The daughter, like a featherweight, just stayed at home for an evening and then went back to her own place. What was left for her mother, Wang Xiaoqin, was boundless pain.

    Lu Xiaoying flatly refused her mother’s request to repay the few hundred yuan that Liu Chengyin had left the day before yesterday. She was determined to let Wang Xiaoqin repay the money herself.

    Wasn’t this to be shamed by the Liu family? Xiaoying, why didn’t you know your spinous mother? The scar in her own breast, which could not be healed, was torn by his daughter and was bleeding.

    Lu Xiaoying, who had originally planned to stay for two days and have a heart- to-heart talk with her mother, left in anger without resolving anything. She never expected that her mother would always raise problems for her and Liu Chengyin. During their time at Guangling University, she and Liu Chengyin shared their pure inclination and suitability. But when they came to discuss marriage with her mother, full of joyful anticipation, her mother vehemently opposed the match. This blow left Lu Xiaoying in unbearable pain. She even began to doubt whether she had come from the womb of Wang Xiaoqin. How could a mother not bless her daughter’s sweet and beautiful marriage to the man she loved?

    After so many years, Lu Xiaoying finally came out of the shadow of love failure and sealed the romance, sweetness and beauty, and deep regret and pain sterilized deeper in her heart. She could have stayed in the county seat to work, but she wrote an application to the county leader, asking to go to the harshest place in the county, to withstand the trials of wind and rain and the bitter environment. This move made her a typical college graduate, and her advanced deeds were reported or published in the county newspaper and the county television station.

    Of course, the county leaders also met Lu Xiaoying’s request and arranged for her to Yu Duo Town, Shagou District, known as the “Great Northwest” of Chu County. In Yuduo Town, Lu Xiaoying worked, worked and worked. She used the work to paralyze herself. Just as the leader praised her, she was a good cadre who devoted herself to her work in Yuduo Town. In this way, she successfully grew into the youngest deputy town-level leading cadre in the town, and became the deputy secretary of the town party committee within a few years.

    All the feelings that had gone away gradually became complicated with the arrival of Liu Chengyin. Lu Xiaoying’s idea over the years was that she was still young and since she had been highly valued by the organization, she should work hard and make some achievements. It was always a pleasure to pursue political progress for a better future. In Lu Xiaoying’s subconscious mind, there was another meaning of competing with Liu Chengyin. She knew that Liu Chengyin had also done smartly in Qingjiang, but the specific situation was not so clear. She must perform even more astonishing feats, so that Liu Chengyin, who had not supported setbacks and tests, and voluntarily gave her up, REGRET.

    It seemed that the current situation was not as expected by Lu Xiaoying. Liu Chengyin obviously did better than herself, and even returned to Chu County to become her top leader. When he returned to Xianghe, he also paid a special visit to his mother, Wang Xiaoqin. It was not only a simple visit, but a few hundred yuan left for my mother. For such hundreds of yuan, the daughter was torn again by the mother, that naturally was unacceptable.

    Lu Xiaoying’s feelings and reactions were understandable. The question was, why should a mother stagger her daughter? Who could understand Wang Xiaoqin’s inner torment?

    These days, Wang Xiaoqin was stifling. If Liu Chengyin’s unexpected visit and the hundreds of yuan he left behind were like a knife stabbing Wang Xiaoqin’s old wound, then Lu Xiaoying’s answer to her mother undoubtedly sprinkled a handful of salt on Wang Xiaoqin’s smarting wound. All old joys and sorrows, pain and sadness once again revived in Wang Xiaoqin’s heart……

    “Chunyu, when swivel-hip before me?”

    “Hee hee, no tell you.” Liu Chunyu murmured, so lightheartedly entered upon Xiaoqin, in the furrow of the cotton field, holding his beloved girl tightly to his chest.

    “You greedy cat, afraid someone sees.” Before Wang Xiaoqin finished speaking, Liu Chunyu’s lips pressed tight.

    “Over now, over now, I have checked carefully. Cuiyun is far behind, and we can’t be seen.” Liu Chunyu said a few words to reassure Xiaoqin. Cuiyun, mentioned by Liu Chunyu, was none other than his younger sister and a good friend of Xiaoqin in primary school.

    Summer was the peak period of cotton growth. Liu Chunyu and Wang Xiaoqin, two young man and woman who loved each other, enjoyed their love heartily under the protection of the cotton leaves. They never paused to take a breath while sucking on each other’s tongues, straining every muscle. Their young tongues in each other’s mouth swam like two small fish in the Xianghe River, sometimes riffling close, sometimes in strenuous motion up and down, with epicurean satisfaction. At this time, Liu Chunyu’s two hands refused to stay idle——drifting into the bosom of Qin, clutching on her the round, highly strutted breasts. Soon, their lips had to be sundered, for Liu Chunyu had a new and more intoxicating goal. Soon, Liu Chunyu swished her breasts about in his cheeks. Gradually, both of them rubbed, shedded warmth all over, and there was some strange impulsed stir in their bodies.

