Chapter 5

Granny Zhao dragged her out into the yard with her teeth clenched and her breath coming hard.

"You stinking girl. I feed you, I clothe you, and you won't do a hand's turn. What is it you want? The world's turned upside down."

Zhao Wanwan sat on the ground in the yard with her hand over her ear, in too much pain to speak.

Zhao Qingqing held Zhao Lanlan's hand and hid to one side, not daring to say anything.

Zhao Wanwan looked up at Granny Zhao with defiance in her eyes.

Granny Zhao had lived half a life, and in this house her word was law. Nobody had ever glared at her like that. She kicked her.

Zhao Wanwan took the kick, then looked up at her, grinding her teeth. "You want to try me? I'll go to the brigade leader and report you, and you'll go to prison. Throwing a baby away. I saw the lot of it last night. That's what the loudspeaker was about this morning, isn't it?"

Granny Zhao could have burst. The wretched girl.

"Fine. Grown brave, have you? Go on, report us. The whole family can go to prison together." A slip of a girl, daring to take her on.

Zhao Wanwan was shaking with anger. She was weak with hunger, the weather was bitter, and what she had on her back was nowhere near enough.

Zhao Qingqing came closer and spoke very softly. "Big sister, let's go and do the work."

There was nothing else for it. Zhao Wanwan went and did it. At the chicken pen she looked in and wished every bird in there dead, so she wouldn't have to clean it out. In her old life she had been comfortable from the day she was born, and she had never cleaned out a chicken pen in her life. She followed the order of the work as she remembered it from the girl before her, and got through it holding her nose.

Zhao Fangsong came back before noon. The chickens hadn't been traded, since the co-op shop wouldn't take dead birds, though the one for his wife's family had been delivered without trouble. He pushed the door open and came in, bracing himself.

Granny Zhao was sitting in the room sewing a sole for her son's shoe.

"You're back. How did it go?"

Zhao Fangsong put the sack down on the floor.

"Ma, the co-op shop won't take dead chickens. I couldn't trade them."

For some reason Granny Zhao's luck had been foul lately. "Then go and ask round. See if anybody wants them. We'll do it quietly."

Zhao Fangsong said yes. He saw that she hadn't looked in the sack, pressed his lips together and decided to own up himself, or there would only be another row later.

"Ma, there's something I should tell you."

Granny Zhao's right eyelid started twitching. "Go on."

"Ma, I ran into my father-in-law at the co-op shop, and I had the two chickens with me, so I gave his family one." Having said it he let his breath out. She could call him what she liked. The chicken was gone.

Granny Zhao was on her feet, sure enough. She flung the sole into the sewing basket and stood up. "Out with it. Did that wife of yours put you up to it?"

Zhao Fangsong could only squat down in the doorway of the main room and keep his mouth shut. The chicken was delivered. Nothing he said now would change it.

Granny Zhao stood outside their room door and made her feelings known at some length, aiming them past him at his wife, and when she was tired of it she sat down again.

"I'm going to die of this family. Go on, go and cook."

Hearing that the cursing was finally over, Zhao Fangsong got up. He had been squatting a while and his legs had gone numb, but the thing had blown over, so he ducked into the kitchen.

Zhao Wanwan had cleaned the chicken pen that morning and washed clothes in cold water, and she was almost at the end of herself. She looked at her face in the mirror. The ear that had been twisted was bruising. When she heard Zhao Fangsong go into the kitchen to cook, something turned over in her mind. There was still one chicken left, wasn't there?

"Dad. You're back."

Zhao Fangsong hadn't much patience with his daughters, but he had some feeling for his first child. "Mm. Come and mind the fire. I'll cook."

Zhao Wanwan went over obediently and started feeding the fire. "Dad, Granny wants you to trade the chickens for meat coupons?"

It surprised him that his daughter would start a conversation. She had talked plenty as a little girl, then she had turned timid and gone quiet, and he had put it down to her growing up.

"That's right, though I doubt I'll manage it. Who in this village wants to trade for meat? You'd do better with grain coupons. They'd feed a family for months."

Zhao Wanwan thought of what she had read in the book. After the heroine came back, she set up in business for herself and took goods over to the housing blocks at the factories to trade.

"Dad, the new educated youths in our village say there's hardly any meat in town. The factories give out meat coupons and they're nowhere near enough, so people pay cash for meat and still can't get it. Go and ask at their housing blocks. I think it'd sell, easily. Just say our chickens froze to death. There's nothing wrong with them."

