Chapter 354 Rewards
Widow Village used to have a beautiful name: Pear Blossom Village.
There are about a hundred households in Lihua Village. Although there are not many villagers, they are all kind and simple, and it is common for them to leave their doors unlocked at night.
Fifteen years ago, a high-ranking official came to the county town and said that the river channel had changed course a hundred miles away, flooding many farms and fields. He urgently conscripted almost half of the labor force in Lihua Village to build the river embankment.
At first, they thought it was a good job. They could work for the court, eat their fill, and get paid. The key was that it wasn't the busy farming season, so they were free anyway. Why not take it?
But later, as obituaries were delivered to the village, all the villagers panicked.
This is not building a river embankment. This is clearly risking lives to fill the river, sacrificing these living people to the river god and begging for his forgiveness!
The villagers were filled with fear and anxiety, and the sound of crying could be heard in every household at night.
Those whose household laborers had died wept for their deceased husbands and fathers, while those whose household laborers had not yet been conscripted wept for their own impending death without a proper burial.
They also joined forces with people from several nearby villages to resist, but because the people of Lihua Village made the most trouble and suffered the most deaths, the heartless county government directly arrested all the able-bodied men of Lihua Village on the grounds of refusing to pay taxes and labor, leaving not a single copper coin for Lihua Village.
Even the village head, who was seventy years old and always had a smile on his face, was not spared and was also escorted to work on the river a hundred miles away.
After that departure, not a single able-bodied person from Pear Blossom Village returned.
The women and children of Lihua Village were heartbroken, but they never got to see their loved ones return home.
Thus, Pear Blossom Village became a veritable village of widows.
Among the widows in the village, the most unique one is Lady Ji.
Fifteen years ago, she was a newlywed who had been married for less than half a day and had not even consummated her marriage with her husband. When the county government came to arrest her, she went crazy trying to keep her husband. In doing so, she injured several constables. In the end, she still lost her husband forever.
For several years, Ji Niangzi lived in a daze until a passing scholar sought lodging at her place.
The scholar didn't mind that Lady Ji was an "inauspicious person" who had become a widow shortly after entering the family. He fell in love with Lady Ji at first sight, coaxed her into having sex with him, and promised to return to marry her after passing the imperial examination.
After that night, the scholar disappeared. As the days went by, Ji Niangzi's belly grew bigger and bigger, which was when the other people in the widow's village discovered her and almost drowned her in a pig cage.
It was Ji Niangzi's words that dissuaded the other widows, sisters-in-law, and aunts from having any ideas.
“I am a woman, and a woman who lost her husband on her first day of marriage. I can’t leave these mountains, or even leave this village. All I want is to have a child to rely on. Is that wrong?”
Madam Ji spoke with self-righteousness, as if she had planned it all along, deliberately wanting to use the scholar's seed to have a child of her own:
"Who cares who the father is? He was born from my womb, so he's my only child. From now on, he'll take my surname, Ji. I can't be bothered to find out who his father is..."
These words were undeniably shocking and unconventional.
In this world, where is there a child who has a mother but no father and doesn't get gossiped about?
Everyone advised her to abort the child as soon as possible, coaxing her that she would have trouble explaining herself if the men who repaired the river embankment came back later. But Madam Ji was determined to keep this child of her own blood.
Fifteen years have passed in the blink of an eye. Ji Niangzi's child, Ji Youtian, is now almost seven years old.
All of this was told to Qi Yuxuan by the women who did the laundry every morning.
That day they fell off a cliff, and Qi Jun protected her halfway. Her injuries only looked scary; in reality, none of her internal organs or bones were damaged. After a few days of rest, she was able to get out of bed.
However, not long after Qi Jun woke up that day, he went outside for a while to take care of her. He lost too much blood and had old injuries. He almost died from a high fever.
Qi Yuxuan was taking care of Qi Jun.
These past few days he's been in a semi-conscious state, sometimes sweating profusely and frowning, trapped in a nightmare; other times he has a fever, talking incoherently, and is delirious.
Qi Yuxuan fed him water and porridge every day and wiped his cheeks and palms. Ji Niangzi's son, Ji Youtian, helped treat his wounds and took him to the toilet.
After a few days of peace, Madam Ji chased them away.
She stood in the doorway with her arms crossed, her gaze fixed critically on Qi Yuxuan's face, her tone somewhat harsh:
"You two look so respectable, yet you've been staying here for days, eating at least ten pounds of food! And you haven't even offered any money."
“I cook only the finest new rice and noodles every day, which would cost ten or so coins a bushel outside. Plus, considering the life-saving grace I gave you two, it should be worth at least a hundred taels of silver!”
"Don't even think about getting a free meal. If I report you to the authorities, you two will be in deep trouble."
Qi Yuxuan did hope someone would report it to the authorities, but she had also learned that the nearest county government office was dozens of miles away, and it would take a whole day to make the round trip.
Judging from how Ji Niangzi leaves early and returns late, it doesn't seem like she'd be willing to spend two days reporting to the authorities.
When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Besides, this Lady Ji just has a few unpleasant words to say, but she's a good person.
Qi Yuxuan lowered her head and said meekly, "Thank you for your understanding, madam, about our stay here. My cousin is still unconscious and unable to move. It's really not that we want to stay here."
"As for the silver, I remember that when I fell, the jewelry and jade pendant I was wearing were worth at least several hundred taels of silver. Since Madam Ji has taken all our belongings, how about we use them as a token of our gratitude?"
Madam Ji's expression turned unnatural for a moment: "I've never seen any jewelry or jade pendants. That cliff is so high, and there are so many dead trees growing out of it. Those things are all hanging up there. Don't try to deny it!"
Qi Yuxuan: "Putting everything else aside, the clothes I'm wearing are made of Shu brocade. Even though they're quite torn, they shouldn't be completely ruined. If I take them to a pawnshop, they could fetch several dozen taels of silver..."
Before she could finish speaking, Lady Ji hurriedly interrupted her:
"Who said it wasn't completely destroyed?! It was so tattered, I would have thrown it away long ago. This doesn't count, this doesn't count! What are you talking about? I want solid cash! Everything else is irrelevant!"
Ji Niangzi changed her posture to stand at the door with her hands on her hips, her eyebrows raised, and the two red patches of sunburn on her cheeks became more and more obvious.
"If you can't come up with the money, then tomorrow I'll beat you to death with sticks, gag you, and sell you off!"
Qi Yuxuan pursed her lips, taken aback by her firm stance.
"Madam Ji, how about this: I'll teach A-Tian to read and write, and that will temporarily cover our food expenses for the next few days?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com