Chapter 2: 2

Please read the clarifications for certain terms at the end of the post. Thanks for reading! (Also, the ‘Madame Cheng’ of the previous chapter is actually named ‘Zheng’, oops)

***

It was only later that Yun Yanhui discovered that the establishment in the village where they lived, was a charitable undertaking by the wives of local businessmen, destined for the women who could not raise their children and, instead, would drown or abandon them.

Yun Yanhui’s “mother”, that is, Madame Zheng, was among those women; however, after giving birth, she chose to work here.

 Now, due to the landlord’s business bankruptcy, he had to cash in his settlement and land, moving out of the town. Madame Zheng was unemployed and had her wage already paid. In half a month, the owner of the site would change.

The children of the charity manor for the young got the short end of the stick — about twenty to thirty youths were left without a roof above their head. The owners couldn’t afford to look after themselves, much less them.

Yun Yanhui had no knowledge of the event, but the nine children who previously lived with him were either adopted or taken in as servants and maidservants to a rich family.

Among the rest of the people who had nowhere to go were the five years old girl, who was concerned about Yun Yanhui’s safety, and the infant she was holding.

Madame Zheng did not, in fact, live in her workplace, but she had a house of her own; fortunately for Yun Yanhui, he didn’t need to worry about sleeping on the streets.

After Madame Zheng finished stowing her possessions in a bag, they said their goodbyes to the little girl, and left with Yun Yanhui in her arms. The girl hugged the infant to her chest and watched them departing behind the door, eyes glistening with tears.

In the past few days, Yun Yanhui heard Madame Zheng saying their names; he knew that the little girl was Shuangyi, and the boy, being in need of a name, was called Xiaobao by everyone. Even the landlord’s youngest child was named Xiaobao.

Yun Yanhui leaned back on Madame Zheng’s shoulder and darted his gaze somewhere else, being afflicted. They had only been together for a few days, yet as a man with a grown-up soul, he couldn’t bear the pain.

He was neither fully aware of nor capable of facing the unfamiliar world, and not even the Holy Mother could save him.

Zheng Ping halted her steps, then shed crocodile tears. She stared back at the two children, embracing Yun Yanhui closer to her and sobbing pitifully.

Shuangyi ran over with Xiaobao and squeezed Madame Zheng into her small arms.

“Mother, mother!” cried Shuangyi.

Yun Yanhui felt the bittersweet affection and how awfully much Shuangyi ached for the motherly love she couldn’t receive from her own mother. Probably in the eyes of this child, Madame Zheng and her biological mother were one and the same.

Madame Zheng enfolded them in her arms and wept, then uttered steadfastly, “let’s go with mother!”

Yun Yanhui was squeezed by Madame Zheng’s unshakeable grip, then was blinded by her light, as if the Holy Mother had taken the physical form of his mother.

***

Madame Zheng’s former workplace, the charity manor for the young, was located right between the richest and poorest areas. They went on an ox cart and walked for about forty minutes, before they arrived in the city.

Madame Zheng was pleasantly surprised. Normally, Yun Yanhui acted spoiled most of the time, yet today he was unexpectedly mature. When she held Xiaobao and let Yun Yanhui walk with Shuangyi, he did not cry out of exhaustion even once. Perhaps it’s the shock of parting ways with the others.

She had no idea that Yun Yanhui was used to carrying a camera in modern times, in order to film interviews most, if not all the time, having little spare time during the weekends. Whether he went to the mountains, the countryside or the most grandiose parts of a megalopolis, nothing could wear him out.

Although his body had significantly shrunk and lacked his former strength, his will was stronger than any of the ordinary children, and never felt the need to whine.

The last few days reminded him that he was now in an era with substandard living conditions, but only after reaching the city did he realize that most of the people were well off.

The cities were densely populated and perhaps incomparable to the modern times, but at least everyone was dressed properly. The world, imagined as gray and monotonous before, was exciting and colorful.

