“And later? Why did you leave the house and come to our little place?”
“My husband’s parents died two years ago, elder brother wants to separate and live apart, can my husband this capable to divide what good things? Husband’s parents passed away, nobody can take responsibility for us, elder brother’s wife said we don’t have other choices but to do ourselves and even if you obtain property it’s not much, there are a few acres of land and several of paving.”
“But husband and I are worried, afraid of a few older brothers, older brother’s wife has other ideas on her mind, just in case they say they want to help us take care of our property, yet secretly invade and occupy our property. I’m a woman and husband is also like this and if something really happens, it’s impossible to go to court with my older brother and sister in law, so as a result, I talked to husband to sell off the family property and move to another place.”
“Discuss? you and your man?” Chén sǎozi’s straightforward question, isn’t he unable to see, can’t hear and can’t speak?
The other’s doubt let Xīfān discover a big bug in her words, her brain turned into two circles, anxious for a hasty cover-up.
“Yes, we can discuss it, my husband wasn’t born like this. As a child he’s smart, the body is strong and healthy, he’s a normal person. If it were not for the illness…… My husband is very smart, he read a lot of books, the master always praises him. If there is something I want to say to him so long as I write the characters on his palm he will understand.”
The story mention here, Xīfān suddenly think of, ‘oh right why didn’t she think of that maybe Helen gōngzǐ really be able to communicate with her.’
Fāng sǎozi exclaimed in admiration and said: “It’s amazing to read a book, can my Niú family come and learn a few words from you? so as not to grow up like his parents and be a blind man.”
“Well, if you have time let the children come.”
Chén sǎozi smile:“Jiāng family’s niángzǐ is a conscientious person if you marry a woman with bad intention, whose willing to stay with such a man for a lifetime? maybe as soon as the parents in law died, right away rush to grab the money and go far away.”
Lín sǎozi speaks: “How can you not keep? the marriage book is covered by the government seal, if you abandon your husband the government will arrest you also a dozen of planks to beat you will you still live?”
Fāng sǎozi also cut off and said, “You are right, there was a woman in the Liǔshù village, her family’s man is an idiot, speech is unclear, she cheated on her man and run away with a man and sweep away all valuables, village people can’t stand by idly and watch, they arrested the person back. They’ve broken the wild man’s leg and the woman was immersed in the swine cage, died.”
“We act like a woman who is ready to accept misfortunes as decreed by fate, whether you marry a pig or marry a dog, marrying a man is a lifetime affair. You talked about which family’s daughter in law in one’s mind have not been wronged? still have to swallow the bitterness, live a good life, really it’s difficult to endure can only go to the temple to worship and be sincere in heart to hope that God will give a good birth in the next life, so that I can also return as a rich young lady.” Lín sǎozi’s accepting misfortunes as decreed by fate.
The kindhearted Chén sǎozi comforted her: “Jiāng family’s niángzǐ, seriously think about it, marrying this man is not bad although his body is somewhat inconvenience, still it’s going to keep you fed and warm, marry a man, marry a man to dress and eat, this is what he did. Besides, the light permits you to know the language and to understand letters, you just don’t know you are much better than us.”
Fāng sǎozi also supported, “What I say is, don’t need to speak to other people, let us just say that one Zhao Li Zheng in our village is wretched and vulgar. He took his younger sister to the county magistrates home to be a concubine, Get a good one, think you are a fool, all day long at home beating children, wife, Zhao shěnniáng¹ face is not good for a day, is red, green, purple and swollen, everyday appearance not the same compared with Zhao Li Zheng, your family is a good home.”
“Furthermore, the village eldest Qián, to go dining, wining, whoring and gambling all kinds arrive, not to have money, not to have skills, relying on that attractive young man, still outside to womanize, he doesn’t do anything. My parents left a few acres of land to get money also take care of sister in law and son, if not for a few years ago the sister in law saved some silver by being a wet nurse in the city, now the whole family all drink the northwest wind².”
“But eldest Qián is not enough, drunk all day long, reach out sister in law’s money, this it doesn’t matter, last time he owed a gambling debt the debt collector was in front of the door, he goes so far to want to drag his unmarried daughter to repay the debt, if it were not for my mother in law to see, let my man beforehand hide the money and the daughter, now a good girl doesn’t know what a dirty place it’s been sold, alas Qián sǎozi this day do not know when to come to the end.”
Chén sǎozi answered: “Two days ago I went to see eldest Qián’s home. Qián sǎozi also say at the moment she was now counting on her children to grow up quickly. In the future, if things get too hard and want to jump in the river then she won’t have anything to worry about.”
Fāng sǎozi held the hands of Xīfān pointing to the man on the bed and said, “Therefore stand for this kind of a man, your life isn’t really bad, either. In any case, there are food to eat and clothes to wear, don’t need to be beaten, someday give birth to children, endure for a few years when you are old you have something to rely on.”
“We women, the most important thing is to accept misfortunes as decreed by fate.” Chén sǎozi finally concluded.
Xīfān nods her head, and answered: “Thank you, sisters-in-law, I know it in my heart, to live on, who doesn’t have to suffer pain.”
Next, they talk about a few more examples of “teaching and learning” to encourage xīfān to accept her fate.
She believes that after today, Jiāng family’s niángzǐ’s case also can become an encouragement to be used to advise suffering women. As it turns out that the intellectual civilization of mankind was passed down by the gossip generation.
After they worked together to teach Xīfān how to make a fire, they return to their respective work.
Shutting the door, Xīfān went back inside the room and looked at the man who got up from the time when women chatted with her. She to walk towards him sat on the bed arched two legs, and buried the aggrieved little face in her knees.
If the heaven wants a person to die, must first suffer the strength, to starve their stomach, empty their body and torment their soul…… very good heaven is on her death, did a pretty good job.
“Helen gōngzǐ, the answer is out, you and I are actually husband and wife, husband and wife nah, quite a close relationship. Other people cross to marry a prince, marry the emperor, but I run away to marry the male version of Helen Keller. How do these people teach to endure?”
“They all asked me to resign to my fate, but it cost a lifetime to take care of a multiple barrier husband, which normal woman can accomplish that? I have never been a nurse, I will not support while he or she defecates, I will not support he or her to urinate, I will just tyrannize my subordinates, To push them into a nervous breakdown and the hospital will take care of it.”
“However if you don’t accept your fate, you’ll be beaten by a plank, or be soak to a pig cage, to submerge into a dike…… the man of this world, take hold of your intelligence and wisdom even to take away woman and force to guard their chastity. If I don’t accept my fate, is it going to die again? In the event that I die here and go back to my own world, then it doesn’t matter, but what if I doesn’t? Do I have to wander between the underworld, and endure the thousand years of loneliness?”
“I don’t think that the married women in the Liǔshù Village are just trying to pursue a better future, why would it change to a notorious end?” She knew it was wrong to say that because the married women in Liǔshù village snatch people but she merely wants to vent her emotions that’s all.
The man listened to her words, he’s unable to answer her because he is, “blind, deaf and dumb.”
But her thoughts made it impossible for him to accept, Of course, the woman of Liǔshù Village is notorious the only natural to be submerged to the dike, her unfaithfulness and filthiness what she did to her husband is outrageous it makes one’s hair stand up in anger³. To be like that kind of woman it’s entirely OK to simply burn to death while alive. How can she say that the woman is good?
¹shěnniáng [wife of father’s younger brother]
²all drink the northwest wind [idiom: cold and hungry]
³it makes one’s hair stand up in anger³ [idiom: to raise people’s hackles]
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