Late in the afternoon, Wanghe walked aimlessly along the street. The peasants busy in farming had returned home, and domestic animals with big bellies entered their pens in a lazy manner. Walking into the old familiar inn, a passerby shouted with a wry smile, "Dear landlady, where are my baskets?" The shopkeeper's wife replied with a smile, "Dear porter, your baskets are in my bedroom!" The setting sun shone aslant on the eaves, seeming to weave a piece of golden drapery for the eaves of the town. The fragrance of food wafted out through the drapery and drifted through the air. Attracted by the smell of the preserved chicken from the bamboo craftsman's store, some kids stood still, their eyes fixed on the boiling pot. The next moment, another group of barefoot kids dashed down the glowing red flagstone road and exclaimed in a panic, "Someone was killed in Bunker!"
Startled, Wanghe grabbed one kid and asked, "Who told you that?"
"People in Liangtianzi Street."
"Where is Liangtianzi Street?"
"She doesn't know Liangtianzi Street!" the kids smirked, then started off. Wanghe trotted after them.
On that day, many people were gathered in Liangtianzi Street. A Hunanese from the Salt Road was speaking about the killing in Bunker, "The guy was beheaded, his head hanging on the wall and his eyes open. It was very gory! They say he was a red bandit."
"What's a red bandit?" someone in the crowd asked.
"It's a taboo subject," the man replied, shaking his head.
The crowd was disappointed. "Even a red bandit should have a name."
The man scratched his head. The crowd nervously stared at his lips, looking forward to hearing a word. After thinking for a while, the man gave himself a slap and said, "Now I remember. He was named Lu Haotian!"
Hearing the name, the crowd was bewildered. They had never known the man nor heard his name, which was less well-known than that of Mr. Big. As the crowd was gossiping, there was a sudden crash behind them. Immersed in the horror of the killing, the crowd was frightened by the sound. They looked back.
Wanghe had fallen her entire length. The onlookers crowded around her. With her eyes closed and her face ashen, she looked like a ghost painted with white powder on a drama stage. The kids ran about wildly in the street and shouted, "There was an accident! The girl carried back by Guisheng was dead in Liangtianzi Street ... "
Guisheng's mother was cooking. Upon hearing the commotion, she put down her spatula and ran out. The crowd was carrying Wanghe to Guisheng's home. Doctor Man followed them. After taking her pulse, he said her heartbeat was weak and he would check her condition after she had taken some medicine. After being given a dose of medicine, Wanghe came to herself, but she was delirious and her face was red. Doctor Man shook his head and said, "I gave her a dose of strong medicine. If it fails, I have no other way."
Nearly a whole night passed and Wanghe's fever did not seem to abate. She kept raving, "The ghost, the ghost is coming!" Guisheng's father said to her mother, "Wanghe's soul may be possessed by a ghost. How about we invite Mo Laojun to expel it?" Guisheng's mother felt that this was reasonable, so she asked Guisheng to invite Mo Laojun over.
Having made a fool of himself several days ago, Mo Laojun was no longer so haughty. Without bargaining, he took up his ritual implement and followed Guisheng to his home.
When the word spread that Mo Laojun would expel a ghost from Wanghe, a streetful of people gathered to watch the scene. Guisheng's house was packed with people like dense bamboo shoots. The wood in the fire pit was burning and crackling, and sparks flew about in the room, reddening everyone's faces. The hound Laoba chased a hen around the pit. When the wood burned out, the charcoal fire was enhanced, and the iron colter gradually reddened. With four baskets of charcoal poured into the pit, the colter glowed red in the fire.
Mo Laojun poured tung oil into an earthen bowl while chanting incantations. Afterwards, he took out two pieces of touch paper and dipped them in some plant ash. He then reached for the red-hot iron colter. On seeing Mo Laojun reach for the red-hot iron colter with touch paper, the crowd repeatedly exclaimed, "Wow!" With a shriek, he took a mouthful of tung oil and spat it on the iron colter. As the flame rose, the crowd stepped back to the center of the courtyard to make way for Mo Laujun. In the raging flame, his eyes wide open, Mo Laojun said sharply, "Ghost, where are you running? If you harm anyone in the earthly world, I'll incinerate you and prevent you from resurrecting yourself!"
