He Ping'an leaned her head on Granny Tai's shoulder, tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes.
She bit her lip, unsure how to begin.
The voice beside her kept asking, and she closed her eyes, choking out: "At Qingming, I had no money to burn paper for you. You must blame me. But now I'm settled. Come Zhongyuan Festival, I'll burn plenty for you."
"You have your difficulties, and I, your mother, understand. It's not good to keep everything bottled up. Now that we mother and son are reunited, tell me all your grievances. Even if I become a ghost, I'll stand up for you."
He Ping'an's mind was hazy, and at these words, tears poured down like rain.
"I shouldn't have been greedy for money."
"What?"
Liu Dalang leaned in, his ear almost against her mouth, afraid of missing a single word.
The smell of alcohol on her, so close, seemed to seep into his ear with every word, making his head spin too.
She said: "I shouldn't have taken Aunt's twenty taels of silver. I shouldn't have listened to her and married in my cousin's place... I took her place, and she must hate me."
So it was a substitute marriage.
But then why flee so far?
Liu Dalang hit the nail on the head: "Substitute marriage or not, once you were married, you were the legitimate wife. Was your husband unkind to you?"
She seemed to murmur "mm," then fell silent.
Liu Dalang understood in a flash.
So she hadn't fled the marriage; she had gotten married, found her husband's family was bad, and then escaped.
"From now on, this is your home. If that deadbeat husband of yours comes, I'll chase him away for you, okay?"
He raised his arms and held her. Seeing his mother didn't object, he held her tighter.
Granny Tai stroked He Ping'an's head, perhaps thinking of her own marriage, and shed a tear.
That night, He Ping'an slept like the dead, while Granny Tai stayed awake all night watching her.
She had been feeling somewhat weak lately.
Who knew how much longer she had to live? She blinked, looking at the half-open window, and took He Ping'an's hand, wanting to say something to her.
But she had cried so pitifully, still sobbing in her dreams, so Granny Tai just held her.
The small, thin old woman held her all night, until the next morning when He Ping'an woke up.
*
Early morning.
The effects of the wine had worn off. After crying so hard, He Ping'an's mind was blank. She sat on the bed, staring blankly into the mirror.
The girl in the mirror looked foolish and dazed. Her outer clothes were removed, revealing a shabby inner garment, and there were traces of yellow earth in her hair.
She looked gaunt and haggard.
He Ping'an slowly rubbed her head, recalling scenes of her crying hysterically.
"Granny, did I make a drunken scene yesterday?"
"You just cried. After you finished crying, you slept all night. I couldn't wake you no matter what."
Granny Tai was combing her hair outside the door. Seeing her looking like a stunned duck, she said coldly: "Today you need to get down to business. Now that your big brother is back, I'll have him teach you medicine, so he's not overwhelmed when there are more people."
"I can study medicine under Big Brother?"
Granny Tai frowned and scolded: "Are you still drunk from the wine? You're brother and sister, and our family runs a medical clinic. Why wouldn't he teach you? This area of ours is always fighting. If he gets conscripted, should the clinic just close? If you won't learn, I'll marry you off as soon as possible."
"I'll learn, I'll learn. I was just too happy!" He Ping'an jumped off the bed, looking for her clothes while untangling her messy hair. She tidied herself up until she looked presentable, then smiled: "Granny, what do you want for breakfast? I'll make it."
"Your big brother already made it."
He Ping'an glanced at the sky and saw that the side room door was still closed. She didn't believe it: "Big Brother must still be sleeping."
Granny Tai snorted: "He never sleeps in."
It turned out that when Liu Dalang was seven, he was almost molested by a forty-year-old military household man. Afterward, the more he thought about it, the more scared he became. He couldn't sleep at night and insisted his father find him a martial arts master. The couple discussed it and actually found one.
The old master was extremely strict, requiring him to get up at the fifth watch, when the rooster crowed, regardless of heat or cold.
Little Liu Dalang endured the hardship, and from then on formed the habit. However, after training hard, he ate like a bottomless pit—more training, more eating; more eating, more training. Over the years, he not only developed a strong physique but also became highly skilled in martial arts.
When he was home, no one dared to provoke the Liu family. When he was away, the neighbors were afraid he might return for revenge one day, so no one dared to trouble Granny Tai.
Otherwise, with Granny Tai's sharp tongue, how could she have survived until now?
He Ping'an didn't know the details and still went to the kitchen.
Only when she saw the prepared porridge inside did she believe Granny Tai.
Granny Tai opened the front door of the family clinic.
Ever since her son returned, business had been slow. She sprinkled some water on the ground and sat by the door to bask in the sun.
As she aged, she would feel drowsy just sitting there.
He Ping'an finished washing clothes and wanted to persuade her to sleep inside while keeping an eye on the front, but before she could speak, Granny Tai opened her eyes again.