Chapter Three: Husband and Wife
Ping'an Village.
The moon hung at the tips of the willows...
Lu Kun divided the porridge between his two daughters, instructing the little girls to drink their porridge and go to bed obediently. Then, carrying a half-bowl of thin porridge, he made his way toward the room where he and his wife stayed.
There was no helping it; their household was stretched thin, and it was becoming impossible to scrape together much grain. Lu Kun calculated inwardly that even if they ate sparingly, it would only prolong things for a few more days.
“Lipin, wake up, have some porridge,” Lu Kun gently roused Liu Lipin.
“Mmm...” Liu Lipin sat up lazily.
Her spirits had improved markedly compared to before, with a healthy flush to her cheeks and a sparkle in her eyes.
“You look much better now than you did before,” Lu Kun said with a sly wink and a smile.
Liu Lipin rolled her eyes at him, retorting, “Stop with that nonsense. The children are still outside.”
“How is it nonsense between husband and wife?”
Lu Kun’s lips curled into a grin as he teased his wife.
“Lu Kun, do you want a beating?” A blush quickly spread across Liu Lipin’s cheeks as she chided him playfully.
“Then you should chase me. Catch me, and we’ll—”
Their laughter burst forth, filling the room.
Though Liu Lipin had been a wife for years, she was still a woman with a shy nature, no match for Lu Kun’s seasoned teasing.
“Hiss—”
Their playful antics grew a little too lively, and Liu Lipin’s wrist accidentally scraped against the corner of the quilt, eliciting a cry of pain.
Lu Kun hurried to help her sit up.
The quilt on the bed was an old keepsake left by Lu Kun’s grandmother. It had been patched countless times, and Liu Lipin couldn’t bear to throw it away. She was always stuffing it with worn cotton clothing and scraps of cloth, making it heavier and heavier; covering herself with it felt as if a ghost were pressing down, uncomfortable and oppressive.
Lu Kun saw the red marks blooming on Liu Lipin’s wrist and silently blamed himself for taking their play too far.
“Wife, where’s the antiseptic? Let me find it and put some on you,” Lu Kun said, full of concern.
Liu Lipin’s cheeks colored, her head bowed slightly as she pointed to her little box.
The box was old but exquisitely crafted. It was the only dowry Liu Lipin had brought with her, cherished and rarely touched by the children.
Lu Kun discovered that besides needle and thread and scissors, there were a few old banknotes—likely no more than five yuan.
He quickly rummaged through, unscrewed the cap of the small bottle of antiseptic, poured a little into his palm, and then closed the bottle again.
“Relax your hand, wife. Why be shy? We’ve been married for years. I’ll just put some medicine on you...” Lu Kun felt a bit awkward; after seven or eight years of marriage, his wife still had moments of bashfulness.
He gently took Liu Lipin’s injured hand and slowly dabbed the antiseptic onto her wound.
Her hand was warm, the spot with the medicine cool, a strangely delightful sensation.
Time seemed to slow.
...
Liu Lipin gritted her teeth audibly, glaring at Lu Kun, who was thoroughly enjoying himself.
“Ahem... I got distracted. Sorry, wife.”
Lu Kun’s face reddened; he had meant only to help, but somehow managed to make it seem as if he was up to his usual tricks.
“You’re always good at fooling around, never serious about anything,” Liu Lipin said, a little exasperated.
“All right, all right. From now on, I’ll listen to you. You’re always right.”
Lu Kun thought to coax his wife into drinking her porridge before it cooled.
In the end, the bowl of porridge was finished together by husband and wife—plain and sweet, full of happiness.
They lay on the bed, chatting idly.
“Husband, you’ve noticed, haven’t you? We’re running low on rice...” Liu Lipin spoke hesitantly, feeling unsure after voicing her concern.
She knew her husband well; Lu Kun was attentive, but rarely bothered with household minutiae.
“Yes, I know. I’ll figure something out, don’t worry.”
Lu Kun saw her worry and comforted her softly.
“Eh...” Liu Lipin was a bit surprised. Her husband, usually like a child who never grew up, seldom fretted over such matters. Today, he was unusually thoughtful, which was odd.
Lu Kun saw the searching look in her eyes and wasn’t offended. He carefully tucked the quilt around her and explained his plan.
“I’m thinking of going out early tomorrow to catch snails in the fields, clean them up, fry them, and sell them in town.”
“Will that work?” Liu Lipin was skeptical.
Her impression was that city folk were wealthy and proud, unlikely to appreciate rural goods.
“Why not? Brother Shitou told me the county town has a new cinema and allows businesses to stay open at night now—a night market. It won’t take much effort or cost, and trying won’t hurt. What’s there to be afraid of?”
Brother Shitou, Lu Kun’s closest friend since childhood, was also his biggest creditor.
Shitou’s real name was Liang Guanshi. He was an unfortunate soul who lost his parents young, but had an uncle working as a minor official in the county public security bureau, so his life wasn’t too hard.
In his previous life, Lu Kun was a scoundrel, defaulting on a debt of over a thousand yuan to Shitou without a second thought. Only later did he learn that it was money Shitou’s uncle had given him to marry.
He remembered that in a couple of years, Shitou’s uncle would get into trouble, and Shitou’s life would turn tough. He never managed to save enough to marry until his forties, when he wed a woman with two children from her previous marriage.
As Shitou grew older, life only got harder.
...
Liu Lipin thought it over and realized that the worst outcome would be wasted effort. If the snails didn’t sell, the children could eat them.
“All right, let’s get up early tomorrow. If the rain stops, we’ll go to the fields together and bring the girls along...”
“Wait, we need to figure out what to use to package the snails for selling,”
Liu Lipin: “...”
“That’s a real problem. We can’t have people carrying them by hand. Husband, should we buy some plastic bags? And do we need toothpicks?” Liu Lipin pondered for a moment and suggested.
“Toothpicks are easy; I’ll cut some bamboo and make them myself. But plastic bags—those are hard to find, even in town,” Lu Kun frowned.
“Hey, husband, what if we use clam shells as containers?” Liu Lipin exclaimed.
Lu Kun’s eyes lit up. That was a good idea—convenient and economical.