Northeast: My Absurd Woman

Chapter 55 Plague God

Guan Shunzhi ate half of a bag of fruit, then, as if he were full, put it aside.

He wiped his mouth, took the water ladle to the water vat in the outer room, drank a few mouthfuls of water, threw the ladle into the water vat, and went back inside to sit down.

"Uncle, why is Yang Wuni being treated like this by the family?"

Don't his two older brothers and sisters, as well as his father and uncle, care whether she lives or dies?

Zhang Changyao frowned and asked Guan Shunzhi, not quite understanding.

"Actually, it's not entirely his father's and his brothers and sisters' fault."

The blame lies with Wang Fengxian, the wife of Hu Zhiguo, the shaman in our village.

When Yang Wuni was born, Wang Fengxian ran to Yang Deming's yard before dawn and squatted there.

They said that the child born to Yang Deming's family was unlucky and told them to bury her alive immediately.

Her father, Yang Deming, was a firm believer in the words of the sorcerer. He picked up a pickaxe, held the child, and prepared to bury her.

Luckily, that bachelor uncle stopped her, otherwise Yang Wuni would have died on the spot.

And so Yang Wuni became the least likable person in everyone's eyes.

Strangely enough, ever since she gave birth to her, her mother has been paralyzed on the kang (a heated brick bed).

He lay there for five years, and when he finally breathed his last, his eyes were still wide open, staring at Yang Wuni with unresolved grief.

Her father, Yang Deming, immediately flew into a rage and grabbed Yang Wuni by the collar, taking her outside the village.

Tell her she's not allowed to go home, or I'll beat her up.

Do you think a five-year-old child can survive if he doesn't go home?

And so, Yang Wuni would rather be beaten than leave the yard.

Later, her father, Yang Deming, got tired of beating her and gradually stopped caring about her.

They didn't give her any food or water, leaving her to fend for herself.

Later, her older brother got married and had a daughter.

For this, her father beat her severely, leaving her with lacerations.

They said it was because of her that her sister-in-law couldn't have a son, and they called her a plague goddess.

Later, Yang Wuni's sister-in-law died after giving birth for three consecutive years, and the babies could not stand up to survive.

When her sister-in-law lost a child, Yang Wuni was skinned alive by her father.

Only after she managed to subdue one of the boys did Yang Wuni finally stop getting beaten up.

"Uncle, whose child did she get pregnant with later?"

Why didn't that man want her? Was it because of what the shaman said?

Zhang Changyao now prefers to believe that Yang Wuni is pregnant with another man's child.

They didn't want Yang Wuni to have some kind of serious illness.

This woman is so pitiful; God shouldn't let her suffer alone.

"Who told you that, kid? That's all just nonsense from that lousy car maker."

"Let me tell you, nobody dares to touch Yang Wuni; her big belly is from hunger."

"Uncle, does a big belly mean you're hungry? What does that mean?"

Confused by this statement, Zhang Changyao couldn't help but move closer to Guan Shunzhi, wanting to know what it meant.

"Young man, this is just a guess, and it may not be entirely correct."

"Yang Wuni's big belly, let me calculate..." Guan Shunzhi counted the days on his fingers, "It should have been more than two years."

My belly wasn't this big back then, so no one helped me with it.

Later, when she became pregnant, everyone speculated that some wicked and fearless person had slept with her.

Her father was actually happy to see her big belly.

They thought that finally someone could take this plague away.

Who would have thought that a year would pass without anyone coming to propose marriage, and her belly would grow bigger and bigger, but it wasn't a child.

This startled Yang Deming, who then went to Wang Fengxian to consult a shaman.

Wang Fengxian's old spirit told Yang Deming that their family was about to face a great calamity.

As long as Yang Wuni continues to live in their house, they will not get anything good out of it.

If Yang Wuni dies at home, then her whole family will have to be buried with her.

Wang Fengxian was determined to drive Yang Wuni to her death.

Yang Deming believed the old sage's words and went around looking for matchmakers to arrange marriages.

They'll give anyone who can get Yang Wuni out of their yard half a bag of corn and a big pig's head.

Any method or explanation is acceptable; the process doesn't matter, only the result matters.

This made the village quite lively, with matchmakers running around everywhere, all wanting to make the marriage happen.

Later, it was a matchmaker from another village who introduced them.

I wonder which unlucky guy brought such a jinx home.

They probably don't know what's going on yet; we should have results in a few months.

After Guan Shunzhi finished speaking, he lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed) with his arms outstretched and legs bent, smiling bitterly.

"Uncle, you haven't said that your big belly means you're hungry. What do you mean by that?"

Zhang Changyao still remembered that Guan Shunzhi hadn't told him about this earlier.

"That goes without saying, Yang Wuni must have eaten something she shouldn't have to make her belly so big."

That Yang Wuni has eaten everything: weasels, bean curd sticks, big-eyed worms, long worms...

The fish in the river are eaten raw, one bite at a time, without even chewing.

When others asked her, she said that chewing it made her feel nauseous and vomit because of the raw, fishy taste.

What a waste of such good looks! If she were lucky, countless men would be lining up to propose.

Guan Shunzhi smacked his lips a few times, grabbed his hair with both hands, and sneered.

"That's because the people in your village have no taste; they don't recognize gold inlaid with jade."

Such a good girl, ruined by a shaman.

If someone in their family were educated, she wouldn't have had to suffer like this.

Blaming everything on her is just taking advantage of her young age and inability to fight back.

His mother was paralyzed on the kang (a heated brick bed), and her father refused to find a doctor to treat her, blaming a five-year-old child.

It's just finding a reasonable excuse for being poor and incompetent.

Her sister-in-law miscarried and blamed her, saying that her mother-in-law hadn't taken good care of her during her first childbirth.

What does this have to do with Yang Wuni? That's utter nonsense.

If she really had that ability, she should have wiped out this whole family.

Such people are a waste of the food we give them.

Zhang Changyao slammed his fist on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), expressing his indignation on behalf of Yang Wuni.

"Hey! Young man, you're not the man who's going to marry Yang Wuni, are you?"

Seeing that Zhang Changyao's face was contorted with anger, Guan Shunzhi made a bold guess.

"Uncle, you're right, I am Yang Wuni's man."

You have no idea how wonderful that woman is. How could she possibly be a jinx? I simply don't believe it.

Zhang Changyao nodded in agreement, his eyes showing no hesitation.

"Is Yang Wuni still alive or already dead? Are you here to settle scores with the Yang family?"

If you come looking for them to settle accounts, don't sell me out!

If I hadn't heard that you were Guan Lin's cousin, I wouldn't be telling you all this.

That Yang Deming is a shameless old scoundrel. Anyone who messes with him should be wary.

He can lie on your kang (heated brick bed) and stay there for half a month without leaving.

Young man, don't let my good intentions go to waste.

I won't give you proof then, and I won't admit what I just said.

I don't know you, and you've never been to our house before.

"You'd better leave quickly, don't bring the bad luck of this plague god into our family."