Each person was clothed in elegant attire; exquisite garments of all sizes and countless types of wine were sold, as the city’s flags swayed from the slight breeze.

This was a really good time to live in!

Yun Yanhui even noticed foreign merchants buying on the streets, and local businessmen wearing ostentatious outfits. Based on his historical knowledge, Yun Yanhui judged that it had to be at least the Song period, otherwise the status of the merchants wouldn’t have been so high.

The words “Kaifeng[1]” and “Bianliang” he had overheard from others confirmed his suspicions. This was Bianliang, the capital during the Northern Song dynasty.

In an instant, the view in front of him corresponded to the famous painting “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” from his memory. The river flowed gently and the image of the water rippling was alive, the scene unfolding before his very eyes and causing Yun Yanhui to become agitated.

It was his misfortune and his luck to be able to live in this period. There were not many people from the modern era who could see the actual capital of the Northern Song Dynasty from a thousand years ago.

Yun Yanhui stared at everything in the marketplace, and though it was impossible to transmigrate back to his times he was accustomed to, he could not help but admire the old and new city as if he were about to leave.

It was not uncommon for Yun Yanhui to gape at his surroundings. No one would give him a second glance. Shuangyi was just as wonderstruck, and there were many tourists who’d come to Bianliang for the first time, marveling at the prosperity of the city.

Madame Zheng led them both to the Kaifeng government office. Fortunately, Madame Zheng showed them the way to the place. She also pointed to a spot and told them that it was the back wall of the building. Then, she turned around and said, “our house is here.”

Yun Yanhui was speechless. He had traveled to Kaifeng, in Henan province before to know that Kaifeng was also named Nanjing[2], because it was south of the imperial palace, so Madame Zheng’s house was not too far away from the palace!

Yun Yanhui’s mood suddenly cleared. His family had their home in the three rings[3] of the capital. He was not afraid of anything anymore!

The house was empty, though not very spacious, but tidy anyway. Perhaps his family was well-to-do. There was also a small walled courtyard. The place had little furniture, but compared to the kindergarten, it was much better.

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Listening to Madame Zheng and others’ conversations, the charity manor didn’t use to be like this before. With the decline of the owner’s business, it quickly closed.

However, Yun Yanhui felt a tad strange. It was reasonable to think that, during ancient times, the family members lived all together. Yet, he should have a father, too. Could it be that he had other relatives living and eating at work, just like Madame Zheng did?

While Yun Yanhui was pondering, Madame Zheng did not rush to clean up. Instead, she rested and let the children sit on their beds. Then, she took out a pen, ink and paper from her closet and began writing.

Yun Yanhui pretended to saunter in a bored manner to Madame Zheng’s side and sat on her lap. Madame Zheng wasn’t bothered, she knew a child like him would not be able to recognize the characters.

Madame Zheng’s handwriting was neat, but considering the status of women during ancient times, especially the common people who were mostly illiterate, this was admirable, proving the family might have been doing even better before.

As for the letter, it was written to Madame Zheng’s husband, the father of “Yun Yanhui”. According to the letter, her husband had left suddenly and she’d not heard from him for more than two years — no wonder she brought the children back on her own.

In the past, communication was not easy due to the rough, unfavorable terrain. Madame Zheng’s letters never received any reply and no one knew what exactly happened to her husband; yet, she didn’t give up trying again and again.

During the modern age, Yun Yanhui did not have enough time to spend with his parents as a teenager. They died early, never knowing the reason behind choosing his name. However, now he understood the motive, which was based on Madame Zheng’s wishes[4].

Hopefully one day, her husband would receive the letter and send back news of his well being to the person awaiting his arrival.

At the end of the letter, Madame Zheng signed with: “Ping”.

Yun Yanhui thought, “it seems this is Madame Zheng’s maiden name, Zheng Ping.” He had already called her informally in his mind, because he must have been the same age as Zheng Ping before transmigrating.

