Translator: Flying Lines

  Baozhu and Baofeng agreed also. Bao Zhu said in a wronged tone, “I didn’t want to live with them a long time ago. We have to chop down firewood in the mountain everyday. Nobody praises us for doing much work, though we get scolded every time we chop a little less firewood. We never see Baocheng and Baoshui getting scolded. Why don’t they need to work but we do?”


  Baofeng was still little so he would do everything his ma told him to.

  Li Hongmei felt both touched and self-reproached after she heard what her children said. “Alas, it’s all ma’s fault. I’m so useless that you have to put up with all these sufferings. It’s not that I don’t want to live apart but I’m worried about you all being starved.”


  Baozhu comforted Li Hongmei, saying, “Ma, don’t be like this. You’ve been suffering a lot too!”


  Baofeng also said, “Yes, ma is the best. Last year you took us to steal pork. You then got beaten around by the elder and third aunts but you didn’t turn us in.”


  Li Hongmei. “.……”


  The whole family comforted each other for quite a while and Li Hongmei seemed to find hope. She suddenly turned to Baoshan and Ye Xiaoxian. “I’ve heard from the older generation before that within a family, nothing is more valuable than a married couple who has a united mind. You two are in a united mind so I reckon our lives in future won’t get worse.”


  Ye Xiaoxian. “.……”


  Xiao Baoshan. “.……”
……

  Nightfall.

  Ye Xiaoxian went to her room to rest after simply washing up. Sitting on this ancient wooden bed, she began to feel relaxed.

  When she was a chef back at the hotel with very fierce competition, in order to guarantee her position, she had to study recipes day and night and take part in various contests so she never slept well.

  Now that she was finally far away from that kind of life, coming to an ancient village, although it was a poor life, she didn’t have to risk her life in order to make a living. The priority right now was to improve the whole household’s life, and as for the living methods……she felt that she had to go around and have a look nearby.

  As she was thinking, she heard someone knocking on the door.

  She came to open the broken wooden door and found a large and tall figure standing outside. The night’s moon was full and its shine was cast on his body, glittering brightly against his chiseled features, making Ye Xiaoxian’s heart throb.

  ‘So handsome!’


  In these times and in this kind of remote village, how rare to find a man with such looks.

  “Come in.” As usual, she had a faint smile upon her lips.

  “I’m coming to fetch something,” said Baoshan.

  “Fetching something? You’re not sleeping here?” asked Ye Xiaoxian, smiling, with a somewhat teasing tone.

  Xiao Baoshan turned around and began to stare at Ye Xiaoxian motionlessly. His staring made Ye Xiaoxian begin to feel rather awkward.

  ‘He must feel that I am so loose. How could an ancient woman behave like this? If a husband wants to sleep with you, you will sleep with him, but if he doesn’t, you can’t complain.’


  Xiao Baoshan didn’t add anything, just put away the clothes on the bamboo stick and walked in front of Ye Xiaoxian. “I……I am going to sleep in Bao Feng’s room”


  “Okay!” replied by Ye Xiaoxian swiftly.

  Since he didn’t want to sleep with her, it was no good for her forcing him to stay.

  Xiao Baoshan was about to walk away when Ye Xiaoxian suddenly called him back, “Wait a second!”


  He turned around and waited for her to speak.

  “Did you have someone that you liked before?” she asked calmly.

  He didn’t expect her to ask this and he replied, “No, I didn’t.”


  “Then why are you unwilling to marry me?”


  “You are sister-in……” The words were on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t speak it aloud.

  One night before, he still called her ‘sister-in-law’ and he suddenly had to change how he addressed her. He wasn’t quite used to it.

  “Fine, off you go,” said Ye Xiaoxian plainly. Then she took out a half-braided shoe sole, pretending to be busy in making shoes.

  Such stereotypes from ancient peasant men were not easy to change unless he was really into her, so into her that he could abandon all stereotypes for her.

  ‘Haste makes waste’, thought Ye Xiaoxian.

  When Xiao Baoshan got out of the door, without rhyme or reason, he couldn’t help turning around to have another look at her. She was lowering her head and her face looked dainty with a straight-edged nose. She possessed somehow a different charm. He dared not take another look, so hurriedly went out and closed the door for her.

  Ye Xiaoxian didn’t know how to braid a shoe sole at all. Although she bore the original body’s memory, she couldn’t imitate such manual work. Then she simply extinguished the lamp and went to bed.