141 â Lei Tie, You Mensao!1
In the evening, the villagers gathered under the trees to enjoy the cool breeze as usual. First, they chatted about the coming autumn harvest. Then, they talked about the school in the village. Naturally, they talked about the people who built the school, Qin Mian and Lei Tie. They praised the couple, endlessly.
Zhao Sifa squatted at the side as he held a bowl, eating his dinner. When heard these words, the hatred in his heart that was hard to suppress, flared up. Why should he be looked down upon, while those two clay rabbits2 were respected by others? If he had succeeded in having Lei Tie take a concubine, he could use his cousin to control Lei Tie. So much so that even the property of the Lei Tie family might be his! It was such a pity that Lei Daqiang and Du Shi, those two oldies, were so useless that a good plan was wasted in vain.
The more he thought about it, the more intense his anger and hatred were, which kept stirring in his chest, making him uneasy. All of a sudden, the words ââautumn harvestââ flashed in his mind. His eyes drifted to the golden paddy fields outside the village, and a wonderful idea came to his mind. Since he couldnât do anything to Qin Mian and Lei Tie, then just let them lose a lot of money!
âSifa, what are you thinking about? Your smile is so horrifying,â asked Grandpa Jiang in suspicious, after coldly looking at him for a moment.
Zhao Sifa came to his senses and said in embarrassment, âNothing, nothing. Iâm going back to get a second helping.â
Grandpa Jiang frowned; he always felt that Zhao Sifa was going to do something bad.
As Zhao Sifa hurried home, his back felt inexplicably cold. Assuming it was his illusion, he shook his head and strode into the house.
In Leisurely Farmhouse, Lei Tie, who was collecting the diapers dried on the clothes-drying pole, seamlessly withdrew his spiritual sense. With a gentle swing of his right hand, the ropes on the window lattice moved.
Not a while later, Uncle Fu and Aunt Fu came together. They felt puzzled because Eldest Master and Little Master seldom called them together at the same time.
âGreetings to Eldest Master. What is the order, Eldest Master?â
Lei Tie folded the diaper and put it in the basket. His voice was cold, âFrom now on, keep an eye on Zhao Sifa. This time, I want him driven out of Green Mountain Village.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Uncle Fuâs expression turned strict. Zhao Sifa again! The matter of Zhao Sifa wanting to match his cousin to Lei Tie as a concubine somehow had leaked. Therefore, the servants of Leisurely Farmhouse all hated Zhao Sifa. However, the Eldest Master and Little Master had not indicated anything. As the servants, they did not dare to act rashly. This time, since Eldest Master gave the order, they could be at ease to do itâZhao Sifa couldnât escape from their palms.
âEldest Master can rest assured,â said Uncle Fu in all seriousness.
When Uncle Fu returned to his residence, he summoned all the servants who had no work in hand and gave several orders. The servants all nodded while suppressing their excitement before they dispersed.
The dim light of the night gradually sunk.
When the whole village was quiet, Zhao Sifa crept out of bed with as little noise as possible. He covered his face with a black cloth, picked up a torch and flint, and quietly and sneakily went out toward the outside the village.
Zhou Sifa had no idea that since the day Lei Tie learned that Du Shiâs idea of giving him(LT) a concubine originated from him(ZSF), Lei Tie had been watching him in secret, waiting for a perfect opportunity. Now, several dark shadows were following him without any sound.
Borrowing the moonlight, Zhao Sifa soon came to the edge of the paddy fields and darkly sneered, âQin Mian, Lei Tie, blame yourselves for connecting your paddy fields. Humph!â
After he looked around and found no suspicious movement, he squatted down and lit the torch with a flint. Under the flickering firelight, his smile appeared extremely ferocious. He raised the torch and ignited the paddy in the field.
Not far away, Lei-Qin Shu was so angry that he jumped to his feet. They had expected Zhao Sifa to do bad things, but they didnât expect him to be so vicious.
Lei-Qin Li pressed him in time and said in a low voice, âThird Brother, donât be anxious. When Li Zheng and the others come, we can catch him. If you go now, he might shift the blame to you.â
Lei-Qin Shun knew that Lei-Qin Li was right. He took a deep breath, nodded, and kept hiding.
After lighting one plot, Zhao Sifa went to another plot and continued to set fire to the paddy field, with a proud and cruel smile on his face.
