Chapter 9, Chapter 204...
Chapter 204
Xiaoliucun
Early in the morning, Chen Yuxuan was half asleep when she was suddenly pulled up by someone.
She instinctively opened her eyes, but before she could even start cursing, she was suddenly shoved to the ground. In an instant, she snapped back to reality, and when she saw the person in front of her, she thought she was dreaming.
"You lazy and greedy brat, why are you staring at me like that? Get up and get to work!"
Before me stood a woman dressed in a gray dress with many patches on it. Her face looked somewhat harsh, and she wore a wooden hairpin in her hair. Her whole demeanor smelled rather strange.
Chen Yuxuan felt that she smelled bad and subconsciously pinched her nose.
Is she dreaming? Looking around, the house looked dilapidated, with mud walls and a small room containing only a kang (a heated brick bed).
"Where is this place? There's not even any furniture?"
She slowly stood up, and as soon as she said that, her arm was gripped tightly again.
"What are you saying? Furniture? What more furniture do you want? Hurry up and go to the kitchen to cook. How could your mother have given birth to such a lazy girl like you?"
Chen Yuxuan looked at the person in front of her, just about to start cursing, when she suddenly felt a splitting headache.
After that, she fainted again.
When she woke up again, the sun was high in the sky, and she was still lying on the ground.
The woman's cursing could still be heard outside the door. She looked at her body and, after regaining consciousness, felt it was all too absurd. But since the time travel had happened, she had to accept it. Nobody knew when she would be able to go back.
She was starving and feeling very unwell, and desperately needed food to fill her stomach.
She left the cabin and headed towards the kitchen.
"Yingxiang, you brat, come here right now and take this basin of clothes to the river to wash them."
Yingxiang, also known as Chen Yuxuan, didn't say anything, but cursed her heartless stepmother in her heart before going to the kitchen.
"You old bastard, wait until I'm a bit better, then I'll deal with you, you heartless bastard."
There weren't many good things in the kitchen, so she took two warm cornbreads from the pot and ate them.
The woman not far away saw everything clearly, and without saying a word, she started cursing again, complaining that she ate too much.
She was starving, so she ate very quickly, and after finishing, she went inside and closed the door.
This person is extremely thin and small. He is only twelve or thirteen years old, but looks like a seven or eight-year-old child. He usually doesn't have enough to eat.
The most important thing right now is to take care of my health.
"Can't you hear me? Do I have to come back and tell your father to beat you up?"
Yingxiang took the basin and walked outside. Yingxiang's stepmother was in a better mood when she saw that Yingxiang was much more obedient.
But the next second, she was shocked.
Yingxiang carried the basin and walked very slowly. Not only that, she also burst into tears, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice.
She was immediately startled.
What's wrong with this brat? She's never like this before.
As if possessed, she followed behind her. Yingxiang naturally knew that to strike a snake, one must strike at its vital point. The stepmother, though she had a son, was somewhat mean-spirited, but what she feared most was that her son would not be able to find a wife in the future.
As soon as she stepped out of her house, she attracted the attention of many passersby, since they were all from the same village.
Some people were curious and went up to ask her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at her stepmother not far behind her. She turned around and cried even louder. When others asked her questions, she kept crying and kept glancing back, looking extremely aggrieved.
"Could it be that she's bullying this girl? Oh dear, this girl is so pitiful. She's so capable, but it's a pity her own mother isn't here, and she's being tormented by her stepmother."
Yingxiang's appearance is quite intriguing.
There are only so many things happening in the village, everyone knows them, and what everyone likes is excitement.
“She always says she’s kind-hearted and treats girls so well. Look at this girl, she’s pitiful. My husband is two years younger than her and a head taller, and I haven’t given him any good food. Maybe this girl doesn’t even have food to eat at home.”
"He really is a heartless person."
The stepmother was not deaf; upon hearing this, she immediately rushed forward.
You know, not many families in the village are doing well, but if Yingxiang acts like this outside, people will talk about her. If everyone says she's not a good person, and the family isn't well-off to begin with, I'm afraid it will be even harder for her daughters-in-law to find wives in the future.
"mother."
