Chapter 2 The Chicken That Doesn't Lay Eggs

Inside the room, Zhao Fei felt his face burning. The image of the white expanse and the panicked eye contact lingered in his mind.

He tugged at his collar a couple of times, feeling like he couldn't breathe properly.

That broken lock is a menace.

Zhao Fei rubbed his face, composed himself, and realized he needed to change the lock.

He opened the door, leaned out, and quickly glanced around the yard.

Zhao Qingda was washing his face under the tree, and Wen Xiaoxiao was standing next to him.

As soon as Wen Xiaoxiao saw Zhao Fei come out, she scurried back into the house like a frightened cat, closing the door even tighter.

Zhao Fei paused, pushed out his old bicycle, and rode off towards the hardware store at the alley entrance.

When he returned with a sturdy new padlock, the situation in the yard had changed again.

Zhao Qingda probably found washing in the tub unpleasant, so he was wearing a pair of shorts, shirtless, humming an off-key pop song, and carrying a towel and soap as he walked towards the shower stall.

Seeing Zhao Fei push the cart in, he grinned and said, "Brother, you're back? It's fucking hot today, I'm going to take a shower." With that, he opened the unlocked door and went inside.

Zhao Fei stood outside the shed, clutching the new lock, listening to Zhao Qingda's contented humming coming from inside. His heart was filled with mixed emotions.

He waited a while, estimating that Zhao Qingda was almost finished washing and the sound of water stopped, before taking a deep breath and walking to the edge of the shed, trying to make his voice sound normal: "Qingda, are you done washing? I'll change the lock."

"Huh? Oh, okay, okay!" Zhao Qingda emerged, dripping wet, and shook the water droplets off his hair. "This broken lock should have been replaced a long time ago."

He casually dried himself with a towel, watching Zhao Fei gesturing with tools and a new lock. "Brother, you do it. I was just halfway through washing and it seems like the water ran out. Is the water tower acting up again?"

Zhao Fei was focused on tightening the screws, not even looking up: "Yeah, the water'll come on tonight. We'll get it then."

"Alright." Zhao Qingda wandered back to his room, and came out again a moment later, holding a ring of plastic water pipes in his hand.

He deftly connected one end to the tap in the corner of the yard, and tossed the other end onto the roof—where there was a large plastic vat used for washing clothes and watering flowers.

He inserted the water pipe into the opening of the tank, turned on the tap, and water gushed up the pipe.

"Alright, the water will automatically refill when it comes tonight, and you can turn it off when it's full, so you don't have to get up in the middle of the night."

Zhao Fei changed the lock, tried to knock on it, and it clicked firmly.

He felt a little relieved, looked up at the sky, and saw that the sun was already setting in the west.

"It's almost time for Yidi to get out of school," he muttered to himself, getting ready to push his bicycle.

"Where are you going? I'll go pick you up! I'm just killing time anyway, might as well take a stroll over. Xiaoxiao!"

She raised her voice towards the east wing, "We're making dumplings tonight. Hurry up and knead the dough and pick the chives. We'll make them together after I pick up Yidi!"

In the east wing, Wen Xiaoxiao responded softly, "I know, Mom."

Seeing this, Zhao Fei stopped arguing.

He went back to his room and splashed his face with cold water, trying to suppress the heat.

When Li Yugu brought Zhao Yidi back, Wen Xiaoxiao had already skillfully kneaded the dough, washed and chopped the bright green chives, and scrambled the eggs until they were golden and tender, mixing them into a filling. The whole yard was filled with the aroma of chives and eggs.

"It's too stuffy inside, bring it out and wrap it under the tree to cool it down!" Li Yugu instructed.

The small dining table was moved under the old locust tree, and Wen Xiaoxiao silently brought out the cutting board and rolling pin and began to peel the skin.

She moved quickly, her wrists flicking, and round dumpling wrappers flew out and were stacked together.

Zhao Fei was called out by Li Yugu to help with the bag.

Zhao Qingda is a lazy bum. He made excuses, saying his back hurts from driving and he'll lie down for a while before getting a massage.

Zhao Fei sat on a small stool. His fingers were thick, and he was used to doing rough work. The dumplings he made were all plump, but their shapes were not very regular.

Wen Xiaoxiao picked up the leather, he wrapped it, and Li Yugu and Yi Di also helped wrap it, chatting idly.

The atmosphere seemed to have eased a bit, but only Zhao Fei and Wen Xiaoxiao knew what was hidden underneath.

When occasionally handing over wrappers and dumplings, fingers inevitably touch each other.

Even if it was just for a moment, the two of them quickly withdrew as if they had been burned.

Wen Xiaoxiao kept her eyes down, staring intently at the rolling pin in her hand.

Zhao Fei kept a straight face, the redness at the base of his ears never completely faded, and he wrapped himself up even more carefully.

After lying down in the house for a while, Zhao Qingda came out in his slippers, glanced at the room, and said, "Oh, you're all wrapped up? Mom, my back is still a bit sore. I'm going to lie down for a bit. Call me when you're better!" Then he swayed back into the house.

