Title: Fortunate Wife
Chapter 82 - The first night (1)
Li Man was slightly stunned. If this hut was dangerous, then where could she go? This home only had two huts for sleeping.
"What are you doing?" Feeling unsettled, she instinctively grasped his sleeve.
Li Mo's heart was widely beating too. He was flooded with agitation, but he still tried his best to project a calm demeanor to comfort her. "Don't worry. We'll go to the other hut to sleep."
"We?" Li Man felt even more stupefied. Her eyes were widened as she incredulously stared at Li Mo. What was he thinking of doing by bring her to the other hut? There was only one bed in the eastern hut... Moreover, how could he hold his future sister-in-law like this in front of his younger brother? This was so improper. She instinctively looked at Li Shu.
Contrary to her expectations, after Li Shu heard these words, he yelped and ran back to the eastern hut in excitement. He lit an oil lamp, and the hazy light illuminated every corner of the hut.
Li Yan and Li Hua had also returned to the hut with Li Shu and were self-consciously standing in a corner. As they silently watched through the doorway as their oldest brother carried their wife into their room, they felt an indescribable feeling of excitement.
Li Mo actually was at a loss. There was only one bed in the hut, and Little Five was still asleep. He was worried that Li Man wouldn't agree, but he didn't have any other ideas.
In contrast, Li Shu didn't notice the weirdness of the situation. He excitedly took the lead by climbing onto the heated bed and curled up in his quilt. Then, he stretched his hands out and said to Li Mo, who had just walked inside, "Oldest brother, I can share my quilt with wife."
The space between Li Mo's brow was very furrowed. What kind of nonsense was third brother saying? What if these words scared their wife?
Surprisingly, Li Man didn't look at Li Shu. Instead, she was fiercely glaring at Li Mo. "Put me down." He better not stuff her underneath Li Shu's quilt.
Li Mo knew that she was feeling uneasy and tried to comfort her by softly saying, "Stop squirming." Then, he said to Li Hua, "Fourth brother, is there another a quilt in the cupboard? Take it out if there is one."
How could there be an extra quilt? Li Hua said, "En.” But, instead of opening the cupboard, he went to the side of the bed and brought over the quilt that he had been using.
Seeing this sight, Li Mo approvingly nodded. Fourth brother's quilt was the cleanest one.
Li Mo carried Li Man to the bed, gently put her down, and said in soft voice, "Please put up with this for tonight. I'll help you fix your roof tomorrow."
Li Man innocently bit her bottom lip. Even if she wanted to refuse, she didn't have a better idea of her own. She couldn't go to the kitchen to sleep, right? But, how would the other people fit on the bed if an extra person was added?
With her damp quilt wrapped around herself, she awkwardly looked at Li Mo. She had lived for so many years, but this was the first she was sharing a room with several men. Moreover, she would be sleeping on the same bed as them.
Li Shu felt very disappointed with his oldest brother's choice. He silently grumbled. Why wouldn't oldest brother place Li Man down with him? He wouldn't do anything bad to her. Moreover, it was very warm and cozy underneath his quilt. Wife would feel so comfortable sleeping here. Seeing that Li Man was going to sleep at the edge of the bed, he suddenly felt happy and started to hurriedly crawl over there. He wanted to sleep next to her.
Startled, Li Man pulled her body closer to herself.
Li Mo pulled a long face. His voice dropped as he said, “Third brother, go sleep on the other side of the bed."
"Ah?"
Before Li Shu could protest, Li Mo continued to make the sleeping arrangements. "Fourth brother, you can squeeze in with Little Five."
"Oh." Li Hua obediently got into bed and lied down to sleep by Little Five's side.
And then, without Li Mo needing to say anything, Li Yan shrugged and went back to sleeping in his original position.
However, Li Shu was sitting at the other side of the bed and staring at Li Mo as he asked, "Oldest brother, why does it have to be me that sleeps here?"
"Go to sleep." Li Mo briefly looked at him in askance, then he extinguished the light and tried to keep his movements as light as possible as he got onto the bed.
