[Chapter 3: A compilation of one’s own ridiculous talk]
Just as Xīfān fell into the coveted imagination of a male physical body, the sudden knock on the door pulled her soul back.
“Is the Jiāng family there?”
Xīfān hurriedly propped herself up and hurriedly bid farewell to the bullet muscles.
At that moment, in a trance, she heard someone…softly sighing? she suddenly bows her head and Helen gōngzǐ’s¹ baby face has no extra expression, so she heard wrong? Yeah, I guess…
“Jiāng family’s niángzǐ², I’m Lín sǎozi³ where are you?” The woman again patted the door twice.
Jiāng family’s niángzǐ? Looking for her?
Inference 3: ‘Is she Jiāng family’s person?’
Xīfān is anxious to speculate the identity of the original owner and did not find the man’s expression to loosen at this time to show regret.
Alas, It just felt really good, hope to be able to continue, unfortunately…
This is his voice, but unable to open one’s mouth, therefore can only restrain.
Xīfān quickly jumped out of bed and put on her shoes. She’s not only obsessed with cleanliness but paid attention to the image as well. This is the basic condition that a business manager should have, so in the short journey to the door, she also tidied up her hair and clothes.
Opening the door, Xīfān stretched her head to look outside.
Outside the door was a young woman in her early twenties, a young lady hair worn in a bun. The skin on the face is a little dark, there’s a mole on the side of her mouth, a pair of dark eyes smiling at her: “Jiāng family’s niángzǐ, are you still sleeping? Sorry to bother you.”
Xīfān’s sight was attracted by the “food” in the woman’s hand, although don’t quite understand what it was, but the aroma of the food urged her sensory nerves.
The friendly smile instantly climbed on her cheek, she smiled: “Not at all, I’m not sleeping, the hair is messy… just recently was in the middle of starting a fire, alas! but this firewood is always against me.”
“Well, I’ll take a look at it for you.” The woman was eager.
That’s great, although God didn’t send the river snail girl on this mundane world, the sister-in-law can also come in handy.
Xīfān secretly gave her a compliment in the bottom of her heart, plus a few words: ‘a warm-hearted good woman, God will bless you long life, children and grandchildren.’
Opening the door and welcome the “warm-hearted good woman” into the house, not far away, another woman came towards her.
This woman is slightly shorter, plump body and a round face. It looks very friendly.
“Jiāng family’s niángzǐ is good, Lín sǎozi is here too, you bring taro cakes?”
“You are right, just out of the steamer it’s still hot. Fāng sǎozi, what are you bringing here?”
“In the morning to go to the garden to pick up a few vegetables. I thought that Jiāng family’s niángzǐ just moved in yesterday. I’m afraid at home has nothing, just send some over.”
From each other’s conversation, Xīfān heard a number of information.
The woman with the mole is Lín sǎozi. The round face is Fāng sǎozi and she is Jiāng family’s niángzǐ, just moved in yesterday. When Xīfān is still establishing data in her mind, another Chén sǎozi who sent eggs came over.
Xīfān invited the three people inside the house. There’s no screen in the house, no partitioned off area, as soon as you enter the door you can see a man lying on the bed.
“Jiāng family’s niángzǐ, is your family’s xiànggong’s4 illness still not good?” asked Fāng sǎozi looking at the man.
‘xiànggong?! Does it mean he and she are husband and wife?! A strong earthquake struck the heart of Xīfān.’
‘Help! Her body is not yet fully developed, how could she be a married woman?’
Well, ancient people were short-lived and die fast, so you have to marry early, but pick, can also pick, at least pick an individual who can see, can be able to hear, can speak. A normal man who can walk!
The crossing is already very bad, to pass through the poor people’s home, again the first failure. If you passed through on the body of a married woman, it’s the third failure. And the married woman’s husband is still a seriously disabled… naturally failure gone all the way to hell. God, why don’t you simply just let her go to hell? Pull out your tongue, climb a knife and climb a mountain, after 18 years later she is a hero. Is it really necessary for her and Helen gōngzǐ to spend a lifetime?
She glanced at the sympathy on the faces of everyone and couldn’t help but sympathize with herself, she sighed: “Yes”
“It can’t always be like this, you a woman’s house, even if you have some silver on your body, but how long can you hold on? If you are well-off at hand, would you like to invite a doctor to see? There are a few doctors in town who are good at medicine, tomorrow my family’s man will go to town, can give you a ride if your family’s xiànggong gets better, you can live a little easier in the future.” Chén sǎozi is really planning for Xīfān.
Xīfān set to look at the several young women, they were cordial and enthusiastic. They were good-natured and kindhearted. The inclusive attitude gave her the warmth of the “outsider” that fell to hell on earth.5
“Thank you, I will have to trouble Chén sǎozi in the future.” Xīfān smiled with all her sincerity. This group of good neighbors is the only good news she has received since she crossed.
His smile sways the three women’s eyes. It’s beautiful, the women from the city are different, fine skin and white flesh, brows, and eyes, five senses are the same as the fairies that come out of the painting.
“Don’t mention it, there are 20 or 30 families in our village, and we don’t have much to do on weekdays, how to help.”
