Chapter 3: Might as Well Let You Die from Laziness

Wang San glanced up, glanced down, glanced left, glanced right — but simply wouldn’t look at Wang Man.

The atmosphere grew awkward, with no one saying a word.

Aunt Ma Liu, seeing how upset Wang Man was, couldn’t help but tear up, feeling like crying.

She thought that Wang Man had truly suffered since marrying into their family.

Back then, she had advised Wang San to give up on the idea.

“If you can’t even support yourself, why get married? Better to stay single than to bring misfortune to someone else.”

But he just wouldn’t listen.

They used to have one acre of land, and although the grain was scarce, at least there was something to eat.

But now, even that one acre of land had been sold, and everyone was just waiting to live on the wind.

A fresh wave of pain hit, and Wang Man suddenly remembered she was still injured.

“Wang San, look at my forehead—it’s all wounded. Why haven’t you found me a physician? Are you hoping I’ll just die?”

She was angry; this man really had no sense at all.

Wang San looked a bit guilty:

“There’s no silver at home, so we can’t afford to hire a physician.”

There was indeed a physician in the village, but he was notoriously arrogant and proud.

He wouldn’t allow anyone to delay paying for his medical fees.

If you had money, you could hire him; if not, you had to find someone more skilled elsewhere.

There was no way to get treatment on credit.

Aunt Ma Liu stepped closer to Wang Man and looked carefully:

“The bleeding has stopped for now.

Wang San, go quickly and find some herbs to apply to Manman’s wound. That way, she’ll heal faster.”

Wang San rolled his eyes.
“I don’t know anything about herbs—what do you expect me to look for?
Besides, it’s just a small wound. It’ll heal in a couple of days. No need to put on medicine.”

He had no intention of going. The ground outside was all mud and slush, and it was especially hard to walk.

Earlier, when he went to fetch water, he slipped and fell.

Luckily, he landed on the grass—otherwise, his clothes would’ve been a mess.

On this point, Wang Man actually agreed with him.
She had relatively tough skin, and her wounds usually healed pretty quickly.

She had already felt around earlier—the spot where she was hit had a small cut, nothing serious, though the swelling was quite pronounced.

For someone like her, it would indeed heal with just a couple of days of rest.

The real issue was the concussion—that would likely take longer to recover from.

Aunt Ma Liu found a piece of cloth and scooped up a bit of water, intending to clean Wang Man up.

There was a large smear of blood on her face, and it looked downright frightening.

As she cleaned Wang Man’s face, Aunt Ma Liu began lecturing Wang San:
“Ah San, now that you have a wife, you can’t keep living like you used to, all careless and unreliable.
From now on, stay home and live your life properly with your wife.”

Wang San wore a sullen expression, his tone full of impatience:
“Stay home and do what?
There’s nothing to do around here. What, am I supposed to sit by the door every day like you and stare at the sun?”

Aunt Ma Liu didn’t take offense:
“There’s no land now, so go clear some!
Even if you just grow some vegetables, it’s still something.”

“I’m not going to clear land,” Wang San snapped. “Ma, just stop worrying about it.”

What Wang San was thinking was—rather than clearing land and farming, he might as well go try his luck with a bit of petty thieving.
If fortune favored him, he wouldn’t have to go hungry.

Wang Man had already slowly closed her eyes. She was too exhausted.

After losing so much blood, her body felt weak and completely drained of energy.

The hunger wasn’t as noticeable anymore.

As for the conversation between Wang San and his mother, she hadn’t heard a word of it.

By the time Wang Man woke up again, daylight was streaming in.

She instinctively tried to stretch, but her hand brushed against something soft.

Just as she was wondering what it was, the pain and vertigo in her head yanked her back to reality.

Thinking of how Wang San had been scratching all over yesterday, Wang Man kicked him off the bed without a second thought.

“Ah—ow!”

Wang San had been in the middle of a pleasant dream when he was suddenly booted to the floor.
The dream shattered instantly, and he was furious.

