I told Tiarai about this, and she praised me for being very sensitive to the problem. Then we did our own work separately and did not continue to talk. At that time, we were peeling beans. She was distracted to watch the movements in the kitchen while peeling the beans. She found that the Chinese chef had done something wrong, so she immediately started to scold him, and the other party immediately fought back. The two of them verbally and were unwilling to show weakness. Since they were all scolding locally, I didn't understand it. In short, the two of them gave me the feeling that the end of the world was coming soon. However, after a while, the two of them reconciled again. Tiarai also handed the chef a cigarette, and the two began to suck the clouds and the mist.

"I also found him a wife!" Tiarry said suddenly. I saw a smile on her face.

"Are you talking about this chef?"

"No, Strickland."

"But he has a wife."

"He said so too. But I told him that his wife is in Britain on the other side of the earth, and is 108,000 miles away."

"That's right." I replied.

"He would come to Papeete every two or three months to buy oil paints, tobacco and so on. Every time he came, he would wander around like a homeless stray dog, and it looked so pitiful. I hired a girl who helped me clean the room, and her name was Aita. Her parents died, and because they were my distant relatives, I took her in. Strickland sometimes came to me for a full meal or played chess with someone who worked here. I keenly discovered that whenever he came, Aita would stare at him. Once I asked her if she had a good impression of him. She said she liked this person very much. You know, they all tend to find a white man."

"Is Aita a native?" I asked.

"Yes, there is no white bloodline. So I talked to her and found Strickland and said to him, 'Strickland, in my opinion, you should settle here. You also know that you shouldn't be hanging with those women, after all, your age is here. And they are not good girls, and being with them is harmful to you. You have not saved much money, have no patience in work, and will quit in less than two months. Now no one is willing to hire you. Although you can choose to continue living in the wilderness with the natives, and they welcome you, it is too unreasonable to be a white man. You have always lived this isolated life. I have come up with a good idea for you, Strickland.'"

When Tiarre spoke, he used French and English, which sounded like he was singing, which was very melodious and charming. If the bird could talk to you in English, this would probably be the case.

"'Listen to me, do you want to consider marrying Aita? She is a young girl, just turned seventeen. She has a good personality and never messes with the captain or the first mate, but she has never messed with the locals. She is a girl who loves herself. Once, when the Oahu came here, a chief officer on the ship told me that she was the best girl he met on the island. She is now on the way to get married. Besides, whether it is the captain or the first mate, she always wants to try women of different styles. I will not let those girls work for too long. Aita has its own property, located next to the Tarawo River. Some time ago, I harvested a lot of coconuts, which is enough for you to live a stable life at the current price. She also has a house where you can paint. What do you think of this idea?'"

Tiarry paused.

"Then he said he had a British wife. 'My poor Strickland,' I told him, 'There are a lot of married men who will find another woman elsewhere, probably why they came to our island! Aita wouldn't mind these things. She doesn't need you to hold a grand wedding ceremony because she is a Jesus, and you know that Jesus is not as rude as Catholics."

"He thought for a while and said, 'So what does Aita think?''She seems to have a special liking for you,' I said, 'As long as you agree with this, she will agree. I will call her over now, how about it?" Strickland pulled the corner of her mouth and pulled a smile. In short, I called Aita over immediately. I secretly glanced at her, and found that she was pretending to iron my coat while eavesdropping on our conversation. She smiled and walked to me. I knew she was shy. Strickland looked at her for a while without saying a word."

"Is she beautiful?" I asked.

"She is really beautiful. I guess you've seen the paintings he painted for her. He painted her a lot of paintings, some with a corset around her waist, and some naked. Indeed, her cooking skills are very good, and I taught her. Strickland was thinking about this, so I told him: 'I paid her a very high salary, and she saved a lot of money. The captain and mate who are familiar with her will also occasionally give her some gifts. She has saved hundreds of francs so far.'"

