The Lady’s Sickly Husband

Everything was ready. The village head coughed a bit and walked to the front of the newly built big courtyard.

Standing there, he raised his hand, and instantly the just now roaring crowd became quiet.

The village head hosting the ceremony for Ning’s new house was a greatest courtesy to outsiders. Except for sacrificial activities in the clan, he wouldn’t usually preside an ordinary ceremony.

This time, it could be counted as an honor, with the aim to repair the crack caused by former unpleasant incident as well as to cozy up to them or win them over.

Since last self-reflection in the ancestral hall, elder Wanger had been staying at home under the pretext of falling ill. Elder Li and elder Fang displayed pleasing smiles on their faces while elder Gao congratulated them with sincerity and a little embarrassment.

Although Mo Qianxue didn’t quite like these village elders, she chose to forget the former feud and grievance since the head’s wife had voluntarily visited them many times and they lived at the same village after all.

“Hang something red on the beam! From now on, the house will be peaceful and prosper!”

The voice of village head was loud, and his face was both joyful and solemn. Upon the announcement, several lads dashed out and hung the prepared red cloth on the main beam.

“Paste the couplet! We wish you peace and auspiciousness all the time!”

A few school boys came forward and happily pasted the couplet on the front door of the house.

“Invite door gods! They will safeguard your house and grant you peace!”

Wang Tiansong took Wang Xiaolei to paste the picture of door gods on one side of the door respectively.

The new house was finally completed. Mo Qianxue and Ning Shaoqing, standing on one side, were excited and emotional.

She finally had a home of her own. Though the former house could also be called home, she always felt it not belonging to her. There was always a gap in between.

A long and big hand reached over and held that of hers.

Mo Qianxue took a glance and found it was Ning Shaoqing, whose hand held hers, but eyes didn’t look at her. He was facing the new house, serious and solemn, not a bit exposing his secret movement.

In broad daylight and with such a big audience, wasn’t it too…too daring?

What happened to him?

Usually he was too shy to express his emotion straightforwardly, but today had he left the “courtesy” at school and forgot to take it home?

Mo Qianxue was a little shy and wanted to rid it!

But the stubborn and powerful hand wouldn’t agree. It pinched her hand tighter, and the heat from it seemed to reach to burn her heart through her hand.

He must be happy too!

The ceremony of the new house went on and the two watched it hand in hand. Did it mean that they would also live a happy life until death parted them?

The more she thought, the sweeter she felt. Mo Qianxue, whose ears turned red, found that no one noticed them and stopped her struggling but also held his hand tighter.

Ning Shaoqing stood there, his body not moving, yet there was a smile playing on his lips.

“Set off firecrackers!”

As the sound was prolonged, the crowd began to noisily step aside. Shuaizi led many school boys in high spirits and came out, carrying a few bamboo poles, the end of which had already hung firecrackers.

No one noticed that two people getting inside, looking from left to right the courtyard with greedy eyes.

Seeing that the ceremony was about to finish, the two people came out of the crowd and yelled to stop it.

“Wait!”

The sudden yelling didn’t manage to stop the school boys’ hands to light the firecrackers. Hands shaking, Zhuzi instantly set off the firecrackers.

All sensible people knew that these two were coming to make trouble!

Splash and squelch. In the loud noise, the crowd retreated. The two paused in shock, unable to react quickly, and were exposed in the vacant lot of the yard.

Shuanzi’s eyes rolled and gave a look to his peers, then the several children began to accidentally put the firecrackers towards the two people who just came in.

Who were them? They should disrespect Mr. and Mrs. Ning and ruin the ceremony? No way!

The two people kept hide from side to side, but unluckily, the children were “scared”, and the bamboo poles also sway from side to side following the two people’s movement. Splash and Squelch. The firecrackers were set off in their faces, making them smoky black.

The two jumped around like two clowns, but nobody show sympathy to them.

The sound of firecrackers stopped, and village head announced loudly, “Finish…”

The clothes of the younger one was torn up by the blast of firecrackers. He chased the school boys while cursing, “Fuck off! Fuck off!”

The older one, who was now in mousy-grey messy clothes, also pat out dirty words, “Assholes. Assholes. You fucking assholes!”

He collected his clothes and walked to the village head, questioning him with a poise that almost equated seizing his neck, “Head. Don’t you know me? I’m Wang Yushan!”

In fact, the village head had long recognized this person, but he was too arrogant that he didn’t want to be kind to the person, “Wang Yushan? Oh. I remember. I’ve heard of this person. So, what are you doing here?”

The tone was scornful and the face displayed ridicule, “Your dad died eight years ago. Isn’t it too late to show up and pay your tribute?”

“Who…who came here to pay tribute?”

“Then, what are you doing here?”

“Pay tribute?… We’ll do that later. Now I want to talk serious.” Wang Yushan realized something and choked on the tribute-paying, becoming raging from embarrassment.

He awkwardly touched his face with black smoke, hitting the ceiling, “I remember that this courtyard belongs to Wang. It’s my house and my land. Since when was it seized by Ning and become theirs’?”

Mo Qianxue looked angry while Ning Shaoqing remained impassive. The village head’s face also turned gloomy. His eyebrows furrowed, but at a time he couldn’t find any rebuttal.

Seeing the village head’s face and the silence in the yard, Wang Yushan said complacently, “Don’t think that only because my dad is dead and I no longer live here, you can take over my property like this. The land is mine, so the house is mine too…”

Among the crowd, some had already recognized him and began their discussion. The audience were in a riot again.

“Wang Yushan? Isn’t he the step son of old Wang? The bad ungrateful son…”

“Yes. How shameless that he should come back! The face of village Wang is losing because of him.”

“He hasn’t come back for more than a couple of years. What does he want?”

No one was happy to see this. All was accusing him. The men and women who came to warm up the house had been helping Mo Qianxue during these days. Now they really felt pity for and worry about her…

This made Mo Qianxue a little better. This time during the days of the construction, she had treated nicely to each and every of them. In the beginning, she offered twenty cents per day to those men. At first, they refused to take it, but after several rounds, they finally agreed.

Their wives who came here to serve tea or water and occasionally gave them a hand, though weren’t paid, had also stayed here for meals.

Mo Qianxue understood and sympathized them, because in ancient times, wives worked very hard to serve mothers-in-law, husbands and children at home and took care of land and other aspects outside. But what they could eat was leftovers. You could imagine what a life they led.

Therefore, Mo Qianxue didn’t do as others, that was to let women eat the dishes their husbands left. Instead, while the men were eating, she specially set out another table for the women. They ate at the same time and as much as they liked.

Often, there were some little wives who shily asked whether they could take the leftovers back home, and Mo Qianxue always agreed readily.

However, the accusation and condemnation from them seemed useless to the shameless two people.

The people who came wasn’t kind. Kind people wouldn’t come!

She was afraid that this couldn’t be settled easily.

Mo Qianxue swept over the place ragingly. No matter who they were. They couldn’t take over the new house she had painstakingly finished building!