A Good Country Wife
Chapter 445 - 439_1

Chapter 445: Chapter 439_1

After the mountain bandits issue on Longhu Mountain had been resolved, Lin Yue had thought the return journey would be smooth-sailing. However, the day after they passed Longhu Mountain, it started to rain, and the rain grew heavier with time. By the afternoon, it had turned into a torrential downpour. The group could no longer proceed, and given the rain showed no signs of abating or stopping, drizzling incessantly, they knew the situation would only worsen by night. Unable to reach a town to find an inn, they had no choice but to seek shelter in a nearby village at a farmer’s house.

The farmer’s yard was quite large, and the house was spacious, with several large rooms, which barely managed to accommodate Lin Yue and her companions. The head of the household, however, consisted of only an old man with white hair, and a little boy, about six or seven years old—a grandfather and grandson, by the looks of it. They were dressed in tattered clothes, and the home was very poor, even more destitute than Zhao Erhu’s when Lin Yue first arrived.

Lin Yue didn’t know the circumstances that led to the family’s poverty or where the rest of the household members had gone. Since it was their first visit, it didn’t seem appropriate for Lin Yue to inquire too much. The group had been utterly drenched by the rain and were busy settling in, with no time to pay attention to the situation of the grandfather and grandson.

"Wife, come, have the ginger soup first. It’s raining so heavily outside, and you got quite wet just now. It’s important not to catch a chill, especially in this weather. Catching a cold now would be even more uncomfortable. I’ve asked the old man to heat some water in the kitchen. After you drink the ginger soup, you can take a hot bath."

"Hmm." Although Lin Yue disliked the taste of ginger soup, she still wrinkled her brow and drank the entire bowl that Zhao Erhu brought over. In the past, she hadn’t needed to worry about her health, but since arriving here, her constitution wasn’t strong, and she had fallen sick more than a couple of times. Lin Yue had gradually corrected her disregard for her own health and started to pay attention to self-care. She already felt her nose getting stuffy, and without proper care, she was afraid she might really catch a cold. She didn’t want to get sick and have to drink the bitter medicinal concoctions—hard to swallow and enough to kill one’s taste, especially since catching a cold these days was not a trivial matter. Negligence could lead to being bedridden, resulting in death.

"It’s so hard to swallow." Lin Yue’s brows, nose, and eyes were all scrunched up as she handed the empty bowl back to Zhao Erhu, who found her expression amusing and at the same time, somewhat reassuring. His little wife was quite sensible, even if the ginger soup didn’t taste that bad—she looked as if she had drunk poison.

As Zhao Erhu thought this, he lavished praise with his words, treating her as one would a child, "Wife, you’re so good. Drinking it all is the right thing to do. The ginger soup will expel the cold, and you won’t catch a cold that way. Indeed, you are my good wife."

"Zhao Erhu, don’t just talk about me; you should quickly drink a bowl of ginger soup yourself. Don’t think you can ignore your health just because you’re strong." Lin Yue recalled how Zhao Erhu had also been caught in the rain, especially since he had been busy making arrangements outside, unlike her staying inside the carriage. Earlier he got completely soaked, so she promptly urged him to quickly have a bowl of ginger soup as well.

"I’ve already had some," Zhao Erhu said with a smile, but inside he felt very comforted that his little wife was so concerned about him.

"Really?" Lin Yue’s gaze rounded with skepticism as she stared at Zhao Erhu, worried that he might be brushing her off.

"Why would I lie to you? You think I’m like you, Niuniu, treating a bowl of ginger soup as if it were medicine? I’ve already had enough in the kitchen." Zhao Erhu said, habitually ruffling Lin Yue’s hair, which was a bit damp. He frowned upon feeling the moisture.

"How come your hair is soaked too? I’ll go check if the hot water is ready in the kitchen. We can’t delay, or your delicate health surely won’t stand it," Zhao Erhu said worriedly, taking the empty bowl to the kitchen. Soon, he returned with a large bucket of hot water, and he also brought over a bath tub. Although it looked worn, it was still usable and, fortunately, didn’t leak anywhere.

Lin Yue was indeed uncomfortable with her body drenched, but she didn’t want to cause any trouble or worry Zhao Erhu. A hot bath did make her feel much more comfortable.

While Lin Yue bathed, Zhao Erhu took the opportunity to make the bed. The bedding was their own, so they didn’t have to sleep on someone else’s bed and feel uncomfortable.

"I’m done, come over here," Zhao Erhu said, and picked up Lin Yue to place her on the bed, then took a towel and carefully dried her hair. Lin Yue lay on the bed, enjoying being taken care of, her eyes closed lightly, like a lazy little kitten, which made Zhao Erhu’s heart itch. As he wiped her hair, his hands began to wander.

Lin Yue was almost asleep, but woke up with Zhao Erhu’s kneading. As she opened her eyes, both of them were disheveled, Zhao Erhu’s eyes were bloodshot as he looked at her, clearly like a wolf wanting to devour a lamb.

Lin Yue awkwardly pushed Zhao Erhu away, no stranger to the expression on his face at that moment. She had been married to Zhao Erhu for many days, and that sort of thing was frequent. Although sometimes she was reluctant and Zhao Erhu would cajole her into it, after all, he was at an age filled with virile energy, and her small frame really couldn’t handle it but couldn’t withstand his strength and persistence. Once in the Capital City, things got busier, and they each had their own things to attend to, which made such activities less frequent. These few days on the road had been even less convenient, and at night they simply covered themselves with a quilt and slept. Who would have expected Zhao Erhu to have such thoughts now.

"Zhao Erhu, don’t do this, there are people outside, and besides, we are in someone else’s house, I don’t want to, no, mmm..." Lin Yue always felt it was strange to do this sort of thing at someone else’s home and mentally resisted, refusing to give in to Zhao Erhu.

"Wife, be good, serve your man dutifully. It’s been some days; your man can’t stand it anymore, be good." Lin Yue hadn’t finished speaking when Zhao Erhu silenced her with a kiss, and she could only make whimpering sounds as Zhao Erhu pinned her down and had his way with her.

Outside, everyone else had also drunk ginger soup and changed, but they didn’t have the luxurious conditions like Lin Yue’s; they could only take some water and roughly wash up before helping the host family to cook.

"Zhuzi, go get some rice and ingredients from the carriage," Li Xun instructed after glancing at the empty rice jar. Fortunately, they had anticipated that they might need to eat and stay outdoors, and had prepared food and ingredients. Otherwise, it would be difficult to prepare dinner. Looking at the grandfather and grandson pair, they seemed pitiful enough, likely surviving on wild vegetables, no wonder they were thin and haggard.

"I’m sorry, the child’s parents went out for business and haven’t returned. We’ve run out of food at home," the old man said somewhat embarrassedly, yet he felt very lucky. It must be his good fortune that, just when the house was about to run out of food and he couldn’t hold on, a heavy rain brought benefactors to their doorstep. Not to mention other things, the rent they paid was quite a bit. The money for buying grains for the next few months was enough; he could starve for all he cared, but his heart ached for his little grandson.

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