"Is it likely that she hasn't yet enough money for her own requirements?" Hsi Jen smiled. "Or is it that she's still not satisfied?

And what's the use of her still going on bothering herself in this way?"

"Isn't it so!" laughed P'ing Erh. "From just handling the funds for this particular item, she has, during these few years, so manipulated them as to turn up several hundreds of taels profit out of them. Nor does she spend that monthly allowance of hers for public expenses. But the moment she acc.u.mulates anything like eight or ten taels odd, she gives them out too. Thus the interest on her own money alone comes up to nearly a thousand taels a year."

"You and your mistress take our money," Hsi Jen observed laughingly, "and get interest on it; fooling us as if we were no better than idiots."

"Here you are again with your uncharitable words!" P'ing Erh remonstrated. "Can it be that you haven't yet enough to meet your own expenses with?"

"I am, it's true, not short of money," Hsi Jen replied, "as I have nowhere to go and spend it; but the thing is that I'm making provision for that fellow of ours, (Pao-yu)."

"If you ever find yourself in any great straits and need money," P'ing Erh resumed, "you're at liberty to take first those few taels I've got over there to suit your own convenience with, and by and bye I can reduce them from what is due to you and we'll be square."

"I'm not in need of any just now," retorted Hsi Jen. "But should I not have enough, when I want some, I'll send some one to fetch them, and finish."

P'ing Erh promised that she would let her have the money at any time she sent for it, and, and taking the shortest cut, she issued out of the garden gate. Here she encountered a servant despatched from the other side by lady Feng. She came in search of P'ing Erh. "Our lady," she said, "has something for you to do, and is waiting for you."

"What's up that it's so pressing?" P'ing Erh inquired. "Our senior mistress detained me by force to have a chat, so I couldn't manage to get away. But here she time after time sends people after me in this manner!"

"Whether you go or not is your own look out," the maid replied. "It isn't worth your while getting angry with me! If you dare, go and tell these things to our mistress!"

P'ing Erh spat at her contemptuously, and rushed back in anxious haste.

She discovered, however, that lady Feng was not at home. But unexpectedly she perceived that the old goody Liu, who had paid them a visit on a previous occasion for the purpose of obtaining pecuniary a.s.sistance, had come again with Pan Erh, and was seated in the opposite room, along with Chang Ts'ai's wife and Chou Jui's wife, who kept her company. But two or three servant-maids were inside as well emptying on the floor bags containing dates, squash and various wild greens.

As soon as they saw her appear in the room, they promptly stood up in a body. Old goody Liu had, on her last visit, learnt what P'ing Erh's status in the establishment was, so vehemently jumping down, she enquired, "Miss, how do you do? All at home," she pursued, "send you their compliments. I meant to have come earlier and paid my respects to my lady and to look you up, miss; but we've been very busy on the farm.

We managed this year to reap, after great labour, a few more piculs of grain than usual. But melons, fruits and vegetables have also been plentiful. These things, you see here, are what we picked during the first crop; and as we didn't presume to sell them, we kept the best to present to our lady and the young ladies to taste. The young ladies must, of course, be surfeited with all the delicacies and fine things they daily get, but by having some of our wild greens to eat, they will show some regard for our poor attention."

"Many thanks for all the trouble you have taken!" Ping Erh eagerly rejoined. Then pressing her to resume her place, she sat down herself; and, urging Mrs. Chang and Mrs. Chou to take their seats, she bade a young waiting-maid go and serve the tea.

"There's a joyous air about your face to-day, Miss, and your eye-b.a.l.l.s are all red," the wife of Chou Jui and the wife of Chang Ts'ai thereupon smilingly ventured.

"Naturally!" P'ing Erh laughed. "I generally don't take any wine, but our senior mistress, and our young ladies caught hold of me and insisted upon pouring it down my throat. I had no alternative therefore but to swallow two cups full; so my face at once flushed crimson."

"I have a longing for wine," Chang Ts'ai's wife smiled; "but there's no one to offer me any. But when any one by and by invites you, Miss, do take me along with you!"

At these words, one and all burst out laughing.

"Early this morning," Chou Jui's wife interposed, "I caught a glimpse of those crabs. Only two or three of them would weigh a catty; so in those two or three huge hampers, there must have been, I presume, seventy to eighty catties!"

"If some were intended for those above as well as for those below;" Chou Jui's wife added, "they couldn't, nevertheless, I fear, have been enough."

"How could every one have had any?" P'ing Erh observed. "Those simply with any name may have tasted a couple of them; but, as for the rest, some may have touched them with the tips of their hands, but many may even not have done as much."

"Crabs of this kind!" put in old goody Liu, "cost this year five candareens a catty; ten catties for five mace; five times five make two taels five, and three times five make fifteen; and adding what was wanted for wines and eatables, the total must have come to something over twenty taels. O-mi-to-fu! why, this heap of money is ample for us country-people to live on through a whole year!"

"I expect you have seen our lady?" P'ing Erh then asked.

"Yes, I have seen her," a.s.sented old goody Liu. "She bade us wait." As she spoke, she again looked out of the window to see what the time of the day could be. "It's getting quite late," she afterwards proceeded.

