Snake

Snake

Zhou Chenglei was weeding with a hoe and had already cleared a large patch when he heard the scream. He immediately tossed the hoe aside and rushed in.

The moment he ran into the Living Room, Jiang Xia charged at him and leaped straight onto him, locking herself around him with both arms and legs. She hung from him, trembling all over.

Zhou Chenglei was slightly startled. His hands were not in a good position to touch her, so he simply let her cling to him and asked, "What happened?"

"Snakes! There are snakes! Huge ones, two of them! They were staring at me!" Jiang Xia shook from head to toe, even her voice trembling.

Jiang Xia was actually quite brave. Back when she worked odd jobs, she often went home in the dead of night. Even if she ran into a pervert at the subway exit, she would dare beat him senseless.

She was not afraid of people or ghosts. Wild dogs, rats, cockroaches—none of them scared her. But she was afraid of snakes!

Snakes were what she feared most! Even seeing one on television through a screen frightened her.

And just now, she had encountered them so suddenly and without any warning. It had nearly scared her to death!

She tightly wrapped her arms around Zhou Chenglei's neck and her legs around his waist. "Get out! Get out! Hurry! Quick! Quick! ..."

Zhou Chenglei was being strangled so hard his neck was nearly breaking.

He could only carry her out of the courtyard and coax her softly, "Don't be afraid. They're only snakes. I'll catch them. Let go of me first."

Once they were out of the house, Jiang Xia was not quite as frightened. She steadied herself and loosened her legs, but when she lowered her head and saw the grass all over the ground, she shrank back again. Her legs tightly clamped around both of his as she refused to touch the ground. "There won't be snakes in this courtyard too, will there?"

Zhou Chenglei: "."

That was something he truly could not guarantee.

It was the height of summer. Snakes were perfectly normal.

Jiang Xia's scream had probably been too piercing, alarming the neighbors next door and drawing over both neighboring households. Then they saw the two of them locked in an embrace, in that posture. It was simply too spicy for the eyes!

The way they looked at Jiang Xia changed. They were husband and wife, sure, but doing that in the courtyard and screaming so loudly in broad daylight? They had no shame at all! Zhou Junjie joked, "Chenglei, you're so impatient in broad daylight that you can't even wait to get inside?"

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Jiang Xia's backside.

No matter how thick-skinned Jiang Xia was, her face reddened. She let go of Zhou Chenglei and got down, though she was still afraid, her eyes sweeping over the ground around her feet.

Zhou Chenglei's face darkened. He stepped in front of Jiang Xia and blocked Zhou Junjie's line of sight. "Don't talk nonsense!"

A woman in her forties or fifties saw that something was wrong with Jiang Xia's expression and knew everyone had misunderstood. Wanting to help the couple out, she asked, "A'Lei, what's wrong with your wife? Did something scare her?"

Zhou Chenglei took up Great-Grandmother's words and explained to everyone, "There were snakes in the house just now, and Jiang Xia got scared. Jiang Xia, this is Great-Grandmother."

Jiang Xia looked over, surprised that the other woman was so young and yet called Great-Grandmother. Still, she was grateful for her attempt to defuse the situation and smiled as she called out, "Great-Grandmother."

Great-Grandmother beamed. "Good girl!"

Zhou Chenglei added, "Keep Great-Grandmother company out here. I'll go catch the snakes."

The moment Great-Grandmother heard "catch snakes," her eyes lit up. "Catch snakes? Where are they? I'll catch them! What's there to be afraid of with snakes?"

Great-Grandmother rushed into the house, her excitement making it seem as though she had heard there was some treasure inside.

Jiang Xia: "."

Zhou Chenglei explained, "Great-Grandmother is very good at catching snakes. She taught me how to catch them too. I'll go take a look."

Jiang Xia had only two words: admiration!

Great-Grandmother suddenly turned back and asked, "Where are the snakes?"

Jiang Xia pointed inside. "Facing the front door, in the innermost room on the right, on the crossbeam. Forget it, I'll go in with you too."

With more people around, Jiang Xia was less frightened. Besides, several villagers were staring at her as though she were some sort of monster.

Zhou Chenglei let her come. He knew she was embarrassed to face the villagers, and with Great-Grandmother, a little expert at catching snakes, there would not be any trouble.

The three of them entered the house. Jiang Xia pointed toward the room, but she did not dare go in and remained standing in the Living Room.

Unexpectedly, the others followed them in to watch the excitement.

Zhou Junjie was not afraid of snakes. He wanted to see whether the snakes were worth any money, so he went into the room as well.

The three women did not go in.

