The life of Eldest Daughter’s family was a dark alley, and although they could occasionally discern a light at the end, it nevertheless seemed that they could never make their way out. Eldest Daughter and her husband planted another crop of fruit trees, and Cripple cared for the seedlings as though they were his own children. The seedlings produced green sprouts, and at the beginning of the year Eldest Daughter and her husband performed a graft. But, though that year apples were as plentiful as sweet potatoes, they weren’t able to sell a single one of theirs. Even though he wasn’t able to sell his apples, Cripple nevertheless needed to hobble down to the river to fetch water to irrigate his crops, as if he planted fruit trees and fetched water for some purpose other than earning money. When Stone You passed by that orchard, he saw Cripple carrying the water up the hill, and the shrimp that had jumped out of the bucket were crawling around on the dry hillside. Stone You stood there watching from a distance, his hand up to his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun. His face looked deathly pale.
Stone You said, ‘Let’s go and have a word with our son-in-law.’
Fourth Wife You replied, ‘What is there to say? He has a wife and an orchard. Eldest Daughter, meanwhile, has a husband and food to cook. They have everything they need, and their lives are infinitely better than those of Third Daughter and Fourth Idiot.’
Saying this, Fourth Wife You hurried off toward Wu Village several li away. Stone You noted that someone’s wife in Wu Village had passed away about six months earlier, and he thought maybe she’d died just so her husband could marry Third Daughter. By this point the sun was already low in the west and the mountain ridge was shrouded in a red glow. The autumn warmth washed over their feet like water. There was a scent of fresh earth, and the smell of grass filled the air. As though walking along a tightrope, they went down a small path overrun with weeds, followed by a flock of sparrows. They passed one ridge after another, as they proceeded down to the bottom of a ravine. Fourth Wife You saw many villagers speaking with her husband, but most of them were old people herding their sheep and oxen back to the village. There was also a woman wearing a black silk shirt with the character for ‘Longevity’ stitched on the back, who asked Stone You how to get to the Li Temple Primary School. Fourth Wife You asked, ‘She’s not that old, is she?’ Stone You replied, ‘This is the wife of that man from Wu Village. She was only thirty when she died in a car accident.’
Fourth Wife You paused and examined the other woman. She saw that she was somewhat bow-legged and wobbled a bit with each step. Fourth Wife You heard the woman walking over, as soft as settling dust. She thought what a shame it was to pass away at such a young age. At this point the other woman turned around and, looking at her wanly, said, ‘Are the two of you going to Wu Village? My husband is a good-for-nothing who is only interested in eating, and is never willing to do any work. Now that I’m gone, he leads a completely joyless existence. As long as you can provide him with enough to eat and drink, he will surely agree to your marriage proposal.’
Fourth Wife You stared at his wife in astonishment.
The woman nodded to Fourth Wife You, then appeared to float away.
They continued forward. The setting sun before them made a faint swishing sound. They turned a corner and followed the river for a while until a village appeared on the hillside. At several points along the path to the village, there were wooden signs bearing the names of the owner of the land. On some of the signs there also appeared, in small characters, the words ‘This land is under contract, and will remain so for fifty years, without change’ or ‘If anyone’s livestock ventures onto this land, that person’s family can expect to die!’ The wheat planted here had all been harvested, leaving row upon row of tracks where the wheat had been dragged through the field. You could also see the grain kernels that had not been buried, shimmering in the sunlight. Fourth Wife You and her husband came over from the recently harvested field and gazed out at the village in front of them. They could smell the evening air, and could see people in the village staring back at them.
Fourth Wife You asked, ‘Do you know the man’s name and where he lives?’
Stone You replied, ‘I do. His name is Wu Shu, and he lives under the date tree in the centre of the village. As long as someone is willing to marry Third Daughter, you shouldn’t be too picky about other details.’
Fourth Wife You replied angrily, ‘I don’t care if it’s his second marriage, but I definitely want him to be a wholer.’
Stone You said, ‘So what if he’s a bit disabled? We’ve already visited five villages and seen seven men; any of them would be fine for her.’
Fourth Wife You stopped abruptly to look at her husband, and asked, ‘Have you gone to see how Eldest Daughter and Second Daughter are doing? Their pigs won’t litter, their chickens won’t lay eggs, and they themselves are not getting pregnant – there is not a single thing that does not give cause for worry. If our daughters had married wholers, would they have had a problem with their apple trees not bearing fruit? Would Second Daughter have been so frustrated with not being able to get pregnant that she would eventually resort to swallowing poison? Would they have been unable to wake up when it was time to harvest the crops?’ As Fourth Wife You pummelled her husband with questions, he bowed his head and slowed down, such that he was now walking behind her. He didn’t say a word, while Fourth Wife You continued muttering to herself. When they reached the village, they saw that in front there was a large empty field, about two or three mu in size, shaped like a cross between a circle and a square. The corn from the previous season had been swallowed up by weeds, and all that was left were a few bare stalks, which made the land appear more overgrown than it actually was. Wormwood, saw-tooth, and twitchgrass were all growing haphazardly in the field, to the point that someone standing beside it would have difficulty seeing the ground underneath. It was on the edge of that overgrown field that a man was sitting on a hoe and leaning against a pagoda tree. A fly had landed on his face, but he didn’t bother to brush it away. They could see that his face was covered in the ash-grey pallor of the abandoned field, and it looked as if he were on the verge of death. As he heard someone approaching, he opened his eyes then immediately closed them again, as if he were completely exhausted.
Fourth Wife You said, ‘Hey, it’s time for dinner. Is this Wu Village?’
The man moved a bit, but grunted without looking around.
Fourth Wife You asked again, ‘Do you know where we can find Wu Shu’s home?’
The man suddenly opened his eyes and stared at Fourth Wife You, and asked ‘Why are you looking for Wu Shu?’
Stone You said, ‘This is Wu Shu.’
Fourth Wife You examined the man and saw that his dishevelled hair was full of straw and crawling with lice. His sleeves were torn, revealing inner arms covered in a layer of black dirt, and his black pants had dark blue patches sewn on the bottom with white thread. She also noticed he was wearing one old hand-made cloth shoe and one new canvas and rubber one. Fourth Wife You asked, ‘Are you Wu Shu?’
The man chuckled and said, ‘I knew that you would come to see me. Today I saw a ghost, who told me that when the sun set someone would come and see me, and, sure enough, someone has now come.’
Fourth Wife You said, ‘Please lift your arm.’
Wu Shu hesitated a moment, then raised his arm.
Fourth Wife You said, ‘Roll up your pant legs.’
Wu Shu did so, revealing a pair of calves that were as thick as tree trunks.
Fourth Wife You said, ‘You’re not sick, are you?’
Wu Shu said, ‘What do you mean, sick?’