After expelling the ghost from in and around the house, Mo Laojun put the red-hot iron colter on the ground and raised both hands, which were uninjured. Guisheng's mother said Wanghe had calmed down and her fever had lessened. Mo Laojun brushed the ash off his long gown, packed up his stuff and left. Escorted by the crowd, he walked to his courtyard through the flagstone street. When he reached his home, he slammed the door without speaking to anyone.
Wanghe slept serenely. The next dusk, she sat up with a cry, startling the people who sat by her bedside. She looked around. For her, the ground seemed to be spinning; the light had gone out and endless darkness filled her eyes ... She fainted on the bed again.
Qingping stamped her feet with anxiety, then said, "Why don't we invite Tang Yaomei to help her?" Guisheng's mother agreed, "Yeah. We should invite Tang Yaomei!" Guisheng rushed off to Tang Yaomei's home.
After washing her black hair, Tang Yaomei casually combed it with a broken comb. Her hair became smoother and smoother, like water flowing from head to waist. Upon hearing that Mo Laojun had failed, she responded with a sneer, then coiled her hair and decorated it with a silver hairpin before following Guisheng to his home.
With a bun like a dark cloud, Tang Yaomei walked elegantly through the streets of Meizi thinking to herself, "Who should I choose to be my assistant this time? Perhaps Simei, the maid of the Tan family. Yes, she's the best person for the job. As soon as I utter an incantation, she goes straight to the nether world. In the nether world, females are flowers and males are trees. Most people fall ill or suffer disasters because their flowers or trees in the nether world were eaten by worms. Without treatment, the flowers and trees may wither with the passing of time, and then they can't be cured."
Guisheng went to invite Simei over, but Simei put on airs. She said that work was harmful to her health, and she was unwilling to go. Knowing that she was fond of tasty food, Tan Shanguozi said, "Don't worry. I'll ask the cook to stew an old hen for you!" Upon hearing this, Simei beamed with delight. She enjoined the cook, "Kill that colored rooster. It's hard to chew an old hen!"
The cook spat and said, "I'll kill the old hen in the manure bucket!"
An incense burner table and a square table were placed in the central room of Guisheng's house. Tang Yaomei asked Simei to sit on a tall stool and lean her head against the table while she kowtowed to the incense burner table. Simei soon fell asleep. She snored lightly over the table. Upon seeing Simei enter the nether world, Tang Yaomei held three burning joss sticks with both hands while chanting incantations. After she had repeated them more than ten times, someone yelled, "Look! Simei's feet are moving!" The crowd looked down and saw the girl's feet swinging forward and backward. The faster Tang Yaomei incanted, the more frequently Simei's feet swung. The crowd said, "Ask her quickly!"
"Where are you?" Tang Yaomei asked.
"Town God's Temple," Simei grunted.
Suddenly, she stopped as though she had stumbled. The crowd became nervous.
"There's a threshold guarded by goblins," Simei said. "They ask for money!"
Guisheng's mother hastily burned a pile of joss paper, and Simei's feet started to swing again. "I'm in a garden now. There are many peonies!"
"That's none of your business!" Tang Yaomei said impatiently. "Look for Wanghe's flower!"
"My knees are weak and I'm hungry!" Simei replied.
Various voices in the crowd cursed, "You glutton!" "You must have been a hungry ghost in your previous life!" "You never forget to eat even in the nether world!"
Guisheng's mother poured some food on the ground.
"I can't get in!" Simei said.
"Haven't you entered the garden?" Tang Yaomei asked.
"There's a small garden. It's filled with rare flowers, enclosed by walls and guarded by a Door God. He won't let me in!"
Guisheng's mother burned joss paper again. Afterwards, Simei's feet started to swing. After a while, she exclaimed, "I've found her! Wanghe is a purple peony in the center of the garden!"
The crowd gazed at each other, astonished. Tang Yaomei was astonished as well. "How is she?" she asked.
