“Lin Dahai really wants to divorce Deng Chunhua? I mean, I don’t like Deng Chunhua much either, but she did give him two kids. Lin Dahai is truly scum.”
“Divorced women are treated badly. Once back at her family’s house, who knows how much abuse and disdain she’ll face.”
Aunt Wang elbowed her way through her group of old friends and smiled brightly at Lin Zhen and Song Wei.
“So, Song Zhiqing, is Lin Zhen courting you now? I knew it! The two of you are such a perfect match. And you know what? Your criteria for a partner completely describe Lin Zhen!”
Song Wei: ???
She blinked in confusion for a moment before recalling a conversation at Lin family’s neighbor’s house when an older woman had asked about her criteria for a partner.
Song Wei: ………
Aunt Wang kept holding her hand, chattering on.
“Didn’t you say you wanted someone fit, good-looking, and tough enough to handle beatings when there is a conflict. Isn’t that exactly Lin Zhen? And Lin Zhen, didn’t you say you wanted someone fair-skinned, beautiful, and able to hold her own in a fight? Isn’t that Song Wei?”
She clapped her hands together. “It’s perfect! What’s that saying again…?”
“I know, I know!” another old lady piped up proudly, eager to show off her knowledge. “That’s called being partners in crime!”
Song Wei: ………
Lin Zhen: ………
“Get out of here with that nonsense! What kind of term is that? It even has the word ‘crime’ in it. That’s not a compliment!”
“Exactly, exactly.”
Aunt Wang chuckled and looked at Lin Zhen and Song Wei.
“Either way, I think the two of you make a great pair. Don’t mind these gossipy old women.”
Song Wei glanced at Lin Zhen. Lin Zhen was already looking at her, grinning like an idiot. She turned away quickly, her lips curving up in amusement.
Lin Zhen invited the older women inside to sit. They didn’t hesitate, making themselves at home as they started gossiping about Lin Dahai.
“That Deng Chunhua is just too soft. Women around here need to be fierce to keep their men in line. She cries, she makes a scene, but it’s clear she can’t control him.”
“Exactly. My old man struts around like a rooster outside, but that’s just for show. At home, everything runs the way I say it does.”
“We haven’t had a cheating scandal in our village before. Lin Dahai might just start a trend.”
“That Liu Chunyan woman isn’t admitting anything, so what can anyone do?”
“Not necessarily. She might lie about everything else, but she can’t lie about that belly. Didn’t Song Zhiqing say she’s pregnant? By the way, how old is she, Song Zhiqing? Surely not some young maiden, right? What could she possibly see in an older, married man like Lin Dahai?”
Song Wei replied casually, “She’s in her thirties.”
“Then she must’ve been divorced. Or worse, maybe she’s still married and cheating with Lin Dahai. Now that would be despicable.”
Sitting among the old ladies, Song Wei listened with great interest as they speculated on every possibility. Their experience and imagination were truly impressive.
“Lin Zhen, you already know her name is Liu Chunyan. Do you know anything else about her?”
The women didn’t bother asking how Lin Zhen knew; they just waited for an answer.
Lin Zhen, who had been zoning out while staring outside, sat up straight at the sudden question.
He had been distracted, worrying whether Song Wei would be upset by what Aunt Wang had said. What was she thinking right now?
“Um, she’s divorced, but I don’t know the exact reasons,” Lin Zhen replied seriously.
Of course, he knew more but felt it wasn’t appropriate to discuss a woman’s private matters with these elders.
The women were disappointed by his lack of details.
Just then, the sound of soft howling came from another room.
Heidan came running out, holding two small wolf pups in his arms.
“Sister Song! They’re awake!”
The pups struggled a bit in Heidan’s arms but immediately settled down when Song Wei took them. For some reason, they had latched onto her as their surrogate mother.
“Oh my, these little puppies are so cute and plump!”
“Song Zhiqing, you’re raising dogs now? And two at that?”
Song Wei repeated the explanation she had given before.
“I found them in the mountains. They seem to be siblings, and I couldn’t find their mother, so I brought them back to care for them.”
“Oh, then they’re probably strays someone abandoned.”
In this era, food was scarce, and families could usually only afford to keep one dog at most. If a dog gave birth to a litter and the puppies couldn’t be given away, people would sometimes abandon them in remote areas.
The old women filled in the gaps with their own assumptions, saving Song Wei the trouble of explaining further.
As they were leaving, they noticed a makeshift pen next to Lin Zhen’s house with something unusual inside.
“What’s that sound? Oh my! Is that a deer?!”
Inside the pen were two sika deer, one large and one small.
“Oh, goodness! That’s real deer! They’re so beautiful. And alive, too! We barely ever get to see deer, and here you’ve got two of them, Lin Zhen!”
Lin Zhen was about to clarify that the deer weren’t his when Song Wei shot him a look.
If the deer were said to belong to her, it might cause resentment in the village. Many would feel she, as an outsider, had no right to keep such valuable animals. But if they belonged to Lin Zhen, a local, there would be fewer complaints.
Lin Zhen quickly shut his mouth.
He glanced at Song Wei, silently asking, “What excuse should I use?”
Song Wei calmly replied, “They were a gift from one of your comrades.”
“Ah, yes!” Lin Zhen immediately backed her up.
“A friend of mine from the army caught a deer and its fawn but couldn’t care for them. He thought they’d both die if he killed the mother, so he sent them to me. They arrived just two nights ago.”
The old women nodded, completely convinced.
“Well, Lin Zhen, you’re certainly resourceful. It’s good to have friends like that!”
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