Chapter 112: Life Is Unpredictable, So Cherish the Present

When Old Wen came back, his face was clouded with worry.

Seeing him, Mrs. Luo set down what she was doing and looked up. “How did it go?”

Old Wen sighed and shook his head. “Old Wang’s wife is gone.”

Even Mrs. Luo went still at that.

“The snow wasn’t even that heavy, and it didn’t feel especially cold last night. How could this…”

Old Wen kept sighing. “Who can say? No one expected it. His wife had already been sickly to begin with. After the New Year, they thought the weather had warmed up a little, and they couldn’t bear to spend the fuel, so last night they only kept the children’s room heated. By morning, when Old Wang found her, she was already stiff.”

Mrs. Luo said nothing. She rummaged through the cabinet for a while, then went outside.

At the doorway, her three sons were clearing snow from the yard, while the children were running around making trouble. For no reason at all, Mrs. Luo suddenly felt a complicated mix of emotions. However it might be, so long as the family was safe and sound, nothing mattered more.

Seeing the children lively and full of life, the gloom in her heart eased a little.

“Boss, Second, Third, stop sweeping for now,” Mrs. Luo called.

The three of them set down their work and came over.

“What is it, Mother?”

Mrs. Luo handed Wen Xiuyi fifty copper coins. “Take your second and third brothers to your Uncle Wang’s house. Give them this money, and see if there’s anything else you can help with. Lend a hand.”

The three brothers looked baffled. “Mother, what happened?”

“Your Aunt Wang is gone,” Mrs. Luo said simply.

All three of them showed the same shocked expression. Before they could say anything, Mrs. Luo urged them to hurry off.

She had not spoken softly just now, so everyone in the yard had heard. The two daughters-in-law came over and asked whether they should go too.

Mrs. Luo shook her head. “Too many people isn’t good. Let’s leave it at that.” With that, she turned and went back inside.

The Wen household was in a rather subdued mood that entire day. Even Datou and Jin Xiuyi behaved themselves, played in the snow for a while, and then went back indoors to study.

That day passed quietly for the family, but the next morning life resumed as usual.

Wen Yao’s meager memories were not enough to make the relationships between the Wens and the villagers clear, so she seized the chance to draw close to Mrs. Luo and get to the bottom of it.

“There are a few households in our village that don’t live too well off. Your Grandpa Wang’s family is one of them. When your grandfather was young, he got along well with them. They grew up together, and over the years he helped them plenty, both openly and behind the scenes.

“Yesterday it snowed, and your grandfather wanted to go and see whether everyone was all right. After all, we’re all getting on in years, and Old Wang’s wife was already a frail soul. Their family had practically been worn down by her illness. Alas.”

Mrs. Luo took Wen Yao’s hand and suddenly said with feeling, “Your grandfather is a good-hearted old man who cares too much about face.”

Thinking of how Mrs. Luo usually grumbled about Old Wen, Wen Yao covered her mouth and laughed. Teasingly, she said, “Grandma, did you take a liking to Grandpa because he’s such a nice man?”

Though she was already so old, Mrs. Luo still blushed scarlet at that, and scolded her in embarrassment. “You little girl, how can you say everything that comes into your head? Aren’t you ashamed?”

“My grandma is the very best grandma there is,” Wen Yao said sweetly, leaning against her. “You would never say I was shameless.”

Wen Yao’s coaxing drove some of the gloom from Mrs. Luo’s heart.

Since the subject was already open, Mrs. Luo took the opportunity to tell Wen Yao more about the Wen family and the households in the village. The girl looked carefree and thoughtless, but she was actually a person of strong opinions.

The dock stall business, together with the eggs from the villagers and the cabbages and radishes that could be pickled, were all things this girl had decided to have her collect, which also helped the villagers earn a little more income.

Thus Wen Yao spent the afternoon keeping Mrs. Luo company, listening to the grudges and kindnesses between the Wen family and the other families in the village. Among them were even debts of gratitude her father had once owed when he was studying.

The three Wen brothers did not return until evening.

“Uncle Wang accepted the money,” Wen Xiuyi reported, since his tongue was quicker than his two younger brothers’. “He said he’d add it to what’s needed for Aunt Wang’s coffin, at least better than wrapping her in a mat. He asked me to thank you, Father, and said that when they have money again in the future, they’ll repay our family.”

Old Wen placed his pipe in his mouth and sucked on it twice. Nothing came of it. Remembering what Wen Jun had told him, he set the pipe down again and said, “Whether they repay it or not can wait until later.”

This matter caused only the slightest ripple in the Wen household. By the next day, everyone was living as usual again.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, snow fell once more, though not much of it, just a thin layer. After that, no more snow came, and the weather grew better by the day.

On the fourteenth, Wen Jun returned from the Hall of Healing with Doctor Jin’s message inviting their whole family into the city the next day to see the Lantern Festival.

In the end, Mrs. Luo waved a hand and decided that the whole family would go, and work on the new house would stop for a day on the fifteenth.

On the fifteenth, early in the morning, everyone in the Wen family changed into new clothes and set off for the city in high spirits, with Big Yellow in harness.

It was the Lantern Festival that day, and before they even reached the city gate, there were already crowds of people. Along the roadside, vendors had set up small stalls as well, hoping to earn a little money that day to supplement the household.

Seeing the stream of people and the many stalls, Madam Li nudged Wen Shuzhu beside her. “If I’d known, we should have come to set up a stall too.”

Wen Nong, who had finally been given a day off, instinctively hugged himself tighter and tried his best to reduce his presence.

Wen Yao caught sight of this and burst out laughing. As soon as she laughed, everyone noticed Wen Nong’s frightened look, and Madam Li got so annoyed that she raised her hand and slapped him twice.

Laughing as she scolded him, she said, “Look at that miserable bit of backbone you’ve got.”

After hitting him, she ended up laughing too. When she finished, Madam Li carefully untied a small purse from her waist. Inside were fifty copper coins, which she had prepared in advance.

“Take it,” she said. “You can go off and play on your own today. Don’t go wasting it.”

Wen Nong nearly thought he had heard wrong. Then, overjoyed, he took the purse. “Thank you, Mother.”

With money in hand, his younger brothers and sisters all crowded around him, clamoring for him to take them along to play later.

As the city gate drew nearer and nearer, Mrs. Luo turned back and said, “Enough fooling around. We’re here.”

Because so many people were going into the city today, carts were not allowed inside. At the tea stall by the gate, one could leave a cart in their care for ten copper coins a day. They would not only watch it, but also feed the animal.

Old Wen repeatedly instructed them to take good care of Big Yellow. When it was time to leave, he was still reluctant, muttering that if he had known, he never would have brought Big Yellow out.

Mrs. Luo could not help but snap at him. “Fine. Then when we go back later, you can carry Big Yellow home on your back, so the rest of us won’t end up collapsing him under our weight.”

One sharp remark was enough to make Old Wen behave, though he still could not help muttering under his breath, “I was only saying a few words.”

“Hmph.” Mrs. Luo could not be bothered to argue with him. She tucked Wen Yao’s hand into the crook of her arm, lifted her chin, and strode into the city.

Doctor Jin had not been sure when they would arrive, so he had asked Hong Hai to wait at the gate. From far away, Mrs. Luo and Wen Yao could already hear Hong Hai’s boisterous voice.