"She's not in a good condition," Simei replied. "Someone dug out her roots and she's being bitten by worms and yellow ants. Both her leaves and petals are withered. I'm afraid she won't live long!"
Upon hearing this, Tang Yaomei became anxious. "Catch the insects, surround the roots with soil, and water the flower!"
Simei was also anxious. "The Black God won't allow me to do that. He said you should spend real money burning incense in the temple!"
After meditating for a while, Tang Yaomei said, "Well, just water the flower and go back."
Simei's feet stopped swinging. When Tang Yaomei stopped her incantation, Simei fell to the floor. The crowd was prepared for that. Two guys helped her to the bed. She was sunken in sleep for a long while. As Tang Yaomei sprayed water all over her face, she weakly came to herself.
However, Wanghe still did not get better. They would have to spend real money burning incense in the temple. The crowd dispersed in disappointment. Guisheng said, "Aside from the dilapidated house, we only have a winter paddy field behind the street!" After pondering this for a few moments, Guisheng's father said, "If there's no other way, we'll just sell it ... "
The winter paddy field of Guisheng's family was adjacent to a well. This meant that it would not be affected by the drought weather. Everyone coveted that well. As the news spread, Xiao Laoqi and his middleman visited Guisheng's family. The title deed was transferred to Xiao Laoqi after he paid for it.
They donated the money to Badong Temple, and a new bronze bell was cast.
When the new bell was mounted, several monks struck it with wooden clubs. The loud peal spread to the horizon. Upon hearing it, Wanghe immediately woke up. She opened her eyes and carefully identified the people in front of her. They surrounded her, radiant with joy, and said "Amitabha! Thank the Goddess of Mercy, you finally came back to life!"
Qingping felt uneasy. "If Wanghe continues to live with Guisheng's family, these honest people may be unable to cope with her trouble ... Perhaps I'd better let her live in my home," she thought to herself.
When Wanghe next entered the Pickle Store, she said, "Hello sis! How clever you are!" It was the first time she had taken the initiative to speak since she came to Meizi Town. Qingping was glad to see the change in her attitude. It showed that the knot in her mind was gradually loosening.
In the opinion of Mr. Jian, an unfortunate man would be drowned in a teacup. He sent people to search for Magpie Hua, but no one found her. He stayed home in a sulk. When his Salt Firm closed at dusk, he was informed of the arrival of Mayor Hu. As Mr. Jian went downstairs in a flurry, Hu Bicheng had already entered his courtyard and was standing under a camphor tree watching the parrots in their cage. When Mr. Jian approached him, Hu Bicheng gave him a glance and said, "Nowadays, nothing is more changeable than the Salt Firm. You may raise or lower the salt price at will. You may even cause the Meizi River to break through its dike!"
Mr. Jian lifted another cage in which several thrushes bounced about vivaciously. "I'm flattered," he replied. "It's tough doing business. Since the government allowed people to buy and sell salt privately, many merchants have set up stalls on the streets of Meizi to sell salt on every market day. I cannot raise the price."
Hu Bicheng reached into the cage and grabbed a thrush. The bird soon became motionless and showed the whites of its eyes. "I cannot brag elsewhere," he said. "However, in Meizi, if I don't give permission, no one dares to sell salt!"
Mr. Jian was overjoyed. "With your word, my business will be profitable. Rest assured. I'll share the profits with you!"
Hu Bicheng put a corn kernel in the thrush's mouth, then brushed the feathers off his hand. "I came here to discuss this matter with you," he said, then followed Mr. Jian upstairs.
In usual times, the Salt Firm handed over money to the town government. In addition to taxes, Mr. Jian also paid annual dividends in proportion. Having been engaged in the salt business for many years, he knew the unspoken rules. Plopping down in an old-fashioned armchair, Hu Bicheng started to complain, "The former township mayor exploited the town a lot, and the township government is suffering from a heavy financial deficit. Moreover, local public safety is poor. Bandits and opium traffickers are rampant, and these so-called 'red bandits' have appeared now. Our government is short of money ... "
Upon hearing this, Mr. Jian knew it would be difficult to satisfy Hu Bicheng. He thought to himself, "I have to pay him more money." As he was thinking of ways to do that, Mayor Hu stretched out his fingers and said, "According to my estimates, your Salt Firm should hand over at least this amount of money to the township government this year."
