The woman who had come was none other than Madam Wang, who had sought a divination from him the day before.
As though clutching a life-saving straw, she gripped Zhang Banxian's arm tightly and refused to let go. "Banxian, I followed your instructions yesterday.
I burned the paper and lit the candles, but not only has my son failed to get better, he's even worse now. You have to come home with me and take a look."
Without giving him a chance to object, Madam Wang pulled Zhang Banxian along toward her home.
"Slow down, slow down," Zhang Banxian muttered. "I haven't got my banner yet."
Madam Wang's house was practically on fire; how could she spare a thought for his shabby banner? She pointed at a maid at random and told her to fetch it.
Two cloth banners stood in the same wheel rut, identical in color and style. Even the characters on them had been written by the same hand, so the maid didn't know which one belonged to Zhang Banxian.
Just as she was at a loss, a child's clear voice piped up, "The one on the outside."
The maid didn't dare delay. She pulled up the banner and hurried after her mistress.
Jin Shanyao could vaguely see black Qi on the two of them. She had seen the mistress and servant yesterday, and with how convincing Zhang Banxian had sounded then, she had thought the matter was settled.
Now it seemed Zhang Banxian had probably run into a vicious ghost.
Toward the end of the afternoon, Meng Anci finished his classes.
The three of them rode leisurely back toward the village in the ox cart. "Auntie, the academy is closed tomorrow for the Mid-Autumn Festival."
The Mid-Autumn Festival?
Jin Shanyao didn't understand human customs, but books said the Mid-Autumn Festival was the day mortals worshipped the moon and prayed to the moon goddess for blessings. To ask the moon goddess for blessings, they gave her two rock-hard mooncakes.
How ridiculous... thousands upon thousands of people gave mooncakes. How would the moon goddess know who had given which ones?
If they were going to give her something, it had to be something precious, something the moon goddess would notice at a glance.
Jin Shanyao's eyes darted around, and she said to the two little beans, "Tomorrow we won't read or set up our stall. We'll prepare food for the moon goddess."
When Meng Anzhi heard they wouldn't have to set up the stall, she couldn't help smiling. She stole a glance at her younger brother and saw that he was smiling too.
Studying was truly exhausting. From the moment they opened their eyes, they had to read all kinds of books. Auntie always said that no amount of knowledge would weigh them down. Of course it didn't weigh down their bodies; it all weighed on their heads, until their brains ached.
The two little ones felt as though they had been freed from their bonds.
That evening, the two chased the mountain civet around for half a shichen before bathing and going to bed.
Jin Shanyao sat on the kang with a needle and thread, copying Auntie Li next door as she stitched up the clothes the two little ones had torn, bit by bit.
The crooked stitches looked like a centipede. She pushed her arm into a trouser leg and held it up to the oil lamp, then nodded in considerable satisfaction.
Perfect... not a bit of flesh showed.
She folded the mended clothes and placed them beside the children's pillows. Looking at their rosy sleeping faces, she couldn't help smiling.
The weather was gradually turning colder. Jin Shanyao got up to close the window and caught sight of a figure sneaking up onto the top of the wall.
Before the figure could settle, the mountain civet kicked him down. A muffled groan came faintly from outside the wall. Judging by the sound, it was probably a man.
Jin Shanyao smiled mockingly. Life had been getting better and better for her and the two children. Quite a few villagers were green with envy. According to Dahuang and Xiaoli, Fan Laizi from the village had come several times while they were in town.
The two of them had bitten him and driven him away every time. Shameless human-the mountains were right there, yet he wouldn't go looking for food himself and was always coveting what belonged to others.
Pah... rotten to the core.
The next day, Jin Shanyao got up early and took the two children to the county town to buy rabbit lanterns, sugar paintings, and pomegranates, and to eat meat buns and osmanthus cakes.
On the ox cart, the children sat beside a pile of food, peeling sugar-roasted chestnuts.
The fragrant sugar-roasted chestnuts were still steaming, soft, sticky, and sweet in the mouth.
"Have one, Auntie."
Meng Anci held a golden sugar-roasted chestnut to Jin Shanyao's lips.
Jin Shanyao didn't want to eat the chestnut tree's children and grandchildren, but she could hardly refuse the little one's warm offer.
She had no choice but to bite the bullet and take the chestnut into her mouth. She closed her eyes and chewed hard a few times, then her eyes flew open.
Hmm... actually, it was pretty tasty. She motioned for Meng Anci to peel another one. What chestnut tree's children and grandchildren?
