My Wife is the Vicious Supporting Character from an Era Novel - Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Wife, Come Here and Give Me a Kiss
May has passed quickly, and June is getting hotter. After the news of the school merger last month, Li Xiangdong begins the expansion this month. It’s not a lot of work. They just need to add another thatched-roof hut and repair the leaking roof of the existing one. Li Xiangdong hires five people to do the work. The job is tiring, but the pay is good, so many young men volunteer. Li Xiangdong chooses three men and two women, including Ji Baiqing. Ji Baiqing volunteers because she wants to earn more money. She only goes to the slaughterhouse twice a week and has a lot of free time. She wants to earn enough to take care of her beautiful wife.
He Xiangyue and Ji Wei are happy that Ji Baiqing gets the job. They know she is strong and can handle it. Wen Miao is not happy. Ji Baiqing tries to console her. She holds Wen Miao’s hand. “Zhenzhen, don’t be mad,” she says, thinking how much Wen Miao is like a cat.
“You always make decisions without asking me first,” Wen Miao says. She had told Ji Baiqing not to do the construction work, but Ji Baiqing had gone behind her back and signed up anyway.
Ji Baiqing kisses Wen Miao’s hand. “Zhenzhen, you know I’m not as well off as you are. I need to make more money to be worthy of you.”
Wen Miao frowns. “I don’t need you to be the same as me. We come from different families. I don’t care about a good family background, and I don’t want you to feel so much pressure.”
Ji Baiqing’s lips curl into a smile. She leans on Wen Miao’s lap and rubs her cheek on her thigh. “I know you’re worried about me, Jie-jie, but I want to be at the same level as you.” She wants to be able to stand beside Wen Miao, not make Wen Miao stoop to her level. She tells Wen Miao that she is learning construction skills and they can build their own house, a new brick-and-tile house that will be cool in the summer. Wen Miao is surprised but also looks forward to their future home. She finally agrees.
The next day, Ji Baiqing wears some old clothes. Before she leaves, Wen Miao applies some sunscreen and gives her a straw hat. When she arrives at the site, the other workers are already there. Ji Baiqing and another woman named Qian-shen are in charge of mixing mud and straw to make mud bricks. The work is tiring and tedious, but Ji Baiqing has a lot of strength. At noon, Ji Baiqing is sweaty and tired. She says goodbye to Qian-shen and heads home.
When she gets home, she sees smoke coming from the chimney. She is worried that Wen Miao has accidentally burned the kitchen down. She rushes inside and sees Wen Miao carrying a plate of food. “You’re back so soon?” Wen Miao asks. She has cooked lunch, and she puts a piece of stir-fried pig liver on Ji Baiqing’s plate. Ji Baiqing takes a bite and says it’s delicious.
Wen Miao smiles and gives her a bowl of loofah gourd soup. “The loofah cools you down.”
Ji Baiqing is in awe. “My wife, you’re amazing! How can you cook so well the first time you try? Knowing you cooked this for me makes me so happy.”
Wen Miao blushes. “Stop calling me that!” she says, looking around to make sure no one is listening.
When He Xiangyue and Ji Wei get home, they all sit down for lunch. Ji Baiqing proudly tells them that Wen Miao cooked the meal. He Xiangyue is shocked and says that the food tastes even better now that she knows Wen Miao made it. Wen Miao is embarrassed and pinches Ji Baiqing’s thigh under the table. Ji Baiqing, in return, grabs her hand to stop her from moving.
After lunch, Ji Baiqing finds Wen Miao in the kitchen, picking out the bad mung beans. Wen Miao is making mung bean soup to cool them down. She is sweating from the heat. Ji Baiqing feels her heart melt. “I’ll help you with the fire,” she says. Wen Miao tells her to rest, but Ji Baiqing says she has a lot of strength. Wen Miao tells her that they will need to buy more mung beans and rock sugar next time they go to town. Wen Miao puts the mint leaves in the soup, and Ji Baiqing is excited. She whispers to Wen Miao that they should go to Big Mountain Village to buy some watermelons after work.
