Chapter 13: A Treasure You've Married, Ah Lei
Chapter 13: A Treasure You’ve Married, Ah Lei
Seeing Jiang Xia’s fear, Zhou Chenglei reassured her, "Don’t worry, Grandma was just joking. Snakes are only found in the mountains and fields, not everywhere."
Grandma Zhou protested, "Ah Lei, don’t lie! I’m not wrong. These snakes are common, they’re everywhere—in the vegetable patches, the fields, even in the houses. I once caught one in my bed."
In the bed? Jiang Xia paled, recalling some of the news stories she had seen before.
Seeing Jiang Xia’s face, Zhou Chenglei knew he had to stop Grandma Zhou from saying more. "Grandma, you’re just scaring her. Why don’t you help me throw these snakes away?"
If Grandma continued, Jiang Xia would probably be too scared to sleep tonight.
He picked up a snake bag he had brought to dispose of the trash and put the snakes inside.
The village elders said that snakes that enter a house shouldn’t be killed, only driven away.
"I’m not lying, it’s true," Grandma Zhou insisted. The reason snakes had been in her bed was because she had brought two snakes home for her grandson to play with. The basket’s lid hadn’t been secured properly, and the snakes had escaped.
Seeing Jiang Xia’s pale face, Grandma Zhou felt she had scared her enough. She wouldn’t be sleeping alone tonight.
She also put the snakes in the bag and called out to the neighbors, "Let’s go! It’s all settled. Everyone, go back to your own business. If you have nothing to do, you can stay and help my grandson, Little Stone, clean the yard."
The neighbors, the Pan family, left immediately. They had their own chores to attend to and no time to help clean someone else’s yard.
Zhou Junjie glanced at Jiang Xia, wanting to stay, but his wife dragged him away.
Once everyone was gone, Grandma Zhou decided to test Jiang Xia’s courage. In the countryside, fear of snakes wouldn’t do. In the heat of summer, snakes could appear anywhere.
Grandma Zhou took Jiang Xia’s hand and led her out. "Come, Grandma will show you how to get rid of the snakes."
Jiang Xia’s body stiffened as she was dragged along. Had Grandma’s hands just touched the snakes?
They walked toward the fields.
Not far ahead, Pan Daidei, a neighbor, instructed her two daughters-in-law, "Today, we need to clear the weeds from the peanut fields."
Zhou Junjie, Pan Daidei’s youngest son, immediately said, "Mom, I’ll check the dock to see if there’s any work."
And he ran off.
Pan Daidei’s eldest daughter-in-law rolled her eyes. All the boats had already set sail; what work could there be at the dock?
Her younger brother-in-law was lazy, gluttonous, lustful, and a gambler. He was probably off to gamble, and she wanted to split from him.
Pan Daidei ignored him and led her daughters-in-law to the peanut fields.
Her youngest daughter-in-law commented, "Two grass snakes scared her so much! Such a fuss over nothing. I thought something serious had happened!"
The eldest daughter-in-law said enviously, "She’s from the city. How often would she see a snake? She’s probably more used to seeing cars."
Pan Daidei, thinking about Jiang Xia’s indifference, said sarcastically, "I’ve seen many people afraid of snakes, but never anyone as scared as her! Such a delicate flower, she shouldn’t have married into our village. The way she acted just now, ignoring everyone, acting like she’s too good for us. Just because she’s seen a lot of cars, so what? It’s not like she owns one!"
Her youngest daughter-in-law, remembering how her husband had looked at Jiang Xia, couldn’t help but sneer, "So what if she’s from the city? In the end, she married a fisherman. And to think she claims to be educated. Educated people act so improper? Riding a man in broad daylight, shameless! Even the chickens in District Three don’t act like that."
These words infuriated both Jiang Xia and Grandma Zhou!
Jiang Xia wished she could throw the snakes at them.
Grandma Zhou, as if reading her mind, handed her the snake bag.
