Chapter 63 Drought Years (End)

On the second day, Chen Huihong once again went to the inner city to eat as usual.

Qin Huai could see it clearly now—although Chen Huihong and Huiniang lived together, they were merely roommates. Every day, Chen Huihong would go to the inner city for a good meal, bring back some snacks, and spend the rest of her time eating those snacks. If there was something lively outside, she would go watch; if not, she would stay home cracking melon seeds.

Compared to her, Huiniang was much busier.

In the morning, she went out to buy groceries and grain. After returning, she cleaned up Chen Huihong’s melon seed shells and tidied the house. If the sun was out, she would set up racks to dry the quilts.

When Chen Huihong went out wandering, Huiniang was working outside. By the time Chen Huihong returned, Huiniang was usually in the kitchen steaming sweet potatoes.

At night, when it was cold outside, Huiniang and Chen Huihong would stay indoors together. Since there was no brazier at home, Huiniang would curl up in the quilt chatting with Chen Huihong, while Chen Huihong sat at the table cracking melon seeds and playing with small trinkets.

According to her agreement with Manager Lu, Chen Huihong did not eat at Tayun Building on the second day, but instead went to Yonghe House. The waiters there warmly received her, and Chen Huihong returned home in the evening carrying several packages.

Huiniang was steaming corn buns in the kitchen.

“Elder sister, you’re back,” Huiniang greeted happily, then excitedly shared, “Today corn flour at the grain shop was especially cheap! I bought a whole bag! I also got a small bag of white flour. I’ve steamed corn buns—would you like one?”

Chen Huihong went into the kitchen and looked at the rather unappealing corn buns. She didn’t mind and nodded, asking, “Grain prices change every day now. Why was corn flour so cheap today?”

“The shop assistant said this batch got damp and had some mold,” Huiniang said cheerfully. “It’s fine—I’ve already picked out the moldy parts and thrown them away. There’s still more than half a bag left.”

Chen Huihong frowned instinctively. “Next time don’t buy grain from that shop. Selling moldy grain like that is unethical.”

“Elder sister, the grain here is already very good,” Huiniang replied. “Back home, when grain was scarce, we had to buy mixed grain from the landlord. For one jin of corn flour, there were three liang of sand and two liang of mouse droppings mixed in. After sifting, getting half a jin of corn flour was already good. This place doesn’t mix in any sand at all—and they sell it cheap!”

“Many people were buying it. Luckily I went early this morning, or I wouldn’t have gotten any.”

Chen Huihong said nothing and handed Huiniang a preserved fruit.

Huiniang happily took it and held it in her mouth, reluctant to swallow. “Thank you, elder sister.”

Chen Huihong stood in the kitchen waiting for the buns to finish steaming.

Huiniang rarely steamed corn buns and didn’t know how to control timing or heat, frequently lifting the lid to check. Qin Huai watched from the side and felt her skills were quite lacking.

The buns themselves were already rough—coarse corn flour mixed with a small amount of white flour. Smoothness and refinement were impossible. Her kneading technique was likely poor as well, with insufficient dough handling.

Most importantly, the fire in the stove was too weak.

Whether due to saving firewood or simply not adding enough, Qin Huai felt the buns would likely end up undercooked.

Sure enough, after more than ten minutes, the fire had gone out, but the buns were still not fully cooked.

Huiniang poked at them and asked uncertainly, “Elder sister, are these done?”

“I don’t know,” Chen Huihong replied honestly. “I only know how to eat, not cook.”

“But there’s no firewood left,” Huiniang said awkwardly. “I delayed earlier while buying corn flour. By the time I got back, the firewood seller had already left. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning to buy more.”

“Then just eat as is,” Chen Huihong said. After thinking, she pulled out a piece of tree bark from her pocket. “Or do you want to eat this?”

Huiniang hesitated. “My mother said undercooked buns can still be eaten.”

So they ate the undercooked buns.

Huiniang had made four buns, each the size of a fist. She ate three; Chen Huihong ate one.

Since the kitchen was too cold, they brought the buns back into the room.

On the short walk, Chen Huihong couldn’t resist taking a bite out of curiosity—and immediately frowned, her features twisting in distaste. “Strange taste.”

