Chapter 181, exclusively published on Jinjiang Literature City during the Chinese New Year.
Just as the audience guessed, Zhang Gui's family was making trouble almost every day after the incident.
A minor argument every three days is considered mild; some people have a minor argument in the morning, a major argument at noon, and a chaotic, unrestful night.
Even after all this, Li Yuan'er never once went to the village chief to ask for a divorce from Zhang Gui.
Just as she said when she first started making a scene, she no longer has any family members on her mother's side, and her only support is her husband's family.
Li Yuan'er isn't the kind of person who's very independent and can make up her mind to live as a daughter-in-law; her son is still young.
If she were to divorce him, she would inevitably worry that Zhang Gui would marry a new wife who would then treat Zhang Xiaochuan as a thorn in her side and torment him.
Moreover, in ancient times, few women would actually consider divorce because of a minor argument.
After all the fuss, life still has to go on and on.
Perhaps it was precisely because she knew she had no other choice that Li Yuan'er couldn't swallow her anger and insisted on making a huge scene.
In the past, Zhang Gui and his wife, while not exactly loving, at least lived a harmonious life.
Zhang Gui used to be resistant to Su Ying's advances, perhaps because he knew Su Ying was just looking for a sucker.
But now, after making a foolish mistake and stealing food once, he has been trapped in a long period of endless criticism and being given the cold shoulder.
More than half a year later, Li Yuan'er's endless nagging finally wore down the Zhang family. Zhang Gui's guilt towards her, and his submissive attitude, finally gave in and began to fight back, giving Li Yuan'er attitude and using emotional abuse on her.
Some of the female relatives who were on good terms with Li Yuan'er couldn't stand it and privately advised her to simply divorce and establish a female household, but Li Yuan'er scolded them and drove them away.
The latter realized that continuing the commotion would only make his later life miserable, so he reconciled with Zhang Gui and they went back to being friends.
Not only did she never mention the affair again, but she also gave birth to a son for Zhang Gui not long after, and life seemed to have returned to its initial harmony.
However, this was the result much later.
The Zhang family is currently in a state of chaos.
At first, the neighbors would watch the spectacle, but after a while, they realized there wouldn't be any new developments, so they stopped watching.
The excitement wasn't limited to the Zhang family; everyone else's photos were just as good.
For example, those groups that were fawning over Lu Miaomiao, who were growing larger and larger, finally learned the truth that Lu Miaomiao was not a living person.
At first, they didn't actually believe it.
So, naturally, it was Lu Miaomiao's turn to perform again.
But constantly flipping her head was too unoriginal, so Lu Miaomiao took Lu Xuan's advice and changed her approach. In front of her admirer, she cracked her knuckles one by one, and finally dropped both hands.
The visual impact of fingers and wrists falling to the ground was outstanding. Several admirers fainted on the spot, and others ran away in fright.
When they later ran into each other on the street, the men turned and ran, fearing that Lu Miaomiao might rip their heads off at the slightest provocation.
Lu Miaomiao said: If you want to watch it, you can consider it.
"Hahahaha—" Zhang Chengming and the others who had been watching the whole thing slapped their thighs and burst into laughter: "Look at how anxious they are!"
"I knew they'd be scared away!"
"These cowards, weren't they so brave before? They were even exchanging threats and fighting over girls. Now they're all running faster than rabbits."
The young men, laughing, seemed to have forgotten how their legs went weak when they saw Lu Miaomiao's head-flipping technique on the day she first appeared, when Lu Qing paraded her through the village.
...
In stark contrast to the unfortunate fate of Lu Miaomiao's admirers, Wu Yang finally ushered in a day of happiness after suffering.
Although his chance to take things further was interrupted last time, what he said to Li Yue still had the desired effect.
After all, once your most secret thoughts have been revealed, what else is there to be upset about?
When she saw another woman expressing her affection for Wu Yang, Li Yue no longer pretended to be indifferent but chose to take the initiative. In the bustling processing shed, she wiped Wu Yang's sweat as he helped clean the fish, and fed him hot water, demonstrating with her actions that the two had a "close relationship".
Wu Yang was pleased with this and pressed his advantage by asking her, "When should I propose marriage?"
Wu Yang deliberately asked the question in public, and a woman who was interested in him was also present.
Li Yue's face flushed slightly, but she still tried to remain calm and said, "The New Year is almost here, let's wait until after the New Year."
