Chapter 9

Lotus Flower Road: "I know it's someone else's home, and the people living there are not good! They are bad people! She bullied me, bullied your wife, just like that lame Feng. Shouldn't you help me, support me?"

Longevity Path: "Why aren't you in the toilet?" After a pause, perhaps recalling something, he added, "We have a toilet at home"

"Uh... go away, go away..."

Only then did Hehua stay outside, seeing villagers coming one after another, she hurriedly found a corner to hide. When she saw women gathered at the door of Widow Chen's house knocking, her heart began to race, fearing that something unexpected had happened at Changsheng's place, allowing that lame Feng to slip away. After a while, several women rushed in, and shortly after, it seemed that something had gone wrong. The men who had just extinguished the fire in the yard also followed in one by one. At this moment, Hehua felt genuinely relieved, knowing that if nothing had happened inside, the men would not dare to intrude on a widow's door at night.

Ah? Ah..." Feng Quezi responded and hurriedly went to feel his pants

Hmm. Changsheng nodded blankly.

At that moment, someone outside said something, but Widow Chen could not take it in. Just as she was in a state of panic, the door was pushed open. Startled, she wrapped herself in the quilt from the bed, but before she could fully cover herself, people from outside entered the room. It was several women from the village, a few aunts and daughters-in-law, who had come along with their husbands to help put out the fire and to see the commotion. Upon entering, they were met with this scene.

Damn it! Why is this door stuck!" Feng the Lame cursed while banging on the door

The lotus flower looked at this with satisfaction, only regretting that she could not witness with her own eyes the scene of Widow Chen being caught in bed with someone. In her heart, she cursed Widow Chen a thousand times: "Let you pretend again! Let you spread rumors! Let you seduce men! You vixen! You deserve it!"

Changsheng pondered for a moment and nodded

Feng Quezi hurriedly ran back into the room to push open the back window. He managed to open it just a crack when, bang! The window slammed shut heavily as if something from outside had pushed it back. Feng Quezi was so frightened that he fell back onto the ground, his face pale and wide-eyed as he pointed at the window and said: "There... there... there is a ghost..."

The two individuals were trembling in fear when they heard a loud knocking on the door, accompanied by a voice from outside shouting: "Auntie! Are you awake? We are coming in!"

Widow Chen scolded: "What are you dawdling for! Don't the gentlemen know to lend a hand!"

The lotus flower's heart raced rapidly, hurriedly hiding behind a tree to peek. It saw that person walk to the small door of Widow Chen's backyard, glancing around furtively like a thief, before pushing the door open and entering. Although it was night and the appearance was not clear, the limping lotus flower could see distinctly; it was none other than Feng the Lame.

When Widow Chen came in and took a look, she exclaimed, "Oh my!" and nearly collapsed to the ground, for there was clearly a shadow of a person on the window

Feng Quezi had originally suffered a broken leg due to an affair, and upon witnessing the situation, he was so frightened that he lost his courage. Without even putting on his trousers, he hurriedly rolled off the bed and ran outside

Lotus went to the kitchen to fetch a fire stick and lamp oil. As soon as she turned around, she saw Changsheng staring at her with a bewildered expression. Startled, she gasped and clutched her chest, scolding, "What are you trying to do! Standing behind someone in the middle of the night, do you want to scare me to death!"

Changsheng remained silent and motionless, having made up his mind to follow her. Hehua, feeling anxious and fearing that the opportunity might be missed, suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Her expression changed as she said to Changsheng: "You can follow me, but you must listen to me. Whatever I ask you to do, you must do it. This is what it means to care for your wife, do you understand?"

Hehe, my skills are not out there, they are all in bed; there is no one in this world who knows how to care for others better than I do

Oh. Changsheng turned around and went back into the house to get dressed, and after a short while, he ran out. He Lian glanced at the window of the fourth grandmother and quietly left home with Changsheng

After the two arrived at Widow Chen's backyard, He Hua pointed to the back window of the courtyard and said to Chang Sheng: "Do you see that window? In a moment, you will guard right under that window. If someone inside pushes the window open, you must push it back and hold it down. No matter what, you cannot let the person inside come out through the window, do you understand?"

As night fell, He Hua tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The words her mother had spoken to her during the day felt like a knot tied around her heart with a rope, tightening more and more, leaving her with a suffocating sense of resentment that she could not relieve. The thought of having foolishly called that woman "Aunt" for so many years made her want to slap herself several times. She sat up and looked at Changsheng, seeing him sleeping soundly, then got dressed and got out of bed. She went to the kitchen to fetch a fire starter and lamp oil, but when she reached the door, she paused. After thinking for a moment, she put the items back and quietly left the courtyard.

