Chapter Twenty-One: Hearing the Stirring

She returned home and told her husband, Qiu Manfu, about Qiu Decai’s stubborn refusal to admit that his own yellow ox had eaten the rice ears in their field, as well as Qiu Decai’s rigid attitude.

Qiu Manfu was sweeping the yard in front of their house, head lowered, silent.

Tian Guifang took out a sickle and waved it at him, saying, “You should go and settle this with Qiu Decai. Demand compensation of fifty jin of rice, or its cash equivalent.”

Qiu Manfu, always honest and kindhearted, looked up at his wife and said, “We can warn Qiu Decai to keep a closer watch on his ox. If it breaks loose and eats our rice again, then we’ll have no choice but to break one of its legs. But as for compensation, forget it.”

Tian Guifang waved the sickle again and said firmly, “No, we can’t let it go. If they don’t want to compensate us, that’s their choice, but they also have rice in their own field that’s starting to ripen. I’ll go cut down a portion of it right away, so they suffer a loss too, and it’ll be even.”

Qiu Manfu put down the broom and reached to take the sickle from her hand, but couldn’t get it. Instead, he grasped her wrist holding the sickle firmly and said sternly, “Guifang, you can’t do that. The ox is an animal, and you’re a human. It’s understandable that a few stalks got eaten. But if you deliberately cut their rice ears with a sickle, will that make up for our loss? Even if it did, it’s not right to do so. And it won’t make up for it. Trying to even the score by causing them the same damage, just to vent your anger, shows how narrow-minded you are.”

Tian Guifang seemed somewhat persuaded and quietly loosened her grip. The sickle fell to the ground.

But still dissatisfied, she said, “Manfu, Decai is bullying our family, and you’re just going to let it be?”

Qiu Manfu replied, “It’s not bullying. I just don’t believe Decai is hoping his ox will break loose and eat our rice. If you do something extreme, it will only make things worse.”

Though she heeded her husband’s advice not to go too far, Tian Guifang kept mumbling to herself, unwilling to give in so easily.

At dinner, she said again, “Manfu, even if we don’t want compensation from Decai’s family, we need to make sure he understands clearly. Otherwise, he’ll think he can walk all over us and that his ox didn’t eat our rice ears after all.”

Qiu Manfu responded with a hum, set down his chopsticks, stood up, and said, “It’s necessary to talk to Decai.”

Tian Guifang had been tidying up the dishes but stopped to urge her husband to go out. Only then did she close the door behind him.

She quickened her pace to overtake Qiu Manfu. Along the way, the neighboring houses were all lit up, but when they reached Qiu Decai’s front door, the house was plunged in darkness. Had he gone to the mountain to look for the ox and not returned yet?

Tian Guifang pondered and said, “Let’s go around to the back of his house and take a look.”

Qiu Manfu walked to the back and peered through a window—still no light.

Tian Guifang said, “Forget about the lights. I want to check the ox pen in the backyard. If the ox is there, it means Decai has come back.”

Just then, the jingle of a cowbell sounded from the ox pen in the backyard.

Tian Guifang said, “No need to look anymore. That means Decai found the ox and went out again.”

Qiu Manfu turned and said as he walked, “Where could he be going at this hour?”

Tian Guifang called out loudly, “Qiu Decai!” but immediately stopped, thinking: Earlier in the day, I went to the field to talk to him about his ox eating our rice ears, but he was uncooperative and angry. Now, even if I call him out loud, he might not respond, especially since we don’t know where he is.

She tugged at her husband’s sleeve and said, “Why don’t you call around the houses nearby and see if he responds?”

Qiu Manfu waved his hand, “Let it be. We’ll look for him tomorrow. Even if I call out as you say, he might not answer. He knows we’re here to cause trouble, so maybe he’s hiding.”

“Impossible. Decai isn’t afraid of anyone. He wouldn’t hide over such a small matter. And knowing we’re lenient, he’d be even less likely to hide,” Tian Guifang argued, and Qiu Manfu agreed.

