Chapter 212: Trivial Matters

"My son, where did such precious things come from? We are an honest family for generations—we would never dare to seize another's belongings!"

Old Man Zhao was suspicious of the provenance of these pieces of jewelry. Though he had never seen much of the world, the delicate patterns on the bracelets and the exquisite craftsmanship of the gold hairpins made it clear at a glance that these were not things an ordinary household could possess. His son had served as an official soldier for many years, and the reputation of the Ming army was not exactly good.

Zhao Wu changed the words on the tip of his tongue into a different explanation: "Father, how could your son do such filthy things! This was when we were fighting the Dashing King's bandits at Shouzhou—I slew a great chieftain of the roving bandits, and after the battle my superior rewarded me!"

If he said these were spoils seized from the roving bandits, Old Man Zhao would surely know these were obtained through murder and plunder by the bandits—things stained with the blood of others, which he would never allow his family to wear no matter what.

Zhao Xiaomei and her sister-in-law took the jewelry and examined it carefully under the dim lamplight, their hearts filled with boundless joy.

"Second brother, you've sold your life to the court for eight years now. Though pay has been issued, eight years should have repaid any debt of gratitude. This time, stay home and don't go back to the front! Father and mother are getting old. All these years we've lived in daily fear that something might happen to you. Heaven has been merciful—you've come back alive! If you'd died out there like Zhao Song, what would father and mother have done?"

Zhao Song had joined the Tianxiong Army together with Zhao Wu and the others, and had been killed in the Battle of Shouzhou. His ashes were sent home by the authorities, and afterward the Ministry of War sent a hundred taels of burial silver.

"Elder brother, I won't lecture you on the principles, but let me tell you one rule of the army and you'll understand: anyone who fails to return without cause past the deadline—executed!"

Zhao Wu knew that if he told his family what the commander had said, they wouldn't understand at all—they had no idea what it meant to serve the country and the people, or to repay the emperor's grace.

The vast majority of farming households in the village had been stuck in this remote corner for generations; a trip to the county seat counted as having seen the world. How could that compare to the scenes he had witnessed and the breadth of vision he had gained over these eight years?

Hearing the word "executed" from his younger brother, Zhao Wen was too frightened to make another sound, and Old Man Zhao also gave up the idea of keeping his son at home.

As they spoke, Zhao Wu's mother came in from outside carrying a plate of scrambled eggs, and deliberately placed this meat dish beside Zhao Wu: "My son, eat while it's hot! Your father and eldest brother have already eaten their fill—you eat all these eggs!"

Zhao Wu smiled and acknowledged her. Zhao Xiaomei handed the jewelry to her eldest sister-in-law, then turned and ran out of the room: "I'll go get chopsticks for Second Brother!"

Zhao Wen's wife placed the bracelets and gold hairpin into Zhao Mu's hands: "Mother, Second Brother just brought these out, saying they're one for each of us three women! I was thinking we should give them all to you, Mother—you can give them to whoever you please!"

Though somewhat insincere, Zhao Li-shi still understood the rules of the household.

Seeing such precious items, Zhao Mu was about to ask in suspicion when Old Man Zhao said impatiently: "These were rewarded to Xiao Wu by his superior! Very precious! You three women just divide them up! Give this gold hairpin to Xiaohua—tell her to keep it safe, and use it as her dowry when she marries!"

Zhao Xiaomei breezed into the room, heard her father's words, handed a pair of chopsticks to Zhao Wu, snatched the gold hairpin with a face full of joy, and ran into the inner room. Zhao Wu and Zhao Wen roared with laughter.

Zhao Mu shook her head with a smile: "Girl, you must hide such precious things well—never show them to anyone!"

"Mother! I know!"

Zhao Xiaomei thought to herself: Last time Zhao Sanjie's father bought her a copper hairpin from the county town, and she showed it off in front of me for days. Tomorrow I'll wear my gold hairpin and go see her! This is a gold hairpin! Won by my second brother for killing bandits! It could be traded for many of her copper hairpins!

Zhao Wu picked up a bite of eggs with his chopsticks and caught sight of his nephew and niece both staring longingly at the meat dish in his hand. He smiled and said: "Tiedan, you two take this plate of eggs into the inner room and eat it. Your second uncle eats meat and fish every day in the army—I'm long since sick of it!"

Seeing his family about to say something, Zhao Wu chewed on a flatbread and rummaged through his large backpack: "Look at my memory! I also brought back some military rations—I forgot to take them out! They say these were made with silver personally decreed by His Majesty!"

The family's attention was diverted by his words. Tiedan, unable to resist the temptation of good food after all, picked up the plate of scrambled eggs and ran into the inner room with his little sister.

