The First Volume of Qinghe County

  Ximen Qing was teaching "evil" moves on this side, while in the next room, Wu Dalang and Yuan'ge were drinking happily.

  Yu Ge had a worried and bitter face, this was already the third day in a row that Wu Dalang dragged him home to drink wine. Every time, Wu Dalang could accurately intercept Yu Ge on the road, causing him not to sell a single copper coin for three days. That basket of pears, more than half were used to accompany the wine.

  Wu Dalang's image was not good to begin with, and he stayed at home every day. Except for going out in the morning to bring Guo'er over, he didn't go out at other times, making his image even more decadent.

  These two men drank, with Yu Ge accompanying nervously, not daring to drink much. Wu Dalang didn't take medicine or sleep, as long as he hadn't drunk to the point of being unable to move, he continued drinking.

  Wu Dalang had drunk too much, and even climbing the stairs was difficult. So Pan Jinlian simply set up a bed on the first floor. Wu Dalang drank and swayed two steps to the side, then fell down.

  By the time it was afternoon, Wudalang had already emptied several wine jars under his feet. With eyes full of bloodshot, he stared at Yuange, making Yuange's liver tremble.

  Yu Ge felt bitter in his heart, thinking that if he continued drinking like this, he would eventually become just like Wu Dala. He was about to make an excuse to leave: "Brother Dala, it's not good to drink so much. I still have my old mother at home who needs care day and night, I'll head back today."

  "Go?" Wu Dalang rolled his cow-like eyes: "Brother, you sit down first. Today, I have something to ask of you."

  "Brother Dalang, you're speaking as an outsider!" Yu Ge heard the implication, since he was asked to take care of things, there must be a chance to go out, so he quickly patted his chest with a loud bang: "Brother Dalang's affairs are my affairs, what else can I ask for?"

  "Good! Let's finish the wine first!" Wu Dalang pointed at Yu Ge, who was already shaking his head and almost unable to stay awake.

  "Good." Yu Ge picked up his bowl and pretended to drink from it, but in reality, more than half of the contents were secretly poured onto the ground beside him.

  "Good brother!" Wu Dalang slowly got up, almost knocking over the table, and Yu Ge hurriedly stood up to support him.

  Unexpectedly, Wu Dalang pushed Yu Ge away with one hand and pressed him firmly onto the stool. Then, he himself went down on his knees with a "thud".

  "Brother, what do you mean by this!" Although Yu Ge had seen Wu Dalang get drunk and act crazy for the past two days, at most he would just knock around and fight, but he hadn't gotten to the point of kneeling down everywhere.

  "Brother, I'm giving you a bow." Wu Dalang not only knelt down but also shook his body to give Yu Ge a bow. Yu Ge didn't dare accept this great courtesy and hastily dodged to the side.

  "Brother, if there's anything you want me to do for you, just say it straight out. I'll take care of everything." Yu Ge was somewhat flustered: "This is too great an honor."

  Wu Dalang was drunk and his eyes were blurry, he didn't care if Yu Ge was hiding or not, he sincerely knocked three times, only then did he struggle to get back up and sit properly.

  Yu Ge let out a sigh of relief, picked up the wine jug and poured another bowl for Wu Dalang: "You'd better drink quickly and get drunk, I want to leave early today."

  When Brother Yu put down the wine jar and raised his head, he found that Wu Dalang's eyes had become shiny and were staring at him.

  "Brother, you've been secretly looking at Liu Niang's breasts all along." Wu Dalang said suddenly with clear articulation as he felt his way to pick up the bowl and took a sip.

  Yu Ge was holding his wine bowl when Wu Dalang suddenly said this and he almost dropped the bowl.

  "Brother, I don't blame you, but rather Sixth Sister's natural appearance that invites trouble, and her figure is even more so."

  Yuan Ge felt strange when Wu Dalang talked about his wife like that. In fact, from the first day he discovered that Wu Dalang's wife was so beautiful, Yuan Ge had thought about it countless times in his heart. As for secretly looking at her breasts, it should be a normal thing.

  It is said that Wu Dalang and Pan Jinlian are a couple, which makes all the men and women, old and young, in Qinghe County, especially the young men, unable to accept. Although the saying "a flower inserted into cow dung" has long been a topic of conversation after tea and dinner, but in the hearts of most young men, it is sour.

  If I had to give a score, Wu Dalang wouldn't be zero points, but rather minus one hundred and one thousand points.

  "It's no wonder it's dog shit, with dog shit luck." Someone once said that.

  However, since moving to Qinghe County, Pan Jinlian has been staying at home and not going out. Normally, when she needs to buy something, she asks Wang Po to help her deliver it. So, Yu Ge also approached Wu Dalang with an uneasy heart.

  Yu Ge was less than fifteen years old, but he already regarded Pan Jinlian as his goddess.

  "Brother, don't say that." Yu Ge felt a bit embarrassed: "No matter what, as brothers, it's not right to covet sister-in-law's beauty."

  "Don't worry. I've already got enough green hats on my head, one or two is fine, three or five is also okay." Wu Dalang's eyes had an inexplicable look: "It's just a pity, brother has a disability."

  "Disabled?" Yu Ge didn't understand what Wu Dalang meant. Wu Dalang's three-inch Dinggu tree bark body was born disabled anyway.

  "Brother, that aspect is also congenitally disabled." Wu Dalang pointed to the lower part with his hand: "Others all say that I, Wu Dalang, have gotten a great advantage, but no one knows that this advantage can be seen but not obtained."

