Chapter 13 A Heavy Rain

Hearing that woman’s words, the people around suddenly seemed to notice something, and every pair of eyes turned to Wang Xiaodie. Everyone in the village knew that Old Lady Wang had been blessed with sheer dumb luck these past two days. First, she sold off a worthless granddaughter for 200 yuan, and second, her youngest daughter was set to marry into the city and live on government rations.

Who wouldn’t be thrilled with such fortune? But of course, it stirred everyone else’s jealousy. Human nature is like this: people don’t want others to suffer too much, but they certainly don’t want them to live better than themselves. Now, when they saw the scratches all over Wang Xiaodie’s face, they couldn’t help but agree with that woman—how could a perfectly fine face end up clawed like that? If she really married into the city looking like this, wouldn’t the groom’s family despise her?

Wang Xiaodie was already upset about the scratches on her face. Earlier, she had wanted to cover them somehow, but unlike families in the city, hers didn’t own scarves or handkerchiefs. So she had no choice but to show her face in public, and now it had drawn everyone’s attention.

Hearing their chatter, the pampered-from-birth Wang Xiaodie couldn’t take it. She suddenly burst into tears, turned, and ran away from the ox cart.

“Xiaodie, where are you going? Come back here!” Old Lady Wang shouted anxiously, abandoning the ox cart altogether. She shot the gossiping woman a fierce glare before hurrying after her daughter.

The ox cart driver, Old Man Niu, frowned deeply. He had been waiting to leave as soon as everyone returned, but now that mother and daughter had run off, it would delay the trip home.

“Uncle Niu, it’s getting late. If we don’t leave soon, we’ll be late getting back to the village,” Ling Yu said when he saw the man’s displeasure.

As soon as Ling Yu spoke, a few of the women chimed in.
“Exactly, Uncle Niu. And look at today’s weather—what if it rains on the road? This cart doesn’t have any cover. We should just go. They didn’t ride the ox cart on the way here, so they can figure something out on the way back. Besides, I’ve got to hurry home and cook for my husband.”
“That’s right, Uncle Niu. It looks like it’ll start raining any minute.”

Glancing up at the darkening sky, Old Man Niu realized they were right. With a flick of his whip, the ox cart slowly lurched forward.

Sure enough, the heavens weren’t kind. Halfway home, the sky grew heavier and darker until, suddenly, rain poured down in sheets. It was fierce and unrelenting, drumming painfully against their bodies. And with the autumn wind blowing, the cold bit even deeper.

Ye Wuyou’s health had never been good. Before long, she began to shiver, her teeth chattering uncontrollably. She bit her pale lips, trying not to look so pitiful, but Ling Yu, watching her, felt an ache in his chest. Without hesitation, he pulled her into his arms, shielding her head with his hand to keep the rain off.

Right now, he had no time to worry about propriety between men and women—especially since Ye Wuyou was, in name at least, his wife.

Though Ye Wuyou felt he shouldn’t be doing this, she was far too cold to protest. Pressed against him, she could finally feel warmth seeping through, easing her trembling.

There were several other young women on the cart. Seeing how well Ling Yu treated Ye Wuyou, they couldn’t help but feel envious. But envy was all they could do; they had no grounds to interfere.

After nearly half an hour of this, they finally reached the village. The moment the cart stopped at the entrance, everyone jumped down without needing Old Man Niu’s call, hurrying toward their homes to get out of the rain.

Ling Yu got off first, slung his basket onto his back, and then helped Ye Wuyou down. His home was near the back of the village, up against the hillside. To reach it, they had to take a muddy path. The rain had made it slippery, and with Ye Wuyou’s injured hand, she nearly slipped more than once. Fortunately, Ling Yu was quick to catch her.

Seeing her struggle, he simply supported her arm and guided her carefully forward.

“Brother, you’re finally back.” His younger brother, Ling Zixiao, had already opened the courtyard gate, waiting for them.

Ling Yu didn’t reply, just closed the gate behind them and headed straight into the main hall with his basket. He was soaked through, and the heavy rain had surely dampened the goods inside. He quickly pulled out the wet cotton he’d bought, planning to dry it once the weather cleared. He also checked the padded clothes—wet as well. Finally, he saw the brown sugar at the bottom. Thanks to the oil-paper wrapping, it hadn’t gotten too wet, and he let out a sigh of relief. At least that hadn’t been ruined.

After checking everything, he turned to Ye Wuyou. “Go back to your room first. I’ll bring you some clothes in a bit. The new clothes I bought today are wet too.”

Ye Wuyou didn’t hesitate, heading toward her room. Watching her leave, Ling Zixiao said to his brother, “When you bring the clothes over, take a bucket of water too. I guessed you’d get caught in the rain, so I boiled some hot water.”

“Good. Thanks for thinking ahead,” Ling Yu said warmly, pleased by his brother’s thoughtfulness.

Then he grabbed a bucket, filled it with hot water in the kitchen, tested the temperature with his hand to make sure it was right, and carried it along with a large basin to Ye Wuyou’s room.