LW chapter 41

 

The Village Chief’s Birthday Almost the entire village came, and even Qi Shuning was dragged along to help with the gifts. Li Xin sat aside and curled his lips. They wanted to ask for help but were afraid people would hide it from them. They had to find someone to guard them.

Chen Qing and Aunt Sun didn’t come. Li Xin was currently sitting with Meng Qi’s wife, Wang Xuemei. There weren’t even peanuts on the table—just an empty table with no teapot. Everyone was sitting outside in the cold wind.

Li Tiejiang and Zhang Yin weren’t there either. Li Tiejiang had taken her into town in Zhou Yuan’s ox cart to get medicine and have the doctor check her condition. Although her health had improved, Li Tiejiang was still somewhat concerned, so he brought her into town to see the doctor on the sixth day of the first lunar month.

Today’s banquet wasn’t held at the village chief’s home because his house wasn’t big enough. The tables were set in the open space of the ancestral hall. There was no shelter, and the sun couldn’t reach them. The weather was freezing.

He saw Zhou Yuan arrive. After the formal greetings were done, someone called for everyone to sit down. Zhou Yuan greeted Wang Xuemei and looked at Li Xin. “What are you doing here?”

“What did you give?” Li Xin was a little curious.

“A wolf-hair brush and ten coins.” Zhou Yuan glanced at the sun. “I’m leaving. Are you eating here?”

Li Xin smirked quietly. “You’re too cruel. Everyone in the village knows the village chief gets angriest when his children are deemed useless by their teachers. Your gift is like a knife to his heart.”

Zhou Yuan also smiled. “That money should have been saved for a dowry, so this is all I could give.”

After thinking about it, he decided that the inkstone given to him by the general was too valuable for the village chief’s family.

Li Xin glanced back at the gifts he had brought, but he didn’t see anything else. He noticed that Qi Shuning kept glancing at the pen. Having just mocked the village chief, Li Xin now thought Qi Shuning was clueless.

Zhou Yuan saw this, too, and said, “I have a set of the Four Treasures of the Study in the capital’s style. I’ll send them to your house tonight.”

Li Xin laughed again. “Thanks, big brother.”

“It’s only right. I didn’t give you a gift when you got married, so I’m making it up to you.” Zhou Yuan had also brought many gifts for Li Xin when he came back, and one of them was for Qi Shuning.

Zhou Yuan wanted to leave, but the village chief stopped him. It seemed the chief knew he wanted to leave and kept talking to him.

Soon, it was time to start eating. Zhou Yuan noticed the village chief watching him and realized that he wouldn’t be able to go back at noon to feed the pigs with Chen Qing. He asked Niu Niu to go tell Chen Qing that he might not make it back in time for lunch and not to feed the pigs too much because he would feed them again in the afternoon.

Niu Niu left obediently. Zhou Yuan was worried that he might break his promise, which would make Chen Qing unhappy, so he planned to leave after the toast.

He didn’t sit at the village chief’s table. Instead, he pulled Qi Shuning over and sat him with Meng Qi and Meng Shuanzi. Naturally, the three of them talked about plans for after the New Year. Zhou Yuan said he wanted to visit the county town.

Meng Qi and the others regarded him as their leader and did whatever he suggested. Zhou Yuan was a little annoyed. The village chief was still making the rounds, toasting each table. Growing impatient, Zhou Yuan raised his glass to toast directly.

“May the village chief have boundless fortune like the Eastern Sea and a long life like the Southern Mountain.” Zhou Yuan just went along with the formality. When the village chief raised his glass, Zhou Yuan lightly clinked his and drank it all at once.

The wine in his mouth was tasteless, but Zhou Yuan noticed that the village chief’s eyes were glassy. Perhaps the chief was happy today because it was his birthday, and the villagers had given him more gifts than usual.

However, his alcohol tolerance was far too low. After just two or three cups of the weak wine, he nearly collapsed.

At that moment, Aunt Wang pinched him. Seeing that the village chief couldn’t stand, she tugged on Zhou Yuan’s sleeve. “Zhou Yuan, help me send him back. We can’t leave either…”

The villagers weren’t surprised. The village chief got drunk after a few rounds every year on his birthday.

Zhou Yuan nodded. This would work—if he sent the chief back, he wouldn’t have to come back here and could still make it in time to help Chen Qing feed the pigs.

Zhou Yuan supported the village chief. When he turned around, he caught a flash of excitement in Aunt Wang’s eyes, though it quickly disappeared.

