Great Tang Idyll

Book 1: Chapter 38

Life Still Has Hope

Idlers Note: Having an impacted wisdom tooth sucks. Having an impacted wisdom tooth and no insurance or the money to pay for a dentist sucks even more. ?

When the first heavy snowfall descended upon the great earth, the surrounding scenery color had all changed. Whether it was the nakedly bald tree branches or those still lushly verdant pines and cypresses, they all stood there bearing strips or patches of white.

The ducks and geese didnt go to the pond in the morning anymore. Only when it was midday did they honk as they rushed towards the location with water. As they left behind a mess of chaotic footprints on the snowy ground, Xiaohong held a bamboo rod in her hand while following from behind, those guys in front seeming to all be her subordinates.

Yingtao was leading a manservant from the manor that was carrying the chicken feed as she made gu-gu sounds with her mouth in order to summon the chickens that were hiding in their nests. At once, over 1,900 hens along with 100 roosters flapped their wings as they ran out in succession.

Erniu inspected the brown sugar that had been piled up like grains of sand within the warehouses before turning around to lock the door in order to go help Shiliu take care of those earthworms. Lifting away the disordered mess of stuff that had been piled on top of the earthworms to check and not let these things start smoking, he then finished up by stacking the surrounding snow back on top again. He could now go find Little Mister.

Shiliu followed Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan to the back to check to see if there were houses that had fallen over. The cucumbers in that land there had already started growing creeping vines. To have even a single one die would make her heart hurt.

When theyd reached the location, the sight before their eyes was a swath of yellow-brown color with not a trace of the white-colored snow to be seen. The peasants didnt need anyone to inform them and had proactively come over to help clean up the accumulated snow. Building after building of little houses were all pristinely standing there and the snow that had fallen on top of the houses curtains had also been cleaned off.

When those peasants saw that Little Mister and Little Miss Juan-Juan had arrived, they one after another came over to give greetings as each and every one of their faces bore a sincere yet respectful smile. This was unrelated to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juans own identities.

Uncle Wang, is your familys house leaking snow? Is it warm inside? Wang Juan softly asked when one of the people asked after her.

In reply to Little Miss words, warm, really too warm! The house isnt leaking snow, either. Its sturdy, ~ne! This is all thanks to the manor paying to repair the house and build the kang [bed-stove]. Otherwise, Ill have to be affected this year again. This old man, Ive never seen such a good master-family before.

Upon speaking of his familys matters, this Uncle Wangs eyes had squinted until he nearly couldnt see. As he spoke, he tried to pull his son by his side to kneel down and kowtow, which was naturally held back by Shiliu.

Unh, thats good, then. In less than a month, it'll be New Years. How are the preparations for the New Year goods^[1] in your family? For New Year this year, the manor will be giving every person 2 catties of pork, 1 catty of vegetable oil, and 6 chi [foot] of cloth to let the fellow villagers^[2] have a good New Years.

Zhang Xiaobao said with a smile; he liked this type of feeling of being a single family.

Little Mister, we cant accept this many things, ~ah! You [honorific], this is Uncle Wang didnt know what he should say.

Im buying people's hearts here. In the future, some things will appear on the manor that outsiders cant be allowed to know about. So buying people's hearts is to help me keep it secret. Zhang Xiaobao blurted out the truth.

Little Mister, dont say people's hearts, this old mans life is all yours [honorific]! Whatever things Little Mister wants to do, this old man will help you protect it. Whoever wants to ruin it, this old man will stake my life against whoever. Uncle Wang exclaimed as the other people around him also followed suite in echoing their agreement.

Everybody all knew in their hearts that the hearts of people were gained in exchange. You treat me well and Ill treat you well. Other than the two manors of Zhang and Wang, they hadnt ever seen any master-family buy people's hearts like sorepairing houses, building the kang [bed-stove], not to mention giving money for their work and to even have meat with every meal as well as warm wine to warm the body when it was cold. It was nearly New Years and they were giving out things again. People's hearts were all made of flesh.

Zhang Xiaobao gave a Wang Juan look as the two of them could both feel warm tenderness. Wang Juans lips twitched slightly and Zhang Xiaobao nodded before Wang Juan finally said:

Fellow villagers, this year is still a bit lacking. Wait until next year, Yingtao over there will have even more chicks being hatched. By that time, whichever family wants to raise them can come over to fetch them. Once they lay eggs, the manor will collect them and let every family have more spare cash to use.

Once these words were said, the peasants were all happy. Some even cheerfully yelled out twice to give vent to the joy in their hearts as this snow didnt seem to be that cold anymore.

Only a few little kids who had come over from Ge Manor to play didnt have any happy thoughts at all. They werent people from the two manors of Zhang and Wang. Anything else, they werent clear on but the items given for the New Year, they did know about. If one person would get 2 catties of meat, then wouldnt one family be able to receive quite a lot? If they wanted to wrap dumplings,^[3] they could wrap dumplings; if they wanted to pan-fry flat cakes, they could pan-fry flat cakes.