    “Dear, I’m hot.” Qin felt warm under the sucking and digging of his fingers into the flesh of Liu Chunyu. Her bright and full breasts, like two jade rabbits, were shown in front of her beloved young man, swelling, rolling, skittering, skipping.

    “Xiao Qin, I wanna screw.” Liu Chunyu, full of bloodvessels, was even more excited, and blood flow was accelerating. One part of his body in its mad excitement stood up straight and stiff vigorously, ready to go out at any time, just waiting for Qin’s command.

    At such a time, to waste even one more minute was a crime, and to say one more remark was redundant. The two young bodies had a close and seamless contact, and the two young lives had its full swing in the conduct of their business.

    Liu Chunyu was drunk. Wang Xiaoqin was drunk. Liu Chunyu and Wang Xiaoqin were drunk in each other’s love.

    There came another couple in Xianghe Village envied by countless young men and women.

    The rumor that Liu Chunyu had wanted to be the son-in-law of the Xiangyuan family of the village branch was like a bubble that burst and gone forever. To be honest, Xiangyuan village secretary had such an idea. Chunyu the guy, the only high school student in the village, was sciential. In the view of Xiangyuan branch secretary, he owned his technical know-how needs. In addition, this young man was quite decent in feature and in looks, agreeable to the eye, quite compatible with his daughter Shuimei. So Liu Chunyu went back to the village after graduating from the middle school without a day’s work, was arranged by Xiangyuan into the village primary school as a substitute teacher, no need to face the loess and back to the sky, or to deal with soil and crops all day long, shaking off the long line of a clodhopper, which was the dream of numerous youngsters returning to the countryside!

    Since Village chief Xiangyuan had appointed Liu Chunyu as a supplementary teacher, he couldn’t just dismiss him because he couldn’t become his son-in-law. He couldn’t do that, otherwise he would be criticized by everyone and become the laughingstock. He would never be able to hold his head up in front of Liu Anran, who was not only a well-respected figure in the village, but a man of great virtue and knowledge, with the demeanor of a gentleman and the heart of a Bodhisattva. To put it this way, whenever the villagers encountered difficulties, they didn’t go to Village chief Xiangyuan for help, but were largely structured for the assistance of Liu Anran, who never failed to solve their problems and doubts, and never let the villagers down.

    It was said that in his early years as a private school teacher, Liu once saved a pair of couplets belonging to a Grand Secretary of the Qing Dynasty who had returned to his hometown in Xianghe. This Grand Secretary was an illustrious figure, having served as Emperor Xianfeng’s teacher and also as a prolific writer. However, even the most distinguished Grand Secretary could fall out of favor with the emperor, and if that happened, he and his family could be executed. As a result, the Grand Secretary’s attempts to return to his ancestral homeland in Xianghe were unsuccessful, leaving behind only a hand-written pair of couplets entrusted to the village’s most senior member. When this pair of couplets came into Liu’s possession, they were burned as part of the “Four Olds” campaign①. As an educated man, Liu deeply regretted his actions, so he left the private school and opened a tofu mill to cut off to support his family.

    Therefore, Xiangyuan would never offend such a respectable person. However, It was widely known since Liu Chunyu did not want to become Xiangyuan’s son-in- law, he was not able to remain as a substitute teacher in the school for long. In fact, not long after Liu Chunyu and Wang Xiaoqin openly fell in love, Xiangyuan found an excuse to kick Liu Chunyu out of school.

    As a result of no longer being a substitute teacher, Liu Chunyu had more free time. He was able to spend more time in a syrupy mood with his beloved girl.

    “Tofu,dried bean curd, haw …”

    “Tofu,dried bean curd, haw …”

    On the Xianghe River, Liu Chunyu rowed a small wooden boat while calling out his wares, heading towards the outskirts of the village. Sitting at the stern of the boat, Xiaoqin sang along with him like an opera singer on a stage, echoing each of his calls.

    “Ahem, ahem, trying to be more mature. Hey, I’m just doing business here, selling tofu,” Liu Chunyu looked at his beloved girl, feeling extremely happy in his heart. He had already thrown away any unhappiness from not being able to become a substitute teacher.