She walked aggressively up to Yingxiang, but before she could say anything, the girl looked at her, called her name, and seemed very obedient.
“You are also a person who has given birth to a child. It’s a girl. When she grows up and gets married, there will be a dowry. Maybe she can even help your son find a wife. Why are you bullying her? Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning?”
"I bullied her?"
The stepmother was stunned.
Upon seeing this, Yingxiang mustered all her strength and ran away in a flash.
“Look how scared you’ve made the child. He doesn’t even dare to speak. Be nicer to the child in the future, and he can send you some gifts during holidays.”
The stepmother stood there stunned, too angry to utter a single word.
She thought she wasn't bad herself, and at most she would just scold this girl. She never expected this girl to turn out like this, ruining her reputation in public.
She blushed with anger but remained silent. Everyone in the village knew that Yingxiang was diligent.
riverside
As the sun gradually rose, washing clothes was out of the question. Yingxiang sat by the river and, seeing that no one was around, quickly undressed and washed herself, thanks to her excellent swimming skills.
Her current physique is truly unbearable to look at; her dry, dark, and thin skin is pitiful, a complete disaster at the start.
After she finished washing, she shook off the water and waited until she was dry before putting on the clothes she had been wearing.
Looking at the few pieces of clothing in the basin, Yingxiang realized that in ancient times, men were superior to women, and these clothes belonged to her stepmother. Thinking of her, Yingxiang didn't hesitate much.
Relying on my memory, I headed to the nearest town.
After leaving the pawnshop, she touched the copper coins in her hand and found a small stall.
If you don't want to do something for the rest of your life, don't let people think you're sensible, obedient, and easy to manipulate from the very beginning.
"A basket of large meat buns."
"OK."
The businessman initially ignored Yingxiang, thinking she looked poor and shabby, but upon seeing the copper coins she placed on the table, he immediately brought over a basket of steaming hot meat buns.
There were six of them, and they looked delicious.
She picked it up and ate it. She was starving. This meat bun wasn't as delicious as the ones from modern times, but compared to cornbread, it was simply a delicacy.
She wants to eat meat and improve her health.
At the next table, Mrs. Liu, with her five sons, ordered a basket of steamed buns. When she saw Yingxiang sitting opposite her, she subconsciously frowned.
"A good-for-nothing eats so much. This family really has too much money to burn. It's a complete waste of money."
Yingxiang ignored her. This person looked exactly like her stepmother. The room was packed with people, and there were five boys on the side, from the oldest to the youngest, who looked like a baby.
Goodness, they're really fertile, all of them are sons.
But it had nothing to do with her. She ate her own food, and the shopkeeper was quite kind. He brought her a big bowl of water and told her to eat slowly.
“Mom will eat one, and leave one for your dad. The eldest son needs to study hard, so he will eat three. The last one is for the second and third sons, and the fourth and fifth sons. You can each have a bite. It’s just that the grain price is good this year, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to afford these.”
"So stingy."
Yingxiang thought to herself.
It wasn't that she liked to talk back to people; she was the one who started it.
After finishing the six large steamed buns, her belly was visibly rounder. Feeling full, she carried the laundry basin and slowly walked home.
As soon as I arrived at the village entrance, I rubbed my eyes and thought, "I'll just keep crying."
Now, the women sitting at the village entrance looked at her and began to whisper among themselves again.
She had just arrived home when she realized something was wrong. Her stepmother was crying even louder than she was. When she went inside, she saw her father sitting on a stool and her old woman carrying eggs, about to leave.
She recognized this person; she was her grandmother, her biological father's mother.
Yingxiang looked at the eggs, naturally reluctant to part with them. Logically, she shouldn't care, but she herself couldn't afford to eat them, and these chickens were all raised by her.
She put the wooden basin down there, immediately went over and lay down on the ground, hugging the old woman's legs tightly, crying loudly.
Seeing her like this, her stepmother was stunned. Yingxiang gave her a wink, and she immediately came over and hugged her, crying. Now the old lady couldn't leave even if she wanted to. Her stepmother was much stronger than Yingxiang, and she couldn't kick her away. Her face grew increasingly ugly.
The door was wide open, and since there were already quite a few curious people around, now most of them had gathered around.
