The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 709: Do You Have Feelings for Me Too?_1
As Li Qing really appeared set to call the police, Xu Sanwang forcibly stopped his spouse, dragging her out of the courtyard.
However, the old fellow’s gaze was somewhat off as he left, seemingly convinced that Li Qing and Tang Rou were having an affair.
"You coming to my house at this time, indeed isn’t a good time," said Tang Rou with a disdainful glance at Li Qing, tossing the carving knife aside and beginning to tidy up the courtyard strewn with belongings.
"It doesn’t matter, my reputation in the village has never been good; one more person doesn’t make a difference," said Li Qing with a faint chuckle, helping Tang Rou clean up.
Xu Sanwang and his wife had been rather ruthless; all the windows in the house were smashed, and even a door had been unhinged.
"What are you here for?" Tang Rou asked coldly.
"Probably the same thing as your father-in-law and mother-in-law," Li Qing responded openly.
Tang Rou straightened up and shot a glance at Li Qing, "I probably haven’t interfered with your affairs, have I?"
"Indeed not, but I am the kind of person who likes to meddle in others’ business. Since I’ve heard about this matter, I want to understand what’s really going on," said Li Qing. "However, looking at this mess, I can probably guess some of it. Your husband doesn’t take care of the house?"
"When has he ever?" Tang Rou sneered with self-derision, "I’ve spent two thousand yuan of his money in half a year and got scolded for being wasteful. He says all I do is stay at home without showing filial piety to my parents, not even cooking meals, just squandering money. He claims marrying me is less worthwhile than keeping a pig."
Li Qing was stunned by these words, feeling scorched on the outside and tender inside, and suddenly felt awful.
Two thousand yuan over half a year, that’s only three or four hundred a month.
Just utilities and phone bills could nearly account for that, not to mention buying clothes and shoes.
This family was simply beyond unreasonable.
"Why don’t you consider finding a job outside? Even doing some random work in town would probably be better than this," Li Qing suggested.
Tang Rou found a suitcase and stuffed all her clothes inside, "I’m preparing to leave now."
"But before, having gotten married, I still hoped for a turnaround. Xu Hai said his dad has heart disease and his mom has a mental illness; they’re afraid of dying at home without anyone knowing, so he wanted me to stay and check on them from time to time."
"But it’s ironically funny when you think about it. Without giving any money to his son, my mother-in-law asks me for money every now and then, saying my son must have given you money, give me two hundred, I want to go to town and buy a chicken to eat. When I say I’ve got no money, she turns around and scolds me for being unfilial and shameless."
"Having endured to this point, I figure I’ve done all I could. I can explain it to my parents, and I’ve paid my dues for the thirty thousand they spent on our wedding."
People often say that one should not take sides based solely on one person’s account, but today, Li Qing was willing to believe Tang Rou’s side of the story.
Perhaps Tang Rou had always wanted to make a responsible exit, doing right by both her parents’ and her in-laws’ families before leaving.
To Li Qing, her idea was simply one word—foolishness.
"If you can still bear to stay in the village, come help out at the convenience store. I can pay you two thousand a month for now," Li Qing offered after some thought.
"No need, I can stay, but if I were to go, your convenience store wouldn’t be able to continue operating," Tang Rou replied.
Li Qing understood she was referring to Xu Sanwang and his wife.
If Tang Rou continued to stay in the village, those two old folks would definitely not let things go easily, they’d surely come stirring up trouble every few days.
This matter really couldn’t be ignored.
"Since you plan to leave, I guess your marriage should also come to an end, right?" Li Qing asked.
Tang Rou placed the packed suitcase to one side, staring blankly at a pile of photo albums on the floor. Hearing Li Qing’s words, she looked up and said, "With things like this, do you think I still have a reason to persist? I’ve already notified Xu Hai of the divorce. If he doesn’t agree, I’ll sue him."
"Alright, you deal with that first, then go help out at the convenience store. I’m not going to paint a rosy picture for you. Even if you can’t continue working at the convenience store, I have other places where I can find you a job," Li Qing said earnestly.
Actually, with Tang Rou preparing to leave, his visit today essentially served no purpose, whether spoken or unspoken.
But upon hearing about this woman’s situation, he thought to give her a bit of help if he could.
"You’re helping me because I invited those drivers over to sleep, aren’t you?" Tang Rou suddenly asked.
Li Qing nodded his head.
Tang Rou gave a self-deprecating smile, "Actually, I didn’t sleep with them. That rumor was spread by my mother-in-law. Everyone else managed to tidy up their homes to provide lodging for the drivers and earn some extra money. Jealous of them, I thought about living in a makeshift shack outside and thoroughly clean out the house to turn it into a lodging."
"In the end, after all that, I earned less than a thousand yuan. Those two old folks started thinking I was behaving inappropriately. Nobody else had even said a word when she started yelling about it everywhere, taking it upon herself to say I slept with those drivers and that I was shameless."
What kind of person qualifies as a villain? In Li Qing’s opinion, Xu Sanwang’s wife was one.
Their thinking seemed to be stuck a hundred years in the past.
Once a daughter-in-law was brought into the family, those two old folks thought they could completely retire.
They expected the daughter-in-law to handle all household matters, big and small, treating her like a beast of burden.
Actually, seeing Tang Rou’s character, Li Qing felt she might have been able to endure such a life, if not for the fear of Xu Sanwang’s wife’s sickness.
"Before they said anything, I really had never thought of earning money with my body. I was quite disgusted by that idea. But now that my reputation has gone down the drain, it would seem like I’m pretending to be a chaste and virtuous woman if I didn’t follow through, almost as if I were mad," Tang Rou said with a self-mocking laugh, "Qingzi, you don’t need to trouble yourself with me. In a couple of days, I’ll go to the town and rent a storefront. I might as well sell myself openly."
Li Qing quickly advised, "You don’t have to go to such extremes. Although that kind of business makes money quickly, it’s also quite exhausting. You’d spend your days either stripping or dressing up, dealing with all sorts of men. The money you’d earn might not even be as much as the money you’d make more easily at my place. Just listen to me."
"Why do you want to help me?" Tang Rou asked seriously, "I’m preparing to leave. Whether I really did it or not, it doesn’t really matter anymore. By helping me, you’re just bringing trouble upon yourself."
"Or is it because you really want to sleep with me? Your girlfriend is so beautiful, you shouldn’t have your eye on me," she added.
This made Li Qing feel rather embarrassed, "I don’t have that intention. I just think that I have some ability to help, so I should help where I can. I’ve also come out of tough times."
Tang Rou suddenly smiled faintly, "I understand what you mean. I was too direct. Come inside first. I’ll go take a shower."
"What are you doing? I really don’t have that intention," Li Qing hurriedly said.
"It’s fine, I understand," Tang Rou replied.