She then popped a preserved fruit into her mouth and handed the rest of the small packet to Huiniang, implying the buns were too bad and should be eaten with something sweet.

Huiniang happily accepted, alternating between preserved fruit and large bites of bun, mumbling while chewing, “Sweet.”

“You only ever say that,” Chen Huihong said helplessly, sitting by the table and eating her bun while watching Huiniang climb into bed and wrap herself up, leaving only her head and hands exposed.

Huiniang happily continued eating.

Suddenly she said, “Elder sister, you’re really good to me—better than my parents ever were.”

“That’s because your parents weren’t very good to you either. They haven’t come to Peking in over half a year,” Chen Huihong replied calmly.

The room fell silent.

After a while, Huiniang asked softly, “Elder sister… if I told you I never actually knew whether my parents would come to Peking, and that I only said that because I was afraid you’d abandon me… and I don’t actually want to find them… would you be angry?”

Chen Huihong glanced at her. “They call me ‘Mad Lady.’ I assume it’s to avoid trouble and get free food and lodging. I’m not actually stupid.”

“Would you think I’m unfilial?” Huiniang asked.

“Filial piety is reciprocal. Parents who are not kind have no right to demand filial children,” Chen Huihong said. “Your parents even intended to sell you to a broker. It’s only natural you don’t want to find them.”

Huiniang immediately brightened. “Good thing that broker thought I was too ugly and didn’t take me—otherwise I wouldn’t have met you.”

“Elder sister, are your parents good to you?”

Chen Huihong paused, then replied, “I don’t remember.”

“Probably fine. In my place… families don’t interfere much, nor is there much need to. Things just happen naturally.”

Huiniang didn’t understand.

Chen Huihong took another bite of her bun and frowned, glancing outside—but the window was paper-covered and she couldn’t see anything.

“Tomorrow is Minor New Year,” Chen Huihong said. “And your coming-of-age ceremony.”

“What’s a coming-of-age ceremony?” Huiniang asked.

“It’s a girl’s 15th birthday. On that day, elders use a hairpin to bind her hair up, and there are usually ceremonies and guests. I only heard about it from storytellers—it’s probably a celebration.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Huiniang said enviously.

Seeing her expression, Chen Huihong asked, “Don’t you have one?”

Huiniang shook her head. “My elder sister was sold before she turned 15. Most girls in our village marry at 13 or 14. I was supposed to be betrothed at 13 too, but there was a drought and people had no money to marry. What they could offer wasn’t worth more than selling me to a broker.”

“My mother had already arranged a match, but my father refused. He said raising me another year would make me sell for more money. In the end, I wasn’t sold.”

Huiniang chewed her bun, somewhat melancholic.

“They argued many times. My father even said my name was chosen wrong—only thinking of ‘virtuous’ without considering ‘pretty.’ What use is virtue without beauty?”

“Virtue isn’t useless,” Chen Huihong said. “Gentle and kind, modest and cautious—such a beautiful meaning is reduced to just ‘virtuous’.”

“But ‘Hui’ sounds nice,” Huiniang said. “Many girls in our village envy my name. They think ‘Hui’ sounds much better than names like Ya, Di, Cao, or Hua.”

“It is nice,” Chen Huihong agreed. “If you like the sound but not the meaning of ‘virtuous,’ the character for ‘wisdom’ is also good.”

“Elegant outside and wise inside—you might like that more.”

Huiniang’s eyes lit up. “Elder sister, you’re so cultured!”

“Just something I heard from storytellers,” Chen Huihong replied calmly.

After their brief nighttime chat, Huiniang finished her bun and went to sleep. Chen Huihong continued cracking melon seeds in the dark.

Lights were expensive in this era—neither candles nor oil lamps were affordable for Huiniang. Chen Huihong usually only brought back melon seeds from the restaurant, not candles.

Once night fell, the room was dark. Better to sleep early.

But tonight would not be peaceful.

Because Huiniang seemed to have eaten something bad.

After finishing her snacks, Chen Huihong was about to rest when Huiniang suddenly struggled up and went outside several times during the night.

She went four or five times before finally settling down, lying weakly in bed.

When she returned from the last time, Chen Huihong asked, “Did you eat something bad?”

“Seems like it,” Huiniang replied weakly. “Maybe because the buns weren’t fully cooked.”

“It’s because you bought moldy corn flour,” Chen Huihong corrected. “Do you want me to call a doctor?”

Huiniang grabbed her hand and shook her head. “Too expensive. We still need to save money for meat at New Year.”

“I can get one from Tayun Building,” Chen Huihong said.

“That won’t work either. Doctors charge extra for nighttime visits,” Huiniang insisted. “I’ll go to the pharmacy myself tomorrow morning. Their resident doctor is cheaper.”

After a moment of silence, Chen Huihong lay down. “Alright. It’s your decision.”

She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Huiniang also drifted into sleep.

Only Qin Huai remained standing by the bed, watching Huiniang with a grave expression.

Though it was dark, he couldn’t see anything—but he could hear her breathing.

It was rapid.

And faint within that rapidness.

He let out a long breath, hoping his experience was wrong.

At dawn the next day, Chen Huihong woke up.

She noticed Huiniang still lying in bed, buried under the quilt. She called her.

“Huiniang.”

“Huiniang?”

She lifted the quilt and found Huiniang’s face flushed red, unresponsive.

Without hesitation, Chen Huihong wrapped her in the quilt, picked her up horizontally, and ran straight out—without even putting on her cotton coat.

Some people were already awake. Seeing her running in single clothes while holding a quilt, they called out to their families: “The mad lady is acting crazy again!”

Chen Huihong ran straight to the pharmacy.

The pharmacy opened early. A clerk was sweeping while the physician sorted herbs. Seeing Chen Huihong rush in with a quilt, the clerk instinctively tried to stop her, then withdrew his hand halfway.

“Madam Chen, it’s so cold—why aren’t you wearing a coat? Why are you running with a quilt?” he asked. “You didn’t pick up a corpse to treat, did you? We can’t handle that.”

“She ate something bad,” Chen Huihong said, placing the quilt down carefully.

The clerk then recognized her. “Isn’t this Huiniang? Doctor Wang, please take a look!”

Doctor Wang, with graying hair, quickly came over and took her pulse. Under Chen Huihong’s steady gaze, he asked calmly, “Madam Chen, what did your maid eat yesterday?”

“Moldy corn flour. Undercooked,” she replied.

The doctor’s expression changed immediately. Turning to the clerk, he asked, “Did Huiniang buy corn flour from the western grain shop yesterday?”

Before the clerk could respond, Chen Huihong said directly, “Yes. She said it was damp and moldy because it was cheap. She picked out the moldy parts.”

Doctor Wang sighed. “That shop is truly unscrupulous—selling such harmful food.”

The clerk suddenly remembered something. “Doctor Wang, didn’t someone named Li die yesterday from eating corn flour?”

“I heard his family didn’t remove the mold and cooked it together. Everyone except his wife, who ate little, died last night.”

“And it’s not just them—there were more cases in the west. The grain shop owner fled overnight.”

“You mean that corn flour can kill people?” Chen Huihong asked.

The clerk hesitated and didn’t answer.

Doctor Wang finished examining and sighed. “Madam Chen, I’ll speak plainly since I believe you’ll understand.”

“I’ll prescribe a medicine to induce vomiting, and another to reduce fever. Whether she survives… I cannot guarantee. My skill is limited; for such acute cases, I only have about a 30% chance.”

“Prescribe it,” Chen Huihong said. “I’ll pay you later.”

After the medicine was prepared and administered, Huiniang vomited several times and gradually regained some consciousness.

The doctor advised taking her home to avoid the cold and said the medicine would be delivered later after being prepared.

Back home, Chen Huihong searched for money everywhere, even rummaging through leftover preserved fruits.

“Elder sister, what are you looking for?” Huiniang asked weakly from the bed.

“Money. I’ll take you to that hospital,” Chen Huihong said.

“It’s too expensive… we can’t afford it,” Huiniang gasped.

“I’ll borrow it.”

“But if you borrow money, won’t people realize you’re not mad?” Huiniang said.