Eating two wouldn't wipe out its descendants. She might as well eat.
As Meng Anci fed Jin Shanyao sugar-roasted chestnuts, he asked, "Auntie, aren't we buying mooncakes?"
Jin Shanyao mumbled, "Everyone gives mooncakes, so how would the moon goddess know whose are whose? If we're giving her something, we should give her something special, so she'll know at a glance it came from us. Then, when we ask her for a favor, it'll be easier, won't it?"
With that, she raised an eyebrow at the little one. "I've already thought of what to give her. Just wait and see."
Hearing her say that, the two little ones were reassured and happily ate their sweet snacks.
Only after the imperial court distributed disaster-relief grain had the villagers' lives gradually begun to improve.
Next door, Old Woman Li set dinner out in the courtyard, and Li Choudan carefully placed the sliced mooncakes in the middle of the table.
He looked up and saw Meng Anzhi come out next door carrying osmanthus cakes. He swallowed, glanced at his own family's mooncakes, then looked next door again and discovered there weren't any mooncakes on their table.
Who ate osmanthus cakes instead of mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival? Were those osmanthus cakes as tasty as mooncakes?
Seeing her grandson staring next door, Old Woman Li gave him a push. "Go bring the food out of the kitchen."
Li Choudan hurriedly wiped his mouth and went into the kitchen. When he came back out, he was carrying a basin nearly half full of flatbreads. They were made with cornmeal, a lovely golden yellow.
This was the first time they had eaten flatbreads in more than half a year.
By the time the Li Household had set out their meal, Jin Shanyao had nearly finished preparing hers too.
She was a deity of sorts. Though she didn't yet hold a divine office, she couldn't bring herself to worship a fellow deity.
She could give a gift to bring two deities closer together, though.
A tree had to know when to bend and when to stand tall; otherwise, a single hurricane would snap it in two.
Jin Shanyao had laid out a cloth in the courtyard especially for the occasion. Today she had steamed half a basin of white rice, made chicken stewed with mushrooms, and stir-fried a plate of greens.
She portioned some of each into bowls and set them on the cloth, putting the rest on the table for everyone to eat together.
The two little beans sat at the dining table, their little heads turning back and forth as they followed Jin Shanyao.
Next door, Li Choudan glanced over from time to time, his nose twitching as he tried hard to sniff the aroma.
He wanted a chicken leg. Just as he turned to look again, Old Woman Li rapped him on the head with a chopstick.
"Weren't you clamoring for mooncakes? Why are you looking next door again?"
Li Choudan's eyes widened little by little. He pointed next door in disbelief.
"Grandma, look! The Meng Household's auntie put a bowl of dirt with the offerings."
Old Woman Li turned to look, her features scrunching together. Why had that girl put farmyard manure in a bowl, and set it beside the food too? How it must stink.
Besides, worshipping the moon goddess was just a saying; the food would all end up in their own stomachs. What was she doing putting it on the ground? Feeding dogs?
The Meng Household's auntie was sometimes sensible and sometimes muddled. There was something a little wrong with her, after all.
She thought about going over to say something, but decided against it on a festival day. She said to her grandson, "Hurry up and eat. Stop looking."
In Jin Shanyao's backyard was a special patch where she kept a compost heap made from plant ash and straw residue. Today she had used Spiritual Power to extract its essence and put it in a bowl, intending to give it to the moon goddess as a meeting gift.
This was her favorite fertilizer. It didn't stink at all; if one sniffed closely, it even had the scent of plants.
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci stared dumbfounded. It was a long while before either found their voice.
Meng Anci said, "A-Auntie, it's not right to put this on the offering table, is it?"
Jin Shanyao gave the little bean a disapproving glance. Why was this child so stingy?
"Plant-ash fertilizer is precious, but we only worship the moon goddess once a year. Shouldn't we show some sincerity?
"The moon goddess is divine. When she sees you've offered her this precious food, she'll surely grant your wishes."
The corner of Meng Anci's mouth twitched. "Auntie, didn't you say we should keep good things for ourselves? Since it's precious, we'd better take it down."
Jin Shanyao glanced reluctantly at the fertilizer and gritted her teeth, pained at the loss.
"If it makes you happy, it's worth it."
This was the first festival the two little ones had celebrated since their parents passed away. They had been rather sad at first, but after what Jin Shanyao did, all those feelings vanished.
All they could think was, why hadn't it clouded over yet? If it did, the moon goddess wouldn't be able to see their family's offerings.