Chapter Fourteen: The Appearance of Zixuan

Today, her family was preparing to slaughter the New Year pig, so they had invited everyone in the village over for a meal. Seeing that the two children were still asleep, Tang Wei got dressed and went outside to take a look. There was a lively crowd, laughter and chatter filling the air.

Nowadays, life had improved, and a custom had formed in the countryside: every household would slaughter a pig before the New Year to prove their good fortune. On the day of the slaughter, relatives and friends from the village would be invited for a feast—it was a matter of pride. The remaining meat was set aside for the New Year celebrations, so families with many friends often had to slaughter two pigs to have enough.

This year, Tang Wei’s family prepared two pigs: firstly, because Tang Wei had recently given birth and didn’t plan to hold a full-month banquet, they decided to invite everyone for a meal now; secondly, more family members would be home for the New Year, so they needed to prepare more meat. Even if they had leftovers, they could turn them into cured meat, smoke them a bit, hang them by the stove, and they would keep for a long time.

Tang Wei’s family had built a new house, but the old one hadn’t been torn down. Her mother, father, and grandmother still lived in the old house—they didn’t want to move, finding the single-story house more comfortable. So the old house still preserved the traditional stove and fireplace.

At times like this, the old stove was much more useful than any modern kitchen in a city apartment. Large and small pots boiled water inside, and a big aluminum pot was steaming on the outdoor stove as well.

Inside, a bustling army of aunts and cousins scurried back and forth, some tending the fire, some fetching water, others preparing snacks and lei tea. They were clearly getting ready for the men to come in for a break and a bite after their busy work outside.

One of the aunts spotted Tang Wei and called out, “Wei girl, you’re up already? Come warm yourself by the fire—don’t catch a chill! Your mother’s too easy on you; a woman can’t just do as she likes at times like this, or she’ll suffer for it when she’s older!”

Before she could finish, a shout came from outside: “Womenfolk, stoke up the fire, we’ll need hot water soon!”

Seeing the aunt hurry off, Tang Wei breathed a sigh of relief. If the elders started in on her, it would turn into a chorus of chatter—there’d be no end to it, and she’d never get away.

Outside, the men had begun to catch the pigs. It took seven or eight of them to lift a pig onto the rack and hold it still, while the butcher bled it at the throat. The air was soon filled with the pig’s anguished squeals and the men’s shouts, a racket enough to give anyone a headache.

Every time Tang Wei witnessed such a bloody scene, she felt a chill in her heart. It had been a long time since she’d seen a pig slaughtered with her own eyes, and she had no desire to watch this time either.

As soon as the pig’s squeals began, Tang Wei grabbed her breakfast and retreated to her room.

Upstairs, as she entered the room, she saw the twins had already woken up, but neither was crying. After warming her hands by the stove, she went over, picked up her younger daughter, gave her some spring water to drink, and began to nurse her.

She had only just begun when her mother came in, supporting her grandmother, and said, “Third girl, let your grandmother watch the children for a bit. It’s too noisy downstairs, it’s giving her a headache. Your room is quieter.” She then fetched a lounge chair, set it by the stove, and hurried off again.

Tang Wei’s grandmother had celebrated her ninetieth birthday last year and was still hale and hearty. Sometimes, when Tang Wei’s parents were out working, she would help sweep the floor or cook a little something for herself if she fancied it.

A few years back, Grandmother was still determined to work in the fields, having done so all her life—if she sat still, she’d feel unwell. Whenever the family wasn’t watching, she’d sneak off to the mountains with a basket to gather firewood. Only in the past two years had she finally stopped and begun to rest, though her health was no longer what it once was.

Grandmother loved holding children the most; every day she’d have Tang Wei’s mother help her upstairs to cuddle the twins. So Tang Wei quickly finished feeding her younger daughter and handed her to her grandmother. Sure enough, as soon as Grandmother saw the baby, she knew it was the younger one, and began cooing and playing with her.

In her youth, Grandmother had borne more than a dozen children. Life was hard back then, and in the end, only Tang Wei’s father and two daughters survived.

Whenever she came upstairs to watch the children, she would inevitably recall her younger days. Now, as she sat, she began again, “When your father was born, he was as small as a little mouse. Everyone who saw him thought he wouldn’t survive, and I often held him and wept…”

Tang Wei listened patiently. By now, she could recite these stories by heart: how her father was so frail, how, when the family had only sweet potato soup to eat, they would pick out the sweet potatoes just for him, and when things got slightly better and rice was cooked with sweet potatoes, all the rice would be set aside for him alone, and so on.

