It's raining again!

A little five-year-old girl sat on the threshold of a small siheyuan[1] with her elbows on her chin. She closed her eyes and listened to the rustling rain outside. Water whirls flooded the ground, and the water from the roofs hit the pavement.

The girl looked delicate and pretty, but her skin was a little bit yellow, her hair a bit too thick and dark. Only her lips were beautiful - the edges of her sharp cherry mouth were distinct, only a little lighter and less ruddy than the common folk.

She was just a little undernourished girl. If she were white and ruddy, she would look better.

All of a sudden, wanting to touch the rain, she tremblingly held her hand out.

"Sui Xi." Said a voice in the background, in the middle of the obscureness of rain that fell like a heavy curtain, a lady dressed in coarse cloth came in a hurry. Although she was wearing rough cloth and carried a large bamboo basket on her back, she appeared delicate and graceful still. The closer she came, the more one could feel the soft light gleaming from her eyes.

Sui Xi immediately withdrew her hand and propped herself up with both hands on the doorpost, she stood  up and said, "Mommy, you are back!"

As it turned out later, this young woman was Madam Luo, the Lady Guan.

Lady Guan said hello to her neighbor and soon afterward lifted Sui Xi into her arms. "I've told you so many times, don't wait for me outside the door. Especially when it's raining, you have to be careful not to get sick."

Sui Xi cleverly put her arm around Lady Guan's neck, smelling the familiar warm smell on her, she whispered, "But, Mommy… Sui Xi wants to wait. Grandma only wants to play with my younger brother and father is drinking again."

Second Master Guan, Sui Xi's uncle, acquired his scholarly honor four years ago. Soon after, he became a manservant that handled books in yamen[2] - standard government clerk in charge of the honesty in examinations. Two years ago, he married a respected master's daughter who gave birth to a baby boy whom they named Tai Yu last year. That little child received all the love that Sui Xi never experienced. Originally, Sui Xi was not a favored child. Yet, her family still took care of her despite that. But now, in the past year, neither her dad nor granny cherished her. The only person who loved her tenderly and took care of her since then was Lady Guan. 

After hearing her daughter's reply, Lady Guan felt some discomfort in her heart. Those two… Holding back a sigh, she simply held Sui Xi tight and forced on a smile. "Mommy bought some pork meat. Tonight Sui Xi will get some fried pork slices, okay?"

Sui Xi revealed a lovely and innocent smile. She hasn't eaten pork for half a month! Granny said that pork must be set aside for her father and uncle to eat because they were the pillar of the home. But she heard a few days ago that granny secretly left some pork for aunt and also told aunt to give some to the other kids of the Guan family.

Why do the other kids get to have some pork meat? This was the thing that Sui Xi was never able to figure out.

Seeing Sui Xi's reaction, Lady Guan relaxed and quickly pressed a quick kiss onto her child's cheek, which made her laugh. With a smile, Lady Guan carried Sui Xi into the house.

When they walked in, they both saw First Master Guan - Lady Guan's husband and Sui Xi's father. He was lying on his side, in front of a low wooden table that had a bowl of peanuts and shelled peanuts to the side. A jar of spiced alcohol, wine, was located right by his arm. Right now, Lord Guan was twisting a peanut in his mouth. 

When he saw the mother and child enter, his face could not help but shift. After spitting out the peanut shell to the side, he faced the two and sneered. "She has already grown steady legs. Even this big, she needs to be carried in one's arms?

With a timid voice, Sui Xi whispered in Lady Guan's ear. "'Mommy, Sui Xi can walk by herself."

[1] historical type of residence that was commonly found throughout China, most famously in Beijing and rural Shanxi

[2] as the administrative office or residence of a local bureaucrat or mandarin in imperial China.