"We must be going, or else we mayn't be in time to get out of the city gates; and then we'll be in a nice fix."

"Quite right," Chou Jui's wife observed. "I'll go and see what she's up to for you."

With these words, she straightway left the room. After a long absence, she returned. "Good fortune has, indeed, descended upon you, old dame!"

she smiled. "Why, you've won the consideration of those two ladies!"

"What about it?" laughingly inquired P'ing Erh and the others.

"Lady Secunda," Chou Jui's wife explained with a smile, "was with our venerable lady, so I gently whispered to her: 'old goody Liu wishes to go home; it's getting late and she fears she mightn't be in time to go out of the gates!' 'It's such a long way off!' Our lady Secunda rejoined, 'and she had all the trouble and fatigue of carrying that load of things; so if it's too late, why, let her spend the night here and start on the morrow!' Now isn't this having enlisted our mistress'

sympathies? But not to speak of this! Our old lady also happened to overhear what we said, and she inquired: 'who is old goody Liu?' Our lady Secunda forthwith told her all. 'I was just longing,' her venerable ladyship pursued, 'for some one well up in years to have a chat with; ask her in, and let me see her!' So isn't this coming in for consideration, when least unexpected?"

So speaking, she went on to urge old goody Liu to get down and betake herself to the front.

"With a figure like this of mine," old goody Liu demurred, "how could I very well appear before her? My dear sister-in-law, do tell her that I've gone!"

"Get on! Be quick!" P'ing Erh speedily cried. "What does it matter? Our old lady has the highest regard for old people and the greatest pity for the needy! She's not one you could compare with those haughty and overbearing people! But I fancy you're a little too timid, so I'll accompany you as far as there, along with Mrs. Chou."

While tendering her services, she and Chou Jui's wife led off old goody Liu and crossed over to dowager lady Chia's apartments on this side of the mansion. The boy-servants on duty at the second gate stood up when they saw P'ing Erh approach. But two of them also ran up to her, and, keeping close to her heels: "Miss!" they shouted out. "Miss!"

"What have you again got to say?" P'ing Erh asked.

"It's pretty late just now," one of the boys smilingly remarked; "and mother is ill and wants me to go and call the doctor, so I would, dear Miss, like to have half a day's leave; may I?"

"Your doings are really fine!" P'ing Erh exclaimed. "You've agreed among yourselves that each day one of you should apply for furlough; but instead of speaking to your lady, you come and bother me! The other day that Chu Erh went, Mr. Secundus happened not to want him, so I a.s.sented, though I also added that I was doing it as a favour; but here you too come to-day!"

"It's quite true that his mother is sick," Chou Jui's wife interceded; "so, Miss, do say yes to him also, and let him go!"

"Be back as soon as it dawns to-morrow!" P'ing Erh enjoined. "Wait, I've got something for you to do, for you'll again sleep away, and only turn up after the sun has blazed away on your b.u.t.tocks. As you go now, give a message to w.a.n.g Erh! Tell him that our lady bade you warn him that if he does not hand over the balance of the interest due by to-morrow, she won't have anything to do with him. So he'd better let her have it to meet her requirements and finish."

The servant-lad felt in high glee and exuberant spirits. Expressing his obedience, he walked off.

P'ing Erh and her companions repaired then to old lady Chia's apartments. Here the various young ladies from the Garden of Broad Vista were at the time a.s.sembled paying their respects to their grandmother.

As soon as old goody Liu put her foot inside, she saw the room thronged with girls (as seductive) as twigs of flowers waving to and fro, and so richly dressed, as to look enveloped in pearls, and encircled with king-fisher ornaments. But she could not make out who they all were. Her gaze was, however, attracted by an old dame, reclining alone on a divan.

Behind her sat a girl, a regular beauty, clothed in gauze, engaged in patting her legs. Lady Feng was on her feet in the act of cracking some joke.

Old goody Liu readily concluded that it must be dowager lady Chia, so promptly pressing forward, she put on a forced smile and made several curtseys. "My obeisance to you, star of longevity!" she said.

Old lady Chia hastened, on her part, to bow and to inquire after her health. Then she asked Chou Jui's wife to bring a chair over for her to take a seat. But Pan Erh was still so very shy that he did not know how to make his obeisance.

"Venerable relative," dowager lady Chia asked, "how old are you this year?"

Old goody Liu immediately rose to her feet. "I'm seventy-five this year," she rejoined.

"So old and yet so hardy!" Old lady Chia remarked, addressing herself to the party. "Why she's older than myself by several years! When I reach that age, I wonder whether I shall be able to move!"

"We people have," old goody Liu smilingly resumed, "to put up, from the moment we come into the world, with ever so many hardships; while your venerable ladyship enjoys, from your birth, every kind of blessing! Were we also like this, there'd be no one to carry on that farming work."

"Are your eyes and teeth still good?" Dowager lady Chia went on to inquire.

"They're both still all right," old goody Liu replied. "The left molars, however, have got rather shaky this year."