Chapter 4 - Baoshan Returns (1/2)
Ye Xiaoxian could finally get out of her bed in the afternoon. Once she came out, Mrs. Xiao née w.a.n.g started to stare at her legs. All the peasant women in the village said that once a woman had a man she walked differently. Naturally, those women were so pleased to study these things in their spare time.
The previous Ye Xiaoxian was just a teen girl of fifteen or sixteen. Since she was ravished violently by such a big hunk as Xiao Baoshan while also drugged, both Mrs. Xiao née w.a.n.g and Mrs. Xiao née Chen thought that she must lie on the bed for three days.
Ye Xiaoxian didn’t give them a chance to stare but walked swiftly towards Li Hongmei and sat beside her. Li Hongmei was peeling peas to cook pork bone soup for lunch.
“Little Ye, you got out of bed so quick? Does it hurt? Are you hungry? I’ll go to the kitchen to see if there’s anything to eat,” asked Li Hongmei in a sloppy manner.
“I’m fine. Let me help you peel the peas…” said Ye Xiaoxian.
If she just lay on the bed like that, the two senior women must have opinions, besides, the previous Ye Xiaoxian was a diligent girl so she couldn’t just idle about.
“Good.” Lin Hongmei pa.s.sed half a basket of beans to Ye Xiaoxian and whispered, “Just peel peas for today. It doesn’t require much energy.”
“…” Ye Xiaoxian didn’t reply to Li Hongmei’s question but looked around this big courtyard.
The one living in the east of the courtyard was old Mr. Xiao, and the room had been reconstructed with bricks and black tiles. The beams of the house were high as well. It was warm for him to live in the winter and also cool in the summer. A row of rooms in the middle of the courtyard were the elder and the third sons’. Although the rooms were not so magnificent, at least the brickwork and tiling were complete.
In the west lived Ling Hongmei’s family. There was a row of earth houses with low roofs and cracked walls, just like the pigsty Ye Xiaoxian had seen on TV.
“…”
Ye Xiaoxian watched for a while. Then two childish voices came from the outside of the courtyard. “Mother, sister-in-law, we are back!”
Outside came a girl and a boy. These two were Li Hongmei’s birth children. The girl was twelve or thirteen years old, and her name was Xiao Baozhu. The boy was eight years old or so, and his name was Xiao Baofeng. One was carrying gra.s.s for feeding pigs and the other carrying dry wood.
One could easily tell that the two little ones were not idle loafers or else they would not carry so much stuff. Seeing them, Li Hongmei immediately came to help them unload their gra.s.s and firewood.
“Are you hungry? Can ma get you something to eat?” asked Li Hongmei.
Li Hongmei had only just finished asking when Mrs. Xiao née w.a.n.g, standing in the middle, began to shout. “Didn’t we get dinner prepared already? What are you thinking of feeding them? Just let them grab some sweet potatoes on the kitchen range.”