They both fell silent and the atmosphere froze in the room. When they saw Hu Bicheng arrive, the cooks started working without receiving an order. As the smell of food wafted upstairs from the kitchen, they both became hungry. Mr. Jian swallowed his saliva. "Well, can you make a concession?" he asked.
Hu Bicheng stretched out his fingers again. "No more bargaining! If the township government has insufficient money, your Salt Firm will be closed down sooner or later with the robberies of bandits and the rampant selling of private salt!" Mr. Jian tried to weep, but failed to shed a tear. At that moment, Aunt Wu yelled downstairs, "The meal is ready!"
He stood up to invite Mayor Hu to dinner. Hu Bicheng patted him on his shoulder. "Rest assured!" he said. "As long as I forbid those merchants from selling salt, you may raise the salt price at will."
"Fetch the jar of 10-year-old liquor from the cellar!" Mr. Jian yelled down with a wry smile.
After enjoying the meal, Hu Bicheng left with a pack of silver coins. However, Mr. Jian tossed about in his bed and passed a sleepless night. The next morning, an illness attacked him. His eyes became painful and itchy. When he looked into the mirror, he found that his eyes had swollen like two pig bladder bags. He went to see Doctor Man, Tang Yaomei and Mo Laojun, but his condition only worsened. Suppurating and bleeding, his eyes narrowed into cracks. Due to his bad condition, Mr. Jian became more and more ill-tempered. A slight error might cause him to beat or scold his employees. As a result, the personnel in the Salt Firm became jittery.
Meng Chun, the manager of the firm, went upstairs, attempting to please Mr. Jian. However, Mr. Jian did not allow any servant to go upstairs without permission. Upon hearing Meng Chun's footsteps, he flung a pot of hot tea at him. As the scalding water seeped through his thin clothes, Meng Chun stamped his feet and said, "Boss, don't lose your temper. There's an old beggar named Lu Gan who's a snake charmer. He has snake droppings which can treat eye diseases ... "
Narrowing his eyes, Mr. Jian saw that Meng Chun was half-naked. His anger receded. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he asked.
"I'll inquire about him in the street," Meng Chun grunted.
Although Lu Gan was a beggar, he was famous on the Salt Road. In Meizi, there was a custom of letting a beggar be one's adoptive father. Lu Gan began begging for a living very early, so he had many adoptive sons and daughters. He also had a hobby: controling snakes. Before each Dragon Boat Festival, he would go into the hills to catch snakes. As he incanted, the snakes would obediently slither around him. He kept some nontoxic Zaocys dhumnades, Trimeresurus jerdonii and white snakes in his room. Some merchants wanted to buy snakeskin and snake gall bladders, but he never agreed no matter how high the offered price. After keeping a snake for two years, he would release it on a hill. After returning to the hill, the snake still missed Lu Gan and would come back to see him from time to time. When the summer came, Lu Gan would put a snake around his waist to relieve himself of the heat.
The snake droppings kept by Lu Gan could be used to treat eye diseases. The medicine became one of his survival skills. He had an unwritten rule: charging more for treating the illnesses of the rich and less for the poor.
Meng Chun looked for Lu Gan in Meizi. On the morning of the eighth day, when Mr. Jian's eyes were almost blind from the pain, Meng Chun heard the sound of Lu Gan walking on a cane as he stepped out. Meng Chun ran to stop him and begged him to treat Mr. Jian's eye disease. After standing for a while, Lu Gan held up two fingers. Meng Chun knew that meant twenty silver coins. Meng Chun thought it a little expensive. He could not make a decision without authorization, so he went back to tell Mr. Jian, who upon hearing yelled at once, "Invite him to my home!" Meng Chun rushed out to invite Lu Gan.
