Chapter 71: 共妻
[Co-Wives]
In the middle of the ninth month of the lunar calendar, one day was colder than the other day.
On the way to rush to the border city, the people all changed into thick jackets, shrinking their necks and walking quickly through the streets.
Xiao Lingchuan was still dressed in a single coat, rushing the carriage in the cold wind, his waist was straight, with his set of single coats, he could live through the 4 seasons; spring, summer, autumn and winter.
People who practised martial arts could use their internal force to regulate their body temperature, even if it was icy and snowy, he was in a single set of clothes, he could not feel the cold.
“Husband, take a sip of hot tea ba!”
Li Haitang was afraid that he would try to show off and sent over a cup of hot tea. She changed into a thick cotton jacket, with fox skin padded underneath her, and had to drape a thick quilt over her body, just like this, yet she still felt cold.
“There is an inn in front, at lunchtime it is just right to go and rest there for an hour.”
Xiao Lingchuan was anxious, in the morning his own wife shyly let him find a grocery shop, she went to buy the menstrual belt, too bad, coincidentally just came the simple life.
He heard that women with simple lives have low body temperatures and occasionally feel cramps in their abdomen. He bought ginger and jujube tea (health beverages made of dates, black tea, and other ingredients) and hot-water bottle to replenish qi and blood, hoping to ease her pain.
“Husband, we’d better hurry, ba.”
Li Haitang counted the hours, resting at lunchtime, she couldn’t enter the border city before dark, moreover she would have to spend another night outside, therefore she might as well go to Chun Niang’s place earlier to deliver the medicine.
Before transmigrated over, she didn’t have menstrual cramps, she had a craving during her menstrual period, sneaking eating an ice cream, no problem at all.
Being a doctor, even if you know that many lifestyles are unhealthy, you still can’t avoid it. Li Haitang always gives herself a reason, it’s just enjoy life while you may.
After transmigrated over and receiving the body of the original owner, Li Haitang was in pain and her face was pale, she bit her lips and shrank in the corner of the carriage, covering her belly with her hand, she had to make sure that the temperature of the water inside the soup kitchen was warm on this journey, in order to slightly relieve her abdominal pain.
Xiao Lingchuan did not say anything. Li Hai Tang’s eyes were deep, she was strong on the outside and fragile on the inside, always thinking of others, sometimes she would neglect herself.
Delivering medicine to Chun Niang was not urgent, to him, his own wife was more important.
Therefore, Xiao Lingchuan didn’t listen to Li Haitang for the first time and made his own decision, driving the carriage to the backyard of the inn.
Li Haitang was paralysed inside the carriage, almost numb from the pain, she felt the carriage stop and asked in a daze, “Have we already arrived at Chun Niang’s house?”
“We’ll stay at the inn for the night and leave tomorrow.”
Xiao Lingchuan’s tall figure enters the carriage, instantly blocking out the light, he wraps Li Haitang in a quilt, and in the midst of the fellow’s astonishment, brings him to the room.
In broad daylight, hugging makes people laugh. Li Haitang was shy. She is only here for the simple life, not so delicate, so she struggled, “Put me down!”
“No (put you down)!”
Xiao Lingchuan said with determination, not only did he not let go, but on the contrary, he hugged her a little tighter.
The inn’s shop assistant reacted only after a long time, secretly looking for the shopkeeper and the bookkeeper to discuss.
A few days ago, an official from the Yamen came to the inn to convey the news, hearing that the Qin family’s rice and grain shop in the county had lost a lot of things, and that an unmarried young lady had disappeared, and in both incidents, the official suspected that it was one person’s doing or a group of people, and asked them to keep an eye out for any unfamiliar faces at the inn lately.
“Boss, why should I be careful? Those who come to the inn,who are not familiar faces?!”
The mate was quite distressed, locals with families, no need to stay in any inns, most of them were merchants coming and going to spend the night for convenience.
