Zhu Pan is an orphan who has wandered from place to place, living on alms. When she arrived in Qingning County, the old woman who had raised her died of illness, leaving Zhu Pan with no choice but to settle there and make a living.
She owned nothing, had no job, and possessed no special skills. All she could do was wash clothes and cook for people in exchange for a few copper coins.
The court was taking a census. With no household registration, a vagrant like Zhu Pan couldn't pay taxes and would need government assistance, so Qingning County didn't want her to stay. The headman's wife offered her some advice: "Pan'er, you're such a pretty girl. Why not find a dependable man to marry? You could get registered under his name."
Looking at her lovely reflection in the river, Zhu Pan began wholeheartedly searching for a good husband.
*
Cen Shi was a rough-hewn man who knew nothing but wood. He spent every day among wood shavings and sawdust, quiet but reliable and true to his word. Unfortunately, he was so poor that nobody was willing to give him their daughter in marriage.
Gritting her teeth, Zhu Pan borrowed two taels of silver from the headman's wife, rented a small room across from the carpenter's shop, and visited him every day to flirt.
"Brother Cen, one leg of my table is a little wobbly. Could you take a look?"
"Brother Cen, the lid of my cooking pot has a crack. Could it be fixed?"
Most of the time, Cen Shi merely glanced at her, gave a quiet "Mm," took the item, repaired it quickly, and handed it back without sparing her another look. He charged a fair price, often even shaving a few coins off the bill.
Day after day passed. The constables came to pressure her to leave, and her money was almost gone. That little flicker of hope was finally snuffed out by the man's endless silence.
*
The fourth son of the Feng family, Master Feng, was a notorious womanizer, but a gentle man. He fell for Zhu Pan at first sight and immediately sent a matchmaker to ask if she would become one of his concubines.
Looking at Cen Shi's silhouette outside the window, Zhu Pan felt utterly hopeless. Her fingertips trembling, she accepted the concubinage contract, a document tantamount to a deed of sale.
The news seemed to grow legs and spread through the little street in an instant.
Cen Shi was bent over a plank in the shop, planing it. Wood shavings flew everywhere, covering his head and shoulders. Fragments of the neighbors' gossip drifted in.
His hand paused, and the plane gouged a deep mark in the wood.
He knew he was poor and taciturn, with no way to give her a life of wealth and happiness. Better not to get involved with her in the first place. Still, hearing that she had finally found a home left him feeling deeply unsettled.
Amid the flying wood shavings, he rushed out of the shop. At the far end of the alley, he saw the familiar, slender figure being half-supported, half-dragged by two maids from the Feng household. They were about to disappear around the corner.
Content warnings:
1. A gentle, slow-paced story of everyday life, family matters, and a young married couple.
2. Both leads have no past romantic or sexual partners. They build a prosperous life together.
3. This story is meant to be warm and healing, so there won't be any major villains. It won't be very long.
Theme: Good fortune and blessings