The old lady wanted to leave but couldn't, and Yingxiang's father felt extremely ashamed.
He tried to pull his daughter and wife up, but it was no use.
"Cry louder, cry out all the things that old bastard did before, and you'll be fine in no time."
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yingxiang whispered a few words in her stepmother's ear, and she immediately did as she was told. These were eggs she had saved for a long time, eggs that she hadn't even let her own son eat.
The stepmother's crying and shouting had an effect; the old lady was biased to begin with, and even after the family was divided, she wouldn't let them live a peaceful life.
The old man was embarrassed and stormed off, even cursing at Yingxiang's father.
He was in a bad mood and immediately went back inside.
At this moment, Yingxiang's stepmother looked at her stepdaughter and realized that she had really changed. Before, she would only hide and would be scolded by that old woman until she cried every time.
The person is still the same person, and doesn't look much different.
She was initially angry about what happened during the day, but now, seeing a basket of eggs, her mood improved considerably.
This is absolutely true.
"Take it back and put it away. I won't eat it tonight."
After Yingxiang finished speaking, she went to her own kang (heated brick bed).
The villagers at the entrance had all dispersed, and there was no more excitement to watch.
Yingxiang woke up in the middle of the night because she was hungry. Her stepmother didn't ask her about her clothes. If she had, she would have said that she lost them and didn't catch them when she was washing clothes.
They're at the age where they need to eat, and they burn calories quickly.
She took the opportunity to sneak into the kitchen and, by the moonlight, secretly made herself two poached eggs.
After eating and drinking her fill, she went back to her room to sleep.
The next day, the stepmother remembered that the clothes were missing, which made her so angry that she wanted to hit her. She ran out crying.
Yingxiang's father frowned. He didn't really care about these things and took his sons to the fields.
Yingxiang's stepmother felt as if she had swallowed a bitter pill. She went to the kitchen to count her precious eggs and found that two were missing. She immediately shouted angrily.
But the person is not here.
By the stream, Yingxiang looked at the clean, clear water and felt a pang of emotion.
"Sister wants to go back? When can we go back?"
After a long while, there was still no response. She sighed, and as the sun rose, she went home for dinner.
She doesn't like to eat wild vegetables.
Not long after I returned to my room, a few words suddenly popped into my mind.
"Hello host, the sign-in system has been activated. You will receive a reward for signing in on time starting today."
She was taken aback, then sat on the bed and silently recited a check-in message.
The next second, she had a meat floss bread in her hand. She ate it in a few bites and almost cried.
"I'll sign in every day, so you'd better give me more food."
She fell asleep again shortly after she finished reciting the words.
A few days later, her wet nurse came again, this time with money. The stepmother was almost driven crazy by it.
When he saw Yingxiang come out, he subconsciously glanced at her.
Yingxiang walked up to the old lady, and before the old lady could scold her, she immediately lay down.
The way to deal with a rogue is to be even more rogue than her.
She started crying right away, rolling around in tears, and precisely stopped the old lady.
The old lady looked at her and was about to hit her when Yingxiang snatched the money bag from her hand.
"Look at your good daughter, she's even robbing money."
Yingxiang's stepmother felt a pang of anxiety.
Yingxiang gave her a look, signaling her to cry too.
Yingxiang opened the door, and her adoptive father, who had intended to come over, stopped when he saw this scene.
In his heart, he did not approve of his mother's behavior, as his family was not doing so well to begin with, but out of filial piety, he dared not directly rebel.
Yingxiang had been here for a few days and knew her father to some extent. He wasn't a completely bad person, but he wasn't exactly a good one either.
But money isn't like an egg.
The old lady cursed angrily and had no choice but to leave. Yingxiang breathed a sigh of relief, then walked up to her adoptive father and handed him the money bag.
"We can't even make a living ourselves, so let's take care of our own families first. If I don't grow tall, don't eat well, and can't have children or get married, you can kill me. All those years of raising me will have been for nothing, and I won't get a single penny of the bride price."
“If your son can’t get married in the future, life will be even harder.”