Wu Yang smiled and said, "Okay."
To avoid any unforeseen complications, Wu Yang told his father that very day about proposing marriage to the Li family after the New Year, and asked his father to inform the village chief so that both families would be aware of the situation.
In this way, even if the two are not actually engaged, everyone in and around the village knows that their relationship is already set, and no one says anything when they are close.
Seeing his former comrades and sweethearts spending every day together, Chen Rong felt incredibly bitter.
On the way back from winter fishing, Chen Rong sat on the back of the sled, sighing repeatedly, "When will I be able to live such a good life?"
Liu Chun, who was standing next to him, said speechlessly, "If you also want to get married, just shout at the female workers' tent, and someone will definitely be willing to marry you."
Chen Rong pursed his lips, "I don't marry just anyone. I have someone in my heart."
Zhang Chengming, who was driving, said loudly, "If you want to marry Mr. Ji, you need to be patient. She comes from a much better background than us. She learned different things from a young age, and she is still breastfeeding her previous husband's child. There is no way she would want to remarry in the short term."
Before the catastrophe, if someone remarried just a few months after giving birth to her deceased husband's child, she would definitely be the subject of gossip and criticism.
Ji Xiuling's decision not to harshly reject Chen Rong was already a strong indication of her feelings.
Chen Rong opened his mouth; this was something he hadn't considered before.
After all, during the rainy season, Ji Xiuling had said that she didn't need a formal title and could just... cough.
But thinking about it carefully, he is going to spend his whole life with someone, so he should really try to consider things from Ji Xiuling's perspective.
“However, you still need to express your feelings.” Liu Chun reminded him, “There are quite a few female workers trying to please Aunt Chen lately. If Mr. Ji misunderstands that you are going to marry someone else, it will be even more difficult for you to win the heart of your beauty.”
Chen Rong's expression changed, and the thought of waiting a year that had just arisen was immediately suppressed. He said with a serious face, "Then I'll go and get engaged to her first. At worst, I can wait until she has completed her year of mourning before marrying her. That should be fine, right?"
According to custom, a wife should observe three years of mourning after her husband's death.
Ultimately, we are now in a period of catastrophe, so we don't really need to care too much about those old formalities.
Just wait a year until the child is weaned; that's enough to show your commitment.
Liu Chun joked, "You make it sound like if you went to propose marriage, Mr. Ji would definitely agree."
Chen Rong's face stiffened for a moment, and in a moment of impulsiveness, he blurted out, "If you don't agree, I'll just take her home!"
By this time, the group had returned to the village and got out of the car to walk towards the processing shed with their catch of fish.
No sooner had Chen Rong finished speaking than he noticed Ji Xiuling, who had just finished class, walking over. She had clearly heard his words.
Chen Rong: "!"
The young men of the hunting party, eager to stir up trouble, shouted at Ji Xiuling, "Mr. Ji, Chen Rong says he's going to take you home. What do you say?"
After more than a month of teaching, Ji Xiuling was no longer as reserved as she had been when she was first rescued. She didn't show any anger or embarrassment after being teased; she just glared at Chen Rong.
He hadn't even tried to propose marriage in person, so how did he know she wouldn't agree?
After their unpleasant parting last time, Chen Rong never openly showed anything. Even if she later came to her senses, did she, as a woman, have to take the initiative?
Chen Rong looked at Ji Xiuling, who glanced at him and then turned away, and felt a tingling sensation all over his body, as if he had been electrocuted.
He couldn't help but pull the person next to him to confirm: "Was she shy just now? She didn't get angry when I said that, so it means she's willing, right?"
Everyone was speechless.
shy?
Which eye saw that? How come they didn't notice?
However, Mr. Ji's reaction did not seem to be one of disgust.
The young men exchanged glances and sighed inwardly.
Besides Chen Rong, there were actually several men in the village who had feelings for Mr. Ji.
However, since Chen Rong saved the other party's life, he should have a greater advantage and therefore not take any action.
It seems that Mr. Ji is also interested in Chen Rong, and it looks like no one else has a chance.
Chen Rong didn't really care about other people's feedback.
He was certain that his judgment was correct, so he casually handed the spatial ring containing the fish catch to the others, saying, "You can take this to the village chief. I'm going to talk to my mother about proposing marriage!"
Liu Chun sighed helplessly, "Is it really necessary to be in such a hurry?"