Li Shu grunted. He felt very wronged as he gloomily lied down too. His body was as stiff as a corpse as he stared at the ceiling.
Chapter 83 - The first night (2)
Li Man remained sitting on the other side of the bed. She looked at the brothers that were laid out in a row. Little Five was the closest one to her, then it was Li Hua, Li Yan, Li Mo, and finally Li Shu. The brothers were very well behaved in this dark room. Even the sound of their breathing seemed restrained as if they were worried about bothering her.
Suddenly, all of the embarrassment, nervousness, and discomfort that she was feeling completely disappeared without a trace. Instead, she felt this new experience was slightly amusing. In the midst of this dark room, she slowly unwrapped her quilt, tossed it to the side, and swiftly burrowed underneath the quilt that Li Hua had laid out for her.
This quilt was still pretty new, and the cover for it had recently been washed and soaked in sunlight. When she sniffed the quilt, there was a pleasant scent of grass and ink. Moreover, it still had some residual warmth. As soon as her chilled body burrowed into the quilt, she was immediately surrounded by warmth. It felt so comfortable.
Little by little, Li Man's consciousness floated away. Surprisingly, there was a bout of sleepiness, and she quickly fell into slumber.
However, once she fell asleep, it was even harder for the nearby men. Originally, everyone was acting more properly because of her close proximity. They didn't even dare to let their imaginations run wild. But, once she was asleep, they immediately relaxed. And once they were less tense, their excited minds imagined all sorts of fantasies...
Li Shu was the first one that couldn't control himself. He quietly called out, wifey," a couple of times. After not hearing any response, he couldn't resist kicking away his quilt. "Too hot."
Li Mo, who was lying next to him, hastily chided, "Be quieter." He was worried about waking up Li Man.
However, once Li Shu complained about the temperature, the other men also felt as if their bodies were burning up, and the discomfort of not being able to let out that heat.
Li Mo also quietly pushed down his quilt and took a long breath.
As soon as Li Shu heard this movement, he happily giggled. "Oldest brother, you're feeling uncomfortable too, right?"
Li Mo quietly scolded, "Go to sleep."
"I can't." Li Shu kicked his quilt off the bed with his feet. He groaned, "Oldest brother, wife is here."
Li Mo pressed his lips together. Before he had time to respond, Li Yan asked, "So what if she's here?"
Li Shu immediately brightened up and asked, "Second brother, you can't sleep either?"
"En." There was a slight rustle as Li Yan took his hands out from underneath the quilt. He also felt unbearably hot.
His movement caused Li Hua to feel uncomfortable. He turned to sleep on his side.
"Fourth brother, you're not asleep either?" Li Shu propped half his body up and looked over like a small animal.
Li Hua slightly bit his lips and mumbled, "En."
Li Shu gleefully laughed.
Li Mo hurriedly turned his body and covered Li Shu’s mouth. "Third brother."
"Oldest brother." Li Shu was very stirred up. He impulsively grabbed Li Mo's hand and was slightly panting as he asked, "Oldest brother, let's choose tonight as the wedding night. It's not like an auspiciously chosen date will be superior."
Once these words were said, it was as if bolts of lightning had struck everyone and left them stunned and dumbfounded.
The following silence was oppressive enough to suffocate.
They could hear the wind blowing outside and the pitter-patter of the rain. It confused their emotional state.
After a period of strange silence, Li Shu finally couldn't resist asking, "Well, what do you think? It's already been several days, and it looks like wife’s health has already recuperated.”
Chapter 84 - The first night (3)
Li Mo cleared his throat with a quiet cough. In order to hide the feelings that seemed to be surging forth like waves, he said, "Third brother, stop saying nonsense. It's already the middle of the night. Go to sleep."
"I can't sleep. I keep thinking about wife." Li Shu fidgeted and tugged his clothes open. His strong and muscular chest was heaving.
Li Yan secretly thought that Li Shu was being was too frank. And yet, this was simply his third brother's personality. He would say and do whatever he thought. It was already unprecedented for Li Shu to have acted with restraint since their wife had joined their household several days ago.
Li Mo closed his eyes and didn't respond. He was hoping that his third brother would get bored from the lack of response and obediently go to sleep.
