“Wives, let’s go home!”
Li Wannian also bowed according to the customs of scholars in this realm.
That’s right, his original body’s father was a scholar, a Xiucai, and although he was exempt from military service, he was weak and died in a plague.
However, at his age, he just bent over to bow and immediately knelt down, just like the second brother, not tough enough!
“Husband, there’s no need for such a grand gesture, after all, you saved us three sisters!”
The eldest sister among the three gracefully curtsied. Although she was wearing linen clothes, the aura of a young lady from a prominent family could not be hidden.
“By the way, I still don’t know what your names are, three wives?”
Li Wannian asked.
“My name is Lin Wanxian, this is my second sister Lin Wanyan, and this is my third sister Lin Wanqing!”
“So it’s Wanyan, Wanxian, and Wanqing. It’s getting late, let’s go home early!”
Li Wannian was hungry; he was truly hungry. He had finished all the rice bran the day before yesterday and hadn't eaten a single grain of rice yesterday. Today, these three wives each brought a month’s worth of rations as dowry, so he could finally have a full meal.
It wasn’t his fault. It was only March, shortly after the start of spring, and the newly planted spring millet wouldn’t be harvested until July or August. They still had half a year to go, and they were already out of food.
The reason for the food shortage included a poor harvest last year and heavy taxation by the army and government. Basically, six-tenths of the tax now had to be paid to the army and government. Although the land was their own, it was no different from being a tenant farmer. Once a year of famine occurred, everyone would have to endure hunger, and many people couldn’t survive until the wheat grew.
“Okay, Husband, please lead the way!”
Although Lin Wanxian felt that this husband looked very old and seemed incapable of supporting a family, he was still much more polite than those farmers. When they were being welcomed, those farmers had directly touched their buttocks and chests.
Upon arriving at Li Wannian’s doorstep, everyone was somewhat surprised to see the leaky thatched hut. Li Wannian was also a bit embarrassed: “Sorry, I was busy planting millet a few days ago and forgot to tidy up the house. But don’t worry, there’s still plenty of straw and wild grass, enough to repair this hut!”
Li Wannian had been here for over forty years, living in this dilapidated thatched hut. In fact, everyone’s living conditions were the same; they all lived in thatched huts. The village chief’s family was the only one with a brick and tile house, but that was only because he was from the main branch of the big family and inherited the ancestral house. Now, the village chief couldn’t even build a second brick and tile house.
“No matter, we’ll work together and fix it quickly!”
The third sister, Lin Wanqing, wasn’t too disappointed; after all, this was already quite good.
“Yes, three wives, prepare lunch. I’ll repair this thatched hut!”
Although Li Wannian was old, his back was also hunched, and he didn't have much energy to deal with these things.
After all, he lived alone and wasn’t particular about anything. Even if it was repaired, it would still be cold without bedding. But now, they would be intimate at night, and a house with drafts everywhere was indeed unsuitable.
“Husband, you must not do these things; these are our women’s affairs!”
Lin Wanxian directly refused, which made him, who had been lonely for decades, feel a warmth.
Lin Wanyan hadn’t said a word until now; she seemed quite introverted, while Lin Wanqing was very lively, bustling about.
This time, the three women divided their work: some repaired the thatched hut, and others cooked.
This time, each of the three women brought a month’s worth of millet, which was about twenty catties, enough for one person to eat for a month.
“Husband, where is the rice jar for storing millet?”
“Right here!”
Li Wannian pointed to the rice jar. Lin Wanxian opened it and saw that the jar was cleaner than a face. She immediately felt a pang of pity. No wonder he had to join the army; it turned out he was out of food. He was also a pitiful person!
Li Wannian was a bit embarrassed: “Cough, cough, it should fit, right?”
“It will fit. Husband, please rest for a moment. The rice will be steamed soon!”
“Good! Wanxian, you’ve worked hard!”
Li Wannian sat in the living room waiting. In reality, it was very small. As for the kitchen, it was a small stove attached to the main house, open on three sides. Fortunately, it was midday, and spring had just begun, so it wasn’t very cold.
“Husband, no need to be polite!”
Lin Wanxian then buried herself in work.
As for Li Wannian, he sat in the living room, listening to the clatter from the kitchen, finally feeling a sense of family. But he knew that such days wouldn’t last long. In a month, he would have to report to the county town. If he was lucky, he would serve in this county town; if he was unlucky, he would have to serve in the frontier city.
And he, of course, wanted to stay in this county town because it would be convenient to go home.
