‘Second Daughter has been cured.’
He stared in shock.
She said, ‘Now we cure Eldest Daughter, Third Daughter, and Fourth Idiot.’
He stepped back half a step, staring at her in surprise.
She said, ‘You don’t have that many bones left, so let me have a turn.’ She added, ‘Tonight you can bring home the butcher from the village next door. I hear he died only yesterday and now is lying on a pallet in the main room of his house. You should bring him over while his body is still warm and his hands still retain some of the strength of a living person. He will know everything.’ She added, ‘Sharpen the knife. Fourth Idiot’s illness is the worst, so boil my head while it is still warm and then feed it to him. Eldest and Third Daughters’ illnesses are not as severe, so you can divide the rest of my bones in two, and then wrap them in three layers of white cloth and place them on the table. After Fourth Idiot becomes a bit more clear-headed, he can take them to his sisters.’
The moon came out.
The mountain ridge and the village were both floating in the water-like moonlight. In the You family’s courtyard, there was a slight chill, as a yellowish-green autumn breeze blew through, sweeping the chicken feathers and weeds into a pile at the base of the wall. The nocturnal sounds from the fields along the mountain ridge resonated past the kitchen counter, in the bellows, and on the kitchen table. Fourth Wife You had already lit a fire and was furiously pumping the bellows, making a rhythmic sound like a wooden clapper. Stone You left, but before he did he looked at Fourth Wife You and said, ‘Mother of our four children, you should reconsider. Can’t you just use my remaining bones?’
She threw him a look that was half hot and half cold, and asked, ‘How could that be enough? You’ve been dead for more than twenty years, and your bones have been decomposing this entire time. Do you even know how much medicine they can yield?’
He said, ‘You should reconsider. You really should. This is truly a matter of life and death.’
She said, ‘Go fetch that butcher and have him come over tonight. Give him some money, so that you’re not asking him to come here for nothing.’
He replied, ‘Mother of our four children, you really must reconsider.’
She roared, ‘Are you going or not? If your ancestors hadn’t passed down this disease to us, I wouldn’t have to be doing this now.’
He didn’t answer, and instead quietly backed out of the kitchen and left. Fourth Wife You heated the skillet and placed the greased bun on top, immediately filling the kitchen with the fragrant scent of oil and baked scallions.
In the courtyard, Fourth Idiot shouted, ‘Ma, are the buns ready? I’m hungry…’
Fourth Wife You shouted back, ‘Fourth Babe, wait just a moment.’
She turned down the stove until it was just a single flame, allowing the buns to bake slowly. At this point Fourth Idiot walked in and looked at the skillet with the buns. He appeared parched, as layers of excitement peeled off his face and fell to the ground, and his shirt was drenched in saliva. Fourth Wife You asked him, ‘Do you remember everything mother told you?’
He replied, ‘Yes, I do.’
Fourth Wife You asked, ‘Will you forget?’
Fourth Idiot replied, ‘If I forget, Ma can take a cleaver and chop me up.’
By this point, the fried buns were ready, and their fragrance filled the kitchen. As Fourth Wife You was removing them from the skillet, Fourth Idiot began gurgling with anticipation, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. He tried to grab one of the buns, but Fourth Wife You gently pushed his hand away. She cut the bun into quarters, placed them in a bowl, then handed it to him.
Fourth Idiot devoured several bites, and said, ‘Delicious. Ma, I’ll have four and a half of these five buns, and will leave the remaining half for you.’
Fourth Wife You placed another bun on the hot skillet, and watched as Fourth Idiot ate ravenously.
After taking several more bites, Fourth Idiot suddenly stopped and said,
‘Ma, it’s salty. It’s incredibly salty.’
Fourth Wife You relit the stove, and said,
‘Keep eating. They’re good when they’re salty.’
Fourth Idiot started eating again.
Fourth Idiot ate four and a half buns, one after another. As his belly was filling up, he wanted to drink some water, but Fourth Wife You said that he shouldn’t – if he did, his stomach would hurt. Instead, after he finished eating the buns, he should go sleep for a while. Fourth Idiot took several bites from that final bun and handed the remainder to Fourth Wife You, saying, ‘Ma, would you like some?’ Fourth Wife You looked at the row of tooth marks on the bun, like a row of crescent moons. She said, ‘Fourth Babe, mother doesn’t want any. Why don’t you keep it for later?’ Fourth Idiot laughed, and placed the bun into his breast pocket. Then he went into the courtyard to look at the closed gate and the full moon, and listen to the sound of villagers heading home to rest. Finally, patting his belly as though it were a drum, he retreated to his room.
Fourth Idiot entered his room, climbed into bed, and went to sleep.
The village’s peacefulness was tall and thick, except for the silver-chain cries of the crickets, which echoed through the streets and alleys. The fields outside the village were also full of the cries of nocturnal creatures, which sounded like the rustling of silk. The stars were somewhat sparse, though the moon was so full it looked as though it might burst. In the moonlight, you could occasionally see some ants and other insects out for a midnight stroll. Fourth Idiot stared intently, but as soon as he went to bed he immediately fell into a deep sleep. Even then, his hands resting on his swollen belly, he continued to grip that final half of a fried bun.
Fourth Wife You emerged from the kitchen and leaned up to Fourth Idiot’s window to peer in. She picked up a shovel that had fallen down and set it against the wall, then hung the hoe from a wooden beam. She took the sickle that was on the window ledge and stuck it into a crack in the wall, then returned to the kitchen, where she carefully overturned the cistern and poured out all the water inside. Then she poured out the water bucket into the courtyard, too. Finally, she poured out all of the remaining water in the house, so that not a drop was left, and only then did she leave.
By this point the rest of the village was sound asleep, and from the streets you could hear the faint sounds of people snoring in their rooms. In the cattle pens there was the coarse sound of cattle breathing, while the warm smell of fresh grass wafted through the village streets and alleys. The village dogs were also sleeping soundly, undisturbed by the occasional sounds coming from the village or the mountain ridge. Fourth Wife You stood in her doorway gazing up at the sky, but as she was anxiously walking toward the village entrance, she arrived at the large gate tower that she hadn’t passed through the preceding evening. Its doors tightly shut, the structure stood proud under the moonlight. The two large ‘Happiness’ characters that had been posted there during the previous year’s New Year’s festival were still clearly visible in the night light.
Fourth Wife You stood in front of the gate tower, staring at it in a daze.
After a moment, she began loudly singing just as she had done after being married into the You household more than thirty years earlier. She sang: