She had never once woken up at the crack of dawn before.
Her rooster, which was part of her dowry, was always the one waking her. But having grown up with her, it was naturally as lazy as she was.
When A Yu slept, he slept. When she rolled over, he tucked his head deeper beneath his wing. Even when the other roosters in the village crowed proudly at sunrise, General Yu merely opened one eye, scoffed silently, and went back to sleep.
So their usual waking time was closer to mid-morning, when the sun was already blaring through the paper windows and the village had long begun its day. By the time A Yu stepped out to stretch, farmers had already gone to the fields, smoke rose from every chimney, and children were running around with sticky rice cakes in their hands.
Today, however, something was wrong.
General Yu lifted his head slowly, one beady eye opening in suspicion. The sky outside was still dark, the room barely visible. Yet his human had sat up.
She dragged her heavy body out of bed, swaying as she walked. Her eyes were still half-closed, her hair sticking out wildly, and her blanket trailed behind her like a defeated flag. She took two uncertain steps forward.
Then her foot caught the stool beside the bed.
She tripped and fell face-first onto the floor with a dull thud.
The startled rooster shot straight up, wings flapping wildly as he crowed at full volume. The sound shattered the quiet dawn like a gong.
A Yu jolted awake instantly.
"Keep quiet, General Yu!" she whispered urgently, scrambling to grab him. She clutched him by the neck and tucked him under her arm. "I don't want them to know I woke up. I want it to be a surprise, so lower your voice."
General Yu blinked, confused. Seeing no danger, he relaxed and tried to wriggle free, clearly intending to return to bed.
"No, you will be helping me today. Let's go."
She stopped him halfway, tucked him securely under her arm, and shuffled toward the kitchen.
Is this woman crazy? Who wakes up in the dead of night? I can barely see anything. That was what General Yu seemed to be cursing in his head as he squinted into the darkness.
That was until they passed the chicken pen.
Some of the hens were already awake, pecking lazily at scattered grain. General Yu immediately straightened, puffing his chest and raising his head proudly.
That's right, ladies. Who's the bum now?
They steadily made their way into the kitchen.
Today she was going to attempt making her husband's favorite meat buns to surprise him.
The thought filled her with determination.
When was the last time A Yu even lit a fire?
When she lived with her grandmother, she had been coddled. The only task she was ever trusted with was tending their famous eggplants. Her grandmother insisted her hands were too soft for rough work and always chased her away from the stove.
After she got married, her husband did all the cooking during the first year, saying she should rest and enjoy married life. In the second year, he convinced her to get a maid because he was too busy studying. In the third year, her cousin came to live with them and took over everything naturally.
So in her entire life, A Yu had never cooked.
She had never even lit a fire.
"General Yu, how do they do this again?" she asked seriously.
The rooster stared at her.
What are you looking at me for? I eat when you eat.
He jumped onto a stool, tucked his head beneath his wing, and promptly went back to sleep.
"Never mind," she muttered. "It's just adding some wood and lighting it."
She crouched beside the stove and stuffed a handful of dry-looking wood inside. Then she struck the flint the way she had seen others do. Sparks flickered weakly before dying.
She tried again.
And again.
Finally, something caught.
Smoke began to curl upward.
She brightened. "See? It's easy."
But the smoke didn't stop.
It thickened.
Then thickened more.
Soon it poured out of the stove like a trapped ghost, filling the kitchen in gray clouds. A Yu coughed, waving her sleeve frantically.
"Why isn't it lighting?" she mumbled.
The smoke grew heavier, creeping out the windows and door, rising into the courtyard.
When the first worker pulling his cart toward the county passed by their fence, he froze.
Smoke.
Lots of smoke.
"Fire! Quick, somebody! Scholar Song's house is on fire!"
The shout pierced the quiet village.
Doors flew open. People stumbled out half-dressed, grabbing buckets, basins, anything that could hold water.
Right at that moment, A Yu burst out of the kitchen coughing violently, tears streaming down her face. General Yu flapped wildly beside her, also choking.
"A Yu, why are you trying to burn down my house in the middle of the night?" Song Yan shouted as he ran out. He hadn't even put on his robe properly and wore only one shoe.
He stared at the thick smoke pouring from the kitchen in disbelief.
The neighbors rushed over, still delirious from sleep, banging on the gate.
"Hurry up before the fire spreads!"
Song Yan hurried to open it, but A Yu waved her arms frantically.
"No, no! There's no fire! I was just lighting the stove to cook. It looks like the wood has a problem. It kept smoking instead of lighting," she clarified nervously.
The crowd froze.
"…Cooking?"
At that moment, widow Ma stepped forward, already composed despite being woken abruptly.
"Cousin, why are you trying to cook? You know you don't know how. Just leave that for me and go back to sleep," she said gently, guiding A Yu by the shoulders.
"You can all go back. I'm sorry for the disturbance. It's her first time cooking so she didn't know which wood to use. Please don't blame her," she added apologetically to the neighbors.
The crowd slowly dispersed, whispering among themselves.
How could a married woman not even know how to cook?
Scholar Song is living a hard life.
Thank goodness widow Ma is there to help them.
Otherwise the whole family would have died a hundred times.
A Yu looked at her cousin with shining eyes, like she was her knight in shining armor, completely missing the mocking gazes.
They walked back into the house. Widow Ma helped A Yu sit on a chair and poured her water.
Her throat still burned. She had truly thought she might suffocate to death.
"What were you thinking? You've never cooked in your life before!" Song Yan scolded her.
"I just wanted to make you a meal. Didn't I tell you yesterday?" she said, voice trembling. She had almost died, and instead of comforting her, she was being scolded.
"Alright, alright. She was just trying to do something nice for you. Don't scold her too much," widow Ma interrupted softly. "At most, I can just teach her to cook from now on."
Only her cousin cared about her right now.
A Yu leaned forward and hugged her waist, refusing to look at Song Yan.
"I'm not angry. I was just worried. Next time ask for help before you do something you don't know," he said, rubbing his forehead before returning to his room to get ready. After that commotion, no one was going back to sleep.
"It's okay, little sister. Brother-in-law is just worried about you. If you want, I can teach you how to cook," her cousin offered gently.
A Yu immediately shook her head.
After that experience, she never wanted to step foot in the kitchen again.
She stood up slowly and returned to her room.
General Yu had already crawled back into the bedding and fallen asleep as if nothing had happened. He even shifted slightly to make space for her.
He really knows best, A Yu thought.
She slipped under the covers again, warmth quickly surrounding her. Her eyelids grew heavy.
Becoming a dutiful wife is out the window.
So we have to go with the second plan.
Get pregnant.