No one responded to him. Changsheng thought that perhaps Hehua was busy and did not want to pay him any attention. He silently waited for a while longer, but still did not see Hehua come out, and could not help but urge again: "Hehua, hurry up, I need to pee"

Lotus Flower also saw her father come to put out the fire, and she followed Da Bao. The two of them naturally heard the commotion and entered the house. In no time, they saw her father and Da Bao coming out of the house ahead of everyone else. In the light at the door, Lotus Flower could see that her father's face was quite grim, while Da Bao, the young boy, seemed rather excited about the situation, unwilling to leave and constantly peering inside. Her father kicked Da Bao on the backside and scolded him, after which Da Bao shrank his neck and awkwardly followed his father home, all the while glancing back towards Widow Chen's house, as if he had missed out on an exciting show.

At first, she considered setting fire to the woodpile in Widow Chen's yard, or even burning down her chicken coop or small west room. However, no matter how angry she was, she simply could not bring herself to commit such a wicked act as burning down someone's house. Therefore, after some thought, she changed her mind and decided that in the dead of night, she would tear down all the paper from Widow Chen's windows. Even if it didn't freeze her to death, it would be enough to keep her warm.

The story unfolds in two parts. To focus on the moment when He Hua was dressing and leaving the house, Chang Sheng had actually heard the commotion. He paid it no mind, thinking that He Hua was probably getting up in the night to use the toilet. He himself also needed to go, but his grandmother had said to take care of his wife, so he let her go first. After lying in bed for a long time without seeing He Hua return, he felt an urgent need to relieve himself. Unable to hold it any longer, he got out of bed and ran to the outside of the toilet, calling in, "He Hua, I need to pee."

The first thought that sprang to Lotus's mind was that this Feng the Lame had the audacity to invade a private residence with the intent to assault women. She instinctively wanted to shout for help, but in an instant, she realized that she had just heard from her mother about Chen the Widow's disgraceful actions during the day. She thought to herself, could it be that Feng the Lame had arranged a secret meeting with that woman? With this thought in mind, Lotus hurriedly ran to the small door outside, which was slightly ajar. She quietly pushed the door open and tiptoed to the window at the back wall, holding her breath to listen intently.

At this moment, the entire village, young and old, is sound asleep. Inside the house, Widow Chen and the lame Feng have just finished their intimate encounter and are nestled in bed, yet it is the village's several dogs that first detect the fire. One dog barks a few times, and soon all seven or eight dogs in the village begin to bark frantically.

No, no, I am worried about you. Let me see if you are hurt

The lotus flower remained silent, only indicating that it had listened to her words. After giving him a few more instructions, she turned and left the room. Changsheng still could not comprehend the situation; he neither stopped her nor returned to the room, simply following her in a state of confusion.

Lotus did not understand what Changsheng was saying, and she had no intention of listening. She simply said, "You don't need to worry about it, just go back to your room and sleep peacefully." After saying this, she was about to walk out.

Good person, I have been thinking about you. What is so good about that little chick? It is still you who has charm

Changsheng closely followed behind her, anxiously asking, "What are you going to do? Why aren't you sleeping? You should be sleeping at night"

That little brat is just like her bastard father, so ruthless that my teeth have loosened over the past two days

"No! Grandma said not to run around when it gets dark, and not to go out!" His voice was loud, and Hehua was afraid it would wake up Fourth Aunt, so she hurriedly pulled him into the kitchen and closed the door, saying, "Do you care about your wife?"

Only then did Widow Chen come to her senses, but upon hearing the commotion in her own courtyard, she noticed that quite a few people had gathered. Looking at Feng the Lame sprawled on the ground, completely bare except for a pair of underpants, she realized that her own disheveled appearance was not much better than his. In her panic, she was at a loss for what to do and could only search around for her clothes.

The men entered the room upon hearing the sound, and this time, Widow Chen was truly collapsed on the ground

She hurriedly circled to the back of Widow Chen's house, pushed open the small door, and ran inside. The lights in the room were bright, and Changsheng did not know to hide; he stood there like a wooden post, in the light by the window, pressing his hands tightly against the window, staring blankly with his head lowered.

Changsheng glanced into the yard and turned to Hehua, saying, "That is someone else's home"

Still no one responded, he wanted to stretch his neck to take a look inside, but his grandmother had told him when he was young that looking at a girl urinating would get him in trouble. He felt a bit anxious and wanted to relieve himself by the wall, but his grandmother had also told him that he was no longer a child and should not casually pull down his pants to urinate; he must go to the toilet instead.

Just as he was anxiously fidgeting with his pants, the courtyard door was suddenly pushed open, and Hehua ran in from outside

Do not... do not go out! Widow Chen was also frightened, fearing that if Feng the Lame went out, he would be seen by the villagers rushing over to put out the fire. She chased to the door only to see Feng the Lame pushing the door with all his might but unable to open it.

