One day when the burning sun was almost drying people up, Wang Chong came back. He had run away after beating Wang Tu. Later, someone said he was working part-time for Huang Gouwa upriver. He had taken his father with him when he escaped, but his father became homesick and came back. As his father hadn't beaten Wang Tu, Zhu Daxiu did nothing to him. However, he took back the land rented to him so he had no job after he returned, and it was impossible for him to ever rent land from the Wangs again. As the in-law of Wang Tu, Deng Dajiao wouldn't rent land to him. It was impossible even if Deng Dajiao were not Wang Tu's in-law. Regardless of relation by marriage, Deng Dajiao was on good terms with Wang Tu. At the very least, even if Deng Dajiao and Wang Tu were not relatives by marriage were not on good terms, they would still hold the same opinions because they were the only two rich families on Avenue Three. Moreover, nothing useful was left in the two earth houses. He couldn't stay.
Finally, having failed to find a foothold, Wang Chong's father went back upriver.
The reason Wang Chong came back was unknown. He didn't come back covertly. He walked under the torching sun, showing his glistening sweat to everyone. But he greeted nobody, as though the people living beside Flower River were his enemies. He kept his mouth tightly shut, showing his boredom with speaking.
Zhu Daxiu stared at Wang Chong when he saw him. He had begun to hire servants. In the past, he had to borrow servants from Huang Gouwa upriver. He came to feel that this was inconvenient, so he obtained the consent of his aunt Wu Xianggui and hired two servants who followed him when he toured the fields. They stared at Wang Chong when they saw Zhu Daxiu staring at him. Wang Chong didn't respond. He neither stared back nor opened his mouth, and he wore a calm and fearless expression. This told Zhu Daxiu to exercise caution. He restrained himself and asked, "How dare you come back?"
Wang Chong said, "You've destroyed my house and driven us upriver. What more do you want?"
"You broke Wang Tu's rib. Do you think I'll let you off so easily?"
"As for Wang Tu's broken rib, I think we're even. You took my fiancée away from me, so you owe me. But I won't argue with you. What do you want? If you're looking for trouble, I'll oblige you. If you don't beat me to death, you and Wang Tu might have your ribs, legs or arms broken."
Irritated, Zhu Daxiu said, "You're showing off in an ostentatious manner!" As he spoke, the two servants and a dog named 'Fierce' jumped on Wang Chong. He ran as fast as a finless eel in water! But he couldn't hide in holes like an eel. He kept running along the road as fast as he could. Zhu Daxiu, the dog and the servants could see him but they couldn't catch up with him. They would have believed that Wang Chong had practiced sprinting during this period instead of doing part-time work for Huang Gouwa. Unable to catch up with him, Zhu Daxiu and his servants gave up. They were soaked through with sweat. "Fierce" was so exhausted that he itched to spit his tongue onto the ground. Wang Chong had disappeared from their sight.
At that time, Zhu Daxiu thought of a gun. He thought it was reasonable for Huang Gouwa to provide the servants with guns.
Zhu Daxiu said nothing about his failure. He just proposed suggestions on how to punish Wang Chong. He borrowed another two servants from Huang Gouwa, but this time he asked them to carry guns. He said he did not only come to borrow servants, he also hoped that Huang Gouwa would no longer allow Wang Chong and his father to work for him so as to cut off their way of making a living.
Wang Tu said, "Forget it. He just broke my rib. We don't have to kill him for that, right? Besides, we took his fiancée away from him."
Zhu Daxiu said, "You're softhearted, but that bastard is not. He came back to look for an opportunity for revenge."
"If that's true, we should just be careful."
"Provide our servants with guns. That would be the prudent thing to do."
"OK. You go and buy guns tomorrow."
But Wang Chong had already done what he set out to do before Zhu Daxiu bought any guns. This was not because Wang Chong was smart; White Peony helped him. Hearing that Zhu Daxiu was going to buy guns to take care of Wang Chong, White Peony lied that she was going to borrow a cloth sample from Jasmine in the evening. She walked out of the door and went straight to Wang Chong.
Wang Chong's house was shabby and dilapidated due to a lack of maintenance for some time. Wang Chong was sitting in the shabby house, staring blankly. White Peony opened the door and walked in. He was stunned and said carelessly, "I'm sitting here wondering how to make you mine, and you deliver yourself to my home."
White Peony said, "I came to tell you that Zhu Daxiu will buy guns to deal with you. Hurry up. Run away."
Wang Chong raised one corner of his mouth in a dubious smirk. He didn't believe her.
White Peony said, "I don't want you to be killed."
"Phew, You're merciful. Will a woman who sleeps with men be kind-hearted? If I'd slept with you, you wouldn't treat me like that, right?"
"I owe you nothing."
"You owe me a lot. Because of you, my father and I lost our way to make a living."
"That's because you're a scoundrel. How dare you beat Wang Tu?"
