Like a pear tree that bursts into bloom overnight, Third Daughter’s illness was suddenly cured – and apart from sounding a bit manic when she laughed, and the fact that the stitches on the shoes she made for Wu Shu were somewhat too large, there was nothing about her that was out of the ordinary. On the other hand, Fourth Idiot’s illness had become more and more acute. As soon as he learned that Third Daughter had got engaged and would be married in a few days, he kicked the door for several days straight, refusing to eat or speak. When Fourth Idiot saw Third Daughter, he began sobbing. His snot ran all the way down his neck, but he wouldn’t even reach up to wipe it. It was as though he had lost something when Third Daughter got married.
Wu Shu ate his fried egg and wiped his mouth. When he handed his bowl back to Third Daughter, he pinched her mountain-like breasts, but she just laughed and stepped aside. When Fourth Idiot saw this, his face turned scarlet. He stood in the courtyard staring angrily at Wu Shu, his hands curled into fists as though he were about to rush forward and beat him.
Wu Shu stepped back half a step, then said, ‘I’m your brother-in-law, and your third sister is my wife.’
Fourth Idiot cried out, ‘You’re a pig, a dog, an ass!’
Third Daughter shouted, ‘Ma, your fourth son won’t let me get married! Are you going to fix this?’
At that moment, Fourth Wife You was in her room packing up the several pairs of new shoes she had made for Wu Shu. She carefully threaded each pair together, then wrapped them in cloth. When she emerged, she stood under the awning and told Fourth Son to come over, saying that she wanted to tell him a secret. When he hesitantly approached, however, she slapped him and then pushed him inside and locked the door.
Fourth Idiot wailed, ‘I want a wife. I want to get married too! I want to marry a wholer wife.’ At this point the sun was shining down on the courtyard, and Fourth Idiot’s cries, tears, and snot were illuminated by the sunlight streaming in through the window, as though a handkerchief used to wipe away tears had been hung out to dry.
Wu Shu said, ‘I don’t know if joining this family was auspicious or not.’
Fourth Wife You said, ‘You are marrying our third daughter, not our son. Quick, go load your grain onto the cart.’
Wu Shu said, ‘I want to take some more.’
Fourth Wife You said, ‘Take as much as you are able to haul away.’
He parked the cart in the doorway and tied a rope to the end. He took sack after sack out of the cart, then opened the jar beneath the bed and began filling the sacks with the grain that was stored there. Fourth Wife You held the sacks open as Wu Shu used a basin to ladle the grain out of the jar. The entire room was filled with the sound of grain rubbing against the side of the basin. The scent of wheat had accumulated over the years like water behind a dam, lingering thickly in the room. Wu Shu filled one sack after another, and after each one was filled he would pick it up and shake it a bit to let the grain settle to the bottom, so that he could then stuff in another couple of bowls. After Wu Shu filled the third sack, Third Daughter suddenly appeared from the kitchen with a rolling pin, and as he was stuffing grain into the sack she used the rolling pin to stuff it down. In this way, a sack that was usually able to hold twelve or thirteen bowls of grain could now hold fifteen.
Upon tying up the sack, Wu Shu looked at Fourth Wife You and laughed. ‘Third Daughter is not stupid at all.’
Fourth Wife You replied, ‘Load it up, take as much as you can. As long as you treat her well and don’t beat or curse her, it’s OK.’
Wu Shu said, ‘How could I do otherwise? For better or worse, she’s now my wife. After all, a crazy person is still a person.’
At this point, shouts could be heard coming from inside the house: ‘Good news! Your second son-in-law has arrived!’ At first she couldn’t believe it, but then she listened more carefully and sure enough, Second Son-in-Law had arrived. Fourth Wife You felt oddly anxious and hurried outside to take a look. Her son-in-law was strolling up from the village entrance. In the sunlight, he stood as big and strong as a century-old tree, and each time he took a step, a cloud of dust swirled up from under his feet. Fourth Wife You thought to herself that his arrival must mean something, since it had been several years since he last visited. As he approached, Fourth Wife You couldn’t discern anything out of the ordinary from his expression; there was only a glint of happiness in his one good eye. She said, ‘You’ve arrived! What about Second Daughter?’
He stopped in front of the main gate and replied with a smile, ‘She’s at home resting. We think she may be pregnant, as she has suddenly developed a craving for sour and spicy foods.’
Fourth Wife You’s heart jumped for joy, and she asked, ‘Do you need anything?’
He replied, ‘No, nothing in particular.’
Fourth Wife You said, ‘If there is anything you need, just let me know.’
Her son-in-law sat on her doorstep and said, ‘I don’t need anything.’
Fourth Wife You said, ‘Then why don’t you go home and rest? If you want to eat something, I’ll fix it for you.’
Second Son-in-Law loosened his collar, wiped the sweat from his brow, and said, ‘I already had breakfast at home. Second Daughter cooked me a fried bun.’
Fourth Wife You said, ‘She can cook fried buns? You should go and meet with Third Son-in-Law.’
Second Son-in-Law’s hand froze as he was wiping his brow. He looked at the cart in the entranceway, and asked, ‘Has he come to claim some grain?’
Fourth Wife You said, ‘Let him. Do you need any?’
Second Son-in-Law said, ‘We don’t need any grain, but there is something else I want.’
A cloud passed over Fourth Wife You’s face. She pulled aside her greying hair and said, ‘Just tell me what you need.’
Second Son-in-Law stood up. He was silent for a moment, then stuttered that now that Second Daughter was pregnant, her illness had been acting up again, and in the past month she had had several more episodes. In fact, she had had two episodes the day before – the first occurred when she was leaning over the basin to ladle out some water for cooking. She suddenly cried out in pain and with a thunk fell into the cistern. When the second episode occurred, she collapsed on the well platform and nearly fell into the well and drowned. When Second Son-in-Law finished telling this to Fourth Wife You, he gazed ahead at the village and asked, ‘What are we going to do? What in the world are we going to do? It was hard enough for her to get pregnant in the first place.’ Four Idiots Village was located on a mountainside, and there were old straw mats hanging everywhere. The villagers living downhill all emerged from the village’s streets and alleys, herding sheep and carrying shovels and scythes; as they disappeared into the distance, the sparkling dust on their bodies gradually melted into the light from the distant fields. Second Son-in-Law looked back at Fourth Wife You, and pleaded,
‘If Second Daughter is not able to have this child, I don’t even want to live.’
Fourth Wife You said, ‘Tell me what you need.’
Second Son-in-Law said, ‘Every night, I dream I’m running around and find an old Chinese medical practitioner. He tells me I should make her some bone marrow soup, which will cure her illness.’
Fourth Wife You said, ‘Then make her some.’
Second Son-in-Law said, ‘But the prescription doesn’t call for just any kind of bones.’
Fourth Wife You asked, ‘What kind of bones do you need?’
Second Son-in-Law hesitated, then said, ‘It calls for the bones of a dead person, a relative, and the closer the kin the better.’