Love in the Basin of Water
Shortly after he and she were newlyweds, the company went through restructuring, and he ended up at home without a job.
Soon, she started to find him unpleasant and openly criticized him in front of friends—calling him incompetent for not being able to hold down a job. She was beautiful and assertive, and had married him for his stable job, only to see that stability shattered.
That evening, he made her favorite dish, steamed pork. Watching her eat, he said, “You don’t need to do the dishes today, I’ll do them!”
She glanced at him, and he pointed to the calendar on the wall. She understood, knowing that he always tried to be considerate during her special days each month.
That night, he spent a long time alone in the kitchen washing dishes, his back lonely and sad. She watched TV and then went to bed.
In the middle of the night, she got up to find him sitting dejectedly on the couch, illuminated by the flickering light of the TV. Moonlight streamed in, softly highlighting his messy hair.
She asked, “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
After a long pause, he said, “I’m sorry. I once wanted to give you the happiest life, but now…”
In the dark, she only said three harsh words: “You’re useless!” She turned back to the bedroom where their brand-new wedding photo still hung. In the photo, she nestled happily in his arms like a bird.
He didn’t have a college degree. He had learned to drive in the military and was assigned a job at the highway department after being discharged, doing menial tasks. He didn’t know what else he could do.
One day, she placed a red bankbook in front of him and said, “There’s enough money in here to buy a car. You know how to drive, so buy a second-hand taxi.”
He silently took the bankbook.
Summer came quickly and intensely, like the city was running a fever. He worked the night shift, which was a bit cooler.
He returned home early in the morning, wanting to sleep, but soon woke up drenched in sweat. He couldn’t bear to turn on the air conditioning. Her birthday was coming up, and he wanted to save money to buy her that light green dress.
One day, she came home at noon as there was nothing to do at work. Opening the door, she was hit by a wave of heat and got angry. How could he not turn on the air conditioning in such hot weather? She turned on the AC and went to the bedroom to change clothes, getting ready to meet an old classmate who had just returned from the south and had always been interested in her.
He was still sleeping, face up, drenched in sweat with a wet towel on his stomach. His sleeping posture was strange, with his feet not on the bed but immersed in a basin of water on the floor.
She was stunned and woke him up, saying, “What are you doing?”
His face reddened, and he said, “Nothing, just cooling my feet in the water so I wouldn’t feel hot. I didn’t want to turn on the air conditioning because I wanted to save money to buy you that dress.”
She pulled him up, pushed him into the bathroom, and closed the door, saying, “Look at you, all sweaty! Go take a shower!” Then, leaning against the door, she started crying.
She turned around, put on an apron, and decided to make him a pot of mung bean soup to cool him down.
She also sent a message to her old classmate: “Sorry, I have to cook for my husband.”
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