And that vegetable oil could fry a lot of things to eat. The cloth was also enough to make an outfit of new clothes. Comparing the two, the little kids all were a bit resentful of the adults in their familywhy didnt they go to the two manors of Zhang and Wang back then?

Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, seeing that this side had no problems whatsoever, were also reassured. After speaking two sentences with words to motivate people, they left under escort of the crowds respectful gazes.

Why did you tell the truth, ~ne? Wang Juan asked Zhang Xiaobao on the return path.

I did want to speak of theory with them and I was even prepared to recite a portion from the Analects or Thousand Character Classic or whatever but would they be able to comprehend it? The things that the peasants need are extremely simplebe fully fed, be clothed warmly, to live safely, and to be able to show off some in front of the other peasantsthese are the largest spiritual and material needs for a culture.

Yes, ~ya! Theyre all good folks, ~ah! Treat them a bit well and theyll remember it for a lifetime. Ive decided, when its a bit warmer, to build a school and let the little kids of our two manors be able to learn to read. Wang Juan started getting emotional over there.

Not only from our two manorsalso have to attract the children of the surrounding manors. The children of the other manors would only have to bring some food themselves, the rest Ill cover. Zhang Xiaobao was thinking even further.

Are you sick?

You have medicine, ~ah? Not joking with you. With my allowing the children of the surrounding manors to come and study, the reputation will get out there. Once the disaster over there starts up next year, Ill freely give away food grains over therelets see who will dare take back my familys lands? Ill use popular opinion^[4] to crush him to death.

Up to now, I still dont understand what kind of person you are. This many operations with each making a bit of money, all for the sake of that piece of land with a grant of 100 heads in the end. Is it worth it? Wang Juan had been constantly trying to figure out Zhang Xiaobao, wanting to know what his inner heart was actually like but kept on failing.

Zhang Xiaobao glanced at Wang Juan next to him and smiled: Dont go guessing men. At the same time, I also never think about how women actually think. Sometimes, we ourselves dont even understand ourselves, much less understanding others, ~ne.

To tell the truth, I really dont care. To lose or to gain are as nothing in front of meIm talking about money. But I also care very much. I know that my Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma all hope to keep maintaining this family legacy. What I can do is to give them a hand.

The material gain and spiritual gain are separate. Its just like if you gave money to a beggar on the street. Even if you dont admit it on the surface, you subconsciously still treat yourself as a good person. For those animals to not be able to win over humans is not only because humans can use tools but its most fundamentally because at a given time, humans will take pity and sympathize with the weak and go on to ally with the weak.

Dont speak of this with me. I dont understand. I only know that this world is an existence where the strong prey on the weak.^[5] I learned so many things for the sake of my family clan.^[6] Give and take its just that simple. Wang Juan felt like her own thinking had followed along with Zhang Xiaobaos at this moment and was extremely uncomfortable.

Fine, lets not talk anymore. Since your family clan over there is no more, then lets remake a new family clan over here. We dont have impressive ancestors so let us become the next generation of impressive ancestors. Its snowing. One of the manors oxen froze to death so theres ox marrow to eat.

Zhang Xiaobao really didnt wish for Wang Juan to obey him on everything so seeing that Wang Juan had reacted quickly, couldnt help but laugh.

When did it freeze to death? How come I didnt hear of it? Wang Juan used her tongue to lick her lips as she really did crave it.

An ox from the family of the manors Chen Hao.^[7] It really was too old and couldnt move to work anymore. Once the snow fell, it froze to death. Im prepared to give him 6 guan [strings of cash] and hell go report it. Once we return, we can eat beef.

Thats not right? I still remember that his familys ox was still living. In the morning, it even passed by in front of the courtyard house, ~ne. Besides, today isnt even that cold. Once the snow fell, the temperature would have risen. Wang Juan asked, wrinkling her brow as if recalling this mornings events.

Zhang Xiaobao sadly shook his head: Yes, ~ya. It was still fine this morning, ~ne. Who knew that in a while, itd freeze to death here? If it didnt freeze to death, then it was scared to death. The ox looked and such heavy snow, ~ah! It was over. It drank a mouthful of cold water and it suicided.

You craved it to this degree? To insist on butchering someone elses ox to eat? Wang Juan figured it out now. Of course, she wouldnt go ask as to why an ox could die from drinking water. She could imagine that Zhang Xiaobao would definitely counter her by asking that since people can die from drinking water, why cant an ox? This matter was impossible to debate.

6 guan [strings of cash] is enough to buy a young ox. The money that the official will come over to request, Ill pay. If a half-grown ox is bought, it can still be used when its spring plowing time. When we get back, Ill make beef ligament for you to eat. Its tender and chewy so it wont ruin the teeth. Zhang Xiaobao chose to use bribery.

I want to eat tendons that have a bit of spicy flavor to it.

