Fang Meixiang's period hasn't come this month.
When was the last time she came? Fang Meixiang's mother recalled.
The time to plant sweet potato seedlings is Grain Rain.
According to folklore, if you plant sweet potato seedlings during Grain Rain (around April 20th), you can harvest a whole basketful from just one seedling.
At this time of year, villagers all go to plant sweet potato seedlings.
The Dragon Boat Festival is just a few days away, but it's been delayed by half a month and still hasn't arrived.
"Meixiang," her voice was a little strained, "your period hasn't come this month?"
Fang Meixiang didn't look up. The end of her braid loosened and then wrapped around her fingertips, and the tips of her ears turned red quietly.
Fang Meixiang's mother's heart skipped a beat.
She took a half step forward, her gaze involuntarily falling on her daughter's flat stomach, her throat dry and sore. "Has anyone... taken your pants off?"
Meixiang lowered her eyelids even further, her eyelashes casting a faint shadow beneath her eyes. Suddenly, she glanced towards the door, a shy smile appearing on her lips, like a child who had secretly eaten candy.
That laugh was like a needle, piercing Fang Meixiang's mother's heart. She gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, the fabric wrinkling, and her breathing became heavier.
"Who is it?" she asked, staring at Fang Meixiang.
Fang Meixiang leaned to the side, her shoulder against the wall, biting her lip and shaking her head desperately.
Who could it be?
Fang Meixiang's mother asked about every man she could think of in the neighborhood, but no matter whose name she asked, Fang Meixiang shook her head.
Is she refusing to admit it, or are none of the people she's talking about actually people?
Who else could it be?
Could it be him? Fang Meixiang's mother thought of someone: Fang Shugen.
Fang Shugen had been married to a woman, but they divorced because she couldn't have children.
His family was eager to have a grandson, and last year they asked someone to inquire about Fang Meixiang's family.
Everyone in the village knew that Fang Shugen's mother was no kind person; Fang Shugen's first wife was beaten by his mother and lay in bed for several months.
Fang Meixiang's mother would certainly not allow her daughter to go to his house.
Could it be that if things don't go his way, he'll resort to underhanded tactics behind your back?
"Is it Fang Shugen?" she asked again, her voice trembling.
Fang Meixiang shook her head again.
Fang Meixiang's mother glanced at Fang Meixiang helplessly, feeling a tightness in her chest, as if she had a wad of damp firewood stuck in her throat.
Fang Meixiang's father came back from the field carrying a hoe, his trouser legs half-covered in mud.
Fang Meixiang's father got up early to go to work in the fields, while Fang Meixiang's mother stayed home to make breakfast.
Fang Meixiang's mother quietly went over and closed the door with a "creak".
Why close the door in broad daylight?
"Her dad, Meixiang might, might be?" Fang Meixiang's mother hesitated before she could finish her sentence.
"What could it be?"
Fang Meixiang's father asked as he took the hoe off his shoulder.
"Maybe she's pregnant?" Fang Meixiang's mother asked in a very low voice, as if afraid of being blown away by the wind.
"What?" Fang Meixiang's father's hand gripping the hoe handle tightened suddenly, and he froze on the spot.
"It's been half a month and she still hasn't gotten her period."
Fang Meixiang's father had tense shoulders and a taut face.
"Let's confirm if that's the case first. Take her to get checked."
"I just asked her, and judging from her appearance, I suspect someone... touched her." Fang Meixiang's mother's voice was unsteady as she rubbed her trouser pockets. "I've been thinking about it, and she was home alone when we all went to the fields. Could it be around this time...?"
Fang Meixiang's father didn't speak, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he leaned the hoe against the wall, the blade gleaming coldly in the shadows.
"Call Meili over, let's go to the fields together," Fang Meixiang's father said after some thought.
“Her father is still thinking about working, but what can we do now? When I asked Meixiang, she just shook her head and couldn’t get any information out of her.”
"Listen to my arrangements," Fang Meixiang's father said curtly.
"Oh!" Fang Meixiang's mother felt like she was walking on cotton with no solid ground. She was puzzled, but she still did as she was told and went to call her second daughter, Fang Meili.
After breakfast, Fang Meixiang's parents and Fang Meili packed up their farm tools and prepared to go to the fields.
"Her father, Meixiang?" Fang Meixiang's mother looked at Fang Meixiang sitting to the side.
“Let her stay home, we’ll all go to the fields.”
"It's better to be an idiot, you don't have to do any work," Fang Meili muttered.
She has two sisters; the youngest, Fang Meihao, is still studying and living at school.
Fang Meili could only stay at home and work in the fields with her parents.
The three of them carried farm tools to the fields.
As you pass the village entrance, there are always a few idle people chatting and boasting next to the small shop.
Fang Meili always quickens her pace when passing the village entrance.
After working in the field for about half an hour, Fang Meixiang's father asked her mother to come home.
Fang Meixiang's mother instantly understood her father's intention.
"What are you going back for? I want to go back too." Fang Meili also wanted to do less work.
"Don't go back, your things are still here."
“If I say I’m going home, you’ll all say I’m slacking off.” Fang Meili reluctantly bent down and continued working.
Fang Meixiang's parents walked home empty-handed, without taking any farm tools.
Fang Meixiang's mother followed behind her father with a feeling of trepidation.
"Her dad, what if it's true?" she whispered to Fang Meixiang's father as she followed him.
