Chapter 30: Your Sister Supports You

The family had now switched to eating only two meals a day, and by supper, Zhou Zhi was already famished. At this hour, their mother sat with their father, Zhou Tie, eating in the inner room, while Zhou Lüyun, their elder sister, little brother Zhou Shaocheng, and Zhou Zhi sat around the small table in the kitchen for their meal.

The food was, of course, still exceedingly plain and coarse, but to Zhou Zhi, every bite was especially sweet and delicious.

Zhou Lüyun watched Zhou Zhi wolf down his food, her face radiant with a comforting smile.

Little brother Zhou Shaocheng ate little and soon excused himself from the table.

“Zhi, slow down, there’s more here!” Zhou Lüyun spoke softly as she fetched three more steaming hot buns from the pot, clearly reserved especially for Zhou Zhi.

Zhou Zhi smiled gratefully at his sister, reached out for the buns, and began to eat them with relish.

Zhou Lüyun glanced toward the inner room, lowered her voice, and said, “Zhi, I know you went to make bricks today; you must be exhausted. I won’t ask what the bricks are for. I believe that whatever you’ve set your mind to can’t be wrong—I’ll always support you. The winter clothes are all mended now, so tomorrow I’ll go help you make bricks.”

Hearing his sister’s encouragement, a warm surge rose in Zhou Zhi’s heart. He looked at her with gratitude and also lowered his voice, “Making bricks isn’t something you should do, Sister. Honestly, I just have an idea—I don’t even know if it will work. You’d better stay home and rest.”

He couldn’t reveal his bold idea just yet. Even though his sister said she’d support him no matter what, growing vegetables in the dead of winter was something so unheard of that it would surely frighten her.

Zhou Lüyun pressed her lips together with a gentle smile, her curiosity long since piqued. Not long ago, Zhou Zhi had made a bellows, causing quite a stir in Baiyue Village; everyone praised his cleverness and ingenuity. In recent days, people from neighboring villages had come to see the bellows, and upon seeing it, immediately returned home to make their own. Zhou Zhi had earned quite a reputation both within the village and beyond.

Who knew—perhaps this time Zhou Zhi would cause an even greater sensation, astonishing the whole community. With someone as capable as him, perhaps one day the Zhou family would finally turn its fortune around and leave behind these hard times.

Lost in these pleasant thoughts, Zhou Lüyun gazed at Zhou Zhi with even more affection, her eyes brimming with love and pride.

Zhou Zhi’s body was sturdy, and so was his appetite. After a day’s work, he drank two large bowls of millet and pumpkin porridge and finished all three of the buns his sister had saved for him before finally feeling full.

After supper, Zhou Zhi naturally returned to the stable to busy himself until the end of the Hai hour, before climbing onto the kang to sleep.

Although there were plenty of hours at night and he dearly wanted to read, it simply wasn’t possible. For a family like the Zhous, lamp oil had to be conserved. After supper, if there was nothing to do, it was straight to bed—no lighting lamps.

If his father, Zhou Tie, found out he’d been reading by lamplight, he would surely scold him.

Thankfully, there was still plenty of time ahead for reading; there was no need to rush. Zhou Zhi simply lay on the kang, silently reciting the pages he’d read that morning, repeating them over and over until he knew them by heart.

The next day unfolded much as the last: early reading, feeding the horses, then heading to the threshing ground to make bricks—his hands moving mechanically while his mind reviewed the texts he’d studied at dawn.

His sister, Zhou Lüyun, couldn’t bear to rest at home, despite Zhou Zhi’s urging. After feeding the chickens and washing the family’s laundry, she made her way to the threshing ground to help.

In the Ming Dynasty, girls from poor farming families led very different lives from those of wealthy households. While the rich girls were sheltered indoors, living in luxury, poor girls worked from dawn to dusk, even laboring in the fields during busy seasons.

As the eldest daughter, Zhou Lüyun had taken on many household chores early on, helping with threshing and even plowing when needed. Though she wasn’t tall, her figure was balanced, and years of labor had made her strong.

At the sight of his sister, Zhou Zhi’s face darkened with displeasure. He spoke sternly, “Sister, go home. This isn’t work you should be doing, and besides, I’m just trying out an idea—it may not even work. Your help here is pointless.”

“I don’t care whether it’s useful or not,” Zhou Lüyun replied, already picking up a spade to mix clay by the pit. “Didn’t I tell you? Whatever you set your mind to, I’ll support you.”

Seeing her so stubborn, Zhou Zhi could only resolve in his heart that he must succeed with the greenhouse for growing vegetables. Otherwise, he would have let down even his own sister.

With Zhou Lüyun’s help, the work went much faster.

Yesterday’s sun had been strong, and today was another clear day. The bricks Zhou Zhi had made the day before were already dry. Zhou Lüyun brought over more well-mixed clay for him and began stacking the dried bricks.

Seeing that her brother remained glum, Zhou Lüyun chuckled softly, “Zhi, ever since you suddenly learned to read and won that wager against the Chen family’s third son, everyone in the village says you’re clever and bold—they really admire you! And when you made that bellows, your reputation for ingenuity spread even to the neighboring villages. You’re grown up now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if plenty of girls are already thinking about you! Tell me, what kind of girl would you like to marry?”

She was clearly trying to cheer him up, but these were her true thoughts as well—she’d long pondered Zhou Zhi’s future.

Zhou Zhi flushed red at her words. “Please don’t tease me, Sister. I hardly have any reputation—why would any girls think of me?”

“My, how shy you are! Look at you blushing!” Zhou Lüyun burst into gentle laughter.

There were no outsiders at the threshing ground, so she spoke freely; in public, she would have observed all the proper reserve.

Am I really blushing? I shouldn’t be. It was just that when Sister mentioned other girls, my mind wandered to the white-robed young woman I’d seen shooting geese on the threshing ground. Even disguised as a man, she was so striking—surely in women’s dress, she’d be beautiful beyond compare. Most impressive of all was her archery.

As he thought about it, Zhou Zhi couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.

He didn’t even know whose daughter that white-robed maiden was, but she clearly came from a wealthy and influential family. How could a poor farm boy like him ever have a chance?

Yet, ever since that brief encounter on the threshing ground, the image of the white-clad maiden had often lingered in his mind. Little wonder, really—since arriving in Ming times, it was the first time he’d exchanged even a few words with a beautiful woman.

Before long, little brother Zhou Shaocheng somehow heard that Zhou Zhi was working at the threshing ground and came skipping over. Though the youngest could offer little help, with the three siblings together, laughter soon rang out over the threshing ground, the happiness of shared labor warming their hearts.