Pan Daidi came up beside Jiang Xia and asked with a gossiping expression, "Niece-in-law, why are you cleaning up this old house?"

Jiang Xia glanced at her. She did not recognize her and had no impression of her, so she replied, "We're moving in."

These three women were from the neighboring house, three generations of mothers- and daughters-in-law. When Pan Daidi's eldest daughter-in-law heard this, she asked as well, "Moving in? You've split the household? You and Zhou Chenglei are moving here together?"

"Mm." Jiang Xia nodded and gave a quiet response, unused to saying much.

They had really split the household? Pan Daidi's eldest daughter-in-law was a little envious.

Pan Daidi continued, "This house is old and broken. How could you be willing to move here? Did Tian Caihua get your family's New House?"

Jiang Xia said, "This house will be quite comfortable once it's tidied up."

At the very least, in her previous life, she had not even lived in a house like this.

Pan Daidi's younger daughter-in-law glanced at Jiang Xia, her eyes plainly disbelieving. Jiang Xia had not even cared for the New House before and had made a fuss about divorcing. Would she find this house comfortable? She was probably waiting for her lover to come pick her up, which was why she did not care. In any case, she would not be living here long.

Just looking at her delicate skin and tender flesh, one could tell she was restless by nature. She clearly could not make a life for herself in the village and would leave sooner or later.

"Whose idea was it to split the household? Yours, or your Eldest Sister-In-Law's? Which of you will support your parents-in-law, and who will they live with?" Pan Daidi asked again.

"Aunt, I'm going inside to take a look." Jiang Xia was not used to discussing these things, so she walked into the room.

But she did not know that when dealing with village women like these, one had to talk about such things. The affairs of this family and that family, even one's own family gossip, all had to be brought out and discussed. Everything had to be said, and one had to share their views too. If you said nothing, others would think you were putting on airs and refusing to fit in.

Seeing that Jiang Xia was ignoring her, Pan Daidi rolled her eyes at Jiang Xia's retreating back. Bah, so city people were so great? Asked her a couple of questions and she would not answer. Her eyes were growing on her forehead! Jiang Xia stood inside the doorway and saw that the two snakes were still on the crossbeam. Zhou Chenglei picked up the long broom Jiang Xia had thrown to the ground and used it to lure the snakes down.

One of the snakes coiled itself around the bamboo pole and slithered down.

The other snake, frightened, crawled away along the beam.

Great-Grandmother said, "A'Lei, give it to me. I'll do it!"

Zhou Chenglei lowered the bamboo pole.

Great-Grandmother stepped forward and circled around toward the snake's tail. Seizing the opportunity, she struck with swift, deft movements and grabbed the snake right behind its head.

The snake's tail immediately coiled around her arm.

Jiang Xia's scalp crawled.

There was still another snake on the beam. Zhou Chenglei threw aside the long broom, gave a light leap, and caught hold of the crossbeam with both hands. With a flex of his arms, he hauled his entire body upward, then swung one long leg over and climbed onto the beam.

Then he carefully moved closer to the snake.

Jiang Xia did not dare look at the snake, yet she was afraid it would fall down.

Beneath Zhou Chenglei's rolled-up shirt sleeves, his arms showed smooth muscles and faintly bulging veins. His long legs, wrapped in green Military Pants, were sturdy and powerful.

"Go, go, go... go over there!" Great-Grandmother held one snake behind its head in one hand and picked up the long broom with the other, using it to drive the other snake away.

Jiang Xia came back to herself. Seeing the snake crawl toward the other end, her heart leaped. She did not dare look and instinctively turned her gaze elsewhere, only to discover that the three women were all staring at Zhou Chenglei. Their eyes were practically drooling, and she could not help finding it funny.

A man like Zhou Chenglei, with his extraordinarily handsome face, strong body, and vigorous aura of restrained desire, would have been an absolute female killer in modern times too, from women of eighty down to girls of eight.

Without realizing it, Zhou Junjie had come to Jiang Xia's side. "Sister-in-law, are you afraid of snakes?"

Jiang Xia shot him a cold look and walked away.

Zhou Junjie smiled.

Up on the crossbeam, Zhou Chenglei soon found his chance to seize the snake right behind its head. Then he jumped straight down and landed steadily.

Zhou Chenglei and Great-Grandmother walked toward the doorway holding the snakes. When Jiang Xia, standing at the door, saw one of the snakes flick out its tongue, she spun around and ran.

Great-Grandmother burst out laughing. "Hahaha, what are you afraid of? This is a Grass Snake. It isn't venomous, and they're everywhere. Once you see enough of them, you'll get used to them and stop being afraid."

Jiang Xia: "."