Chapter 11: Blessings and Misfortunes Entwined
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For the Su family, who were now utterly destitute, two baskets of pears were no different from a ray of hope.
Before dawn the next day, Su Da and Su Er rose and, taking advantage of the early hour when they were less likely to be noticed, covered the baskets with straw mats and hurried toward town.
After all, carrying out so many pears would be far too conspicuous.
And it would not withstand close scrutiny.
Great Locust Village lay in the northern reaches of Northern Yue, where winter brought days upon days of wind and snow.
By midwinter, the snow on the ground was deep enough to bury one’s feet.
The journey to town and back was unbearable without a fair measure of determination.
Holding Sweetie in her arms, Old Madam Su sat opposite the wooden bed in the inner room, glaring coldly at the old man lying upon it.
A small brazier burned beside the bed, driving away the chill in the room.
Old Master Su did not dare meet his wife’s eyes. He lay there with his eyes guiltily shut, groaning, “Ow, ow,” through his teeth.
Old Madam Su gave a cold laugh. “Now you know how to cry out in pain? Where were you yesterday? That half-sack of flour would be twenty coppers at most, wouldn’t you say? When the eldest and second sons return, we’ll calculate how much medicine your old leg will cost you.”
“...Ahem, listen to yourself. The situation was urgent. How could I have had time to think? My mind hadn’t even caught up, and my hands had already gone for the sack of flour. How was I supposed to know my leg would break?” Old Master Su opened one eye and darted a glance at his wife. “Besides, what medicine do I need? The break has already been bandaged. If I lie still for ten days or half a month, I’ll be as good as new. Applying medicine would only waste money... I tell you, none of you ever listen to me. You insist on selling the pears to buy medicine, when it would be better to buy more rice and flour for the family. Making it through the winter is what truly matters. Ow... ow...”
“If your old bones were half as hard as your mouth, your leg wouldn’t have broken yesterday!”
“...Ow! Owwww!”
“All right, stop howling. Rest properly and save your strength. I won’t deal with you today.”
Old Master Su stopped groaning, though he felt his dignity had been thoroughly stripped away.
Their Sweetie might have been only two days old, but she was a clever little thing who could understand what people said.
His wife truly had not left him the slightest shred of face.
“Is Sweetie asleep?”
“A newborn sleeps as soon as she’s fed. She’s awake for only a little while each day.” Old Madam Su could no longer suppress her worry and lowered her voice. “You didn’t see all those pears covering the floor in the other room yesterday... I’m truly afraid Sweetie might have been hurt. Such tremendous powers—how could a baby use them freely? Ah.”
Old Master Su was silent for a moment before comforting her. “Don’t let your imagination run wild. Look how soundly our granddaughter is sleeping. It should be nothing serious. A baby this small would certainly cry and fuss if she were uncomfortable or in pain.”
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Old Madam Su immediately widened her eyes. “Nonsense! My Sweetie is as well-behaved as can be. Other than that first cry when she was born, she hasn’t made trouble for anyone!”
“...” I was trying to reassure you, and you turned around and blamed me without rhyme or reason.
Lying helplessly on the bed, Old Master Su had seen his granddaughter only twice since her birth—both times yesterday. Now that he saw the obedient child sleeping across from him, longing filled his heart.
“Old woman, bring Sweetie over and let her sleep beside me. If we cover her with the quilt, I can keep her warm.”
How could Old Madam Su not know what her husband was thinking? Yet, after considering that a newborn’s bones were still soft and she truly should not be held all the time, she rose and gently placed the baby on the inner side of the wooden bed.
That way, Yuelan could rest without worry, and she would also have her hands free to work. The kitchen still had to be rebuilt; they could not keep cooking in the main room forever.
“If Sweetie wakes up, call me. I’ll carry her back over.”
“All right!”
The tiny child, small enough to cradle in both hands, slept nearby—soft and delicate as a little bundle of cotton.
