Living like a widow? My rough neighbor is coaxing me to have a baby every night.

Chapter 61 Marrying a Man: A Matter of Clothing and Food

The Li family of three was walking on the dirt road back to their village. The sun had completely sunk into the western hills, leaving only a dark red sunset that looked like dried blood on the horizon.

When we arrived at the state-run restaurant at the other end of the commune, a strong and domineering aroma of braised pork wafted out through the crack in the door.

Li Dabao stood at the restaurant entrance, his feet seemingly rooted to the spot.

Those beady green eyes were fixed on the braised pork being eaten by the other customers at the restaurant, and saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth and hung down to his chin.

"Mom...I'm hungry."

Li Dabao tugged at Niu Guihua's sleeve, "That meat smells so good, shall we go in and have a meal? Anyway, that kid Zhao Gang gave us so much money earlier."

"Eat, eat, eat! All you ever think about is eating! Are you some kind of reincarnated starving ghost?"

Upon hearing this, Niu Guihua's triangular eyes widened instantly, and she reached out and slapped Li Dabao hard on the back of his thick head.

"That's for you to eat? That's my lifeline!"

Niu Guihua lowered her voice, warily clutching the patched pocket of her underwear, "How much money did this braised pork meal cost? How many kilograms of cornmeal could that buy? That's your savings to marry a young, unmarried woman! After eating meat, don't you want to sleep with your wife anymore?"

When the topic of getting married came up, Li Dabao's craving subsided a little, but his eyes were still glued to the plate of meat, and he couldn't tear it off, his throat making gurgling noises.

"Mom, I'm so hungry... I've been through so much today, and I only ate a few biscuits at the Zhao family's house. They're all digested now." Li Dabao whimpered, feeling wronged.

Looking at her son's useless appearance, Niu Guihua still felt sorry for her only son.

She sighed, her fleshy face slumped, and she walked over to the roadside vendor pushing a cart, grumbling as she went.

"How much is a large meat bun?"

"Two cents, no ticket required." The vendor lifted the cloth covering the steamer, and a burst of aroma mixed with white flour, meat, and scallions instantly filled the air.

"Two cents? Why don't you just rob someone!"

Niu Guihua glared at the vendor, spitting all over his face, "Fifteen cents! Sell or not? If not, I'm leaving!"

The vendor was startled by the old woman's fierce look, and seeing that it was getting dark and time to pack up, he didn't want to waste any more time with her and waved his hand, "Take it away! What a terrible stroke of bad luck!"

Niu Guihua smugly untied a dirty handkerchief from her waistband, stingily pulled out some coins and threw them over, then grabbed the hot, scalding meat bun and stuffed it into Li Dabao's hand.

"Eat! It'll burn you! Hurry up and finish eating so we can get going! There are no more buses now, so we need to hitch a ride on an oxcart at the crossroads to get back. That way we can save two cents on the fare."

Li Dabao held the hot meat bun and swallowed it in a few bites, choking so badly that his eyes rolled back. In the end, Niu Guihua had to pound his back twice to help him catch his breath.

The road back to Xiahe Village from the county town is difficult to travel; it's all bumpy dirt roads.

To save those two cents, Niu Guihua dragged Li Xianglian and Li Dabao to squat at the intersection for half an hour before they managed to hitch a ride on an old oxcart carrying manure from the neighboring village.

Although the vehicle was lined with straw, the smell of a livestock shed was so strong it gave me a headache.

The journey was bumpy until the moon climbed to the treetops and a few barks of dogs could be heard in the distance before the dilapidated gate of the Li family's courtyard finally came into view.

"We're here! This old body is about to fall apart!" Niu Guihua cursed as she jumped out of the car, grabbed Li Dabao, and rushed into the yard.

A dim kerosene lamp was lit in the room.

Li Laogen was sitting at the crippled square table, holding Hu'er in his arms and clumsily rocking him.

The child was probably hungry and was wailing loudly. His cries echoed in the empty house, making everyone feel irritated.

"Oh my God, what's wrong? Why is she crying like that?"

As soon as Niu Guihua entered the door, she rushed over and snatched the child into her arms, "Oh, oh, oh, Tiger, don't cry, Grandma's back, Grandma brought some yummy food!"

