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Although salted meat and smoked meat were delicious, eating them for most of the year could feel monotonous and tiring. They were nowhere as tempting as fresh pork!

As a result, although Mother Xu didn’t have time to cook braised pork that night, the family still ate an extra bowl of rice due to this.

Mother Xu was now completely under the influence of her daughter’s indirect suggestions.

She had become much nicer towards her family. The biggest reason for this change, though, was not Xu Yin, but her daughter-in-law. Her daughter–in-law earned as much money for the family by making pants and clothes in her spare time as her eldest son did through his monthly salary. 

Although Mother Xu still didn’t treat her particularly kindly, she still gave her porridge and cornmeal buns, which ensured that Xu Yin’s sister-in-law would always feel full.

Xu Yin had told her that her sister-in-law needed to eat well to do more work. One needed to feed the mules if one wanted them to pull their carts.

That night, Mother Xu watched as her daughter pulled out a stack of money that her friends had paid for the last batch of clothes, and the deposit for the next batch that they ordered. Mother Xu was in shock. She couldn’t close her gaping mouth.

“That much?”

“That’s right! The style I thought of, combined with Sister-in-law’s needlework, will rule our small Mingyang county. One day, our business will spread to the entire world!”

“Pfft. Sewing is easy; everyone can sew. It must all be because of you, Daughter!”

Mother Xu didn’t want to praise her daughter-in-law.

Xu Yin’s sister-in-law didn’t object, either.

Compared with how she used to live before, she felt like she was now living in heaven.

She didn’t need to go to the village to pick up manure anymore, and nor did she need to get up in the small hours of the morning, when it would still be dark outside, to chop and split firewood. When she went to wash clothes, she only needed to wash her and her son’s clothes and sheets.

Having less work wasn’t the most important change, though. The most important change was—

She could now eat her fill!

Ever since Xu Yin had left her a bowl of thick porridge that day, she had never gone hungry again.

Sometimes, she’d even feel that she’d eaten too much, to the point that she was bloated.

Ever since she earned more money for the family, not only could she eat her fill, but her mother-in-law had also scolded her less.

These days gave her hope.

Jovially, Xu Yin stuffed a large bundle of money into her sister-in-law’s hand. “Sister-in-law, this is your commission money.”

Mother Xu’s face sank. “How come she gets a share too? She’s your sister-in-law. Isn’t it only right that she helps you with your work? It’s not right for her to receive your money. Take it back!”

“Mom, all I do is just talk to promote the clothes. Sister-in-law does the bulk of the work, and I think she has worked so much harder than I have. Of course, Mom and Dad have also worked hard, so we should all share the money we’ve earned!

“Here, Dad, this is yours! Buy some better cigarettes. Don’t smoke those cheap, unfiltered cigarettes anymore. And this is for Mom. Mom is the hardest working among us. You don’t only take care of us everyday, but you also have to take care of the house chores so that we can work and study without worries. That’s why you should naturally get the most!”

Xu Yin only kept five yuan for herself and gave the rest to Mother Xu. 

Mother Xu was so happy that she widened her eyes and smiled from ear to ear. “Are you giving all of this to me? Why don’t you keep it for yourself?”

“I have enough money. What do I need so much money for? Besides, since we’re still living together, it’s only right that Mom keeps and manages the money.”

Mother Xu didn’t tell her how happy she was to hear Xu Yin say this.

Upon receiving such a large sum of money, her daughter gave the money to her. What did that mean? That meant that her daughter was filial!

Xu Yin breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her mother was no longer so worked up over the ten yuan that she gave to her sister-in-law.

She had initially wanted to secretly give her the money, but she was also afraid that if she accidentally revealed it someday, a fierce argument would ensue afterwards. It was better to be upfront about it from the beginning.

She was already giving the lion’s share of the money to Mother Xu anyway. As the primary labourer, her sister-in-law deserved some of the money, too.

Xu Yin lowered her head and took a glance at her nephew, who sat obediently on a small stool near them. He was listening to the adults talk while playing with his paper frog. She softly smiled.

“Oh, I almost forgot about Doudou,” she said. “I heard that Doudou has been very well-behaved lately. Apparently Doudou has been helping Grandpa pick up firewood, helping Grandma sweep the yard, and even wants to clean the dishes after dinner. How can I not reward such a good kid? Come here, Doudou, Auntie will give you two cents as your reward!”

“Me? I get money too?”

