Chapter Five: The Slender Girl

At this moment, Xiao'e had already found the oil lamp, lit it with a fire striker, and placed it on a lump of earth by the bedside.

Xiao Ding, by the faint glow of the lamp, could finally see the room’s furnishings.

There was barely any real furniture. Aside from the bed, there was a rough wooden chest under it, clearly handmade and likely used for storing clothes. In a corner of the inner room stood a small rice jar, half-filled with coarse rice—no doubt the leftovers from the autumn harvest. Beneath the windowsill in the outer room was a low table, on which lay some bowls, chopsticks, and spoons. Around the table were two or three small wooden stools and a few blocks of earth, plainly the family’s meager dining area.

During his earlier conversation with Zhao Laixi, Xiao Ding had expected the family to be poor, but not to such an extent as this.

He let out a long sigh.

By now, Xiaoya, Xiaofu, Xiao Zhu, and the skinny, dark-skinned girl had all come in, gathering around the bed. Judging by their expressions, they weren’t especially anxious; it seemed Li had fainted often enough that the children were used to it.

Xiaoya skillfully pressed the philtrum under Li’s upper lip, softly calling, “Mother.” Before long, Li slowly regained consciousness.

She coughed twice before opening her eyes, scanning the room. When her gaze settled on Xiao Ding, who had been staring blankly by the window, she stopped and murmured, “Xiao Ding, my foolish boy, how are you? How did you end up hurt like this?”

“Huh?” Startled from his daze by Li’s voice, Xiao Ding hurried to the bedside, took her hand, and said, “Mother, my wounds are nothing serious—just some scrapes. I’ll recover soon enough. You just rest.”

“That’s good, that’s good… Where’s Xiaofu? Let him fetch the doctor to have a look at you…” Li’s eyes closed again, her worry eased by Xiao Ding’s reassurance.

“Alright, Mother, I’ll go now,” Xiaofu said, turning to leave.

Xiao Ding quickly stopped him. “No need for the doctor. Just minor injuries, nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure?” Li opened her eyes to look at him.

“Truly, there’s no need. It’s so late—don’t send Xiaofu out,” Xiao Ding insisted.

“Very well, then let Erniu help you clean your wounds and find you some clean clothes. You reek of blood,” Li said, closing her eyes to rest.

“Yes, Mother, just rest and don’t worry about us,” the dark, skinny girl replied softly.

Erniu?

So that’s her name! Is she my sister too? Or did Zhao Laixi forget to introduce her to me?

“Husband, let’s go outside,” the skinny girl tugged at the dazed Xiao Ding’s sleeve.

“Ah, alright,” he replied mechanically.

What? Husband? Did I hear that right? Xiao Ding froze, eyes wide as he stared at the skinny girl…

She called me husband? Could it be that this dark, underdeveloped girl is my wife?

“Husband, come along now, don’t just stand there. Be good…” Erniu took Xiao Ding by the arm and led him outside, assuming he’d sunken into one of his simple-minded spells.

“You…you called me husband?” Xiao Ding asked, bewildered.

“Yes, husband, have you forgotten me? I’m your wife, Zhang Erniu!” she replied, her eyes round with sincerity.

This time there was no mistake. In a flash, Xiao Ding understood: this skinny girl named Zhang Erniu was his young wife—he must have been married before losing his memory.

But how had he ended up marrying an underage girl?

He dared not dwell on it further; his head already ached from trying to piece together too much in one day.

Following Erniu into the backyard—a space behind the thatched house—he saw a large bonfire burning brightly, lighting the whole yard. Zhao Laixi was there, leading the men from the mountain in skinning the wolf; Tian Dabao sat nearby, chatting with the others.

In the yard’s center was a well, and not far from it a simple shed. That’s where the Tian family cooked their meals.

Erniu led Xiao Ding to the well, pointing to the bucket. “Draw a bucket of water to wash up. I’ll fetch you some clean clothes.”

Xiao Ding nodded, and Erniu left.

Seeing them, Zhao Laixi stepped out from the group. “Is Mother alright?” he asked.

Zhao Laixi had been an orphan, and after marrying Tian Xiaoya, he’d taken to calling Tian Dabao and Li “Father” and “Mother” as well.

“She’s fine now, don’t worry,” Xiao Ding replied. Seeing only one wolf being skinned, he asked, “What about the male wolf? Not skinning it too?”

“Father said one wolf is enough for tonight. We’ll take the other one to town tomorrow morning to sell,” Zhao Laixi explained.

“I see,” Xiao Ding understood. In such a poor family, everything had to be used sparingly, and anything that could be sold for money was always best sold.

“Oh, and once you gut the wolf, just bury the innards. That wolf ate human flesh,” Xiao Ding suddenly recalled the corpse on the mountain.

“Alright, I’ll let the others know,” Zhao Laixi agreed.

As they spoke, Erniu returned with clean clothes in hand. Seeing Xiao Ding hadn’t yet washed, she said, “Husband, why haven’t you washed yet? Here—your clothes.”

“Right, I’ll wash now.” Xiao Ding felt awkward facing this young bride. He wasn’t sure how to interact with her.

“I’ll help you wash up, big brother,” Zhao Laixi offered.

“Yes, Mother said I should clean my wounds so they don’t get worse,” Xiao Ding replied.

“Alright then. Sister-in-law, you head back inside and let the women know not to come to the backyard for now. I’ll help big brother with his wounds,” Zhao Laixi said to Erniu.

Though Zhao Laixi was older—nineteen to Erniu’s thirteen—Erniu was Xiao Ding’s wife, and thus Zhao Laixi’s sister-in-law.

“Thank you, brother-in-law,” Erniu said.

There was a drainage ditch in the yard, used for kitchen and laundry water.

By the ditch, Xiao Ding stripped bare. Zhao Laixi drew water, fetched a ladle from the shed, and helped clean Xiao Ding’s wounds.

“Brother, how come yours is so big? Looks like sister-in-law is a lucky woman!” Zhao Laixi, an experienced man among menfolk, spoke without reserve.

Hearing this, several men who’d been watching the skinning hurried over.

“Whose is bigger? Let me see—hey, wow…”

“My goodness, that’s something…”

“Let me see! Heaven help us, that’s enough to kill a woman!”

“Nonsense—it’s better the bigger it is. Women love them big…”

The villagers were simple, blunt folk. Having read few books, they spoke unreservedly, making crude jokes as they pointed and commented, some even venturing into bawdy territory.

Xiao Ding was mortified.

To be scrutinized like some rare beast, criticized and discussed by a crowd of men—what an experience.

Inside, the women blushed furiously, heads bowed in silence. The ramshackle house let in the wind from all sides, and with the back window open, the men’s boisterous voices carried in clearly.

Erniu, however, only sighed inwardly: She’d been married to Xiao Ding for over half a year, and yet this simpleton still hadn’t consummated their marriage. The others said she was lucky, but what luck was there in marrying a fool?

At just thirteen, Erniu was still a child herself. Malnourished and underdeveloped, she hadn’t even started her monthly cycles, and could hardly be expected to understand the ways of men and women. Still, though she’d never experienced it, she’d heard enough to know that couples were supposed to share a bed after marriage—even if she didn’t know the details.

“No, tonight I must make the fool consummate our marriage!” Erniu vowed silently to herself.