Title: Fortunate Wife
Chapter 124 – Delivering soup (1)
Li Man turned her head to the side to look at the very dark night that was outside the window. She suddenly felt annoyed. Why had she drunk so much soup for dinner? What's more, she had been too busy with laying out her bed before sleeping to remember to go the outhouse. Truly, when it rains, it pours. It was totally Li Shu's fault. If he hadn't been loitering by her bed and distracting her, something like this wouldn't have happened.
After feeling irritated for a while, Li Man decisively decided to ignore this physiological response. She would go to sleep. Anyways, once she was asleep, she wouldn't feel anything.
However, once she closed her eyes, she felt an even stronger urge to pee.
Damn it!
Silently cursing in her mind, Li Man sat up. She couldn't resist the need to pee. Her movement was already very light, but even so, the bamboo couch still made loud creaking sounds. Flustered, she looked in the direction of the heated bed. She was worried that she would wake someone up.
Fortunately, there was no movement from that side. She quickly got up from the couch and fumbled her way through putting on her shoes, then she tiptoed her way outside.
On the heated bed, Li Mo turned his head to the side. He was puzzled as he watched that small figure quietly opening the door and going outside.
What was she doing? It was pitch-black outside.
Worried, Li Mo nimbly got up and went outside to look.
On the other side of the door, Li Man had stopped by dirt wall. She felt conflicted. She wanted to go to the outhouse, but it was too dark outside. Moreover, even though she couldn't see it, she knew that the courtyard was still muddy. But, if she didn't go to the outhouse, what was her other option? Pee here? Right by the door?
Suddenly, the door opened. Startled, Li Man shrunk back towards the wall. "Who is it?"
Li Mo was worried that she would be scared and quickly answered, "It's me."
As soon as Li Man saw his tall, strong figure, she had guessed that it was Li Mo. Her heart slightly relaxed. "Why did you come out?" It couldn't be that he wanted to go the outhouse too, right? If so, could she ask him, hey, can I tag along since you're going that way?
Li Mo also wanted to ask her the same thing. "It's so late. Why are you standing out here?"
"Ah? I..." Li Man felt embarrassed. But, fortunately, it was very dark outside. Since she could only see his silhouette and wasn't able to see his expression, she wasn't too nervous. And so, she honestly explained, "I want to go to the outhouse."
Li Mo's thoughts came to a screeching halt. Although he couldn't clearly see her face because of the dim lighting, he could imagine how conflicted her expression would look when she said those words. Suppressing his urge to smile, he said in a very casual voice, "Oh, the outhouse. It's very wet out there. I'll go with you."
Li Man bit her lip and politely refused, "Ah, that's okay. I can go by myself."
Li Mo narrowed his eyes and deeply stared at her. "Wait here, I'll go light a lamp. It's too dark out here."
Li Man hesitated for a moment, but seeing that he had already gone inside, she could only say, "Umm, okay then."
Li Mo quickly came back with a small oil lamp. The pale yellow light wasn't able to go far, but it was enough to vaguely show the nearby spots that were too muddy.
Li Man rubbed her somewhat old embroidered shoes against each other.
Li Mo stopped in front of her and half-crouched down. "Get on."
"Ah?" Li Man stared at his wide back in shock.
Sensing that she wasn't moving, Li Mo turned his head and said, "It's not easy to walk over there. Get on, I'll carry you there."
Ah, needing someone to give her a piggyback ride just to go the outhouse... Wasn't this a bit too…
Chapter 125 – Delivering soup (2)
Seeing that she was stunned, Li Mo straightened up and lifted the oil lamp closer to her so that he could clearly see her expression. "It's really dark out, and it's not easy to walk there. If you fall, it won’t be worth it."
Although this was true... "Okay, I'll have to trouble you then." Li Man really needed to pee. When he leaned over again, she got onto his back without thinking. "Walk slowly. I can hold the lamp."
"No need." Li Mo held up the lamp with one hand and supported her legs with his other hand. He was worried that she was going slip off from his body.
Truthfully, Li Man was scared of falling down too. Her arms were desperately wrapped around his neck.
He was wearing straw sandals, and the courtyard was full of mud, so he could only walk on the slightly drier path by the wall. Fortunately, the outhouse wasn't far. It was in the backyard. His strides were long, and they quickly arrived.
