Xie Ming

Chapter 54: Dumb, Wan Niang

Qi Dayong was going to the village to buy wine when he met a washerwoman by the river. It was the first time in his life that he was at a loss what to do with a little girl!
He hasn't bought any good wine yet, but he is still stuttering and all he says are drunken words!

For a long while, the laundry lady ignored him.

Dayong held back his silly laughter but was not discouraged. He paced like a scholar and moved to the other side of the girl, continuing to talk nonsense, making a fool of himself and was extremely funny!

It must be because the fat Dayong was too cheerful, which made the girl finally look away and burst out laughing again!
When she smiled, Qi Dayong opened his mouth so wide that it almost reached his ears. It was such a beauty from the bottom of his heart!

As a result, he even forgot himself!

They danced around the washerwoman, sometimes imitating the gaits and movements of various animals, sometimes practicing boxing and kung fu, and from time to time they even made strange noises, imitating the calls of mountain birds.

But even so, the laundry lady still refused to talk to him and just washed her clothes.

She waited until all the clothes she had brought were washed before she slowly stood up, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and tidied up the strands of hair at her eyes without being noticeable.

With a smile in her eyes, she glanced at the fat Dayong for the last time, and refused to stay any longer. She carried the wooden basin full of wet clothes in both hands and walked back towards the village!
Qi Dayong stood there staring blankly!

Seeing the girl about to turn into the earthen wall surrounding the village, Dayong finally could not stand still and ran wildly in the direction where the laundry girl turned!

Half a quarter of an hour.

In the southeast corner of Bairui Valley, there are few households. Winter has just passed. In the old and dilapidated alleys of the village, a girl washing clothes is followed by a fat and chubby Dayong dressed as a soldier.

The two were walking in the same direction. The girl would look back every few steps. Seeing Dayong chasing her not far away, her expression became more and more nervous.

At the deserted alley, the washerwoman walked faster and faster, and finally turned a corner and escaped into a farmer's yard.

When she entered the yard, she saw a worn-out old man lying on the haystack in the yard.

The old man was holding a wine gourd with the lid wide open, which showed that he had asked the old man to drink up the wine.

At this moment, the drunk old man was humming some tune, reeking of alcohol, and lighting his pipe on the haystack without any scruples!

The washerwoman was horrified upon seeing this. She quickly put down the wooden basin, ran over and snatched the pipe away, gesturing with her hands. The general meaning was that she was scolding the old man, fearing that he would be burned to death in the haystack because of her behavior!

The old man wasn't surprised when the girl took his pipe away from him. He just scratched his head awkwardly and smiled.

Dayong, who was following not far away, saw all this and suddenly seemed to understand why the girl had been silent. It seemed that she was mute.

Now, Qi Dayong, who was standing still, suddenly hesitated. He couldn't figure out why this happened.

The laundry lady snatched the pipe and, with her eyes, directed the old man's gaze on the haystack to the fat Dayong at the entrance of the yard behind them. She also glanced in that direction and hurried into the rather simple and dilapidated adobe thatched house behind the haystack.

"Ahem. Well, this old man, you have a great yard!"

"Well... But this hut in front of me is not very good!"

"It's time to find someone to repair it! It looks like the roof is about to collapse!"

Qi Dayong finally came in!
He walked in a square gait like a teacher, with his hands behind his back and his chest puffed out. His dignified appearance and his attire were totally out of place with his funny movements. There was no harmony between his whole body and his manner.

The drunk old man propped himself up with his arms and raised his head slightly from the haystack to look over here. He was immediately stunned!

I was thinking what the hell is this thing?!
He looked like a military officer, someone you couldn't mess with, and the old man felt distressed.

But he couldn't understand Qi Dayong's current behavior!
The old man frowned, very puzzled. Could the soldier in front of him be a fool?
"Hehe, hehe!"

"This, sir, my family is very poor. During the New Year's Day, there was a heavy snowfall and the roof of my house was almost crushed by the snow!"

"I am an old man whose legs and feet are not very flexible anymore, so I will just leave it like this and make do with it!"

Regardless of whether the soldier in front of him was mentally normal or not, the old man still did not dare to neglect him. While replying, he even pointed out that his family was poor, so as to prevent Qi Dayong from robbing him and find another place to live.

It seems that this old man is a little drunk, but he is not as confused as he looks!

"Oh, you old man, you can't fool around like this!" "Some other day...ah, well, some other day I'll ask my brothers to come over and help fix up your house!"

The fat Dayong has a bulky belly and looks so proud that he seems to be even more powerful than his general Li Huchen!

"Roar, roar, roar" The old man has only a few teeth left in his mouth, and he looks even older when he smiles.

"How can I, an old man, dare to trouble you, my lord?"

"I don't know, does the general have any instructions?"

"My family is poor, I am afraid I can't do it."

On the haystack, the old man slowly straightened up. Hearing what Qi Dayong said, he was very frightened.

As the saying goes, the weasel pays New Year's greetings to the chicken, what is his intention? The old man has no idea at all!

Hearing this, the fat Dayong who was pretending to be rich raised his hand to stop the other person from talking.

"Hey, come on, you old man!"

"We have discipline in our army. I didn't say I'm after your money. Why are you panicking?!" Qi Dayong was impatient.

But how could the old man dare to think so, so he nervously changed the subject and asked.

"Haha, yes, it's me who is being unreasonable!"

"May I ask where you are now, sir?"

"How did you get to this remote mountain village?" the old man asked.

"Ah, this."

"I'm from the capital, a member of the Ming regular army, originally from the 3,000-man cavalry battalion, so I'm considered a military leader, right?"

"Hey, wait a minute, let me do it, yes"

Dayong answered with his chest puffed out and was about to talk about the girl, but unexpectedly, at this moment, the washerwoman walked out of the house again!

She stole a glance over here covertly, without paying much attention to the two of them, but walked to the side, picked up a bunch of wild vegetables piled on the ground, carried them to the embroidered guillotine used to chop grass beside, squatted down, and started working.

Ever since the washerwoman left the room, Qi Dayong's pair of thieving eyes had been fixed on the girl, and it was obvious what he was doing!

Seeing this scene, the old man on the haystack seemed to have lost most of his drunkenness. He looked even more flustered and hurriedly spoke up.

"Haha, that, Jun Ye!"

"This, this is my old man's granddaughter."

"Yes, he's a mute!"

The old man deliberately emphasized the word "dumb".

Hearing these words, the washerwoman paused for a moment, a trace of disappointment barely noticeable on her face!
"Well, then, what's her name?"

Dayong seemed unwilling to pay attention to the old man's meaning and continued asking.

"what?"

"Oh, oh!"

"She doesn't have a good name. People in the village all call her Wan Niang."

(End of this chapter)