As Grandmother reminisced, she soon drifted off to sleep. Elderly people slept little at night but took many naps during the day. Tang Wei poured a cup of hot water, added a little spring water, and set it on the table by the lounge chair for when Grandmother woke up. After lulling the twins back to sleep, she prepared to go downstairs and join the festivities.

By the time she went downstairs, both pigs had been slaughtered. One had already been cleaned up, and the other had just been skinned and was being gutted. Because it was so cold, steam still rose from the warm entrails as they were removed.

Only the final chores remained—cleaning the intestines and such, nothing worth watching.

In the kitchen, the aunts and cousins were busy chopping the pork into large chunks and sorting it into wooden basins. Others sliced meat for the dishes, boiled pig’s head soup, or rendered fat, while outside, vegetables were being washed. There wasn’t much Tang Wei could help with, and since the meal would be brought up to her anyway, she returned to keep her grandmother company.

The bustle continued until nightfall before the kitchen was cleaned up. The bacon, sausages, and cured offal all needed to be scrubbed clean and salted for several days before being smoked, so by the time Tang Wei’s mother finished everything and came to check on the children, it was nearly ten o’clock at night.

Inside the space, Xiao Ling called Tang Wei several times, urging her to hurry inside—Brother Zixuan had woken up.

As soon as she entered the space, Xiao Ling grabbed her hand and pulled her toward a side room, chattering, “Brother Zixuan is awake now, so from now on, Sister can practice here with us. No more worrying about scaring him.” Before she finished, they were already standing in front of Zixuan.

Tang Wei steadied herself and looked—but before she could take a good look, she let out a piercing scream and dashed out: “Ah…!”

Xiao Ling hurried after her. “Sister, what’s wrong?”

Tang Wei, exasperated, replied, “What’s wrong? Didn’t you see? He’s not wearing any clothes! This is terrible, just terrible—I’m going to get a stye for sure!”

“What’s so scary about not wearing clothes?” Xiao Ling blinked innocently. “Is it really that frightening?”

Tang Wei stared at her, wide-eyed in disbelief. “How can you ask that? We’re both girls, and you let a grown man stand naked in front of us? And you ask what’s wrong! Xiao Ling, are you really a woman?”

“I never said I was a woman. Besides, isn’t he your husband? What does it matter? Are you embarrassed, Sister?” Xiao Ling responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“You’re not a woman? Then you must be a man! Oh! From now on—” Tang Wei’s retort was cut short by a voice behind them: “What’s a husband? What happened just now?” Both turned to look.

At once, Tang Wei spun around and snapped, “Are you an exhibitionist? Running around naked and interrupting people’s conversations—no manners at all. Xiao Ling, hurry, get him something to wear!”

“Sister, there aren’t any clothes,” Xiao Ling replied.

“Aren’t there some in the little cabin? Just grab something for him to put on,” Tang Wei ordered.

From the side, Zixuan asked, “What are clothes?”

Tang Wei rolled her eyes and tugged at her own clothes. “Clothes are what we’re wearing right now, Little White!”

“And what’s Little White?” he asked.

“Little White is you. From now on, that’s your name.”

“I’m called Little White. What’s your name?”

“I’m called Sister. From now on, you call me Sister.”

“Then, Sister, where is this place? Why am I here?”

“This is your home, of course. You live here now.”

Xiao Ling brought over the clothes. Listening to their back-and-forth, she grinned and said, “Sister, maybe let Brother put on his clothes before you two keep talking!”

“Then hurry and get him dressed!” Tang Wei waited until Xiao Ling had helped Zixuan into a set of clothes. She circled around him, frowning, “I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before…”

Tang Wei had a habit: she rarely remembered people after one or two meetings, so the fact that she even thought he looked familiar was already a stroke of luck.

She moved to stand in front of Zixuan, staring intently at him. “You’re very familiar. I must have seen you before!”

Hearing this, Zixuan smiled. “You really know me?”

The moment she saw that smile, Tang Wei suddenly remembered and said angrily, “Of course I do! You’re that demon who scared me in the cave! You were so proud of yourself, scaring me half to death, but now you’re suddenly so quiet.”

“What cave? What demon? What are you talking about?” Zixuan still looked blank.

Tang Wei was about to lose her temper when Xiao Ling pulled her aside, saying, “Sister, he doesn’t know anything. It was just the effects of the formation in the cave—he doesn’t remember a thing now.”

Tang Wei thought for a moment and, helpless, said, “Fine, I won’t bother with him. You go ahead and teach him how to rebuild his body. I’m not in the mood to deal with him today. I’m leaving now. Remember your promise!” With that, she turned to go, but after a moment, turned back and forced a genial smile at Zixuan. “Little White, I’ll come visit you next time!”

Even as she left the space, Tang Wei wore a sly grin—clearly, Little White’s days ahead would be anything but dull.