Knowing what they cared about, the villagers were all poor. Yingxiang's father didn't beat her because he was afraid that if something happened to her in the future, she wouldn't be able to get married, which would be terrible. The family didn't have any extra money to hire a doctor for her.
Once the money bag was in his hands, Yingxiang's father didn't say anything, but sighed repeatedly, while Yingxiang's stepmother breathed a sigh of relief.
If this money is taken away, then the past two years of hard work will have been for nothing.
This girl is quite something now, but it's good that she didn't take the money; she still needs it to help her son get married in the future.
After several unsuccessful attempts, Yingxiang's grandmother stopped coming. She herself secretly ate food, and she didn't skimp on cooking either. Later, her stepmother forbade her from entering the kitchen, so she didn't have to do laundry or cook. The housework was reduced by more than half, and the remaining tasks were easy, which she could still do.
With the daily sign-in rewards, mostly food, she gradually raised it, and it grew taller and its body began to develop.
When she had nothing to do, she would go to the intelligence center at the village entrance and establish the image of her stepmother as a good person. In this way, she lived peacefully here for two years.
That afternoon
Daliucun
Old Man Wen and Mrs. Liu glared angrily at their third son, and the weather was somewhat gloomy.
"Go away. If you leave, don't ever come back. Your mother and I will pretend we never had you."
Wen Shi was young, but very stubborn.
He wanted to rely on himself, not his older brother. Wen Chuanzong was also unreliable. He was dark and thin, and after packing two clothes, he resolutely left the house, ignoring his father's curses behind him.
Later, when Wen Chuanzong was getting married, he didn't come back.
In town, he first earned money by doing manual labor to support himself, and slowly saved money. Later, he found a school and began to study.
Another four or five years have passed.
In recent years, he has rarely gone back home, except for the Chinese New Year. But he doesn't regret coming out; he just feels fortunate that he can still rely on himself in the end.
Once he learns to read and write, he won't need to do much manual labor to earn money; he can earn more by copying books.
After some time, his family arranged a marriage for him and asked him to go back and get married first.
He also said that this family had a relative who was an official in the county government. He didn't know if it was true or not, but he was getting on in years and couldn't afford to delay too much. He was not young anymore.
Even though his elder brother was already a scholar, Wen Shi believed in himself and thought he would pass the imperial examination sooner or later.
"Third brother, the girl your father asked you to meet is from the same village as your second sister-in-law, Xiaoliu Village. That girl is quite capable."
On the way back, Wen Shi didn't say much.
At Yingxiang's home, after listening to her father's explanation, Yingxiang ultimately did not refuse.
This is a good opportunity right now. If we take a gamble, things might get better in the future. When the opportunity comes, we should seize it. Scholars are indeed better off than ordinary farmers.
There are many brothers in the family, but these days, only children don't exist anymore.
On the fifth day of the third month of that year, she got married in a bridal sedan chair and moved to Daliu Village. She still had some expectations for the future.
Author's note: This is the last extra chapter, marking the end of the entire story.
There will be a giveaway after the series concludes. If you win, you will receive a private message. Thank you all for your continued support.
My darlings, I'm planning to start this project, mainly focusing on the next generation of the Wen family, with Leqian and Xinxin as the main characters. Please use your lucky hands to help me by adding it to your favorites. Data is very important. Just click on the author's page and add it to your favorites. Love you all.
Daily Life at Home
When Shen Chu was three years old, her mother insisted on divorce and remarriage, and her father remarried. From then on, her status in the Shen family plummeted.
Fortunately, her grandmother took pity on her and took her in, raising her with great care.
When she was fourteen, her grandmother passed away, and she had to make a living under her stepmother's care.
When she turned eighteen, her father, who had always treated her coldly, suddenly called her to his side and solemnly told her that he had found her a good marriage.
“I’ve heard of this man. He’s a talented young man and comes from an official family. His family is mostly composed of scholars. If you marry into the family, you must behave yourself and not bring shame to the Shen family.”
And so, she married into the Wen family.
Fortunately, her husband's family was very nice. Her husband was busy with government affairs and was diligent and ambitious. Her elders were not arrogant or difficult and were very tolerant of her.
Later, she even lived a better life than her sister who married into a wealthy family.
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