Chapter 78: Chapter 45: The Toil of a Snowy Day

When Juhua saw he was indeed wearing a pair of worn-out, unlined shoes, she also took off her cotton-padded shoes and changed into a dilapidated pair of her own. Instantly, the cold, hard soles made her shiver. Steeling herself, she pulled straw sandals on over them, then joined Qingmu under a shared oil-paper umbrella to step out into the flurry of snow.

Qingmu carried Lanzi and held the paper umbrella. Seeing Juhua hunched over and leaning against him, his heart couldn’t help but ache. “How about I carry you?” he offered. “It’s not far, anyway.”

Juhua quickly replied, “Oh, goodness, no! We’d be a laughingstock if anyone saw. Just walk faster. It’ll be fine once we get there.”

Qingmu had no choice but to quicken his pace. Juhua had no heart for the snowy scenery; she just clutched her brother’s sleeve and trudged ahead with her head down, focused only on reaching Mr. Zhou’s place so she could change her shoes and catch her breath.

When they reached the fork in the road, Qingmu continued walking with Juhua. “I’ll just take you straight to the schoolhouse,” he said. “I can have a word with the master while I’m there.”

And so, the two of them arrived at the schoolhouse together.

As they entered the main courtyard of the ancestral hall, they heard the sound of cheerful laughter. It was the young children, busy building a snowman. Only children could so thoroughly enjoy a snowy day—it wasn’t like rain, which kept you stuck indoors completely.

Little Shitou was running back and forth, rolling a large snowball. Just as he was about to place it on the snowman for a head, he caught sight of Juhua and Qingmu. He quickly dropped the snowball and ran over. Staring in surprise at the masked Juhua, he called out tentatively, “Sister Juhua?”

The other children stopped their noisy play as well, all of them turning to look at Qingmu and Juhua.

Juhua was so cold she could hardly breathe. It felt as if every part of her body had balled up and shut down, making even the simple act of breathing difficult. Gazing at the steam rising from Little Shitou’s head, she was overcome with envy. She managed a shivering reply, “Ah! Shi Tou, aren’t you cold? You should get inside. With snow this heavy, your clothes are going to get soaked.”

Little Shitou beamed. “Nope! Sister Juhua, what are you doing here?” he asked, following Qingmu and Juhua into the master’s quarters.

The ancestral hall consisted of a single row of rooms. The three on the eastern side had been converted into a classroom, while the three on the western side served as Mr. Zhou’s living quarters. Between them, an old plum tree was in bloom, its rouge-colored blossoms exceptionally striking against the snow.

Qingmu set the oil-paper umbrella on the steps outside, then stomped the snow from his feet before entering. He explained his mother’s situation to Mr. Zhou and requested a leave of absence, adding that Juhua had come to clean the rooms.

When Mr. Zhou heard that the lady of the Yang Family still hadn’t returned, he said quickly, “You should hurry and go! Don’t be too anxious. Perhaps your mother was just held up by something. You might even run into her on the road!”

Qingmu glanced at Juhua again. He saw that she had already changed her shoes but was still hunched over from the cold. He looked like he wanted to say something, but then swallowed his words.

The master had already noticed the masked Juhua, a curious look in his eyes. He glanced at Qingmu, then smiled at her. “Are you afraid of the cold, Juhua? No matter. The village chief gave me a small foot warmer. Go ahead and warm yourself for a bit. Rest first.”

With a small smile, Qingmu then took his leave.

Juhua accepted the small foot warmer from Mr. Zhou. It turned out to be a round, wooden stool with a crescent-shaped opening in the seat. The base was barrel-shaped, and she guessed there was a grate at the bottom holding a small brazier of hot coals. When a person sat on it, the heat would rise from beneath them and warm their entire body.

Juhua first set out the food, placing the dishes that needed reheating on the stove. Then, wasting no time, she sat down on the foot-warmer stool, tucked her hands into her sleeves, and propped her feet up near the brazier below. It took a long while before her shivering finally subsided.

Little Shitou had never seen Juhua look so beautiful. Uncharacteristically, he leaned against her side, staying perfectly quiet and still.

Mr. Zhou watched her with a smile. Only when she was seated did he gently chide, “You silly child. With your poor health, you shouldn’t have come. It wouldn’t have mattered if my rooms were cleaned a day late; you could have waited for your mother to do it tomorrow. There’s no rule that says you must clean every two days.”

Juhua gave a faint laugh. “It’s alright. I’ll be fine once I warm up a bit. You should go eat, Master. The food is hot now.”

Mr. Zhou smiled. “In that case, I’ll go have my meal. Zhao Yun, what are you still doing here?”

Little Shitou hastily stood up straight and answered respectfully, “I’m just talking with Sister Juhua.”

Seeing that Juhua didn’t object, Mr. Zhou added a warning, “Don’t cause any trouble.”

Little Shitou readily agreed.

Once the master had left, Juhua looked at the boy and asked with a smile, “Zhao Yun? Who gave you that name?”

Little Shitou rested his head on her lap and grinned. “The master gave it to me. It means ’to plow and cultivate diligently.’ Sister Juhua, is it a good name?”

Juhua smiled. “It is!”

Seeing her hands tucked into her sleeves, Little Shitou looked up at her and asked, “Sister Juhua, are you really cold?”

Juhua said softly, “Yes. I get cold very easily.”

Little Shitou said quickly, “I don’t get cold! My hands are toasty warm. Here, let me warm yours up for you.”

As he spoke, he reached out to grab Juhua’s hand. Juhua pulled one of her hands from her sleeve and took his. It was indeed toasty warm. ’Just like the old saying,’ she thought, ’children are like little furnaces.’ It was really true.

The two chatted idly while warming themselves. After a while, Juhua felt warm and relaxed enough to get up and start tidying the rooms. Little Shitou, for his part, returned to the classroom for his lesson.

Scholars are particular about cleanliness. Even though Mr. Zhou lived alone, his rooms weren’t particularly dirty or messy, so tidying up wasn’t much trouble. Sweeping, wiping down the table and chairs, and putting the dirty clothes into Lanzi to take home to wash… as she bustled about the rooms, she no longer felt quite so cold.

While cleaning the study, Juhua took a careful look around. Mr. Zhou’s study was very simply furnished. Aside from a desk and chair, there was only a simple bookshelf. His collection wasn’t very large—perhaps a hundred volumes or so—and she didn’t see any major historical works among them.

She briefly flipped through a few of them and discovered that the dynasties mentioned in the poetry and classical texts seemed to have no connection to the history of China. This left her thoroughly confused.

She had no choice but to put the matter aside, consoling herself with the thought, ’I’m just a village girl. What good would it do me to know, anyway? It’s not like I ever plan on leaving Qingnan Village.’

Getting sidetracked by the books had taken up a fair bit of time. By the time she was done, the master had already finished a class and returned for tea.

She quickly finished her tidying, also packing the master’s used bowls and chopsticks into Lanzi. In a low voice, she said to him, “I’ll be heading back now. Is there anything else you need, Master?”

******

Juhua says in a tiny voice, “It’s snowing… please cast a few votes. Times are tough!”

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