Lu Gan entered Jian's Salt Firm. The camphor tree at the gate was blooming, filling the courtyard with its fragrance. The parrots were speaking, the thrushes were chirping, and even the mynas upstairs echoed from time to time. The chirping of these birds vivified the richly ornamented building. Lu Gan thought to himself, "According to Mr. Jian's family property, twenty silver coins is too cheap! However, I cannot break my word, or my reputation will be ruined." Lu Gan followed Meng Chun upstairs, then sat on an exquisite round-backed armchair. On seeing Mr. Jian's eyes, which were swollen like two pig bladder bags, he took a box from his greasy sleeve, scooped out some black powder from it and blended the powder with his saliva. He then applied it to Mr. Jian's eyes. Mr. Jian found it strange that the pain in his eyes was immediately gone, and feeling cool and refreshed, he heaved a sigh of relief.
The next day, the swelling of his eyes subsided. On the third day, his eyes were wide open. He could never see things very clearly in the past, but his eyes were clear and bright now, and he needed no presbyopic glasses. He could even clearly see the small characters in his account book. On the morning of the fourth day, as the bell of Badong Temple rang, Lu Gan rapped violently on the door of the Salt Firm, demanding payment. Upon hearing him, Mr. Jian slipped out by the back door and did not come back until dark. When he returned to his house, Lu Gan was still there. Flying into a rage, Mr. Jian asked Meng Chun to deal with him. Meng Chun said, "How can your medicine be worth twenty silver coins? It is worth two at the most!" Lu Gan got up from the ground and said, "I gave you the medicine after agreeing to the price. How can you go back on your word?" The stubborn old man was so angry that he broke out into curses, shouting, "Fuck you, Jian! How dare you be a deadbeat?"
For fear of losing face before others, Mr. Jian ordered Meng Chun to beguile Lu Gan into going upstairs. As the old man entered the room, several servants pounced on him and bludgeoned him. Upon hearing the cracking of his leg bones, Lu Gan knew that his leg was broken. He screamed for help. Meng Chun covered his mouth with a wet handkerchief while Mr. Jian made two turns around him and said, "Old beggar, how dare you extort money from me?!" He ordered his men to throw Lu Gan out of Meizi Town in the night.
Meng Chun and two servants left Lu Gan in Maqiao Town, fifteen kilometers from Meizi.
Half a month later, Lu Gan hadn't reappeared. Meng Chun said, "Please rest assured, boss. Since we've broken the old beggar's leg, how could he go far? With neither food nor drink in Maqiao, he can't survive for long. I guess he can never come back to Meizi in his lifetime!" Mr. Jian felt relieved. However, another desire haunted him. Since Magpie Hua had left, he always slept alone in his bed, which made him feel empty. Without a woman sleeping beside him, he felt insecure.
As the news about Mr. Jian's decision to remarry spread, Matchmaker Xia visited his home, planning to introduce him to a prostitute from Banbian Street. Upon hearing the word "prostitute,' Mr. Jian immediately became sullen. Matchmaker Xia raised her voice, "Have you heard of Red Apricot?" When he heard this name, Mr. Jian ordered Aunt Wu to make a dessert for Matchmaker Xia. A bowl of tangyuan was served up in the blink of an eye.
With a smile, Mr. Jian watched Matchmaker Xia eat the tangyuan. "I beg your pardon," he said. "As we know, it's difficult to see Red Apricot on the Salt Road, no matter for squires, rich merchants or porters. Can you really help me to marry her?"
Matchmaker Xia blew on the fermented glutinous rice soup while drinking it. "This is good. It tastes pretty sweet!"
Mr. Jian shouted, "Aunt Wu, prepare a jar of fermented glutinous rice for Ms. Xia!"
Matchmaker Xia smiled with wrinkles all over her face and said, "Leave it to me."
In fact, Red Apricot had grown tired of Banbian Street. Most of the people passing by were smelly porters. She had not only consumed her youth, but had even failed to earn much money. Thus, she employed some people to find a rich family for her. She was even willing to become a concubine.