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he thought about Ji Xiuling's conditions and realized that it was understandable to be in a hurry.
Inside the processing shed.
The aunties, who were busy cleaning up the fish, also saw what had just happened and teased Ji Xiuling, saying, "Mr. Ji, are you going to become a member of the Chen family from now on?"
Ji Xiuling's ears turned red, and she didn't say anything.
The aunts could probably guess her concerns and comforted her, saying, "It's not easy for us women to live a good life. When you have a choice, choose boldly and don't overthink it."
"That's right, what matters is how well you're doing, not what others think."
"People outside are struggling to survive right now; they're too busy taking care of themselves to care about other people's business."
Ji Xiuling thought about her life before encountering Yunlu Village, smiled with relief, and nodded, saying, "I understand."
She had lived a very conventional life for the first half of her life, but in the end, she almost lost both her child and her body.
One cannot live a life solely for the opinions and gossip of others.
It's time for her to live as she pleases for the rest of her life.
·
Inside the private school's dedicated training room.
A group of little brats were besieging several of Huo family soldiers' personal guards.
The younger players were responsible for diverting the coach's attention, while the older players, Li Miao, Lin Man, Zhang Dafu, Lu Chen, and Mei Xue, acted as the main attackers, launching attacks from different directions.
Don't let their young age of thirteen fool you; their strength is no less than that of an adult.
After undergoing extremely long and intensive special training with Lu Xuan using the blood-sucking vines some time ago, his reaction ability has been greatly improved.
Against Huo's army, which had real combat experience, the two sides fought back and forth for a time, making it quite a spectacle.
On the first day, when the guards invited them to give the kids a practical lesson, they almost suffered a small loss due to their negligence. After that, they learned their lesson and dared not underestimate these kids again, putting in at least six or seven tenths of their effort during training.
The same applies today.
The two sides fought for quite a while, until all the little ones were exhausted and could only lie on the ground panting heavily, marking the end of the practical lesson.
The guards secretly adjusted their breathing, while outwardly maintaining a nonchalant demeanor, and teased the little devils scattered on the ground, "You still have a lot to practice."
After a period of training, Xiong Dabao, whose figure had finally become less chubby, said unconvinced, "If Chenchen had used his special ability, we wouldn't have lost so easily."
As she spoke, she winked at Lu Chen.
Quick, show the coaches what's what!
The other children also looked at Lu Chen expectantly.
Lu Chen sighed as if he was in a difficult situation, and then quickly used his gravity ability to throw himself at the coaches.
The guards felt their bodies suddenly become heavy, and one of them stumbled and almost fell over before they were prepared.
Zhang Dafu's eyes lit up, but then he remembered that his special ability could only produce one or two ginger and garlic plants and could not be used on people, so he shook his head and sighed like a little adult.
Mei Xue was also a little disappointed.
Her special ability is poison. Brother Lu Xuan said that if she controls it well, she can not only poison people to death, but also cause them to become paralyzed or suffer excruciating pain.
Unfortunately, her control over her poison is still too poor; every time she uses it, it's a deadly toxin. Otherwise, it would definitely be very useful in controlling enemies.
The guards gritted their teeth and braced themselves, laughing and scolding Lu Chen, "What did your brother say? No superpowers allowed. Hurry up and put them away, or we'll tell on you."
Lu Chen chuckled twice, not daring to continue tormenting the coaches. He withdrew his superpower and quickly offered up a large pile of snacks before the coaches could deal with him.
"Coaches, you've worked hard. Here's some dried meat and crispy fish, as well as pork jerky, persimmon cakes, and dried fruit."
He not only shared it with the coaches, but also with other classmates who were a bit hungry after expending a lot of energy.
Soon, the group of kids stopped arguing with the coach and gathered around to pick out their favorite snacks and start eating them.
The dried meat and crispy fish were quite dry, so Li Kangbao and Zhang Dafu took the initiative to offer juice and milk tea to the others.
The guards watched with a mixture of envy and resentment.
These kids are really rich.
Not only can you eat snacks as much as you want, but everyone also gets a spatial ring!
The group was still holding a large pile of snacks that Lu Chen had given them.
"He who takes a man's money is bound to him; he who eats a man's food is bound to him." Having accepted Lu Chen's 'bribe,' the group couldn't very well punish him further. After exchanging glances, they silently began to eat as well.
Their living conditions have improved a bit, but they are not yet wealthy enough to buy a lot of expensive snacks with lots of ingredients.
