Chapter 7 Compensation

The villagers' mocking gazes felt like needles pricking Lu Jianping's face, so he didn't dare to bargain anymore.

"Twenty yuan it is! But I don't have that much money on me right now."

"Then go home and get it. If you don't have the money, borrow it. We have to pay back the money we owe today."

She wanted to settle this matter completely in front of the whole village, so that the Lu family wouldn't deny it later.

Lu Jianping understood Liu Zhixia's meaning, and his old face turned bright red with embarrassment.

He glared at the still reluctant Li Xuemei, gritted his teeth and forced out the words: "Isn't it embarrassing enough? Go back and get the money!"

Li Xuemei ran home, seething with anger, and quickly returned with the money.

She walked up to Liu Zhixia and threw a crumpled wad of money at her face.

"Here, your money!"

Liu Zhixia turned slightly to the side, and all the money fell onto the muddy ground.

Li Xuemei was waiting to see her bend down to pick up the money and make a fool of herself, but instead she received a solid slap across the face.

"Smack!"

She covered her burning face, staring at Lu Jianping in shock: "You hit me?"

"Pick up the money and return it to the owner!" Lu Jianping roared.

When Li Xuemei met the rage in her husband's eyes, a fierceness she had never seen before, she immediately lost her temper and could only squat down resentfully, pick up the money, blow off the dust, and respectfully hand it to Liu Zhixia.

Liu Zhixia counted the money; not a single bill was missing. Only then did she nod to her parents.

Liu Shouren said in a deep voice, "Captain Lu, since that's the case, let's call off the marriage between our two families. The whole village will be our witness."

Lu Jianping glared at Lu Huaiyuan, who was standing to the side, and nodded without saying a word.

Liu Zhixia took the broken jade bracelet from his hand and turned to leave.

Li Xuemei shrieked, "We've already paid the money, so this bracelet should be ours!"

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Jianping roared, "Disgraceful wretch! Get back home!"

The Lu family dared not cause any more trouble and slunk away.

The villagers discussed it amongst themselves and then dispersed.

The Liu family returned home quietly, and Liu Xiangyang, the eldest son who had been helping out at his wife's parents' house, rushed back.

"Father, Mother, I heard that my little sister was bullied by Lu Huaiyuan?"

"He helped outsiders bully my sister and even broke Grandma's bracelet!" said Liu Xuejun, the younger brother, indignantly.

Liu Xiangyang's mind went blank for a moment, and he rolled up his sleeves, revealing his muscular physique: "He's gone too far! I'm going to settle the score with him right now!"

"Brother, it's alright now." Liu Zhixia stopped him. "It's all taken care of."

"Even at a time like this, you're still protecting him?" Liu Xiangyang was even angrier.

Liu Zhixia held up the money and broken bracelet in her hand: "We broke off the engagement, this is compensation. Twenty yuan, enough for our family to eat meat for a few meals."

Liu Xiangyang was stunned by his sister's resolute expression. Was this still the same sister who wouldn't marry anyone but Lu Huaiyuan?

Seeing Liu Xiangyang's suspicious gaze, Liu Zhixia knew that she had gone too far in the past and would not be able to convince her family that she really didn't like Lu Huaiyuan anymore.

Liu Zhixia didn't explain much, and handed the money to her mother Zhang Xiuying: "Mom, keep the money. Next time, have my older brother go to town to buy some meat and eggs to nourish Dabao and Erbao."

Zhang Xiuying took the money, but her heart was full of worries. How could her daughter ever get married after making such a fuss?

Liu Zhixia saw through her mother's worries and comforted her, "Mother, breaking off the engagement is a good thing. Marrying into his family would be like entering a fire pit."

"Alright, Lu Kai and his two friends are coming to our house for dinner tonight, so hurry up and get ready."

After briefly explaining what had happened to Liu Xiangyang, Liu Xiangyang went on to curse Lu Huaiyuan and Gu Mansheng again.

"Alright, I'll go back and help my father-in-law harvest the grain first, and I'll be back before dinner."

Zhang Xiuying worriedly reminded them, "Remember to explain things clearly to your in-laws so they don't misunderstand."

"Okay, got it!"

Liu Xiangyang quickly went out the door.

Holding the bracelet, Liu Zhixia said to her parents, "I'll put away the bracelet that Grandma gave me first, and then find someone to repair it later. Even if I can't wear it anymore, I can keep it as a keepsake."

Liu Shouren also said, "Alright, wife, you take charge of the household, I'll go and finish the work in the fields. Take out the meat from the house and treat the soldiers well. They are our daughter's saviors, we can't neglect them."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Zhang Xiuying replied, pulling herself out of her thoughts.

Liu Zhixia took the broken pieces of the bracelet back to her room. Looking at the jade bracelet that had been shattered into several pieces, she was filled with mixed emotions.

In her past life, she was a fool, working like a slave for others her whole life. Even after their engagement, this bracelet ended up on Gu Mansheng's wrist. In this life, she finally got it back, but it was shattered.

It was as if the bracelet was never meant to be hers.

Thinking of how her grandmother had given her the bracelet before she passed away, telling her to be happy, Liu Zhixia felt that she had wronged her grandmother in both her lives. Tears could no longer be held back and fell down with a thud.

The moment the teardrop touched the bracelet fragment, a blinding flash of light exploded, and she instinctively closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, everything around her had changed.

There was a villa in front of me, but the area in front of the door was overgrown with weeds and was almost unrecognizable.

There was a pond in front of the villa, and the koi in it were incredibly fat, even bigger than the grass carp she had ever seen! Watching them jumping around so lively, she couldn't help but swallow her saliva.

She scooped up some water and took a sip. The water was sweet and refreshing, and she instantly felt comfortable and lighter.

This must be the "spiritual spring" that Gu Mansheng mentioned.

No wonder she looked like a twenty-year-old girl even though she was over forty in her past life; it turns out she drank this.

This water can make you look younger, so it must be good for your health. I should let my family drink more of it in the future!

She was going to entertain guests tonight, and since the soldier had injured his back, she could try using this spring water; perhaps it could even cure his ailment.

Looking around at the weeds, it was such a waste to leave this fertile land barren. When I had some free time tonight, I'd clear the land and plant crops. Irrigating it with the spirit spring water, the harvest would definitely be better than what I'd found elsewhere!

Thinking of this, she had an idea and immediately returned to her room.

The jade bracelet on the table seemed to have faded a bit. It seems that after the space opened, anyone who wants to enter can do so without needing the bracelet itself.

However, she still put the fragments into her spatial storage; these were things left by her grandmother, and she had to keep them safe.

In this life, she is determined to use this space to bring a good life to her whole family!

As soon as Liu Zhixia came out of the bedroom, she startled Liu Xuejun, who was standing at the door.

"Sis! Where did you come from?"

Liu Zhixia was puzzled: "The bedroom? What's wrong?"

Liu Xuejun still looked shaken and stammered, "I... I went inside to look for you, but there was no one there!"

Liu Zhixia's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately understood. It seemed that once she entered the space, the people outside would no longer be able to see her.