Chapter Ninety-Two: The Jade Bracelet

For a man, the greatest thing to boast of is not overwhelming power, nor wealth enough to rival a kingdom. It is to have a woman who stands behind him, who warms his heart when he is weary, cools his pride when he grows too self-satisfied, and remains with him through sickness and health, through riches and poverty, sharing with him a life of mutual devotion. As for a woman, her man need not be rich, nor strikingly handsome, but he must be one who can hold up a sky for her and their children, a man who truly loves her.

Night had fallen, and the usually quiet farmyard courtyard was suddenly alive with noise. Listening closely, one could hear a girl’s angry voice and a young man’s helpless sighs.

"Xu Tong, you big idiot, you can’t even move this little bit of stuff. You’ve really eaten for nothing all these years," Tan Linlin scolded, one hand on her hip and the other pointing at Xu Tong, who was moving things around in the room.

"My dear auntie, this is a little bit?" Xu Tong said helplessly, gesturing at the bundles before him. They were all wrapped in large sacks: local delicacies from Snow Village, along with all sorts of odd trinkets. Altogether they weighed fifty or sixty pounds. Knowing that the two of them were leaving the next day, every household in Snow Village had sent something over. Tan Linlin accepted everything without exception, even taking a child’s little rattle, leaving Xu Tong both amused and exasperated. He could not figure out what use she had for a toy meant for children.

"A worthless man can’t even carry this much. How are you supposed to support a family someday? Do you expect me to do it?" Tan Linlin glared at him with her wide almond eyes, berating him for his lack of promise.

Hearing that, Xu Tong muttered under his breath, "Who said I’m going to make a family with you?"

But Tan Linlin, sharp-eared as ever, caught it. With a tiger’s leap she pounced, twisted his ear with her plump hand, and yanked him upright. "What did you just say? If you’ve got the nerve, say it again."

Xu Tong winced in pain and dared not say another word. He begged at once, "Did I say anything? I said nothing at all."

"Still trying to argue? Just wait till I deal with you."

At once, the room was filled with another cry of pain.

...

In another room, Xiao Lin and Wang Yuqing were also packing their things. Compared with Tan Linlin, Wang Yuqing had much less to take. She kept only a few things that were easy to carry and a few with sentimental value. The hardest thing to bring was that pair of "lovebirds." What worried her now was how to get them all the way to East Sea; she did not know whether animals were allowed on the train. The two sparrows they had caught on the mountain had by now become the symbol of Wang Yuqing and Xiao Lin’s love, so no matter what, Wang Yuqing was determined to take them back to East Sea.

Xiao Lin was crouched half-kneeling before the cage, holding a leaf of cabbage and teasing the pair of sparrows. From time to time he even imitated their calls, chirping once or twice in response. His childish behavior made Wang Yuqing deeply doubt how she had ever fallen for this fellow in the first place.

"All right, Xiao Lin, stop teasing them. Hurry up and help me figure out how to take them on the train."

At her words, Xiao Lin said without turning around, "What’s so hard about that? Just send them as cargo to East Sea."

"No way. What if those people don’t take good care of my sparrows? I don’t care, hurry up and think of something."

Wang Yuqing pouted in dissatisfaction and walked over to Xiao Lin, raining a flurry of blows down on his hair.

"Ow, my hairstyle! You’ve messed it all up. Fine, fine, my lady, I’ll think of something, all right?" Xiao Lin hurriedly dodged away, then rushed to the mirror to fix his hair.

Only then did Wang Yuqing nod in satisfaction and return to packing. Just then, Xu Tong’s cries of pain came from the other room. Wang Yuqing shook her head. "That Linlin is really something, bullying Xu Tong every day. I told her, but she won’t listen. Instead she keeps lecturing me about some way of managing men. Sigh, Xiao Lin, what does it mean to manage a husband?"

Xiao Lin, who had been combing his hair in front of the mirror, nearly stumbled at the question. He quickly sat down beside Wang Yuqing and began earnestly lecturing her that she must absolutely not listen to Tan Linlin, and that in the future she should keep well away from her. If Tan Linlin kept on at this rate, she might corrupt his Yuqing. Xiao Lin silently thought this to himself.

Just as he was preaching his great principles to Wang Yuqing, a knock sounded at the door.

"Who is it?"

"It’s me," came an aged voice from outside.

"Oh no, it’s my grandma. What do we do? What do we do? If she finds me in your room, who knows what she’ll think? It’s over, this is really over." Hearing that it was his grandmother, Xiao Lin shot to his feet in a panic.

"Look at you, flustered like a monkey. Where did all that cleverness of yours go? Grandma already knows about us. Otherwise, why do you think she would have agreed to let me go to the ancestral hall with you today?" Wang Yuqing said with a smile, finding his panic rather amusing. She took it all in stride.

Ignoring Xiao Lin’s anxiety, Wang Yuqing simply went to open the door. "Grandma, did you need something so late?"

"Just came to see whether you two have finished packing," Xiao’s grandmother said kindly as she stepped into the room. Seeing Xiao Lin inside, she did not look the least bit surprised. Clearly, she had known all along, or she would not have said she came to see whether they had finished packing.

"Grandma... I... um... I was just coming to see... Yuqing packing..." Xiao Lin’s face had gone red as a little girl’s, and he stammered awkwardly.

"All right, all right. I’m not here for you. I came to see my girl," Xiao’s grandmother said, waving him off to indicate that he needn’t continue.

"Girl, come here to Grandma."

"Yes." Wang Yuqing nodded and obediently ran to Xiao’s grandmother’s side.

"Girl, Grandma is giving you something. See whether you like it." From her pocket, Xiao’s grandmother took out a small cloth pouch. After unfolding it layer by layer, she revealed a jade bracelet of a deep green hue. Lifting it into her palm, she rubbed it gently for a moment, as if remembering something, then took Wang Yuqing’s slender hand and slipped the bracelet onto her wrist.

"Ah, Grandma, this is too precious. I can’t accept it," Wang Yuqing said, looking at the bracelet on her wrist. She loved it, but she also knew it was far too valuable to take.

"You silly girl, if I give it to you, you take it. If you refuse, I’ll be angry," Xiao’s grandmother said with deliberate sternness. "All right, that’s settled. You two should sleep early." With that deeply meaningful parting remark, she rose and left the room.

After Grandma had gone, Xiao Lin leaned in with a sly look on his face. "See? Grandma already told us to sleep early."

Xiao Lin rubbed his hands together.

"Get lost. Shoo, go sleep in your own room."

Blushing and embarrassed, Wang Yuqing swung her soft fist and chased Xiao Lin out of the room.