"I'm a scoundrel? Wang Tu took you away from me."
"It wasn't his fault. He didn't take me away from you. I seduced him."
Wang Chong suddenly opened his mouth wide but said nothing.
White Peony continued, "Blame it on me. I dislike your poverty. If I married you, I'd live a bitter life. Besides, Red Apricot is young. If I were married to you, you'd probably sell her."
Wang Chong's open mouth moved randomly. Then he pushed White Peony down. When he jumped on her, his voice came out. Her body seemed to trigger his ability to speak. She resisted but he restrained her. He said, "Do you dislike me? I'll make you mine. I came back for this. I can't let Wang Tu have you. You were engaged to me. I must have a taste ..."
He dragged White Peony into the room. The bed had been unoccupied for a long time. There was a thick layer of dust on it, but he didn't mind. He tried to drag White Peony onto the bed. His hate could not be vented except by ravishing her. White Peony resisted desperately. She was strong and knew how to attack the critical part. In this way, Wang Chong was hurt and his attack was constantly influenced. He suddenly realized that it would not be so easy. Maybe for this reason, he switched to pleading. Although his grip was still strong, his tone was soft and pitiful. He said, "White Peony, please don't resist me. I'm your fiancé anyway. Let me be your man just once, OK? I miss you so much, I'm overwhelmed with grief. Have mercy on me! I don't want you to live a bitter life with me. I just want to do what a married couple does, just once, and I'll be satisfied even if I die ..."
White Peony's struggle softened and she asked, "Do you really miss me so much that you're overwhelmed with grief?"
Wang Chong quickly replied, "Yes, yes, I'm overwhelmed with grief."
"You should have told me that earlier."
Wang Chong was unable either to cry or laugh. He chuckled and White Peony laughed, "Look at you, you poor child!"
Wang Chong started to take off White Peony's clothes. She said, "Just once."
"Just once, I promise."
White Peony took off her clothes.
Wang Chong took off his clothes quickly.
Naked, they looked at each other. The lamplight of the outhouse brought in a shimmer so they could only see the color of each other. White Peony was white and Wang Chong was grey. White Peony was ready to go to bed, but Wang Chong stopped her. He needed to clean the bed. He touched the bed and dust rose. It was dark in the room and the dust could not be seen, but they were breathing it in and coughing.
White Peony said, "It isn't clean. I can't go back covered in dust."
Wang Chong scrubbed the bed with his clothes several times. White Peony stretched out her hand to check, then got into the bed.
Wang Chong quickly joined her in the bed.
White Peony said, "Take it easy. We'll do it just once and we'll do our best."
Wang Chong said, "OK."
But he seemed very nervous. It was his first time and he didn't have any experience.
White Peony didn't break her promise. She taught Wang Chong carefully with the experience she had learned from Wang Tu. After class, she told Wang Chong, "If you do it to a woman like this, she'll be stuck on you."
When White Peony returned home, Wu Xianggui was waiting for her in the central room. When she walked in, Wu Xianggui asked, "Where did you go in the dead of night?"
White Peony answered, "I went to borrow a cloth sample from Jasmine."
"Sample? Can Jasmine do a cloth sample better than mine?"
"We discussed it."
Wu Xianggui offered her hand and White Peony gave her the sample. Wu Xianggui unfolded it but she didn't understand. "What is this?" she asked.
White Peony took the cloth sample and said, "It's an underpants sample."
Wu Xianggui finally understood. Her mouth puckered to show contempt and she exclaimed, "How did you come up with this?" After saying so, she covered her mouth, laughed and said it was indecent.
White Peony managed to convince Wu Xianggui, but Wang Tu was waiting for her in the bedroom. She showed him the underpants sample before he could ask why she had come back so late. Wang Tu didn't understand. White Peony put it together on the bed and showed him again. He still didn't understand. She had to explain, "This was made to accommodate your genitals. I discussed it with Jasmine. The underpants you wear are too tight and they make you uncomfortable. I made a pocket in the underpants to make you comfortable." Hearing this, Wang Tu roared with laughter and said, "You two are really considerate! Since you treat it right, it will appreciate you. Now it appreciates you first. Another day, it'll appreciate Jasmine."
At that point, White Peony had tided over a difficult patch. Wang Chong would stop looking for trouble and she could settle down to enjoy the abundant life she had obtained with great difficulty.
Several days later, Wang Tu wore the new underpants tailored by White Peony when he visited Jasmine.
Jasmine said, "You can't come tome whenever you want. I discussed it with White Peony. You should only come here in certain seasons."
Wang Tu asked, "Why?"
"I want the rent-waiving note."
"I'll give it to you, OK?"
"Which season does it apply to?"
"You have the final say. Whichever season you want."
"OK, I just want to see White Peony's tailoring skills."
The underpants tailored by White Peony were not as good as she had imagined, so she found time to modify them. She asked Wang Tu to wear them and appreciated them before letting him leave.