When Li Laogen saw his wife return, a bit of life finally came to his worried face. He tapped his pipe on the table leg, and his cloudy old eyes darted between Niu Guihua and Li Xianglian, who came in after him.

"How did it go? Did you manage to get it done?" Li Laogen asked.

Niu Guihua didn't reply immediately.

She calmed Hu'er down and put him on the kang (a heated brick bed). Then she turned around, walked to the water vat, picked up the gourd ladle covered in limescale, scooped up a full ladle of cold water, and gulped it down in one go.

After spending most of the day traveling and outwitting the Zhao family, her throat was parched.

"Hmph, with me in charge, is there anything I can't accomplish?"

Niu Guihua wiped the water from her mouth, slapped her hand into her pocket with a crisp sound, and exclaimed, "We're divorced! The marriage certificate is right here! And the money! That Zhao Gang thinks he can just get rid of us so easily? Dream on! This time he'll be skinned alive!"

Upon hearing this, Li Laogen's eyes lit up, and he straightened his back a bit: "You really gave me five hundred?"

"He gave me three hundred in cash, plus a Shanghai brand watch! That watch is a good one; I could resell it for over a hundred!"

Niu Guihua proudly raised her chin, her wrinkled face beaming with joy, "Plus the dowry from Butcher Zhang tomorrow, our Li family is really going to strike it rich this time!"

Upon hearing the name "Butcher Zhang," Li Xianglian, who was standing in the shadows by the door, trembled slightly.

A chill ran from the soles of my feet straight up to the top of my head.

Li Laogen rubbed his calloused hands, chuckled foolishly, then, as if remembering something, looked at Li Xianglian with a somewhat evasive gaze: "Then... what about that girl? Are we really going to send her over?"

"Nonsense! We've already taken the deposit, how could we back out?"

Niu Guihua's face changed, and she turned to glare fiercely at Li Xianglian. "You little brat, you've done a good job today. But let me tell you this first: don't let me down this last time. Once the money's in my pocket, it's my flesh and blood, and nobody's going to make me spit it out!"

She stood up, walked a few steps to Li Xianglian, and reached out to grab her arm.

"Go! Go back to your woodshed! Stay put tonight and get some rest so you can be your butcher's wife tomorrow!"

Li Xianglian didn't struggle and let her drag her towards the backyard.

She knew that struggling at this moment would only invite a beating, and that saving her strength was the only way to survive.

The backyard was even darker, with only the pale moon overhead providing light.

The dilapidated wooden door of the woodshed creaked open, and a musty smell wafted out.

Niu Guihua pushed the person inside without turning on the lights, and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

Niu Guihua, peeking through the crack in the door, sneered sarcastically, "Don't blame me for being heartless. This is your fate! A woman's life is about marrying a man for food and clothing. That butcher Zhang may be a bit rough, but at least he has meat to eat at home, which is better than you living a widowed life with that Zhao Gang! Tonight, make sure you're cleaned up properly, don't go there looking like a poor, shabby person, or he'll look down on you!"

The footsteps gradually faded away until the door to the main room was slammed shut, plunging the entire backyard into a deathly silence once more.

The woodshed still smelled the same.

Moldy straw, damp soil, and the soft rustling of mice scurrying around in the corner.

Li Xianglian leaned against the cold wall and slowly slid down to sit on the ground.

She pulled the small, purplish-red notebook out of her pocket.

Using the sliver of moonlight that shone through the broken window, she opened the notebook.

The words "Divorce Certificate" were prominently printed on it, along with a bright red official seal.

She gently stroked the lines on it with the pad of her thumb, over and over again.

This was the only thing she had gained in this cannibalistic family, at the cost of her dignity and half her life.

Finally... I don't have to be that man's wife anymore.

Tears silently slid down her cheeks, dripping onto the paper and spreading into a small wet patch.

She quickly wiped it with her sleeve, afraid of smudging the red stamp.

Tomorrow... tomorrow, as long as we get past that hurdle...

Just then.

From that familiar broken window on the back wall of the woodshed, a very faint sound came again.

It doesn't look like it was blown by the wind.

"rustle……"