Li Mo put her down and hanged the lamp on the outhouse's doorframe. Then, he walked a few steps away and said to her, "You can go inside. I'll wait for you here."
"En." Li Man hurriedly went into the outhouse. She untied her belt and immediately crouched down.
Once she was done, Li Man relaxed. However, thinking about how Li Mo was right outside, she blushed in embarrassment. After fastening her belt, she picked up the small lamp and came out. That man was still honestly standing by the wall. The night wind blew by, and she saw him slightly trembling. It was only now that she could clearly see that he was only wearing a thin shirt and a pair of shorts with his long legs exposed.
Li Man hurriedly went over to him and said, "Let's quickly go back."
"En." Li Mo took the oil lamp from her, then crouched down in front of her.
Li Man had originally wanted to say that she could keep by the wall and slowly walk back by herself. But, if she did that, she would have to explain herself. Moreover, she definitely wouldn't be able to walk as nimbly as him. It wouldn't be worth it to delay their walk back. He was wearing so little clothing. She didn't want him to freeze.
And so, she silently got onto his back.
Very quickly, the two of them returned to the eastern hut. Li Mo put the oil lamp on the big wardrobe. His younger brothers were all sleeping soundly. It was only Li Yan's breathing that sound a bit heavy. He went over and gently checked his temperature by touching his forehead. Feeling that Li Yan was sweating out his sickness, Li Mo sighed in relief.
Li Man had already sat down on her quilt. Seeing Li Mo picking up a piece of cloth to wipe Li Yan's forehead, she asked in worry, "How is he?"
Li Mo quietly answered, "He should be okay by tomorrow."
"En, you should go to sleep soon too," Li Man quietly urged, then she burrowed underneath the quilt. She felt sleepy too.
After Li Mo wiped off the rest of the sweat from his second brother's body, he tucked Li Shu's quilt around him. Little Five had moved away from his original position next to Li Mo's spot and was about to roll off the bed. Li Mo moved him back. After that, he extinguished the lamp and quietly got onto the bed.
---
The rest of the night passed in silence.
The next morning, the sky was clear. The radiant sunshine came through the window and cast motley shadows in the hut.
The first half of last night had been unbearable for Li Man, but she slept very deeply afterward. Even after the neighbor's rooster had crowed three times, she remained unaware.
Li Mo was the first one to get up from the bed. He checked on his second brother. His forehead wasn't hot anymore, and Li Mo's worried heart finally relaxed. His next thought was going to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for everyone.
However, he wasn't good at cooking. After he scooped out some rice, he spent a long time washing it clean. As for the following part, he struggled to figure out how much water to add to the pot. Fortunately, Li Hua came into the kitchen at this time.
"Oldest brother, I'll do it."
Li Mo smiled. "Fourth brother, why don't you go back and get some more sleep?"
"I slept enough." Li Hua took the ladle from his oldest brother and added two more scoops of water to the pot before covering it.
It was clear that his fourth brother was much better at this type of work than him. Li Mo didn't insist and simply said, "The weather is good today. I'll go clean up the other hut."
"En," said Li Hua. Then, he sat down by the stove to start a fire to cook congee.
Li Mo went to Li Man's hut. First, he took out the bamboo poles, leaned them against the eaves, and rehanged Little Five's clothing on the poles. Then, he went back inside to tidy up her bed.
Chapter 126 – Delivering soup (3)
Inside the eastern hut, one after another, everyone else woke up.
As soon as Li Man sat up, she saw the sun shining radiantly outside, and her mood immediately rose up. But, what time was it? Had she woken up late again? She looked towards the bed. Sure enough, Li Mo and Li Hua had already gotten up.
"Wife, are you awake?" Li Shu turned over on the bed. With his hands propping up his chin, he greeted her with a bright smile.
"En." Li Man raised her head to look at him, then she saw that Little Five had woken up too. He rolled over, sat up, and was rubbing his eyes. Li Yan was also slowly opening his eyes.
Last night, she had gone to sleep without taking off her outer clothing. And so, she directly got up from bed. She left the hut once she folded up her quilt.
Her comb was in the western hut. After closing the door to the eastern hut, Li Man headed over to her own hut and saw that Li Mo was leaning over to clean her bed.
