Chapter 4: Life & Death is Fate
Fortunately, Jie f.u.xing’s worries did not occur as a while later, Qu second aunt excitedly rushed back to relay the in-law’s words. “Your in-laws has agreed and decided to hold your wedding on the eighth of next month. All you have to do is to be present. Oh, that’s right. f.u.xing, I have already informed your in-laws of your conditions. At that time, the doting brother of your future wife has immediately proposed to help you prepare a new wedding suit and shoes. For you to meet such good people, your days will definitely be filled with happiness.”
Early morning on the actual day of the wedding, f.u.xing had already put on the wedding clothes and shoes which were gifted to him and was eagerly waiting for his bride. Everyone in the village had already heard of the news regarding f.u.xing getting a wife. Be it either out of curiosity or due to the strong bond and relationship as a whole village, everyone came to congratulate the coming of a new married couple. While that, they also wanted to catch a glimpse of the bride’s appearance.
Very soon, two carriages arrived in front of f.u.xing’s thatch cottage main door. Upon the arrival of the bride, all the spectators turned to look in that direction and were stunned. Their faces showed a strange expression as if they had just seen a monster.
The bride was wearing bright red shirt and trousers. She had a pale face, both her eyes were misty white and she had a droop nose with her nostrils clearly visible. She also had two long yellow front teeth and they are more prominent than her nose.
With her ugly appearance, it was no wonder she could only marry f.u.xing as no one would want to marry her. None of the spectators opposed this marriage as with f.u.xing’s qualification, he should already be thanking the heaven to be able to have her as his wife.
f.u.xing didn’t mind the spectators’ stupefied expression. He happily welcomed the bride as he obediently went to support her. In his eyes, there’s no different between women as they were all beautiful fairies, especially the woman who is going to be his wife. Even though she could not see, she was still beautifully attractive. He had the responsibility to cherish and love her.
When the bride’s brother, Qu w.a.n.gcai, saw how poor f.u.xing was, he felt bitter. He felt that he had let his biological little sister, who was birthed from the same mother as him, down. Just for the sake of pushing this responsibility and to get rid of this nuisance, he had actually heeded to his wife’s suggestion and marry her off to a handicapped. What’s more, he was living in poverty. It seems like his little sister henceforth may really have to face problems such as food and clothing.
He was vexed and was filled with regret. At this point of time, he could no longer renege on this decision. He was also afraid that if he were to renege, his wife would quarrel with him without end. But still, as his little sister was born with too many bad points, who would be willing to marry her? Since everything had been set in stone, he could only financially help them in the future.
In the end, w.a.n.gcai looked at his brother-in-law whose appearance was at least somewhat so-so and spoke, “brother-in-law, my little sister is blind so she would not be of help in work. In the future, I will fork out 200 pounds of food so both of you will not have to go hungry.”
He did not look at his wife, Yan Xueli, who was at the point of wanting to pull somebody’s hair. If it was not because they were in the public which is filled with numerous people, she would have released her anger on him and gave h
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im a few slaps. Her face was ashen and her pained heart felt as if it was bleeding out blood. If it was not for the sake of removing this hindrance by marrying her sister-in-law off, she would not have prepared so many dowries.
Through this, f.u.xing finally managed to gain not only a wife but also a dependable relative. f.u.xing’s living condition was immediately changed to be more wonderful. With a woman by his side, everything in his life had changed, even the taste of water had become sweeter.
Time had always been impartial to everyone, regardless whether the days were filled with sweetness or bitterness.
In the blink of an eye, 20 years had pa.s.sed. Within that period of time, the Jie couple had already given birth to seven children. Six of them, either they died after coming into the world for a few months or died in an accident when they were a few years old. Only the seventh child was lucky enough to survive.
The promise of 200 pounds of food was honored in the beginning of the first few years. In the end due to Yan Xueli continuously showing her gloomy and ashen face, plus her various methods of obstruction, the promise was slowly, be it deliberately or unintentionally, being forgotten.
Due to the premature death of their children, they were advised to name their boy with a girl’s name so that he would be easier to raise. This was why the couple had specifically named their boy with a 100% girl’s name, Jie Xiaomei.
Following that, their eighth child died prematurely.
When Jie f.u.xing was 50 and his wife was 44, they had their ninth child. This time was a baby girl. The baby girl weighed around 3 pounds and her body was rosy red in colour. When she cried, she sounded similar to a mosquito that was producing the ‘weng weng’ sound when it was hungry.
The midwife sighed as she shook her head, “In the past, you were not able to protect all of your strong and healthy children. Regarding this child, with one look I can see that she is sick. I’m afraid that it will be even more difficult for her to survive.” Being at a countryside with no money to go to the hospital, they had no choice but to seek for a midwife’s help during childbirth.
Qu Xiuyan even though she could not see, her heart was as clear as a mirror. She tightly embraced her pitiful daughter. Since it was fate that brought them, mother and daughter, together, she would put all her efforts to care and raise this child.
In the past, she had given to many children but only one survived. Though it was such a case, she still got the experience of bringing up children. Under Qu Xiuyan’s meticulous care, the baby girl grew with a speed visible to the naked eyes. When the baby girl was one, the couples believed that there was hope for the child to survive and she would live a long life. Hence they decided to give the baby girl a name.
Qu Xiuyan suggested, “Her brother is called Xiaomei, why not call her Xiaodi. Like this, it would be easier to raise them up.”
f.u.xing, of course, was in favor. He grinned. Even though he knew that his wife could not see his face’s expression, he still smiled at her. All these years she had followed him and suffered together with him. They did not eat well nor wear well. She even had to give birth to so many of his children. She had already done a lot for him but had not enjoyed a little bit of blessing. He really felt sorry for her.
He normally does not have any temper. He would always be polite and amiable to others and his tolerance level is also very high. Towards his only relatives, his wife, he does not even have the heart to even speak loudly to her. Hence from his wife reasonable proposal, he would definitely agree and gave her his support.
In this unique family, the names given to their two children were names that not even people could imagine. Fortunately, in this countryside, no one found it funny. Also, the girl’s fate was not like how the midwife had foretold. She had managed to live on without experiencing any illness or disaster.