Li Yugu laughed and scolded, "You're so lazy!"

The dumplings are cooked, plump and white, floating in the pot.

The table was moved back to Zhao Fei's room, and everyone sat around it.

Zhao Qingda opened a bottle of baijiu, poured himself a full glass, and poured some for Zhao Fei: "Brother, have a little, it'll help you relax."

Zhao Fei took a sip, and the spiciness made him wince.

Zhao Qingda, however, drank heartily, and with the dumplings in hand, he became quite talkative, boasting about the interesting things he had seen on the road that day.

Wen Xiaoxiao ate silently, occasionally giving Yidi a couple of cooled dumplings.

Li Yugu then told Zhao Qingda to drink less.

Zhao Qingda eventually got quite drunk, his face flushed, and returned to the east wing.

Zhao Fei also felt his face flush and his heart race. He cleared the dishes, and Wen Xiaoxiao silently took over to wash them.

Zhao Yidi pulled Li Yugu to go to the alley entrance to listen to the old man telling stories while enjoying the cool air. The grandfather and grandson went out the door.

The courtyard quieted down, with only the soft sound of Wen Xiaoxiao washing dishes by the kitchen sink and the gurgling sound of water flowing into the large vat from the roof.

Zhao Fei stood at the doorway, enjoying the evening breeze, and the effects of the alcohol had dissipated slightly.

Suddenly, with a "splash," the sound of water overflowing came from the roof; the vat was full.

"Oh dear, the water tank is full!" Wen Xiaoxiao heard it too and poked her head out from the kitchen.

Zhao Fei didn't say anything, but turned around and went to move the wooden ladder from the wall.

He's been drinking; he's a little unsteady on his feet.

He propped the ladder against the eaves and was about to climb up when Wen Xiaoxiao ran over, wiping her hands, and grabbed the foot of the ladder.

"Brother, slow down, you've been drinking... be careful." Her voice was low, her eyes fixed on the ground.

Zhao Fei paused, grunted, grabbed the ladder, and carefully climbed up step by step.

A cool evening breeze swept across the rooftops.

He turned off the tap, pulled out the hose, and watched the full tank of water shimmering in the moonlight.

Below, Wen Xiaoxiao held the ladder steadily, looking up as the evening breeze ruffled the stray hairs on her forehead.

After Zhao Fei came down, the two looked at each other silently for a moment before quickly looking away. "Thank you," Zhao Fei said in a hoarse voice.

"It's okay." Wen Xiaoxiao let go of her hand, turned around and quickly went back to the kitchen to continue washing the unfinished dishes.

Zhao Fei returned to his room and lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed), but he was wide awake.

The courtyard gradually quieted down. Li Yugu returned with a giggling Yidi, and the light in the west wing went out.

The lights in the east wing were also turned off early.

The night grew deeper.

Zhao Fei was half asleep when he was woken up by the urge to urinate, so he went to the toilet in the corner of the yard.

After returning from dealing with the situation, as I passed the window of the east wing, I heard suppressed and shoving sounds coming from inside, along with Wen Xiaoxiao's very low sobs: "What are you doing... Get out!... I don't want to!"

Zhao Fei froze, his face flushed red, and he cursed himself for listening. He quickly tried to leave.

The commotion inside the room grew louder. Zhao Qingda's muffled, impatient voice rang out: "What's wrong with touching me? You're my wife!" This was followed by more forceful struggles and Wen Xiaoxiao's tearful outburst: "Zhao Qingda! Don't touch me!...Get out!"

"Stop pretending!" Zhao Qingda's voice suddenly rose. "It's only natural for me to touch my own wife!"

"I don't want to today! Let go! It hurts! You're not human!" Wen Xiaoxiao's sobs finally broke free, filled with grievance and anger.

These words pierced Zhao Fei's ears like needles, and he clenched his fists.

"You don't want to? It's up to you whether you want to or not!" Zhao Qingda seemed to be completely enraged. "A hen that can't lay eggs, yet you dare to act high and mighty with me? It's your good fortune that I even touched you!"

"Zhao Qingda!" This was followed by a sharp "slap," like a handcuff being slapped, mixed with Zhao Qingda's cry of pain: "Damn it, you dare scratch me?!"

“I’ll scratch you! So what!” Wen Xiaoxiao’s voice was hoarse and resolute.

"You've gone too far!" A louder "slap!" It was clearly a slap across the face.

"Ah—!" Wen Xiaoxiao cried out in pain, followed by footsteps and the sound of the door bolt being suddenly pulled open.

The door to the east wing was yanked open, and Wen Xiaoxiao, disheveled and barefoot, rushed out. Without even glancing at Zhao Fei, who remained frozen in the shadows, she ran crying towards the dark courtyard gate and disappeared into the night.

In the east wing, Zhao Qingda's cursing continued, gradually fading into mumbled murmurs, as if he had fallen asleep again.

Zhao Fei stood in the moonlight, looking at the open courtyard gate, the bright red finger marks on Wen Xiaoxiao's face flashing repeatedly before his eyes.