Li Man looked at him and called out a greeting, "Oh, you're here." Remembering what happened last night, she felt it was both a bit embarrassing and humorous.
Li Mo turned his head and saw that she was leaning against the wardrobe. His lips curved into a slight smile. "Awake?"
"En, I'll go cook breakfast after brushing my hair." Li Man loosened her hair, cursorily brushed it a few times, then tied it up into a ponytail.
Li Mo stood up straight. In his eyes, her simple, tidy ponytail looked indescribably pretty. "Fourth brother is already cooking."
"Oh, I'll go over there to see." Seeing that he was still staring at her, Li Man hastily put down her comb and left the hut.
Li Mo wasn't bothered by her attitude of fleeing from him. He turned his head back and continued to clean up the bed. Since the weather was good today, it would be the best if the sunlight could dry out the bed by tonight. It was obvious that their wife wasn't comfortable sleeping on the bamboo couch.
---
Li Man went straight to the kitchen. Li Hua was bustling by the stove. He had finished making a pot of congee. The pot was only partially covered up to allow the congee to cool down. He was mixing cornmeal in a bowl to make steamed corn buns.
Li Man went over and asked him, "What are you making?"
"Some steamed corn buns." Li Hua lightly smiled at her. His clear, bright eyes looked liked the morning dew on a sunny day.
(T/N: Below is a picture of steamed corn buns.)
Without being aware, Li Man's gaze lingered on his perfectly smooth and clear face. "Is there something I can help with? I can tend the cooking fire."
Li Hua quickly stopped her. "It's okay."
Li Man awkwardly stood in place. It was true that she was very good at managing the fire. She couldn't always successfully light the fire and hadn't mastered how to keep the fire at the correct temperature once it was started.
"Go wash up. The food will be ready soon," said Li Hua as he placed the corn buns he had finished making into the pot to steam. Once he covered the pot with the lid, he went to start the fire.
Li Man scooped out some room temperature water, then went outside and sat down on a bench underneath the eaves to freshened up. Right after she had finished washing her face and was going to rinse her mouth, she saw a beautiful teenage girl that was wearing wooden clogs. She was carrying a small basket and struggling to walk over here. She looked somewhat familiar.
Other than herself and Xing-niang, their neighbor, Li Man hadn't seen another female coming to their home before.
Curious, Li Man took one step forward and asked, "Miss, who are you looking for?"
The teenage girl paused. She looked at Li Man with her limpid eyes. After blankly staring at Li Man for a moment, she approached her and answered, "I'm looking for older brother Li Yan."
Chapter 127 – Delivering soup (4)
“Li Yan?" Li Man doubtfully repeated in a questioning tone. She finally remembered that she had seen this girl waiting for Li Yan before. She had looked beautiful from afar and looked even more beautiful close up. Her face was as beautiful as a painting, and her skin was a smooth as porcelain.
"Is he home? I heard that he was sick. Is it serious?" Because Li Man had remained silent, Mudan nervously asked a series of questions.
Seeing how anxious she looked, Li Man quickly pointed at the eastern hut. "He's over there. He's already much better."
"Oh, thank you." Mudan thanked her and hastily went to the eastern hut and pushed open the door.
Li Shu had gotten up from bed and was in the middle of putting on his pants. As soon as he saw Mudan, he quickly retreated towards the bed and covered himself with his quilt.
Mudan didn't even look in Li Shu's direction. Instead, she walked over to Li Yan's side. "Older brother Li Yan, are you okay? I heard that you were sick. I... was worried all night." As she said this, tears were practically dripping down from her beautiful eyes.
Hearing these words, Li Yan's long eyebrows furrowed. He impatiently pushed his quilt to the side and sat up.
In contrast, Li Shu couldn't bear to see a beautiful woman crying. He comfortingly said, "Ah, Mudan, don't cry. Look, isn't my second brother okay now?"
Li Yan was leaning against the bed. He opened his eyes and slowly turned to glare at Li Shu. "Don't be so chatty."
"Okay, okay, I won't say anything." Li Shu grinned. He pushed his quilt to the side, quickly finished putting on his pants, picked up Little Five, and said, "Let's go and give our second brother some privacy."