About half an hour later, the aroma of millet rice wafted through the air.
“Husband, are there any bowls in the house?”
“Here they are!”
Li Wannian took out the bowls. Except for one bowl that was relatively clean, the others were covered in dust. The reason was that he was the only one in the house, and he usually ate with just one bowl, and it was a chipped one at that.
After the three women carefully washed the bowls, they carried the steamed millet rice to the wobbly dining table.
“Husband, please eat first!”
The three women did not move, waiting for Li Wannian to speak.
Li Wannian looked at the steaming hot food, and his eyes welled up. To be honest, it was not easy to eat a hot meal, but it was even harder to eat with a family.
Although the three women had not held a wedding with him, they were already a family. In the eyes of the government and the clan, he was the head of the household.
“Let’s eat together! We are all family!”
Li Wannian did not differentiate between male and female status; everyone ate together. There was no concept of him eating first and then the women eating.
Having received Li Wannian’s permission, everyone started eating, touched by his words.
The three women were all well-educated; they ate slowly and gracefully, even though they were very hungry, they didn't shovel food into their mouths.
“I’m very curious, how did you end up as slaves!”
Li Wannian was very curious and took this opportunity to ask.
Speaking of this matter, the three women looked sad. Lin Wanxian said, “My father was originally a fifth-rank civil official of the imperial court. Because he offended a powerful noble, my father was imprisoned and executed in the autumn, and all of us female family members were reduced to slavery!”
“Oh, who did he offend?”
Li Wannian asked casually.
“The current Prime Minister!”
“Cough cough!”
Li Wannian was instantly choked by the rice. This Miss Lin’s father was truly unlucky, but he wasn’t worried. He was still very far from the Prime Minister’s level, let alone a Prime Minister; he was even far from a fifth-rank official. After all, their county magistrate, known as the Hundred-Mile Marquis, was only a seventh-rank official and had to bow to a fifth-rank official.
“Husband, don’t worry, we won’t go out and talk nonsense!”
Lin Wanxian felt a bit of regret. After all, this was an old man, and if she scared him to death, they would be conscripted again.
“It’s nothing, your husband can handle this much!”
Li Wannian didn’t dwell on this problem. He only had one month left to live, and he wanted to ensure that the three women would leave an heir for the Li family within that month!
After dinner, which was around midday, there was still a long time until night, so everyone cleaned up the doorway and tidied the beds.
There were only two beds before, but now there were four people, and one bed could only sleep two people, and there were no quilts.
So, they found some dry wild grass and wove it into quilts to prevent freezing at night.
Li Wannian had long been used to it, but the three Lin family daughters, who had been pampered since childhood, probably wouldn’t be able to endure without quilts.
Unconsciously, the sky gradually darkened.
“Husband, I’ll cook some porridge. Let’s eat and go to bed early tonight!”
Lin Wanxian seemed to have already adapted to her role as the mistress of the house and continued to manage household chores.
“Good!”
Li Wannian was also a bit tired after a busy afternoon, so he sat on a stool and waited for the aroma of food.
In this world, common people ate only two meals even in good years, usually one close to noon and one in the evening. The evening meal had to be finished before the sun set, otherwise, it would be too dark to see at night.
There were two pots on the stove, one for cooking and one for heating water, and the three women were bustling about.
The porridge at night was very thin, but there was no other way. Four people eating three people’s rations meant they had to be a bit frugal.
After Li Wannian finished dinner, the sky had almost completely darkened.
“Husband, the hot water is ready. Please wash up first!”
Lin Wanxian said considerately.
“Good!”
Li Wannian knew that he was going to be intimate tonight, so his body had to be clean. He thoroughly cleaned the areas he usually didn't pay attention to, to prevent the women from getting gynecological diseases.
He felt that he was quite responsible, at least men in this world wouldn’t care about these details.
The bathing area was in the room. After Li Wannian thoroughly cleaned himself, he poured out the bathwater and lay on the bed. The three women washed up in another room.
Around Xu Shi, which was after seven in the evening, Lin Wanxian entered Li Wannian’s room, while Wanyan and Wanqing were in another room.
“Husband, let’s rest early!”
Lin Wanxian was, after all, an adult woman and was well aware of what was to come. However, facing such an old husband, she was still a little nervous and shy, and Li Wannian’s heart was also pounding.
Immediately after, the quilt was lifted, and the soft, fragrant, and plump Wanxian entered the bedding!
Instantly, old dry wood met a raging fire!