“Jiāng family’s niángzǐ, how did you come to our village? Yesterday when we heard that you bought the black old man’s house, we were all scared.” Fāng sǎozi raises the gossip spirit, a pair of squinting eyes two points.
“Can’t you buy this house?”
“That’s not what I’m trying to say… let’s talk about it. The black old man is stingy and greedy. More than 10 years ago, I didn’t know who told him that the fēngshuǐ6 of this piece of land is good, Living here is going to be a big fortune. He tried hard to buy this land from the hands of Zhào nǎinai7 resolutely. They want the 7 acres of land for 45 silver, but he reduces to 40 silver and also coveted Zhào nǎinai’s newly hatched chick.”
“You say, this man is not stingy and greedy.”
Even if this level is stingy and greedy? This is supposed to know how to live?
Just like herself, she has to take the plastic bag back when recycling, buying vegetables requires two onions, and the management fee is not delayed until the last day. Let alone buying real states… it’s a fool not to bargain, with this as a standard, wouldn’t she be greedy and greedy?
Well, when you enter a village, follow the local customs.8 She reminded herself that she has to learn to be magnanimous.
With an awkward smile, she asked, “And then what?”
“If you buy the land, of course, you have to build a house, you also know everyone helps you to build a house. You must provide everyone a meal. The black old man knows this order, but he can’t bear to spend silver, so go as far as to give everyone to drink wild herb porridge. That porridge, It’s so watery that you can’t even stand chopsticks. Everyone has an empty stomach, where’s the strength to move the bricks and roof tile? For three or five days no one will come.”
“So your house will be big but there’s no partitioned-off area. Who made him stingy? It was good enough to see the neighbor, who had not asked him for money, he is still stingy in this field, really…”
More than ten years matter, Fāng sǎozi put it this way, vivid and realistic, like the news of yesterday, it can be seen that the gossip here is very poor.
“I heard you spent 52 silvers to purchase?”
“Yes.” Where does Xīfān know if it is? It can only be intuition.
“Old house, not worth this price.”
“Do you want to let everyone help in a few days, separate the house into several rooms.?”
Xīfān forced a smile, in bed lying down is the male version of Heller Keller and she is the male version of the old black man, only just recently to climb into a long time conclusion. She guessed, probably there hasn’t half a dime in the house.
“Actually, my husband’s eyes can’t see, the legs are inconvenient and no partition room is more convenient for me to look after, this kind of set-up is what I need to be able to see anytime.”
“These spoken words are reasonable.” Fāng sǎozi said.
Xīfān turned to start a conversation and asked: “Did the black old man really made a fortune?”
“Speaking of this, God! He went to town to gamble, unexpectedly he won more than five thousand silver, he had sold the house and brought his family to the city. A few days ago my man went to town and saw him drinking wine in a small restaurant. Now he is generous, there are a full eight dishes on the table.” Chén sǎozi said.
Xīfān succeeded in taking away the previous topic but didn’t expect that Fāng sǎozi once again pull the topic back. She lowered her voice and asked in Xīfān’s ear: “Jiāng family’s niángzǐ, can your xiànggong ‘s ear able to hear?”
She sighs and shook her head helplessly.
Fāng sǎozi patted the back of Xīfān to console: “Really pitiful, your man is a noble son of a great family I presume? Then certainly a rich noble. A spread out upon this body is… How could your parents have liked this marriage in the first place?”
Is he a noble son of a big family? How did you get it? Is it because the clothes on him look expensive? or… because the flesh is more?
Along with Fāng sǎozi’s question said, the three women, at the same time six eyes shine and they are all looking forward to a wonderful story. Xīfān is able to understand, everyday facing fuel and rice, soy sauce and vinegar and tea, no fiction, no Korean drama, ancient times life is dry-as-dust. They are in desperate need of gossip to meet their spiritual demands.
This being the case so, no problem making up a story. She is the most capable of handling things.
“My parents gave birth to 8 sons and 10 daughters and there are few barren lands at home. They can’t keep that many mouths alive. A couple of my brothers signed a deed to be a permanent worker in a big family. If the daughter is not sold as a slave, she is given to someone else as a child bride. I was purchased by the Jiāng family as a child bride.”
“It’s hard to be a child bride? Are you often bullied?”
“That’s fine, father-in-law and mother-in-law are worried that no one will take care of xiànggong only to buy me to enter the official residence. My husband’s parents treated me very well, let me read and write from childhood, raise me to be like a rich young daughter. I read many books and also know a lot of principles. In one’s mind I understand we have to conduct oneself to be grateful and seeking to repay the kindness, my parents-in-law treated me like this. I can only repay their kindness by being a thousand times better to my xiànggong .”
1 gōngzǐ – young master
2 niángzǐ – a form of address for one’s wife; a polite form of address for a woman
3 sǎozi – older brother’s wife; sister-in-law
4 xiànggong – old form of address for one’s husband
5 that fell to hell on earth [idiom:suffering the torments of Buddhist hell while still alive, having an uncomfortable time]
6 in Chinese thought a system of laws considered to govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to the flow of energy (chi), and whose favourable or unfavourable effects are taken into account when siting and designing buildings.)
7 grandmother
8when you enter a village, follow the local customs [idiom: do as the natives do; When in Rome, do as the Romans do]