    Nowadays, whenever she had free time, Xiaoqin would be with Liu Chunyu, which made Liu Cuiyun a little unhappy. They used to be recognized as good friends in the village, but now they spent less time together. Even when they went to sell tofu outside the village with Liu Chunyu’s brother before, now she wasn’t included anymore, as Xiaoqin had taken her place. Young girls always enjoyed going out to explore new things and meet new people, so it was a fresh and exciting experience for them.

    As a result, Cuiyun had to stay at home and help her father with their local business. Doing business in the village was not very exciting, as most customers were already familiar with them. When selling tofu, they didn’t even need to look up as they could recognize people by their voices alone.

    Xianghe Village, “A village big as a bowl, an alley long as chopsticks”, was small, with only a few hundred residents. Throughout the year, people would always have to take in the Liu’s mill for everything, big or small. As time went on, they became more familiar with each other. It was true that in a small village like theirs, everyone was bound to see much of each other, and there was no sense of novelty or excitement.

    Wang Xiaoqin was different. United with her beloved Chunyu brother, teasing and joking with each other, she had a roman holiday that her face blossomed with joy. And here as she was, early in the morning, meeting a new bride as her first customer. In Xianghe Village, when people talked about a new bride, it could mean

    someone who had just gotten married, or had been married for a while but hadn’t had a baby yet, or even someone who had been married for years and still hadn’t given birth. In the latter case, she would be called an “old new bride.”

    “Four ‘fang’  of tofu, ” and one jin of dried bean curd,” the bride spoke softly and timidly before handing over her enamel bowl as soon as Liu Chunyu’s boat was anchored at the shore.

    “Let me treat it, me treat it,” said thus Xiaoqin, and quickly stood up from the stern of the boat, stepping into the cabin of the small wooden boat. She then took the enamel bowl from the bride and picked up 4 fang of tofu from the water bucket in the cabin. One or two fang of them might be all right; but four of them needed to be added some water to the basin so that they wouldn’t be tattered during transportation. Tofu was delicate, easily stoven if bumped along or rubbed upon each other. Adding water created a cushioning effect to protect the fragile tofu. Xiaoqin and Chunyu had been selling tofu for more than once, so she had already mastered this trick.

    While Wang Xiaoqin was picking tofu for the bride, Liu Chunyu also weighed out a jin of dried bean curd. One hand received the money and the other handed over the goods. The bride held the enamel bowl filled with tofu in one hand and the folded, dried bean curd in the other, smiling at Liu Chunyu and Wang Xiaoqin before saying, “Goodbye.” She then walked away, swaying her not-so-slim waist.

    “Hah Hah, you Hussy, a little mind. You quickly took over the bride’s bowl, afraid I look and see her more.” Liu Chunyu used the oar as a pole, pushing the small wooden boat away from the shore. While adjusting the oar, he lightly flicked Xiaoqin’s bulbous nose with his finger. Only then did he start paddling forward.

    “What are you thinking? I found a little secret. Haw-haw……” Xiaoqin leaned on his side and didn’t sit immediately in the tail of the boat.

    “A secret? What secret?” Liu Chunyu looked at Xiaoqin suspiciously.

    “That bride just now is already teemed, teemed some months.” Wang Xiaoqin mysteriously told Liu Chunyu.

    “The less a man sees. Since they’remarried, normal to teem? Why fuss about it?” Liu Chunyu asked Xiaoqin in confusion.

    “You know not. They teemed before married. Must out of line, and toosie before that.” Xiaoqin blushed a little after mentioning the word “toosie,” which reminded her of the swived moments with Chunyu in the cotton field.

    “Hussy, so SHREWD. Have the gall to talebear!” Liu Chunyu once again flicked Wang Xiaoqin’s nose with more strength.

    At this moment, Xiaoqin was rubbling and nuzzling next to her Chunyu, and her emotions in her body stirred up. She bit Chunyu’s ear and whispered, “Bro Chunyu, I want……”

    “Hussy, this isn’t a cotton field. I’ rowing and selling.” Although Liu Chunyu said that, he had already let go of the oar and snoozled Xiaoqin in his arms.

    “I care not. You let me taste the stweetener, roger, roger, now.” Lass Xiaoqin was blown up, and her full, pouty lips were tightly pressed against Liu Chunyu’s.

    “Okay, okay, sell no more, take you to Wujin Marsh.” Liu Chunyu had to split the difference to his beloved girl.

    Just then, someone on the shore shouted, “Hey, tofu seller, come over here, give me a fang.”

    Liu Chunyu pretended not to hear and rowed the boat with all his might. The man on the shore couldn’t figure out what was going on in the boat. Why not stay in business when clearly demanded? He only saw the small wooden boat shooting like an arrow toward Wujin Marsh.

    Wujin Marsh in the clear summer was full of lush green reeds, that completely coated the small wooden boat in it.

