Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Wife Falls from the Sky When Xie Heng saw Shen Qingwu inside the room, his brows drew together slightly. Liu Cuilan immediately told him about Auntie Wang’s visit, even gesturing with her hands in case Xie Heng couldn’t hear her clearly. Perhaps because the constant, unending ringing in his ears had made him habitually frown, Xie Heng said, “Mother, this marriage won’t do.” Liu Cuilan grew anxious. Xie Heng was already twenty-five, while other families’ children were running all over the place. He normally didn’t even have anyone come to propose marriage on his behalf. The girls from the surrounding villages and towns were unwilling to marry him, and the wives assigned by the authorities would never reach his turn. Now that a wife had practically fallen from the sky, this thick-headed Xie Heng actually didn’t want her! “You foolish boy! The girl is willing to marry you, and you’re still being picky!” Xie Heng looked at Shen Qingwu, who stood silently nearby, and said each word clearly, “Think it through carefully. I have a bad reputation, and my body has been left disabled. My family is poor. If you follow me, you’ll only suffer and toil.” Xie Heng had once been the youngest Vanguard Commandant in the frontier region. Brave and skilled in battle, he had seemed destined for a brilliant future. But after his entire unit was wiped out in an ambush, everyone claimed that he had been driven out of the military camp because he was greedy for life and afraid of death. Liu Cuilan had explained everywhere that her son had left the military camp because his ears had been injured and his hearing impaired. But outsiders refused to believe it. The rumors only grew more vicious, and she had no way to stop them. After retiring from the battlefield, Xie Gensheng had been left with old injuries all over his body. He had suffered from coughing and wheezing for years, and his legs were not very mobile either, leaving him unable to do heavy labor. Liu Cuilan had also been ostracized by the villagers and could not find work. With his younger sister still young, Xie Heng could only chop firewood each day and sell it in town, earning a little money to barely support the whole family. He could not afford to provide for two more people, nor did he want to ruin someone else’s life. Shen Qingwu had originally assumed that Xie Heng was like other men, looking down on her for being too frail to bear children, or perhaps because she had a young brother in tow. Instead, he had laid all his shortcomings and desperate circumstances bare before her, solely because he did not want to drag her down. Interesting. In this chaotic world, nothing was harder to find than a kind heart. “All I need is a home where my brother and I can settle down safely. As for how our future goes, we’ll rely on our own hands.” Xie Heng’s gaze deepened involuntarily as he looked at Shen Qingwu. It wasn’t as though no one had ever proposed marriage to him before, but the moment people saw his old injuries and heard the slander circulating outside, didn’t every single one of them turn around and leave? Warmth filled Liu Cuilan’s face. “Girl, don’t worry. As long as you marry into our family, the Xie family will never mistreat you and your brother!” She glanced at Xie Heng again. If he rejected such a fine girl one more time, she would truly get angry. In the end, Xie Heng relented. “If you’re willing, then stay.” Liu Cuilan happily said, “Then we’ll prepare the wedding feast and have you married in three days! Aheng, go tidy up the room on the west side later. Let Awu and her brother stay there for now. Once you’re married, the two of you can live together.” Liu Cuilan was quite a proper woman. Shen Qingwu felt slightly relieved as well. After all, the problem between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had been an age-old difficulty throughout history. It was not easy to encounter a good mother-in-law. Xie Heng’s back stiffened slightly. He answered heavily, then turned and left. People here ate only two meals a day. That evening, Liu Cuilan cooked a large pot of wild-vegetable gruel and several black-flour steamed buns. When Xie Nian saw the black-flour steamed buns, she was so hungry that she began to drool, yet she only stared at them eagerly, not daring to reach out and take one. Liu Cuilan pushed the black-flour steamed buns toward Shen Qingwu and Shen Qinghuai. “You two eat. You must be exhausted after fleeing all this way. There’s nothing good in the house, so make do with this.” Shen Qingwu did not refuse. In her own world, she