An uninvited visit

The moment he finished speaking, the Zhao family and the villagers who had followed him were all struck dumb.

"He was only gone for a little over three months, and he came back a martial master?" The neighbors could hardly believe it.

"Really?" Zhao Youlin and Yang Shi were both shocked and delighted. Zhao Youlin, especially, had dreamed more than once of the moment his youngest son became a martial master. He had never imagined it would come true!

Tian Cuihua was the first to react, hurrying over to help carry the chickens and white flour. Her face flushed red with excitement.

"Uncle Ding, thanks for the effort." Zhao Feng took out a dozen or so copper coins for Old Ding and pressed a handful of fried dough snacks into his hands as well. Old Ding beamed.

"Feng, just call me whenever you need to head back." He left in high spirits.

By now, quite a few neighbors and villagers had gathered outside the house, murmuring among themselves.

"Who would have thought Zhao Feng would really become a martial master?"

"And he even found a paid post in the city. Are we dreaming?"

"If he can become a martial master, so can I. I'm going to learn martial arts next month too."

Everyone clustered outside Zhao Youlin's gate, talking and reluctant to leave even after a long while.

Inside, however, Zhao Youlin's family had already shut the gate and begun bustling about.

"Feng, you've gotten so thin from going hungry. Learning martial arts must have been so hard." His mother, Yang Shi, stroked Zhao Feng's face with aching tenderness.

"That's right, Feng. You've suffered." Zhao Youlin nodded repeatedly beside her.

Zhao Feng felt rather awkward. He ate meat every day and was as strong as an ox. His parents really did dote too much on their youngest son. Even looking like this, they still thought he had lost weight.

It was his family who had grown thinner, their faces taking on that sickly, underfed hue again. His mother and sister-in-law in particular.

No matter how sparingly they ate the roe deer meat, the family had finished it over those three months. Fortunately, with that nourishment during this time, his father's injured leg had fully recovered.

"Mother, I haven't lost weight. You and Sister-in-law should put these things away. How about making dumplings? Bao'er and Zihuai are starving." Zhao Feng smiled.

"I want dumplings!" Zhao Bao'er and Zhao Zihuai jumped three feet into the air.

"This is all white flour." Yang Shi carefully held the fine flour in her hands. Ordinarily, they could go years without bringing themselves to eat any.

At her insistence, Zhao Feng had no choice but to agree to let her mix the white flour with coarse-grain flour for the dumpling dough. That would save a little white flour.

"Sister-in-law, look what this is." He took out a hairpin-the very one from her dowry that had been pawned.

"I said I'd get it back for you, and I meant it."

Tian Cuihua took it, beside herself with joy, her eyes brimming with happy tears. Recovering her dowry piece finally set things right. According to local custom, pawning even the dowry was terribly unlucky, a sure sign that a household was headed for ruin. But now that it had been redeemed, perhaps their luck had turned.

Yang Shi and Tian Cuihua set about cutting off the thickest fat to render into lard. They chopped some pork belly with wild greens for dumpling filling, salted the rest of the meat, and saved the bones for soup. They could not bear to slaughter the two chickens, keeping them instead for chicks and eggs. Even after the meat ran out, as long as there were eggs, the old and young in the family could build up their health. They had been weak and sallow for years and needed steady nourishment.

As Yang Shi and Tian Cuihua worked, they could not help secretly wiping away tears. Remembering how Zhao Feng-or, more precisely, the original owner of his body-had sold off everything in the house worth even a little money, livestock included, they had never dreamed he would become so sensible one day.

Before long, cooking smoke rose from Zhao Youlin's house, and the aroma of meat drifted beyond the gate, drawing quite a few villagers over to peer inside.

His mother and sister-in-law bustled around the kitchen while the two little boys bounced excitedly in the courtyard and rolled about on the ground.

Zhao Feng sat down with his father for a chat.

"Feng, have you really become a martial master?" Zhao Youlin still could not quite believe it and asked in a low voice.

"Father, don't worry. Of course it's true." Zhao Feng stood up and took a stance, throwing out several moves that stirred the air with a tiger's fierce force.

