In the ruined temple outside the city, the big man finished his deed and turned back to see only a bundle of rope on the ground. The other woman had already run away. He tutted twice and said to the woman lying motionless on the ground with pity, "Your mother doesn't love you either, so let me, your uncle, love you."
As he spoke, he took out a string of copper coins, about twenty cents, from his pocket and stuffed them into her arms along with his bundle of firewood. Then he tightened his trousers and walked away with a satisfied look on his face.
Li Niang looked at the disgusting things in her arms, wanting to throw them away but not being able to. Her heart instantly turned to despair, and she clutched the front of her clothes, crying bitterly. She felt useless and felt ashamed of herself for being so afraid of death!
All kinds of thoughts mixed together, making her head swell as if it was about to split.
After an unknown amount of time, a gust of cold wind blew, waking her up. Numbly, she buttoned her clothes and tied her belt. She threw her torn coat over her shoulders, clutching firewood in both hands, and walked step by step into the city.
There were many people on the street who were in a state of disarray and numb like zombies, so she didn't seem special.
Li Niang walked and walked with the firewood in her arms until she found herself back at her parents' home. Her family was not very well off and they made a living by doing some small business. They lived in the outer city.
The wall was old and dilapidated, but it blocked the view outside. She bit her lip and stared at the tall door, but she didn't dare to go over and knock.
She didn't know how her family would react when they saw her.
My mother said that now that she is married and has taken her husband's surname, she is now part of another family and should go back to her parents' home less often.
My mother said that women should follow the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, and regard their husbands as the guide and the chief of everything.
My mother also said that if I was wronged, I should swallow it and not complain all day long without any reason. No one would help her...
Day after day, her mother taught her this since she was young. So after she married into the Wang family, she was willing to serve her husband and mother-in-law and did not return home once in two years.
Suddenly, the door in front of her opened and a thin little woman came out. It was her mother. After not seeing her for two years, her mother had become even thinner.
When her mother saw her for the first time, her expression was stiff, surprised and confused, but not happy at all.
It was not until he saw the firewood in her hand that he walked over with a smile.
"Li Niang, I haven't seen you for a long time. Are you doing well? Your face is so red. Mr. Wang's family must be very good. Oh, is this firewood specially brought to my mother's family? You have worked hard. Don't be so polite. Come visit often in the future."
Her mother talked to herself and snatched the firewood from her arms. She didn't even look at the chilblains on her hands, nor did she care that her clothes were messy, and she didn't even bother to let her in to drink some hot water.
With a "bang", the door closed tightly.
Li Niang lowered her head and looked at her empty hands, which were only cold.
"Hehehe——" She couldn't help laughing, her eyes were hot and her heart was full of sadness.
She wandered around the city until her legs were stiff, like a wandering soul without any emotions, not knowing where she was going or where she could go.
In the end, he actually returned to the Wang family.
Mr. Wang and Mrs. Liu were sitting in the main room, one with a face full of anger and the other with a face full of guilt. When they saw her come in, they seemed to want to say something.
Li Niang ignored them and didn't even glance at them. She used the remaining firewood to melt the snow, then went into the house and scrubbed it for an hour.
When Mrs. Wang came back with her people, she saw that there was no firewood or water left, and she stared with her eyes wide open and was about to shout.
Mr. Wang's face was gloomy. He snatched the grain bag from her hand and shouted, "This is my home! My home, Wang Wen! You beggars! It's fine if you refuse to leave my house, but what are you doing here? If you make me angry, I will report you to the authorities and have all of you parasites arrested!"
He usually looks gentle and speaks softly, but he suddenly explodes, scaring everyone so much that their legs go weak and they dare not say a word.
They didn't know if a scholar would be favored by the government if he sued the officials, or if a split of the family would relieve them of their support obligations, or if a scholar would be branded as unfilial if he sued his elders. They were simply terrified at the mere mention of "suing the officials"...
——Jiang Family——
Jiang Yue put a mask on Jiang Nian and touched the side of his face. "Does it still stink?"
Jiang Nian frowned and nodded.
I don't know what's going on with the Wang family next door, but it's getting stinky! This smell isn't like poultry, it's like human feces and urine.
The heavy snow covered everything and froze it. With the door closed, ordinary people couldn't smell it. But Jiang Nian had a keen sense of smell, and the slightest breeze gave him a headache.
Jiang Yue had no choice but to move the two of them to another room to sleep in, away from the Wang family.
Jiang Nian took a bath with soap and felt better after his body smelled sweet.
"Don't they feel the stink? Living in a house like that every day, I'm afraid the smell must have soaked into their bodies, right?"
"My son, today I will teach you another cultured phrase: 'If you stay in a room full of orchids for a long time, you will no longer smell their fragrance; if you stay in a shop selling abalone for a long time, you will no longer smell their stench.'"
"What's the meaning?"
"Those two sentences, while used to illustrate the principle of "friends around vermilion become red, while friends around ink become black," their original meaning is probably that if you stay in a fragrant environment for too long, you won't find it fragrant. Similarly, if you stay in a smelly place for too long, you won't find it smelly. The Wang family next door has been marinated in the flavor, but they don't even know it..."
Who says it's not? Today, five or six of them rushed to the government office to collect grain. The old lady wanted to cut in line. The people behind her were not happy at first, but then the old lady put her hands on her hips and started cursing. The smell on her body was unbearable. They quickly gave in and let her collect first and leave.
She was also complacent and thought that others were afraid of her.
She even went further and asked for the share for two households. The yamen runner in charge of distributing grain checked the household registration and didn't want to say anything. He didn't want anyone to bother him, so he quickly gave her one liter of grain and sent her away.
He was holding his breath until he almost died. Did this whole family really not know they stunk? Five or six people surrounded him, and he almost suffocated!
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