But, Li Shu had really felt too stifled during the past period. He continued by saying, "Oldest brother, is it because you don't like wife? How about you buy another wife after we've earned more money? Just give wife to me now. Anyways, I think she's pretty good."
What kind of nonsense was this? How could he not like her? Li Mo clenched his fist in the dark room. Third brother was always saying things that deserved a beating.
Hearing these words, Li Yan sneered. "Dream on."
"What?" Li Shu gloomily curled his lip. "Second brother, I'm being serious. Mudan likes you so much. You should just accept her. Oh right, and fourth brother, you're a scholar, you'll have a really bright future. Who knows? You might even be able to marry a lady from a noble family. You don't need to mix in with us. Little Five is still young, so this has nothing to do with him. How about considering wife as just mine? I'll work to earn money. Oldest brother, don't worry, when you marry another woman in the future, I definitely won't stand to the side and do nothing. Second brother, I'll definitely help you with the bridal price when you marry Mudan. How about it?"
Li Shu had said these words with absolutely sincerity and after several days of careful deliberation. But, contrary to his expectations, right after these words were said, he received unanimous refusal from three voices.
“Shut up."
"No way."
"No!"
...
Li Shu was left feeling stumped by this response.
LI Mo was feeling irritated and trouble as he heavily closed his eyes. His voice had sunk as he said, "Stop talking. There's work to do tomorrow. Go to sleep."
Li Shu felt very wronged as he pleaded, "I'm being serious though. You guys should consider it.”
Li Yan insincerely smiled and said, "Third brother, it's surprisingly rare to see you putting so much thought into our wife."
Li Hua thought the same. His third brother had been short-tempered since they were children, and he would only have a brief period of enthusiasm for everything. He had even less patience towards woman. They had always thought that if he got married, it would only be for the purpose of carrying on his ancestral line.
In fact, before Li Man had entered their household, these had been Li Shu's thoughts too. He hadn’t cared what kind of woman their future shared wife would be. All women seemed the same to him. But, he had shown a rarely seen possessive streak tonight.
Not willing to back down, Li Shu responded, "Of course. Second brother, have you not felt moved by her? If so, why won't you give her to me?"
Li Yan secretly rolled his eyes. Annoyed and amused at the same time, he said, "Rubbish. Why would I give her to you? Moreover, even if oldest brother doesn't like her, I'm your second brother. By order, it should be me next, not you. How about this? Third brother, you're still young. Wait two more years, once I've settled down, we'll arrange matters for you and oldest brother."
Anxious, Li Shu almost wanted to jump up and start fighting with his second brother. "Get out. Wife is mine. I won't give her up."
At this time, Li Hua said in a neither cold not light voice, "Then, why are you asking us to give her up?"
Chapter 85 - The first night (4)
"Ah?" Li Shu was stunned. "Fourth brother, it can't be that you have feelings for wife too, right?"
Li Hua's face felt hot. He didn't say another word.
In contrast, Li Yan laughed. "What? She's our shared wife. Do you think you're the only one allowed to think about her?"
"Meh." Li Shu scornfully curled his lips. "You're all thinking about her while pretending to be saints. Anyways, second brother and fourth brother, the two of you also want to consummate your marriage with wife sooner rather than later, right?"
Li Hua secretly felt irritated. Why was third brother going back to this issue?
Li Yan only laughed in response.
Not hearing anyone acknowledging him, Li Shu went back to bugging Li Mo. "Oldest brother, say something, ah. Do you agree or not? If you agree, let's wake up wife and consummate the marriage tonight. Okay?"
Li Mo almost ended up choking after hearing these words. Really, his third brother's personality was too much. He failed to consider the current situation. Seeing that Li Shu was about to sit up, he hurriedly shouted, "Stop fooling around."
Li Yan slightly propped his upper body up and disapprovingly laughed, "Right now, there's six of us on this bed. How exactly do you plan on consummating the marriage?"
Li Shu was stunned for a bit. Soon after, he said, "What's there to worry about? Let's just move Little Five to the side."
