Chapter 8
What Each One Was Really Thinking…
When mealtime came in the So household, there was no need to call anyone together. The entire family naturally gathered in the main hall of the residence. No one dared to arrive late, afraid that their share might already be gone.
No one in the So family had yet moved out to form a separate household, so all eighteen members lived together under one roof. As befitted such a large family, meals were always served on two tables, and thanks to that, the hall was packed so tightly there was hardly room to step.
The oldest member of the family, Old Master So—So Cheol-ju (蘇鐵柱)—was fifty-nine this year. He had married twice. His first wife gave birth to So Cheong-young’s eldest grandaunt and to So Dae-hae, but she passed away before Dae-hae had even learned to walk.
A year later, the step-grandmother, Madam Wang, married into the family. She later bore three sons and one daughter, which allowed her to hold her head high within the household. Now, she was unquestionably the most influential person in the So family.
Old Master So, by nature a man of few words, had little presence even within his own home.
Among Madam Wang’s sons, So Cheong-young’s fourth uncle and youngest uncle, So Sa-cheon (蘇四泉), had just turned sixteen and was not yet married. However, the second uncle, So I-ha (蘇二河), and the third uncle, So Sam-gye (蘇三溪), had already established their own families and given Old Master So four grandsons and three granddaughters.
Madam Wang regarded the abundance of able-bodied men in the family as entirely her own achievement. She ruled the household with an iron hand and never missed an opportunity to harass her daughters-in-law.
That was why she found it absolutely intolerable that So Cheong-young had defied her earlier, snatching the snacks right out of her hands. Her displeasure showed plainly on her face as she looked at Cheong-young.
However, having pocketed all fifty taels of silver received for this marriage arrangement, she was in no position to reprimand her carelessly. If Cheong-young were to go astray now, Madam Wang herself might end up losing out. In the end, she could only glare at Cheong-young with resentment, unable to utter any sharp words.
Cheong-young, on the other hand, seemed not to care about Madam Wang’s gaze at all. She led the twins to the lower table, sat between them, and quietly began tending to their meal.
The food on the table was always the same. Dinner was usually even plainer than lunch: a bowl of coarse mixed-grain rice for each person, a plate of salted pickles, a plate of vegetables, and a bowl of thin, oil-less soup. That was all.
Cheong-young silently surveyed the table, then ate quietly, occasionally picking out side dishes for the twins.
Of course, there was no rule in the So household that one must not speak during meals. Madam Wang constantly nagged whenever she found an opening, while the younger brothers, Yu-bok and Yu-gwi, made endless complaints about the food, using their youth as an excuse. In contrast, Cheong-yang and Cheong-haeng ate quietly, content with what they were given.
So Chun-ran (蘇春蘭), the eldest daughter of the second uncle, had already married and moved out. Her two sons, U-mun and U-mu (又武), now eighteen and thirteen respectively, were grown enough to eat silently as well.
The second uncle’s younger daughter, Ha-ha (夏荷), and the third uncle’s daughter, Chu-guk (秋菊), were both taciturn by nature, so apart from the occasional clink of chopsticks, there was little conversation at the table.
When Cheong-young had finished about half her meal while tending to her siblings, the third aunt, Madam Jeong, suddenly spoke up.
“From the looks of it, Eldest Sister-in-law must have been keeping some private savings. Just the snacks Cheong-young brought home today must’ve cost quite a bit, don’t you think?”
Madam Jang lowered her head deeply, unable to offer any rebuttal. Most of the snacks her eldest daughter had brought were not bought with her money, but it was true that she had secretly given Cheong-young some of her hidden savings.
Seeing Madam Jang remain silent, Madam Jeong seized the chance as if she had found a weakness and tried to further sow discord with Madam Wang.
At that moment, however, Cheong-young’s icy gaze fell upon Madam Jeong. She flinched and shrank back instinctively. Cheong-young did not miss the opening and spoke in a cold voice.
“Could it be that Third Aunt doesn’t have any private savings? A few days ago, when the peddler came to the village, Yu-bok and Yu-gwi bought a whole bag of candy and ate it right in front of Cheong-yang and Cheong-haeng. That much candy couldn’t have been given away for free… unless Aunt happens to have a special relationship with that peddler?”
Madam Jeong was startled. She quickly glanced at So Sam-gye and hurriedly blurted out an excuse.
“W-what nonsense are you saying! That was bought for them by your grandmother!”
Once she said that, it sounded like a fairly plausible excuse. Feeling emboldened, she straightened her back. After all, there was no way her mother-in-law would take that child’s side!
“Oh my, then Aunt, would you mind if I searched a little? If money turns up, it certainly wouldn’t belong to you, so I’ll just take it.”
“What right do you have to do that?!”
Madam Jeong snapped, raising her voice.
Cheong-young merely smiled calmly, lowered her head again, and continued eating in silence. Instead, it was Madam Jeong who realized she had dug her own grave, her face flushing bright red.
She cautiously glanced at her mother-in-law and saw Madam Wang glaring at her sharply, unable to hide her displeasure. Only then did Madam Jeong realize that keeping her mouth shut was the wisest choice. She hurriedly lowered her head and focused on her food.
Watching all this, the second aunt, Madam Feng, shot Madam Jeong a brief look before averting her gaze.
Even if Eldest Sister-in-law has some private savings, how much could it be? The Ye family sent fifty taels of silver to take Cheong-young as their daughter-in-law, but not a single coin ended up with the main household anyway. That money will be spent on the youngest brother-in-law’s marriage, and if the rest is used sparingly, it could last quite a while. Why provoke a child who was quietly minding her own business? What if things go wrong?