    By this hour, Liu Chunyu threw away the oar and quickly pressed Xiaoqin under him. The two young bodies were like two hot fireballs, trying to melt and run into each other.

    The small wooden boat swayed in a swoon of the rhythmic movements in the reeds, heaving and swirling out circles upon circles around the boat——agitated, dissipated and retreated——before repeated to be agitated, dissipated and retreated.

    As Liu Chunyu’s boiling passion was ejaculated into her hole of spring, he suddenly felt a sense of a floating swoon of relaxation in bliss. Having been diddled, humped, and jumped, the previously eager Xiaoqin had transformed into a quiet and docile little bunny, lying obediently in the arms of her bro Chunyu, completely satisfied.

    “Bro Chunyu, why the sky’s so blue above Wujin Marsh? Why do clouds float over here so white?” Xiaoqin couldn’t help but stretch out her smooth arm and point to the few white clouds floating in the sky above the marsh, asking Liu Chunyu.

    “So many questions. How I can answer them all!” Liu Chunyu said as he hugged Xiaoqin’s soft body even tighter. He knew that Xiaoqin was much as it exalted and just wanted to express her joy through words. What she wanted to ask and say didn’t necessarily require him to give answers.

    A few thingamajigs slipped past them, who, flying silently, suddenly chirped and chattered loud when seeing the young, smooth bodies, shy at first and telling each other about seeing something they shouldn’t have seen. After a brief moment of sizzling, they flew through the lush reeds into the distance.

    The time when Liu Chunyu and Wang Xiaoqin fell in love was so beautiful. However, this kind of beauty could not be able to continue. Wang Xiaoqin clearly remembered the morning when she was humiliated and wounded at the construction site of Cheluhe.

    The Cheluhe project was the “No.1 project” of the county party committee and the county government of Chu County at that time. The “No.1” here was not the same as the place where the people of Chu County must go after getting up in the morning. If the Chu men lived in an alley were long-tailored neighbors, they went out early in the morning, carrying a spittoon or a bucket, and greeting each other by saying, “Go to No. 1?” The “No. 1” was the toilet. At that time, most people in Chu County lived in low-rise, old-fashioned bungalows. There was no toilet at home. If they wanted to go to the toilet in the daytime, they had to go to the public toilet at the end of the alley.

    Cheluhe project was named “No.1”, which obviously meant “No.1”. Whether it was a work or a project, it was ranked first by the county party committee and the county government, which showed its importance and its due regard by the leaders of the county party committee and the county government. Of course, some were not too friendly toward it. It was said that there were too many “No.1 projects” in the county. In fact, it was because there were many “No.1 projects” in the county, in the city, in the province, so there were also many towns, and even some villages were easy to catch up with the fashion, so that “No.1 projects” were everywhere.

    In the face of this phenomenon, some researchers found that this had been rooted. At present, many leading cadres have studied science, and a considerable number of senior leading cadres also came from famous universities and colleges. They studied and were influenced by “engineering”, and their way of thinking is “engineering.” They naturally liked “engineering” when they took up the leadership positions.

    Whatever you were snuffy, this Cheluhe was one project in tactless truth. Hundreds of thousands of men were gathering on the gigantic water conservancy construction site, with towns as the regimens, villages as the battalions, and villagers’ groups as the companies. On the construction site, there were huge crowds of people, who carried the burdens and dug the earth like a long dragon, wriggling and tumbling. At a glance, the whole construction site was a busy scene of red flags fluttering gaily in the wind, the hollerings rent the air.

    One of those hundreds of thousands of workers was Wang Xiaoqin, who was selected from Xianghe village to work at Cheluhe. Only that she didn’t have the same job as everyone else. She was in Xianghe village battalion, cooking for a village of migrant workers. Although those who carried the burden of digging on the construction site were very hard, and the labour intensity was high, the group-group, the camp-camp was riveting enough strength in the progress of the project every day. However, Wang Xiaoqin and her female colleagues were responsible for three meals a day for a battalion of more than 100 men, which was not an easy task. It was common for them to get up early and go home late.

    As for the topic of “No.1”, no one ever thought that the “No.  1 Project” of Cheluhe had an accident on the “No.1”, which caused a big event and shocked the leaders above. It was said that one day, a female migrant worker was responsible for digging and loading in the work section. Maybe she drank too much porridge in the morning and soon had the intention of urine. She wanted to stop and pee. But the burden was laid before her one after another. She had just dug a few shovels of earth to load the burden,and the next person came again. The shovel in her hand could not stop. She had expected fewer people to take the burden and then go to urinate, but she looked around and didn’t see where there was a “No.1”. Unable to see the toilet, the spade in her hand could not stop, and an organ in her body was constantly expanding, which made her anxious and impatient. Finally, her face rose from red to white and fell upon the construction site, to which the leaders had to see. The woman was immediately sent to the county people’s hospital for rescue, but lost her life due to a rupture of her bladder.

