It was still pitch-dark outside, and the cold seeped in through the cracks around the window.
When the gong announcing the fifth watch sounded, Lin Wu struggled to open her eyes. Everything before her was dim and shadowy. Wrapped in warmth, she was still heavy with sleep, her eyelids weighed down as though all she wanted was to curl up beneath the covers.
Although the quilt without cotton batting was rather thin, she and Lin Jing’s padded jackets lay over it, and a heated earthenware warmer had been placed inside the bedding as well. After a whole night, the bed still held a little lingering warmth.
The moment she thought of the cold outside, her eyelids began to droop again. Perhaps she could sleep a little longer. It was still early.
The distant sound of the gong drifted over once more, and she jolted awake. She couldn’t fall back asleep. There was no alarm clock here, after all; if she closed her eyes again, she would likely sleep until the sun was high in the sky.
After a great deal of internal struggle, she carefully lifted one corner of the quilt. Cold air immediately rushed in, making her shiver. Fortunately, the padded jacket that had covered them all night still held some body heat. She quickly draped it over herself, then bent down to tuck the corner of the bedding tightly back in.
She walked to the foot of the bed and felt the earthenware pot that held the charcoal. Its mouth had long since gone cold, and the whole thing felt icy beneath her fingers. She picked it up and quietly went outside.
Fortunately, they used well water for washing. Well water was relatively warm, so brushing her teeth and washing her face were not too uncomfortable. The half-full water jar in the kitchen, however, had been filled before bed and had turned icy cold overnight. Lin Wu made several trips back and forth, carrying well water from the courtyard until the jar was full, and only then began lighting the fire and getting busy.
Before long, Lin Jing got up as well. He obediently came to the kitchen to fetch his toothbrush and little pottery cup.
“A Wu, are the leaf-vein bookmarks dry yet?” He had just gone to peek into the side room in the dark. The bamboo tray was still turned upside down, but he hadn’t dared touch it, and he couldn’t tell whether the bookmarks were ready.
“They should be about done. We’ll go check after breakfast.” The cakes in the steamer were already cooking, so Lin Wu found a moment to wash the rice and set it to simmer into porridge.
After breakfast, Lin Wu brought him to the side room. Carefully, she lifted the bamboo tray and gently touched one of the leaf-vein pieces with her fingertip. The layer of peach gum had dried completely and hardened, leaving the surface smooth and slightly cool.
She freed one piece and handed it to Lin Jing, who had been waiting eagerly. “Look. It’s completely dry.”
“Wow!” Lin Jing took it in delight and immediately held it up by the window. In the morning light, the hardened peach gum gleamed with a warm amber luster. Clear and translucent, it set off the thin, cicada-wing-like leaf veins inside, making them appear even sharper and more distinct. Every vein seemed to have been outlined by light, delicate and exquisite, like a piece of jade naturally carved by nature.
“It’s so pretty!” he murmured, pinching the leaf stem between his fingers as he turned it over and over.
Lin Wu watched from the side, also finding the finished piece more delicate than she had expected. Still, when she held it in her hand, it felt too light and bare. It didn’t have the satisfying weight of an ordinary bookmark.
She picked up another one and turned it between her fingers. “The leaf veins are beautiful, but on their own, they look rather incomplete and could easily slip away. When we go to the market later, let’s buy some colorful silk cord and tie a decorative knot around the stem. It will look prettier and be more practical.”
“All right! We have to choose beautiful cord. It needs to be worthy of them!” Lin Jing nodded firmly in agreement. Then, as though he had suddenly remembered something, he turned to Lin Wu. “How much should we sell each bookmark for?”
“We’ll have to think carefully about that.” Lin Wu removed the leaf-vein bookmarks from the bamboo tray one by one. “How much does A Jing think we should charge?”
“One hundred!” Lin Jing answered without hesitation, still holding up the piece of leaf vein. One hundred was the largest number he knew.
“One hundred copper coins? That might be a little expensive.” Lin Wu thought about it. A calligraphy brush for writing large characters also cost one hundred copper coins, yet its production was more complicated and it lasted longer.