At this time, a familiar roar came from the distance, âZHAO SIFA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?â
Zhao Sifa was greatly startled that his hands trembled and threw away the torch. The torch flew out and landed in the paddy field at the side. The fire burnt more and more vigorously.
Zhao Sifa covered his face, endlessly panic-stricken. He had masked his face, so how did Li Zheng know it was him?
He had not taken into consideration that since everyone was all from the same village, they were very familiar with each other â they could recognize others only by looking at their back figures.
At the sight of Li Zheng and two highly respected old people in the village, Lei-Qin Shunâs group of people, who were lying in ambush nearby, immediately jumped out and quickly cut out an isolation area in the paddy field with the sabers they carried along. They wanted to save their familyâs paddy fields, so they couldnât care about the paddy field next to it, only had to let it burn for a while.
âLi Zhengâ¦â Zhao Sifa was deathly pale as he weakly knelt on the ground, âI, Iâ¦â
Li Zheng, whose face paled due to anger, said to Lei-Qin Cheng, âYou run to the village and quickly call people to put out the fire!â
Lei-Qin Cheng cupped his fist and hurriedly ran away.
Li Zheng wanted so much to slap Zhao Sifaâs face.
âZhao Sifa⦠You, how did you become so vicious? The grain is the root of the farmer!â Old Grandpa Liu pounded his walking stick on the ground while burning with a frenzy of rage.
Old Grandpa Wang didnât even bother to talk to Zhao Sifa.
After hearing the news, the villagers came quickly and scooped water from the river with pots and buckets to put out the fire. Fortunately, the Qin Mian familyâs paddy field only lost about 30% of it. The paddy field next to it belonged to the Zhao Wenzhong family. His situation was tragic; his plot of over a mu of paddy was half-burned down.
Once the villagers knew that Zhao Sifa set the fire, their eyes changed. They looked at Zhao Sifa with unbelievable and frightened eyes. It was not that there was never a conflict between the villagers. For instance, snatching water when transplanting paddy seedlings; cutting more thatch grass than others on the public-used ridge; your children beat up my children; my ox accidentally trampled on your familyâs crops⦠It was normal to have these minor contradictions. After a few days of scolding or cold war, they would talk and laugh again. However, there had never been such a vicious person as Zhao Sifa. How could they not worry? Such a person with a bad mind was like a poisonous snake that no one knew when it would emerge and bite people.
A hot-tempered villager couldnât help but say, âLi Zheng, you mustnât spare Zhao Sifa.â
Immediately, someone chimed in, âRight! Such a vicious person, who knows whether he will deal with us one day in the future.â
Lei-Qin Zhong was waiting for this moment. He cupped his fist in obeisance to Li Zheng and said, âLi Zheng, this servant I had told you that Zhao Sifa had ulterior motives, but you didnât believe. If our Eldest Master hadnât been on guard against Zhao Sifa, our family would have lost more than ten mu of paddy field, same goes for Uncle Zhaoâs field. Look, the distance between the paddy fields is not far. Plus, the wind is strong today. If one is not careful, sparks will be blown into the fields next to it. By then, the consequences will be disastrous. Li Zheng and everyone, our Eldest Master and Little Master have been merciful to Zhao Sifa several times. If this was how he reciprocated, how can one not be chilled by that?â
The villagersâ moods were stirred up.
âLi Zheng, drive Zhao Sifa out of Green Mountain Village!â
âYes! Drive out of Green Mountain Village!â
âThere is no room for such great buddha like him in our village!â
â¦â¦
Zhao Sifa suddenly came to his sense, hugged Li Zhengâs leg, and cried hard. His tears and snot flowed together. âLi Zheng, I know Iâm wrong. I truly know Iâm wrong. Please spare me this time. Iâll kowtow to you, Iâll kowtow to you!â
Li Zheng coldly pushed him away. Regardless, as he took into consideration of Zhao Sifaâs evil deeds and the cares of the Lei Tieâs couple toward his family, as well as Green Mountain Village, he couldnât let Zhao Sifa slip away.
âNo need, I canât afford it [the kowtow]. Zhao Sifa, you are given two days to leave Green Mountain Village and not allowed to enter Green Mountain Village again. Otherwise, we will drag you off to the local authority and let the county magistrate deal with you.â
Zhao Sifa dejectedly seated himself on the ground with a face as white as sheet.
