In this era, being divorced and abandoned by a husband is very serious, especially when it's due to theft and decided by the elders to sever ancestral ties. Even if she were to return to her parents' home, they wouldn't dare to accept her. She would either have to sell herself in a distant place or face the possibility of starving to death.
Li San didn't go too far when he saw Li Man Cang pleading, and he only demanded that Wu Guihua compensate Li Wang's family with twelve taels of silver. If she couldn't produce silver, she could use an equivalent amount of grain as compensation.
"What? Twelve taels of silver? Their junk isn't worth that much!" Wu Guihua wanted to haggle when she heard the amount.
Li San didn't want to argue with her and straightforwardly said, "Either you give twelve taels of silver to Yong Ge, or I'll gather the Li family elders and sever ancestral ties. You can choose."
"We'll pay, we'll pay…" Li Man Cang ingratiatingly looked at Li San, with a mouth full of black and yellow teeth. While speaking, he didn't forget to pull Wu Guihua, urging her not to say anything.
Li Chang Sheng also blushed and stood there unable to speak.
Yong Ge didn't see Feng Ge. When he turned his head, he noticed that Feng Ge had somehow hidden back inside the house. With a pair of eyes filled with resentment, he stared at Yong Ge from below the window sill. The look in his eyes was eerie, as if Yong Ge had committed some heinous crime and had deeply wronged their family…
Yong Ge felt that Feng Ge seemed a bit abnormal, but he didn't pay much attention to it.
Of course, Wu Guihua was unwilling to give silver. Their family still had debts. She dared to say that as soon as they took out real silver and gold for Yong Ge, relatives would come knocking on their door asking for loans.
Fortunately, they had surplus grain from previous years. Under Li San's supervision, Li Man Cang weighed beans, sorghum, corn, and other grains worth twelve taels of silver as compensation for Yong Ge.
These grains were already inexpensive. Beans cost three wen per catty, sorghum two wen, and corn was slightly higher but still not exceeding four wen.
So, Li Man Cang ended up weighing two to three hundred catties of grains. Wu Guihua felt a heartache and couldn't help but scoff. Unfortunately, the eldest son actively helped to make up for it, which made Wu Guihua want to scratch him!
Cheng Duo had no idea what was happening in the village. He slept soundly and woke up the next day when the sun was already high in the sky.
Cheng Duo boiled a large pot of hot water and cleaned himself from head to toe: he shaved off his messy beard, washed his body and hair twice with pig pancreas soap, and then changed into the same assault suit and black pants he wore when he arrived.
His hair had grown below his shoulders. Although this outfit looked strange, he didn't plan to go out today. Following Yong Ge's example, he boiled a pot of pork bone soup and, while washing clothes, waited for his wife to come.
Speaking of washing clothes, wasn't there a small mountain stream next to Cheng Duo's house? He had expanded it a bit, turning it into a small pond. He no longer used water directly from it but instead carried water back in buckets to keep it clean.
Although using water frequently would quickly deplete the water in the pond, it was enough for Cheng Duo, a bachelor, to use.
Cheng Duo's leg had improved a lot, but he didn't force himself. He used a bucket to fetch water back and forth, considering it as exercise since it was only a dozen steps away.
After washing the clothes, Cheng Duo cleaned the house. The bones in the soup were almost cooked and he still hadn't seen Yong Ge.
Cheng Duo was helpless, so he boiled a pot of vegetables and ate it with the pork bone soup and steamed buns. When night fell, he secretly went to Yong Ge's house.
When Yong Ge saw him, his first reaction was not that Cheng Duo had come to find him in the middle of the night, but reflexively looking outside the courtyard. "Were you seen by someone?"
After speaking, he pulled Cheng Duo into the house and quickly closed the door.
"Why are you so scared? Is someone outside?" Cheng Duo frowned after listening to Yong Ge's incomplete sentence.
He felt that Wu Guihua was really repulsive, always jumping out and disgusting people. They hadn't settled the matter of her wanting to reclaim the land last time, and now she was causing trouble for his wife. Did she really think he had a good temper?
Yong Ge tactfully said, "I just caused trouble, so it's better to behave…"
He didn't dare to tell Cheng Duo how much attention he attracted with his current appearance. He regretted restoring his looks. But he didn't want to face Cheng Duo with his previous appearance.
Cheng Duo had finally started to like him, and don't think he didn't know. That night in the mountains, Cheng Duo was stunned when he saw him.
"Why are you here?" Yong Ge changed the topic and asked.
"Didn't we agree that you would bring me medicine? I cleaned myself up and waited for you, but you never came…" Cheng Duo sounded a bit aggrieved.
Don't be fooled by how calm and fierce he was when killing zombies. Everyone experiences their first time in love! Finally, after confirming a relationship with someone he liked, he naturally wanted to stick with them.
Yong Ge felt sorry when he heard this. "I told you to go back home and take the medicine right away…"
While speaking, Yong Ge led Cheng Duo into his room, intending to have him undress so he could apply the medicine.
However, with Cheng Duo, such a tall and big man standing in front of his bed, it seemed like the previously spacious room had become cramped, and there was a familiar scent in the air, belonging to Cheng Duo…
Yong Ge felt his heart racing, and the words urging Cheng Duo to undress couldn't come out of his mouth.
Cheng Duo, on the other hand, was very conscious of it. He didn't say a word and simply took off his clothes. Then he turned his head to look at Yong Ge and said, "What are you staring at? Apply the medicine."
