Chapter 5: A Place to Call Home

Widow Zhang, somewhat overweight, suddenly lunged to the ground, sprawling face-first as dust swirled around her.

Jiang Lihua burst into laughter, pulling Ni Wenyu along as they ran away.

Behind them, Widow Zhang shouted curses loudly.

“Lihua, Widow Zhang is the most troublesome— you...”

Jiang Lihua cut him off, “I know. It’s fine, I’m not afraid of her. The more you push people like her, the more arrogant they become.”

Ni Wenyu understood this well; dealing with petty people was truly difficult.

He hoped that Lihua and he could live peacefully here for three years. After he passed the provincial examination, he planned to take her away from this place.

Noticing the young man’s furrowed brow, Jiang Lihua tugged at him, “Don’t worry. We’re almost home. I’m exhausted.”

Ni Wenyu shook his head helplessly and followed her.

At the ox cart, a few women sat chatting and laughing.

Ni Wenyu paid four wen and helped Jiang Lihua onto the cart.

The journey back to Lihua Village took only half an hour by ox cart.

Once home, Jiang Lihua took out two jackets she had bought for Ni Wenyu.

“Here, this is for you. Try it on.”

Ni Wenyu accepted the jacket, gripping the garment tightly with his reddened, cold hands. His eyes were slightly misty.

Since his parents passed away, no one had bought him clothes; he wore only hand-me-downs from the villagers.

Though he earned some silver from copying books after learning to read and write, he dared not spend much, hoping to save for when he went to the capital for the imperial exams.

“Lihua, I have clothes now. Don’t waste money like this anymore. Save it.”

“I know. I’m careful. Now hurry and try it on.”

“Alright!” The youth nodded and changed into the new jacket. “Lihua, how does it look?”

Jiang Lihua nodded earnestly, “It looks great — like a young scholar.”

“I’ll study hard and become a top scholar. Then I’ll take you away to live a good life together.”

“Hahaha, what if you become a top scholar and the princess takes a fancy to you, snatching you away to be her prince consort?” Jiang Lihua teased.

The young man’s expression turned serious at once. “Lihua, I won’t marry the princess.”

Seeing his earnestness, Jiang Lihua waved her hand. “Alright, alright, no more teasing. Let’s go find the village head to buy a house.”

Together, they arrived outside the village head’s courtyard.

Ni Wenyu called out loudly, “Village Head, are you home?”

The village head came out, “I’m here. Ni, young scholar, do you need something?”

“Village Head, this is my distant cousin. We want to buy a small house here in Lihua Village.”

Before the village head could reply, a sweet voice came from inside, “Grandpa, who’s outside?”

“Rong’er, it’s young scholar Ni.”

Just then, a little girl in an embroidered cotton jacket came running out and threw her arms around Ni Wenyu’s arm. “Brother Ni, you’re here!”

The village head pretended to scold, “Rong’er, let go of Ni young scholar. You’re a girl; mind your manners.”

He held great hopes for Ni Wenyu, believing he had a strong chance of passing the provincial exam. Thus, he did not strictly reprimand his granddaughter’s behavior.

Ni Wenyu gently pushed Huang Yingrong’s hand away and cupped his hands in greeting. “Men and women should maintain proper distance.”

Huang Yingrong pouted unhappily, then turned to see Jiang Lihua behind Ni Wenyu. “Brother Ni, who is she?”

“She is my distant cousin.”

Huang Yingrong walked over to Jiang Lihua, smiling innocently. “My name is Huang Yingrong. What’s your name? Can we be friends?”

Jiang Lihua replied faintly, “My name is Li Zi.”

“Li Zi? Like the fruit pear?”

“Enough, Rong’er. They’re here to buy a house. You go inside and play. Grandpa will show them the houses.”

Huang Yingrong tugged at the village head’s hand, whining, “No, no, Grandpa, I want to go with you.”

Thus, the four of them went together to view the houses.

The village head showed them three houses. Finally, Jiang Lihua chose one close to Ni Wenyu’s residence.

The house was similar in layout to Ni Wenyu’s — a small courtyard, a main hall, two side rooms, and a jujube tree in the yard.

It was at the village’s edge near the back mountain, and because of years of neglect, the gate was somewhat dilapidated.

Out of respect for Ni Wenyu, the village head only charged eighteen taels of silver.

The next day, the village head accompanied Ni Wenyu to the town to complete the property transfer, making the purchase official.

Since Jiang Lihua did not want to reveal her name, the house was registered under Ni Wenyu’s name.

Jiang Lihua busied herself tidying the house, which was typical of northern homes with a kang bed heated from beneath by fire.

“Li Zi, are you home?”

Hearing Huang Yingrong’s voice, Jiang Lihua replied reluctantly.

Since buying the house, the little girl had been following her around, much to her annoyance.

Huang Yingrong entered Jiang Lihua’s room, glancing around curiously, her eyes darting this way and that.

“Li Zi, what are you doing?”

“I’m tidying up the house.”

“Li Zi, don’t you like me?”

“No.”

“Oh.” Huang Yingrong picked up a beaded flower ornament from the table. “Li Zi, did you really buy this in town?”

“Yes, why?”

“I thought it looked nice on you. I wanted one too, but I couldn’t find it in town.”

“If you like it, you can have it.”

“Really?” Huang Yingrong grabbed the ornament and ran out. “Thank you, Li Zi. I’m off now.”

Jiang Lihua shook her head helplessly. She knew the little girl had some schemes, but she wasn’t petty enough to quarrel with a child.

Looking at the neat house and small yard, Jiang Lihua sighed in relief. At last, she had a place to call home.

To avoid arousing suspicion, she didn’t take household items from the general store but went with Ni Wenyu to buy them in town.

The day they returned to the village with a cartload of goods, news quickly spread that Ni Wenyu’s distant cousin had come to live in the village.

Meanwhile, the disappearance of the Yang family’s adopted daughter-in-law passed unnoticed by the villagers, showing just how insignificant Jiang Lihua’s presence had once been.

At the Yang family residence, after the incident near the back mountain, Sun and Yang Wenbin found little peace.

After several days of anxiety, seeing nothing further happened, they relaxed somewhat.

That night, as usual, they went to bed early.

Suddenly, in the middle of the night, the sound of a little girl’s crying echoed through the courtyard, sometimes loud, sometimes faint, near then far.

Terrified, Sun and Yang Wenbin clutched their quilts tightly, afraid to peek out.

“I died so miserably~ I died so miserably~~”

“The mountain is so cold; I wish someone would come keep me company~”

The sorrowful cries drifted faintly like a ghostly melody, seeping into their ears.

The sounds persisted for most of the night before fading away.

At dawn, Yang Wenbin, disheveled, hurried to knock on Sun’s door.

“Mother, mother, did you hear that last night? That girl came looking to claim our souls.”