The next morning, Fang Shugen's mother got up and first unlocked the door to their room.
I pressed my ear against the door and listened, but there was no sound inside, so I turned around and went to make breakfast.
Before I'd even finished preparing breakfast, I heard someone outside shouting, "Tree Root! Tree Root!"
Fang Shugen's mother had just come out of the kitchen when Fang Shugen also ran out while getting dressed.
"Mother, Hua Mei has run away!" Fang Shugen said urgently.
"Ah?" Fang Shugen's mother was shocked.
"Shugen, your wife, go check on her," the neighbor said, pointing to the intersection not far away.
Fang Shugen and her mother quickly ran towards the intersection.
Hua Mei was standing naked at the intersection, looking around.
As Shugen ran over, he took off his own clothes to put them on Huamei, but Huamei waved her hands and refused to wear them.
Fang Shugen wrapped Hua Mei in his clothes, put his arm around her, and blushed as he pulled her home.
Fang Shugen's mother pouted and glanced at the onlookers on the roadside.
The villagers tactfully dispersed.
Fang Shugen pushed Hua Mei into the room, and Fang Shugen's mother bolted the door.
Seeing that Tree Root Mom had locked the door, Flower Girl fearfully hid in a corner.
"Put your clothes on, you're making a fool of yourself!" Tree Root's mother said sternly.
Fang Shugen picked up the clothes and handed them to Hua Mei.
Hua Mei slowly put on her clothes in the corner by the bed.
"I was worried last night, afraid something might happen to her, so I locked the door. I opened it this morning, but I never expected... her, sigh..."
Fang Shugen's mother sighed and asked Fang Shugen again, "What happened after last night? Did you…"
Fang Shugen glanced at Hua Mei and said in a low voice, "Let's talk about it later."
"You need to keep a close eye on her these next few days, and make sure nothing like this happens again," Fang Shugen's mother instructed.
Then she turned around to continue making breakfast. When she reached the door, she turned back and shouted at Hua Mei, "Go wash your clothes before you eat. If you run around again, I won't give you any food."
Hua Mei remained hidden in the corner, staring blankly at her.
Fang Shugen walked up to her and said softly, "Don't run around. Listen to me. I'll treat you well. Didn't I untie the rope for you last night?"
Hua Mei looked up and stared blankly at Fang Shugen.
"Listen to me, I won't tie you up."
Hua Mei walked towards the door, and Fang Shugen quickly followed. He saw that Hua Mei was heading towards the laundry area.
I breathed a sigh of relief and slowed down.
"That crazy wife of Tree Roots ran out naked first thing this morning."
The news of what happened that morning spread throughout the village.
"You saw it?" someone asked.
"I went to the fields and didn't see it."
"Haha, if you're lazy, you can see it at home."
Women are gossipy and love to talk.
What could have triggered her to run away like this?
"Yeah, what did the tree roots do to her?"
"The tree-root man doesn't seem like a bad person. It must be his old mother who did something evil."
Several men also made lewd remarks.
"I guess the tree roots disturbed her early in the morning, scaring her so much that she ran outside without wearing any clothes."
"They say she has a very full bust."
...
For several days in a row, this was the talk of the village.
Upon hearing this, Fang Meixiang's mother immediately thought of her own daughter.
After Hua Mei came to the village, whenever Hua Mei made any move, Mei Xiang would immediately think of her.
Today she was planning to make some rice tofu and send it to Meixiang.
"Meili, go pick some loofah flowers."
“Meihao is on summer vacation and is at home, but I still have to do all the chores.” Fang Meili grumbled reluctantly.
“She’s always studying and rarely goes to the fields. How would she know the difference between male and female flowers? You have to pick the male flowers, but you can’t pick the female flowers. You have to leave them for the loofah.”
“We learned about it in our biology textbook, I recognize it,” Fang Meihao continued the conversation.
"I'll have my second sister go with you. I'm afraid you'll pick the wrong ones for me, and then we won't have any loofahs to eat at home," Fang Meixiang's mother said, still worried.
"I still want to come with you." Fang Meili said, grabbing a basket and going to the field with Fang Meihao.
"Meihao, have you heard? This morning, Shugen's wife ran out naked."
"I was reading in the house this morning because my memory was good, so I didn't hear about it."
"What do you call this? You only know how to read books and don't listen to what's going on outside."
"He devoted himself to studying the classics and ignored everything else."
"Yes, yes, you are cultured. Cultured people always speak in a pleasant way."