Their inn had a large flow of people, and there were going to be dozens of people coming and going every day, and the mate wasn’t fiery eyes and diamond pupils—discerning eyes so he couldn’t tell who the villains were.
“This is simple.”
The shopkeeper had his own logic, “Looks are made by the heart, look at those cockney thieves, how many of them have smooth looks, they are all mean people who resort to petty tricks and thievish-looking.”
The mate thought it made sense and got on with it.
It had been quiet for the past two days, no suspicious people had been seen, and just now, an ugly fat man came to their inn, holding a delicate little lady with a quilt.
There is no way that this is not a problem!
“Boss, I heard that little lady say no, she must have been drugged and forced!”
The mate approached the shopkeeper to discuss if he should go to the Yamen to report the case, he heard that if he assisted in solving the case, he would be able to get a reward of ten taels of silver, and if he saved up some more, it would be enough for him to marry a wife.
“This ….”
Moreover you can’t slander others just because the person’s face is ugly, you have to speak with a basis. The shopkeeper pondered for a moment, and decided to send his mate upstairs to poke around. In case they noticed something wrong, they had to report it to the officials immediately, and wait for the officials to arrest the person.
Upstairs, Li Haitang is still unaware that her behaviour is misunderstood by the fellow, she is sitting on the chair, waiting for the savage husband to make the bed.
In all fairness, Xiao Lingchuan was really a thousand times better, marrying him to begin with, Li Haitang was taken care of in every possible way, eating and drinking, becoming a complete rice worm (sponger).
The thin spouted copper kettle on the small red clay fireplace was steaming, Li Haitang stood up, wrapped the handle of the copper kettle with a cloth towel, and made herself a cup of brown sugar water.
“Husband, along the way, I heard people say that in the past few days, quite a few unmarried young ladies have gone missing, do you think they were taken away by abductors?”
When abductors take people away, they definitely have to leave the Northland before they can be sold, and most of them are sent to bad places.
He heard that the Northwest barbaric land, there are many men and few women, a large family of several brothers, can not afford to marry a wife so they buy one, and that woman is the co-wife of several brothers.
Delicate little lady, serving several strong and powerful men, but also to give them babies, a wife, completely reversed.
Teenage girls, the body did not grow, dallyed by several brothers, some could not stand, were tortured into not human appearance.
There are many men and few women, the woman will be expensive, marry and pick the family, who will choose a family of several brothers, that drives sb. to his death!
“More brothers have strength, they all save silver to buy a wife in the field.”
Xiao Lingchuan worked as life and death dart, have been to the northwest, have a certain understanding of the local folk customs, co-wives are usual over there, not only that, there are also rented wives and pawn concubines.
“What does that mean?”
The last time Xiao Lingchuan told a story, he hadn’t talked about this, Li Haitang expressed great interest in this.
“Northwest folk style is open, folk advocate widow remarriage.”
Seeing that saying this could distract his lady from the abdominal pain, Xiao Lingchuan went into detail about the local customs.
The northwestern part of the country is perennially yellow sand and is a relatively mysterious zone, which can be described as unregulated (come within nobody’s jurisdiction; be nobody’s business), not to mention not having to be bound by norms of etiquette and ethical code, especially the Confucian or feudal ethical code.
There are many men and few women, the woman’s husband dies, widowhood is a waste of resources, it is better to find another young and strong man to live with.
After the woman has a baby, the man can rent out his wife for a year, and if the woman is pregnant during that time, the other party has to spend a sum of money.
Concubinage is similar in meaning, and is usually a trade between large families.
Merchants do not like to go to the Northwest, there are bandits on the road, there have been a lot of people who want to go to do business, but they were robbed of money are considered as lucky, those bandits are brutal, not only robbing money, but also want to people’s lives. The middlemen, not doing business in the Northwest, there is a lack of women, so inevitably there will always be abductors from this side to deceive the young lady, change hands to the Northwest, and make a fortune.