister Zhou to feed the pigs. After all, these piglets were ones she herself had watched come into the world.

The mother pig was busy eating, and the piglets had no idle time either. Following the scent of their mother, they crowded beneath her, tiny snouts nudging at her belly, jostling for access to the limited teats. The bigger ones shoved aside the smaller ones; the smaller ones climbed over the bigger ones. It was a constant shuffle — one batch backing off, another surging forward — twenty piglets swapping and competing for their nursing spots in a lively tangle.

Shen Zhuxi was watching, utterly transfixed, when Li Wu said, “I’m heading out. I’ll try to be back by midday. If I’m not, go ahead and eat without me.”

She snapped out of her daze and responded with a sound of agreement.

Shen Zhuxi had intended to keep watching the pigs feed, but when she saw Sister Zhou walking Li Wu to the gate, she felt that as Li Wu’s wife, she ought to see him off as well. She quickly followed, saying, “I’ll walk you out.”

Sister Zhou, noticing this, smiled. “Then I’ll leave the farewells to you and wait here for you to come back.”

Shen Zhuxi walked Li Wu to the courtyard gate, where he said, “Go on back. The pigs will be done eating soon.”

Embarrassed at having her inattention noticed, she tried to cover herself by saying breezily, “There’s no rush. I’ll see you to the gate.”

“Never mind that. Your eyes were practically bulging out of your head watching those pigs. With me, you look like you’d rather keep your eyes glued shut. How does that work?”

Li Wu had suddenly turned oddly sour and sarcastic about it, and Shen Zhuxi, genuinely puzzled, said:

“When have I ever wanted to keep my eyes glued shut?”

“When I was bathing in the courtyard,” Li Wu said. “In your eyes, apparently, even a pig is better-looking than me.”

“That — that’s because you weren’t wearing any clothes!” Shen Zhuxi’s face went hot in an instant.

“The pig isn’t wearing any clothes either, and you were staring at it with unblinking eyes.”

“How can you compare the two?!”

“So, next time, will you keep your eyes shut around me again?”

“If you put on some clothes, I won’t need to…”

“When it comes down to it, you still think the pig looks better than me.” Li Wu’s tone was cool and dry.

Shen Zhuxi couldn’t stand his odd sarcasm. She genuinely could not understand how a grown man could possibly insist on comparing himself to a pig.

She threw up her hands. “Fine, next time I won’t look away. Are you satisfied?”

“Whether I’m satisfied depends on how you behave next time.”

Li Wu pushed open the bamboo gate and walked out. Shen Zhuxi was just about to remind him to come home early to practice his characters when he suddenly reached out and gave her head a light pat.

“I’m off. Stay here and enjoy yourself. Whatever happens, I’ve got your back.”

Before Shen Zhuxi could even react, Li Wu’s figure had already retreated into the distance.

She touched the top of her head, feeling oddly strange about it: it had been so many years since anyone had patted her head like that.

Shen Zhuxi made her way back to the pigpen in the backyard, where Sister Zhou was poking at the pigs with a small twig and murmuring to them in a cheerful, broken rhythm:

“Eat up, eat up, grow nice and fat. The family’s livelihood for the second half of the year is depending on you.”

The sound of Shen Zhuxi’s footsteps startled Sister Zhou, who turned and smiled at her. “Li Wu’s gone?”

“He’s gone.” Shen Zhuxi walked over and stood beside her, her curious gaze falling again on the mother pig and her piglets. “How long before the piglets grow up?”

“The more they eat, the faster they’ll grow.” Sister Zhou smiled. “I’m planning to keep three of them and no more — the house can’t support any more than that. The rest I’ll take to the market to sell as piglets. With the money from that, I’ll buy some chickens and ducks to raise in the yard. When they’ve bred, I’ll sell those offspring too and save a little more, and eventually there’ll be enough to buy an ox. An ox can do so many things — and it would free up my hands to take on other work.”

Shen Zhuxi listened, fascinated. Sister Zhou’s vision for a better future made her feel hopeful too.

“Will you buy a young calf?”

“A grown one,” Sister Zhou said. “The fields need hands, and there’s no time to wait for a calf to grow up. Once we have an ox someday, come visit — you can even ride it if you like.”

Ride an ox — she could pass on that. Oxen didn’t bathe.

Shen Zhuxi kept that thought firmly to herself. She smiled and said aloud, “An ox eats grass, doesn’t it? I’ll bring grass when I come to see it!”

“Oxen eat all sorts of things — grass, leaves, whatever’s on hand. This year has already passed, but come next year, I’ll take you up the mountain to dig bamboo shoots. It’ll be a proper lesson in country life.”

“Wonderful!” Shen Zhuxi said happily. “I’ll pay close attention and learn!”