Zhao Fangsong listened and thought it was a very good idea. He felt a flicker of excitement.

"Leave the fire a minute. I'll go and tell your granny." And he went out of the kitchen.

He laid it out for Granny Zhao in the main room.

She liked it too. If they could get a good price, that wouldn't be bad at all.

"All right, go. But if you pull another trick on me, I'll have your hide."

Zhao Fangsong agreed cheerfully and picked up the sack to go.

Zhao Wanwan had been listening at the door. She saw her father come out and hurried after him.

"Dad, I want to come with you."

He was going on real business and he would rather not take her, but the idea had been hers.

"All right. I'll tell your granny."

Granny Zhao had been talked round by her son, and she thought the wretched girl had a head on her after all. If anything happened out there, he would have a pair of hands with him.

"Go and come straight back. Don't waste the day."

Zhao Wanwan broke into a smile. At last, a chance to get out.

At the Chens', dinner was being made as well.

The midday meal fell to Yao Shangqing.

Li Yue'e was in the kitchen too, though she didn't lift a finger to help. She sat on a low stool. "Shangqing, what made you want to take in a child? Three sons aren't enough for you?"

Yao Shangqing only smiled with her lips pressed together. She didn't know herself. She looked at this baby and felt happy, and blood or no blood never came into it. Her own elder brother and sister were her blood, and look how that had turned out. They had betrayed her all the same.

"Nothing to it. I haven't got a daughter, have I? I envy you and sister-in-law, both with girls of your own. A daughter's a comfort."

That went straight to Li Yue'e's heart and warmed it. This was what came of a bit of schooling. The woman knew how to say a thing.

"Comfort, is it. They're a handful. Though don't you dare say that in front of the eldest's wife. You and I know it's a compliment. With a head like hers she'll think you're laughing at her for having so many girls."

Yao Shangqing understood what she meant and let it pass. She couldn't afford to fall out with anybody.

In the north room, the second family's two children, Chen Chengcai and Chen Juanjuan, were both leaning on the edge of the bed. They were curious about this new little sister. Their eldest aunt wouldn't let them into her room to see the baby boy, so they had come to see the baby girl instead.

Chen Chengcai reached out to poke Chen Yuanyuan's cheek. He thought she was lovely.

Chen Shaoyuan blocked his hand at once. "No touching. My mum said no touching."

Chen Chengcai stuck his lip out. "Chen Shaoyuan, you're so mean. What harm would one poke do? You can squeeze my sister's cheek. We'll swap."

Four-year-old Chen Juanjuan heard her brother and quietly drew her head back.

Chen Shaoyuan shook his head firmly. "I don't want to. My sister's too little, you can't go squeezing her. And I don't want to squeeze Juanjuan's cheeks. They're hard to squeeze, they're too red."

The cold had left both of Chen Juanjuan's cheeks a ruddy red.

While they were still arguing, Chen Yuanyuan woke up on the bed and lay blinking at the lot of them.

Chen Shaoyuan got his face in front of hers first. "She's awake. Sister's awake."

Chen Shao'er pushed in beside him. "Brother, brother, I want to see her."

Chen Chengcai leaned in as well, and Chen Juanjuan after him.

Only Chen Shaozhi, just over a year old, sat on the other side of the bed playing with his rag doll. His mother had made it.

"Sister, look. I'm your big brother." Chen Shaoyuan got close and said it slowly.

Chen Shao'er copied him. "I'm your second brother."

Chen Chengcai wasn't having that. He might not be her brother by blood, but he was still a brother, and being a big brother was a fine thing. "Me too, me too. I'm your cousin."

"I'm your sister. Sister. You're so pretty." Chen Juanjuan really did think the baby was pretty, not like the little brother at their eldest aunt's. That one cried far too loudly and wasn't nice to look at either.

Chen Chengcai turned to Chen Shaoyuan. "Chen Shaoyuan, Dahe says there's a tree down at the foot of the hill by our village with fruit on it. Want to go and pick some? We could bring it back for your sister."

Dahe was a boy a bit older than any of them.

Chen Shaoyuan frowned and gave it serious thought. "But Mum said my sister's too little. She can't eat it."

Chen Chengcai jumped down off the bed and pulled a face at him. "Nyah. You're just scared to go, and you're blaming your sister. I've seen the baby at your eldest aunt's eat egg." And he ran off. If Chen Shaoyuan was too frightened to come, he would find Dahe. He wasn't playing with cowards.