The lotus flower glared and said: "What are you following me for? Go back to your room and sleep."

Inside the house, Widow Chen and the lame Feng were already sleeping lightly due to their guilty conscience about stealing. As soon as the dog barked, both of them woke up. Upon opening their eyes, they saw a bright light outside the window. Widow Chen exclaimed in alarm and pushed open the window, only to find that their own firewood pile was on fire! She hurriedly got out of bed and put on her clothes to go extinguish the fire. However, Feng, the lame man, was so frightened that he momentarily lost his wits and stood there in a daze

Go away, go outside and see which man is not better than you, a cripple! You have nothing to offer and only consume what I provide! Do you think you are a pretty boy? You should take a good look at your own character!

"That's right," said Hehua, as she pulled Changsheng through the small door into the courtyard. She crouched down by the window, listening intently to the sounds inside, confirming that Feng Quezi was still there and had not left. She then whispered to Changsheng, "Remember what I just said. Keep watch at the window and do not let anyone inside come out. I will step away for a moment, and no matter what happens, as long as I am not back, you must not respond to anything."

Come, let me blow on it for you. Old Li the dog doesn't know how to care for others, having been with you for so many years.

After instructing Changsheng and Hehua, he took a detour to the front of the house, found a wooden stick, and noticed that the door was barred from the outside. He then stealthily made his way to the firewood pile in Chen Guafu's yard, poured all the lamp oil over it, and took out a fire starter to ignite it. The small flame quickly caught onto the large amount of lamp oil, but it was not very strong. Hehua squatted beside it, adding firewood, watching as the flame grew stronger.

Several women were immediately stunned, staring wide-eyed at the half-naked Widow Chen and the crippled Feng. Once they regained their senses, it was unclear who shouted first: "Oh my! This is terrible! You all come and see this!"

Lotus Flower Path: "First of all, you should go back inside and put on a coat. Don't catch a cold in the middle of the night, hurry up!"

Changsheng was so frightened that he almost wet his pants. He watched as Hehua ran to the kitchen, stood there in a daze, took two steps back, stretched his neck to look into the toilet, and then turned his head to gaze at the open courtyard gate, feeling utterly confused. However, this shock made him temporarily forget his urge to urinate, and he hurriedly followed into the kitchen

Changsheng nodded

"What are you doing! If someone sees you coming from the front, are you still going to live?" Widow Chen grabbed him and, without considering how the door had been blocked from the outside, hurriedly said, "Go out through the back window, run to the small door at the back of the house, there’s no one there!"

Hey, who are you cursing at

As she was searching for stones, she suddenly heard some noises coming from a distance. Raising her eyes to look, it seemed that a figure was approaching this way. He Hua was startled and thought to herself, who else could be wandering around this village at such a late hour besides her? Could it be that she has encountered a ghost?

At this moment, they suddenly heard the sound of gongs outside, and both were startled, their expressions changing immediately. This indicated that someone in the village had also seen the fire here and was beating the gong to summon the villagers to come and extinguish the flames! Indeed, the dogs were barking joyfully in the middle of the night, and the villagers would all be awakened to see what was going on

A couple rolled onto the bed indoors, while outside by the lotus flowers, someone was cursing. It was clear to her that these two were indeed in cahoots. Without a doubt, her rumors were closely related to them, likely spread intentionally by that widow Chen. Hearing widow Chen's words that hinted at her father only fueled her anger further. Gritting her teeth in resentment, she quietly left the courtyard.

Lotus Flower Path: "I have urgent matters to attend to, you should go to sleep first. I will return as soon as I finish."

She had been hiding in the shadows, cursing for quite a while. Only when she saw that her father and Dabo had disappeared did she suddenly remember Changsheng. She slapped her forehead hard, thinking to herself that he, the fool, must still be standing there in a daze! If someone were to see him, it would surely cause trouble.

"Scoundrel, do not touch me, go find your little wench."

The village was shrouded in darkness, and Hehua couldn't help but feel a sense of fear. However, recalling the grievances her mother had endured ignited a fire within her. She walked from the east of the village to the west, eventually reaching Widow Chen's house, which was dark inside, likely because Widow Chen had gone to bed early. Hehua circled around to the low wall behind the house, feeling along the ground for stones in the dark.

Lotus Flower Road: "To care for one's wife, one must heed her words. I am going out to take care of some matters and will return shortly. You should obediently go back to your room and sleep, and not make a sound. Do you understand?"

Changsheng furrowed his brow, feeling troubled. His grandmother had said not to go out after dark, and she had also mentioned the importance of caring for his wife. Should he hold onto Hehua and not let her leave, or should he listen to her and go back inside to sleep?