Sister Xiao Zhu

Biodata

Background

Sister Xiao Zhu and her husband are both workers, employed at different work units that each provide nursery facilities. They live with their newborn son in the same eight-household courtyard compound as Liang Xin. Their difficulties stem primarily from scarce food and cramped housing rather than a lack of money 16 17 29 33.

After giving birth, she struggles to produce enough breast milk, and her baby sometimes wakes crying from hunger. This makes obtaining nutritious food particularly important to her 16 17.

Appearance

• Build and complexion: Plump and rosy, described as “round as a pearl and as smooth as jade” 16.
• Face: Broad-faced; Liang Xin thinks her well-fed appearance would be considered attractive by the standards of the period 16.
• Distinguishing feature: Her large breasts inspire Liang Xin’s private “Big Thunder Sister” nickname when she openly handles them while discussing her milk shortage 16.

Personality

Sister Xiao Zhu is outgoing and informal. She enters Liang Xin’s room without waiting for an invitation, readily accepts tomatoes when he offers them, and confidently volunteers to cook for him. She also remains good-tempered while he stands beside her giving repeated instructions about the ingredients 25 26 27.

Her easygoing manner does not mean she takes generosity for granted. She initially tries to leave after cooking Liang Xin’s expensive meal, invites him back to repay his hospitality, and buys green beans specifically for his visit. Later, she hesitates to invite him again because his habit of supplying lavish ingredients leaves her worried that she and her husband cannot repay him 27 28 33 34.

She knows when to stop asking questions: after Liang Xin hints that his unusually fine rice and sugar come from a powerful relative, she drops the subject 26.

Abilities & Skills

Cooking

Sister Xiao Zhu is a capable home cook whose quick, fluid movements impress Liang Xin. He compares her cooking favorably with restaurant food, though she is not identified as a professional chef 27 28 29.

• Tomato-and-egg stir-fry: Prepares the dish with white rice, producing a meal that Liang Xin praises enthusiastically 27 28.
• Egg fried rice: Uses leftover rice and three eggs to make a generous bowl with distinct, golden grains 30.
• Pork dishes: Makes stuffed eggplant fritters and red-braised pork from the meat Liang Xin supplies 32.
• Side dishes: Prepares sugared tomatoes and contributes stewed green beans to their shared dinner 32 33.
• Household food preparation: Renders pork into cooking oil, prioritizing a useful fat supply when meat is scarce 32.

History

Buying Eggs

He Ting initially allocates Sister Xiao Zhu one jin of eggs from Liang Xin’s sale. After learning about her milk shortage, Liang Xin offers her the final jin he had intended to keep. She eagerly buys both boxes for two yuan in total and asks him to remember her when more eggs become available 15 16.

Exchanging Food and Sharing Meals

Sister Xiao Zhu later brings Liang Xin sweet sorghum stalks distributed by her work unit. He shares tomatoes with her, and their conversation turns to cooking. She offers to make dinner; he supplies white sugar and three jin of rice, explaining their quality through an invented connection to a powerful relative 25 26.

She cooks at Liang Xin’s home but intends to leave without eating. He insists that she stay and fetches Brother Chen and their baby. After the meal, she washes everything and invites Liang Xin to dinner the following evening. The next morning, she also makes him egg fried rice before leaving for work 27 28 30.

The Pork Dinner

For her invitation, Liang Xin brings two jin of pork along with eggplant, tomatoes, rice, and sugar. Shocked by the quantity of meat, Sister Xiao Zhu first urges him to take it back, then proposes rendering it into oil. She finally agrees to prepare the dishes he requests 32.

She adds green beans bought with her own household’s resources, making a four-dish dinner. The meal becomes the most satisfying feast she and Brother Chen have ever eaten. Although she considers inviting Liang Xin again, she worries about accumulating an unpayable debt of hospitality. Before he leaves, she packs the leftovers, covers them with a clean cloth to avoid attracting attention, and carries them to his room for breakfast 33 34 35.

Relationships

• Brother Chen — Her husband and fellow worker. She worries about how thin he has become; feeding him helps persuade her to accept Liang Xin’s pork for dinner 27 32 33.
• Newborn son — Her child with Brother Chen. His hunger motivates her efforts to obtain eggs and improve her nutrition 16 17.
• Liang Xin — Neighbor and increasingly close friend. He supplies scarce ingredients, while she cooks and extends hospitality. He affectionately begins treating her as his own elder sister; they are not biological siblings 26 29 30.
• He Ting — Courtyard neighbor who includes her among households needing eggs. Sister Xiao Zhu thanks her for remembering her needs 15 16 17.

Connection to Liang Xin’s System

• Her gratitude after the egg purchase gives Liang Xin seven experience points, contributing to the total of 106 that triggers his first upgrade 17.
• Following their shared meal, she and Brother Chen each contribute ten experience points 29.
• After the pork feast, Liang Xin credits the couple with another twenty points combined 35.