Her sleeping face was sweet and peaceful. Her little nose fluttered faintly with each breath, and a light milky fragrance lingered around her.
Old Master Su’s heart softened until it felt as though it had been steeped in warm water.
He carefully reached out and brushed the baby’s cheek, smooth as a peeled egg. Then he murmured, “Good fortune leans upon misfortune, and misfortune lurks within good fortune. As for our Sweetie... who can say whether those extraordinary powers of hers are a blessing or a curse?”
He had been speaking to himself. He never expected that before he could finish, the peacefully sleeping baby would suddenly open her eyes.
They were round and shining, her pupils black and lustrous like glass submerged in water, staring straight at him.
She neither flinched nor tried to hide her gaze.
Old Master Su froze for a moment, then broke into a grin. “You little rascal. Were you pretending to sleep?”
The baby blinked.
“Oh, you don’t understand what I mean by fortune and misfortune? Never mind. Grandfather will explain it properly...”
Taking a single blink as a sign, the old man interpreted his granddaughter’s meaning all on his own. “There’s a saying: an ordinary man is innocent, but possessing a precious treasure makes him guilty. Take our Sweetie, for instance. You were originally an ordinary, innocent commoner, but because you were fortunate enough to possess great powers, greedy villains would want to seize them and make them their own. To take what belongs to you, they would pin all sorts of crimes on you and use every means at their disposal. They would never stop until they achieved their purpose... That is what it means for fortune to contain misfortune.
“So, Sweetie, the more precious the treasure you carry, the more careful you must be in your words and actions. Do not reveal your abilities. Keep a low profile and never put yourself forward. Only then can you protect yourself.”
The old man lowered his head and met his granddaughter’s puzzled, innocent eyes. Tenderness spread through his heart.
“Grandfather doesn’t know what you went through before, or what made you so disheartened. But, child, all of that is in the past. You are now the youngest treasure of the Su family, Su Jiuni. No matter how poor our family may be, you will always have food to eat. No matter how great the danger or hardship, your grandparents and parents will stand in front of you first. All you need to do is grow up in peace. Just don’t bring out anything too precious so readily in the future... Your grandmother is afraid you’ll use up your blessings. At night, she secretly sighs and wipes away her tears.”
His rambling words murmured beside her ears.
Sweetie listened quietly, understanding only some of it.
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Grandfather was a little long-winded, but she did not find it unpleasant. Whenever he spoke to her, his eyes were filled with kindness.
In her previous life, she had envied the chubby boy next door, who was about her age. His parents and grandparents spoke to him and played with him, looking at him with the same warmth Grandfather now showed her.
Sweetie gazed at the old man and curled her tiny fingers. For an instant, her chest felt strangely full.
What she had once envied—perhaps she possessed it now, if only for a little while.
Even though she could not fully understand her own emotions, every little thing that had happened since her birth had begun to make her realize something.
In this family—her father and mother, her grandparents, her second uncle and aunt, and her three older brothers—they all seemed to love her.
Sweetie’s eyelids slowly drooped. Before she sank into sleep once more, her mind continued replaying every moment since she had come to this family when they had shown her affection.
That affection had not begun after she revealed her powers.
It had naturally been there before she displayed them.
Being loved felt so strange. She still had not figured it out.
Perhaps she should take her time before dying again.
It was better to be a ghost who understood the truth than one who died in confusion.
Outside, daylight gradually brightened, and at some unknown moment, the howling wind and snow suddenly ceased.
The villagers who had been sheltering indoors for the winter immediately emerged, wielding brooms, shovels, and rakes as they hurried to clear the snow.
The clamor continued throughout the morning.
The Su family’s little courtyard was no less lively.
With no men taking part, Old Madam Su led her second daughter-in-law and three little rascals in turning the courtyard upside down, amid squawking chickens and a chorus of scolding.
Yet in all that noise, Sweetie continued sleeping soundly, the corner of her mouth even lifting unconsciously into a faint smile.
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