The Little Husband of the Ill-Starred Man

Gu Lanshi’s family arranged a match for him with Lin Jinpeng, a handsome, tall young man from their village. They were on the verge of setting the date when Gu Lanshi had a dream. In it, Lin Jinpeng was having an affair with someone else. He had the same dream for more than ten days. Half-convinced, he secretly followed Lin Jinpeng to the hills behind the village, only to catch him in the act. Gu Lanshi cried so loudly the heavens could hear him. As he ran up the hill with his family, he suddenly realized that if the two men escaped, who would believe him? Anxious and furious, he hurried on. Thankfully, the heavens were on his side. When they arrived, the pair of adulterers were somehow unable to find their clothes and were scrambling around the woods in a miserable panic. Xiaohe Village erupted into chaos, and people from the neighboring village came to watch, too. In the end, the Lin family slunk away and moved en masse to seek refuge with distant relatives. Only then did the commotion die down. * Pei Yan was known throughout the village as a walking calamity. He was born poor and stubborn, and he was fiercely intimidating. After a few fights, hardly anyone dared to provoke him. Everyone said that getting involved with him could only bring trouble. Gu Lanshi had gone to the river to wash clothes when he looked up and spotted Pei Yan nearby, washing a basin of cut-up fabric. The more he looked at the color, the more familiar it seemed. When he noticed the bamboo pattern embroidered in one corner, he suddenly understood. It was Lin Jinpeng’s clothing. No wonder the two men had been naked. The clothes had fallen into Pei Yan’s hands. After his marriage prospects fell through time and again, Gu Lanshi never imagined he would end up marrying Pei Yan. One was a walking calamity, the other plagued by bad luck, yet somehow they gradually built a good life together. They had plenty of grain and meat, and their children were plump and healthy. Reader’s guide: 1. Pregnancy and childbirth. Don’t read if that’s a dealbreaker. 2. A slice-of-life farming story with a slow-burn romance. 3. The protagonists aren’t perfect. Don’t read if that bothers you. 4. More details to come if I think of any. Blurb archived on February 16, 2023. Theme: There is always hope in life.