"And then?" Li Yan shook his head as he looked at him. Li Shu was already an adult, but his problem solving skills were still so basic.
"Then?" Li Shu slightly furrowed his brow. He said, "Oldest brother will go first. We'll do it by birth order."
"What?!"
It wasn't just Li Yan that felt utterly vexed by Li Shu's words. Li Mo and Li Hua felt the same as Li Yan.
Ice had crept into Li Mo's words as he said in a deep and low voice, "If you don't want to sleep, you can go out and cool yourself down."
"What?" Li Shu was baffled. "Eh, aren't we having a good chat? Besides, if oldest brother is the first..."
Before he could finish talking, Li Mo had covered his mouth with one hand and elbowed him in the chest with the other arm so that his pained yelp was completely smothered.
When Li Yan saw this, he hurriedly looked in the other direction to check. Li Man hadn't twitched. She was breathing naturally and appeared deeply asleep as if nothing over here could startle her awake. Feeling relieved, Li Yan chuckled and said, "Third brother, you're too outrageous. Look at wife's petite body. Can her body take you, me, oldest brother, and fourth brother? Do you want her to die on this bed tonight?"
"Second brother." Li Hua lightly admonished. He didn't expect that second brother would say nonsense too.
Li Yan turned his head to the side and teasingly said into Li Hua's ear, "Fourth brother, is your heart aching for her?"
On the other side of the bed, Li Mo had just let go of Li Shu. Li Shu recklessly interrupted before Li Hua could respond, "What's the big deal? Don't each of the women in our village serve several men? Second brother, you know about A'da's family, right? They live at the back of the village. They bought a wife last year. A'Si told me that their family's wife is really amazing. She insists that she wants all four brothers in one night for her to feel enough pleasure. We're not that much stronger than A'da and his brothers. Who knows? Maybe wife will enjoy being taken by all of us together?"
Li Mo really wanted to sew Li Shu's mouth closed. "You're not allowed to say such nonsense."
Li Yan put his hands behind his head and thought of Li Man's shy and guarded appearance. He lightly shook his head and sighed. "Everyone is different."
Unwilling to accept Li Yan's words, Li Shu asked, "Different how? Are you saying that our wife is inferior to another woman?"
The corners of Li Yan's eyes twitched. "This isn't an issue of whether or not she's inferior."
"Then, what is it?" Li Shu was at a loss. "Are we suppose to leave wife alone every day even after marrying her?"
Chapter 86 - The first night (5)
“You don't need to worry about something like that.” Li Mo turned his head to the side and fiercely glared at him.
Feeling wronged, Li Shu pouted. "How can I not worry about it? After other people get married, they spend every day happy enough to die. After we married our wife, we're not even allowed to touch her. It's ridiculous. Oldest brother, could it be that you want to have wife all to yourself..."
"Out." Li Mo's expression had turned cold. He grabbed hold of Li Shu's collar and was about to shove him off the bed.
Li Shu shrieked several times before Li Mo covered his mouth again. In a muffled voice, "Oldest brother..."
"Do you want to sleep outside?" Li Mo coldly warned.
Li Shu hurriedly shook his head. It was very windy outside and also raining. Oldest brother was so heartless.
"Be more well-behaved then. Even if you can't sleep, stay quietly lying down. If you dare to say another word, I'll throw you out." Li Mo fiercely issued his last warning.
Li Shu could tell that his oldest brother was truly about to lose his temper. He obediently picked his quilt from the ground and wrapped the quilt around himself the way a person would wrap banana leaves around sticky rice filling.
Li Yan chuckled. "Oldest brother, third brother was only saying that. He wouldn't really do that to wife. Don't take it so seriously."
It sounded as if he was covering up a shortcoming. Li Mo said in a low voice, "Let's just go to sleep."
As Li Yan looked up at the dark ceiling, a light flashed through his bright eyes. “Oldest brother, since no one is feeling sleepy tonight, let's talk until everything is cleared up."
After hearing these words, Li Mo looked stifled, Li Hua tightly clutched the top part of his shared quilt, and Li Shu grinned and poked his head out of his quilt.