He continued, “Even if he’s not hiding, if I call out now and he happens to be at someone else’s house and responds there, then if we go and scold him in front of others, he’ll be even more resentful. Even if we’re right, we won’t win the argument. I think it’s better to go home. It’s not the right time to confront him.”

Tian Guifang was reluctant. “Let’s wait by Decai’s door a little longer. Maybe he’ll come back soon after we leave.”

Qiu Manfu stopped by Decai’s front door and, following his wife’s suggestion, waited a while.

After two or three minutes, Tian Guifang grew impatient. Her husband was leisurely pacing by the door, turning around calmly; she walked toward the houses with lights on, looking around.

The light came from inside the houses, casting a soft glow outside. Where trees or other objects blocked the light, shadows flickered faintly.

Tian Guifang walked in the darkness, watching the lit houses. From inside those bright rooms, it would be hard for anyone to see her dim figure outside. Of course, no one would be looking out unless they had something on their mind.

But Tian Guifang was different—she was searching for Qiu Decai, trying to see which house he might be visiting.

She quietly glanced at two or three houses with doors open or ajar but didn’t find Decai, so she moved on toward the lit doorways.

When she reached the front of Cai Zhongsheng’s house, she suddenly stopped. She heard voices inside, one sounding like Decai’s.

She moved closer to the door, which was tightly shut.

She stood there listening and peered through the crack in the door. What she saw shocked her: Cai Zhongsheng’s husband, Wu Zidan, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Qiu Decai sat in a large armchair, with Cai Zhongsheng beside him.

Decai had one arm around her waist and the other resting on her bare knee, saying, “Zhongsheng, today I helped your family carry manure and forgot to watch my ox. I first tied it up in the bamboo grove, but it stubbornly broke loose and ran into Manfu’s field to eat his rice ears. Manfu’s wife wants me to compensate her, but I refuse. Though I offended her in the process.”

Cai Zhongsheng said, “Why won’t you pay?”

Decai replied, “I won’t admit it. I didn’t see my ox eating their rice ears, and no one can testify to it. Why should I pay?”

“You’re such a trickster,” Cai Zhongsheng said, turning her head and poking his forehead with her finger.

Decai said, “It’s all because of you—I forgot to look after the ox.” Then he lifted her up and headed toward the bedroom.

Tian Guifang saw everything clearly through the door crack and understood why the ox ate their rice ears—it was because Decai was distracted, entangled with Cai Zhongsheng.

She thought: earlier at noon, I heard noises in our house and thought it was my husband Wu Zidan returning home. Now it seems things are more complicated.

She wanted to shout out and expose the shame of this pair, but on second thought, it wouldn’t be right. The conflict was only between her and Decai. If she made a fuss now, Decai would surely become an enemy, and Cai Zhongsheng too. It wasn’t worth it. But she was still upset and wanted to do something to punish Decai.

So she quickly returned to Decai’s front door and told her waiting husband, “Manfu, why wait? Decai is with that man’s wife, Cai Zhongsheng. Don’t believe me? Go see for yourself.”

Then she corrected herself, “Not just see. We shouldn’t look inside. I’ll take you to stand under the bedroom window on the outside wall of Cai Zhongsheng’s house. We can hear what’s going on inside.”

Qiu Manfu said, “Is that so?” and followed her toward Cai Zhongsheng’s house. As they approached, they slowed their steps and tiptoed quietly, trying not to make a sound.

They reached the base of the bedroom wall. About two meters up was a window, tightly closed, but still faint noises came through.

After listening for a moment, Qiu Manfu nudged Tian Guifang and whispered, “Let’s go. There’s nothing good to hear.”

But Tian Guifang refused. Perhaps emboldened by her husband’s presence, she felt a desire to make the two of them embarrassed in front of everyone. Yet her emotions had not yet overwhelmed her; she could still barely control herself.