Once the wedding had taken place, Qin Mian's household registration had naturally been transferred to the Lei family.
Even now, they'd been married for only a few days.
Qin Mian had learned something else that made his heart sink. News of two men marrying had spread throughout the entire county, though he didn't know whether it had reached farther afield. A man and a woman living together was considered the proper way of things. Now two men from Green Mountain Village had become husband and wife. How could they not become a laughingstock? In other words, even if Qin Mian left Lei Tie now, his reputation was already ruined. There was no possibility of finding himself a wife nearby. What parents would marry their daughter to someone who'd previously been another man's wife?
A divorce—or rather, an amicable separation—had become an urgent necessity.
During the day, Madam Du did everything she could to keep Qin Mian and Lei Tie working. It was only at night that Qin Mian had a chance to exchange a few words with Lei Tie. One evening, after Lei Tie finished washing, Qin Mian tested the waters. “Actually, you were forced into marrying me too. You want to marry a wife, I mean… don't you want a normal wife and a good, ordinary life?”
“You are my wife.” Lei Tie looked at him as though he couldn't understand why he was saying these things.
Qin Mian felt exasperated. Was he supposed to say that he himself wasn't normal? He struggled to remain calm and patient. “What I mean is, don't you want a wife who can bear children?”
“No need.” Lei Tie removed his straw sandals, his answer succinct.
Qin Mian couldn't tell whether the man genuinely didn't understand or was pretending not to. He could only speak plainly. “Let's separate.”
Lei Tie whipped his head around. He stared fixedly at Qin Mian for a moment before saying, “I won't agree to a separation.”
Then, exactly as before, he climbed into bed and went to sleep.
Qin Mian was astonished. A terrifying thought occurred to him: did Lei Tie actually like men? But that didn't make sense either. Qin Mian had looked in a mirror inside the dimension. He wasn't attractive in the slightest now—dark-skinned, skinny, and shriveled. Besides, he was still a child. Even if Lei Tie liked men, he couldn't possibly like him.
But if Lei Tie refused to separate, there was nothing Qin Mian could do. As long as his household registration remained with the Lei family, he couldn't get free. According to Brother Zhang from the village, this country regulated household registrations very strictly. Registering anew would require not only a great deal of silver, but also the right connections. Money alone was no use if one didn't know the right people. Was he supposed to live forever without legal registration?
Reluctantly, Qin Mian acknowledged that he would have to remain in the Lei household for now.
Since he'd decided to stay, he carefully examined the Lei family's circumstances. Their means were average by village standards. The main house, made of earth bricks, faced north and consisted of six rooms. The entrance led into the main hall, which doubled as the dining room. Lei Daqiang and his wife occupied one room, Lei Xiangren's family another, and Lei Xiangyi's family a third. As a scholar, Lei Xiangzhi had a room all to himself. The final room had been divided into two smaller ones, one for Lei Xiangli and one for Lei Chuntao.
Outside the main house lay the courtyard. The kitchen stood in its northwestern corner, with a well to the right. Near the gate on the eastern side stood the pigpen, which had a separate section for farming tools and miscellaneous items. Lei Tie had returned only recently, and there was no room left for him. He could only build a thatched hut in the southwestern corner of the courtyard. Leaving aside the fact that the pigpen was directly opposite it, the hut barely kept out the wind as it was. There was no telling whether it would be habitable once the weather grew colder, much less when rain or snow arrived. How pitiful.
Qin Mian felt a little frustrated at Lei Tie for failing to stand up for himself. Why hadn't he thought of some way to deal with his family's mistreatment? He'd spent years out in the world; surely he must have gained some experience.
If only they could establish a separate household. For one thing, without the interference of the other Lei family members, it would be easier to persuade Lei Tie to separate from him. For another, living under their own authority would be far more comfortable.
Something was strange, though. Madam Du clearly hated Lei Tie. Why hadn't she persuaded Lei Daqiang to send him off to establish his own household?
“Lei Tie's wife! Watch out!”