"Mmm…" Yong Ge felt his cheeks getting hot, but fortunately, he was standing with the oil lamp behind him, so Cheng Duo probably couldn't see it.
At this moment, Yong Ge had forgotten that Cheng Duo could see everything in the pitch-dark underground chamber. He just subconsciously felt that the dim light was safer.
Both of them were inexperienced in love, not to mention that they were currently engaged in intimate actions like applying medicine. There was an indescribable sense of tension in the air. As Yong Ge touched Cheng Duo's body, he also felt a slight warmth in his lower abdomen…
To avoid embarrassing himself, Yong Ge quickly finished applying medicine to Cheng Duo's last wound. Feeling a bit unsure of what to do, he pushed Yong Ge away and stretched his arms to retrieve his clothes from his waist, saying, "That should do it. No need to apply more."
Yong Ge wasn't applying medicine at all. It was simply tempting him!
Yong Ge also breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't dare to be too bold earlier, afraid that Cheng Duo would suddenly turn around and push him onto the bed… Although he didn't want to refuse, they hadn't even gotten married yet. He had worked hard to build this relationship, and if they did something like this before marriage, would Cheng Duo look down on him?
In fact, people in ancient times were more open-minded than everyone imagined. The poorer the place, the more chaotic things were. Yong Ge had learned this quite early on. On one hand, the men and women in the village dared to talk about anything. During their chats, they often embarrassed unmarried girls and boys. On the other hand, there was his two older brothers and Zhao Widow's unclear situation. He had even seen a book with two little figures drawn inside their room…
Thinking of the book with those two little figures "fighting," Yong Ge's cheeks turned even redder.
"What are you thinking? Why is your face so red?" Cheng Duo knowingly asked.
Yong Ge glanced at him anxiously and turned to walk out. "Let's go outside."
He felt uncomfortable in his own room.
Not only did Yong Ge leave, but he also took the oil lamp with him. Cheng Duo had no choice but to put on his clothes and follow him outside. "Have you eaten?"
Yong Ge nodded. "I have."
Cheng Duo already knew the answer. Yong Ge must have had a meager meal with plain soup.
"Then, can you accompany me to eat a little? I'm hungry again."
Yong Ge hesitated for a moment. "You eat, and I'll accompany you."
He knew that Cheng Duo had a big appetite lately. With his way of eating, even if there were mountains of gold and silver in the space, it wouldn't be enough. It was fine when they were on the mountain, but now that they were back down, Cheng Duo didn't need to eat too much at night. So Yong Ge decided to help Cheng Duo save some food.
Cheng Duo noticed and glanced up and down at Yong Ge. He said seriously, "I like my wife a little plump. It feels better when I hold her."
Yong Ge misunderstood, thinking that Cheng Duo was dissatisfied with him. After all, when they slept together on the mountain, Cheng Duo had always been proper and didn't make any inappropriate moves. Even just now, he didn't do anything…
Even if Yong Ge didn't fully understand, he had seen the banter between the men and women in the village. Those men always liked to take advantage of others. Zhao Widow had even complained in a seemingly true or false manner in front of many people. In reality, it was more like showing off, because the expressions on the faces of the other women and wives became angrier after listening. But that sense of pride in her tone, Yong Ge still remembered it to this day…
At that time, he didn't understand, but now he had a bit of an idea. He wanted Cheng Duo to like him more!
"In that case, let's eat together a little bit." Yong Ge stammered as he looked at Cheng Duo.
Cheng Duo smiled. "You're so good!"
He had finished the pot of soup he made at noon, and now he was cooking another pot. It was pig trotters stewed with dried bamboo shoots. All four trotters from the big white pig were in the pot.
Yong Ge only ate one, and Cheng Duo finished the other three.
After finishing his meal, Cheng Duo burped and sighed. "I'm getting a little tired of eating stewed soup."
Yong Ge felt sorry for him, but he didn't say anything. They had already eaten two large pots of pork soup on the mountain, and Cheng Duo had probably eaten a lot for lunch and dinner today, not to mention the late-night snack now… How could he not get tired of it!
Just as he was thinking that, Cheng Duo took out a can of fruit. "Here, have some canned fruit to relieve the tiredness!"
Yong Ge took a bite of the sweetened pear from Cheng Duo's hand and suddenly realized, "Are you able to get things so quickly now?"
When they were on the mountain, Cheng Duo often struggled with it.
"Of course. Do you want to see what's inside?" Cheng Duo winked at him.
Yong Ge hesitated and nodded. He was indeed curious. But if Cheng Duo didn't want to tell him, he wouldn't ask.
Cheng Duo waved his hand, and suddenly a pile of things appeared in the main hall. Most of them were food: bags of rice, flour, noodles, steamed buns, and mantou; there were also buckets of oil, salt, and various seasonings.
In addition, there were a small number of canned fruits, some cigarettes, and five or six bottles of white wine.
Cheng Duo felt that Cheng Zhao's team must have gone to the base cafeteria and stocked up on supplies. These people didn't seem to trust him much because he only found crystal nuclei, guns, ammunition, and a small amount of medicine in Cheng Zhao's personal belongings.
In fact, Cheng Duo was a bit disappointed. If there was a gold bar or a gem necklace, watch, or flashlight inside, he could sell just one of them and have enough to eat for a lifetime!
Moreover, the space was a bit small, only about two square meters. When living things went in, they came out as lifeless objects.
Cheng Zhao: Sorry about that, huh?