Fang Meixiang's father did not answer, nor did he stop walking.
The closer she got to home, the more nervous she became. Fang Meixiang's mother didn't even know how she had managed to walk back today on this familiar road from home to the fields.
Fang Meixiang's mother was on tenterhooks as she finally saw her house.
Next to her house was a shed that combined a pigsty and a woodshed. The door to her house was ajar, while the door to the pigsty was tightly shut.
"Did you close the pigpen door just now?" Fang Meixiang's father suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"I forgot whether I turned it off or not." Fang Meixiang's mother's heart pounded as she looked at her father in a panic.
Fang Meixiang's father didn't say anything and walked straight to the pigsty.
Her mother quickened her pace to catch up.
Fang Meixiang's father pushed open the pigpen door with a loud bang. The door slammed against the wall and bounced back, bringing with it a sour smell of pig manure and straw.
At that moment, I witnessed a truly appalling scene.
Beside the haystack, Fang Damiao, a bachelor who often sat at the village shop, was lying naked on top of Fang Meixiang.
Fang Meixiang's father's face instantly turned a deep liver color, with veins throbbing on his forehead as if they were about to burst through his skin.
He grabbed a stick from the side and started hitting Fang Damiao with it.
With a scream of agony, Fang Damiao frantically grabbed his pants and scrambled to hide in the corner.
Fang Meixiang lay on the straw, her stomach and lower body exposed, her shirt pulled up to her chest. Her eyes were half-open, as if she didn't understand what was happening.
Fang Meixiang's mother came to her senses, rushed over, and with trembling hands pulled up her pants and tugged at her clothes, tears streaming down her face.
Fang Meixiang's father held the stick and breathed heavily.
Still angry, he hit Fang Damiao a few more times with the stick.
Fang Damiao covered his head and hid in a corner, saying, "I will marry Meixiang."
"Where did you come from?" Fang Meixiang's father's chest was still heaving violently.
"Just recently."
Fang Meixiang's father raised the stick in his hand.
"After the Lunar New Year this year."
"Have you been coming here these past few months?" Fang Meixiang's mother asked, her voice trembling with suppressed tears.
"Yes," Fang Damiao replied in a muffled voice, his head bowed.
"You're going to jail!" Fang Meixiang's mother trembled with anger.
"No, no, I want Meixiang. I'll take care of Meixiang. We're from the same village. Meixiang is married nearby, so you can see her and feel at ease."
Fang Meixiang's mother glanced at her father, her eyes filled with helplessness, "Should I say something?"
Fang Meixiang's father threw down the stick, which rolled twice on the ground. "Come inside."
Fang Meixiang's mother pulled Fang Meixiang out of the pigpen and looked around to see if anyone had seen them.
At this time, everyone is still working in the fields.
Fang Damiao followed him in.
Fang Meixiang's mother closed the door.
Fang Damiao stood by the wall with his head down.
Fang Meixiang's father sat at the dining table, his hands resting on the table, his fists pressed against his forehead.
He was conflicted. Now he was certain that Fang Meixiang was pregnant with his child. Fang Damiao was lazy and good-for-nothing; what would he eat after marrying her?
"Meixiang married you, how will you support her?" Fang Meixiang's father finally spoke, his voice hoarse.
"Now that I have a wife, I can go back to work. Before, when I was single, I only needed to eat my fill, and the rest of the family was fine. But it's different now that I have a wife."
Fang Meixiang's parents looked at each other and saw helplessness in each other's eyes. What else could they do? She was already pregnant.
"Meixiang is pregnant," Fang Meixiang's mother said softly.
"Ah, oh, hehehe." Fang Damiao stretched out his curled-up body and glanced at Meixiang.
"You shouldn't sit in the shop all day long. You need to go and work so that the children will have food to eat and can grow up to be successful."
"I understand, I understand!" Fang Damiao nodded repeatedly.
Fang Meixiang's mother pulled over a chair.
Fang Damiao looked at the chair.
"Please sit down."
Fang Damiao hesitated for a moment, then sat down cautiously.
“We take care of Meixiang at home. Now that she’s pregnant, she needs to be even more careful. You need to be more diligent.”
"I know! I know!" Fang Damiao nodded repeatedly.
“You must treat Meixiang well and not bully her. We’re all from the same village, and we all know whether she’s good or bad. If you bully her, I won’t be polite to you.” Fang Meixiang’s father glared at Fang Damiao.
"No, I'll definitely treat her well!" Fang Damiao patted his chest and assured her. "Then I'll take Meixiang to my house." Fang Damiao wanted to leave as soon as possible.
“We can’t take her away now. Although Meixiang is…” Meixiang’s mother couldn’t bring herself to say that her daughter was crazy or stupid, “we need to choose a day so that everyone can see her before we go to your house.”
"Okay, okay, I'll go pick a date."
"You need a bride price to get married? How much can you afford?"
"Money? I don't have any." Fang Damiao's face fell instantly. He scratched the back of his head. "Oh, I have an acre of land. You can have it, you can plant it."
"Give it to us, what will you and Meixiang eat?"
"We...we'll think of something else," Fang Damiao replied, unable to answer either.
“I know your land. It’s been lying fallow. Go and manage it properly, plant some crops, and you’ll have food to eat.”
"Yes! Yes!" Fang Damiao quickly responded.
"You should go back first."
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