An urgent warning rang in Qin Mian's ears. Startled, he instinctively dropped what he was holding and stumbled several steps backward. Only then did he remember he was cutting firewood. His last swing of the axe had missed, and he'd nearly injured himself.
A rough-looking man in his early thirties hurried over and examined him anxiously from head to toe. He carried two baskets suspended from a shoulder pole, with an old axe in one of them.
“Are you all right?”
“I'm fine. Thank you, Brother Zhang.” Qin Mian thanked him sincerely. Most of what he'd learned had come from this man, Zhang Dashuan. In the days since arriving at the Lei household, Qin Mian had met about a dozen people outside the family. Only Zhang Dashuan and his wife, Sister-in-law Chunhua, treated him normally. Everyone else either looked at him with contempt or avoided him like a plague victim.
To Zhang Dashuan, Qin Mian was just a child, not many years older than his own son. Seeing that he really was unharmed, Zhang casually asked, “What were you thinking about so hard?” As he spoke, he lowered his carrying pole and picked up his axe. One blow made a deep cut in a half-dead tree the thickness of a man's arm. The autumn harvest would begin soon, and farming families took advantage of the time before it to get odd jobs done.
Qin Mian considered briefly, then answered truthfully. “I was wondering, since Mother doesn't like Lei Tie or me, why doesn't she let us establish our own household? The Liu family has already split theirs, hasn't it?”
With a thud, the little tree fell. Zhang Dashuan raised his axe and continued chopping it into short lengths, which would be easier to dry. The repeated thuds startled birds from the branches, sending leaves rustling everywhere.
“Your family won't be able to do that any time soon.” Zhang Dashuan chopped as he spoke, looking amused. “If she sent you and Tiezi away just after your wedding, wouldn't she be afraid the villagers would condemn them behind their backs? Besides, Tiezi is the eldest son. Even if the family divided, by rights, you and Tiezi should be the ones supporting his parents in their old age.”
What? Qin Mian was stunned.
The sound of branches shaking came from behind them. Both men turned.
Lei Tie strode toward them with his great bow slung over his left shoulder and a wild deer across his right. The animal must have weighed at least fifty or sixty catties and hung motionless over his shoulder.
“Tiezi, that's some luck! You should get a good sum for a big animal like that. If you keep it to eat, it'll last a long while too.” Zhang Dashuan eyed the deer enviously and smiled at Lei Tie.
Qin Mian stared at the deer and couldn't help licking his lips. He craved meat. But even if Lei Tie caught game, Qin Mian knew they weren't likely to eat it. Madam Du was terribly stingy. She could hardly bear to fry extra vegetables, never mind serve meat. She only boiled eggs for her two precious grandsons and her only daughter. Everyone else, including little two-year-old Lei Xinxin, could forget it. Qin Mian had meat and eggs in his dimension, but no opportunity to cook them.
Lei Tie nodded to Zhang Dashuan and approached Qin Mian. Pausing, he took something from inside his clothes, wrapped in a green lotus leaf. A faint meaty aroma wafted from the parcel, making Qin Mian swallow in spite of himself.
Zhang Dashuan gave Qin Mian a knowing smile and resumed chopping wood.
After a moment's hesitation, Qin Mian accepted the lotus-leaf parcel. “Thank you.” He unfolded the leaf to reveal a roasted chicken leg, glistening with oil and still faintly warm.
Lei Tie set down his game and his bow, picked up the axe, and went aside to chop firewood. As his arms moved, the muscles of his shoulders looked even firmer and stronger.
The basket that had contained only three or four sticks of wood gradually filled.
When Qin Mian finished gnawing the chicken leg, he felt that it was tastier than any he'd ever eaten.
Almost the moment he finished, Lei Tie straightened. Of the two baskets Qin Mian had brought for firewood, only one was full. Lei Tie placed the axe, deer, and bow into the other basket and hoisted both with a carrying pole.
Qin Mian had a peculiar feeling. Why did he get the impression Lei Tie had only been chopping wood to give him time to finish his chicken leg?
“Brother Zhang, we're leaving now,” Lei Tie told Zhang Dashuan.
Zhang Dashuan waved. “All right, all right. I'll cut some more before I go.”
