Chapter 28: That Is Not How It Is Calculated

Seeing Huan Ya so delighted, Mother Song felt her own spirits lifted.

After helping her spread all the perilla leaves out on winnowing baskets to dry, she said, "If you want to go back, why don't we go now?"

Huan Ya paused, looking at Mother Song in surprise.

"Everyone is busy harvesting corn these past two days," Mother Song explained. "Once they have some leisure time, others will surely head up the mountain too. If we don't go now and wait until tomorrow, I fear we won't be the only ones there."

"Oh, but we don't have enough baskets," Huan Ya said, pointing to the one nearby. "I think there is only one."

That was the same basket she had used to carry corn yesterday; she had washed it by the river this morning and continued to use it for the medicinal herbs.

Mother Song paused, then smiled and said, "There are more. There is one in the kitchen. Wait here, I will go get it."

Before long, Mother Song returned with a much larger basket.

"I didn't give you this one yesterday because I was afraid you couldn't carry it." She had never expected that Huan Ya would manage to carry all that corn back on her own.

"But medicinal herbs are light, so this will be fine."

"Wonderful!" Huan Ya's eyes sparkled. This meant she could gather even more perilla leaves!

Watching her, Mother Song felt her heart soften, mixed with a touch of guilt.

She knew very well why Huan Ya was working so hard. If it were any other young girl, even doing her own share of the chores would be considered commendable. But Huan Ya was different; she viewed Mother Song as her savior and was constantly thinking of ways to repay her, never considering herself.

In the past, before she knew who Huan Ya really was, Mother Song might have thought the two taels of silver she spent had been well worth it. But after learning that Huan Ya's father was Ma Xuyang, Mother Song found it increasingly difficult to think that way.

She remembered Tiancheng saying that the books Ma Xuyang left behind had been of immense help to him, especially the rare volume filled with Ma Xuyang's own insights. It could be said that without that book, Tiancheng would never have passed the scholar's examination so quickly.

Mother Song had even gone to look for Ma Xuyang specifically to thank him, but she heard he had moved, and no one knew where. By the time she heard news of him again, he had already passed away. That debt of gratitude had remained in her heart ever since.

"Huan Ya, you don't need to be in such a rush to earn money," Mother Song said. "Although we don't have much, it is enough for now. Don't worry."

She was afraid that Huan Ya was so anxious to repay her kindness that she was neglecting her own well-being.

Huan Ya nodded. "I'm not in a rush; I just want to do more."

She pursed her lips, fidgeting with the corner of her tunic, and added, "My life was saved by you, Auntie. If it weren't for you, I would have been sent to the Youlan Pavilion long ago."

"I just thought that if Brother Tiancheng could get better sooner, you would be happier."

Hearing this, Mother Song felt her heart melt completely.

"I am already quite happy," she said, clasping Huan Ya's wrist. "Child, if you don't mind, in the future..."

She wanted to say that Huan Ya could call her "Mother," but thinking of the deep love Huan Ya held for her own parents, the words caught in her throat.

Instead, she said, "In the future, don't be so formal. Just treat this place as your own home. You can consider it my way of repaying the kindness your father showed Tiancheng all those years ago."

Huan Ya pressed her lips together and gave a slight shake of her head. "It is not the same, Auntie. Please, don't be so formal yourself. You saved my life; I am the one who owes you, and it has nothing to do with my father."

She could not let the fact that her father had helped Brother Tiancheng become a reason for Mother Song to help her in return. Things simply did not add up that way.