The Lu family's snacks taste the best among all the families.
Whether it's beef jerky, pork jerky, or crispy fish, they all use many precious spices, making them not only delicious but also very filling.
The group ate and chatted.
Soldier A: "I heard that Lu Chen's level of immortal arts is not high at present, and his level is limited. However, Boss Lu can use higher-level abilities. I wonder what would happen if he used gravity to suppress us."
The title "Boss Lu" was adopted by them later.
Given the help Lu Xuan has given them, it would seem disrespectful for them to call him "Brother Lu" like the general.
Since everyone thought the other person ran a general store, they simply started calling him Boss Lu, and Lu Xuan didn't correct him when he heard it.
The second guard twitched his lips and said, "Why don't you know what would happen if you added several times or even ten times the weight in your own village?" Being flattened on the spot would be the least of your worries.
Soldier C: "Lu Chen is still young and can't compare to Boss Lu, but if he really uses immortal techniques in battle, he will have a great advantage."
The second guard said, "The other people in Yunlu Village who know magic are not bad either. They can control the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, and ice."
Soldier A sighed, "That's wonderful. I wish I could have such a special ability. My requirements aren't high; I'd be happy if I could just increase my speed or strength."
The others glanced at him sideways and said, "You wish."
Even if it's an enhancement of speed or strength, that's a celestial art. Can mortals like them just possess it as they please?
It is said that the villagers paid a considerable price to obtain the magical powers.
The villagers didn't say exactly how much, but it was certainly not something they could afford.
The guards didn't really expect to obtain the magic, and after a few words of reflection, they quickly changed the subject.
"I heard that the top-ranked kids in the previous monthly exams received a lot of reward food, which was more than the food we earned from our hard-earned winter fishing catch."
"I always heard people say that only those who study can succeed, but I never thought it would be the same after the disaster."
"It's only like this in Yunlu Village. Outside, a scholar who can't carry anything is useless. Haven't you heard the saying that scholars are useless in every way?"
"However, the courses taught in Yunlu Village are very practical. I used to get a headache whenever I encountered academies and heard all the classical Chinese phrases, but I can understand everything they teach here!"
The others nodded in agreement.
After they became coaches, they were also allowed to sit in on the classes.
In just a few days, he not only learned a lot of words, but also learned simple arithmetic.
The natural science class explaining the origin of the world broadened their horizons;
The first aid knowledge taught by Boss Lu in the survival class, which even the village doctor Lin listened to with rapt attention, surprised, excited, and made them beat their chests in regret.
If they had known these things when they were fighting, perhaps those comrades who were seriously wounded could have been saved!
They encountered Yunlu Village far too late!
But then I thought, if the disaster hadn't happened, Yunlu Village might not have taught these things in the private school.
Thinking of this, the guards could only sigh.
·
It's been a month and a half since we entered the extreme cold season. The temperature is -45 degrees Celsius, and there's heavy snow.
As the year draws to a close, the Huo family army of disaster victims, who had been busy for half a month and had earned a lot of supplies, finally left to go back and spend a reunion year with their surviving relatives.
The village is also busily preparing for the Spring Festival.
The women specially wore brightly colored clothes for the Spring Festival, including spring cleaning, making various fried foods for the New Year, shopping for New Year's goods at the grocery store, carving ancestral tablets, and preparing for ancestral worship.
The whole village was filled with a joyous atmosphere.
On New Year's Eve, Lu Xuan unusually took the initiative to let the audience make requests, and according to their wishes, he and his family prepared dozens of dishes together.
Any dish that Lu Xuan had at home and that his family had cooked before would be included in this dinner.
First, there are all kinds of hearty dishes made with chicken, duck, fish, beef, mutton, pork, deer, seafood and river delicacies, including braised, sweet and sour, honey-glazed, steamed and fried dishes.
There are also various stir-fried dishes, stewed dishes, cold dishes, and braised dishes;
The main dishes include rice, noodles, and rice noodles, as well as various kinds of steamed buns and dumplings, fried rice, mixed rice, noodles with minced meat sauce, beef noodles, scallion oil noodles, mushroom sauce noodles, hot and sour noodles...
There's also a giant fruit platter made up of different kinds of mutated fruits, as well as a glass of monkey wine per person and unlimited fruit wine.
Because viewers had proactively promoted their world's New Year celebrations to Xingbo, Lu Xuan's live stream reached its highest peak in online viewership when all the dishes were served.