"Second brother, what do you want to say?" Li Mo seemed to have already guessed the gist of it, and his words sounded guarded.
The corners of Li Yan's lips slightly curved up. In the dark, rainy night, his beautiful, deep and low voice had an indescribable sense of hegemony as he said, "Oldest brother, I know that you've been worried that wife won't be able to accept us and this family. You're worried about harming her."
Li Mo's tightly clenched hand relaxed a bit. In the end, it was second brother that knew him best.
Li Yan continued, "But, did you not notice? It's not just you. We want to take good care of her too."
Li Mo suddenly felt as if a tiny thorn had stabbed him in the heart.
Next to Li Mo, Li Shu hurriedly parroted, "Yeah, I'll treat her well."
Li Yan added, "Besides, you've witnessed everything that wife has been doing during the past several days. She washes our clothes and cooks for us every day. She sweeps the outside courtyard and is even raising chickens and pigs. She's doing her best to become a member of our family."
Li Mo heavily closed his eyes. Various images of her flooded his mind and overlapped each other. Yes, she was doing her best... but he...
Li Shu anxiously added to conversation by saying, "Oh yeah, wife has been learning to speak our dialect from Little Five every day."
"En." Li Yan nodded, "Oldest brother, since wife is willing, why can't we do our best to get her to fall in love with us? So that she'll willingly..."
"Yeah," Li Shu hurriedly said, "Who knows? Maybe wife is anxious about consummating the marriage too. What woman doesn't want to be dearly loved by a man and give birth to a baby sooner rather than later?"
"What do you know?" Li Mo knew that he couldn't win an argument against his second brother, so he went after his third brother.
Chapter 87 - The first night (6)
Li Shu winked and said with a sly smile, "You don't know this, but that woman in the house behind ours is always dragging First Shun and Second Shun to do that with her, and she's still not satisfied. She sneakily tumbles around with strange men."
"Out." Li Yan couldn't resist spitting out, "That woman is from a brothel. Just like how a dog can't stop itself from eating sh*t, she can't bear to stay away from other men for even one day. How could she be compared to our wife? Third brother, don't ever mention those words again. Otherwise, if wife finds out that you said something like this, she might ignore you forever."
Li Shu hastily covered his mouth and mumbled to himself, "But, I've also said that our wife is better than that woman too."
Seeing that Li Yan wasn't going to say anything else, Li Hua felt a bit anxious, so he asked, "Second brother, why did you say all that?"
Li Yan shrugged and straightforwardly said, "Since oldest brother isn't willing to take the lead of consummating the marriage with wife, then let's just it make it fairer. Anyways, she's our wife. We can all just do our best to bed our wife as long as we don't use force. As for who's the first one and who's the last one, this will depend on each person's ability."
When Li Mo heard these words, a nameless fiery sensation spread from his heart. Did he have the ability to get Li Man to like him?
"Second brother, are you saying that as long as wife is willing, I can immediately consummate the marriage with her?" Li Shu's eyes were glimmering. According to second brother's intentions, he could completely ignore oldest brother and second brother.
"Sure, as long as you have skill to make her willing." Li Yan enigmatically smiled.
Li Shu clapped his hands and cheered. "Then, it's settled. I'll wake up wife right now. She'll certainly be willing to do that with me."
Li Mo smacked Li Shu's head. "Settle down."
Li Shu acted as if a cold bucket of water had suddenly been poured over him. He spluttered, "I was just joking. Wife is sleeping so sweetly. Who would be willing to wake her up right now?"
The heavy silence that followed felt suffocating.
This time, Li Shu didn't dare to speak first and only perked up his ears to wait for someone to discuss their own ideas. Come on, hurry up and speak.
In the end, it was Li Mo's low voice that broke through the uncomfortable silence. "Alright, let's do what your second brother suggested.” These words were directed Li Shu and Li Hua.
Li Shu was so excited that he ended up shrieking, "Really?" He was sure that wife liked him the most. She had been frequently sneaking glances at him during the past few days. She would definitely be willing to consummate the marriage with him.
In contrast, Li Hua disagreed, "Oldest brother, this matter..."