Once he said these words, Mudan blushed. She felt too embarrassed to keep crying and only used her handkerchief to lightly wipe her tears.
It was only now that Li Yan glanced at her. His gaze was neither cold nor warm.
The longer he stayed silent, the more Mudan felt ill at ease. She placed the small basket down on the cupboard, then she untied the layer of cloth that was covering the basket. She took out a bowl of chicken soup and brought it over. "Older brother Li Yan, I woke up before dawn to cook this chicken soup. Doesn't it smell good? Drink some while it's still hot."
Li Yan darkly curved his lips, and his gaze was a bit cold as he looked at her. "Shen Mudan, are there too many chickens in your home?"
“Older brother Li Yan, I..." Mudan bit her lip. She almost started to cry again because of his nasty attitude. "Just drink some."
"Go away." Li Yan waved his hand and knocked the bowl of soup over. In a second, the steaming hot chicken soup spilled onto the ground.
Mudan's eyes widened in shock. Her lips trembled, and she wasn't able to say a single word.
Li Yan got up from bed and walked around her to leave the hut.
Mudan blankly stood there. Her hands remained in the same position as when she was offering the bowl to him.
By the doorway, Li Shu, Little Five, and Li Man were also stunned. As soon as Li Yan went towards the door, the three of them automatically leaned towards a corner of the outside wall and didn't dare to make any noises.
Li Yan coldly swept his gaze over these three people. Without saying a word, he headed towards the backyard.
Li Hua had recently finished cooking breakfast. When he came outside, he saw the three people standing by the corner and looking as if they had done something wrong. "What happened?"
Li Shu quickly pointed towards the eastern hut. Li Hua looked over and saw Mudan crouched down on the ground. She was weeping as she picked up the empty bowl.
Chapter 128 – Delivering soup (5)
"Come on, let's go eat.” Li Hua hastily pushed the three people towards the kitchen, then he went to the western hut and informed his oldest brother of this matter.
Li Mo's expression wasn't good. "Fourth brother, you can go eat. I'll handle this matter."
"En." Li Hua knew that only his oldest brother had the right to interfere in his second brother's problem.
Li Mo rubbed his hands together and went outside too. He came to the eastern hut and saw that Mudan was putting the bowl away. After that, she stayed leaning by the cabinet and kept wiping her tears with her handkerchief. Her crumpled expression looked quite pitiful.
Li Mo did his best to make his voice softer as he said, "Mudan ah."
"Older brother Mo." Mudan didn't turn her head. Instead, she used her handkerchief to vigorously wipe away her tears as if she was afraid of embarrassing herself by crying in front of someone.
Li Mo lightly sighed and continued, "Never mind. Don't come looking for Li Yan in the future."
"Older brother Mo?" Mudan turned her head to look at Li Mo in surprise.
Although Li Mo's tone was gentle, his gaze was still sharp. "You know that my family already has a wife. Moreover, you're already engaged too. If you keep acting like this, it won't be good for either of you."
Tears immediately welled up and fell from Mudan's eyes. "I know that. Older brother Mo, you know that I've liked older brother Li Yan since we were children. Besides, my dad has relented. As long as we can gather up twenty silver taels, he'll agree for me to marry older brother Li Yan."
"The problem isn't about money." Although Li Mo felt it was somewhat cruel to shatter a girl's dream, he had to do it. "Mudan, I've seen how you've felt about my second brother all these years. If my second brother had the slightest amount of feelings for you, as his oldest brother, I would be willing to sacrifice everything to help him."
His words were straightforwardly clear. Li Yan wasn't interested in her at all.
Mudan seemed as if she couldn't accept this. Her body suddenly weakened, and she leaned on the cabinet for support. She lightly shook her head and said, "No, I do have a place in older brother Li's heart. He saved my life. He..."
"Back then, he just happened to pass by and see that you were drowning. Under that type of circumstance, no one would just stand by and do nothing. Besides, he's been good friends with your older brother since we were children. He only sees you as a younger sister," said Li Mo.
Mudan suddenly mustered up her courage and loudly interrupted him, "No, it's not like that. He clearly likes me."
Li Mo tightly pursed his lips together and stared at her with a steely gaze.
Mudan suddenly seemed as if someone had taken away her soul. She didn't have the strength to keep standing. "Older brother Mo..."
