Phoenix Perches on the Loess

"You lazy good-for-nothing, get up already! The market's about to close, and are you going to sell those lousy baskets of yours or not?" She yanked open the cotton curtain to the inner room and yelled at her husband, Li Jianguo, who was snoring away on the kang. Her voice was loud, but carried the weariness of a life worn down by hardship.

Li Jianguo mumbled a reply, rolled over, and tried to go back to sleep. Wang Caifeng felt a surge of anger, not because he was lazy, but because their poverty seemed to have no end. She lowered her voice, but every word struck home. "We still haven't figured out how to pay Xiuzhi's tuition next term. Tiedan's growing so fast his trousers are short again, and you still feel like sleeping? Do you think we're the village chief's family, with mountains of gold and silver?"…