Zhao Youlin nodded repeatedly. He had once seen a martial master demonstrate his skills, and his son's display had much the same presence.

"I earned the money to pay the later tuition fees myself."

"You can earn this much once you become a martial master?" Zhao Youlin took a puff from his tobacco pipe, finding it incredible. He had always thought learning martial arts would keep a person fed; getting white-flour steamed buns at every meal would already be the height of good fortune.

"But then why does your eldest uncle's family still need to sell their ox?" he asked in puzzlement.

"Eldest Uncle's family sold their ox?"

"Yes. Your eldest uncle said Zhao Sheng is a martial master now too. They want to keep supporting his martial training, so they need to sell the ox to pay his tuition fees."

Zhao Feng recalled running into Zhao Sheng at the Drunken Moon Tower. His lips moved, but in the end, he did not reveal the truth.

"Boys, don't eat so many fried dough snacks! You won't have room for dumplings!"

"Stop jumping around in here! You'll get scalded!" His mother's and sister-in-law's scolding voices came from the kitchen. With the delicious smells wafting out and fresh buds sprouting on the great willow outside, the breath of early spring washed over him. Zhao Feng felt an inexplicable peace settle in his heart.

The steaming dumplings were brought out, and Zhao Bao'er and Zhao Zihuai grabbed them and gobbled them down without caring how hot they were.

"They're so good!" the two little boys cried, huffing and puffing around the scalding mouthfuls they refused to spit out.

They ate until their little bellies were round as balls. Yang Shi and Tian Cuihua ate until their lips glistened with grease too. They were constantly working and undernourished; they needed a good, nourishing meal as well.

After the meal, Zhao Feng helped his father chop firewood, did a few chores, and chatted with his family. Then shouting came from outside.

"Zhao Feng, open the gate!" A shrill voice rang out. It was Zhang the Widow's unmistakable voice.

After Yang Shi opened the gate, Wang Jinlian strode in with her nose in the air, her face once again plastered with a thick layer of makeup.

"What are you doing here?" Zhao Feng asked coldly. Looking past her, he spotted Zhang the Widow peeking around the gate.

"I heard you'd recovered from your madness and made something of yourself. Looks like it's true." Wang Jinlian looked Zhao Feng over in surprise. In those three months, he had clearly grown taller and stronger, with a spirited bearing.

She could not help giving what she imagined was a seductive smile. "Who would have guessed? You've really made something of yourself now."

Zhang the Widow poked her head out from behind Wang Jinlian. Seeing that Zhao Feng was no longer mad, she breathed a sigh of relief and straightened up. Then she spotted the large basin of pale pork being salted in the courtyard, and her eyes went wide.

She stepped forward and picked up the basin of pork. "Perfect. We haven't had meat at home in ages."

"Put it down!" Zhao Feng roared, making Zhang the Widow shudder.

"What are you shouting for?"

"I said put it down! Get out!"

"Well, Zhao Feng! Do you still want to marry me or not? Isn't everything you're doing for my sake?" Wang Jinlian demanded angrily.

"For your sake?" Looking at Wang Jinlian's face, painted like a ghost's, Zhao Feng felt a wave of revulsion.

"Didn't you learn martial arts for me? Didn't you buy all these things and make such a big show to get my attention? Stop pretending, Zhao Feng. You just want to get back together with me, don't you?" Wang Jinlian said smugly.

"Give all that meat to my mother right now, then bring out some silver and apologize. Then I'll consider forgiving you."

"Exactly. Aren't you putting on this whole show for my daughter? If you can't even spare a little pork, do you still want to marry her?"

Zhao Feng was dumbfounded. He had made this display and publicly announced that he had become a martial master not to show off, but to provide a reasonable explanation for his family's improved living conditions in the future. He also wanted to keep any more thugs from bullying them.

Who would have thought Wang Jinlian and Zhang the Widow would assume he had done it all for them?

"If you want to marry my daughter, we can arrange the betrothal again. Thirty taels in betrothal gifts, not a coin less. You have money now anyway."

"Oh, and I also want two bolts of silk, two chickens, a sheep..." Zhang the Widow counted them off on her fingers.