Ji Baiqing takes a nap with Wen Miao and then wakes up ten minutes early. She puts the mung bean soup in a thermos and leaves a bowl for Wen Miao with a note. She goes back to work. During their break, Ji Baiqing drinks the soup and feels refreshed. She gives some to Qian-shen, who is impressed. “That city girl is so good to you,” she says. Ji Baiqing’s tail wags. “She’s not a city girl. She’s my wife!” she thinks.
After two days of work, all the mud bricks are ready. Ji Baiqing is excited to go home and eat. She is so distracted that she doesn’t see the steps and trips. She hears a snap and falls to the ground. She feels a sharp pain in her ankle. Qian-shen rushes to help her up. Her ankle is swollen like a bun.
Ji Baiqing asks Qian-shen to help her walk home. As they are walking, other villagers ask them what happened. Ji Baiqing tells them she twisted her ankle and declines their offers of help. When they get home, she calls out for Wen Miao. Wen Miao comes out of the kitchen and is shocked. “Are you okay? What happened?” she asks.
Ji Baiqing smiles. “I’m fine. It’s nothing serious,” she says, but Qian-shen, who is still with them, tells Wen Miao that her ankle is swollen like a bun. Ji Baiqing is embarrassed. Wen Miao’s eyes get red. “It’s okay, it’s not that bad,” Ji Baiqing says gently.
Wen Miao helps her sit down. “You shouldn’t have been so tough,” she says. “Is there any medicinal alcohol at home?” Ji Baiqing tells her it’s in her room. Wen Miao finds it and sits on a stool, putting a basin of water on her lap. She tells Ji Baiqing to put her foot on her lap. Ji Baiqing hesitates, worried about getting Wen Miao’s skirt dirty. Wen Miao tells her to do as she says.
Wen Miao cleans Ji Baiqing’s foot with a towel and then applies cold water to the swelling. She pours the medicinal alcohol on her hands and rubs them together to warm them up before massaging Ji Baiqing’s ankle. The massage helps, and the pain subsides. Wen Miao tells her to stay put while she pours out the water.
When she returns, Ji Baiqing smiles. “Wife, come here and give me a kiss.”
Wen Miao looks around to make sure no one is there. “Don’t call me that outside,” she says, “what if someone hears you?”
Ji Baiqing pretends to be a golden bird. “So, you want me to be your secret lover and keep our relationship a secret?” she says.
Wen Miao covers her mouth. “Stop talking nonsense, or I’ll sew your mouth shut!”
They play-fight for a bit. Ji Baiqing is worried about having to go to the slaughterhouse tomorrow. Her foot is injured, but she needs to work to save money. She tells Wen Miao, who says she will go to the village committee and call for her to take a day off. Ji Baiqing stops her. “No, I have to go. People are waiting to buy meat. I can’t let Director Xia down.” She then suggests that Wen Miao ride the bike and take her to the town.
Wen Miao says she doesn’t know how to ride a bike. Ji Baiqing says she will teach her. Wen Miao is left speechless. Ji Baiqing is secretly happy that she got injured. She has been trying to teach Wen Miao how to ride a bike for a long time, but Wen Miao has always refused. Now she has no excuse.
After lunch, Ji Baiqing sits outside, watching Wen Miao practice. Wen Miao keeps falling. She is frustrated because she is usually good at everything. She is determined to learn how to ride a bike. After dinner, Ji Baiqing watches her with a flashlight. Wen Miao finally learns how to ride it. She rides back to the yard and stands in front of Ji Baiqing. “I did it!” she says proudly.
Ji Baiqing is amused. She tells Wen Miao that she has some rice on her face and leans in to get it, but she kisses her on the lips instead.
Wen Miao is shocked. She covers her mouth. “You’re so annoying! You tricked me again!” she says.