Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Early the next morning, Lu Yuan rose, took a willow branch, and went to the courtyard to perform her morning ablutions. She chewed one end of the branch into fibers, using it as a toothbrush.

After washing, she gathered her clothes into a basin, grabbed some soap pods, and headed to the river.

The village women typically washed their clothes in the morning.

Gathered together, they would chat while doing laundry. By arriving early, Lu Yuan could secure a good spot and listen to their conversations, helping her quickly understand this new world and Weishan Village.

Lu Yuan arrived well ahead of others, claiming a secluded spot behind a large rock, where she was easily overlooked.

After a while, more women arrived to wash clothes, and the chatter began.

"I heard Chen Dashan isn't working for the Qi family anymore."

"Really? Then who's looking after Qi Cheng?"

"Who else but that widow? Why else would Old Lady He take in the mother and her two children? It's not just an extra pair of chopsticks—it's three more mouths to feed."

"Old Lady He really is desperate. Even the bachelors in our village wouldn't touch that widow, but she went for it."

"What choice does she have? Her grandson used to be quite the catch—girls from all over wanted to marry him, but the old lady was too picky. Now that he's in this state, she can't afford to be. A widow is better than nothing."

Lu Yuan, hidden behind the rock: …

She wanted to hear village gossip, not gossip about herself.

"With Qi Cheng in such a state, is Old Lady He looking for a maid or hoping for a great-grandson?"

"Let me tell you, but keep it quiet—I heard from Dashan's wife that when Dashan was taking care of Qi Cheng, his 'thing' still reacted, and it was quite impressive!"

"So it still works?!"

Hearing this, Lu Yuan's face flushed crimson.

They really had no filter!

Unable to listen any longer, Lu Yuan cleared her throat lightly.

"Ahem."

At the sound of the cough, the two gossiping women immediately fell silent, looking towards the source of the noise. They saw a sliver of clothing peeking out from behind the rock.

They exchanged glances, pursed their lips, and whispered to each other: "Who do you think is behind that rock?"

"Please don't let it be the Qi family's widow."

Lu Yuan poked her head out from behind the rock and smiled at them. "Were you just talking about me?"

The two women's eyes widened in shock.

How long had this widow been listening?!

Their faces instantly registered embarrassment.

One of the women offered an awkward laugh, "You misheard. We were talking about the widow from the neighboring village."

Lu Yuan didn't press the point, simply smiled, and ducked back behind the rock.

The two women let out a collective sigh of relief.

It really isn't good to talk about people behind their backs.

Next time, before gossiping, they'd have to make sure no one was around.

Lu Yuan had been washing clothes for a while when a woman's voice suddenly called from behind her: "Widow Su, why are you out washing clothes so early today?"

Lu Yuan turned to see Huang Lan, whom she had spoken with yesterday.

Lu Yuan greeted her, "Sister-in-law Chen."

But as she spoke, she paused.

Wait a minute...

Chen Dashan, Second Sister-in-law Chen?

Huang Lan, with an easy familiarity, squatted beside Lu Yuan, dumped her clothes into the water, stirred them a few times with a laundry stick, and then pulled them out.

Lu Yuan glanced at Huang Lan and tentatively asked, "Sister-in-law Chen, what's your relation to Dashan, the one who used to take care of Qi Cheng?"

Huang Lan looked at her in surprise and said, "Dashan is my husband, didn't you know?!"

Lu Yuan silently shook her head.

So the gossip she'd just overheard had come from Huang Lan’s mouth.

Huang Lan: "Why are you suddenly asking about my husband?"

The two women whispering behind the stone were so startled they immediately fell silent, washing their clothes faster while mentally repeating, "Don't notice me, don't notice me."

Lu Yuan: "It just occurred to me that your husband's surname is Chen, and the one taking care of Qi Cheng is also surnamed Chen. I thought it might be a coincidence, so I asked."

Most of the villagers in Weishan Village had different surnames and were not originally from the area.

Some were families who had moved down from the mountains, others were refugees from long ago, and some had been exiled here later.

Hearing the widow's reply, the two women relaxed and resumed their normal washing pace.

Lu Yuan asked, "Sister-in-law Chen, I'd like to ask, where does everyone usually go to buy things?"

Huang Lan: "To Ping'an Town, twenty li from here. It's about an hour's walk. Why, do you want to buy something?"

Lu Yuan said, "I thought I'd go take a look."

Huang Lan: "If you want to go, you'll have to go on market day. That's when it's lively."

Lu Yuan asked, "When is market day?"

Huang Lan: "The day after tomorrow. On market days, the old woman in your household usually sends someone to take her embroidery to the cosmetics shop."

Lu Yuan: "Are you going on market day, Sister-in-law Chen?"

Sister-in-law Chen: "Of course I am."

Lu Yuan: "I don't know the way. Could you take me with you then?"

Huang Lan was indeed a chatterbox, but she was also genuinely warm-hearted: "Of course, why not? It'll be nicer having company to talk to on the way!"

"You have no idea how lively the market day in our Ping'an Town is. Usually, everyone saves up a few things and sets up stalls at the market to earn a little extra for the household."

"I'm going to check out what's cheap and practical, and buy some back."

Hearing this, Lu Yuan became interested and asked, "Can anyone set up a stall?"

Huang Lan: "Of course not. You have to pay two coppers for a stall fee first."

Lu Yuan, who was penniless, immediately abandoned the idea of selling wood ear mushrooms at a stall.

It would be better to understand the situation first and then see what kind of business she could do.

After washing their clothes, the two walked back together.

On the way, Lu Yuan was lost in thought when Huang Lan suddenly pointed ahead and said, "Isn't that your old lady? Where is she going?"