"Alright, the matter will be settled like this." Li Mo's voice was deep as he interrupted Li Hua. He pulled his quilt up, closed his eyes, and said, "Sleep."
Li Hua felt distressed for his oldest brother as he looked in his direction. Oldest brother was probably feeling really bad. Normally, when brothers married a shared wife, it was usually the oldest brother that would consummate the marriage first. But... As soon as he thought of Li Man, there was an upset feeling in his heart. He had three older brothers…
Outside, the wind and rain gradually died down. Inside, the four brothers had a load on their minds and were unable to go back to sleep
---
The next day, roosters called out three times as the sky slowly brightened. When Li Man woke up and opened her eyes, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Her heart tightened for a moment as she heard the sound of unfamiliar masculine breathing. Fortunately, the brothers seemed to still be asleep.
She hurriedly tried to calm herself down. She wanted to go back to her room to get dressed.
When she shifted her body, she felt a weight on her stomach. She looked in that direction and saw that Little Five, the little brat, had half of his body over on her side. One of his legs was sprawled out over her stomach No wonder, she had dreamed of a stone falling down on her.
Chapter 88 - The first night (7)
Li Man carefully shifted Little Five's leg off before quietly burrowing out of her quilt. She only had her undergarments on, so she had to return to her own hut and put on the rest of her clothes before the men woke up.
After she quietly got out of bed, she realized that her shoes were missing. Oh, she didn't have anything to put on her feet. Last night, Li Mo had carried her and her quilt over here.
Since she was a child, she had never walked barefoot. Moreover, it wasn't like the floor of this hut had finished flooring. It was just dirt.
Sitting at one end of the bed, she continued to look at the ground and was at a loss on what to do next. Her brow furrowed.
In the middle of the bed, Li Yan suddenly turned over with a snort. His eyelashes were fluttering. He seemed as if he was about to wake up.
With her heart clenching in alarm, Li Man tumbled onto the ground. No longer caring about the coldness of the floor, she ran outside barefooted.
Behind her, Li Yan was sitting up on the bed. His gaze was full of amusement as he stared at the doorway. This girl was too thoughtless. She had rushed out of the hut without closing the door on her way out, and a cool breeze poured into the hut.
Just as he was thinking about this, a figure appeared by the doorway. It was Li Man, looking the same as before with her feet bare. She had rushed back here and was now closing the door in a flustered state.
Li Yan couldn't resist bursting out in chuckles. What a silly girl.
Next to him, Li Hua let out a long sigh. He shifted a little bit and closed his eyes again.
---
Li Man thought that she had left the hut without anyone noticing. She was feeling glad that she had woken up early today as she returned to her own hut. Looking at the mess on her bed, she felt dejected. Fortunately, her clothes had been stored away in the wardrobe and hadn't gotten soaked by the rain. She hastily put on her outer clothing, socks, and shoes.
Just as she finished dressing, she heard the sound of activity from the neighboring hut.
Actually, other than Little Five, the Li brothers hadn't been able to sleep well last night. When Li Man woke up this morning, the four brothers had been startled away by the small amount of noise that she had made. It was only that when Li Shu wanted to sit up and greet his wife, Li Mo had grabbed hold of his arm and stopped him. As a result, he could only close his eyes and pretend to be asleep.
Once Li Man had left the hut, the four brothers weren't able to continue lying in bed.
There was a rustling sound as Li Shu sat up, covered himself with his outer clothing, and anxiously got out of bed.
Li Mo also sat up and looked at him with a deep gaze. "What are you off to do?"
"I ate too much last night. I'm going to the outhouse.” Li Shu clutched his stomach as he walked outside. Right after he went outside, he didn't head towards the backyard. Instead, he dashed towards western hut. However, just as he was about to stretch his hand out to push open the door of that hut, Li Yan grabbed hold of his arm. "Third brother, you're being too impatient."
Li Shu grinned. "Second brother, what are you thinking? I just came here to check on the leaky roof."
Li Mo came out, glanced at Li Shu, and said, "There's no need for you to check. You're coming with me to go up the mountain and chop some bamboo to bring back."