Jiang Xia, finding a sudden surge of courage, took the bag and flung it. The two snakes landed right behind the three women.
The women heard the commotion and looked down.
"Ahhh!"
The snakes wriggled around their feet, causing the women to scream and jump around in panic.
Just then, an old man walked up the path from the fields, and the young wife immediately jumped onto his back!
Jiang Xia, after releasing the snake, dragged her great-grandmother and ran!
The two of them ran all the way back to the Zhou family’s old house. They looked at each other and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Zhou Chenglei was inside, cleaning the house. Hearing the commotion, he came out and looked at them with confusion.
The great-grandmother smiled, "Ailei, your wife is quite something. You must cherish her."
Jiang Xia felt a bit embarrassed. What did the great-grandmother see that was so good about her? Was it throwing a snake at someone? Or running away after causing trouble?
Zhou Chenglei glanced at Jiang Xia, equally puzzled, but politely nodded in response to the great-grandmother’s words.
Jiang Xia felt a bit awkward and quickly said, "I’ll go clean the house."
Jiang Xia walked into the house and looked around. She couldn’t shake the feeling that a snake might be lurking in some hidden corner, waiting for her.
Zhou Chenglei, noticing her fear, said, "I can clean the house. Why don’t you go home and pack your things?"
Jiang Xia shook her head. "No, I’ll help. I want to check everything thoroughly."
Zhou Chenglei didn’t argue, knowing she wouldn’t feel safe until she had inspected everything.
He suddenly understood why she had been causing trouble so often. She must really be struggling to adjust to life in the countryside.
Zhou Chenglei looked at the drafty, moldy house. The living conditions were even worse now.
He thought she wouldn’t last a few days before leaving.
The great-grandmother said, "I’ll help you with the weeds."
The couple spoke in unison, "No, Great-Grandmother, we can handle it!"
The great-grandmother chuckled, "It’s fine. I have nothing else to do. Xia, remember to check carefully. Those snakes might have laid eggs and hatched a bunch of baby snakes."
Jiang Xia was speechless.
What kind of wild talk was this? Laying a bunch of snake eggs and hatching baby snakes?
Was that even possible?
She wanted to go back to her one-bedroom apartment in the city, even though it wasn’t ready yet.
The great-grandmother, holding a hoe, smiled and continued to weed the ground. "Ha, I don’t believe she’ll dare to sleep alone tonight."
"Probably scared into hugging Ailei to sleep, right?" she added, hoping for a grandchild soon.
Her son was the same age as Ailei, though they were different generations. Her grandson was already old enough to start elementary school.
The great-grandmother, despite her advanced generation, was only two years older than Zhou’s mother. She worked efficiently, hoeing the ground with precise strokes.
Not wanting to leave the great-grandmother alone, Jiang Xia joined her in the yard.
Jiang Xia, holding a hoe, tried to mimic the great-grandmother’s technique but failed miserably. Sometimes she dug too deep, creating holes; other times, she dug too shallow, leaving the roots intact. The ground was left uneven and looked terrible.
After a while, her back and hands started to ache. She noticed blisters forming on her palms.
Her hands were too tender, and the blisters formed quickly. This body was really delicate.
Jiang Xia glanced at her hands but ignored the pain and continued hoeing slowly.
By the time Zhou Chenglei finished cleaning the house, the great-grandmother and Jiang Xia had also cleared the yard of weeds.
Jiang Xia, with her strong hands-on skills, had learned to use the hoe effectively, though her palms were covered in blisters, some of which had burst. She didn’t feel much pain while working and didn’t pay much attention to them.
The great-grandmother looked at the neatly cleared ground and praised Jiang Xia, "Xia, you learn so quickly. Ailei, you’ve really found a gem."
The great-grandmother had never seen anyone so capable and quick to learn.
Zhou Chenglei looked over.
This chapter is based on a draft from a few months ago. I had a snake in my house when I was a child, but the part about snakes in the bed was just a fabrication. I didn’t expect to see a real video of it recently.
(End of Chapter)
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