    For a time, the county leaders paid attention to the “No. 1” on the construction site of Cheluhe. Special education had been given to the female workers in this regard. It was often said that the living am died of urine. Unexpectedly, this came true. There is always wonder in the world. The spurious novelty on the construction site of Cheluhe was quite an interminable tangle of it.

    For Wang Xiaoqin, it was originally a very ordinary morning.

    As usual, she got up from the shed very early, and after simple fresh-up, she carried a large basket of breakfast rice and went to the river mouth not far from the shed to wash rice. She must get up early to cook breakfast in a big pot.

    Just as she went back with rice, she suddenly felt the urge to urinate. Wang Xiaoqin heard about that female migrant worker a few days before. The leaders of the league had also specifically talked about the requirements in this regard. Women comrades, you must learn from the female migrant workers who had the accident. You couldn’t lose your life because of shyness.

    Fortunately, most migrant workers were still asleep at this moment. Wang Xiaoqin looked around, coincidentally, there was a small reed beach in front of her. Although the reed withered in winter, it could still give Wang Xiaoqin some shelter. Wang Xiaoqin put away the rice basket and squatted into the reeds. As soon as she pulled her pants, warm urine gushed down her lower body and rushed to the reeds with a swish. To take a leak got some along in sprightly air. That part of her lower body was moist, for she missed her boyfriend.

    She was distracted for a moment when suddenly a pair of hands pulled her down from behind,and a man lay on top of her, whose penis of priapism had entered her completely and effortlessly. To be honest, Wang Xiaoqin was hoping to be swived,and that door opened naturally.

    This guy flourished too fast. Wang Xiaoqin didn’t even have time to react before it was all over. When the man stood up with his pants in hand, Wang Xiaoqin saw a familiar face: Lu Genshui, an agricultural technician of the village.

    To be honest, when Lu Genshui mated with her, Wang Xiaoqin’s body was unable to resist repellent. But when she saw this face, she felt like eating a fly in a dung pit, beginning speedily sickened of it.

    “ Lu Genshui, chopped a thousand times, choked to death!” After regaining consciousness, Wang Xiaoqin tied her pants, like an angry female lion, grabbed Lu Genshui’s hair tightly with both hands, and dragged him to the ground in a full- bodied swear.

    Lu Genshui, who had just been gamely raunching Wang Xiaoqin by the abruptness and violence, was now completely submissive, letting her tear and curse.

    “Xiaoqin, I like you all along, I want to be with you.” Lu Genshui knelt before Wang Xiaoqin, crying uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face.

    “Bah, call me Xiaoqin? That’s what my boyfriend Chunyu called me. You have no right to call me that.” When Wang Xiaoqin heard the words “Xiaoqin” spoken by Lu Genshui, she felt even more disgusted than when she was stuprated earlier. She spat nicely into his face.

    “I know, your eyes only have Liu Chunyu. Where I’ve no right-on with him? His brother Chun-geng went to the northeast, their family has become a ‘migrant household’ in the village. Liu Chunyu couldn’t become a substitute teacher, now, disqualified for the construction site. Otherwise, he’s the chance to work with you at it. I’ve no chance like this,” Lu Genshui continued to express his thoughts without worrying about the spittle that Wang Xiaoqin had spat on his face as it was dripping down his cheek.

    “With you, dream! Think not this time, you can do next. No more chance. Unless you carry my dead body to your home,” Wang Xiaoqin was angry and hated, but there was one thingshe had to do, which was to cook breakfast for the migrant workers. Moreover, the incident that just happened with Lu Genshui had already occurred, and no matter how much they argued, it wouldn’t change the outcome. If the tumult couldn’t be subsided,it would be even more pratfall by others. This was like a dumb person eating bitter gall, or like knocking out one’s own teeth and swallowing them.

    Wang Xiaoqin, carrying a large basket of breakfast rice, angrily left the reed beach and Lu Genshui still kneeling on the reed beach.

    As the saying went, there was no wall without cracks. The news that Wang Xiaoqin was raped by Lu Genshui on the construction site of Cheluhe soon spread to Liu Chunyu.

    Since Li Yazi in the village made a match for Liu Chunyu’s brother, and he accompanied his brother to the nearby Yangjiazhuang, bad hair days came to the Liu’s door one after another.