"Hehehe," Fang Mei chuckled, then asked in surprise, "Didn't everyone see that? Oh my god, how embarrassing!"
"Doesn't this crazy person feel ashamed?" Fang Meili said casually.
"Don't say that, my older sister is too..." Fang Meihao retorted softly.
"Big sister, sigh, she married Da Miao. You're either not home, or when you are, you're hiding in your room reading. You don't know, they call me Da Miao's second sister-in-law, and I feel like they're making fun of me."
“Mom, make some rice tofu, and we’ll take it to my eldest sister together. Since she got married, I haven’t been able to see her as often when I come back,” Fang Meihao suggested.
"I don't want to go. I don't want to see Fang Damiao," Fang Meili pouted.
The rice tofu was ready, and Fang Meihao and her mother delivered it to Fang Meixiang.
On the way, I met a neighbor who greeted me with a smile, "What delicious treats did you give Meixiang this time? Meixiang is so lucky, her mother always thinks of her when she has something good to eat."
A neighbor leaned over and whispered, "That tree root wife of yours doesn't have that kind of luck."
"Oh, I'll go first!" Fang Meixiang's mother smiled and walked away.
"Big sister."
When Fang Meixiang saw her mother arrive, she knew there would be something delicious to eat.
I saw my younger sister come along again this time.
He laughed and chuckled at them with even more delight.
Every time Fang Meixiang's mother brought something, she would watch Fang Meixiang eat it before leaving.
"Mother, little sister, please sit down." Fang Damiao brought over chairs.
Fang Damiao both wanted his mother-in-law to come and didn't want her to come.
When his mother-in-law comes, she brings some good food, and he gets to eat too.
His mother-in-law came, and the house was a mess, so he felt embarrassed and had to clean it up quickly.
Fang Meixiang's mother looked at Fang Meixiang's belly and could already see some curves.
"Meixiang, the baby in your belly is growing now. You need to stay at home and not run around. You also can't eat just anything. That way, the baby will be smart when it's born."
Regardless of whether Fang Meixiang could understand or not, Fang Meixiang's mother would always talk to her about it every time she came. Fang Meixiang's mother reached out and tugged at her waistband.
"Da Miao, find Mei Xiang's pants. I'll take them back and alter the waistband for her."
"I've washed them all and put them away," Fang Damiao said as he searched.
When a woman has her family who love and protect her, her husband will show her more respect.
Hua Mei looked at the sky outside, which was gradually darkening.
Panic slowly crept into his eyes, and his hands flailed wildly as if trying to drive something away.
“When the matchmaker spoke, she didn’t say she was this crazy. I think she’s getting crazier and crazier,” Fang Shugen’s mother said with a frown. “Shugen, take her to the room as soon as possible. I’ll lock the door from the outside so she doesn’t run out again.”
Fang Shugen pulled Hua Mei to the room, but Hua Mei leaned back and refused to move an inch.
Fang Shugen's mother came over and tried to pull her up, but she struggled to get up and pushed Fang Shugen's mother away.
Fang Shugen's mother stumbled and fell to the ground with a thud.
"Ouch~" She pushed herself up, rubbed her butt, and slapped Hua Mei across the face. "You think you can act so presumptuously in my house?"
Fang Shugen's mother gritted her teeth and, together with Fang Shugen, pushed Hua Mei into the room.
"Where's the rope? Bring me the rope."
"Mother, you don't need the rope, you can go out."
"Are you okay on your own?"
"It's okay, it's okay."
"I've locked the door from the outside. If you need anything, just call me from the window."
"Okay, okay." Fang Shugen pulled his mother outside.
After Fang Shugen's mother left, Hua Mei's emotions stabilized somewhat.
Fang Shugen walked to Hua Mei's side, but Hua Mei turned away from him.
"Don't be like this. We're husband and wife now. This is something that couples should do. I won't hurt you. And please don't go running around like crazy, okay?" Fang Shugen said patiently.
“You see, after we did that last night, I untied your rope. If you cooperate with me, I won’t let my mother tie you up. Let’s do that properly.”
Hua Mei's gaze fell on the rolled-up mat leaning against the wall, the one she had used the night before.
"Let's go to bed." Fang Shugen pulled Hua Mei toward the bed.
Fang Shugen took off Hua Mei's outer short-sleeved shirt, revealing that she was wearing a white short-sleeved vest-style bra underneath.
Hua Mei hesitated for a moment, but did not resist.
When Fang Shugen reached for Hua Mei's waistband, Hua Mei's mind flashed back to that summer night.
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