“One hundred taels!” Lin Jing continued grandly, clearly feeling that only such a price was worthy of their treasure.
Lin Wu burst out laughing and rubbed his little head. “If our bookmarks were made of gold, then they really could be worth one hundred taels.”
After carefully wrapping the dried leaf-vein bookmarks in a clean piece of fine cloth and putting them away, the two of them swiftly packed their things and, as usual, headed for the market.
Thinking of how slowly the jadeite cakes had sold the previous day, Lin Wu prepared one steamer basket fewer that morning. For one thing, she wanted to close up early and return home to add cotton batting to their trousers and bedding. For another, she planned to try making some new hot foods and still had to choose silk cord for the bookmarks. When she added everything together, there was quite a lot to keep her busy that day.
As soon as they reached the flower stall, Lin Wu noticed that Second Madam Zhao had an extra, fairly large bamboo basket. When she drew closer, she saw that it was filled to the brim with eggplants.
“Have you switched to selling vegetables today, Sister-in-law?” Lin Wu teased with a smile.
“Not at all.” Second Madam Zhao waved her hands. “I saw some eggplants for sale at the west gate of the market just now. They were shipped up from the south. There have been fewer boats coming from the south these past few days, so there are fewer vegetables in the market. The moment I saw them, I hurried to buy as many as I could. I’m planning to take them home and pickle them. They’ll last a long time that way.”
“That reminds me—I was planning to buy some today too.” No sooner had Lin Wu finished speaking than Fourth Sister He came looking for her.
She asked Second Madam Zhao to watch the stall and Lin Jing for a while, then went with Fourth Sister He to the vegetable market.
Lin Wu returned with half a basket of eggplants and half a basket of white radishes. There were only two of them, and they couldn’t eat too much. Besides, winter in Huzhou was not completely without fresh vegetables, and she still preferred to eat things fresh.
After selling all the cakes, they went to the thread shop to choose several skeins of colorful silk cord. Lin Wu also asked the silk-and-cloth shop to deliver cotton batting that afternoon. Then she and Fourth Sister He rented an ox cart together and returned to the lane.
She didn’t know when Tigerhead or the academy steward would arrive, so as soon as Lin Wu put everything away, she brought out the leaf-vein bookmarks and silk cord. She knew only a few styles of decorative knots, so she simply braided a round auspicious knot.
She wrapped one end around the leaf stem, leaving a length of cord dangling as a tassel at the finish. The originally plain leaf vein instantly looked complete and elegant once it had been fitted with the delicate knot. When held up and gently swayed, the tassel and translucent leaf vein complemented each other, making it look just like a proper scholarly trinket sold in a shop.
“It’s so pretty!” Lin Jing leaned over the table, his eyes following the swinging tassel. He couldn’t resist reaching out and lightly touching it with his little finger. “A leaf that can shine, with a tassel growing underneath it.”
“It should sell for one hundred taels!” Little Shopkeeper Lin still remembered the exorbitant price he had set at the beginning. His tiny face was solemn, like a greedy merchant making a shamelessly high opening bid.
Lin Wu laughed at his expression and slipped the bookmark in her hand into his. “Very well, Shopkeeper Lin. Please accept your one hundred taels. This piece is yours.”
Lin Jing shook his head. “No. We have to save it to sell.”
“That won’t do.” Suppressing her laughter, Lin Wu spoke with complete seriousness. “When A Jing goes to the academy later, you’ll need a proper bookmark, won’t you? Besides, if someone wants to buy one and our little shopkeeper doesn’t even have a sample to show them, how will you sell anything?”
Lin Jing suddenly understood. “Oh, right!”
He immediately leaned over the spread-out bookmarks and examined each one carefully. “Then I have to choose the prettiest one.”
The two of them were still bent over the table, trying to decide which bookmark was the most beautiful, when a knock sounded from outside.
“Could that be Tigerhead?” Lin Jing set down the bookmark in his hand and hurried toward the courtyard. “I’ll open the door!”
He dashed to the courtyard gate, stood on tiptoe, strained to slide open the wooden bolt, and pulled the gate ajar to peek outside—only to yank himself back sharply.