Li Zheng looked at two old men.
âOld man Liu and old man Wang, do you two think this way of dealing is proper?â
Old Grandpa Liu faintly sighed. He looked at Zhao Sifa with an exasperated expression. âVery good. This old man doesnât want to see the atmosphere of Green Mountain Village be damaged by him!â
Old Grandpa Wang nodded, âDeal as such.â
Qin Mian was sleeping soundly. When he suddenly felt that no one was beside him, he woke up and saw Lei Tie standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. He rubbed his eyes and walked over, leaning his head lazily on Lei Tieâs shoulder. The fire in the distance made him sober up in an instant. âWhatâs happened there?â
Those round eyes were so lovely. Lei Tie picked him up and frowned as soon as he noticed that the other person didnât wear shoes. He put the person back on the bed, wiped his feet, and spoke of the matter in brief.
âYou mean, youâve been âmonitoringâ Zhao Sifa for more than five months.â Qin Mian stared at him in surprise. He was not a person who returned evil with good when someone rode over his head. He also knew that Du Shiâs behavior that day was instigated by Zhao Sifa. However, Yuanyuan and Manmanâs appearance occupied most of his attention and energy, so he couldnât manage to deal with Zhao Sifa. Besides, neither did Lei Tie mention it. Therefore, he thought that Lei Tie also had no time to spare for the time being.
âEven if you have cultivation, itâll be very tiring to stare at him with the spiritual sense for five months. Why didnât you tell me?â Qin Mian was both moved and distressed. He opened his mouth and bit Lei Tieâs neck.
Lei Tie pulled Qin Mian to lie down, put his arm under his wifeâs head, and coldly said, âIâll never let go of those who bully you.â
Qin Mian felt his heart melt by the warmth the man had given him. He climbed on the manâs body, put his elbows on that hard chest, and held the manâs head in his hands as he looked directly at the man.
Lei Tie caressed his wifeâs shoulder. Despite the nightclothes being in the way, he could still feel the smoothness and fineness of his wifeâs skin. He asked softly, âWhat?â
âHusband, you are super!â Qin Mian smiled at him with a look of exultation, carrying a smear of banter in his eyes.
Lei Tieâs heartbeat was thrown into disorder by the new address. His two big palms seized his wifeâs waist and his passionate eyes tightly locked on his wife, âWife, call again.â
His body temperature, as hot as boiling magma, transmitted to Qin Mian in an instant. When Qin Mian realized that the joke turned to be a big deal, he turned to get off the man but couldnât move.
âWife, call again,â Lei Tieâs deep voice patiently coaxed as his iron arm wrapped around his wifeâs waist, while the other hand clasped the back of his wifeâs head, making their nose tips touched.
âLady3,â called Qin Mian joyfully with a smile on his face. When he clearly saw several tiny spittle flopped on Lei Tieâs lips, his cheeks heated up and his heart became restless.
The tip of Lei Tieâs brow arched, and then he unscrupulously pulled off his wifeâs clothesâ¦
As though the moon was shy, it slowly hid within the clouds.
The sound astir in the bedroom became louder and louder. A good while later, after a trembling âhusbandâ was suddenly uttered, tranquility was restored. A moment later, came an angry roar, âLei Tie! You mensao!â
Downstairs, White Spot and Golden Fur were woken up. They glanced up at the second floor, lay back on the ground, and continued to sleep with their heads next to each other.
âAa yaa?â A tender voice came from the crib.
Qin Mian turned to look at the crib. Yuanyuan and Manman had woken up; Yuanyuan sat with his back against the railing, while Manman had turned on his stomach at an unknown time. The two little ones curiously looked in the direction of the big bed.
Did the two little ones see all that happened just now? Qin Mianâs face turned red. He quickly grabbed the tattered nightclothes and put them on his body, covering however much possible. Then, he kicked Lei Tie out of the bed.
Note:
Footnotes
outwardly cold or retiring but deep and passionate inside
å å¿ç· [tù r yé] clay rabbit for the Mid-Autumn Festival; lit. Lord Leveret, also known as the Moon Rabbit God. I donât think ZSF meant the latter, since calling someone a å årabbit can mean a swear word. In short, itâs a double meaning.
å¨å [niáng zÇ] a form of address for oneâs wife
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