“No, no,” Xu Caitong forced herself out of bed, had breakfast, and climbed onto the ox cart prepared by the Xu brothers, watching as they drove the livestock towards the market. The slow-moving ox cart made her drowsy again, and she closed her eyes, soon falling back asleep. But it seemed like she had only dozed for a moment when Ruiping was shaking her awake. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, “Are we there?”
“Yes, sleepyhead,” Ruiping said, pulling her off the cart.
Chapter Two: As the sky began to clear, the Xu family settled their livestock in an open area, and soon other sellers joined, surrounding them with their own animals. Xu Caitong thought this must be the place for livestock trading and wondered if she should go further ahead to explore the market. She quietly asked Ruiping, who confirmed that the small vendors weren’t open yet, but they would go later to browse the market. Caitong was excited and patiently waited for the buyers to arrive.
After staying with the Xu family for over two months, Mrs. Xu grew particularly fond of Caitong and wanted to adopt her as her goddaughter, especially since they shared the same surname. Caitong was happy to accept, and she called Mrs. Xu ‘mother.’ Mrs. Xu corrected her, explaining that ‘mother’ referred to a madam in a brothel, and she should call her ‘Niang’.
“Good, good,” Mrs. Xu beamed, her mouth unable to close from happiness. After paying respects at the ancestral hall, Xu Caitong officially became her goddaughter. Mrs. Xu, in her fifties, was overjoyed to have gained a daughter and bragged about it to everyone she met. Xu Caitong was especially cherished by Mrs. Xu, who had her daughters-in-law take her to the market, allowing Ruiping to buy fabric to make some new clothes for her.
“Miss, let’s go to the market,” Ruiping called to Caitong.
“OK!” Caitong jumped up, following Ruiping.
“What does ‘OK’ mean?” Ruiping asked curiously.
“‘OK’ means good,” Xu Caitong explained.
