Chapter 12 Drink this wine, and I guarantee you two...

The kitchen was dimly lit, so Zhao Wenchang led her to the main room. He held his breath, moved even closer, his lips almost touching her eyelashes, and then gently and continuously blew air into her eyes.

A warm breeze brushed against my eyes, bringing a strange itch.

Her hand involuntarily grasped the man's wrist, which was cupping her face.

"Is it all right?" Jiang Wanqiu asked softly, feeling that the foreign object sensation in her eyes had disappeared.

The woman's palms were slightly cool and soft, pressed against her skin.

“…Hmm.” He straightened up, let go of her hand, and avoided her gaze with a slightly evasive look. “It must have been a small grain of sand that was blown away.”

Just then, a loud "bang" suddenly came from the courtyard!

This sudden sound shattered the delicate atmosphere in the main room.

Jiang Wanqiu was startled and turned her head sharply to look at the courtyard gate. But the courtyard was empty.

Before you knew it, it was getting dark.

Smoke rose from every household in the village, but there was still an empty seat on the Zhao family's dining table.

Zhao Ping'an has not returned yet.

Zhao Xiaohua pushed a plate of stir-fried cabbage towards the center of the table, glanced at the door, and couldn't help but mutter, "It's completely dark now, where has Ping An gone off to run around? Wenchang, why don't you go out and look for him?"

Zhao Wenchang had been restless for a long time; Zhao Ping'an would usually be back by now.

Upon hearing this, he grabbed an old cotton-padded coat hanging on the wall and put it on: "Okay, I'll go right now!"

“I’ll go with you.” Jiang Wanqiu stood up as well. It was dark and gloomy in the Great Northern Wilderness at night, and she was worried about leaving the place unattended.

She had just taken a step when a figure sauntered in through the courtyard gate.

"Brother, sister-in-law." The person who came was Zhao Fu's wife, Li Xiujuan. She was carrying a wicker basket covered with a cloth, and the smile on her face looked a little stiff, as if she was forcing it.

"Sister-in-law, it's so late, is something the matter?" Zhao Wenchang stopped and asked.

Li Xiujuan's eyes darted around, not daring to look at Zhao Wenchang, and she kept glancing at Jiang Wanqiu: "It's nothing serious... I just wanted to find my sister-in-law and chat a bit about some private matters between women."

Zhao Wenchang was preoccupied with his son and didn't think much of it, treating it as just casual conversation between sisters-in-law.

He nodded and instructed Jiang Wanqiu, "It's not safe in the mountains at night. A bear might suddenly jump out from any of the woods. Don't wander off; stay home and wait."

After saying that, he strode out of the courtyard gate, his figure quickly disappearing into the thick night.

Seeing that Zhao Wenchang had left, Li Xiujuan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She stepped forward, grabbed Jiang Wanqiu's hand, and eagerly pulled her into the small bedroom where Jiang Wanqiu was sleeping.

"Sister-in-law, let's talk inside."

Li Xiujuan put the basket down on the kang (a heated brick bed), hesitated for a long time, and finally managed to utter a sentence: "Sister-in-law, that day...that day at the clinic, from what you said, did you mean...that you have a way to fix a man's impotence?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanqiu instantly understood.

Once the conversation started, it became much smoother and more natural: "Sister-in-law, I won't beat around the bush with you. I've been married into the Zhao family for three years, and there's still no sign of pregnancy. My own sister, she got married and had a girl as her first child, then a boy, and she's pregnant again this spring! When I went back to my parents' house for the New Year, my mother gave my sister a basket of eggs, but I only got two cornbread buns. My sister even subtly criticized me, saying I'm a barren hen... My life is really... really..."

As she spoke, her voice trembled with tears, and she wiped her eyes forcefully.

“My husband is an honest man, and he’s good to me. But it’s just… it’s just that… he… he…” Li Xiujuan couldn’t bring herself to say it, and she stamped her feet in frustration.

In this day and age, it is considered a terrible sin for a woman not to be able to have children.

Regardless of whether the cause lies with the woman or not.

Jiang Wanqiu nodded: "Sister-in-law, please tell me in detail, what exactly is wrong?"

“He… he can get up,” Li Xiujuan said desperately, “but… but he just can’t get inside before it’s over! It’s always like this! When I mention it to him, he blushes and says he’s ashamed. But even when we blow out all the lights and it’s pitch black, he still can’t do it!”

Jiang Wanqiu understood. This was a typical psychological and physiological problem. As long as he wasn't completely unable to get up, there was still hope.