Having survived the battlefield, Zhou Yuan knew immediately that something was wrong.

He immediately scanned the ancestral hall. With his excellent memory, he noted that two people were missing from Aunt Wang’s table. The village chief had three sons, and accompanying Aunt Wang were her daughters-in-law.

Right now, only two of the three daughters-in-law were present. Upon further thought, he realized that the husband of the youngest son was also missing.

Recalling the meal earlier, he remembered that the wine cup had been right under his nose, so there shouldn’t have been any problem.

Zhou Yuan’s suspicions grew. The distance from the ancestral hall to the chief’s house wasn’t far. When he reached the door, his feeling that something was off only deepened.

Seeing him help the chief back, Zhang Ran, the young husband, smiled. “Please bring Father in and have a drink of water before you leave.”

Zhou Yuan shoved the chief toward Zhang Ran. “No, I’ve got other things to do.”

Zhang Ran didn’t want to touch the village chief, so he didn’t use any strength to catch him. The chief fell to the ground with him.

Seeing this, Zhou Yuan had no interest in helping anymore and was about to leave. However, Zhang Ran blocked the doorway. “It’s just a glass of water. You really won’t give the chief this small favor?”

Zhou Yuan sneered. “Do you think you can stop me?”

Just as he was about to act, a figure leapt out of the house and struck Zhang Ran on the back of the head with a wooden stick.

Zhang Ran collapsed like the chief.

When Wang Shan saw Zhou Yuan, the stick slipped from his hand. Without waiting for Zhou Yuan to speak, Wang Shan blurted out, “My aunt deliberately got my clothes wet and set you up to come in. It’d be hard to explain, and you’d have to marry me…”

Zhou Yuan glanced at his drenched clothes and averted his gaze after just one look. “I know.”

Wang Shan stared at him. “What are you going to do?”

Zhou Yuan wasn’t weak. Since they had tried to trap him, he had no reason to care about the village chief’s dignity. He looked at the cup of water that Zhang Ran had wanted to give him and told Wang Shan to feed it to him instead.

Wang Shan obeyed, pouring the water into Zhang Ran’s mouth. Half of it spilled and half of it was swallowed.

“Go back to your room and change your clothes. Your brother-in-law will wake up soon.” Zhou Yuan glanced at him.

Wang Shan understood immediately. “I know what to do. You’d better leave quickly.”

Zhou Yuan nodded. Seeing someone approaching in the distance, he turned and quickly left the main room through the other side.

Zhang Ran was woken up by Wang Shan feeding him water. He felt heat rise in his lower abdomen and instinctively reached out to hug the body next to him.

Inside the room, Wang Shan saw that the time was right and quickly opened the door. As soon as the door opened, Wang Shan screamed in panic.

Aunt Wang arrived with the most talkative aunt in the village and her husband. Hearing Wang Shan scream, she knew everything was settled. “What happened?”

Her confident smile froze when she saw the village chief rolling around with Zhang Ran in the main room. Meanwhile, Wang Shan, who had been screaming, was now standing in a daze at Zhang Ran’s. Zhou Yuan, who was supposed to be there, had disappeared completely.

At that moment, the two of them exchanged a glance filled with unspoken words.

A father-in-law and son-in-law having an affair in the village chief’s home—this was absolutely the hottest gossip in the village!

Wang Shan looked confused, as if he had just realized he had done something wrong. He deeply regretted it, so he told Aunt Wang, “Auntie, my brother-in-law brought me back to change clothes. He’s waiting for me outside. I heard my uncle’s voice and thought I’d change before going out. I didn’t expect…”

Aunt Wang was furious and nearly lost her mind. First, she dragged the village chief, and then she slapped Zhang Ran in the face.

Zhang Ran was fully awake by this point, but he had never imagined there would be so many people in the main room—and his father-in-law was right there!

Aunt Wang slapped him twice and now glared viciously at Wang Shan. “Mom! It was him—he hurt me!”

Wang Shan curled up on the side. They had clearly decided on their story, and no one noticed the faint smile on his lips when he lowered his head.

The village chief was still drunk; the noise was unable to wake him. He even hugged the person next to him and continued sleeping soundly.

Earlier, they had soaked Wang Shan’s clothes according to Aunt Wang’s instructions. Zhang Ran said he would go back with Wang Shan to change and that it would be better if someone could cover for them.

