Poor but Proud

Old Madam Liu looked at the four children behind Liu Su'e and said:

"Oh my! These children have grown so big in the blink of an eye, and they're so good-looking!

"Light a match so I can get a good look at them. Why did you choose to come back so late at night? If it were daytime, I could get a good look at them."

The family was poor! They couldn't even afford a kerosene lamp.

Once a match was lit in the house, the Liu family all gathered around.

Second Uncle came over, looked at Zhou Wanwan, and smiled. "This child is so adorable. What's her name?"

Liu Su'e smiled and said, "Her name is Wanwan. Wanwan, this is your Eldest Uncle, and these are your Second Uncle, Third Uncle, Fourth Uncle, Fifth Uncle, and your Fifth Aunt, Sixth Aunt..."

Zhou Wanwan looked at them, smiled sweetly, and greeted them all.

Liu Su'e asked, "Where are Second Sister, Third Sister, and Fourth Sister?"

Old Madam Liu said:

"They're all grown up too, so naturally they've married. Back then, your second sister was sold to a wealthy family as a maid.

"Later, she married a junior steward from a wealthy family in town, but she's now practically cut off contact with the family."

Eldest Uncle sneered and said:

"She resents us! She resents us for selling her, but there was nothing we could do at the time. There wasn't enough food at home.

"We talked it over with her properly back then, and she agreed herself, but now she puts all the blame on us."

Old Madam Liu sighed. "It really was our family's fault. If only we weren't so poor."

Liu Su'e continued, "What about Third Sister and Fourth Sister?"

At the mention of Third Sister, Old Madam Liu shook her head and said:

"She married a scholar, but her mother-in-law is spiteful and mean, no different from that old hag in your family.

"You don't know this, but she gave birth to a girl a little while ago. We went to see her, and she was nothing but skin and bones."

Old Madam Liu went on, "Your fourth sister married a traveling peddler, and she's doing pretty well."

Liu Su'e looked at her fifth and sixth sisters and said, "Our fifth sister is thirteen this year, right? And Sixth Sister is nine. I haven't remembered wrong, have I?"

Old Madam Liu nodded and said:

"You remember everything clearly. You're right. There's no hurry for them to marry, but it's a pity about your six younger brothers. Our family is poor!

"Who would be willing to marry into our family?"

At the mention of it, Old Madam Liu was on the verge of tears. There was nothing to be done. By rights, the uncles were all quite old, yet not one of them was married.

Liu Family Village was too poor. In the entire village, there were hardly any families who could afford to take a wife for their sons.

Liu Su'e sighed. "What are we going to do?"

Old Liu went straight inside and brought out fifty copper coins. "Use these coins for now. Don't worry about things at home. If they can't find wives, it's because they aren't capable enough themselves."

The uncles hung their heads. Liu Su'e quickly waved her hands and said, "Our family is already struggling. I can't take this money."

Eldest Uncle sighed. "Just take it! It's all right. When spring comes, we'll go up the mountain and hunt some game. We can earn a little, at least. We still have two mu of land at home, enough to feed us."

Liu Su'e looked at Zhou Wanwan, who shook her head and said:

"Grandmother, Grandfather, our family goes hunting in the mountains now too.

"We caught two pheasants yesterday, and we brought you half a sack of grain. Eat it for now."

Liu Su'e nodded quickly. "Yes, yes, yes, we can go hunting in the mountains ourselves..."

Second Uncle frowned at them and said:

"Hasn't Brother-in-law's leg always been bad? Can he still go hunting in the mountains with a lame leg?

"Don't try to fool us. Our family may be out of grain too, but we can't take yours!"

Old Liu also said, "That's right. Hurry and take it back. No matter how bad things get, we can't let you support your birth family. Just live your own life well, and we'll have peace of mind."

Zhou Wanwan raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected the Liu family to be poor but proud, or to have such an attitude.

She smiled and said:

"We really did catch that game ourselves. Uncles, do you usually have any work to do?

"My family needs to make some things, and we need help. Could you do some work for us?"

Second Uncle looked at her and said, "Sure! Are you building a house? We know how to build houses, though we're not very good at it."

Third Uncle nodded too. "We'll go to Zhou Family Village tomorrow and work for you, all right? Wanwan, what do you want your Third Uncle to do?"

Zhou Wanwan grinned. "We don't live in Zhou Family Village anymore. We live in Wild Field Village now. Just come straight to Wild Field Village to find us tomorrow."

"What? You were driven out of Zhou Family Village?" Old Liu was so angry he sprang to his feet.

Liu Su'e nodded and said:

"I think it's quite good. There's no need to stay mixed up with those people.

"Dad, Mom, I just came to see you. As long as I know you're doing well, I can rest easy too. Put this grain away.

"Come to my house tomorrow. Don't eat breakfast; we'll have it ready and waiting for you."

Zhou Wanwan wouldn't let Liu Su'e tell them about their family's actual circumstances, and Liu Su'e didn't dare breathe a word.

The Liu family saw them off at the village entrance, and Lin Shouyi took them back to their village.

When they got home, Liu Su'e looked cautiously at Zhou Wanwan and asked, "Wanwan, what do you think of your grandfather and his family?"

With a half-smile, Zhou Wanwan said, "They're pretty good, much better than I imagined. And they're sincere toward you too."

Relieved, Liu Su'e said:

"Isn't that right? After all these years apart, I didn't expect them to still care about me so much.

"Wanwan, could you help them?"

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said:

"Don't worry. Since they have no ill intentions, we'll certainly help them whenever we can.

"But you still can't say a word about our family's circumstances."

"All right, I won't say a thing." Liu Su'e breathed another sigh of relief. She was very afraid of her daughter now.

The family soon fell asleep, but just as they woke up, a yowl sounded from the courtyard, startling Zhou Wanwan into sitting bolt upright.

The whole family rushed outside and saw Shen Dalu from next door cursing:

"You beasts! You put a hunting trap by the corner of the wall! It hurts like hell! My leg is ruined!

"And this wooden stake-my leg is completely useless now! Boo-hoo-hoo..."

Old Madam Shen from next door also came charging over. "You ungrateful wretches! How dare you use these things against my son! I'll fight you to the death!"

She and Liu Su'e began grappling. Liu Su'e was furious too, and she cursed as they fought. "Shameless thief! He came over to steal from us, and after getting caught in a trap, he still has the nerve to curse us! I'll fight you to the death!"

How could Old Madam Shen be a match for Liu Su'e? In moments, Liu Su'e had her pinned firmly beneath her and slapped her hard several times, until she no longer had the strength even to whimper.

Shen Dalu's wife rushed over with red eyes, clutching a large cleaver. "If you lay a hand on my man, I'll slaughter your child! Today I'm going to hack this little beast to death!"

Zhou Wanwan's face darkened. She snatched up a crossbow and said, "Dare take another half step forward, and I'll shoot straight through you!"