had never lacked food or drink, but she had often traveled all over the mountains in search of rare medicinal herbs. She had even been trapped in the wilderness before, hungry enough to chew on grass roots. Besides, during these days of fleeing, the refugees had fought one another bloody over the smallest morsels of food. Going hungry for three days after one meal was common. Having something to eat now was already fortunate. Shen Qinghuai stared at the black-flour steamed bun before him and swallowed involuntarily. Then he instinctively glanced at Shen Qingwu. Only after seeing her nod did he begin wolfing it down. It was the most peaceful meal he had eaten along the refugee road. He could sit beneath a roof that sheltered him from the wind and rain, without worrying that someone would snatch away his food. Seeing the little fellow eating so frantically, Shen Qingwu broke half of her own black-flour steamed bun off for him. She ate the wild-vegetable gruel and was barely able to fill her stomach. After setting down her bowl, she found another black-flour steamed bun being held out in front of her. Xie Heng extended his hand. “If you’re still hungry, there’s more.” The man did not speak much, but he knew how to care for others. Shen Qingwu had already prepared herself for the worst on the journey here, yet she had not expected Xie Heng to be so different from what she had imagined. After the meal, Shen Qingwu had intended to help clean up, but Liu Cuilan chased her back to the room. “You’ve worked hard all the way here. Go get a good rest tonight. I can handle this.” Although Xie Nian was young, she was diligent and helped collect the bowls and chopsticks. Shen Qingwu and Shen Qinghuai returned to the small room on the west side, only to find a wooden tub inside with water in it. Xie Heng stood to one side and scratched his head. “It’s for you to wash up. The clothes beside it are my mother’s old clothes. Don’t take offense. Once I’ve sold some firewood, I’ll buy you new clothes.” Shen Qingwu had not expected him to be so thoughtful. A faint smile appeared on her face. “All right.” Xie Heng cleared his throat lightly, then beckoned to Shen Qinghuai. “Come with me. I’ll take you to wash up. You’ll sleep with me tonight.” Shen Qinghuai looked at Shen Qingwu, then slowly walked toward his brother-in-law. He quite liked this brother-in-law of his—he had even given his sister black-flour steamed buns just now! During the entire journey as refugees, Shen Qingwu had never had the conditions to take a proper bath. Now, steam rose from the water in the wooden tub, bringing her a comfort she had never felt before. Much of the fatigue in her body faded away. She leaned against the tub and pretended to doze, but her mind was already calculating how she would live from here on. There were six people in the family. In times like these, feeding everyone until they were full was no easy matter. Life in the frontier region was naturally harder than elsewhere. She needed a livelihood—a way for the entire family to earn enough to eat. While they had been eating, she had observed the others. Xie Gensheng suffered from coughing and wheezing. He had never properly recuperated after leaving the military, and his body was incapable of heavy labor. His illness was not difficult to treat, but she lacked the necessary medicinal herbs. She could look for them later. Liu Cuilan was an efficient, kindhearted woman. The entire large family relied almost entirely on her to manage everything, and she was capable. Xie Nian, the little girl, had suffered from long-term malnutrition. Her face was sallow and her body thin, but her eyes were bright and sparkling, and her features were not unattractive. She would need to be carefully nourished in the future. As for Xie Heng, he was steady by nature. The old injury to his ears seemed to have led him to develop the ability to read lips, so everyday conversation was not a problem. As for his leg, she would examine it when she had the chance. Shen Qingwu might not have many other skills, but she was certainly capable of identifying medicinal herbs and treating illnesses or saving lives. On her first night after settling down, Shen Qingwu finally slept peacefully. The next morning, the sky had only just begun to lighten when sounds came from the small courtyard. Shen Qingwu changed her clothes, casually tying up her long hair with a dead tree branch. When she opened the door, she saw Xie Heng at a glance. The man apparently had not expected her to rise so early. He lifted his eyes and glanced over, then suddenly came to a halt.