Seeing Li Mo's gloomy expression, Li Shu wiggled his eyebrows at Li Yan. His gesture meant, "Oldest brother is really angry."
At this time, Li Man opened her door to go outside. Seeing the three brothers clustered around her doorway, she was momentarily stunned. She smiled and said, "You're all awake? It's still so early. I'll go make breakfast."
After saying this, she bustled over toward the kitchen.
"I'll help you.” Li Shu hastily flung Li Yan's hand off and followed her into the kitchen.
Chapter 89 - The first night (8)
Li Yan saw the taut expression on Li Mo. He slightly smiled and said, "Oldest brother, you have to try harder too. Third brother will keep trying until he succeeds."
Li Mo didn't say anything. Instead, he pushed open the door to Li Man's room and stepped inside. He saw that water was still dripping from the thatched roof and the bed was already thoroughly soaked. It was evident that room wasn't in a useable state.
Li Yan followed him into the room and said, "Even if the roof is fixed, this room won't be habitable soon.
"En." Li Mo felt distressed. This hut had almost twenty years of history. Li Man's current room had once been their mother's bedroom. After their parents had passed away, no one had been living here. It was used to store odds and ends instead. After a long time passed, this hut had become dilapidated. He had though this hut could last another year, but last night's sudden rainstorm had wrecked this hut. It was basically a mud pit now.
"We'll see. Let's try fixing it first." Li Mo looked at the roof and tried to think of a way to minimize the damage.
Li Yan didn't really care about the damaged roof. "Oldest brother, our home only has one room where people can sleep. Is wife going to share a bed with us for the next several days?"
"..." Li Mo's heart abruptly jumped. "Let's talk about that later."
Li Yan didn't say another word.
Li Hua was standing in the doorway as he looked at the interior of the hut. His long eyebrows were also furrowed. After a long pause, he suggested, "How about we set up another bed in our hut?" If they all slept on a bed, there would always be worries that something would happen. He... didn't want to see her... doing that... with any of his older brothers.
"En." Li Mo thought this idea was doable.
Li Yan curved his lips and meaningfully looked at Li Hua. He more or less had an idea of what his fourth brother was thinking. But, there was only one wife, and there were five of them. Even if Little Five was still young right now and didn't count, there were still four of them. No matter how unwilling he was; he couldn't monopolize their wife.
---
Li Man was washing the rice to make congee and kneading dough to make pancakes.
Li Shu was helping her by tending to the fire. He wanted to say something funny to make her laugh, but he couldn't think of a single joke. He would only poke his head out from underneath to sneak glances at his wife from time to time. The more he looked, the more he thought that wife looked good. It felt as if his heart was being wrapped in sweetness. He kept tossing firewood into the fire without paying attention.
The fire soon became too hot. Before Li Man had time to flip the pancakes she was making, it had already become burnt on one side. She urgently said, "Smaller, make the fire smaller."
Li Shu thought she had said something else. When he frantically rushed over, Li Man fiercely glared at him and pointed at the pieces of pancakes that she had hastily picked up. "Look, they're all burnt. You can be the one that eats these later."
He had though something really bad had happened. His heart was still palpitating from the recent scare. "Sure, I'll eat it. I'll eat anything as long as you're the one making it." Li Shu picked up a piece of burnt pancake and smiled as he bit off a piece.
Seeing him like this, Li Man wasn't able to say aloud any reprimanding words. She only pushed him to the side so she could tend to the fire by herself.
"I'll do it." Li Shu hastily tried to stop her.
Li Man glanced at him. Thinking about how she still had to keep an eye on the stovetop, she urged him, "Alright then, keep the fire lower this time."
"En," Li Shu happily agreed.
---
Li Mo left the hut and saw the rapport between Li Man and his third brother in the kitchen. After a pause, he continued outside and braved the rain that had started again.
Li Hua was standing under the eaves and called out, "Oldest brother." He didn't know where his oldest brother was going. He hadn't even put on a woven rush raincoat.
Li Mo didn't even turn his head back and only answered, "I'll come back soon."