As the family tasted the new-style military rations made by the Ministry of War, along with the dried meat and dried milk curds that the Four Seas Trading Company had brought back from beyond the frontier, they all savored small bites while praising: "Xiao Wu! Is this what they eat in the army? Truly delicious! This must have lots of oil, salt, and sugar added! The emperor really is rich! I heard the emperor uses a golden hoe to farm his fields!"

Zhao Wu was caught between laughter and tears: "Father, His Majesty is busy with state affairs every day—when would he have time to farm? Don't listen to what others say!"

"Ah? I was thinking the emperor had too much land at home and had to farm every day!"

"By the way, Father, when I came back I saw the wheat in the fields growing strong! These past few years our harvests should have been pretty good, right?"

"Hey! Who knows what possessed the great officials in the government to show such kindness—in the ninth year of Chongzhen they sent men down and dug several large wells in the fields of our village and the neighboring villages of Fushui and Zhangzhuang! They even installed waterwheels at the wells and built irrigation channels. Though Heaven hasn't sent rain or snow for a long time, the well water is plentiful! Our family's ten mu of fields have all been thoroughly irrigated—how could the harvest be bad? Last year, after paying the land tax, we still had a full twelve dan of grain left over from the summer and autumn harvests! And this year looks like another bountiful one!"

Speaking of the family's grain, Old Man Zhao beamed with joy. With more grain in the house, they could finally afford to eat coarse flatbreads at every meal. Before, they had only thin porridge twice a day, and only switched to one solid and one thin meal during the busy farming season.

"Father, I heard the commander say that several provinces are suffering severe drought now. His Majesty has already issued a decree exempting the affected prefectures and counties from taxes for three years. I reckon the wells being dug might also have been done by the authorities only after His Majesty's decree—otherwise, why had we never seen the government treat the people so well before?"

"My son, don't talk nonsense! The great officials are not for common folk like us to gossip about! Hurry up and eat—your father still has questions for you!"

Hearing the disrespectful tone in his son's voice toward the authorities, Old Man Zhao was frightened and quickly changed the subject.

After eating five flatbreads, Zhao Wu let out a satisfied burp.

During these eight years in the army, the first few years meant eating the steamed-then-dried rice issued by the Ministry of War—it had to be soaked in water before eating, and was downed with pickled vegetables. Sometimes even this hard-to-swallow fare was unavailable for days at a time, and they had to march and fight on empty stomachs.

In recent years, military pay and provisions had begun arriving on time, and the new military rations tasted good and lasted long—but eating them meal after meal, day after day, he had long since grown sick of them.

Nothing beat the steamed flatbreads at home—they had that taste of real grain.

"Xiao Wu, now that you're home, your father plans to arrange a marriage for you. It's the second daughter of Zhao Fu from the east end—just turned sixteen, sturdy of build. I happened to overhear in idle talk that this young woman is a fine hand at managing a household—many families have their eyes on her! It's fortunate you've come home, and from the sound of it you'll be staying for a good while. So I'll find an auspicious day, buy some gifts, and go to Widow Wang the matchmaker's house in the village, and ask her to call on the family and request the girl's birth chart. As long as it matches, we'll prepare for the betrothal and the wedding!"

"Father, let's talk about this another time. I'm tired—I'm going to sleep!"

Zhao Wu had no thoughts of marrying.

First, he didn't want to harm some family's daughter. He still had to go to the front and fight—on the battlefield, blades and arrows had no eyes, and he might die any day. Wouldn't that leave the girl to suffer as a widow for life?

Second, he had spent many years in the army, and the commander had once said that to have a good future in the military, one needed not only courage in battle but also literacy and strategy. So in his spare time he had learned many characters from the army clerks. He thought that in this life he absolutely had to reach at least the rank of Mobile Corps Commander—then his father and mother would become "Master" and "Madam," and he could bring glory to the Zhao family name. By then, finding a well-educated young lady from a good family to marry would be far better.

"You child, why won't you listen! I don't care whether you agree or not—tomorrow I'm going to Widow Wang's house!"

Old Man Zhao said angrily.

Helpless, Zhao Wu could only speak plainly: "Father, eldest brother is already married with children—the Zhao family's line won't be cut off. I want to win a future in the army, so that someday others will call you and Mother 'Master' and 'Old Madam'! If I become a general, I'll marry a lady from a distinguished family! Think about it—what glory that would be! Isn't that better than settling for a marriage now?"

This speech completely dispelled Old Man Zhao's idea of having his son marry. At the thought of his son becoming a general someday, Old Man Zhao seemed to suddenly grow ten years younger: "Xiao Wu, you're a man of official rank now. Go to the authorities often and inquire—as soon as there's word from the court, hurry back to camp! Your eldest brother being here at home is enough!"