My Dreamy Old Husband

We’ve only been gone for two days! Does she really need to do this?

Sophia saw the filming crew arriving, so she quickly put on a straw hat to cover even more of her face as her dark eyes swiveled around. After she changed out of the clothes she had on just now, she rode the motorcycle over. She was garbed in a dirty apron, and below her work pants that were caked with mud were her bare feet. She was pretending that she had just dug up the potatoes, and to make things even more realistic, she even swiped mud on her cheeks.

The village was a producer of large and mild-flavored potatoes. It was potato-harvesting season now, so more than half of the market was filled with those colorful tubers. Blending in with the other farmers, Sophia remained hidden in plain sight.

There were many different types of potatoes, ranging from the round and golden ones to the oblong and reddish ones. The earthy smell from them wafted into the air, and most of them were still caked with mud, having just been freshly dug up from the potato fields early this morning.

Michael followed closely behind, carrying her small husky bag for her.

Carmen made her way toward Sophia, who was extremely nervous as she was afraid of being recognized. Thus, she kept her head bowed.

Michael walked over and squatted down next to Sophia’s stall. Although he pretended to choose the potatoes in her stall very carefully, he was in fact secretly looking at his wife.

Looking at the potatoes, he asked his daughter, “Carmen, would you like to eat potatoes?”

Carmen nodded. “Yes!”

Michael continued, “But potatoes make one look ugly. Carmen, aren’t you afraid of becoming ugly?”

The little girl became a little hesitant. Staring at the potatoes, she felt herself drooling at the thought of eating them, but she was also deathly afraid of turning ugly. After swallowing back her saliva, she decided to give up her food cravings for the sake of beauty. Tugging at Michael’s sleeve, she said pitifully, “Daddy, we’d better go. I don’t want to turn ugly.”

Michael said, “It’s okay, you can eat less while I’ll eat more. If we turn ugly, I’ll be uglier than you.”

Sophia, who was in disguise, could not help but laugh. However, in the next second, she heard Michael say, “Ma’am, give me two pounds of potatoes.”

Ma’am?

Sophia was surprised by this form of address, but she immediately got into her role and weighed the potatoes for them.

Carmen squatted and watched very carefully as Sophia took out a small scale to weigh their vegetables.

“Daddy, look! What is this?”

Carmen was seeing this kind of scale for the first time, which thrilled her to no end. She looked at Sophia in adoration.

Sophia secretly felt elated in her heart. She deliberately took a long time to weigh the potatoes and thought to herself how fortunate it was that she had practiced using this scale before.

buy food. On one of those trips, she had learned how to use the scale. Although she was

opportunity to explain how the scale worked to Carmen,

out. Then, Sophia told them how much

help but laugh. However, he did not expose her but let Carmen pay

Carmen, pay the lady

Sophia pitifully,

her soft and tiny face, Sophia

even give them to

director was also watching intently. So, she had to keep her act together and pretended to be unhappy. “We are a

and fell silent. Wiping sweat from his forehead, Michael said, “Just charge us a little bit less. It’s not a big deal,

her. Sophia pretended to mull

the potatoes, took the note, and gave

the change in her

coins, it was as satisfying as

holding the potatoes while Carmen skipped along behind him, followed

Michael thought to himself that Sophia probably was done by this time. He did not want to see her again later as

needed without spending too much. The place the film crew had arranged for them to live in was without a refrigerator, so he had to eat however much he bought. The potatoes and beans could last until tomorrow, but the leafy vegetables, tomatoes, and meat had to be finished by today, or they would

could finally feel bold enough to negotiate

a spicy stew for Carmen but using

went to buy the chili,

large face mask on. Right now, she was working as a cashier in a snack cum grocery shop, and she still thought she was perfectly

a loss for

could recognize

cum grocery shop in the village, it was well stocked. From pistachios to sanitary napkins and from ice cream to cumin

I want that…

of the lollipop and touched his pocket. It’s too

lollipop today, we’ll have to go hungry

to look at Michael, who pretended not

I want

lollipop. Staring at the big, round, rainbow-colored lollipop, it was the first time Michael felt that he couldn’t afford

hide it from the other kids.

said, “You can’t have the lollipop now. I’ll