Lin Wu, who had been right behind him, quickly stepped forward and pulled the gate fully open, revealing two neighborhood officers in black uniforms standing outside, each holding a register book.
Lin Wu gently patted Lin Jing on the shoulder, gesturing for him to head back inside first.
Lin Jing tilted his head to look at her, then glanced at the two men outside the gate. He obeyed and scurried back into the inner room, but did not go far. His small hands clung to the doorframe, and a pair of shiny black eyes peered out, watching the scene unfold.
"Are you Lady Lin?" the older neighborhood officer spoke first, his tone flat and unemotional.
"I am, sir. I wonder what brings you two here on official business?" Lin Wu stood just inside the gate, not stepping aside to invite them in immediately.
"By order of the prefectural government, we are conducting a headcount of all the lonely and vulnerable residents in the city, to make proper arrangements for them once the Warmth Charity Home is completed," the officer said, his gaze drifting past her shoulder to land on the small figure peeking out from behind the doorframe. "You are a widow with a young son, and the harsh winter will be hard on you two. The Warmth Charity Home has shelter, warm porridge, and thick winter coats to hand out. It is far better than scraping by like this on your own."
Lin Wu wore a look of deep gratitude on her face as she replied, "This is truly a great blessing. The government shows such great care for us widows and orphans, I cannot express how grateful I am. But... while my son and I do not live in abundance, we rent this small courtyard, so we at least have a roof over our heads. I run a pastry stall every day to make a living. If we move into the Warmth Charity Home, all the coming and going for my work would not only be inconvenient, but might also break the home's rules and cause unnecessary trouble for everyone there."
"Rules?" The younger neighborhood officer frowned. "The Warmth Charity Home has its own set of regulations. Once you move in, you will be assigned suitable work, so there is no need for you to run out to your stall every single day. What's more-"
He lifted a finger to point at the little boy inside the room. "Your son is still so young. You let him follow you out in the cold wind every day, how can you bear that as a mother? The Warmth Charity Home has charcoal fires to keep warm, hot soup to drink, and other children his age to play with. How could that not be better than dragging him around with you?"
The older officer's expression turned stern. "A woman raising a young son all alone, struggling to get by out here on your own—if you fall ill or something unexpected happens, the loss would far outweigh any small gain you get from staying here."
Lin Wu's heart sank. She realized this would not be easy to resolve. "Thank you so much for your concern, sirs. What you say makes perfect sense, but..."
She paused for a moment, looking visibly troubled. "We have a roof over our heads and a small business to get by. The Warmth Charity Home is a charitable place meant for those who have no one to turn to. If we move in, we would only be taking up a spot that should have gone to someone far more desperate than us."
"Ridiculous," the younger officer scoffed. "We are not going to leave law-abiding, registered locals like you out in the cold to take in those unregistered, wandering beggars and drifters, are we? When the government does charity, it does it openly and properly, so the good work can be seen and make a real difference. Helping you folks get back on your feet makes sense. If we hand out alms to those who refuse to work, we would only be encouraging idleness, and adding unnecessary burden to the whole city."
The older officer nodded in agreement. "That is exactly the point. As for those unregistered vagrants, there are separate policies to deal with them. This is a great opportunity for you. If you keep refusing, you will only come off as ungrateful."
After listening to their whole explanation, Lin Wu finally understood. The so-called Warmth Charity Home was never meant to help the truly poor and desperate—it was nothing more than a public relations stunt for the prefectural government. To these officers, all those wandering beggars suffered because they were lazy and unwilling to work. If they let those people move into the home, they would be hard to manage, and might ruin the good, respectable image the government wanted to show off. It was far easier to pick families like her and Fourth Sister He, who had proper local household registration and were easy to manage. Especially a widow like her, raising a young son alone—their story could be used to promote the government's praiseworthy kindness and her own devotion as a mother.
What a clever scheme they had come up with. They thought of everything, except the actual will to help people in need.
But the register had already been submitted to higher authorities. If she openly defied the order, things would surely go badly. Lin Wu lowered her eyes to think, and suddenly remembered the leaf bookmarks they had made earlier. She lifted her head again.