Li Hua's eyes were full of worry. He and his brothers had always listened to oldest brother's words. But now, because of the matter with their wife, it felt as if his oldest brother had been faced with unanimous betrayal. He was probably feeling bad, right?
"Hey, stop worrying. Oldest brother is aware," Li Yan comfortingly said and gently patted his fourth brother's shoulder.
Chapter 90 - The first night (9)
Li Hua watched as his oldest brother's lonely back figure disappeared into the curtain of rain. His eyes were a bit wet as he said, "Second brother, isn't this pushing oldest brother too much? Oldest brother, he..."
Li Yan suddenly felt somewhat upset too. Did fourth brother really thinking that he was directly going against their oldest brother? He was just trying to help him. “Don't worry, your third brother and me are also aware."
After saying this, Li Yan turned around and entered the kitchen.
Li Man had already finished cooking the last piece of pancake and was scooping out the pancakes from the pan.
As soon as Li Yan came over, he leaned over and tilted his face so that it was close to her as he sniffed and said, "Oh, something smells really good."
Li Man uncomfortably shifted away. "These pancakes are ready. You should eat them while they're still hot."
"En." Li Yan stretched his hand out and picked up a piece. As he nibbled on it, he smiled and said, "Oh, this smells just as good."
Li Man's hand trembled, and the pancake fell off her spatula and into the pan. Hadn't this wicked person already praised her pancakes for smelling good?
Li Yan was leaning against the stove. He watched Li Man as he ate the pancake.
Being looked at like this, Li Man got angry and she asked, "What are you looking at?"
"You." Li Yan raised his eyebrows like a hooligan. After swallowing the last bite of his pancake, he took another piece and continued to eat.
"You?" How could he be so shameless? His third brother was right there. Oh, right, what was up with Li Shu? Was he deaf?
Li Man took the rest of cooked pancakes to the table, then she looked at Li Shu. He was still crouched down by the stove and munching on the burnt pancakes. He only knew how to eat. He didn't even stand up or pay attention when his older brother was bullying her.
"What's wrong?" As soon as Li Shu caught sight of Li Man's aggrieved look, his heart softened, and he hurriedly stood up in worry.
To his surprise, Li Man fiercely glared at him and turned her back to him. "Call them over here to eat."
"Oh." Li Shu felt his head and somewhat uneasily left to call the rest of the family over.
But, right after Li Shu left the kitchen, Li Man realized that she had made a mistake. How could she let him leave? There was still a wolf in sheep's clothes in the room. She quickly tried to follow after Li Shu and leave the kitchen too, but Li Yan stretched his hand out and stopped her.
"What are you doing?" Li Man glared at him. She didn't believe that he would dare to do anything shameless. There were still plenty of people left at home.
"Where's the hairpin?" There was a hint of threat in Li Yan's gaze.
Li Man inexplicably felt flustered. "I... I forgot to wear it."
"Really? Where is it?" Li Yan cross his arms and wickedly curved his lips.
Li Man was surprised when she heard herself honestly answering, "It's in my room."
"Go, put it on," Li Yan ordered her.
Li Man felt annoyed. "I can't get used to wearing it."
"Really? Wouldn't you be willing to wear it if third brother or fourth brother had been the one that gave it you?" A cynical smile suddenly appeared in Li Yan's eyes. "Perhaps, it would be okay if the giver was oldest brother too."
"What?" Li Man doubtfully looked at him. "What are you talking about?"
Knowing that she probably didn't understand all of his words, Li Yan could only shake his head. He lowered his head and came closer to her face. "Do you know where my blue headband is?"
"Eh?" Li Man leaned backwards and doubtfully looked at him.
Li Yan rested his hand on her waist and pulled her closer to him. He continued, "Didn't you see everything yesterday? I don't remember where I put it. Do you remember?"
It was as if an explosion had gone off. Li Man's little face flushed red. The blush spread all the way to the tips of her ears. She stared at the man in front of her. There was a genial smile on his face that was as flawless as jade. However, his inky black eyes were full of teasing intent.
He... he was clearing making fun of her for sneaking glances of him when he was taking a rinse yesterday.
Jerk!