Peng Fei had few clothes. He went to a table in the corner and rummaged through them, picking out a relatively neat t-shirt and shorts for her. He then retreated outside the door.
"Do you have a belt?" Zhan Jingchun called softly from inside after changing.
Peng Fei looked quite thin, but he was exceptionally tall with a large frame. His clothes looked like a costume on Zhan Jingchun.
She tucked the hem of the t-shirt into her shorts. The waistband could still be folded over by more than two fingers, so she had to hold them with her hands.
Peng Fei entered and saw this wide, loose, and amusing sight.
"No belt. I'll find a rope for you."
He rummaged through the table again and pulled out a clean shoelace.
"Use this for now. I'll find a proper one for you tomorrow."
Zhan Jingchun had no choice. She turned away and tied the shorts.
She looked down at her upper body. It was fine. Because the clothes were sufficiently loose, and she wasn't particularly voluptuous, it wasn't very noticeable.
"I'll go wash my clothes. Could you help me get some water?"
Peng Fei stood still, disobeying her for the first time.
"I'll wash them for you. Really, the water is too cold, you won't be able to wash them properly."
Zhan Jingchun felt awkward letting a stranger, especially a man, wash her clothes.
"It's not cold now, why wouldn't I be able to wash them properly? If you're tired and want to sleep, then you go ahead and sleep."
With her saying that, how could Peng Fei not move?
He went into the yard and scooped two buckets of water. Zhan Jingchun followed with her clothes. He brought her a basin, a small stool, and laundry detergent.
Miss Zhan, accustomed to luxury, followed the example on television, poured the laundry detergent onto the clothes, and began to rub them slowly. Peng Fei watched her from across the yard.
The moonlight was bright, the air was quiet. The scene of two young people keeping each other company should have been beautiful.
Unexpectedly, Peng Fei's mother came out again.
"What are you doing up so late at night? Splashing around endlessly, are you crazy?"
Saying this, she walked out and took a closer look, seeing Zhan Jingchun washing clothes.
She couldn't help but hurry to her.
"Oh dear, at this hour, who told you to wash clothes? If you catch a cold, with your delicate health, you'll be sick again and cost money? Can't it wait until tomorrow?"
Then she scolded Peng Fei: "And you! Still up so late, not sleeping. Will you be able to wake up tomorrow? That one mu of land, normally, would have been finished today. Today you were dawdling, and tomorrow you'll have to go again. You're just delaying things! Why are you so useless?"
Peng Fei was used to being scolded and didn't react much. Zhan Jingchun found it unbearable.
From childhood to adulthood, her parents had doted on her, never even speaking harshly. She had only been here for a short time, and this woman had already yelled at her several times.
But she didn't want to argue with her, so she continued rubbing listlessly.
Peng Fei's mother saw she wasn't responding and stared at her hands for a moment.
"Look at your hands, they're as thin as chicken claws. Can you even wash clothes? Get up, get up. Hurry back to bed. I'll wash them for you."
Saying this, without regard for Zhan Jingchun's consent, she walked over to her and shoved her off the stool.
Then, she grabbed the clothes and started rubbing them vigorously.
Zhan Jingchun, already weak, was knocked to the ground by her shove, with foam still on her hands.
Peng Fei rushed to pull her up. "Mom, can't you be gentler?"
"As if you haven't eaten, no strength at all. You've really married a celestial being! Can't even wash clothes, and you expect her to work in the fields later? To give birth and raise children?"
Apart from being pretty, Peng Fei's mother found fault with Zhan Jingchun in every other aspect.
Zhan Jingchun was helped up. Seeing that she had already changed into her undergarments and started rubbing, she thought, since things had come to this, she would just let her do it.
She had already lost face in front of them anyway.
She washed her hands by the bucket and went back to her room.
Just as she was about to close the door to sleep, Peng Fei followed her.
She couldn't help but retort, "Didn't your mother tell you to go back to sleep?"
"Yes."
"You're going to sleep here?"
Regarding this issue, Peng Fei also seemed a bit embarrassed.
"This is my room. That bed has always been where I slept."
"..."
So, tonight, they were going to sleep in the same bed?
Zhan Jingchun wasn't inexperienced in relationships. On the contrary, she had a male classmate she grew up with. They went out together almost every day, but she hadn't brought him home.
Her boyfriend respected her and never crossed boundaries. She was a proper virgin, and she couldn't accept this with a stranger.
"Don't you have any other beds? I'm not sleeping in the same room as you."
While bathing, she had coiled her hair on top of her head, forming a full bun.
The t-shirt was loose, and during her work, the neckline had inadvertently slipped off one shoulder, revealing half of her delicate shoulder.
At this moment, her cheeks were puffed out, her eyes wide, and her brows furrowed. Although she was angry, she looked quite cute.
Peng Fei found her more endearing the more he looked at her.
"Since you've come to my house, you're my wife. Who else would you sleep with if not me?"
*Who is your wife?*
Mentioning this, fearing Peng Fei's mother might hear, Zhan Jingchun had Peng Fei come into the room.
She lowered her voice and spoke to him.
"I was tricked into coming here. I know you spent money to buy me, and because of that, you didn't let me suffer more. I'm very grateful to you."
"Don't worry, when I get out later, I will never report you to the police. You are my savior. I will repay you ten or twenty times the money."
"I can see you're a good person. We're around the same age, we can be friends. Your family is short of money, right? Let me go, and I'll give you money, okay?"
Peng Fei didn't even raise an eyebrow. He turned and bolted the door, then pushed her towards the bed.
Almost all the wives in their village came this way.
Everyone who arrived was initially unable to accept it, crying and making a fuss, threatening suicide, going on hunger strikes – he had heard and seen all sorts of tactics. Zhan Jingchun's gentle strategy couldn't move him at all.
Moreover, he genuinely liked her. He knew he wouldn't find anyone as beautiful and gentle if she left, and he would never let her go.
This wasn't a problem that money could solve.
Seeing that he wasn't speaking and was pushing her towards the bed, Zhan Jingchun's alarm bells rang loudly, and she hurriedly tried to dodge.
But how could she match Peng Fei's strength?
She was yanked over, lifted, and placed on the bed in two moves.
Then, he turned back, blew out the kerosene lamp, and got onto the bed as well.
Just as Zhan Jingchun tried to dodge, he pinned her down.
"Sleep."
Zhan Jingchun pushed his hand away. "Don't touch me. Didn't you hear what I just said? I can give you money. My parents are very wealthy. They'll give you whatever you want, really. Don't believe me? Let me make a phone call! Name your price, and they'll give you anything. I promise I won't call the police, and I can write you a guarantee letter. As long as you don't hurt me, okay?"
Peng Fei didn't intend to hurt her; he cherished her.
Her pleasant voice echoed softly in his ear. Contentedly, he pulled Zhan Jingchun closer and hugged her tightly.
"Stop talking, sleep."