    First, Yang Xuehua from the Yang Family Village said that she had a crush on the second son of the Liu family. This made Liu Chungeng, the elder brother, feel ashamed to stay at home any longer, and ran away in a rage. As soon as he left, Liu Jiacheng became an ignominious “outdoorsman”, so Xiangyuan village secretary literally removed Liu Chunyu’s substitute teacher.

    Without the entanglement of the elder brother, Yang Xuehua was courageous to pursue Liu Chunyu. Her reason was that Liu Chunyu took the initiative to go to Yangjiazhuang to “have a crush” on her. Liu Chunyu went to Yangjiazhuang village to see a movie, which took away the girl’s heart, and now he couldn’t refuse Yang Xuehua.

    For Liu Chunyu, there were countless wrongs. The Yang family’s daughter wanted to “l(fā)ook” at them. Liu Chunyu accompanied his brother to “l(fā)ook” at the Yang family’s daughter. However, Yang Xuehua did not “l(fā)ook” at Liu Chunyu’s brother, but “l(fā)ooked” at him.

    To be honest, Yang Xuehua was even more beautiful than Lass Qin——tall and slender with curves in all the right places——her face being oval-shaped, smooth and shiny as a freshly boiled egg, and her almond-shaped eyes were watery, full of spirit. She wore two long braids hanging down to her waist, jet black in colour, and the purple butterfly bows on the ends of her braids swayed back and forth as she walked, which was quite charming.

    Faced with such a goddess, which young man wouldn’t be moved? Even Liu Chunyu had his moments of being fanciful and fickle. However, he was of already Siamese twins with Qin, and whenever Yang Xuehua entered his mind, it was only flitting. Liu Chunyu couldn’t fit another Yang Xuehua in his heart.

    But now, Qin was raped by Lu Genshui, this beast. In the Xianghe area, whenever such an incident occurs, the handling of it was generally following a rule: as long as the woman was willing, the man should bring her home as his wife. In the eyes of the villagers, if your son had slept with a daughter, how could he not marry her? If the woman was unwilling, then why did he rape her in the first place? At that time, the family members would be criticized by others for being uneducated and unable to control their reproductive organs.

    For the woman, it was not necessary to give a handle for gossip in the future, saying that the woman had been licentious and banged. For a couple, life could be so easy if all were well; if in cases of distasteful condition, quarrel——to scold his wife for being “second-hand.” What self-respect was there? The woman over whom was held a menace was forced to be humiliated. When the husband and wife put aside all considerations of face, some women drank pesticide, some hung themselves on the roof beam with a rope, and some drowned in the river. Therefore, after it was not remediable, the man would usually invite someone to persuade the woman, and the woman’s family would take advantage of it and agree to the marriage, but not without stinging from the man for some psychological compensation. However, it was important to note that not all were the same——there were cases where the woman adamantly refused to marry and demanded that the authorities intervene.

    Xiaoqin was not willing to marry Lu Genshui anyway. However, she found that her beloved Chunyu seemed to care less about herself since he went to visit Yang Xuehua, who was seriously ill, in Yangjiazhuang village.

    Later, she naturally knew that it was Yang Xuehua who claimed to be seriously ill and cheated Chunyu to Yangjiazhuang. It seemed that Yang Xuehua was really in love with Chunyu. Yang Xuehua loved him so much, but he was no longer as considerate as before. It was better to let him stay with Yang Xuehua. Wang Xiaoqin thought that she had been raped by Lu Genshui and was no longer worthy of the love of Brother Chunyu.

    With all kinds of frustration, Wang Xiaoqin couldn’t stand the family’s hard persuasion, so she had to endure the humiliation and married Lu Genshui during the Spring Festival that year. Also, during the Spring Festival of this year, Liu Chunyu naturally married the beautiful Yang Xuehua.

    As the bride Wang Xiaoqin, no matter how unwilling she was, she had to endure the ravages of Lu Genshui every night. Lu Genshui, who became Wang Xiaoqin’s husband, was almost a sexual psychopath. In his view, all the body of Wang Xiaoqin now belonged to him, Lu Genshui: he could bunk up anytime, anyway. However, his sex life was soon interrupted by his mother-in-law.

    Wang Xiaoqin, who had just gotten married not long ago, was discovered by her mother-in-law to be pregnant. According to the traditional customs, this was considered a “joy at the threshold”, and how could the mother-in-law not be happy? This meant that in the home, not only did they gain a new bride, but a new life to be born. Even the underachieving young man, Lu Genshui, would become a father. The long-time widow, Wang’s mother-in-law, would finally have someone call her “grandmother”!

