RYEY – Chapter 66 A Miserable Wedding Night

But Chen Dazhu just kept staring pitifully at everyone, his eyes making it too obvious. So when Li Huan got his money and quickly left, the rest of the people followed suit and left as well.

Xu Laidi felt even more stifled. Not only did she not receive any money, but she also spat out twenty yuan. Throughout the whole wedding, she kept thinking about those six yuan and eighty cents, yet Chen Dazhu acted as if he had forgotten entirely and never even mentioned it.

Chen Dazhu watched as everyone left—his eldest brother and sister-in-law even took their son away. His scummy father and stepmother threw him a look full of mockery.

“Xu Laidi, you tramp! Marrying you was the unluckiest thing that’s ever happened to me. I didn’t even get a single cent of gift money. Hand over all the money you have on you!”

“Chen Dazhu, don’t slander me! I’m still a maiden, what tramp nonsense? And besides, if you don’t host a banquet, who’s going to give you gift money?”

“There are plenty of families in the village who don’t host banquets, yet I’m the only one who didn’t receive a single coin. Isn’t it because of you, you tramp? You toyed with Chai Jianmin, and now you’re stringing me along too!”

“Chen Dazhu, you’re spouting nonsense! Who in the village gets married without even handing out a piece of candy? If you keep falsely accusing me like this, don’t blame me for not being polite.”

“Heh, show me how you’re ‘not polite.’ You tramp, looking to get beaten? Fine, I’ll oblige you…”

When Xu Laidi saw Chen Dazhu’s eyes redden, she immediately cowered. She pulled out the money she had hidden in her underclothes and handed it to him.

Chen Dazhu felt a little better seeing the hard-earned money back in his own hands, though it still stung that Li Huan had taken off with thirteen yuan and twenty cents.

Still, that money had already been made up from Xu Laidi’s labor. Twenty-five days of work, twelve work points per day, a total of 300 points, which exchanged for twenty-one yuan, with some left over.

Xu Laidi had no idea that her twenty-five days of hard-earned wages had already been collected by Chen Dazhu. If she knew, she would’ve coughed up blood on the spot.

“Lie down already.”

Chen Dazhu carefully stowed the money away, then glanced sideways at Xu Laidi. She jumped a little inside. It was still broad daylight, and she hadn’t even had a sip of water today. Her stomach was rumbling in hunger.

“Brother Dazhu, how about cooking something first? Aren’t you hungry?”

“Hungry? I’ve been hungry for over twenty years—of course I’m hungry. Take off your clothes yourself, or don’t blame me for doing it.”

Chen Dazhu eyed her clothes—half new, half old—and felt reluctant to rip them. The piece of cloth he had given her could only make a vest at most, definitely not enough for proper clothes.

Xu Laidi ground her teeth in hatred. She pulled out the bedding from her basket and spread it on the kang. But the bedding was too small, and the kang too large, making it look especially shabby.

“This is your dowry? That’s all?”

Chen Dazhu rummaged through her basket. Inside were just a few changes of clothes and some women’s items—nothing of value at all.

“My family is poor, so…”

Xu Laidi didn’t dare continue. She had secretly sold off her thermos and other good things once she knew she’d have to marry Chen Dazhu. She bought a sheet of oiled paper, wrapped up the money tight in a tin can, and buried it under a tree at the village entrance.

“Didn’t that educated youth say you were using face cream and drinking malted milk? Where’s the malted milk? Where’s the cream?”

“The malted milk has long been finished, and the cream was just a jar—I filled it with clam oil. Look, and besides, it was Cheng Qiao who gave it to me.”

“What about the thermos? I saw plenty of good stuff at the educated youth’s place.”

“I ran out of rations, so I traded the thermos for food…”

“Damn it…”

Chen Dazhu suddenly felt he had suffered a massive loss. Without thinking, he slapped her across the face. He had controlled his strength, or else she wouldn’t have been able to show her face the next day.

“Ah…”

Xu Laidi hadn’t expected to be slapped less than three hours into her marriage. She didn’t dare hit back, only sobbed in grievance. Seeing her crying and hiccuping, Chen Dazhu grew even more excited and lunged at her.

“Ah… let me go!”

Xu Laidi had never imagined her wedding night would begin in broad daylight. Chen Dazhu’s roughness and cruelty were unbearable. Looking at the bloodstains on the bedding, she wished she were dead.

“Laidi, I’m sorry, I got too excited. You’ve had it hard. I’ll go boil some water for you. Oh, and you must be hungry. I’ll cook you something.”

Seeing her swollen body, one eye almost shut from the slap, Chen Dazhu felt a trace of guilt. He dressed and went to the kitchen, pulled some grain from the broken cupboard, and lit the stove.

Before long, he brought in a big steaming bowl of noodles. At the sight of it, Xu Laidi’s stomach growled loudly, and she quickly grabbed the bowl and began to eat.

Watching her slurp down the noodles without even asking if he had eaten, Chen Dazhu grew annoyed. White flour was precious—this was enough for two people.

“You tramp—no, you damn woman—you ate my share too. Are you a pig? I pitied you and let you eat first, but you couldn’t even save me half?”

Xu Laidi froze mid-bite. Just one bowl of noodles wasn’t even enough for her alone, let alone two people. How could he be so stingy?

“Didn’t you eat any?”

Although she spoke, her hands still clutched the bowl. Chen Dazhu snatched it away and gulped down the remaining noodles and broth in a few swallows, leaving nothing behind.

“Go wash up and sleep. Look at you, pathetic.”

He kicked her once, then climbed onto the kang and soon began snoring loudly.

Enduring her aching body, Xu Laidi went to the kitchen to wash herself. Seeing only bloody water flow out, her tears fell uncontrollably.

Cheng Qiao, all of this is your doing. Just wait—I’ll make you wish you were dead one day.

Cheng Qiao sneezed several times in a row. Mother Li quickly went into the room and pulled out a blanket to cover her. The weather was getting colder, which was troublesome.

If they lit the kang now, it would be too early, but without it, it was freezing. Cheng Qiao pulled out a few blankets from her space’s general store, gave one to Mother Li, and kept one for herself.

“Mom, the new house will be ready in a couple more days. After burning the kang a few times, we can move in. Once we do, you can move here too.”

Mother Li nodded with a smile. Li Huan had put real effort into fixing up this house. Now, it wasn’t drafty at all—unlike her own room with Li Le, where they had to pile on heavy quilts at night or risk waking up frozen.

“Second Sister-in-law, are we going to the back mountain again tomorrow?”

Li Le came over eagerly. These days, following Cheng Qiao into the mountains had brought her plenty of harvests.