Chen Juanjuan watched her brother go and stayed where she was. Soon enough she was coaxing Chen Shaozhi into playing with the rag doll.

Chen Shaoyuan looked at his sister on the bed and thought about what Chen Chengcai had said. He wasn't a coward. He honestly did think she was too little.

"Shao'er, go and tell Mum that sister's awake."

Chen Shao'er trotted out of the room to find her.

Chen Shaoyuan put his shoes on himself and ran out. He was going to take a look at this place Chen Chengcai had talked about.

Yao Shangqing nearly had the food ready. They had drunk wild-greens gruel in the morning, so at midday she made mung bean noodles. Mung bean noodles aren't like wheat ones. They've no chew to them, and if you boil them long they turn to mush. Still, in weather like this a bowl of hot noodle soup was a good thing.

Chen Shaoyuan ran straight into Chen Yougong at the gate.

Chen Yougong had gone from the brigade office to a neighbour's house to help with some furniture, and he was carrying a bag of potatoes as payment.

Chen Shaoyuan's head hurt from the collision. He looked up at his father. "I've got something to do. I'll be back soon."

Chen Yougong grabbed for him and missed, and the boy was away down the lane.

He wasn't worried. Village children were out running about from the age of three or four.

"I'm back."

Old Mrs. Chen heard him and came out of the main room. She took the bag from him, looked at the potatoes inside, and was well pleased.

"Wait a bit. The food won't be long."

Chen Yougong slapped his shoulder and ducked into the kitchen.

"Good, you're back. Hold Yuanyuan a minute." It had puzzled Yao Shangqing. She had brought the baby through because she had to cook, and Li Yue'e had wanted to hold her, and the moment she did Yuanyuan started crying, so there was nothing for it but to hold her herself.

Chen Yougong took her carefully, grinning all over his face. He played with her a while and she dropped off again.

Li Yue'e felt uncomfortable about it in the kitchen. Did the child have something against her?

Yao Shangqing watched her husband refusing to put the baby down. "She's asleep. Take her back to the room and wash your hands, it's nearly time to eat."

Chen Yougong sat on a little stool, delighted with himself. "Let me hold her a bit longer. Daughters are better. Lovely and warm."

Yao Shangqing shook her head at him and smiled.

Li Yue'e couldn't sit there any more. Something was rubbing at her, though she couldn't have said what.

"Where's Shaoyuan got to? He shot past me like a bull calf when I came in." Chen Yougong looked up at his wife.

How was she to know? She had been in the kitchen the whole time. She could only shake her head.

While they were talking, it was time to eat.

Chen Yougong put the baby back in the room, then took Chen Shao'er and Chen Shaozhi off to wash their hands.

The whole family gathered round the table again. "Where's Shaoyuan? Chengcai's missing too. Where have those two got to?"

Old Mrs. Chen asked it while she shared out the noodles.

Chen Yougong shook his head. "No idea. He ran off a while back. Leave him, Ma. He can't be hungry. Keep most of a bowl back for him."

Li Yue'e agreed quickly out loud, while inside she fretted. That boy, missing a meal.

Zhao Qinhua picked up her own bowl with an edge in her voice. "No sign of them at dinnertime and we're keeping food back. He thinks he's a young master from the old days."

Old Mrs. Chen rapped the basin with the big ladle. "You can't even shut your mouth to eat. Your foot's stopped hurting, I see."

Chen Youliang nudged his wife's arm too. "Eat your food."

Zhao Qinhua wasn't pleased, but the look of the meal cheered her. Say what you liked about this third sister-in-law, she could cook. Even mung bean noodles came out tasting good. She picked up her chopsticks and took a mouthful, and it went down the wrong way. She coughed hard, and the twisted ankle hurt worse than ever. She couldn't think why her luck was so bad.

Old Mrs. Chen paid her no attention and looked at Chen Yougong. "Those potatoes you brought back, I've put them away. We've plenty of food stored for this winter. Nobody's going hungry." She said it for the eldest's family and the second's family to hear. This house didn't run on them, and they could spare her the daily nonsense.

She looked round the table. Nobody had anything to say, and even Zhao Qinhua swallowed her coughing.

"Nothing from the brigade leader, and I don't expect there will be now. So this child belongs to the Chen family. Nobody in this house is to treat her as an outsider. Is that understood?"