    In this way, Lai Dizi naturally could not allow her son to have sex with his wife in promiscuity. The little life growing in her daughter-in-law’s belly was the hope of the Lu family. Lai Dizi, in her rare seriousness, took on the role of the head of the household and made it clear that her son and daughter-in-law could not sleep together under the same blanket——they had to sleep severally. Moreover, she occasionally checked on them, asking Wang Xiaoqin directly if they had been intimate with Lu Genshui at night. Wang Xiaoqin naturally followed her mother-in- law’s instructions strictly and finally found the peace and tranquility she had been seeking.

    In fact, Lu Genshui also knew that Wang Xiaoqin’s heart still belonged to Liu Chunyu. The truth was that it was not easy for a person to forget someone they had once loved so deeply. Wang Xiaoqin’s heart was soaked in bitter tears and boiled in salty water, but no one was there to listen or comfort her. She had to bear all of it on her own.

    When Wang Xiaoqin’s mother-in-law discovered that she was pregnant, she was initially nervous. She was afraid that her mother-in-law would ask her detailed questions about her pregnancy. However, since Lai Dizi was experienced in procreation, Wang Xiaoqin couldn’t hide anything from her. Fortunately, Lai Dizi was too happy that her daughter-in-law had become pregnant so quickly to worry about anything else. She didn’t ask any further questions.

    Wang Xiaoqin was both nervous and excited. Deep down in her heart, she wondered if the little life in her womb was from her beloved Chunyu. They had been intimate more than once, and each time was filled with passion and intensity, making it likely for her to get pregnant. This infatuated woman, who had a simple and naive perspective, compared it to planting crops and doing farm work. She couldn’t help but think to herself that her damn husband had only been with her once, so if anyone should have impregnated her, it should have been Chunyu. Despite not being able to live together with her beloved Chunyu, she felt that the heavens had blessed her by allowing her to conceive his child, which gave her a bit of comfort for her shattered heart.

    The movement of accumulating natural fertilizers in the winter season was in full swing in Xianghe Village. Since “San Gouzi”, who could dig up five boats of mud in a day, emerged, Xiangyuan, the village branch secretary, had even higher expectations for each household. As a result, the newlyweds Liu Chunyu, Yang Xuehua, Lu Genshui and Wang Xiaoqin were all arranged by the production team leader to work on the farming boats. And there was a hard task of three boats of mud in a day.

    On Xianghe River, the floating ice collided with the edge of the mud-carrying boats, making a crisp “crackling” sound. Liu Chunyu and Yang Xuehua worked on one boat, while Lu Genshui and Wang Xiaoqin worked on another. However, on the Liu family’s boat, Liu Chunyu carried the basket for collecting the mud, while Yang Xuehua held the boat paddle. On the Lu family’s boat, it was the opposite, with Wang Xiaoqin carrying the basket for collecting the mud and Lu Genshui holding the boat paddle.

    Lu Genshui had long served as the village agricultural technician, mainly responsible for spraying pesticides, fertilizing, and field management for rice, wheat, cotton, and other crops. Even when it came to spraying pesticides and fertilizers, he didn’t do it himself. Rather, he assessed the pest and diseases and crop growth, and provided guidance to the villagers on the appropriate use of pesticides and fertilizers at the right time. In other words, Lu Genshui’s job required technical skills, not physical labour. Asking him to carry a mud or residue basket would either be too difficult for him or make him look foolish. He simply couldn’t handle it.

    Liu Chunyu was different. Although he had worked as a substitute teacher at the village school for a few days, after his eldest brother Liu Chungeng left for employment elsewhere, Liu Chunyu returned to the production team to farm. Sometimes he would sell tofu by paddling a small boat out of the village, but Signior Liu didn’t allow him to delay the team’s work on farming. Signior Liu had even entrusted Liu Chunyu’s training to “San Gouzi” to teach him until Liu Chunyu could handle important farm work, at which point San Gouzi dared to report back to Signior Liu.

    Mr. Liu naturally didn’t treat San Gouzi unfairly and would occasionally give him a few fang of tofu or tofu sheets to improve his family’s diet. When Liu Chunyu finished his apprenticeship, San Gouzi was invited to Mr. Liu’s home as an honored guest to share a delightful meal and drink.

    There was vocational training available, so Liu Chunyu was able to handle the heavy basket of mud with skill——not an easy task. He knew how to properly put the pole in the water, how to stick the basket to the river bottom and push it forward, and how to lift the basket out of the water using the buoyancy. Yang Xuehua was able to work in coordination with her husband’s basket and the pole, ensuring a smooth and efficient process. In no time, their boat was filled with fresh river mud.

