CH 12

Chapter 12 – Returning To The Village (1)

Such insatiable greed.

After listening to what she said, Xiao Jingfeng’s eyes turned slightly wet and a sour feeling rose in his heart.

“I won’t let them treat you this way in the future.  My military salary will be given to you.  A man must support his family.”

“In the future?”  She could not help but laugh and thought that this man was a little silly.  “I have the divorce letter in my hand, we won’t have any future.”

Who wants to be entangled with the Xiao Family?  After she had finally jumped out of the fire pit, she would not be so stupid as to set herself on fire again and force herself to death.

“Without my signature, the divorce letter isn’t valid.”

He pursed his lips tightly and seemed to be annoyed that no one had asked him before deciding on their own.

“With your parent’s consent, the family can divorce your wife on your behalf.”

Since ancient times, filial piety is deemed to be the most important and the words of parents must be obeyed and cannot be contradicted.

When he heard, he panicked.  “Jing Niang, that was not my decision.  Once I married you, I intend to treat you well with all my heart.  I wanted to give you a good life…….”

He truly hoped that the two of them could live a good and harmonious life.  He will farm the fields while she takes care of the family and together, they will raise the litter of radishes happily.

“Good life?  How is it good?  You knew you were going into battle but you still got married.  Isn’t this hurting others?  Hundreds of people left but how many would return?  You’re just a strong peasant, not someone who learned martial arts since childhood and you’re not familiar with the art of war.  How confident were you to return alive?”

She complained on behalf of the deceased owner.

“I…….”  He was speechless.

“Have you ever thought about how your wife will live after you die?  Your parents, your brothers, and your sisters-in-law are all wolves, tigers, and leopards clad in human skins.  When you were still around, they never treated her well, not to mention that after your death, her situation became even worse.”

The more she talked, the angrier she became.  She did not know whether she wanted to vent her anger on behalf of the original owner and make him feel guilty or she had this feeling of dissatisfaction for a long time and was unwilling to be dragged down by him.

In short, Li Jing’er did not like this ‘ex-husband’ very much and felt very disgusted.

Men who can’t protect their wives and children are scumbags!

No matter how many reasons they have, they are all excuses.

If one is not whole-hearted, one should not marry and as a result, make everyone unhappy.  Except for an extra little life, everything was back to square one.

Xiao Jingfeng was given an earful but was unaware that her tone was referring to another person and not herself.

“Jing Niang, it was my fault……..”

“Don’t mention who is in the wrong.  Some mistakes can’t be remedied and I think you’re leading a comfortable life.  Why don’t you cross your bridges while I walk my paths* and let the past remain in the past and no one should complain anymore.”

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(You cross your bridges while I walk my paths means to go separate ways.)

She does not have the time to pay attention to other people’s affairs because she is busy raising her children.

Although he was unable to understand the meaning of ‘comfortable’, Xiao Jingfeng was able to understand the meaning in her words.  She wanted to draw a clear line with him and did not want any more contact with him but it was something he could not accept.

“Marriage is a lifetime affair.  You can continue to blame me but I won’t let go! In this lifetime, you are forever my wife.”

As soon as she heard his self-righteous announcement, Li Jing’er became angry.

“You have the brains of a donkey!  You don’t understand.  I’m letting you go so you can climb high, so why do you still want to get entangled with me?  We can come together and separate without hurting each other’s feelings, so why tear apart your face and make yourself embarrassed?  If you want me to be faithful unto death, you’re dreaming.  After we separate, you and I are will go our separate ways and has nothing to do with each other ever again.”

Not all men in this world are dead and it has not come to the point that she can’t do without him.

People can still be picky.

“Jing Niang, I won’t argue with you when you’re angry.  We will talk again when you’ve calmed down.”

In his heart, she will always be his wife.

Li Jing’er, who did not wish to quarrel, eased her emotions and tried her best to put a distance between them.  As a bystander, it was not worth being annoyed by other people’s past.

The sky was getting darker and darker.  The road became more uneven as it got closer to the village.  From time to time, there would be small potholes and people tend to trip over them.  The mud road was not solid and when it rains, water would accumulate.

Shuangming, who could no longer walk, stumbled on the uneven mud surface and fell forward as his legs turned soft.  A man’s big hand grabbed him in time and prevented him from falling face down and eating a mouthful of mud.

“Mother will carry you.”

Upon seeing her son’s thoughtfulness, Li Jing’er could not help but feel distressed.

“No, I’ll walk on my own.  Mother is tired.”

The little boy struggled not to let his mother carry him but he was not strong enough and was picked up instantly.

“Let me do it.”  Xiao Jingfeng looked at the two little girls on his wife’s back and wanted to take the small boy from her to share her burden.

“No need, I can still carry him.”  She should be able to do it.

In her previous life, Li Shuangjing was 178 cm tall.  As a firefighter, it was usual for her to carry a load of 30 to 40 kg of equipment and it was not difficult for her.  The heaviest weight she had carried was 60 kg and she had to walk 20 km on foot to search for climbers that got lost in the mountains.