The boy seemed incredulous. He pointed at himself with his tiny hand.

“Of course! As long as you contribute to the family, regardless of whether you’re an adult or a kid, you’ll get a reward too.”

Little Douding was so happy that he didn’t know which way was up. 

It was already pitch dark outside. In order to save electricity and kerosene, everyone went back to their rooms to sleep after they washed.

In the east-facing room, Mother Xu was squeezing the thick envelope of money that Xu Yin had given her. She rummaged through the closet to figure out where best to hide it. 

In the past, she had always used a rubber band to wrap her money in a roll. Then, she would store it in an iron box or stuff it into a covered hole in the bedhead wall.

Today, though, her daughter had given her too much money. After she rolled the money, it couldn’t fit inside the iron box. She tried to hide it in the hole, but was worried about it being bitten by a rat, so she wanted to find a suitable metal container to store the money in instead.

While she looked, she chatted with Father Xu. “Old Man, look how sensible your daughter is! She gave me so much money and even gave you some. Where did you hide the money she gave you? Give it to me!”

“…That’s the money my daughter gave me to show her filial piety to me,” Father Xu replied.

“Even if it’s a filial piety gift, you still have to give it to me for safekeeping. Do you really want to use it to buy those filtered cigarettes?”

Father Xu blushed. “I just want to try something new. It’s not a big deal, is it?”

“Don’t spend your daughter’s money on that! If you want it, buy it with your own money!”

“I have given you everything I earned in the past. When will you buy me cigarettes? Or is my daughter the only one who treats me well?”

“Damned old man, you don’t want to sleep on the bed anymore, do you?”

Father Xu hurriedly begged for mercy.

Mother Xu laughed and lightheartedly scolded him.

In the east wing of the house, Xu Yin’s sister-in-law carefully put her share of the money into a yellowed cowhide book, treating it as if it was a precious treasure.

The book was a prize her uncle had won for being an outstanding labourer years ago, and was given to her as part of her dowry when she got married. She was told that she could use it to store cloth and food tickets when she became in charge of her own household.

She didn’t have any tickets to store in the book before, but now the book finally had a use.

After she closed it, she opened it again and glanced at the money. She felt really giddy.

This was the first money she had earned with her own ability.

Xu Yin had said that there would be more in the future. Even more than today, perhaps, as long as she worked hard!

Of course she would!

Xu Yin was deliberately provoking her, wasn’t she!?

“Mom, Mom, mine too!”

Little Douding tiptoed. He wanted to give her the two cents in his hand.

His mother laughed. “Mom will keep your money so you can use it. When you need to spend it on something, ask Mom for it, alright?”

“I don’t want to spend it. I want to save up and buy the best snacks and sweets for Auntie. She gave me sweets again today!”

“Are you just going to buy those for Auntie? Are you going to buy some for Mom as well?”

“I will! I will! Auntie said that everyone should get some!”

“Hahaha. Doudou, you’re such a good kid, aren’t you?”

Faintly, Xu Yin could hear the joyful noises coming from the east-facing room and the east wing of the house from inside her room.

Xu Yin stared at the yellow mosquito net above her, smiled, and closed her eyes to sleep.

Early the next morning, Mother Xu got up and began cooking the sliced pork meat.

The weather had only grown hotter since the farming season. Though the meat that she’d hung last night had not yet spoiled, it could not be left to hang for long. 

In Mother Xu’s opinion, five jin¹About 5.5 pounds. of pork meat with a mixture of fat and lean meat was not as worth it as five jin of pure fat meat. 

If she was asked to spend money to buy meat, she would definitely not buy this pork meat.

However, her daughter had won this pork meat as a prize, so it was significantly different.

With the knife in her hand, Mother Xu chopped the meat and divided it into three.

She rubbed the first one with salt. It was to be salted bacon, so it could be a meat dish that they’d eat for their Qixi festival²Double Seventh Festival; the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese calendar. It’s also called “the traditional Chinese equivalent of Valentine” because it celebrates romantic love. If you’d like to read more on this festival, you can also search the names ‘Zhinü and Niulang’, or the tale ‘ The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl’. meal.

Then, she braised the other third for lunch, since her daughter had been craving it. 

As for the remaining piece, which weighed about one and a half jin³About 1.65 pounds. , Mother Xu tied it with a straw rope and gave it to her daughter. Mother Xu told Xu Yin to send it to her maternal grandmother’s house in Da’ao.