MTLNOVEL Chapter 10: A Village's Harsh Judgment
Chapter 10: A Village’s Harsh Judgment
Despite the troubled times, farmers in this region weren’t completely destitute. Shigezhuang, being a substantial village, afforded its residents modest comforts. Though they couldn’t regularly enjoy white flour like city dwellers, most households managed occasional meals of mixed-grain noodles or at least corn pancakes.
Which is why Aunt Li was thoroughly shocked to discover Su Liyan gnawing on a rotten sweet potato—food typically reserved for livestock.
Su Liyan noticed her visitor’s alarmed expression and hastily waved her hands. “No, no! My husband treats me wonderfully and provides meat for me. I’m just worried these will spoil if left uneaten, so I’m finishing them first.”
Aunt Li’s expression betrayed her skepticism. Who would choose rotting vegetables over meat? Even accepting Su Liyan’s explanation, surely there would be other options available. After all, Aunt Li had personally witnessed the delivery yesterday—half a pig among the provisions!
Her initial concern curdled into contempt. This Lu Yuan was truly despicable! Even if Su Liyan was a snake woman, she didn’t deserve such treatment. Keeping all the quality food for himself while feeding his wife scraps? And he called himself a scholar!
“Aunt Li, was there something you needed?” Su Liyan asked, breaking the older woman’s indignant reverie.
Startled back to awareness, Aunt Li waved dismissively. “Nothing important! I merely came to welcome you as a neighbor. Please, continue your meal.”
Su Liyan nodded politely, though propriety suggested she shouldn’t eat while entertaining a guest. However, genuine hunger overrode etiquette. Yesterday’s abundant lunch at the restaurant, followed by her husband’s passionate attentions that night and morning of vigorous housecleaning had left her famished.
She resumed her meager meal as Aunt Li surveyed the immaculately organized home. The transformation was remarkable—what had been a dust-covered shambles now gleamed with care. Clothing hung neatly in the courtyard, testament to Su Liyan’s industriousness since dawn.
Watching the young bride choke down dry cornmeal pancakes with nothing but hot water to ease their passage, Aunt Li felt a pang of sympathy.
“Aunt Li,” Su Liyan suddenly asked, “could you show me where our land is located? I’ve finished my household tasks and would like to inspect the fields.”
The request momentarily confused the older woman. “You’ve been working all morning—surely the fields can wait until tomorrow?”
Su Liyan smiled gently. “I have nothing else to occupy me at home. It’s better I learn the way now.”
Aunt Li silently marveled at the young woman’s diligence. To establish such a rigorous routine on her very first day! Finally, she acquiesced: “Very well. I’ll guide you after you’ve finished eating. I need to visit my own plot anyway.”
Su Liyan nodded gratefully and quickened her pace. Soon enough, she had consumed all she could manage of the coarse fare. Two pancakes and a sweet potato remained, which she carefully wrapped and tucked away.
“My husband won’t return until evening,” she explained. “This will serve as my midday meal in the fields without interrupting my work.”
Aunt Li couldn’t suppress a pitying sigh at the sight.
Together, they collected their tools and headed toward the village outskirts. As they walked among maturing cornfields, Aunt Li pointed toward a barren patch overgrown with weeds. “That uncultivated plot belongs to your household.”
Su Liyan stared in confusion at the neglected land surrounded by thriving crops. “We planted nothing this year?”
Aunt Li couldn’t restrain an eye-roll. “Farming? That worthless Lu Yuan does nothing but read his useless books all day. He’ll never amount to anything.”
Su Liyan bristled at the criticism. “That was before. My husband is different now.”
Aunt Li pursed her lips, declining further comment. This poor, deluded girl—sold into marriage and still defending her buyer.
Upon reaching their destination, Aunt Li departed for her own plot. Without hesitation, Su Liyan seized her hoe and attacked the overgrown field. Though too late for this year’s planting, she could at least prepare the soil. Once the autumn harvest concluded and neighboring farmers burned their corn stubble, she would clear her land similarly, ensuring readiness for next spring’s sowing.
She labored diligently throughout the morning. Having eaten late, she felt no hunger when noon arrived and simply continued working while others gathered for their midday meal.
During busy seasons, villagers typically brought food prepared at dawn rather than returning home at midday. They would eat together in the fields, rest briefly, then resume their labors.
“How can someone with such a slender build work like an ox?” one farmer remarked between bites, watching Su Liyan methodically clear nearly two acres single-handedly.
“She doesn’t even wear a hat,” another observed. “Won’t such intense sun darken that fair skin?”
A self-proclaimed expert interjected: “Their kind don’t tan like us. I’ve heard they maintain their complexion regardless of exposure. And their hands—our palms grow callused and rough after years of labor, but theirs remain soft and smooth into old age.”
A nearby woman sighed enviously. “Is that truly possible?”
Not everyone shared this fascination. One particularly bitter man raised his voice deliberately toward Su Liyan: “Of course! That’s cheap flesh, bred specifically for men’s pleasure. Naturally it stays tender when unused!”
His crude comment carried easily across the empty field. Su Liyan momentarily froze, then lowered her head and resumed her work, pretending not to have heard. Such insults had shadowed her since childhood; they no longer wounded her deeply. So long as her husband loved her, nothing else mattered.
Aunt Li, approaching from neighboring fields, overheard the man’s vulgarity and scowled. “Enough! She’s married now and will live among us for life. Why continue this harassment? Her circumstances are difficult enough without your cruelty.”
The man clicked his tongue derisively. “Hmph! This snake-demon arrived yesterday and has already bewitched you? When did you become her defender?”
As Aunt Li settled among them and unpacked her lunch, she recounted her morning observations at the Lu household. By the time she finished describing Su Liyan’s living conditions and meager diet, stunned silence had fallen over the gathering.
“Could this be true?” someone finally whispered.
A murmur of outrage rippled through the group.
“If so… this Lu Yuan is truly contemptible!”