  "Heavens!..." Wu Dalang's face was contorted in a mixture of grief and frustration: "This secret, I've never told anyone before, not even that woman. She thinks I'm ashamed of myself, and we haven't consummated our marriage yet..."

  Yu Ge was completely stunned by Wu Dalang's secret and for a moment he didn't know how to comfort him.

  Wu Dalang stared blankly at Xun Ge, his eyes very empty: "Whether it's Zhang Dahu or Ximen Qing, they all want my Liu Niang, but Liu Niang is mine, I'll give her to whoever I say."

  "I had still held onto a glimmer of hope for my brother, but over the past few years his body has been getting weaker by the day, and the chest pain that comes with his illness strikes at any moment. If we don't make a decision now, it will be too late."

  "Brother, you're really something." Yu Ge was at a loss for words and didn't know how to respond, so he just lowered his head and drank his wine.

  From Gu Ge's perspective, Wu Dalang is already on the verge of a mental breakdown and can't take any more stimulation. If he does, he'll have another episode like a few days ago and won't be able to face it alone.

  "Brother Yu, we're brothers for life, this Sixth Lady... I'll leave her to you!" Wu Dalang seemed to have made up his mind, took a big gulp of wine from the bowl, and then suddenly spat out the next sentence.

  "Tonight, brother you come and consummate the marriage with Liu Niang on behalf of your brother!"

  "Pffft!" The man opposite, Yu Ge, heard this and spat out the mouthful of wine he had been holding in his mouth. Not a drop was wasted, all of it landed on Wu Dalang's face.

  "Brother, you can't just talk nonsense like that!" Yu Ge hadn't even had a chance to touch a woman's body before, and hearing Wu Dalang say this, he was so scared that he wet his pants: "This sister-in-law isn't home, if she were, she'd beat me with a stick."

  Although Brother Yu said so, his heart was actually wavering. He had secretly glanced at Pan Jinlian's chest many times and even sneaked a peek at her long legs when climbing the stairs last time. As for how many times he had fantasized about her at home, it was countless.

  "Is Wudalang being sincere or trying to deceive me with his words?" Yu'ge thought to himself, pondering the meaning behind Wudalang's words.

  "This matter is up to me, Gold Lotus is mine." Wu Dalang's tone was very firm: "It would be better for Ximen Qing that scoundrel to take advantage of his own brother!"

  "That's it. Brother, you go back and rest, sleep for now." Wu Dalang continued: "Come back after the second watch tonight, brother will leave the door open for you."

  "When that time comes, Jinlian is sleeping soundly, your brother is guarding downstairs for you, and you go up to consummate the marriage with your brother!"

  Yu Ge didn't know what was going on in his heart, being pushed out of the door by Wu Dalang with a daze, blown by the wind, and he didn't know whether it was joy or sorrow. However, at least Yu Ge could be sure that Wu Dalang was serious.

  Finding someone to borrow a child is something that Yu Ge has heard of, but finding someone to complete a marriage, Yu Ge has never heard of, and yet he himself became the main character in this story.

  Do you really want to wait until the second watch of the night to go to Purple Stone Street and consummate your marriage with Wu Dalang?

  Yu Ge's mind is now very subtle. On the one hand, although Yu Ge has been fantasizing about Pan Jinlian for a long time, he still doesn't have the guts to take an actual step; on the other hand, Wu Dalang sincerely asked him to complete this glorious mission, which is also what Yu Ge has always dreamed of, so why not just go along with it?

  Yu Ge felt that, no matter what, it was time to put a period on the spring dreams of these days. Perhaps after fulfilling Wu Dalang's wish, he should walk around Zi Shi Street from now on.

  Pan Jinlian made great gains today, learning several poses from Ximen Qing that can protect herself from harm at the right time. The two of them practiced for a long time on the bed in the inner room, leaving Wang Po very puzzled, coming and going to take a look several times, but still couldn't figure out what Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian were doing on the bed.

  "What else can this man and woman do on the bed! Isn't it just that kind of thing!" Wang Po thought to herself as she peeked through the small hole: "Why don't these two take off their clothes, instead they're rolling around like children fighting?"

  "Isn't this Ximen Dafu getting tired of his usual poses and coming up with a new trick?"

  The old woman found it very dull and muttered to herself as she sat back down to work on her needlework, looking out at the sun which was already in the west.

  Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian finished their rehearsal, both feeling a bit hungry. They looked at the wine and dishes on the table, which had gone cold and were no longer edible. Pan Jinlian was clever and prepared to heat them up again, but when she stretched out her hand to pull the door open, it didn't budge.

  "Mother-in-law, mother-in-law!" Pan Jinlian was very puzzled: "Why can't this door be opened?"

  Ximen Qing watched from behind and laughed straight away, knowing that Wang Po had not done a good job, using something to tie the door shut from the outside, making it impossible to open.

  "What's the hurry, let me take a look." Wang Po hastily ran to the back and quickly took down the cloth strip, opening the door: "There's nothing wrong here, are you out of breath?"

  "What are you talking nonsense, Dry Mother!" Pan Jinlian was extremely surprised why Wang Po would say such a thing. Ximen Qing had sharp eyes and saw a small hole on the door, knowing that Wang Po had just been peeping from outside.

  This old fellow, isn't he in the habit of peeping?