Good fortune arrived

The dark, skinny boy still refused to give up. Everyone in the village was tightfisted, haggling forever over a single fish and finding fault with everything. He liked selling things to Lady Su best. She was pretty, spoke pleasantly, never bargained, and paid without fuss.

He walked into the courtyard and, while her husband went inside to fetch money, called out, "Lady Su, I'm here to sell fish!"

Su Yuhe came out at the sound and looked at the fish in the bamboo cage. "Crucian carp in the third month? No, no, put them back."

The dark, skinny boy was puzzled. "Why? What's wrong with crucian carp in the third month?"

"They might be carrying roe in their bellies. In a little while, there could be a whole brood of little fish. There's no hurry to eat them now."

Back in modern times, Su Yuhe had taken part in activities releasing crucian carp, so fish in the third month had left a deep impression on her.

Realization dawned on the dark, skinny boy. "No wonder nobody's been catching fish."

Lu Mingyi came out with a money pouch. Hearing their conversation, he tucked it away again. The dark, skinny boy closed the bamboo cage. "Then I'll take them back and release them. I'll catch some later, once they've fattened up."

"All right."

At the gate, the dark, skinny boy glanced at the corner where the firewood was stacked. "Your firewood pile's looking empty, Lady Su. Want to stock up?"

Firewood was expensive in winter. She had bought a heap in autumn, when it cost twelve or thirteen wen a bundle, filling the courtyard corner and the kitchen. Thanks to her habit of going over to Xubai's to share his charcoal fire whenever she had nothing to do, last autumn's firewood had lasted until now, and looked as though it could hold out a while longer.

She asked, "Now that spring's begun, what's firewood going for?"

"The price hasn't dropped yet. It's still fifteen wen a bundle. If you want some, Lady Su, I'll give you a cheaper price-thirteen wen a bundle."

"Ten bundles for now, then. The price will drop in a while."

"Oh, how much lower could it go? You're good at making money, Lady Su. You won't miss those few wen." The dark, skinny boy headed outside. "I'll go bring it over. Wait a moment."

Su Yuhe called him back. "Little He, there's something I need to trouble you with, as it happens."

Little He came back and asked curiously, "You have something you need my help with, Lady Su? Tell me, tell me! If I can help, I certainly will."

Little He was a little beggar Grandma Li from the north of the village had taken in. He spent his days picking wild fruit and cutting firewood in the hills, or feeling around for fish in the river. Young as he was, he had quite a range of businesses.

She explained frankly, "I want to do a little business from home, writing letters for people."

Little He understood as soon as she said it. "How many wen per letter?"

"Twenty wen per page, including paper, brush, and ink. But customers will have to take the letters to the post station themselves."

Little He's eyes rolled, and his face broke into a beaming smile, his eyes filled with a pure longing for money. "That's good! I can help take them to the post station, and make a little money alongside you, Lady Su."

"All right, I'll spread the word for you, Lady Su. I'll go move the firewood first. See you!"

Su Yuhe watched Little He leave, then turned to Lu Mingyi. "If this works out, you and Mingxi can earn a little money at home to buy meat."

After Shopkeeper Liu at the bookshop had mentioned it last time, she had thought it over once she returned. There were plenty of writing services in town: writing family letters and taking them to the post station, drafting legal petitions, and drawing up business contracts. Customers could even choose different grades of service, with those who held scholarly honors charging more.

She would only be writing letters, so there was no need to open a shop in town. If someone came, she would earn a little; if nobody came, she would lose nothing.

Lu Mingyi lowered his head, his thoughts unknown. She gave him a few brief instructions and was about to return to the study to copy her book. At her fastest, she could finish over twenty thousand characters in five or six days, but with one thing and another cropping up every day, even copying a thousand characters a day was a struggle.

She began missing modern pens again. An hour was enough to compose and write eight hundred characters, and a day would have been enough for twenty thousand.

Another three days passed before Su Yuhe finally finished copying one book. She planned to wait until Meng Zhixian finished before going to the bookshop in town to hand in their work. She might even have enough time to copy another.

Lu Mingyi pushed the door open and came in, speaking softly to Su Yuhe as she bent over the desk writing. "Wife, Little He has brought a visitor."

Lu Mingxi put down his brush and stood up. "Let me do it, let me!"

"Don't fool around." Lu Mingyi rebuked him coldly, then said to Su Yuhe, "Wife, you should go and have a look."

Even without him saying so, Su Yuhe had intended to do just that. Naturally, she had to receive their first customer properly.

She put down her brush and went outside. Only when she saw who had come did she realize this was not the sort of visitor she had expected.

A tall, sturdily built middle-aged woman stood in the courtyard in plain blue-green clothes, her bearing upright and stern. Her brow was slightly furrowed, as though something was troubling her.

Su Yuhe smoothed the creases in her clothes and approached her. "What brings you here, Village Chief?"

Little He stepped forward twice and spoke first. "A wonderful bit of good fortune has landed in your lap, Lady Su."

"What good fortune?"

She was doubtful. As an outsider, she always found that the villagers snatched up all the good opportunities first. What good fortune could possibly fall to her?

The village chief cleared her throat, and Su Yuhe invited her into the main hall. "I'll fetch some water."

"No, no, I'm only here to tell you something, then I'll leave. Don't trouble yourself."

How could she have a guest come to her door without serving water? While Su Yuhe and the village chief went back and forth, Lu Mingyi brought over sweetened water. Little He lifted a wide-mouthed bowl and gulped down the entire large bowl. "So sweet!"

Lu Mingyi was just about to fetch more water when the village chief stopped him. "No need to keep busy, Master Su. I won't have any. Give it to Little He."

Little He stood on no ceremony either. He lifted the bowl and took another great mouthful. "Delicious!"