Hearing this, Wang Chen was so shocked that he was left gaping, and he distinctly felt Li Qian tremble slightly behind him.
Of course, Zhang Hu didn't notice Li Qian's reaction; he looked at Wang Chen as if expecting his jaw to drop and said with a bitter smile, "I know this is hard for you to accept, but, brother, this is the only way I have left now.
If you get my wife pregnant and she has a child, it won't just cure my parents' heartache, shut the villagers' mouths, but also provide some comfort to your sister-in-law. At least she'll have something to look forward to and might not think about leaving me."
Wang Chen's mouth twitched twice, "That might solve the problem, but... but you are my brother, and Li Qian is my sister-in-law. How can I do such a thing with her! Moreover, if outsiders find out, how can the three of us stay on in the village?"
Zhang Hu spread his hands, "It's true I'm your brother, but we have no blood relation, and about this, you can rest assured, only the three of us will know, we will not let outsiders find out."
Wang Chen scratched his head hard, "Brother, I think there must be another way."
"What other way could there be?" Zhang Hu's face was filled with worry.
Wang Chen thought for a moment, "How about you wait two years for me, wait until I'm married and have a child, then adopt one over to you?"
"I'm going crazy now, and you're telling me to wait two more years? Okay, even if I could wait, do you think our parents could wait? Could your sister-in-law wait?"
"This..." Wang Chen pursed his lips and fell silent again before speaking, "Then what about adopting a child from someone else? I remember Liu Dazhu at the entrance of our village was adopted."
Zhang Hu shook his head vigorously, "The villagers used to call me a eunuch. If I really adopted a child, wouldn't that just prove them right? Besides... an adopted child is ultimately not a true descendant of the Zhang family. How can I explain that to my parents?"
Upon hearing these words, Wang Chen's features nearly twisted together.
It seemed that apart from having a child with Li Qian, there were no other options left.
His sister-in-law was very beautiful and had a great figure.
Such a woman, I'm afraid I, a poor devil, would never encounter in a lifetime.
To have an affair with her, even dying would be worth it.
As Wang Chen was thinking these thoughts, he involuntarily recalled the erotic scene he had witnessed upon entering the door.
That inexplicable excitement gave him an impulse to agree.
But then he thought of Li Qian's identity as his sister-in-law, and the overwhelming guilt helped him come to his senses.
He looked at Zhang Hu with a troubled face, "Does it... Does it have to be me?"
Zhang Hu furrowed his brows deeply, "Do you want to see another man sleep with your sister-in-law?"
"No, no, no. I don't want to," Wang Chen shook his head vigorously.
Zhang Hu took a drag from his cigarette, "You are the person I trust the most, I'm fully confident in you, that's why it has to be you."
"I..."
"Your sister-in-law is so beautiful, do you really feel nothing?" Zhang Hu interrupted Wang Chen and said, "On the day of our wedding, I saw you sneaking glances at her many times."
At these words, Wang Chen's face turned red, and just as he was about to argue, Zhang Hu continued, "Even if we don't mention that, do you want to see me go insane over this? Or our parents die because of it?"
Wang Chen shook his head vigorously, "Your family has been my benefactor, Hu, how could I possibly stand by and watch you die?"
"So you agree?"
Wang Chen nodded; Zhang Hu had put it this way, leaving no room for him to refuse.
Seeing Wang Chen agree, Zhang Hu's face lit up with joy, then he felt a deep, sour ache in his heart.
His wife, Li Qian, was the most beautiful woman in miles around.
He had gone to great lengths to marry her.
Who knows how many young masters drooled with envy.
And now, that beautiful wife was about to share a bed with the just-graduated poor kid, and Zhang Hu's heart was quite displeased.
However, the child's matter could be resolved.
Lost in thought, Zhang Hu stood up: "Since you've agreed, let's not delay and get this done sooner rather than later."
"Today?" Wang Chen looked up in surprise, "Hu, isn't this too rushed? And there's also the matter with sister-in-law..."
"Are you worried that your sister-in-law won't agree?" Zhang Hu asked.
Wang Chen glanced at him, his gaze involuntarily shifted backward.
Zhang Hu shook his head: "I've discussed this with your sister-in-law several times before. Although she hasn't explicitly agreed, she hasn't refused either. I reckon she won't make a fuss about it."
"Can she really accept such a big matter?" Wang Chen asked again.
Wang Chen's eyelids twitched as he was about to say something when Zhang Hu continued, "Don't worry, she'll just be a bit awkward at most. You don't understand your sister-in-law, that seemingly quiet and gentle appearance on the surface..."
"Hu!" Wang Chen quickly interrupted him, worried that Li Qian behind might overhear.
However, Li Qian did not show any reaction to Zhang Hu's words.
This unexpectedly set Wang Chen's imagination wandering.
Seeing his nervous look, Zhang Hu laughed: "Don't worry, I'll just get her to drink a couple of glasses later."
Having said this, he stood up: "Let's go. Not many people in the village know you're back, it'll be even harder for anyone to notice anything if we handle it today."
With the conversation having reached this point, there was no reason for Wang Chen to refuse, and he too wanted to get up and follow.
But... he couldn't get up.
Because Li Qian was right behind him; if he got up, Li Qian, who wasn't dressed, would be directly exposed in front of Zhang Hu.
Wang Chen thought for a moment: "Brother, why don't you go back first? I'll gather my things and come find you?"
Zhang Hu gave him a glance: "How did you become so fussy after studying outside for two years?"
"I..."
"I'll help you pack," Zhang Hu said, reaching to lift the quilt.
Watching this scene, Wang Chen's heart leapt to his throat.
In his panic, he abruptly stood up, blocking Zhang Hu's line of sight for a moment, and directly pulled Zhang Hu towards the door: "Hu, you go back first. I'll be right there after I've packed."
Seeing Wang Chen's anxious expression, Zhang Hu asked with a sly grin, "Tell me, kid, are you not letting me rummage because you've hidden a woman in the room?"
While saying this, he even turned his head to glance at the bed.
At first glimpse, it indeed looked like someone was hidden under the quilt.
And when he turned his head, he also vaguely saw the quilt move, and what's more important, he felt that the corner of the exposed clothing looked quite familiar.
Seeing his face suddenly turn strange and he started to move forward, Wang Chen, with a forehead covered in sweat, said: "There's no woman in this broken house in my orchard."
Zhang Hu gave him a glance: "Nonsense, I just saw the quilt move. You must be hiding a woman."
With that, he took a step forward...