Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 26 Qin Huairu's Life

After the Spring Festival of 1952, it was quickly March, and the weather was still cold. Qin Huairu had been married into the Jia family for more than a month, and she had lost weight, her chin was sharper, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

The red cotton-padded jacket was put away, and she put on an old cotton-padded jacket belonging to Jia Zhangshi, which was dusty and had frayed threads on the cuffs.

Every morning at five o'clock, the door to the west wing would open. Qin Huairu would come out wearing a cotton-padded coat, her hair disheveled, and first carry a tin bucket to fetch water. Her hands were covered in chilblains, which stung painfully in the wind.

Then she turned on the coal stove to boil water, made cornbread with cornmeal, and steamed buns with mixed flour. She ate the cornbread, and Jia Dongxu ate the steamed buns. Jia Zhangshi ate both cornbread and steamed buns; her appetite was better than a pig's.

Every morning, Jia Dongxu would break off half a steamed bun for Qin Huairu to eat. This was her happiest time, and it happened every single day.

Jia Zhangshi got up late, and didn't come out of the house until the sun was high in the sky.

Qin Huairu heated up the cornbread and then cooked a pot of cornmeal porridge. Jia Zhangshi sat at the table, picked up her bowl of porridge, and took a sip. "There wasn't enough cornmeal; it's as thin as water."

Qin Huairu quickly said, "Mother, I'll put in more next time."

Jia Zhangshi snorted and broke off a piece of cornbread and stuffed it into her mouth.

He Yuzhu pushed the cart out at this moment and heard Jia Zhangshi scolding her daughter-in-law again. He smiled.

Old Li was pushing from behind.

In April, Jia Zhangshi began to urge the baby to be born.

At dinner, Qin Huairu brought out a pot of stewed cabbage. Jia Zhangshi picked up a piece with her chopsticks, chewed it a couple of times, and put the chopsticks down on the table. "Dongxu, you said Huairu has been married for over three months, why isn't she pregnant yet?"

Jia Dongxu ate his rice silently, holding his bowl.

Qin Huairu paused in mid-air with her chopsticks, then put them down and lowered her head.

Madam Jia added, "I got pregnant the month I married into the family. Your father was overjoyed."

Jia Dongxu said in a muffled voice, "Mother, what's the rush?"

"What's the rush?" Madam Jia's voice rose. "How can I not be anxious? You're the only son left in the Jia family."

Qin Huairu lowered her head and shoveled the cornmeal porridge in her bowl without saying a word.

She kept muttering to herself while doing laundry. Qin Huairu was washing clothes by the door, while Jia Zhangshi sat beside her, basking in the sun, holding an enamel mug filled with boiled water. She took a sip and smacked her lips. "Huairu, tell your mother the truth, are you feeling unwell?"

Qin Huairu rubbed her collar and said softly, "No."

Madam Jia glanced at her sideways. "No? Why can't you get pregnant?"

Qin Huairu scrubbed the clothes vigorously, soap suds sticking to the back of her hands, and the cold water made her hands red with cold. Spring had arrived, but the water was still cold.

People in the courtyard occasionally overheard a few words. Tan Xiulan came out to hang up the clothes and heard Jia Zhangshi muttering something. After hanging them up, she quickly left.

He Yuzhu pushes his tricycle through the yard every day. Qin Huairu is busy in the kitchen, and he pushes his tricycle, clattering along, out of the front yard. He feels quite content.

At this time in his past life, she was washing clothes in the yard, looked up at him with a smile, and said, "Good morning, silly Zhu." His heart felt warm.

Later, her husband died, and she cried to him, begging, "Silly Zhu, please help me." He helped her. He helped her raise her children and earn money for her. In the end, she schemed to take his house and his money.

That face that has laughed and cried, that face that said "Silly Zhu, you're so kind," that face that said "You moved to the backyard." It's all the same face.

Now that face is in the Jia family kitchen, and Jia Zhangshi is so busy talking about it that she doesn't dare to look up.

He Yuzhu pedaled his tricycle out of the courtyard gate, humming a little tune.

In early May, Jia Zhangshi started cursing.

"You think raising a hen will produce eggs?!" Jia Zhangshi's curses echoed throughout the courthouse.

Qin Huairu squatted in the kitchen, picking vegetables, her head down, her hands never stopping.