    However, Wang Xiaoqin suffered through it. In Xianghe Village, the heavy work of collecting mud and debris from the river was mainly done by the men. There were very few tasks that women could do, unless they were one of the few strong and sturdy women who were strong as men and able to compete for work points. Wang Xiaoqin was not stockily built, impossible for her to carry the mud and debris baskets. But this time, the work was distributed according to labour, and since Lu Genshui was only somewhat a trifler in farming, Wang Xiaoqin had no choice but to grit her teeth and toughen herself to bear it.

    For this matter, Laidizi has been red-faced with Xiangyuan and wanted to put off the task of three ships of mud a day, but got nowhere. Wang Xiaoqin had to instruct her son to be more agile and to take more care of his wife. She also reminded her daughter- in-law to be careful and to not fill the baskets too full, as it would be difficult for men to carry, let alone women. When putting the basket in the water, down not too deeper, or else the bamboo pole would be hard to push forward. In short, they had to use skill rather than brute strength, and they couldn’t forget about the child in their womb. If they couldn’t complete the assigned task, they would be fined, and they would become “overdue households” at the end of the year when dividends were distributed. Wang Xiaoqin, who originally had a bad impression on the Lu family, was moved by her mother-in-law’s sincere words and repeatedly nodded her head, promising to be careful and noticed, and not to forget about the child in her womb.

    However, her promise would not swing by, and as time went on, Wang Xiaoqin’s pole handling skills were still a bit disobedient. One basket was not lifted onto the boat, and as she turned away, she twisted her foot and fell on the bow of the boat.

    The other boats on the river were only concerned with completing their own work and did not see to her fall. However, her fall made Liu Chunyu, who was working nearby, was afflicted with an importunate throb of pain.

    “Quick, move closer,” Liu Chunyu commanded her wife without explaining. Yang Xuehua also saw Wang Xiaoqin’s fall, despite there were several boats on the river, and kept glancing over at the boat belonging to Wang and Lu Genshui.

    She knew all too well that Wang Xiaoqin had been in love with her husband in the past. Without Lu Genshui’s intervention, she might not have been able to win her husband over Wang Xiaoqin. Therefore, for a while, she was grateful to Lu Genshui, a rapist, for helping her. Such thoughts were sometimes bitter, but love was inherently selfish, tinged with some degree of sin.

    Yang Xuehua obediently maneuvered her own muddy boat to dock with the Lu family’s boat. “What happened? Are you hurt?” Liu Chunyu urgently stepped onto Wang Xiaoqin’s boat. While his words had a hint of blame, they also revealed more of his concern.

    Lu Genshui was stunned by his wife’s unexpected fall.

    “You go away, mind your own business.” Wang Xiaoqin, who had not shed a tear from her fall earlier, now forcefully shook off the hand that Liu Chunyu reached out to her. These were the same hands of the man who had once loved her so much, the same hands that had given her so much tenderness and romance, the same hands she had hoped to hold forever in her dreams. But at this moment, she resolutely pushed him away. With a near lion-like roar, she refused.

    “Lu Genshui, you are a bastard for doing that! Are you even a man? How dare you let your wife do the heavy work while you prop the boat? You fucking shameless!” Liu Chunyu was not intimidated by Wang Xiaoqin’s sudden roar. In his heart, this woman who had just fallen was always his. He had the right to say that he was more familiar with every inch of her body than Lu Genshui. His strong arms lifted up the struggling Wang Xiaoqin. When he saw blood flowing from her pant leg, he couldn’t contain his anger towards Lu Genshui and began to scold loudly.

    Initially, when Wang Xiaoqin suddenly fell, Lu Genshui was taken aback and felt somewhat guilty. In a blink of the eye, Wang Xiaoqin was lifted up by Liu Chunyu, and Lu Genshui was then subjected to Liu Chunyu’s torrential scolding, causing him to be all kind of loopy.

    “Let go of me, you have no right to control me.” Wang Xiaoqin was still very emotional, struggling in Liu Chunyu’s arms.

    “I have to interfere! I handle it now.” Liu Chunyu’s words were full of unyielding power, almost spoken through gritted teeth. Fueled by Wang Xiaoqin, the emotions that had been suppressed within Liu Chunyu erupted: “Lu Genshui, today I make things clear to you. Qin loved me, and we hid nothing. It’s your moral deficiency against Qin and me. I have also heard that Qin is pregnant. If you don’t want the baby, no need to tarnish her body like this. I raise the child.”

    As soon as Liu Chunyu spoke, Wang Xiaoqin, who had been struggling to free herself, suddenly went limp and collapsed in Liu Chunyu’s arms. She burst into tears, repeatedly crying out, “Handle it today, handle it tomorrow? Handle me for the rest of my life? Oh my god, why am I so unlucky……”

    The sound of Wang Xiaoqin’s sorrowful cries echoed over Xianghe village……