However, on the way back, Zhang Ran repeatedly mocked Wang Shan. “You can’t wait, can you? Don’t you want to pull people to the kang[mfn]炕 (kàng) – in northern China, this means a heated brick bed/stove bed. It’s a platform built of bricks or clay, with a flue underneath connected to a stove; people sleep on it, and it stays warm in winter. Very common in traditional northern Chinese homes.[/mfn] right away?”

After all, Wang Shan was an unmarried ger. He was embarrassed and his face turned red. He simply pretended not to hear Zhang Ran.

Thinking Wang Shan was a soft red tomato easy to squeeze, Zhang Ran’s words grew more and more crude. Wang Shan turned his head. “Don’t say another word.”

“You dare do it, but you’re afraid of what people will say?” Zhang Ran snorted.

“Hurry and sell yourself to save up for your brother’s betrothal gift.” Zhang Ran sneered. “Go in and take off your clothes quickly—or better yet, take them off slowly so everyone can see.”

Seeing that he was becoming more and more unbearable, Wang Shan endured it. As soon as they returned to the house, Zhang Ran locked Wang Shan inside and waited in the main room for Zhou Yuan.

The bottle of medicine he had found yesterday was the same one he and Meng Bing used every day. He hadn’t known until the night of their wedding that Meng Bing was impotent. He had become a widow right after getting married.

Meng Bing had bought medicine to “comfort” Zhang Ran in bed, yet he had never felt satisfied.

The more he held back, the more he wanted until he saw Zhou Yuan. His desire only grew stronger until he heard his mother-in-law’s plan.

That was why he devised this plan. Even if it didn’t work today, Zhou Yuan wouldn’t be able to marry, and all future chances would be Zhang Ran’s. After all, Zhou Yuan was so arrogant in the village that even if something like this happened, no one would dare bother him—let alone Meng Bing. If Meng Bing dared to do anything to him, he wouldn’t hide the fact that Meng Bing wasn’t a real man.

But he never expected Wang Shan to be a variable!

The matter blew up, and no one cared about Wang Shan anymore. He ran straight home. How he explained it to his family was his own problem.

In the village, keeping secrets was the hardest thing to do. By that night, news of the affair between the village chief and his son-in-law had spread throughout the village. Some people described it in great detail, as if they had been sleeping under the village chief’s bed.

Naturally, Chen Qing’s family had also heard about it. Li Xin was in the courtyard at that moment. Chen Qing couldn’t help but ask, “Did they really catch them in the act?”

Li Xin nodded. “Yes, Aunt Kang and Aunt Niu from the village saw it clearly. When Zhang Ran saw that his secret was out, he tried to drag him into it. It was quite the drama.”

Li Xin thought it over and felt that something was off. “My sworn brother was the one who sent the village chief back. Why wasn’t he there then?”

Chen Qing said, “He said he only drank two sips of wine and came back to feed the pigs with me.”

Then, Zhou Yuan came in carrying a set of brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone. “Here it is.”

Li Xin took it without hesitation. “Just tell me—what happened? I wasn’t there at the beginning.”

Zhou Yuan clicked his tongue impatiently. This whole mess had originally been aimed at him. He had only let someone else take the fall. There was no need to tell Chen Qing about all the twists and turns.

“I just sent him back, put him in the main room, and left. Who knew so much would happen afterward?” Zhou Yuan didn’t care. “It’s getting dark. Why don’t you go home?”

Li Xin glared at him. “Why don’t you go home? You’re not even married yet, yet you treat other people’s homes like your own all day long. Aren’t you ashamed?”

Seeing that the two were about to start bickering again, Chen Qing hurried over to play peacemaker. He had only spoken a few words when he saw Qi Shuning standing in the doorway. Qi Shuning smiled at Chen Qing. “I’m here to take Xinxin home.”

Li Xin got goosebumps when he heard “Xinxin.” He picked up the box in front of him, wanting to hit Qi Shuning with it. But when he saw how frail Qi Shuning was, he withdrew his hand and handed the box to him instead. “A gift from my big brother.”

Qi Shuning was surprised to find a set of brushes and ink inside. He wanted to refuse, but then he heard Zhou Yuan say, “You’re the only scholar in our family—take it and use it.”

So he accepted it.

Then, Li Xin walked up to him. “If you call me Xinxin again, I’ll beat you to death.”

Qi Shuning just smiled and said goodbye to Chen Qing.

Chen Qing stood at the door and watched them leave. Then he called out, “Xinxin, come play with me again tomorrow.”

Li Xin: …