Chapter 9: The "Crane" That Paints

As dusk fell, Huang Zhi arrived carrying a food box. It contained three dishes and a soup. Since it was after the start of autumn, it was the season for crab, and she had even added two plump, roe-filled three-tael female crabs from Yangcheng Lake.

Shanyue and Wang Er-niang divided the meat dishes and the crabs. After setting the table, Huang Zhi stood by the door with her hands hanging at her sides. Wang Er-niang invited her to eat with them, but Huang Zhi waved her hands repeatedly: "The meal was prepared for two, please don't stand on ceremony."

Only when Wang Er-niang relaxed her grip on her bowl did Huang Zhi retreat outside the door.

Wang Er-niang, a native of Bashu, rested one leg on a low stool. She first picked up a chopstick of stir-fried lamb with *zuyu* leaves, Sichuan peppercorns, and scallions, stuffed it into her mouth, and then nudged He Shanyue with her head: "She’s peeking at you."

He Shanyue remained calm and composed. She pulled a set of "eight crab tools" from the bottom drawer of the food box: a hammer to crack the claws, a block to steady the shell, pliers for the legs, a spatula for the roe, and a fork for the body.

She finished the entire process without getting her hands dirty. A section of her wrist, visible within her sleeve, looked like a lotus root in midsummer.

"Let her look if she wants," He Shanyue said, lowering her head to eat a spoonful of crab roe. "No one wants to hire a vulgar governess who might corrupt the young ladies of the house."

"Miss He finished the crab but didn't touch the stir-fried lamb; Miss Qin didn't eat the crab but ate quite a bit of lamb; Miss Zhou ate neither the crab nor the lamb, only the cabbage hearts."

That night, at the Zhimu Hall of the Cheng residence.

Light spots flickered like moths against the wooden surface of the elm-wood cabinet with copper rings.

Huang Zhi stood timidly. Sitting on the *baxian* couch in the main hall of the inner residence were the master and the eldest young master, a rare sight indeed.

The men who ran the business outside made her feel instinctively afraid.

Moreover, while this father and son appeared as kind as living Buddhas to the outside world, they never once smiled when they returned home. Their faces were always set, as if everyone in the world owed them a fortune.

Even though Huang Zhi was a servant born into the household, she currently kept her neck tucked in shorter than a turtle’s.

Master Cheng was the man who had led the Cheng family out of their fishing village. A few generations back, they were barefoot doctors in Taobao Town who chewed herbs to apply to wounds. The most advanced medical skill they possessed was picking coral shards out of feet—nothing that could be called profound medicine or deep pharmacology. They were just scraping by, but this Master Cheng was bold and skilled. When the county magistrate was on a sea patrol and was bitten on the instep by a stranded sea snake on the beach, the fifteen-year-old Master Cheng had lunged forward and sucked the venom out with his own mouth.

It was a sea snake, after all. Being bitten by one usually meant two graves: one for the victim, and one for the mountain.

How did that saying go?

Heaven never fails a go-getter who knows how to play the sycophant.

Master Cheng followed the magistrate into the city and opened a pharmacy. Later, he married the eldest daughter of the magistrate’s secretary. When the magistrate was promoted to prefect, Master Cheng brought the Cheng family into Songjiang Prefecture. They had been comfortably well-off, but eight years ago, they were struck by another windfall—their family’s medicinal herb business had actually expanded all the way to the capital!

The eldest young master, who had always been stuck in a rut and worried about his marriage prospects, had actually married the daughter of the Yingtian Prefecture assistant magistrate! Even if she was a concubine-born daughter, she was still the legitimate daughter of a proper sixth-rank official!

The men of the Cheng family were usually too busy to meet, but tonight they had gathered to hear what the governess candidates had eaten. It was truly mind-boggling.

Master Cheng picked up a white-glazed porcelain teacup and took a sip. Tea leaves stuck to his gums, and he "spat" them into the hands of his primary wife, Madam Duan. "The one who ate the crab, how was she?"

Madam Duan guessed immediately that the master would ask about He Shanyue, who had eaten the crab. Dining was the best way to gauge a person’s temperament and upbringing. The one who ate the stir-fried lamb was the least desirable; the pungent smell of the scallions would linger for days, and the lamb would leave a gamey odor on her body. If she were called to work tomorrow, smelling like that would be highly improper. The one who didn't eat meat was too cautious and timid—a small-mindedness that no one could like. Furthermore, at this time of year, anyone who knew how to eat crab must have a composed and graceful demeanor; otherwise, they wouldn't go through the trouble for a few morsels of meat.

Madam Duan quickly brushed the tea leaves from her hands and presented He Shanyue’s flower-patterned stationery to Master Cheng. "Her surname is He. I met her today. She was vetted by the usual agency. She’s from Suzhou Prefecture and has severed ties with her family. She previously worked in an antique shop doing illustrations and has seen a bit of the world. Her painting skills are quite good. More importantly, she is very beautiful, and her conduct is impeccable. Aside from being a bit older, there are no significant flaws."

Master Cheng asked, "How old?"

"Nineteen this year," Madam Duan replied.

Cheng Xingju, the eldest son of the Cheng family, glanced at his father. "Not too old. As long as she hasn't been married, a woman a bit older has more flavor."

Master Cheng glared at his son and spoke in the Songjiang dialect: "Watch your tongue before your wife twists it off. Your father-in-law has a promotion coming next year; don't go overboard with anything."

He turned back to Madam Duan: "And her temperament? Is she smart?"

Madam Duan said, "She is smart, but also honest."

Master Cheng pondered for a long time. "For this vacancy, I’d rather have a fool than someone too smart." He paused and asked about the one who didn't eat meat: "And that one?"

"She’s younger. Her father was a teacher, so she learned to paint a little from a young age. In terms of artistic attainment, she’s not as good as the He woman, and in terms of looks, she’s far behind. But as you said, this Zhou woman is narrow-minded and timid; she might be more obedient to us," Madam Duan said quickly.

"Not good-looking?" Master Cheng frowned.

Madam Duan thought for a moment. "Like a sharp-mouthed rat." She added, "There’s another point of comparison: the He woman only has an old woman looking after her, and she carries her own household registration and identity papers; she can make her own decisions. The Zhou woman still has her mother at home, and her father’s and uncle’s families are all dragging her down."

Master Cheng shook his head dismissively. "That’s a minor matter. A loner has the uses of a loner, and someone with a family has the leverage of a family—but this appearance..."

For a moment, it was hard to decide.

Cheng Xingju laughed dismissively. "Just hire both. Feeding one is the same as feeding two. Just put them in with the existing 'goods' and choose slowly. Who knows, maybe it won't be these two 'cranes' who end up hitting the mark!"

Master Cheng thought about it and made the final decision: "Do as Xingju says."

He Shanyue received the news the following noon. It was Huang Zhi who delivered the message, offering congratulations and explaining the rules regarding her salary, seasonal gifts, and living arrangements. After she left, Wang Er-niang cursed, "Son-of-a-bitch medicine peddlers! They’re damn rich! I work my ass off stealing a painting, and I don't even make as much as they spend on a whim!"

As a native of Bashu, even as a woman, she didn't refer to herself as "this old lady," but rather used the masculine "I" (laozi), just like the men.

Much like Wang Er-niang’s fiery temperament, this was something He Shanyue quite liked.

As the night grew darker, the fence outside the post house was opened with a soft "creak." One tall and slender figure, the other short and round, both draped in dark, oversized cloaks and wide-brimmed bamboo hats, walked with hurried steps toward the tavern in the southeast.