Chapter 1 — The Wife I Rescued In The Snow

In the winter of 1978, I went up the mountain to set a trap and accidentally saved an intellectual young woman from a snow hole. I carried her home and kept her warm for three days and three nights before she opened her eyes. The first sentence after waking up was not thank you, but:

“You saved me, I will marry you.”

I thought she was so feverish that she was confused. But she insisted on staying in my house and refused to leave. Everyone in the village laughed at me for picking up a crazy wife. She's not crazy. She is more alert than anyone. In six years, she turned my dilapidated house into the most spacious house in the village. In 1984, she said she wanted to take the university entrance exam. I cycled to take her to the exam site in the district. The village chief saw her from afar and his face suddenly changed. He pulled me to the corner, his voice trembling:

“Do you know who she is? Your kid is really brave!”

01

My name is Tham Son, I am a hunter. My parents died early, I lived alone in the mountains, relying on hunting for food. That day, I went to check the last trap. In a hole in the snow there was a person lying on his stomach. I walked over and gently touched it with my foot. As a woman, still breathing. Her face froze until she turned purple, her lips were chapped. I sighed. Then carry her home. My house is just a land house. Four walls, two windows, wind blowing everywhere. I put her on the dirt bed. The bed is burned very hot. I fed her half a bowl of ginger soup. She had no reaction. I took off her wet clothes. Then use a torn blanket to wrap her whole body. Just like that, I continuously lit the bed and watched over her for three days and three nights. On the morning of the fourth day, her eyelids moved slightly. I was about to feed her thin porridge when she opened her eyes. Her eyes were very bright, like stars in the mountains. She stared at me. I'm not used to being looked at like that.

“Drink something.”

I brought the bowl. She didn't accept. She looked at the grass roof, then looked back at me. Lips moved slightly. Very hoarse voice.

“You saved me.”

“Yes.”

I replied once.

“I will marry you.”

My hands shook, I almost dropped the bowl. Half of the thin porridge was lost. I thought she was feverish and confused. A city woman, just looking at her clothes, knows that she is not from the village. Do you want to marry a poor person like me? I didn't pay attention to her. Just feed her the remaining porridge. She drank it all. After drinking, she spoke again.

“I marry you, is it okay?”

Her eyes were very alert, not like she was in a trance. I looked at her. She also looked at me. In the room there was only the sound of firewood crackling.

“I have no money, no food, only this broken house.”

I said.

“I know.”

She replied.

“Everyone in the village said I was cruel to my relatives, no one dared to marry me.”

“I dare.”

I don't know how to answer. Having lived for twenty years, this is the first time a woman said she wanted to marry me. Also a woman of unknown origin. I neither agree nor refuse. She just stayed at my house. I slept on the ground, she slept on a heated bed. People in the village quickly learned about it. Gossip is like snowflakes, flying everywhere.

“Tham Son picked up a crazy wife!”

“Eight parts are the kind of spoiled women who run away from the city.”

“Look Looking at his poor appearance, only a crazy person would follow him."

I don't care. If they like to laugh, just laugh. I'm still living my life. Her body recovered very quickly. On the fifth day, I was able to get out of bed. On Saturday, she cleaned my entire house. The dirt in the corner, the cobwebs on the wall, all disappeared. The house looks much brighter. She speaks very little. I asked a question, she answered a question. I asked her what her name was. She said her name was Hua Tue. I asked her where she was from. She shook her head. I asked why she fell in the snow. She was silent. I know she has her own problems. But she didn't want to say, and I also didn't want to ask. Saving her is my business. It's her business if she wants to stay. Half a month later, her health has completely recovered. One evening, I hunted a rabbit. She was skinning herself in the yard when she walked up.

“Tham Son.”

“Yes?”

“Let's go register our marriage.”

My peeling stopped. I raised my head to look at her. The moonlight shone on her face, blindingly white. His eyes were very serious.

“Have you thought about it carefully?”

I asked.

“I thought it over.”

She said. I looked at her for a long time. Finally, I threw down the rabbit skin and wiped my hands.

“Okay.” 02

The next day, I took Hua Tue to the commune. The check-in officer glanced at us.

“Where are you?”

He asked Hua Tue.

“My hometown was flooded, I fled here.”

Hua Tue bowed her head, her voice very low. The officer mumbled something and didn't ask any more questions. He stamped and gave us two red pieces of paper. So we became husband and wife. The eyes of the people in the village looking at me became even more strange. It's like looking at a fool. Married to a crazy person, who also has no household registration. They waited to see my joke. Waiting for this unknown woman to drag me down the cliff. But I'm not broken. On the contrary, our lives are getting better and better. Hua Tue does not look like a crazy person. She is smarter than anyone. She told me to seriously develop my hunting skills.