Madam Jia stood there, hands on her hips. "You, eating my food and wearing my clothes, can't even get pregnant. Dongxu works himself to death at the factory every day, and when he comes home, he can't even get a warm bed..." She stopped midway through her sentence when she saw Tan Xiulan come out of the east wing.

Tan Xiulan lowered her head and walked towards the front yard. After she had gone far away, Jia Zhangshi lowered her voice and cursed a few more times.

After Qin Huairu finished selecting the vegetables, she took the basin to wash them.

That afternoon, He Yuzhu returned from packing up his stall. He had just pushed his cart into the Intermediate People's Court.

Qin Huairu returned from outside, carrying a paper package in her hand, her steps hurried. She saw He Yuzhu, lowered her head, and quickened her pace to enter the west wing.

Soon after, the smell of medicine wafted from the Jia family's house.

When Jia Zhangshi returned from chatting in the backyard, she smelled the odor as soon as she entered the middle courtyard. She walked to her front door and pushed it open.

"What are you cooking?"

Qin Huairu squatted beside the coal stove, holding a palm-leaf fan in her hand. "Mother, this is to nourish your body."

Madam Jia Zhang walked in and glanced down into the medicine pot. It was a dark, murky pot, with dregs rising and sinking. She straightened up and looked at Qin Huairu. "What's the point of tonics? Drinking anything that doesn't work is useless."

Qin Huairu paused for a moment while fanning herself.

Madam Jia turned and left, but turned back at the door. "Where did the money for the medicine come from?"

"Dongxu gave me two yuan."

"Two dollars for this piece of junk? I'd rather buy three pounds of meat to replenish my body." He slammed the door and left.

Qin Huairu squatted beside the coal stove, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan. The medicine pot gurgled and bubbled. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, whether from the smoke or from crying, it was hard to tell.

The medicine was brewed and poured into a bowl, a dark, murky liquid. She held the bowl, blew on it, and drank it down sip by sip. After finishing, she put the bowl down and squatted there without moving.

He Yuzhu was in his room, his spatial awareness spreading out. He could clearly see Qin Huairu's appearance in the west wing.

He was quite happy inside.

In mid-May, Qin Huairu's father fell ill. A messenger was sent to ask her to return home to visit him. Jia Zhangshi didn't want her to go back, saying there was no one to do the housework. Jia Dongxu said he would be back in two days, and only then did Jia Zhangshi reluctantly agree.

Qin Huairu was gone for three days. She returned on the afternoon of the fourth day. She pushed open the gate and entered the courtyard carrying a bundle containing several pounds of cornmeal that her mother had given her. She had walked dozens of miles, and her feet were blistered, making her walk with a limp.

Madam Jia was sitting in the doorway, basking in the sun, holding an enamel mug. Seeing Qin Huairu enter, she raised her eyelids slightly. "You're back?"

Qin Huairu responded and put the bundle inside.

"How's your dad?"

"The doctor said it's just fatigue, and I'll be fine after resting for a while."

Madam Jia stood up and dusted off her trousers. "The water vat is empty. Go fetch some water."

Qin Huairu put down her bundle, picked up a tin bucket, and fetched four buckets of water. After fetching the water, she went into the kitchen to tidy up.

Tan Xiulan came out to hang up the laundry and saw Qin Huairu squatting at the kitchen door washing dishes, her hands soaking in cold water. It was May, so the water wasn't cold anymore, but her fingers were still red; the chilblains had left scars, and the new skin was tender and red.

Tan Xiulan opened her mouth, as if to say something. Jia Zhangshi called from inside, "Huai Ru! Have you washed the dishes? Have you kneaded the dough? Dongxu will be home soon!"

Tan Xiulan shut her mouth, finished hanging up the clothes, and left.

Qin Huairu quickened her pace, washed the bowls, dried her hands, and then went to knead the dough, chop vegetables, and start the fire.

When Jia Dongxu returned home from get off work, the food was already on the table: stewed cabbage, steamed buns made with two kinds of flour, and cornmeal porridge.

Madam Jia took a couple of bites. "Your father is ill, where are your brother and sister-in-law? Why are they sending a married daughter like you back to serve them?"

Qin Huairu said in a low voice, "My mother thought my father was going to die, so she asked me to go back to see him one last time."

Madam Jia snorted. "Isn't this just making a fuss? Don't go back to your parents' house unless it's absolutely necessary."

He Yuzhu sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and saw all of this through his senses.

happy.