She could still bear the combined weight of the three children.

It was just that she had forgotten that in this life, her body was less than 160 cm, and for her to carry such a heavy weight was a bit difficult.  After walking for a short distance, her arms started to feel the strain and she found it difficult for her to hold on.

“It’s better for me to carry him.  Don’t drop the child.”

Without saying another word, Xiao Jingfeng took the child from her arms as if he was the head of the family.

His wife, his children……..he will make the decisions.

Just the words, ‘don’t drop the child’ made her suppress the urge to snatch the child back because she understood her physical strength was limited.

“Thanks, Xiao……..”

She did not know what to call him.  He is neither her husband nor a friend, so she simply decided to stop.

“There’s no need for courtesy between you and me.  This is what I should do.”

The alienation on her face was something he was not happy to see.  However, he did not blame her because he was not by her side during the most difficult time in her life

“Even biological brothers must make things clear and it’s not whether you should do it or otherwise.  Moreover, we had nothing to do with each other for a long time.  Verbal courtesy is still unavoidable.”

She doesn’t want to owe favors.

Xiao Jingfeng smiled bitterly.  “Jing Niang, can’t you believe in me again?”

“I……”  I’m not your Jing Niang, so your words can’t move me.

“Mother, I don’t want him to carry me.  He stinks.”

His mother’s body is fragrant and soft and he likes the smell of her.

In fact, Shuangming’s heart was very tangled.  At first, he did not like this strange man who grabbed and hugged him.  This man is not related to him, so why should he hug him?

But after being picked up easily by the man, he found the man’s chest to be very hard, his shoulders were wide and he was incomparably tall.  When he was carried, he was held up high and could see far into the distance and it felt like he was surrounded by a mountain.  He was no longer afraid and instead, it gave him a sense of courage that made him no longer afraid of anything.

What he did not know was that this is the feeling of love and respect for parents.  Every child needs a father and the appearance of Xiao Jingfeng made up for his shortcomings.

“Be good, Shuangming, Mother is tired.  Just take it as if you have a ‘fleshy’ sedan chair.  We’re almost reaching the village, so bear with it for a little while more.”

While comforting her son, Li Jing’er also made a jab at her ‘ex-husband’ at the same time.  Her meaning was that she treated him as an object and not a human being.

Just be patient, he is the aggrieved one.

Xiao Jingfeng, who did know whether to laugh or cry, helped her by holding up the bottom of the bamboo basket to lighten the load on her back.

“Mm, I’ll listen to Mother!”  He glanced at the ‘sedan chair’.

It is not that he could not walk but he is an obedient child who listens to his mother so that his mother would not worry.

This pair of mother and child!   A child resembles the person who raises him!

Xiao Jingfeng, who was initially feeling depressed, was unable to restrain a smile when he saw the pair of mother and son showing the same expressions on their faces.  He immediately thought that having such a wife and son was not bad.  They would not be easily bullied if they have a little temper.

***☆☆☆***

“Alright, we’ve reached home.  You can leave now.”

When she saw the stunned expression on Xiao Jingfeng’s face, Li Jing’er did not think it was wrong of her to demolish the bridge after crossing the river.  No one forced him and he had volunteered to send them all the way.  Once they reached the door, he should stop.  The ‘widow’ would not entertain male guests.

It was fortunate that she bought this house when she first came to the village.  If she could not make it back to the mountain or if it rains suddenly, she could still stay in her house in the village for a night before going up the mountain the next day.  Both the house and the house in the mountain were equipped with a bed and cooking utensils.

In the house, there was a bed with a quilt and a few changes of clothes.  Because they seldom stay in the house, nothing of value was kept here.  It was good enough if it was for a night and if she intends to stay for a long time, a lot of things have to be replenished.  Since she focused on simplicity, it was convenient for her clean and upkeep the house.

There was a small piece of empty land in the courtyard.  She was afraid that the land would be overgrown with weeds, so she planted flowers and fruit trees and they were not like vegetables that needed water every day.  Therefore, whenever they come down from the mountain, they would water the plants and pull up the weeds.  Then the courtyard would be neat and clean as if someone was staying there.

It was just that Li Jing’er had underestimated the thick skin of the ‘ex-husband’.  It was obvious that she had given him the eviction order, but he still brazenly said that the road was slippery in the dark.  As he was not familiar with the way back, he wanted to stay for the night.  He pushed the door open when she was about to shut the door and entered as if he was entering his home.

This is considered the crime of trespassing on private property, right?!

She had this unpleasant thought.

“I’m sorry, my house is too small to accommodate guests.  As you can see, we only have three rooms.  One is the main hall, the other is the kitchen and the third is the bedroom for us, mother and children.  There’s no place for you to sleep.”

Be tactful and leave!  She is not in the mood to deal with him.

“It’s alright, I can sleep on the floor in the main hall.”

He looked around the small courtyard and was thinking about what he can do for her.