Chapter 59: Chapter 58 Helpless_1
Chapter 59: Chapter 58 Helpless_1
Because of the injury on Lin Yue’s head, Zhao Erhu did not feel at ease leaving his young wife home alone. For the past couple of days, he had hence stayed home to take care of Lin Yue instead of going to work in the fields. When Lin Yue was resting, he would do some woodworking, creating small handy items for the house, as well as preparing the gear needed for hunting. Originally, the silver he had saved should have lasted him a while if he had been frugal, but unfortunately, plans often cannot keep up with changes.
The cost of summoning a doctor and buying medicine for Lin Yue’s injury had totaled more than two taels of silver. Although his elder sister-in-law was supposed to compensate them for the money, based on the promissory note, he knew it was unlikely they would ever see that money returned. In the end, the burden fell on him, so now he was left with just over one tael of silver. An unexpected event could leave them unable to cope, and besides, how could he take care of his delicate young wife without some spare cash on hand? Therefore, he thought that once Lin Yue’s injuries improved in a few days, he would go into the mountains to hunt and earn some silver coin.
During this season, the wild beasts in the mountains were at their hungriest and most ferocious. In previous years, Zhao Erhu would wait until the spring warmth and abundance of food before venturing into the mountains to hunt. But due to the family’s current financial strain, he could not afford to wait. Zhao Erhu was unwilling to let his young wife endure poverty with him; entering the mountains with caution and avoiding particularly dangerous areas should be manageable with his many years of hunting experience.
“Brother Erhu, what are you doing?” Lin Yue woke up, did not see Zhao Erhu by her side, quickly threw on a piece of clothing, and came out, only to find Zhao Erhu in the courtyard apparently fiddling with something.
“You should not be out of bed, why did you come out? Hurry back to your room, what if you catch a cold?” As soon as Zhao Erhu saw Lin Yue had come out, he put down whatever he was working on and rushed her back to the room.
Lin Yue was not pleased. “Oh, Brother Erhu, I’ve been lying in bed all day; my bones are getting soft from lying down so much. Just let me walk around a bit.”
“No, you must be obedient. Did you forget what the doctor told you? You absolutely must not catch a cold these days; otherwise, if you get sick, it will cause trouble. Hurry back to your room.” After Zhao Erhu finished speaking and saw Lin Yue still dawdling, he picked her up horizontally without another word, placed her back on the bed, and covered her with a blanket, denying her any chance to protest.
“You’re overbearing, you’re way too overbearing. I’m so uncomfortable lying here, Zhao Erhu, Zhao Erhu, Zhao Erhu, you’re so annoying. I hate you! Stay away from me, I don’t even want to see you.” Lin Yue lay in bed, rambling at the ceiling, not even aware of what she was saying. She knew the difference between right and wrong—after all, she was older than Zhao Erhu when combining her age from her former life—and would not be unreasonable, but she was just so bored and restless. She intentionally made a fuss to tease Zhao Erhu, taking pleasure in his helpless demeanor toward her antics.
Zhao Erhu saw Lin Yue’s behavior as his young wife throwing a childish temper again. These past two days, he had worked his fingers to the bone. His wife refused to take her medicine, and he expended a lot of effort coaxing her and keeping watch to ensure she did not stir too much and accidentally hurt herself, all while having to put up with her complaints. Truly, being a husband was difficult, and once again, Zhao Erhu sighed with this sentiment.
“Dalang, is your father home? If he is, tell him to come out quickly. The old master is here,” called a voice from outside while the couple was jesting in their room. Lin Yue quickly sobered up from her playful mood and pricked up her ears.
“Brother Erhu, listen, doesn’t that sound like your father’s voice?” Lin Yue’s ears were still sharp; she had met Zhao Jingen only once and had memorized his voice. She was just puzzled as to why today, of all days, her father-in-law had decided to visit their home—it was quite unexpected indeed.