Northeast: My Absurd Woman

Chapter 103 A Crooked and Slanted Layout

Hou Jiu stood tall and lean, staring with his big eyes wide open.

The little mouth on the long gourd face kept talking non-stop.

He threw the pillow into the corner, leaned against it, and scolded his older sisters.

"Xiao Jiu, you still don't understand things. Aren't we all your parents' children?"

Your parents have had tuberculosis for a long time, and I haven't seen you treat them very well when you're home.

Even at a young age, I've learned the crooked, slanted movements of an elderly person.

We've been keeping quiet, and you think these women are really afraid of you?

If you're so capable, then you can start your own household and live a good life from now on.

Don't come crying and whining to us when you can't get food.

Hou Jiu's eighth sister, Hou Liping, is slightly chubby, of medium height, with a round face and a wide mouth. She looks like she doesn't have the same parents as Hou Jiu.

Seeing Zhang Changyao enter the house, Hou Jiu leaned against the door frame and "returned the favor."

"Eighth Sister, did I insist on looking for you? Uncle said that when our parents were dying, they asked you to take turns raising me."

If you're not afraid your parents will come looking for you at night, then leave me alone.

Anyway, if I starve to death, I'll go to the underworld and complain to my parents about you.

I'm sending you all to the underworld to meet with us.

Hou Jiu's eloquence is exceptional; he can speak as eloquently as Hou Liping.

"Xiao Jiu, listen to Brother Changyao, don't fight with your sisters."

If you really anger them, they'll all abandon you, and that will be troublesome.

Do you know how to farm? Or how to make money? How did you survive this year?

Zhang Changyao looked at the wall plaster, which was even more tattered than Hou Jiu's pants, and advised him.

"Brother Changyao, I've already found a job. I'll work as a laborer for Zhai Qingming and assist him."

If I relied on these sisters who couldn't even support their own families, I would starve to death.

Hou Jiu glanced at Hou Liping, his anger gone.

This eighth sister was a little nicer to him than the other seven sisters.

"Xiao Jiu, it just so happens that my family is building a house. It will be more convenient for you to work in this village."

Zhang Changyao grabbed Hou Jiu's trouser leg, which had been pulled off, and placed it on the kang (a heated brick bed) with embarrassment.

"Xiao Jiu, don't be ungrateful. Your eight sisters are all very kind to you."

If I don't take care of you for even a day, you won't have your parents to protect you, and you won't even have any blood relation with them.

What do you care what you do? Wasting food won't bring you any benefit; it's not worth it.

Hou Da Yan grabbed a broom from the kang (a heated brick bed) and threw it at Hou Jiu with a clatter.

"Boss Hou, explain yourself clearly, how come those eight people are not related to me by blood?"

"Were all eight of them adopted by my parents?"

Hou Jiu misunderstood the situation, thinking that he was the only one whose parents were biologically related to him.

"Big Eyes, what are you saying? You can't tell Xiao Jiu that all eight of us were found."

His parents are gone; what if he causes any more trouble?

We can't face our parents in the afterlife."

Eighth Sister Hou Liping took two steps to Hou Da Yanjing's side and suddenly shoved him with her pestle.

Hou Da Yanjing knew he had blurted out something inappropriate, so he quickly ran away in fright.

"Changyao, tell Xiao Jiu not to take Big Eyes' nonsense seriously."

Hou Liping leaned close to Zhang Changyao and pleaded with him in a low voice.

"Xiao Jiu, don't listen to that big-eyed guy's nonsense. Who could be so capable as to pick up eight kids at once?"

"Who would have a child and then abandon it? That would be foolish!"

Zhang Changyao followed Hou Jiu's words and, guessing that Hou Jiu wouldn't realize what was happening, believed him.

"Brother Changyao, I'm not stupid. Do you think I don't know whether Big Eyes is right or wrong?"

If your parents are gone, what difference does it make if you're their biological child?

Although my sisters are a bit weak-willed, they are still better to me than others.

I don't care whether they're related to me by blood or not, as long as we can look after each other in the future.

Hou Jiu didn't make it clear in his words who the adopted child was.

But you could tell from his dejected look that he was in a bad mood.

"Xiao Jiu, don't say that. Life goes on, and people always have to look forward."

When Brother Changyao finds a job, he'll take you along.

If I have the money in the future, I can marry a woman and we'll be family.

Your sisters all have elderly parents and young children to support; you should be more understanding of them.

Zhang Changyao symbolically tried to persuade Hou Jiu, but before he could say anything, he stood up and left the room.

"Changyao, I heard the woman you married without spending any money isn't pregnant?"

Hou Liping followed Zhang Changyao out of the courtyard, saying something casually.

"Liping, how are you doing these days? Has your husband come out yet?"

Zhang Changyao stopped at the corner of the courtyard and turned around to look at Hou Liping.

"Yeah! I've been out for a while now, and I've started messing around again."

He's not a settled person; if he doesn't go out and wander around for a day, he'll get restless.

The family is the same whether he's here or not. It's a little better if I take care of the kids by myself when he doesn't come back.

Sometimes I really wish he were dead out there so I could live a peaceful life without worrying about him.

When Hou Liping talked about her man, a fierce glint appeared in her eyes.

"Liping, go back and persuade him. The government is cracking down hard now, so you can't be dishonest."

People should always walk the right path. While it's easy to make money through unethical means, the risks are also high.

"It would be so much better to just stay home with my wife and kids, and farm the land for a few days."

Zhang Changyao felt sorry for Hou Liping and reached out to pat her shoulder to comfort her.

It paused in mid-air for a moment, then pulled back.

"Changyao, do you think I shouldn't try to persuade him? He's just a man of flesh and bone, you can't reason with him."

He's used to losing and playing dirty, and he can't live without money.

Forget it, let's not talk about him. The more I talk about him, the more upset I get.

How have you been lately? Is everything going smoothly?

Hou Liping looked at Zhang Changyao with deep affection, her tone full of concern.

"Liping, don't you know my family? They're just so-so, nothing special."

Liping, I have to go back first. The old hen that Big Eyes gave me is still tied up in the yard. Don't let it break free.

Come visit me when you're not busy, but the storeroom is a bit small, I'm afraid you'll find it too cramped.

Zhang Changyao didn't deliberately praise Yang Wuni, afraid that Hou Liping would feel uncomfortable if she heard it.

Fearing that Hou Liping might actually come to his house, he told her about his predicament in advance.

Hou Liping didn't say anything, but took out a wooden comb from her coat pocket and fiddled with it in her hand.

Zhang Changyao felt a pang of sadness, but not wanting Hou Liping to notice, he quickly turned away and headed home.

Memories of being with Hou Liping flooded my mind.

Hou Liping and Zhang Changyao are the same age and grew up together.

When we were a few years old, we herded pigs together, cut pig feed, and cleaned up pig latrines.

Hou Liping was even more mischievous than him, and often got into trouble and blamed it on him.

When they got a little older, the two of them would squat together under the watchtower of the horse stable family and pretend to live their lives.

Hou Liping made Zhang Changyao put his hands behind his back and bite a stick in his mouth.

He imitated Hou Liping's father, with a large pipe dangling from his mouth.

Hou Liping dropped out of school and stayed at home until Zhang Changyao went to high school.

The two could only go out at night and meet secretly in the woods.