Chapter 28: Do Not Bully Her

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Seeing Chen Yunchao approaching through the window, Li Hong hurriedly picked up her medicine and headed for the door. Once there, she turned back and reminded Li Tian’er again not to tell anyone about her condition—especially not Fan Lihua. If Fan Lihua found out, the whole of Little Crow Village would know by the end of the day. It was not that she was ashamed. She simply did not want people whispering behind her back that her husband was incapable in that regard...

She had already promised Li Hong that she would keep a patient’s treatment confidential. If Li Hong still could not trust her, there was nothing Li Tian’er could do.

Li Tian’er said nothing. She merely smiled faintly at Li Hong, who suddenly felt she had been far too long-winded. Since she had come to the Fairy Auntie to have her ailment treated, she would have to accept the consequences of having her private affairs exposed.

“All right, I won’t keep you any longer. Your husband is here. He’s the literary star of our village, and handsome enough to be terribly popular. You’d better keep a close eye on him—better yet, stay by his side. Those women outside aren’t as honest and proper as the girls from our village. Who knows what seductive tricks they might use...”

Before Li Hong could finish, Chen Yunchao opened the door and came in. The two nearly collided face-to-face. Laughing loudly, Li Hong sidestepped to let him enter, while Chen Yunchao retreated two steps and held the door open until she had gone out.

It was obvious that Li Hong had been trying to take liberties with Chen Yunchao, but he nimbly avoided her.

“Thank you, Fairy Auntie,” Li Hong said.

She did not look at Li Tian’er. Instead, she kept her eyes fixed askance on Chen Yunchao’s handsome face until she had walked out.

Chen Yunchao waited until Li Hong was two meters away before entering and shutting the door. His brows were furrowed, and his expression was grave.

“Don’t treat these people anymore. With all these women coming and going from the house, people will start gossiping.”

“What is there to gossip about when I’m treating illnesses? Besides, I’m a woman too.”

Li Tian’er was arranging the medicine cabinet and paid no attention to Chen Yunchao’s expression.

“I said no, so no.”

Chen Yunchao lost his temper again. He had seen plenty of women casting flirtatious glances at him to attract his attention, and he could tell at a glance which women were decent and proper. There was nothing improper about his wife treating female patients, but his elder brother Chen Jiangchao also lived in the house. Chen Jiangchao had only just recovered his intelligence, and there was no guarantee that the village women would not lead him astray.

In the past, when his elder brother had still been a fool, Chen Yunchao had taken him to play by the river. Some women had teased Chen Jiangchao, teaching him that he ought to find a wife. His brother might not have understood what they were saying, but he had repeated everything after them.

“Find a wife, kiss-kiss, eat that, have babies...”

Though Chen Jiangchao had been a fool, he never forgot the things he learned. Even after Chen Yunchao told him to stop saying them, he could recite them word for word upon returning home, making their mother, Fan Lihua, blush scarlet with embarrassment.

Behind her, Chen Yunchao suddenly raised his voice. Li Tian’er had no choice but to turn and look at him.

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“Come with me to the county town.”

Seeing Li Tian’er’s fearless expression, Chen Yunchao softened his tone and added that the house needed to be renovated, and treating villagers was not a long-term solution. If she made even one mistake and failed to cure a patient, the villagers might tear the house down around them.

“Backwater places produce vicious people! They may call one another neighbors and fellow villagers, but in truth every household cares only about its own little family. Who sincerely wishes anyone else well? My mother used to treat people with all her heart, and wasn’t she still criticized behind her back? Sometimes helping someone only earns you an enemy. Right now I don’t have the ability to bring my mother and my brother to live in the county town. Once I’m assigned a house, I’ll bring them both there for good. I’ll never stay in this wretched place again...”

Li Tian’er had always thought Chen Yunchao loved his hometown. After all, this was where he had been born and raised, the place that had given him his immense vanity. She had never imagined that he not only disliked his hometown but despised it at every turn, as though leaving Little Crow Village would wash away every trace of his having once been one of its villagers.

Li Tian’er looked at Chen Yunchao with disdain.

He sensed it and immediately fell silent.

“Little Crow Village may be lacking in this way and that, but you could help build it up. You think the villagers care only about their own interests—but how much do they really have? The village economy is backward. Someone needs to take the lead and improve it. The village worked so hard to educate you into a university graduate. Isn’t it time you gave something back to your hometown?”

“I should give something back to my hometown?”

A woman with only a rural high-school education could say something like that? Chen Yunchao felt as if he no longer knew his own wife. Even the old village head could not have expressed such lofty principles.

He stared at Li Tian’er in astonishment. She pointed to the quilt on the floor and told him to carry it into the main room. Just then, Fan Lihua stood in the doorway and called them to dinner.

Chen Yunchao picked up the quilt and walked out. Li Tian’er had already entered the main room several steps ahead of him, while he was still unable to recover from their exchange.

Taking the lead in developing the village economy—he had never once considered such a thing. His only goal now was to obtain the work-unit housing. After that, he would strive to qualify as a technician at the agricultural technology station. Once he earned the title, his salary would rise by one grade. After deducting the money he gave the family for living expenses, he would still have enough left to go dancing and watch films.

“Why did you bring the quilt back?” Fan Lihua asked in surprise when Chen Yunchao entered carrying it.

Chen Yunchao glanced at Li Tian’er. He, too, wondered why a perfectly good quilt had been thrown on the floor.

“A patient soiled it yesterday.”

He Laifeng had hidden inside the quilt while seeking treatment, afraid that An Changlin might see her. Li Tian’er disliked using anything that others had touched, so she had casually thrown the quilt onto the floor. Without giving it much thought, she answered honestly.

“A patient slept in your quilt?”

Chen Yunchao’s voice rose again as he stared at Li Tian’er, waiting for an explanation.

Fan Lihua froze. It was rare for her second son to speak so loudly.

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Li Tian’er washed her hands and sat down at the table. She glanced at Chen Yunchao, intending to explain, but decided it was unnecessary. The matter between He Laifeng and An Changlin was difficult to explain and involved He Laifeng’s privacy.

“Go on, tell me!” Chen Yunchao rose from the table.

“What am I supposed to say? The quilt was dirty, so taking it apart and washing it is perfectly normal.”

Li Tian’er remained calm. At the same time, she was considering what Chen Yunchao had said. With the house due for renovation, should she go with him to the county town and squeeze into a dormitory, or rent a shop of her own and start a business?

“Don’t shout at Peach Blossom.”

Chen Jiangchao put down his chopsticks and stood up, glaring at Chen Yunchao.

“Do you know you look like a lion?”

Chen Jiangchao was taller and more powerfully built than Chen Yunchao. When he stood, he loomed before him like a wall, and Chen Yunchao immediately felt oppressed.

“Big Brother, you don’t know anything, so stop butting in.”

From childhood onward, Chen Yunchao had always dominated and restrained his elder brother. Even after Chen Jiangchao was no longer foolish, Chen Yunchao still did not take him seriously.

“You are not allowed to raise your voice at Peach Blossom, and you’re even less allowed to bully her. Otherwise, I’ll beat you to a pulp!”

Chen Jiangchao’s eyes widened. Only then did Chen Yunchao notice how large and sharp his elder brother’s eyes were.

Fan Lihua stared blankly at her two sons standing beside the table.

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