"Enough, go home," Li Mo slowly said, "Don't come looking for Li Yan in the future."
Mudan was leaning against the cabinet. She hid her face with her sleeve as she sobbed like a songbird.
Finished speaking, Li Mo turned to leave the hut.
Li Yan was standing at the doorway. “Oldest brother."
Li Mo looked at him. "Go eat breakfast."
"En." Li Yan stopped looking at the crying person in the hut and directly followed his oldest brother to the kitchen.
Mudan was left alone and ignored in the eastern hut. After she had aggrievedly cried for a while by herself, she finished packing up the bowl in the small basket and left with it.
Chapter 129 – Delivering soup (6)
Li Man was sitting in the corner of the kitchen and eating a steamed corn bun when she saw Mudan, who was wearing wooden clogs, leaving the courtyard. She looked very lonely, and her footsteps weren’t stable. There were several times when Li Man was worried that she was going to fall.
Wasn't Li Yan being a bit too heartless towards this gentle, beautiful girl?
Bah, never mind. Other people's feelings were the hardest thing to be accurate about. Sometimes, a person could seem as if he was doing something heartless, but in reality, he was using the most kind-hearted method.
Because of Mudan's matter, the family had eaten breakfast rather gloomily today. No one said a word during the meal.
Once breakfast was finished, Li Man scrubbed the bowls, and Li Hua went to feed the piglets for her. Li Mo, Li Yan, and Li Shu went to finish up getting rid of the rotting straw on the roof and piling it up in a corner. After that, they would repair the roof.
During this time, Li Man collected all the clothes that need to be washed. Because the dirt paths wouldn't be easy to walk, she didn't go to the back mountain's pond to do laundry. Instead, she had Li Hua pump out water from the well for her, then she started washing the clothes at home in a wooden basin.
Once she was done with laundry and not having anything else to do, she went to the backyard with Little Five to watch the brothers busily working on the roof.
On the roof, Li Shu stood up and saw Li Man. He hurriedly warned her, "Wife, go back a bit. Be careful. Don't let the falling straw get into your eyes."
"En." Li Man held Little Five's hand and led him to a corner with her. The walls of their home were made of dirt. She suddenly had an idea. If she planted long vines near the walls and arranged for them to climb up the walls, they would have flowers in the spring, fruits in the summer, and falling yellow leaves in autumn. It would look just like a scene from a fairytale world.
Right, she had bought some vegetable seeds the previous time they went to the market. Because this family didn't have any fields ready to plant vegetables, she hadn't done anything with those seeds. Wouldn't it be nice to plant some Chinese okra and what not in this corner?
Li Man had been happily talking with Little Five when she unexpectedly heard someone viciously cursing nearby.
She turned her face to look and saw that Xing-niang was walking over here while viciously glaring at her. She had one hand on her hip, and the other hand holding a cucumber that she was munching on. Her gaze showed that she had come here to pick a fight.
Little Five quickly grabbed Li Man's hand and said, "Older sister, let's not pay attention to her.
"Oh." She didn't want to talk to a woman like Xing-niang either. She decided to walk away from this corner with Little Five.
Xing-niang looked at them coldly. She spat out a piece of chewed up cucumber. "Bah, you're rotten goods too. Why are you pretending to be innocent?"
Second Shun heard her cursing from inside and came out. "It's so early in the morning. What's wrong with you?"
Xing-niang looked at Second Shun, then she looked at Li Mo and his two brothers on the roof. They were too eye-catching. She abruptly directed her anger at him. Poking his head, she said, "What did you say about me? It's already so late in the day. And you just woke up? This old lady has to chew on this cucumber because you won't cook. Do you want this old lady to starve to death so that you can go out and find a slut?"
"What nonsense are you saying? Don't use such shameful words." Second Shun knew that Li Mo and the others could hear their conversation, so he quickly grabbed Xing-niang to pull her inside.
Xing-niang turned her hand over and harshly slapped Second Shun. She cursed, "You idiot. You only know how to treat this old lady badly. When other people bully your old lady, you'll turn around and apologize to them. You're so useless. This old lady's face has already been thrown into the trash because of you."
Her voice was very loud. Li Mo knew that she was yelling because she wanted him to hear. His expression immediately sunk.