Bai Jie

Biodata

Background / History

Childhood and Marriage

Bai Jie grew up in Bai Family Hollow Village on the other side of the mountain from Ye Family Village. Her parents favored boys over girls, and she left school at eight to work in the fields and raise pigs, chickens, and ducks. She also cooked at home from childhood. She has a younger brother and a younger sister 17.

She later married Ye An, an orphan with little money or property. To afford the marriage, he entered the deep mountains alone, hunted a leopard, and sold it. Two years after their marriage, he was killed by a vehicle while doing casual work in town. Their daughter, Jingjing, was one year old at the time 15 17.

Widowhood and Separation from Her Relatives

The party responsible for Ye An’s death paid 200,000 yuan in compensation after using connections to settle the matter. His grandparents diverted the money toward a wife and new house for his younger brother, Ye Gou, leaving Bai Jie and Jingjing with nothing. When village chief Ye Daming later sought a share for her, Bai Jie refused it in exchange for ending all ties with that household. She registered a separate household under the Bai surname 15 17.

Her own parents then tried to arrange a marriage to a lame man in his forties for a 50,000-yuan bride price, intending to use the money for their son’s house and marriage. Bai Jie drove them away and severed ties. When her younger brother came to plead for the arrangement, she attacked him with a knife, finally ending their attempts 17.

Unable to leave for outside work while caring for Jingjing, Bai Jie supported them through farming and small-scale animal husbandry. She had only half a mu of land, raised poultry, and kept two pigs to sell at the end of the year 15 34.

Appearance

• Described as attractive, with a good figure 17.
• At the time of her introduction, poor food and clothing leave her looking unhealthy 17.

Personality

Bai Jie firmly resists coercion and intrusion. She rejected her family’s attempt to exchange her remarriage for money and defended her home against a drunken man who climbed over her wall, breaking his leg with a carrying pole 17.

She is protective of Jingjing, keeping her indoors when she cannot supervise her outside and reminding her to behave when entrusted to Ye Huan. She is also modest about her cooking, attributing praise to the ingredients rather than her own skill 16 30.

Although grateful for the Ye family’s help, she worries about troubling them. After malicious rumors spread, she prepares to leave their home with Jingjing; once persuaded to stay, she resolves to repay their kindness in the future 23 25.

Abilities & Skills

Cooking

Bai Jie has cooked since childhood, and Ye Huan compares her food favorably to that of city chefs 17.

• Prepares family meals featuring wild goat, roe deer, pheasant, mushrooms, and vegetables 30.
• Plans several dishes from a large fish, including fish head with tofu, fried bones and tail, and fish slices with pickled chilies 45.
• Regularly shares kitchen work with Ye Huan’s mother 33 45 47.

Farming and Animal Husbandry

Her practical experience comes from working since childhood and supporting her own household 15 17.

• Grows grain and vegetables and raises pigs, chickens, and ducks 15 17.
• Harvests vegetables and peaches for Ye Huan’s farming business 20 21.
• Helps inspect damaged vegetable plots and salvage usable produce after the storm 24.

Self-Defense

• Uses a carrying pole to break the leg of a drunken intruder attempting to enter her home over the wall 17.
• Her resistance, followed by the village chief’s intervention, discourages further harassment from villagers 17.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Employment with Ye Huan’s Family

Ye Huan’s mother proposes hiring Bai Jie both to help with the vegetable harvest and to support her struggling household. Ye Huan agrees, then suggests making the work long-term. His family also provides meals, while he begins looking after Jingjing during fishing trips and other outings 15 16 17.

House Collapse and Village Dispute

During the torrential storm, Bai Jie’s two-room house, built from adobe and red brick, collapses. She calls Ye Huan around ten at night. He finds her sheltering beneath a neighboring house’s eaves with Jingjing and a bundle of belongings, then brings them home. His mother prepares a small downstairs room for them 23.

The following day, Ye Huan confronts Ye Gou over the diverted compensation money and demands 100,000 yuan within three days. He also withdraws from cooperation with the village when the elders fail to support him. Sexual rumors about Bai Jie and Ye Huan prompt Ye Wuju to punish Ye Gou and Old Eighth; the family is subsequently driven out of the village 24 25.

Bai Jie initially packs to leave because of the gossip. Ye Huan and his mother persuade her to remain, assuring her that the rumors should not force Jingjing into unsafe housing. Ye Huan promises to arrange rebuilding, with the village chief offering a partial subsidy 25.

Rebuilding Her Home

Relationships

• Jingjing — Her daughter, aged three at introduction. Bai Jie raises her alone after Ye An’s death and later trusts Ye Huan to take her fishing and host her overnight in his mountain cabin 15 16 45 49.
• Ye An — Her late husband. His death leaves her without the household’s principal earner 15.
• Ye Huan — Employer and protector. He calls her “Sister-in-law Bai” because her late husband was older than him, despite Bai Jie herself being younger. He provides shelter and arranges her new house 15 23 32.
• Ye Huan’s mother — Initiates her employment, works beside her in the fields and kitchen, and insists that she remain after the rumors spread 15 20 25 33.
• Ye Wuju — Defends her against slander and supports correcting her inadequate land allocation 24 25 34.
• Ye Daming — Village chief who intervenes against harassment, seeks a share of Ye An’s compensation for her, and later offers village assistance toward rebuilding 17 25.
• Ye Gou and his grandparents — Estranged in-laws whose use of Ye An’s compensation leaves her impoverished. Their later slander contributes to their expulsion from the village 15 17 24 25.
• Birth family — Estranged after her parents and younger brother attempt to pressure her into an unwanted remarriage for money 17.