At that, Chen Huihong paused.

“Then you won’t be able to go to the inner city anymore, or eat what you like. People will realize you’re not what you pretend to be.”

Chen Huihong crouched on the ground, silent, then looked up at her. “When did you figure it out?”

Huiniang smiled faintly. “Elder sister, I’m not stupid. I knew from the first day.”

“Tree bark isn’t eaten like that.”

“But you still ate it,” Chen Huihong said.

“Because I was too hungry. I hadn’t eaten for many days. I was afraid of eating soil and dying worse, but I was so hungry I couldn’t even stand—I had to crawl.”

“I thought I was going to die, but after eating the bark you gave me, I wasn’t hungry anymore.”

“You don’t look like a famine refugee at all. You’re not convincing. Your complexion is too good, your strength too great. You don’t search for food or water, not even carrying a container.”

“And when I mentioned Lin County, you had no reaction. That’s where we met—Lin County. There was a plague of rats there; many died. Nearby villages were deserted. Refugees avoided going there. I deliberately went to empty places to avoid people.”

“You said you were a refugee, but what noble lady would wander into such a place alone?”

Chen Huihong looked at her. “Then why did you follow me? Weren’t you afraid I’d eat you?”

Huiniang smiled. “I wasn’t afraid of my own parents eating me. Why would I be afraid of you?”

Chen Huihong froze slightly.

Huiniang sat up with effort. “I always knew my parents brought me along during the famine as emergency food.”

“I couldn’t sleep at night, afraid they would swap and eat me. One night I overheard them discussing that they had run out of food and that keeping me was useless—they planned to trade me away the next morning.”

“I ran away that very night.”

“Even if you wanted to eat me, it’s fine. At least you fed me a full meal.”

Chen Huihong didn’t know what to say.

“Demons don’t eat people,” she said finally.

“Then what kind of demon are you?” Huiniang asked.

“I am Bai. By your understanding, I am a tree spirit.”

“Elder sister, can you open the window?” Huiniang asked.

“Doctor Wang said you need to stay warm.”

“It won’t help,” Huiniang shook her head. “I heard him. He said he only has a 30% chance. That means basically no chance. I’m not going to make it.”

Chen Huihong frowned, thinking. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“I can borrow money from Manager Lu.”

Huiniang shook her head.

“It’s too far. Even by rickshaw, the trip takes a long time. We may not have enough money for treatment. We don’t even have money for transport. With the snow melting, it’s colder than before, and there are many corpses on the road. I might not survive the trip.”

“I feel terrible.”

As she spoke, she suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining the quilt.

“Sorry, elder sister. I stained your quilt.”

Chen Huihong said nothing and silently opened the window.

Outside, the snow had melted. Trees stood bare with only branches remaining. There was no pleasant scenery.

“Elder sister, since you’re a demon, what are your abilities?” Huiniang asked weakly. “In plays, demons can use magic.”

“My ability is very useless,” Chen Huihong said, taking out a piece of tree bark. “I am a tree. If you eat me, you won’t feel hungry.”

“Then you’re very powerful,” Huiniang said. “Stronger than magic. Just be careful not to be eaten.”

Then she suddenly realized. “No wonder you hide from people.”

“Elder sister, let me tell you about myself.”

Huiniang began recounting her past. Her life had been simple—working day after day, waiting to marry, working and waiting again.

As she spoke, her voice grew faint.

“Elder sister, you said people are bound to die eventually. I was supposed to die the day I met you, but I lived much longer.”

Chen Huihong watched quietly, saying nothing.

“If there is a next life, I want to be a young lady in the city so I can go to school and be as knowledgeable as you.”

Like a whisper, Huiniang murmured indistinctly, then suddenly reached out.

Chen Huihong stepped forward and took her hand.

“Mother…” Huiniang’s pupils began to dilate.

“Don’t eat me, okay?”

“I’ll be obedient.”

“Mother…”

Her hand fell heavily.

Huiniang had passed away.

Chen Huihong looked at her in silence for a long time.

“You were very smart.”

“But today was your coming-of-age ceremony.”

“You haven’t eaten the longevity noodles I prepared for you yet.”

Qin Huai left the dream.