Lu Yuan snapped out of it and followed Huang Lan's gaze. She saw Old Lady He walking slowly deeper into the village, though it was unclear who she was going to see.

Back in the courtyard, Lu Yuan asked Chun Hua, "Do you know where Grandma He went?"

Chun Hua shook her head: "She didn't say."

While hanging the clothes to dry, Chun Hua came to help. She was small and not very strong, so she could only wring out her clothes and Qiu Hua’s.

After wringing them halfway dry, she climbed onto a stool and tossed the clothes over the drying pole.

Seeing the wobbly stool, Lu Yuan quickly picked her up: "You'd better go take care of your sister."

By the time all the clothes were hung, the sun had just risen.

Lu Yuan wanted to cut some bamboo to try making a simple bamboo bed.

If she had to wait until she earned money to buy a bed, she had no idea when she’d ever get to sleep on a real bed.

Even though she’d aired out the straw mat yesterday, she still felt uneasy about sleeping on the ground.

Besides, she’d been feeling achy and sore these past few days, perhaps due to the dampness from the ground.

She’d never made a bamboo bed before, but she’d seen one at her grandfather’s house and had seen videos online. She roughly knew the process and wanted to give it a try.

She remembered there was a small bamboo grove next to the vegetable patch on the back hill. She didn’t know if it belonged to someone or was wild, so she’d have to wait for Old Lady He to return and ask if she could cut it.

After waiting about fifteen minutes, Old Lady He returned from outside, followed by a limping old man.

The man was around fifty, his clothes patched but clean.

Just as Lu Yuan was wondering what was going on, Old Lady He said to the man, "As agreed, thirty-five coppers a month, mornings, noons, and nights. You'll try out for three days first. If you can't handle it, I can't keep you, and you'll only get three coppers for those three days."

The man replied, "It's just changing A Cheng's bedding and pants, washing him down, and turning him over. Simple, I can do it."

Hearing this, Lu Yuan’s eyes widened slightly.

Did this mean she wouldn't have to tend to Qi Cheng's washing and changing anymore?

Why had Old Lady He suddenly changed her mind?

Whatever the reason, this was undoubtedly great news for Lu Yuan.

Old Lady He had her own considerations.

If she kept doing this grueling work day after day, over time, Lu Yuan would grow weary. Even if her grandson was handsome, Lu Yuan would eventually resent him. How could they then be husband and wife, or parents to a child?

The old man went inside, and Old Lady He instructed Lu Yuan, "Get a basin of water and take it in."

Then she lowered her voice and added, "While you're at it, see how Old Man Li handles it."

Lu Yuan nodded and went to fetch water.

While carrying the water inside, Lu Yuan heard the old man mutter, sounding sorry for him, "Such a fine young man, having to spend the rest of his life bedridden. What a pity."

Hearing this, Lu Yuan looked over at the man lying in bed.

In truth, as long as it could be proven that he could still sense what was going on around him and hear people speak, it might be possible to stimulate whatever nerves still worked through speech and sensation. Then there was a chance he could wake up.

But if he were brain dead, he’d never wake up.

After setting down the water, she didn't leave. But when the old man started to remove Qi Cheng's pants, she looked away—it didn't feel right to watch.

The old man, being male, didn't think twice about it, and he was rough. Lu Yuan could even hear the sound of rough cloth scraping over skin.

Qi Cheng’s consciousness was shocked awake by the rough treatment.

As his awareness gradually returned, he could even feel someone grabbing…

Grabbing him down there!

What was going on?!

A slight stinging sensation made it clear.

He was being washed!

Who was it?!

Chen Dashan wasn't coming anymore, so it had to be that widow!

She, she… she was actually holding it, touching it…

The recent stimuli were just too much, leaving Qi Cheng feeling completely defeated.

Lu Yuan stayed a little longer before leaving.

After washing Qi Cheng down, the old man rolled him on his side for a bit.

He came out, clapped his hands together, and said to them, "I've cleaned him up. Just flip A Cheng onto his back later."

Then he added, "It's no big deal. It won't even take a quarter of an hour. I'll come back at noon."

Old Man Li had a limp and couldn't do heavy work, only grow some vegetables. Coming here three times a day for a total of forty-five minutes would earn him thirty-five coppers. Money for nothing.

As soon as Old Man Li left, Old Lady He hurriedly asked, "How did Old Man Li do?"

Lu Yuan nodded: "He scrubbed him good and thorough."

The force was almost like that of a bathhouse scrubber—he got all the dirt off. Of course it was clean.

Hearing this, Old Lady He let out a sigh of relief and said gratefully, "That's good. I should've gotten Old Man Li in the first place."

But then she thought about it—Chen Dashan had given back twenty coppers, so in the end, she still made out okay.

After a while, Lu Yuan turned back into the room, intending to bring out the basin of water and also take out the soiled pants and the absorbent pad.

Entering the room, she lifted the water basin and was heading out when she caught a glimpse of Qi Cheng.

With that one glance, she noticed Qi Cheng’s face had turned red again, just like yesterday.

No, it was even redder than yesterday—even his ears were bright red.

This…

Was he actually conscious?

As a nurse, she didn’t have extensive professional knowledge, but she knew that if a vegetative patient had consciousness, they could weakly perceive sounds from the outside world.

Perhaps he hadn't heard the old man's voice earlier and mistakenly thought it was her who was washing him?

That could be it.

She needed to ask Chen Dashan, who had previously taken care of Qi Cheng, whether Qi Cheng had ever turned red like this before.

If he really was conscious, giving him more stimulation in the future could actually wake him up.

If he could wake up, the two issues troubling her—being a couple and having children—wouldn't have to be an issue.