Chapter Seventy-Four: Stirring Intentions

Old Fourth looked up when he heard his name called, his eyes slightly glazed with the haze of drink, and managed a tipsy smile.

He, too, had once had a wife. But his gambling habit had grown worse and worse, until every sellable thing in his home was pawned off—his wife included. Thinking back on it now, Old Fourth bitterly regretted his choices. Of all the things to sell, how could he have sold his own wife?

“So, Big Fortune, you’re thinking about this, too? I know all about it. Back then, I handled every detail myself,” Old Fourth said. Though he was full of remorse, seeing someone else about to follow in his footsteps stirred a secret excitement within him. There was a certain satisfaction in knowing he wouldn’t be the only one wallowing in regret.

“You actually sold your wife? How much did you get for her?” Gu Big Fortune’s eyes gleamed with greed, his expression growing ever more repulsive in the dim, yellow light. If selling a wife could really fetch a good price, he would have to give it serious thought. After all, Madam Li never listened to him anymore. What use was a disobedient wife? With enough money, he could find a younger, prettier one.

“If you’re looking to get rid of your wife, I have plenty of contacts. I saw your wife once, if I recall,” Old Fourth said. “She’s quite delicate. With a bit of sprucing up, she could sell for a high price.” He held up three fingers, indicating he could get as much as thirty taels of silver for her.

“Three taels?!” a man nearby asked, raising a sparse eyebrow at the gesture.

Old Fourth scoffed at their ignorance. “How short-sighted! Not three, thirty taels of silver.” He named the price because, though Madam Li now looked sallow and thin, with some care she could become lovely once again.

When Gu Big Fortune had first married her, the whole village was envious. Who would have thought a man as useless as him could snare such a beautiful wife? But no matter how beautiful a woman is, she cannot withstand the daily grinding down from a husband such as he. Over the years, Madam Li had lost the vitality she’d once possessed.

“What? Thirty taels?!” Gu Big Fortune was so shocked by Old Fourth’s words he nearly leapt off his stool. That wretched wife of his could be worth so much? It was almost inconceivable. His mind buzzed, and before his eyes stretched a broad avenue to wealth.

“That’s right, thirty taels. When she first came, your wife was as fresh as a blossom. Some wealthy men prefer women just like her,” Old Fourth went on. “They have money, and with a bit of care, your wife could recover her former looks.”

Some rich men truly had a taste for married women, especially those with slender waists and fine features. Virgins didn't interest them nearly as much.

“Old Fourth, you really have a knack for this. Big Fortune, thirty taels—why, you couldn’t earn that much in a lifetime!” The men sitting nearby all looked at Gu Big Fortune with envy, each regretting their own choices.

Why hadn’t they thought to marry when they were younger? A wife could warm your bed, and if times got tough, you could sell her off.

“That’s right, thirty taels isn’t a small sum. With that kind of money, turning it into more would be easy,” Old Fourth said, fanning the flames of temptation as he watched Gu Big Fortune’s wavering expression.

“And besides, your wife doesn’t listen to you anymore. Why keep her around? She dares to hit you now—before long, she’ll be killing you.”

These words struck right at Gu Big Fortune’s sore spot; the places where she’d hit him still ached. And those two old devils at home kept pestering him to swallow his pride and apologize to that wretched woman.

Bah! He was a man—why should he have to bow and scrape before a woman? What a joke that would be!