Chapter 77

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Chai Mi

Chai Mi was somewhat surprised; at most it was five o'clock now, still not dawn. Though rural people rose early, that didn't mean going to the fields to work or visiting neighbors happened any earlier.

Who had nothing better to do, visiting neighbors at four or five in the morning? Wasn't that being sick in the head?

And seriously sick at that.

Moreover, there were many hooligans and street loafers in this era, not particularly friendly toward girls. Public security could only be called average—not that the police weren't responsible, but it was the times. At this time, a police station had at most one minibus, the roads were hard to travel, very few homes had telephones, so whether reporting a crime or police responding, both were very slow.

Chai Mi frowned, thought for a moment, went to the east room to check on her father Chai Youqing...

Forget it, Chai Youqing still had a swollen face and bruised nose.

Chai Mi picked up the cooking ladle and walked out.

At the door, she saw no one was there, only vaguely catching sight of someone flashing past the corner of the wall at the road junction above.

Chai Mi thought: It should be Wang Huirong...

Wang Huirong's way of walking was still very distinctive, completely different from others.

This brings up another characteristic of Wang Huirong—bound feet.

Now it was the Reform and Opening-up era; even pushing forward forty or fifty years, it had already been liberated, but this Wang Huirong didn't know what was going on and still bound her feet.

Wang Huirong was clearly born before liberation. In her previous life, Chai Mi had heard Chai Youqing say: Wang Huirong came from a wealthy family...

That is, a landlord.

But abolishing feudal customs, by the time Wang Huirong was young, it should have long been popularized. Even long ago, after the Great Qing was gone, foot binding shouldn't have existed anymore.

But Wang Huirong had bound feet.

Sometimes, Chai Mi really wanted to call Wang Huirong a remnant of feudalism...

So, in the whole village, only Wang Huirong walked those two steps, and it was obvious at a glance...

Walking with bowlegs, plus a hunched back and bent waist. It should be that walking hurt, and Wang Huirong had painfully developed a special, peculiar way of walking.

Although Chai Mi only saw her once, she determined it was that old busybody Wang Huirong.

"This old codger, what's he come for?" Chai Mi didn't understand. "Came, and left again?"

Chai Mi didn't linger, returned to the courtyard, entered the house, and only then remembered this old thing should be checking whether Chai Youqing was home...

After all, Chai Youqing was a famous mama's boy; this old woman had suffered these past couple days, shouldn't she go complain to her good eldest son...

Chai Mi feared Chai Youqing would wake up soon and be caught by Wang Huirong; by then Chai Youqing would be muddled, and all her own efforts would be wasted.

So Chai Mi knocked on the glass beside the stove.

Chai Mi's house was a tu pi fang, three rooms. Beside the stove on the east side, there was a small window.

This window was shared by the inner and outer rooms, for the purpose of... saving on electricity.

Putting an electric lamp in this small window could light the inner room and also let one see the cooking.

It was truly a product created specially to save on electricity costs.

Electricity wasn't expensive in this era, but... earnings were small...

Old farmers who lived off the sky could save a penny wherever they could.

After Chai Mi knocked, Chai Youqing woke up.

Chai Youqing had just woken up, covered his mouth, after a while covered his eyes, after a while covered his nose, after a while Chai Youqing rubbed his own hands...

Hiss...

"My arm hurts..."

"What's wrong, Chai Mi? What is it?"