In the past, Cheong-young would’ve just endured it silently, but ever since she was dragged back by her maternal cousins, she’s completely changed.
She’ll be getting married soon anyway—what’s to gain by upsetting her now? If she’s provoked too far and runs off again in a fit of anger, the marriage will fall through, and we’ll be left with nothing. What possible benefit is there in stirring things up like this?
Having sorted out her thoughts, Madam Feng placed an extra side dish into her daughter Ha-ha’s bowl. The mother and daughter of the second branch continued eating quietly, paying no further attention to the verbal skirmish on Madam Jeong’s side.
So Dae-hae was gentle by nature. Having lived cautiously under his stepmother Madam Wang since childhood, he had always tried to avoid trouble. Madam Jang, too, lived carefully, constantly mindful of her mother-in-law’s mood. When Madam Jeong suddenly brought up the matter of private savings, both of them broke out in cold sweat, fearing a scolding from Madam Wang.
Thankfully, Cheong-young’s few words shut Madam Jeong up, and the matter did not escalate. Only then did the couple finally breathe a sigh of relief, their hearts easing.
Whenever a peddler came to the village, Cheong-young, Cheong-yang, and Cheong-haeng could only watch silently, unable to spare even a single coin. Every time they saw that, the couple’s hearts ached. That was why they had secretly saved one or two coins at a time over the years, but even so, they had only managed to gather a little over two hundred copper coins.
With Cheong-young’s wedding approaching, they still could not afford to prepare even a proper dowry. If Old Master So had not promised to give one tael of silver for the dowry, the child would have entered the Ye household with nothing but the clothes on her back.
And so, harboring their own private thoughts, the family quietly finished the meal.
When it was over, everyone left the main hall again.
Before the second branch—who was responsible for dinner that evening—had even finished washing the dishes, Yu-bok and Yu-gwi were already pestering their grandmother to hand out the snacks.
Inside the main house, Madam Feng and her daughter Ha-ha were cleaning up, and the diligent Madam Jang naturally joined them to help. Seeing her mother working tirelessly from morning till night, Cheong-young felt a pang of pity. When her mother moved to help with the washing up, Cheong-young brought the twins along and helped as well.
Madam Jeong, however, was different.
She lounged about picking her teeth, unable to take her eyes off the snacks in Madam Wang’s hands. Eventually, she clicked her tongue and began to sneer again.
“How generous. This lǘ dǎ gǔn (驢打滾)—just this small handful must cost at least twenty coins. Cheong-young, you really do spend freely. Looks like your mother’s hidden savings amount to quite a bit?”
Cheong-young, who had been quietly helping her mother, could no longer stay silent. Just as she was about to retort, Cheong-haeng—already upset that more than half the snacks had been given away—jumped up first.
“We didn’t buy them with our money! They were given to us! Our family doesn’t have that kind of money!”
Madam Jeong snorted, clearly unconvinced.
“Hmph. Who would just hand out such expensive snacks?”
“They really were given to us!”
Remembering her sister’s warning not to mention what had happened in the town earlier that day, Cheong-haeng simply repeated herself.
If Ye Bak-seung’s name came up, rumors might start. In this era, meeting a man privately—even if he was a betrothed—was enough to invite gossip and censure.
Madam Jeong continued picking her teeth, rolling her eyes skeptically.
So Eldest Sister-in-law was only pretending to be honest on the surface. That bundle of snacks easily weighed over one tael of silver… Hmph, looks like she has a sly side too.
At that moment, Cheong-young looked calmly at Madam Jeong and said coldly,
“Third Aunt, do you really think I’m generous enough to buy such expensive snacks just to share with the whole family? If I had that kind of money, I’d rather prepare my own dowry. Why would I waste it just to please my cousins’ appetites?”
“……”
Madam Jeong was left speechless.
Cheong-young then turned her gaze directly to Madam Wang.
“And Grandmother, you received fifty taels of silver, didn’t you? Then how is it that not a single coin was given to my parents? What am I supposed to do about my dowry? There are only a few days left until the wedding. Are you planning to prepare it yourself, or will you give my parents the money to do so?”
Madam Wang’s eyes flew wide open as she shouted angrily,
“Didn’t your grandfather give your father one tael of silver to prepare your dowry? And that’s still not enough? When your mother married into this family, she came with nothing but a few sets of clothes! What more do you think you deserve?!”
At her words, Madam Jang lowered her head awkwardly.
Cheong-young narrowed her eyes at Madam Wang and asked calmly,
“Then, Grandmother, what dowry did you bring with you when you married into this family?”
“……”
Madam Wang was struck dumb.
What dowry had she brought?
Her natal family had been even poorer than Madam Jang’s. Otherwise, would she have married a poor widower with two young children after losing his wife at such a young age?
In the courtyard outside the hall, Old Master So—who had been fiddling with his tobacco pipe—finally spoke.
“I’ve told So the carpenter from our village to prepare a few wardrobes and chests for your dowry. They should be finished in two days. Your father can go and collect them then.”
Hearing this from the courtyard, So Dae-hae’s face lit up with emotion.
“Thank you, Father! I’ll go take a look tomorrow.”
Cheong-young glanced outside. Watching So Dae-hae’s purely delighted expression, she couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh. Without saying another word, she took the twins by the hand and returned silently to their room.