"At this time, Strickland laughed."

“‘Hey, Aita,’ he said, ‘Would you like me to be your husband?’”

"She didn't say a word and laughed happily."

"'Strickland, didn't I say it? She has a special liking for you.' I said."

"'I'll hit you,' he said in the eyes."

“‘How can I be sure you love me if you don’t hit me?’ she replied.”

At this point, Tiarie stopped and began to recall her past.

"Captain Johnson was my first husband, and he often beat me with a whip. He was tall, talented and extraordinary. If he got drunk, he would beat me all over and covered in bruises and no one could persuade him. When he passed away, I was very sad and cried for several days. I felt that I would be trapped in that painful blow in my life and could not extricate myself. But it was not until I got married to George Ryanney that I realized how serious my losses were. If you don't live with a man, you will never have any

Fa knew his character. George Ryannie disappointed me very much. He was handsome, tall and muscular, but that was just a surface. He would not get drunk or hit me, and he was as if he was just a missionary. When the ship entered the port, I would be flirting with the crew on the ship, but George Ryannie never turned a blind eye. In the end, I couldn't stand him anymore, so I decided to divorce him. You think, why did I marry such a husband? The way they treated women was really scary."

I expressed great sympathy for what happened to Tiarre. I comforted her and said that women were always prone to falling into men's traps. Then she continued to recall the incident of Strickland.

"'Okay,' I said to Strickland, 'You can go back and think about it. Imagine that you live with Aita in the same room. You can spend a month together and see if you have a good impression of her. During this period, you can stay with me for dinner. In a month, if you are willing to marry her, you can move to her."

"He accepted my offer, and Aita continued to work with me. According to my offer, Strickland had dinner with me. He had two or three dishes he liked to eat, and I taught him how to cook. He rarely painted. He often went to wander among the mountains and bathed by the river. By the sea, he liked to look at the sparkling water. When the sun set, he went to Moria to take a look. Sometimes he would sit on a reef and fish quietly. He also liked to wander around the dock and chat with the locals. He never made a big fuss, and people liked him very much. Every day after dinner, the two of them would return to the wing room.

Go. I know, he longs to go back to the jungle. A month later, I asked him what he planned. He told me that if Aita wanted to go with him, he would bring her. Later, I organized a wedding wine for them. The meals were all made, including pea soup, curry rice, Portuguese prawns and coconut salads--you haven't tasted this yet, but I will make it for you--and ice cream. We drank a lot of champagne and sweet wine. Ah, I had already made up my mind to hold the wedding well. After the meal, we danced in the living room. I was very thin at the time and was nowhere near as fat as I am now. Dancing was my hobby."

I looked at the living room. It was not big. There was a piano in the corner and a set of Filipino mahogany furniture by the wall. The furniture was covered with a velvet cover with exquisite patterns on it. There were several photo albums on the round table, and there were photos of Tiarry and Captain Johnson hanging on the wall. Although Tiarry is a fat old woman now, she is really good at dancing. On a few times, we rolled up the Brussels carpet and called Tiarry's two friends and girls to dance in the living room. However, the record player used for accompaniment was too shabby, and the sound was like asthma, which could only be heard. There were a few pots of Tiarry flowers on the terrace, which were fragrant. If you look up, you can see the shiny Southern Cross star in the sky.

Tiarie told me about the unforgettable event, and an intoxicated expression appeared on her face.

"Once we had a lot of fun until three o'clock in the middle of the night. When we climbed into bed, we were all drunk and unconscious. I had told them in advance that they would not have to worry about how to go back, because my little carriage could be for them to ride. However, when they reached the end of the road, they had to walk instead. The property of Aita was far away from me, surrounded by mountains and beautiful scenery. The next day, they set out before the sun even rose. For their safety, I sent a servant to see him off, and he did not return after another day."

"Very good, Strickland has entered the marriage hall again."
Chapter completed!