Hard work paid off. Red Apricot, who was renowned in Banbian Street, became the hostess of the Jian family within a month. As the old saying goes, "Everything has its vanquisher." This saying applied to Mr. Jian very well. His previous wives had all been tortured by him. However, Red Apricot believed that she could be the exception. "Even if he were pig iron," she thought, "I'd melt him!"
On the wedding night, Red Apricot deflated Mr. Jian's arrogance. The next morning, he was too weak to get up. Red Apricot sneered, "They say you're virile. In my view, it's because your ex-wives were all too weak!" Mr. Jian was too ashamed to retort.
After that, Red Apricot began to domineer over everyone at Jian's Salt Firm. She dismissed the servants she detested, and selected some trusted followers to attend to her. Moreover, she was an opium smoker. When she made a living by herself in the past, she dared not spend too much money on it. However, as Mr. Jian's wife, she thought she could smoke opium without restraint. Mr. Jian had previously disapproved of opium, but Red Apricot always encouraged him to have a go. Gradually, he came to find it as intoxicating as she did. He thought, "I can spend money on opium, because I'll have no chance to spend it when I'm dead. Right now, most of the dividends go to Hu Bicheng anyway. I should enjoy my life."
Xuetao found that Jian's Salt Firm had become messy since Red Apricot married her father. As such, she went into the street every day and did not come back until dark. After she returned home, she always deliberately ignored her father's new wife. Red Apricot thought to herself, "I must teach her a lesson!" and so she enjoined the cooks to serve dinner before Xuetao came back. When she returned, the kitchen door was locked. Xuetao stood at the door for a while. Upon seeing the smoke drifting from the living room upstairs, she knew that her father and Red Apricot were smoking in bed. She ran to the storeroom and went upstairs carrying a bucket of tung oil, then entered the living room and grabbed a smoking burner. Sitting up in the bed, Red Apricot pointed at Xuetao and scolded, "Haven't you seen that your father and I are smoking?" Xuetao kicked the bucket over and black tung oil flowed all over the floor. Mr. Jian was shocked. He hastily sat up and tried to grab her. Xuetao held the oil burner in one hand, and pointed at her father and Red Apricot with the other. "You'd better not move, or I'll toss the burner on the floor and burn you to death!" she cried.
Startled, Red Apricot said, "Good girl, what's made you so angry? Have you had dinner? I'll ask Aunt Wu to cook for you!"
Xuetao threw the burner into the courtyard and called down, "Aunt Wu, kill and stew a chicken for me!"
Standing in the courtyard, Aunt Wu stared at the second floor with her mouth open, not daring to respond.
Red Apricot yelled, "Are you deaf? Miss Xue asked you to stew a chicken!"
Aunt Wu hastened to catch a chicken while Xuetao stomped down the stairs. The sound frightened the two adults.
As Qian Dadui enjoyed some dissipated days on Banbian Street, he did not encounter the robbery at Savage Cave. However, he did encounter the mountain flood at Mud Creek.
The sunlight was intense as Qian Dadui went down the mountain, and his shirt was drenched with sweat when he arrived at Mud Creek. The shimmering creek was tempting in the sunlight. Qian Dadui laid his goods by the creek, took off his clothes to wash them in the water, then spread them on a stone in the center of the creek to dry. He then took a bath in the creek.
The water was so cool that he was reluctant to go ashore. After enjoying enough swimming, he finally went ashore and covered his face with a basket lid and stretched out. He felt warm and comfortable in the sunlight.
After sleeping for an hour, Qian Dadui suddenly heard a rumble. He opened his eyes. The limpid creek had become turbid, and a flood like a wall of water overwhelmed him. Grabbing his pants, he tried to escape, but it was too late. The wave swept him away. After struggling in a whirlpool for a while, he climbed ashore with the help of the branches of a tree.
An hour later, the dark clouds dispersed and the sun came out again. Qian Dadui found this both funny and annoying. Due to the flood, he had not only lost his goods but also nearly his pants! However, he was not worried about it. He could buy food on credit on the way to Yunyang. He could then do some labor on Human Selling Street to earn money.