"I fully understand how kind your offer is, sirs, and I know exactly how good life in the Warmth Charity Home would be. But my son really cannot go there. His father used to work for the Shen family, and received great kindness from them. Not long ago, by a stroke of good luck, Headmaster Xu of Canglang Academy took a liking to him, and agreed to let him start his first lessons in the academy soon. We are already gathering the tuition fees. If we move into the Warmth Charity Home now, it would ruin the boy's chance at a good future."
"The Shen family? The academy?" The younger officer laughed out loud, looking her up and down at her simple, coarse cotton tunic. "If you have old ties to the Shen family, how did you end up selling pastries on the street every day?"
Just then, a noise came from the end of the alley. Everyone turned to look, and saw a carriage heading straight towards them.
The older officer only glanced at it briefly before turning back to Lin Wu. "You do not have to worry. The Warmth Charity Home only takes in neat, respectable locals like you. You will never have to share space with those unruly, filthy beggars and vagrants. The government has thought everything through carefully for this initiative."
He assumed the real reason the widow did not want to move in was just that she was afraid of losing face and having to mix with the lower-class vagrants.
Before Lin Wu could reply, the rumble of the carriage grew louder, and it pulled to a steady stop right in front of their courtyard gate.
The carriage curtain was pulled open, and a chubby little figure wrapped in a rabbit-fur lined brocade jacket hopped down first. It was Tigerhead, followed by a kind-faced middle-aged man.
"Sister A Wu!" Tigerhead bounded over to Lin Wu in a few quick steps, his eyes sparkling. "We're here! Where's Brother Jing?"
The academy steward also noticed the two neighborhood officers standing at the gate. Though he was surprised to see them, he stepped forward politely and offered them a cupped-hand greeting. The two officers immediately recognized Tigerhead Shen and the academy steward, and their expressions softened at once.
Seeing her chance, Lin Wu quickly stepped forward, speaking before the officers could get a word in. "The two officers were just talking about the Warmth Charity Home placement. But my son was fortunate enough to be favored by the headmaster, and has already been accepted to start his first lessons at the academy. We really cannot move into the Warmth Charity Home now, and I was just explaining that to the two officers."
Though the steward had no idea what had happened before he arrived, he quickly caught on to the situation and chimed in to back her up. "That is exactly right. The headmaster did give specific instructions that the boy shows great promise, and a spot in the academy's beginner class has been reserved for him. Our academy may not be as fully resourced as the Warmth Charity Home, but we have charcoal fires for warmth and hot soup to drink in winter. A child's first education is no trivial matter. Would the two officers please reconsider this?"
Tigerhead, who only half-understood what the adults were talking about, tugged at Lin Wu's sleeve and looked up at her. "Brother Jing is going to go to the academy? Then I can walk to class and come home with him every day from now on!"
Lin Jing, who had heard all the commotion from inside the house, trotted out and poked his little head out from behind Lin Wu. "Tigerhead, we've finished making the bookmarks."
"Wow!" Tigerhead rushed over to Lin Jing, full of excitement.
Lin Wu gently steered the two boys back inside the house to play.
The two neighborhood officers looked at the academy steward, then glanced at Tigerhead Shen's bouncing back, and exchanged a look of mutual understanding.
The older officer cleared his throat, his tone much milder now. "Since the boy is already set to start his lessons at the academy, his education and future naturally come first. He does not need to move into the Warmth Charity Home. But since his name is already on the submitted register, Mrs. Lin will need to go to the neighborhood office later to sign a formal document explaining the situation."
Lin Wu felt a huge wave of relief wash over her. "Yes, sir. I understand. I will go there right after this."
The two officers did not say another word, turned around, and left.
The academy steward then turned to Mrs. Lin and said in a low voice, "You need not worry, Mrs. Lin. You are still tasked with preparing all the tea and refreshments for the academy, so naturally you will not have the spare time to attend to matters at Cinuang Courtyard."
"Thank you so much for covering for me," Lin Wu said gratefully as she invited the steward into her courtyard.