After Zheng Ping was done with writing the letter, everyone took a breather. She got up and walked out of the house with the children, knocking on the neighbor’s door. The individual who answered appeared to be a woman in her thirties. When she set her eyes on Zheng Ping, a pitiful expression floated across her face, indicating that she had heard about the charity manor situation.

Zheng Ping called her Third Sister Hu and told her children to call the woman Third Aunt. She thanked the woman for keeping watch over the house while she was away, then introduced the little girl and the infant and took the children away.

Third Sister Hu spoke softly to Zheng Ping: “The girl can stay and look after your house, while the boy should be sent out as soon as possible.”

“Thank you very much, Third Sister. I’ll check it out.” Zheng Ping didn’t express her feelings clearly. After she showed her appreciation to her, she explained that she had just returned and had no money, so she wanted to borrow some firewood.

As soon as she was given what she needed from Third Sister Hu, Zheng Ping went back to cook, eat until she and the children were satisfied, then worry about the future.

During her stay at the charity manor for the young, because of the great number of children, Zheng Ping used the method of asking the older ones to tend the younger ones. She was relieved to have Shuangyi caring for her two little brothers as well.

Yun Yanhui returned to sitting obediently, not having to worry for Xiaobao, who was dozing. Shuangyi trod lightly to Yun Yanhui and hesitatingly uttered, “let me ask you something, Brother Yun…”

Yun Yanhui looked at her blankly.

“Do you like me?” asked Shuangyi.

Yun Yanhui didn’t mull over the question and answered naively, “I do.”

These days, it seems that this little sister was very loving towards her younger siblings. She cherished her brothers and sisters and cared about her elders. She was considered in ancient times a sweet-tempered and compassionate little beauty.

Tears slid down Shuangyi’s cheeks.

Yun Yanhui: “…”

Was it his fault?

Shuangyi murmured, “I, I don’t want to be my brother’s wife, I will be your sister-in-law, is that good? You, you can ask Xiaobao to be your wife… Both of us will stay.”

Yun Yanhui: “……”

Yun Yanhui glanced back at Xiaobao’s innocent face and was speechless.

Then Yun Yanhui recalled that Third Sister Hu seemed to have said something to Zheng Ping before, about keeping Shuangyi to take care of him.

He swore that he had never brooded over the meaning behind the words, but how could a child from the Song Dynasty understand, while he had no idea himself? It turned out Shuangyi was viewed as… his wife?

Her childish words made Yun Yanhui want to comfort her, but considering that all the other children of his age from the charity manor had difficulties speaking well and expressing themselves, he thought it as inappropriate to tell a long sentence of consolation for both of them. He could only spit out two words, “all right!”

Shuangyi burst into tears and smiled, hugging Yun Yanhui tightly.

Yun Yanhui was held by Shuangyi in her arms, and thought, “it’s no use thinking about such trifling matters. In the end, we have to look after Zheng Ping, the only person able to work and support the family, and we don’t even know if we can afford the prices of this capital…”

***

[1]quick clarification: Kaifeng and Bianliang are the same thing; literally the same name of the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. From this perspective it’s historically accurate, more info about the capital is on wikipedia!

[2]now this I’m not sure of, because Nanjing (from what I’ve read) was named Jiangning during the Northern Song Dynasty and during the Ming Dynasty it was renamed from Jiangning to Nanjing, because it was literally in the south. I’ll edit once I find more info on this matter!

[3]from my understanding, it’s referring to the three ‘rings’ that are the palace, the inner city and the outer city of Kaifeng.

[4]云雁回 Yun Yanhui, characters would be translated as: ‘cloud’, ‘wild goose’, ‘return’. So she hoped her husband (the wild goose) would return from the clouds. I don’t know if ‘clouds’ refer to heaven or a peak of a mountain. And also I guess this is my interpretation of the name lol

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