He thought to himself, "It's getting dark. I might not get back to Mud Creek before nightfall because of this delay." He looked around, trying to spot a possible lodging in a house nearby. At that moment, a man came along in the opposite direction. Qian Dadui asked, "Is there any household nearby?"
"You want to find a lodging?" the man replied with a strange smile. "There's a house in the bamboo forest opposite. The family is only a widow and her kid. Her house is spacious, but she's generally unwilling to take in strangers. Sir, if you're capable, you may flirt with her and stay overnight in her room."
Qian Dadui laughed, "I've spent over ten years on the Salt Road, and I've never slept outdoors! I'll go and see whether she really is a virtuous woman!" He then made his way into the bamboo forest.
In the forest, there was a curved road stretching to a clean courtyard in which a woman was weaving a dustpan near a blooming cluster of plantain lilies. On hearing the barking of her dogs, the woman looked up. "He-he, bright eyes, graceful eyebrows, aged about 27 or 28 ... what a beautiful woman!" Qian Dadui thought.
He stopped staring at the woman and praised the dustpan in her hand, "Oh, what an exquisite dustpan!"
The woman gave him a charming smile and replied, "I'm flattered. I just weave them to make a living!" Qian Dadui sat on a straw stool and talked about bamboo weaving with the woman. He even taught her some weaving skills. The woman enjoyed talking about bamboo weaving with him. She entered her room and brought him a mug of tea. Qian Dadui was so thirsty that he drank more than half the tea in one gulp. Then he said, "Madam, it's getting dark now. Is there any living place for me nearby?"
The woman frowned and said, "No!"
He begged, "Madam, please put me up for the night!"
She immediately shook her head. "No, my house has no man. One man and one woman staying in the same room will cause gossip!"
With a sad look on his face, Qian Dadui looked around and said, "What should I do? Madam, may I sleep in the bamboo forest?"
The woman replied, "How could you sleep in the bamboo forest? There are so many mosquitoes!"
Qian Dadui said, "Madam, just give me a straw mattress. As for the mosquitoes, I will burn a heap of green grass."
Finding no reason to refuse, the woman agreed.
As night fell, the woman coaxed her kid into the room and closed the door to go to sleep. Qian Dadui shook the bamboo, making it rustle. Upon hearing the rustling, the woman shouted, "Sir, don't shake my bamboo, I rely on it to make a living!"
Qian Dadui roared, "If you don't allow me to enter your house, I'll destroy your bamboo!" and continued to shake the bamboo. The woman was worried about her bamboo, so she let him enter the house and asked him to sleep in the central room. As she was about to go back to her bedroom, she heard a sound from the central room. Listening carefully, she recognized the sound of hoeing. The woman asked, "Sir, why don't you sleep?"
Qian Dadui said, "If you don't allow me to sleep in your bedroom, I'll dig a pond in the central room!"
"If he continues to dig, the central room will be destroyed!" she thought to herself. Reluctantly, she asked him to move his bed into her bedroom. Just as she went to bed, Qian Dadui grabbed a stick and made ready to strike the water vat. The woman sulked, "What do you want?"
Qian Dadui replied, "If you don't allow me to share a bed with you, I'll break your water vat!"
"I only have one water vat," she thought to herself. "What will I do if he breaks it?" So she said, "Lie across the end of my bed, and don't be too greedy!"
Qian Dadui slipped under her quilt. Just as the woman was about to continue to sleep, Qian Dadui lifted his leg and a cold breeze blew under the warm quilt. The woman kicked his foot and said, "You jerk!" Qian Dadui said, "If you don't allow me to sleep on the same side with you, I'll take your quilt away!" The woman had to let him sleep on the same side with her, with her kid sleeping between them. Qian Dadui thought to himself, "Since we're lying on the same side, I have nothing to worry about." He pinched the kid's leg and said, "If you don't make love with me, I'll strangle your son!"
Upon hearing the kid's crying, the woman became anxious. She roared at Qian Dadui, "Bastard! Ok, I agree. Just don't touch my kid!" She then exchanged positions with her kid, and lay naked beside him.
