Chapter 10
Saving NĂŒwa in a Past Life
That night, Jiang Ning pulled the quilt up until only her head was visible, waiting for Lin Chen to blow out the kerosene lamp and join her in bed.
As the mosquito net dropped, she spoke in a voice as soft and sweet as a kitten: “A-Chen, you don’t think I’m a shrew, do you?”
Lin Chen slid one arm under her neck and wrapped the other around her waist, flashing a wide grin. “Wife, I love you no matter how you are. Especially todayâthe way you stood your ground was incredibly charming. Youâre so outstanding that I almost feel a bit unworthy.”
Jiang Ning reached out with her finger, as delicate as a scallion shoot, and pressed it against his lips. “A-Chen, you are wonderful. That we are together is the best arrangement fate could have made. But I still must remind you: your cousin is a bit of a hypocrite. Don’t let him fool you again.”
“Mm. After what happened today, I see it clearly now. Lin Taoâs character is flawed; a big brother like that isn’t worth keeping. I only want to protect you and guard our little home.” Lin Chen took her hand and kissed it.
He felt absolutely blessed! To have married a wife like a celestial beauty who was not only understanding but also possessed such incredible fighting spiritâhe must have saved the Goddess NĂŒwa in a past life to have earned such good fortune.
Jiang Ning nodded solemnly. “Right, we will work hard together.”
Having already experienced one lifetime, she didn’t want him to know the painful details and suffer alongside her. In this life, as long as they were of one mind, she would never let anyone hurt them again. As for Lin Tao, she wouldn’t strike first. She understood a truth: when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you; when fighting monsters, you must be careful not to become one yourself. Of course, if they pulled any dirty tricks, she would strike back hard!
The more Lin Chen looked at his wife, the more delighted he felt, and his eyes grew hazy with desire. How could someone be so beautiful? Her skin, as smooth as congealed fat, flushed at the slightest touch, and her shy expression was incredibly alluring. His breathing grew heavy. With a gentle pull, he drew her into his arms and pressed his lips to hers.
In the midst of their intertwined breathing, Jiang Ning melted into a puddle. Just as they were about to take the next step, she felt a sudden warmth…
“A-Chen, I think I’ve started,” she whispered, pushing him away while gasping for breath.
Lin Chen was also new to the affairs between men and women and had no idea what she meant, his eyes filled with desire and confusion.
“Itâs just… women bleed for a few days every month… you silly man!” she teased, explaining.
Hearing that she was “bleeding,” Lin Chen panicked and insisted on checking. After she laughed at him, he hurried off to fetch her some brown sugar water. While he was out, she quickly slipped into her space to find a sanitary pad. That night, they held each other and talked until, late into the night, they finally drifted into a deep sleep.
The next morning, a commotion rang out outside the house. Lin Chen rose, grumpy, wondering who was so thoughtless as to disturb his wifeâs sleep. Upon stepping outside, he found Luo Guangming and several others moving bricks.
Yesterday afternoon, Lin Chen had visited him to discuss making mud bricks to build a kitchen. The current Lin house consisted of a central main hall; behind it, in the side wing, lived Lin Zhou-shi. The two rooms on the east were for the eldest brother’s family, and the two on the west were for Lin Chenâs family. The main hall was for receiving guests and also served as the kitchen, with a mud stove in the southwest corner, a large water vat to the north, and a cupboard against the north wall. After splitting the household, Lin Chen didn’t want to use the same stove as them anymore and had conceived the idea of building his own. He hadn’t expected that as soon as he mentioned it, Luo Guangming would show up today with a flatbed cart full of ready-made mud bricks, along with several men to help unload them.
Lin Chen hurried over to lend a hand and asked where the bricks came from. Luo Guangmingâs usually cold face softened. “Brother Chen, these bricks were originally for my house, but since youâve split the household, go ahead and use them. Iâll just make more after the ‘Double Harvest’ is over.”
Red bricks from a brick factory cost five cents each; building a hundred-square-meter house with twelve-centimeter-thick walls required over 6,000 bricks, totaling three hundred yuan. Additionally, cement and sand would cost dozens more, and since supplies were strictly planned, ordinary people couldn’t get them at all. Village houses were built with large mud bricks, and with wooden roof beams, the cost was around one hundred yuan. While one hundred yuan might not seem like much, for farmers scraping a living from the soil, it was a heavy burden; they wouldn’t build unless absolutely necessary. Building a house would also interfere with field work, and even if helpers were free, they had to be fed three meals a day. Working required strength, so simple meals wouldn’t sufficeâthey needed meat, which was another expense.
Lin Chen naturally didn’t mind the cost. He told Luo Guangming and the others to go ahead while he went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy meat. There was a cooperative in the commune that received a small amount of meat from the county town every day; if you went early, you could still buy some.
Luo Guangming stopped him: “Brother Chen, it’s the Double Harvest season, and the team has a lot of work. Weâll work mornings and evenings and go to the fields in between, so we won’t be eating at your place.”
“That won’t do. You at least have to eat breakfast and dinner here,” Jiang Ning said, walking out with her hair tied up casually.
Seeing her, Luo Guangming quickly turned his head away. Her lazy, relaxed state was even more stunning than usual; looking at her for too long made it easy to lose one’s heart.
Zhao Ergou, whom Luo Guangming had brought to help, scampered over with a grin. “Sister-in-law, you said it yourself! I want chive pancakes for breakfast.”
Zhao Ergouâs face was covered in red bumps, and he didn’t exactly look like a “good guy,” so girls usually avoided him; at twenty-four, he was still unmarried. Jiang Ning knew he didn’t have any malicious intent; his greatest hobby was just eating. In this era, everyone was short on oil and fat, so who wouldn’t want to eat well? He was just thick-skinned enough to say it out loud.
Jiang Ning smiled and agreed, “Fine, consider it done!”
Luo Guangming slapped the back of his head, annoyed that he hadn’t done much work but had plenty of requests. Chive pancakes required white flour, which was expensiveânot only did it cost two dimes a pound, but you also needed coupons that you had to buy on the black market. Another helper joked, “Ergou, look at you, getting bold enough to make requests to Brother Chenâs wife.”
Lin Chen laughed: “We are deeply grateful for your help. You need to eat and drink well to work well, so don’t feel burdened.”
There happened to be a bit of flour left in the house, which he found for Jiang Ning. By the time he returned from the cooperative having spent one yuan and six dimes on two pounds of meat, the chive pancakes were already finished.
The pancakes were fried to a golden brown, glistening with oil, and one could tell at a glance that a generous amount of pork fat had been used. No wonder they were so fragrant; just smelling them made oneâs mouth water. Everyone washed their hands and each took one to start. Zhao Ergou took a bite, and the fragrance exploded on his tongue; the crispy dough mixed with the chives and egg was better than meatâit was so good it almost made him want to cry.
Jiang Ning continued working in the kitchen. Wang Xiufen kneaded the dough and wrapped the chives, Jiang Ning fried them in the pan, and Lin Qiao tended the fireâthe few of them worked together with unspoken, joyful cooperation.
After Lin Zhou-shi got up and saw them looking so happy and harmonious, she approached the stove with a dark face and reached out to grab the finished pancakes from the plate.
“Grandma, thereâs a set amount of these pancakes; I didn’t make any for you.” Jiang Ning pulled the plate away with lightning speed.
Lin Zhou-shi was furious. She was an elderâwhat was wrong with eating a pancake? She swallowed hard as she looked at the pork fat sizzling in the pan and urged, “Hurry up and finish cooking! And don’t wash the pot when you’re done!”
She intended to use the remaining oil in the pot to make some noodles for herself.