Having made up her mind, she reassured Li Xiujuan, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, let me think about it."

She turned around, pretending to rummage through the large bundle she had brought from the city, the wide fabric conveniently blocking Li Xiujuan's view. With a thought, a small, exquisite glass bottle appeared in her hand.

This was the very "wine" she had given Zhao Wenchang a few days earlier.

She turned around with the bottle and handed it to Li Xiujuan: "Sister-in-law, take this back. It's something good I brought back from the city. Have your older brother drink a small cup of it every night before bed, and I guarantee it will work."

Li Xiujuan took the delicate glass bottle in a daze; it was icy cold to the touch.

The bottle was smaller than her palm, and the liquor inside was clear and bright, unlike the dark and murky liquor in the village's pharmacies.

She was skeptical and asked, "Sister-in-law, this...this stuff really works? My husband has drunk several jars of tiger penis and deer antler wine, but he hasn't gotten any better. Is this stuff even stronger than tiger penis wine?"

"Whether it's amazing or not, you'll know once you try it," Jiang Wanqiu smiled mysteriously. "Sister-in-law, this is my most treasured possession."

Upon hearing that it was a "treasured gem," Li Xiujuan's eyes lit up. Indeed, these were cultured people from the city; their knowledge and experience were certainly far greater than those of them, who toiled in the dirt.

"Oh! Oh! Sister-in-law, then I'll trust you this once!" She carefully wrapped the wine bottle in layers of cloth and stuffed it into the closest place to her body, as if she had found a treasure.

"If... if it really works, sister-in-law, you will be my greatest benefactor! From now on, if you ever need anything, just say the word, and I'll do anything for you, even if it means going through fire and water!"

With the wine in her pocket, Li Xiujuan felt a burning flame of hope ignite in her heart. Without lingering any longer, she hurriedly left.

After seeing Li Xiujuan off, the night grew even deeper, but Zhao Wenchang still hadn't returned.

Zhao Xiaohua paced anxiously in the main room, "What time is it? Why are Wenchang and Ping'an still nowhere to be seen? The nights in this village are no joke. Didn't someone from Wangjiatun get dragged away by a bear a few years ago when he went out to relieve himself at night?"

Jiang Wanqiu was terrified and couldn't sit still any longer. "If it doesn't work, I'll go out and look for some too. Every extra person helps."

Zhao Xiaohua did call out to her neighbors, and immediately several enthusiastic men from the village came out with torches to help, their shouts echoing throughout the village.

Jiang Wanqiu followed the crowd, stumbling and wading towards the back of the mountain.

She didn't know how long she had been searching, but in the distance, in a sheltered rocky hollow at the foot of the back mountain, she saw a faint light.

It's the light from a flashlight!

Jiang Wanqiu was overjoyed and quickly ran over.

As she got closer, before she could even call out, she heard a childish yet stubborn voice, trembling with tears, loudly questioning:

"...You keep talking about Jiang Wanqiu! Do you even care about my mother anymore? Do you still value her? Are you going to forget me and throw me away one day too?"

It's the sound of peace!

Immediately following was Zhao Wenchang's voice, suppressed with anger, faint and indistinct.

"Zhao Ping'an! Stop fooling around! When did your father say he didn't want you? Jiang Wanqiu wouldn't abandon you either!"

"You're lying!" Zhao Ping'an's voice shrill. "You're bewitched by her! I saw it all today, you were hugging her! You two...you two have no shame! If you still cared about my mother, how could you hug another woman!"

"You don't care about my mother anymore! You don't want me anymore! Once she gives birth to your own son, you'll throw me, this burden, away!"

This question left Zhao Wenchang speechless for a long time.

When he adopted Zhao Ping'an, he had barely seen what Ping'an's biological mother looked like, only hearing descriptions from his fallen comrades—that she was a gentle woman. To say he liked or cherished her so much would be pure nonsense.

Looking at the little brat in front of him, whose face was covered in tears and whose whole body was trembling, Zhao Wenchang had an even bigger headache.

That brat seems determined to go against me today.

Judging from his attitude, if he doesn't give a clear answer today, this kid would rather freeze to death in this desolate wilderness than go home with him!

As Jiang Wanqiu approached, she heard the man say to Zhao Ping'an, "I don't... dislike your mother."

"Do you still have feelings for her?"

"Yes...there are more. I've always kept your mother in my heart."

This time, Jiang Wanqiu heard it clearly, very clearly.