The divine power within her surged, eager for Yin and Yang Dual Cultivation.
A rosy blush covered Tian Mei's face, sparking a tender affection in others.
For so many years, this was how she consoled herself. Even with A'niu by her side, and despite what her heart desired, it would be too unfair to A'niu if she actually went through with it.
A'niu was only in his twenties, while she was already in her thirties and a widow at that. No matter how one put it, she was a person of ill omen, and the village had always rumored that she was the reincarnation of a broom star. Being with A'niu would only bring him misfortune.
"No, no, A'niu, listen to what I have to say."
Tian Mei frantically retreated to the inside of the bed, dodging A'niu's advancing kiss.
"Auntie, let me take care of you. I'm now capable of providing a good life for you, trust me," A'niu said as he embraced Tian Mei. Tian Mei, who hadn't been held by a man for many years, immediately felt a tingling weakness throughout her body. She softened and almost collapsed into A'niu's arms.
"A'niu, A'niu, listen to me. I've asked the matchmaker to find you a marriage prospect. You, you…" Tian Mei gasped under A'niu's touch, unable to finish her sentence.
A'niu kissed Tian Mei's neck, his manly warmth wandering over her body. Tian Mei's heart fluttered wildly. A'niu was incredibly strong, not giving her a moment to breathe, his warm lips grazing her neck as he murmured, "Auntie, auntie."
"A'niu, A'niu, don't do this, please don't," Tian Mei pleaded.
Tian Mei desperately pushed A'niu away, but in her haste, she tumbled off the bed to the floor.
There was a "thud" as she fell.
A'niu instantly snapped out of his fervor, hurriedly went around the bed, and picked up Tian Mei, "Auntie, did that hurt?"
Tian Mei grimaced in pain, sucking in cold air and rubbing her waist.
"Does it hurt here? Auntie, lie down on the bed, and I'll give you a massage," A'niu gently suggested as he set down Tian Mei.
"A'niu, no, it's not right to do this in broad daylight. If someone walks in and sees, the gossip would break your back. Auntie will be fine after lying down for a while," Tian Mei said as she pushed away A'niu's hand from her waist.
"In a few days, the matchmaker will bring someone over. You must speak nicely to them," Tian Mei said, not bearing to see the disappointment on A'niu's face and changing the subject to remind him.
A'niu sheepishly withdrew his hand, and the divine power within him slowly subsided.
"Auntie, are you so eager to kick me out the door?" A'niu complained sulkily, turning to leave.
"No, no, A'niu, listen to me," Tian Mei, ignoring her waist pain, frantically tried to grab A'niu's hand.
A'niu shook off Tian Mei's hand and sulkily returned to his own yard.
"A'niu, A'niu..." Tian Mei couldn't stand up due to her waist pain and watched helplessly as A'niu left in anger.
A'niu angrily kicked over a water bucket in the yard.
He sat down at the doorway, eyeing the tangerine tree in his courtyard alone in his agitation, wondering why his aunt wouldn't want to be with him. Was it because she thought he was foolish? Was it because she despised his poverty?
A'niu frustratingly grabbed at his hair, aware of his current state of having nothing, relying on his aunt for survival – what right did he have to ask her to be with him?
A'niu stood up and plucked a tangerine.
He peeled the tangerine and put a segment into his mouth, letting the sweet and cool taste soothe his heart and spleen.
"Tomorrow, I'll take these tangerines to town to sell for money."
The next morning, before dawn, A'niu rose and filled a small cart with tangerines, heading towards Taohua Town.
Taohua Town was only thirty miles away from Taohua Village. A'niu, with his Divine Power, moved swiftly and reached the bustling center of Taohua Town in under an hour.
A'niu found a busy street corner to set up his stall and sell tangerines.
"Big and sweet oranges, they make men robust and women beautiful."
With A'niu's shouting, he drew quite a crowd.
"Young man, how much are your oranges?" asked an auntie.
A'niu's eyes darted around; the common oranges at the market were three yuan per half a kilo, but his were no ordinary oranges, so naturally, they couldn't be that cheap.
"Thirty yuan per half a kilo." A'niu extended three fingers as he spoke.
"What? Why don't you just go rob a bank? What kind of oranges are worth that much?" The auntie was about to taste an orange when she heard the price and immediately threw it back onto the stall.
"These oranges of mine are not your ordinary oranges. Auntie, if you eat them, I guarantee your husband will love you deeper and longer at night," A'niu chuckled as he spoke.
"Pah, at your young age, instead of learning good things, you're joking around with your auntie!" The auntie glared at A'niu and stormed off angrily.
"Don't disbelieve, folks, try one for yourselves," A'niu said, breaking open an orange and addressing the onlookers.
The spectators all ridiculed A'niu, thinking he was crazed for money.
Just then, the crowd parted to make way for a mature and capable-looking woman.
The woman wore a body-hugging dress and silver crystal high heels, her long, fair legs gracefully approaching A'niu's orange stall.
Her plunging V-neck revealed a cleavage squeezed together, suggesting the fullness within was about to burst forth.
She resembled that movie star, what's-her-name Liu something Yan, both sexy and intelligent.
Such a woman would become the center of attention wherever she went.
The crowd immediately turned to look at her, abuzz with whispers.
"Isn't that Sun Yingying, the owner of Peach Blossom Hotel?"
"Is she interested in the oranges, or is it the young man selling them she's after?"
The men looked at A'niu with envy, jealousy, and hatred, while the women pursed their lips, looking disdainfully at Sun Yingying.
Sun Yingying, with her slender waist, stopped in front of A'niu, crossed her arms over her chest, and haughtily said, "Where did this bumpkin come from, babbling nonsense here and disrupting my hotel's business?"
After speaking, Sun Yingying looked at A'niu with a face full of disdain and disgust.
The men nearby, seeing that Sun Yingying had come to drive the orange seller away, immediately felt a sense of relief and started to jeer in a flattering way.
"Get lost, you smelly brat, you're disturbing Miss Sun's business."
"Exactly, selling useless oranges for thirty yuan per half a kilo, why don't you just go straight to robbing people!"
A'niu hurriedly explained, "My oranges really aren't ordinary."
As he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on the beautiful woman in front of him, who was so attractive it was soul-stirring; she even emitted a sweet scent that was quite different from the village women, imbuing her with a special charm.
A'niu's glance swept over, landing on Sun Yingying's V-neck where two round and full, shiny, and lustrous breasts looked like two creamy white pearls, so round and white. A'niu's mouth hung open as he swallowed salivally.
Sun Yingying felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze, as though she were being stripped naked.
"Bumpkin, take your oranges and scram before I gouge out your eyes," Sun Yingying said fiercely.
"Beautiful lady, I've just examined you closely and I'm afraid you're plagued with illness. If you don't get treated soon, you won't live many more years," A'niu said, having used the medical knowledge in his brain to conduct a full-body checkup on Sun Yingying.
"Nonsense, you wretched bumpkin, keep spouting rubbish and I'll rip your mouth apart! Security, smash his stall this instant," she said.
Upon hearing this, Sun Yingying's eyebrows shot up, she was so angry that her chest heaved up and down, and she nearly popped out of her clothes.