“Enough, I’m hungry.” Lei Daqiang thumped the table with his hand and spoke.
Du Shi was very gentle when she spoke to Lei Daqiang: “Then I won’t say. Let’s eat.”
Qin Mian looked at the table with a plate of steamed buns and a pot of vegetable soup that was so clear that he could hardly see grease on the surface. Although he had expected that the living standards of ancient peasants could not be too high, he was surprised.
While he was still in a daze, each of the men had taken a steamed bun and ate it with a big bite. They ate very fast where they took only two or three bites of the steamed bun before they went to get the second one.
Suddenly, a steamed bun was stuffed in his hand and Qin Mian turned to Lei Tie. Lei Tie didn’t look at him but ate the steamed bun in silence. Qin Mian watched other people devour like wolves but this man beside him, though eating fast, hardly looked conspicuously vulgar. Once again, Qin Mian felt out of sort at the bottom of his heart.He turned to the other table. The women ate the same things as this one, but the soup was thinner with only a few clear vegetables floating in it.
The stomach tightened again. Qin Mian took a bite of the steamed bun and frowned. He was not a man who couldn’t bear hardships. When he lived with his maternal grandparents, he usually ate less steamed cornbread or steamed bun and even steamed filled bun for breakfast. Later, life became a bit easier when Qin Shiyuan received Qin Family’s livelihood. On top of that, he inadvertently obtained a space for planting and began to like studying and exploring gourmet food. Afterwards, when he graduated, he became a photographer of food program. Still, he didn’t know how this steamed bun was made. It’s very rough enough to scrap his throat.
Yet, he continued to eat the steamed bun and drink a bowl of soup, which then made his stomach more comfortable.
After eating breakfast peacefully, Lei Daqiang began to arrange today’s work for the labor forces in the family. Now it’s the time when the weeds were growing crazily and the grass in the rice field should be pulled out. Du Shi arranged work for the daughters-in-law: Zhao Shi carried water and vegetables, Qian Shi cut grass and fed pigs, Qin Shi went up the mountain to cut firewood and she herself took care of the children at home. As for Lei Chuntao, this girl needed to be pampered so she could find a good family to marry. Now the sun was high, she couldn’t go out to be basked in the sun and only needed to embroider in the room.
“My wife has to take a rest.” Lei Tie began.
Du Shi’s face was black again and she said stiffly: “As someone from a pheasant family, how can he be so fragile? How many days has he been off duty? The work at home has been delayed.”
Qin Mian was very clear about this. He himself was not familiar with this place and could not leave Lei’s house for the time being, so he could not quarrel with Du Shi now. Just as he was about to respond, Lei Tie said again: “He has to rest.”Ignoring Du Shi, Lei Tie then led Qin Mian into the thatched cottage, closed the door and left.
Du Shi’s eyes were red as she looked at Lei Daqiang. “Family Head, look at Eldest. He married a wife and forgot his mother…”
Lei Daqiang watched Lei Tie pick up a carrying pole and go out of the entrance door without looking back, his brows creased. “Let it go. The health of Eldest’s [wife] is really not good now. Give him two days.”
Du Shi however, obeyed Lei Daqiang. Although she was not comfortable with it, she didn’t say anything more. She comforted herself that when Eldest’s [wife] was well, he could do more work. Thinking of this, she no longer insisted. Then, she saw the other two daughters-in-law standing there doing nothing and she was filled with anger. Her eyes were round, her face looked cold and she didn’t talk. But the anger at the bottom of her eyes was like a fierce wind blowing towards Zhao and Qian.
Zhao and Qian hurriedly took the farm tools they needed to use and walked out of the courtyard.
Qin Mian stayed in the thatched cottage and be at ease after he listened to the silence in the yard. He expressed a few thanks to Lei Tie before he inserted the latch. Then, he shook the quilt, took out some clothes and two pillows from the wooden box, stuffed them under the quilt and made them look like someone was lying in it. Afterwards, he got into the quilt and entered the space. It was no wonder he was so cautious because the cottage was too dilapidated and full of tiny cracks. It’s easy to peek in. The space was a heaven-defying existence, so he must be very careful not to let anyone find its existence.
In the ordinary course of events, if he changed his body, the space would not follow him, but maybe it was because after it recognized the owner with blood, the space was integrated with his soul, so it also followed him.
In the beginning, he was able to obtain the space was truly by chance and odd. One night, he was in a depressed mood. After drinking a little wine, he went out for a walk to sober up and accidentally saw two men killing a black dog in a small forest. There were several vertical and horizontal bloodstains on the dog as it curled up on the ground and whimpered, enduring the pain and sorrow. It was very miserable. So, he ran over angrily, took out his cell phone and threatened the two men that he had already reported them to the police. The two men were little ruffians less than 20 year old. They were scared by him and ran away.
The dog looked very weak. He didn’t have any experience in dealing with the dog’s injuries. He didn’t dare to move it at will. Thus, he called a veterinary clinic and asked them to send someone to deal with it. At the same time, he stroked the black dog’s head to comfort it as he said to it that someone would come to save it immediately.
The black dog looked at him, whined twice before it stood up with difficultly and licked the palm of his hand. Then, it opened its mouth, spit out a maroon jade ring before it limped away.
He drank wine at that time, so his brain was still a little fuzzy. He was blank for a long time before he sobered up with a gust of wind and even thought he had hallucinations just now. But when he looked at the palm of his hand, he did have a jade ring.
He was surprised and hurried to look for the black dog but the black dog had disappeared.
It was very strange. Moreover, the black dog obviously understood human and was harmless. It not only left the jade ring but also put it on his hand in cherish manner.
Later in 2012, eschatology[1] was very popular and eschatology novels emerged in an endless stream. When he was bored, he read a few books and was very interested in the portable space and that the space of the protagonists in many novels was inadvertently triggered by dripping blood onto an ancient object. Therefore, he cut his finger and dropped the blood onto the ring. Unexpectedly, it really opened a mystical space!
Note:
[1] a part of theology concerned with death, judgement, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.