“Wang Man, what are you doing?
I was sleeping just fine and didn’t even bother you—what are you going crazy for this time?”

“Don’t think just because you’re a woman I won’t hit you. I—I just don’t hit women, that’s all!”

“Oh? You don’t hit women? How noble of you,” Wang Man sneered.
“Do you even remember what I told you yesterday?”

After a night’s sleep, Wang Man felt a bit better mentally, though her head was still spinning and her stomach was painfully empty.

Wang San looked confused.
“Say what?”
She had said quite a lot yesterday—how was he supposed to know which part she was talking about?

Seeing he genuinely couldn’t recall, Wang Man reminded him coldly:
“I told you yesterday—you have lice. You’re not allowed on the bed.”

Wang San wasn’t having it.
“What do you mean I can’t sleep on the bed? Then where am I supposed to sleep?”

Wang Man pointed at the floor.
“There. Right there.”

“What? You seriously want me to sleep on the floor?”

Wang San felt a surge of rage. This was his house, his bed—why shouldn’t he be allowed to sleep on it?
He didn’t just think it—he said it outright.

Wang Man let out a cold laugh.
“So the floor isn’t fit for a person to sleep on? Then why did you make me sleep on it for so long yesterday?”

 “I…”
Wang San was at a loss for words, not knowing how to respond.

“I’m starving. Go find me something to eat—now,” Wang Man demanded.
Her stomach was cramping from hunger.
If she didn’t get some food soon, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to hold on.

Wang San looked troubled.
“I’m hungry too… but there’s nowhere I can get food.”

Hearing movement from inside the room, Aunt Ma Liu came in, pushing the door open.
In her left hand was a bowl, and in her right—still that same moldy vegetable dumpling from yesterday.

The veins on Wang Man’s forehead throbbed, each pulse tugging at her wound.
“Why are you still holding onto that moldy vegetable dumpling?
It’s really not edible anymore.
If someone gets sick from eating it, we’ll have to call a physician again.
Do you even have money for that?”

Aunt Ma Liu looked flustered—this dumpling had taken effort to save. She didn’t want to throw it away.

Seeing Wang Man insist it couldn’t be eaten, Wang San stepped forward, intending to snatch it and toss it out.
But Aunt Ma Liu thought he was just hungry and wanted to grab it for himself.

She quickly dodged out of the way, shouting as she did:

“Ah San, don’t grab it!
This is the only food we have at home. If you eat it, there’ll be nothing left for Manya!”

Wang Man: …
Well, thanks for that.

Wang San said,
“My wife already said it’s no longer edible. If we eat it, we might get sick. You’d better just throw it away!”

Aunt Ma Liu looked helpless.

“But… but this is the only food we’ve got left!
What are we supposed to do—just sit here and starve to death?”

With that, she began wiping away her tears.

Wang Man sighed deeply.

“Is there really no food left in the house?
it doesn’t matter what, anything that can be eaten will do.
Sweet potatoes? Wild vegetables?”

Wang San shook his head firmly, answering without hesitation:
“No.”

“Don’t you know how to go and find some?
What are your hands and feet for?
There are wild greens all over the mountain—just dig some up, and it’ll be enough to eat. Why insist on starving like this?
Aren’t you hungry? Isn’t your mother hungry?
Isn’t your wife hungry?
You lazybones—why don’t you just go be lazy to death?”

Wang Man shouted those words out loud.

At this moment, she was in terrible pain—the wound throbbed, her head spun, and her stomach ached with hunger.

She thought, maybe it would just be better to die; what was the point of living a life like this?

Wang San still stood there without moving, as if his stomach wasn’t hungry either.

Wang Man weakly collapsed back onto the bed.

It had taken all her strength to say those words just now.

Now, she felt completely drained.

How could she not be exhausted?

She hadn’t eaten anything for two days, after all.

On top of that, she was injured and had lost so much blood—sigh…