On the second day of the second lunar month, the sky was clear and the air was fresh. Qin Jinxiu washed and combed her hair, sat down and let Wang Lan trim it, then tied it into a small bun. She happily followed Zhao Yong in an oxcart to the county town to play.
Qin Xiaozhou also carefully washed and combed her hair. In just one year, her hair had grown quite a bit. She took out a silver hairpin and tied it into a bun, which looked neat and beautiful.
Zhao Fang glanced at it, then took out a hairband and tied her hair into a bun that all the women in the village wore.
Qin Xiaozhou disagreed, "Mother-in-law, you also have hairpins, why don't you comb your hair into a nice bun? You look like you're from the generation of grandmothers. Grandma, why don't you comb your mother-in-law's hair?"
Wang Lan laughed heartily, "How could an old woman like me know how to style hair? We used to just cover our heads with a headscarf."
Granny Guo picked up a comb and said, "If you don't mind, I'll comb your hair. I used to work for a rich family in the county town and I've seen people comb the hair of those rich ladies."
The proposal was quickly approved by everyone.
Wang Lan scolded her daughter-in-law, "Women in the village your age, as long as they have some new clothes and bracelets, who wouldn't wear them to show off? But you make yourself look like an old woman. Why aren't you wearing the bracelet you were wearing the other day? It looked so nice."
Zhao Fang couldn't refuse, so she had Granny Guo style her hair into a youthful bun, tied with a green ribbon bow, making it look elegant and lively.
Wang Lan liked it more and more as she looked at it, "That's more like it."
It's a pity that her son died young. If he were still alive, his wife wouldn't have to be so careful in the village, afraid to wear nice clothes or style her hair.
Zhao Fang blushed slightly and touched her hairband, saying, "I'm such a grown-up, and Mother still makes me wear such bright colors."
The family chatted and laughed in the courtyard, and Granny Guo combed Wang Lan's hair.
Qin Xiaozhou couldn't stay idle, so she leaned on her cane and headed out to pick flowers.
Grandma Guo dared not let her go, so she pulled her back into the yard and went to the ridge in front of the door to pick a small bunch of flowers herself.
Qin Xiaozhou hopped on one foot, insisting on putting a few flowers in everyone's hair before she would stop.
Wang Lan couldn't dodge it, so she could only laugh and scold, "I'm so old and I still have flowers on my head, I look like an old monster."
Amidst the laughter and commotion, Zhao Fang always felt that someone was watching her. She looked around but couldn't find anyone, so she just assumed she was imagining things.
The village was bustling today. There were many people playing together at the threshing ground, and some people had made plans to have a picnic in the mountains. Zhao Huamei brought three or five people to invite Zhao Fang.
Zhao Fang didn't go out until the afternoon, when she went to plant vegetables in the backyard.
Cucumbers, eggplants, and green beans all need to be planted. First, turn the soil over and let it dry in the sun for a day. Once the soil is soft and loose, the vegetables will grow well.
A group of half-grown chicks ran down the hillside and dug in the dirt behind her to catch insects to eat.
Suddenly, a teasing voice came from behind, "Why are you, a woman, doing digging? This is what we men do. Let me help you. Don't get your pretty clothes dirty."
Zhao Fang's hair stood on end. "Wang Shugen, what exactly are you trying to do?"
This person is so persistent!
Wang Shugen emerged from behind the tree. "I just saw that you don't have a man, so I want to be your man. I'll help you with the work from now on, and you can just enjoy yourself."
This man has gone mad! Zhao Fang was furious. "I have a son, and I'm enjoying my life right now."
Who in the surrounding villages enjoys such good fortune as her? Her mother-in-law is kind and doesn't set any rules, and her son and daughter-in-law are filial. She has the best food and clothing, no one controls her, and no one rides on her head.
She had seventy or eighty taels of silver in her private savings, more than most people have ever seen in their entire lives!
She sighed towards the tree roots, "You're only thirty-eight, not old yet. A man alone is lonely at night. If I were your man, I would only need to see you once every three to five days. These past few days, I've been thinking about you constantly, and I've been dreaming about you every night..."
"Shut up." Zhao Fang's face flushed red. "Don't talk nonsense."
He left after saying that.
Wang Shugen ran up to her, quickly ripped off the headband from her hair, and held it in his hand, threatening her triumphantly.
"Now you have no choice but to listen to me. If you don't, I'll take this hairband to the ancestral hall and the Lu family, and let everyone know that you couldn't resist the temptation and seduced me. Let's see if you'll still be alive then."
Zhao Fang felt her blood rush to her head, her head spinning and numb, and she raised her hoe to strike.
If anyone sees this headband, her reputation will be ruined. How will she face people after that? What will happen to her son and daughter?
Her daughter, Xiaoyan, is ten years old this year. In three to five years, she will be of marriageable age. If she has a mother who cheats on her husband, who in the surrounding area would dare to marry her?
Before the hoe could land on Wang Shugen, he grabbed it and snatched it away. "Why are you so stubborn? I only slept with you because I felt sorry for you, you're a widow. Why are you still being so difficult?"
Are you really going to make a big deal out of this? If you do, who knows if your son and daughter will still want you? If you're kicked out, will you dare go back to Zhao Family Village?
"You're talking nonsense." Zhao Fang couldn't help but swear. "Da Yun and Xiao Zhou would never kick me out."
Wang Shugen knew best the plight of women in the village. Some women would be beaten half to death if they spoke a word to another man, and people would only say that the woman was unfaithful.
If there's a beginning and an end, that would be even worse. "Have you forgotten that wretched woman who was drowned last autumn?"
Zhao Fang shuddered and turned pale.
Yes, last autumn, when they caught the woman cheating in Nanshan, she was secretly drowned in a pond.
Wang Shugen laughed, tossed aside his hoe, and held the hairband in his hand. "It's late today. Come find me at the north side of Qingzhugou Mountain by noon tomorrow. If you don't come, I'll take this hairband to the Lu family."
The Lu family members usually take a nap around noon, and this scoundrel actually knows that!
As if sensing Zhao Fang's doubts, Wang Shugen was confident of victory, "A beautiful widow like you, how many men in the village are eyeing you?"
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