Sister Zhou was just about to reply when a young man’s voice suddenly came from the front yard:

“Mother! Mother! I brought you a packet of braised anise beans — where are you?”

Sister Zhou’s expression changed in an instant. Before Shen Zhuxi had a moment to react, she was pushed into the pigpen.

“Mother, what are you doing in here?” The man’s voice rang out not far away.

Shen Zhuxi could only press against the mud wall and listen to his easy, careless voice. Sister Zhou had her back to Shen Zhuxi and said to the man outside, “I’m feeding the pigs. What are you back for?”

Her voice was cold and hard, carrying a edge of wariness — entirely unlike the way she had spoken to Shen Zhuxi.

“I brought you a packet of braised anise beans. Come out and have some — it’s suffocating in here.” The man’s voice drew closer. Shen Zhuxi’s heart gave a nervous lurch, and she was just about to retreat further into the pigpen when Sister Zhou stepped forward and walked out toward him first.

“Where are the anise beans?”

“In the main room. Come out, Mother — I have something to say.”

“The moment I see your face I know nothing good is coming.”

“How can you say that? Your son comes home to see you, and that’s all you have to say?… Besides, I’ve come to share some happy news with Mother…”

The two of them moved away, their voices fading — then appearing again near the window behind the main hall.

The stench of the pigpen urged Shen Zhuxi out of it, but her curiosity kept her ears perked and alert beyond her control.

Though she stood some distance from the main hall window, the conversation inside reached her ears with perfect clarity.

“…Brother Yuan promised to bring me in on a money-making venture, but I can’t show up empty-handed, can I? Even the smallest business needs some starting capital. Mother, lend me fifty taels of silver first — once I’ve earned, I’ll pay it back double!”

“Fifty taels? Do you think silver falls from the sky?” Sister Zhou’s fury crested, her raised voice cutting clearly through the thin paper window. “The last time you stole the last of the household money, I barely managed to piece things together and pay off the debts. And now you actually have the face to come back here asking for money?”

“Mother! That was a completely different situation!” The man said, displeased. “I’m talking about making money — a legitimate business. You’re always telling me to do something proper with myself, but doesn’t proper work need money too?”

“If you actually helped me till the few acres of land we have, that would be the most proper thing you could do!”

“I’m not farming!” The man said impatiently. “What kind of money does farming make? Give me fifty taels, and when I make it big, won’t you get to live well right along with me?”

“I don’t need to live well!” Sister Zhou’s voice was trembling with anger. “If you don’t drive me to an early grave, that would already be the heavens showing me mercy!”

“…You’re really not going to give it?” The man’s voice turned cold.

“I have nothing! You could kill me and there’d be nothing to find!”

“Father always had money for you when he asked, and Big Brother always had it when he asked. Now it’s my turn and there’s nothing?” The man laughed coldly. “You’d better not make me regret giving you a chance to cooperate.”

“What are you going to do? Are you going to kill your own mother?”

“Kill you? I wouldn’t dare. Mother, you certainly know how to make a joke.” The man said. “I remember you still have a pair of gold earrings. Why don’t you hand those over?”

“Don’t even dream of it! Those are my dowry — my last dowry jewelry! Stand right there! Don’t you dare touch my dowry — Zhou Zhuang — Zhou Zhuang!”

A loud crash rang out inside the room, and furniture seemed to have toppled. The man shouted angrily, “Let go! I’m only holding back because you’re my mother. While I still have patience left, move aside!”

“I will never let you touch my dowry, no matter what! Keep this up and I’ll tell your father!”

“Father won’t bother himself with managing me. Word is a famous courtesan from the capital has arrived at the pleasure house in the western district — I’d say before long, he’ll be coming to you for money too…”

“Zhou Zhuang! Is that any way to talk?!”

“Mother, why are you getting so worked up? Dowry jewelry is just an object — it’s not alive. When I’ve made my fortune, I’ll buy you ten, a hundred of them…”

The sounds of struggle inside grew increasingly violent. Shen Zhuxi stood outside, frantic and helpless, terrified that Sister Zhou would come off the worse for it.

But he was a grown man — and from the looks of things, a man of questionable character at that. Sister Zhou hadn’t wanted her to be seen by him, surely to keep her from getting caught up in trouble.

But Sister Zhou…

Shen Zhuxi thought of the small moments from the past two days — Sister Zhou’s unassuming smile, that crisp, sweet handful of fresh jujubes — and then the words that settled the matter, the ones Li Wu had left behind before he walked out the door.

“Whatever happens, I’ve got your back.”

Shen Zhuxi clenched her teeth and broke into a run toward the front yard.

She burst through the door of the main hall just in time to catch Sister Zhou, who had been shoved.

Shen Zhuxi’s eyes blazed. A furious reprimand tore out of her:

“How dare you!”