A Good Country Wife-Chapter 16 - Bitter Jealousy_1
Chapter 16: Chapter 16 Bitter Jealousy_1
Chapter 16: Chapter 16 Bitter Jealousy_1
Seeing that Li Guihua didn’t take any advantage at Lin Yue’s place, Widow Zhang felt somewhat discontented. She reached out to lift the cloth covering the basket, intending to show everyone what a family-wrecking thing this woman was. Lin Yue had just married Zhao Erhu, and she was already urging her man to recklessly spend money. However, before her hand could touch it, Lin Yue skillfully blocked her.
“You’ve misunderstood, Sister Zhang,” said Lin Yue. “Everyone knows about our family’s situation. Not to mention the silver coins we spent a few days ago when I was ill, there are four youngsters at home who need food and clothes. We’re barely making ends meet as it is, let alone having spare change to buy meat. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have bought that moldy, low-quality rice just to save a few coins.”
“Then what’s inside, if it isn’t meat? I clearly saw you buying something at the butcher’s stall. Don’t try to fool us. If you want to prove your point, just lift the cloth and let everyone see. Otherwise, don’t expect us to believe you.” Widow Zhang, quite the character herself, was unapologetically making such rude demands. It wasn’t only Lin Yue who found this improper, but even the others sitting in the cart felt it was inappropriate. Nonetheless, out of a desire to watch the drama unfold and a fear of causing trouble, no one spoke up for Lin Yue.
Even the most patient person couldn’t tolerate this much, let alone Lin Yue who was not known for her good nature. With a cold gaze at Widow Zhang, a hint of a mocking smile appeared on Lin Yue’s face, as if looking at a lunatic. “Who do you think you are? Why should I have to prove what my family buys to you? Did we steal or rob from your home? What does it matter to you whether you believe it or not? Or do you think that just because I’m young, I’m easy to bully?”
“Bully you? You’re pushing your husband, Erhu, to buy you cloth and meat right after marrying him. How unlucky he is to have married you. You, looking so frail and skinny, thin as a washboard, how can you take good care of Erhu? If you have any sense, you’d better pack up and leave early, not like a squatting beggar, hoarding Erhu for yourself,” Widow Zhang couldn’t hold back and finally spilled her thoughts.
If Lin Yue couldn’t read between the lines now, she’d be a fool. Widow Zhang calling ‘Erhu’ this and ‘Erhu’ that so affectionately, every word obviously targeted at her—the relationship between her and Zhao Erhu must be complicated. No wonder Zhao Erhu looked a bit uneasy when he mentioned Widow Zhang before. It really did have a reason; after all, Zhao Erhu was a tall and handsome man, no wonder Widow Zhang had set her sights on him.
Zhao Erhu knew that Widow Zhang had her eyes on him. Before he married Lin Yue, Widow Zhang had once stopped him on the road to confess her feelings, only to be rejected by him. Even without a wife, Zhao Erhu would never fancy such a flirtatious woman. He was well aware of the dirty things Widow Zhang did behind the scenes, and she was already a widow with children at that—someone he would never want to involve himself with. Now, hearing Widow Zhang speak such shameless words to Lin Yue, Zhao Erhu’s face turned dark, fearful that she might say something more indecent that could lead Lin Yue to misunderstand him.
“Widow Zhang, watch your language. It’s not your place to judge my wife. Don’t think I won’t hit a woman. If you provoke me, I will not hesitate to strike. If I hear another disrespectful word about my wife from you again, don’t blame me for being rude!” Zhao Erhu, holding Lin Yue in his arms, fiercely warned Widow Zhang. Although Lin Yue was initially planning to coax more words out of Widow Zhang, Zhao Erhu had already taken up for her, so she refrained from saying anything more.
Widow Zhang was not new to knowing Zhao Erhu, aware of his stubborn donkey-like character. Even if her heart was filled with reluctance and jealousy, she had no other choice but to suppress those feelings and bow her head without speaking again, while her hatred for Lin Yue grew. That little vixen certainly had a way about her, bewitching Erhu so quickly after marrying into the family, making him so protective of her. It was infuriating! This man was the one she had set her sights on, handsome and capable; she was absolutely not going to give up. One day, Zhao Erhu would become her, Liu Cuicui’s, man.
After Widow Zhang’s incident, other gossipy women, also cowards at heart, dared not casually strike up conversations with Lin Yue out of fear of Zhao Erhu’s stern, cold face. Given that Erhu already had a reputation for being tough on his wife, and the way he ferociously cursed at people with a terrifying frown, it was better not to provoke him. With no one speaking, the carriage fell into a sudden silence, and Lin Yue was happy with the peace. Honestly, dealing with these women with ulterior motives was truly exhausting.
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The ox cart rattled all the way back to the Zhao Family Village, where everyone got off at the village entrance and went their separate ways. Thanks to Zhao Erhu having more belongings, Old Man Chen took them right to their doorstep, which was quite convenient. After unloading the cart, Zhao Erhu invited Old Man Chen inside to sit and have a cup of tea. Chen was in a rush to get home and declined. Erhu didn’t press him further and, aside from the six coins for the ride, he gave him an extra two coins, which Chen gladly accepted.
“Daddy, Stepmom, you’re back!” It was getting late and the adults still hadn’t returned, so the children had been waiting at the front door early on. Seeing their parents returning in the ox cart from afar, they ran up excitedly. Once Zhao Erhu had unloaded the belongings from the cart, Dalang and Erlang took it upon themselves to carry whatever they could into the house, while Sanlang happily ran over to chat with Lin Yue, followed by SiLang, the little tail.
“Good boys, Stepmom has brought you some treats,” Lin Yue said with a smile, patting Sanlang and SiLang’s heads. She took out the sugared hawthorns she had bought at the market earlier, handing one stick to each of the four brothers, who all enjoyed their treats with relish. Zhao Erhu watched the mother and sons with a comforting feeling, then turned to put away the groceries they had bought that day.
Since her argument with Widow Zhang on the ox cart, Lin Yue hadn’t spoken to Zhao Erhu again. Regardless of what Erhu was doing, she only noticed it was getting late, and she was worried the pig offal might develop an off taste if left too long. Wanting to clean it before dark, she didn’t even tell Erhu and took Sanlang by the hand, heading to the riverbank to wash the pig offal.
When Zhao Erhu finished storing the groceries and came out, he couldn’t find Lin Yue anywhere. After searching inside and outside, he couldn’t locate her until he asked Dalang, who was busy lighting the fire for boiling water, and found out Lin Yue had gone to the riverbank to wash the pig offal. Erhu immediately set off towards the riverbank.
The wives in the village usually did the laundry and washed vegetables in this river, mostly in the morning or late morning. By evening, there were barely any people by the river. Lin Yue found a shallow spot and placed the basket on a large rock, rolling up her sleeves to thoroughly wash each item of pig offal. Sanlang and SiLang stood hand in hand watching, occasionally licking their rock candy hawthorns. Whenever someone came to the river to fetch water, they turned away at the scent of the pig offal, walking far upstream instead.