The barrage of comments and the special effects of showering gifts were so dazzling that it was impossible to keep up.
The extravagant New Year's Eve dinner, exceeding all usual standards, left everyone, both inside and outside the live stream, thoroughly satisfied.
After dinner, Lu Xuan even found the electronic fireworks he had won in a silver blind box and set them off outside.
The dazzling fireworks lit up the snowy night sky for a full half hour, leaving the villagers, who had never seen anything like it before, amazed and delighted.
Miao Jinfeng exclaimed with admiration, "This is so beautiful!"
Li Tie also exclaimed, "I've lived half my life and never thought I'd see such beautiful fireworks."
Zhang Wende said, "I heard that people in the city set off fireworks during festivals. I wonder which is more beautiful, this or this."
Grandpa Zhang immediately said, "Ah Xuan's fireworks are definitely more beautiful. After all, these are the fireworks of immortals. How can mortals compare?"
The others nodded in agreement, "That's right!"
More importantly, during the disaster, they were all able to stay up together to watch the fireworks on New Year's Eve, which is a rare and precious thing.
Besides them, the Huo family army, which was not too far away, also saw the sky full of blooming flowers in the distance.
The disaster victims gathered in the warm, heated house, holding a New Year's Eve dinner filled with fish, meat, and vegetables, their eyes glistening with tears as they watched for a long, long time.
...
For the audience, the festivities have only just begun.
Late at night, taking advantage of the surge in viewership in his live stream, Lu Xuan held a grand giveaway, giving away 100,000 New Year's gifts in one go.
The gifts included grains, vegetables, fruits, various by-products, fresh fish, fish soup, gene evolution fluid... In short, they drew all the items that had been previously given away in the raffle.
In addition, many items drawn from blind boxes, as well as items purchased from the store that Star Alliance citizens can use, will be included in the prize list.
The audience, overwhelmed by the enormous surprise, nearly went crazy with joy.
[This is a real financial blow for the host today!]
[This is so much fun during the Lunar New Year!]
[Please, streamer, every day is like Chinese New Year from now on!]
Are you trying to bankrupt the streamer?
There's no need to focus solely on the Spring Festival. There were actually many ancient festivals, such as the Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Qixi Festival, Ghost Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Double Ninth Festival…
[Are you greedy, or are you just greedy?]
[Other festivals are one thing, but is the Ghost Festival for real?]
It's impossible to keep throwing gifts like this every time, but with the recycling function and the start of winter fishing, Lu Xuan has indeed been earning points much faster lately.
It wouldn't be bad to have more prize draws next holiday, but...
Lu Xuan: "I will try to give you as many useful items as possible, but whether you can draw them or not depends on your own luck."
Live stream viewers: !!!
Why bring up such hurtful things during the Chinese New Year?
One hundred thousand slots may sound like a lot, but drawing one hundred thousand from hundreds of millions of people still results in a remarkably low success rate.
Don't be fooled by the audience's seemingly excited expressions, as if they've all won the lottery; only they know who's crying behind the scenes.
However, such a large investment and the enthusiastic response from the audience brought Lu Xuan a huge return.
The number of online users increased by over 100 million in a single day, the number of fans increased by over 50 million, and gifts and points were collected in large quantities.
Including the gains from previous fish catches and raffles, as well as gift revenue, Lu Xuan's total online viewership reached 900 million, his fan base reached 250 million, and his points balance reached 300 million before the broadcast ended.
...
The first day of the Lunar New Year.
Lu Xuan took Lu Chen to the village chief's house early in the morning to pay New Year's respects to the Zhang family, and Lu Chen received quite a few red envelopes.
People usually had nowhere to spend their money, but back in the county town, each family had some cash on hand, which was just right for giving out red envelopes during the Spring Festival.
Afterwards, others took turns visiting the Lu family to offer New Year's greetings, and everyone was busy all morning.
During this time, Lu Xuan also sent a lot of holiday gifts to Huo's army. The gifts were not expensive, just some fried food, pastries and wine.
I discovered that a family owned a pastry shop when I was hiring female workers to prepare the fish, so I entrusted the pastry business to them.
That afternoon, Huo Tiankuo personally visited the Lu family to wish Lu Xuan a Happy New Year. He also mentioned a topic that he had hesitated about for many days, but finally decided to sound him out.
Regarding the gene evolution fluid.
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