The wind blew the drifting snow on which it relied, dressing the green mountains with some white clothing.

Once it got closer and closer to the New Year, the price of brown sugar doubled. Erniu obeyed Little Misters instructions and immediately acted, transforming 20 silver taels into 60 taels. The money hadnt even been warmed up, ~ne, when he once again received a command from Little Mister to go commission large quantities of flat little bamboo baskets or little bamboo cases that were required to be made through weaving.

Once the first batch of bamboo baskets had been sent over, the cucumbers in the back of the courtyard of Zhang Manors main house were already 3 cun [inch] long. Waiting for two or three more days to eat them was the best. If it were three or five days, then theyd be considered to have grown.

Shiliu, heres three cucumbers. Let us three each have one per person. You help us peel the cucumbers. Wang Juan went to go pick three cucumbers that were, comparatively speaking, bigger and handed them over to Shiliu.

Shiliu woodenly accepted them and nodded her head: Cucumbers, winter cucumbersjust the smell is nice. This single one needs how much money, ~ah? Just some time before, they looked to still be vines; here now, theyve matured.

Dont mind about how much moneyjust eat it. Quickly, Xiaobao and I are waiting, ~ne. Wang Juan hadnt eaten any vegetable greens for a month or more so seeing Shiliu was still in a daze, could only begin prodding her.

Shiliu finally recovered and began peeling. The three of them ate with great gusto.

Five days later, Song Jing-gong placed the bamboo case filled with six cucumbers that were still bearing flowers and thorns on the table in front of Magistrate Cheng Lingxiang.

1. Nian huo () literally means year goods and specifically refers to the objects purchased in preparation for Chinese New Year. It is similar to all the paraphernalia that would prepared to be ready for the holidays in the West like Christmas trees, ornaments, decorations, food, presents, etc. Some of the items you would find in a shopping list for Chinese New Year are brown sugar (remember that it is called red sugar in Chinese so it would be good luck to eat since red is considered a lucky color in Chinese culture), fish, fruits, snacks, red-colored decorations that might include spring couplets or chun lian (), along with any other things that would differ depending on the region since they each had their own traditions and take on what was considered necessary for a New Years celebration. 

2. Xiang qin () literally translates to village relatives and is basically a way to address those belonging to the same village as many villages in ancient China were established by members of the same family so the villagers would all end up being related to one another as one big extended clan, leading to marriages being a form of alliance between nearby villages to prevent inbreeding. Even villages that had been initially settled by several families would have the villagers consider each other like an extended family since after generations, a degree of intermarriage would have occurred and due to the familial feeling that would have been nurtured from living in cooperation together for so many years. This sentiment would be similar to people hailing from the same city or state tending to feel a commonality to each other in comparison to those who are from a different part of the country. 

3. Dumplings show up in a lot of different cuisines. Jiaozi () are a form that dumplings can take in Chinese cuisine. For those that dont know, jiaozi are made by wrapping up a prepared filling in dough skin. The content of the filling varied depending on personal preference or regional variety so they could consist of meat with minced vegetables or be wholly vegetarian. The way that the dumpling was wrapped could be an art and changed how the jiaozi looked. The act of wrapping the jiaozi was a group activity that served as a way to strengthen bonds in a lot of families in China and is a tradition that still persists today. After the jiaozi are made, they can be steamed, fried, or boiled. Jiaozi are a common dish eaten for Chinese New Year and are also considered a traditional dish to eat for winter. Since other types of dumplings in Chinese cuisine actually have their own names, I will be translating jiaozi as simply dumplings in English. For foodies who just want to drool over the pictures, go to the Baidu page here. 

4. Min xin () is a term that can come up frequently in Chinese fiction that has ruling or governing as a theme. It literally translates to citizen hearts, which is related to ren xin () or peoples hearts. However, the former is more specifically related to governance and popular sentiment while the latter is more general in connotation. Thus, I translated min xin () as popular opinion here. 

5. The Chinese expression used here is ruo rou qiang shi () and literally means weak meat, strong eat. Equivalent English sayings might be law of the jungle or survival of the fittest but it is basically an idiom to explain what the Chinese viewed as a cruel world where the weak served as food for the strong. This outlook is understandable if you consider the institutionalized upheaval that ancient China would regularly endure for several millennia with the rise and fall of dynasties that lead to great chaos and misery as well as loss of life for the populace. 

6. I am footnoting jia zu () because it is quite noteworthy that Juan-Juan says jia zu () rather than simply jia/ or family. This word choice on her part means that her family has enough status in enough numbers or generations that they are considered a clan even in modern day China. This term can also be translated as house as in Great House. To differentiate between a normal family and a clan where its just larger extended family as well as avoid the connotations of nobility that come with house, I am translating this as family clan. Also, note that a Chinese clan can have some other requirements tied up with it other than a shared surname and blood relations. 

7. Chen Hao () is surnamed Chen/ and his name of hao/ means brave or bold.