country bumpkin

Chapter 207 The Beginning of Wandering

Old Man Li, who rescued them, heard the noise in the kitchen and rushed over. He was startled to see Xiong Shanhe craning his neck and staring wide-eyed.

We had barely managed to save him, so we quickly brought him a bowl of water to prevent him from choking.

When Xiong Shanhe saw a bowl of water being handed to him, he quickly took it and drank it down without hesitation.

After drinking a bowl of water, he felt alive again. Then he looked at Old Man Li.

This was an old farmer with gray hair, dark skin, and a face full of wrinkles. His eyes, weathered by time, were sharp and fixed on him.

Xiong Shanhe suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, his heart filled with shock as he tried to guess the old man's identity.

Before Xiong Shanhe could speak, Old Man Li said, "I went out into the mountains and when I came back I found you injured and brought you back to life. You've been unconscious for two days."

Xiong Shanhe snapped out of his thoughts and asked, "Thank you for saving my life, old man. You just said... there's one of us, right?"

Old Li nodded. "Yes, wasn't that woman with you?"

Xiong Shanhe knew who it was and replied, "Oh, yes...yes...she's my wife."

Old Man Li asked again, "How did you get injured, and how did you end up in our village?"

Xiong Shanhe lowered his head, his eyes flickering, and said, "Oh, we are businessmen from the city. We hitched a ride on the way out, but the driver robbed us of our wallets and beat us up. We were knocked unconscious, and when we woke up, we met you."

Old Li immediately recognized his story as a lie. Who would steal your wallet and slash your wife's face? It's all unnecessary.

Old Li didn't dwell on it; he couldn't be bothered with the affairs of strangers. He simply added, "Oh, you guys are really unlucky."

After saying that, he added, "This old man has nothing to offer you. Now that you're both awake, you two should go home!"

After saying that, he was about to leave, but then he turned back and said, "Your wife is in another room. Go and call her out, have something to eat, and go home!"

Xiong Shanhe was surprised that the old man would send them away, so he quickly said, "I don't know how to address you, sir, or what village this is. I will go back and repair it so I can come back to repay my benefactor."

Old Man Li waved his hand: "No need to repay me. I saved you by chance. There's no need for you to come to our village again."

Xiong Shanhe was puzzled; he had a feeling something was off about this village. This old man wasn't easy to talk to either; he'd better stay away from here!

He walked out of the woodshed and into another, slightly larger, mud-brick house, where Kong Xiujin was indeed lying.

Kong Xiujin had been awake for a long time, but she didn't dare to go out. She just lay in bed looking at the surroundings.

The old-fashioned adobe house is divided into three rooms: east and west wing rooms and a main room. Each room has a bed, making it seem like many people are going to live there.

The bed was covered with a straw mat, and on top of that was only a tattered black cotton quilt. It seemed to be a collection of junk that the villagers didn't want, some of which were centuries old.

There was no table in the room, only rows of clay pots in the corner. They smelled strongly of urine.

The room was too dark to see clearly whether it was a place where people lived. Kong Xiujin felt that the room was scary and didn't look like a place for living people at all.

As she was thinking, Xiong Shanhe pushed open the door and walked in. Upon entering, he too was overwhelmed by the stench and nearly vomited.

Now he was even more certain that this place was not simple and must be hiding some unspeakable secret.

But what did it matter to him? As long as he was alive, that was all that mattered. Curiosity killed the cat, and he had no desire to get involved in any messy affairs.

He walked over, pulled Kong Xiujin aside, and whispered, "Listen to me first. It's very dangerous here. Let's leave quickly. We can talk about any problems on the way."

Kong Xiujin still wanted to struggle and fight him, but after hearing his words, she felt that she should leave first.

Xiong Shanhe took out a black cornbread he had secretly hidden in his pocket. "Eat something first, we can talk on the way."

After saying that, he grabbed Kong Xiujin and left without looking back.

Kong Xiujin chewed on a slightly dry cornbread, finding it difficult to swallow, but she had been hungry for so long that she could only endure the pain in her throat and swallow the food.

My empty stomach felt a little better after eating a whole cornbread. But now I feel thirsty and desperately want to drink some water.

Kong Xiujin looked at Xiong Shanhe and asked, "Do you have any water there?" Xiong Shanhe spread his hands, indicating that he did not.

Kong Xiujin could only endure the feeling of dying of thirst and follow behind him.

After walking for a while, we came to a village ahead, and we could hear voices coming from several houses.

The two exchanged a glance and quickly ran to the yard of the nearest farmer.

Twin sisters were playing shuttlecock in the yard. When they saw two strangers enter, they ran into the house in fright.

A young couple came out of the house; the man was tall and handsome, and the woman was gentle and charming.

Their eyes lit up, and Kong Xiujin's restless desire began to stir again. Xiong Shanhe was also staring intently at the woman.

The young couple could tell the man wasn't a good person. The man yelled, "AI, where did this scoundrel come from? What are you doing in our house? Are you trying to rob us?"

As he spoke, the man touched a thick stick placed by the door. He glared fiercely at Xiong Shanhe and Kong Xiujin.

Xiong Shanhe quickly explained, "Hey, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding. We're good people, we just wanted to find a bowl of water to drink."

The man looked at the two warily and called to his wife, "Wife, bring them a bowl of water."

The young woman ran into the inner room, poured a bowl of water, and handed it to her husband. The man took the bowl and put it on the ground, his eyes still fixed on the two of them, showing a strong sense of vigilance.

Kong Xiujin was extremely thirsty, so she quickly ran over, picked up the bowl, and gulped down the water.

After drinking the water, she felt alive again. She looked up and winked at the tall man.

The man was disgusted by her. This woman had knife wounds on her face, smelled terrible, and was making such a fuss. It was truly repulsive.

He didn't want to cause trouble, so he snapped, "Alright, you've had your water. Now get out of my house, or don't blame me for being impolite."

Xiong Shanhe looked at the other man, who was tall and strong, and then looked at himself, who was fat and short. He was no match for him at all. After thanking him, he walked out of the yard.

Kong Xiujin wanted to say something more, but the man grabbed a stick and tried to shoo her away. Fearing she would be beaten again, Kong Xiujin turned and left.

After watching the two dirty, wicked men leave, the man quickly closed the door and used the thick stick he was carrying to barricade it from the inside. Only then did he go back inside to comfort his two daughters.

Kong Xiujin and Xiong Shanhe had no money and could only beg their way back to the city. Thus began their life as wanderers.