Xujiazhuang has more men than women. It is located on the edge of the Changping mountainous area. There is little land and a small population. Women from surrounding villages and towns are unwilling to marry into Xujiazhuang and suffer hardship and hunger.
It once became a major difficulty for men in the village to find wives and have children.
This naturally led to unmarried men eyeing Xu Qi, a stunning beauty, and fierce competition among them.
Knowing the actual situation in the village, Xu Huizhen called her daughter Xu Jingli over, and together they gently patted Bao'er in Xu Qi's arms to analyze the problem: "I think you've misunderstood?"
Think about it, bringing back a Zheng Ya out of nowhere, a person of unknown identity.
If you get up early to hunt in the mountains and forests, lying prone to hunt, your clothes will definitely get all wrinkled and dirty.
"This proves that you two are improperly dressed, causing the men in the village to misunderstand that you are having an affair and become jealous..."
"Go to hell! Who cares about those barbarians? They're good for nothing, good for nothing, and they're jealous of me?" Xu Qi truly loathed those people.
He's incompetent and lazy, even when it comes to farming.
Hunting is even less feasible now.
However, when it comes to pursuing women and dating older women, everyone is eager to be the first.
Fortunately, in this era, getting too close to a woman and talking to her or touching her inappropriately was considered lewd, which made those men restrain themselves and dare not get too close to Xu Qi.
Otherwise, it would be a disastrous day for Xu Qi.
If all thirty-odd unmarried adult men in the village were to approach someone, chat for a moment, or even touch them, what would that be like?
The key problem is that there isn't a single ambitious man among them.
Xu Huizhen, knowing full well that Xu Qi was not interested, smiled and said, "You're so charming, you should be secretly happy."
"Dozens of men in the village are eyeing this, I'm so happy..."
"Get out of here! Your daughter is right here. Aren't you afraid of corrupting her by talking nonsense?" Xu Qi raised her hand and slapped him in annoyance, her mind in turmoil.
It is indeed a delightful thing to be remembered and admired by others.
This feeling of smug satisfaction, when it becomes excessive, turns into a wellspring of disgust, gushing forth relentlessly and almost drowning one.
Which woman doesn't dream of her Prince Charming winning her heart and living happily ever after?
When these two kinds of treatment overlap, it becomes something unattainable, and all you see are disgusting people, which is extremely annoying.
Xu Huizhen had worked in a small bar for five or six years and had seen all kinds of men. She had run off with someone else, taking her own man with her.
She endured the rest of her life alone, even giving birth to her child.
Now that my child is almost four years old, raising him alone has made me vulnerable to being spied on and subjected to blatant stares. This has unconsciously given me the ability to read people's eyes.
Now, understanding Xu Qi's distress at being spied on and harassed by the men in the manor, he shook his head and chuckled, "I'm not making this up!"
"As I see it, you've taken a liking to Zheng Ya, haven't you?"
"Pah, don't talk nonsense." Xu Qi panicked, for some reason, she couldn't forget Zheng Ya's voice and smile.
Especially when the men of the village humiliated her for having an affair with Zheng Ya, she secretly felt a sense of anticipation.
This made her feel very confused.
Seeing that her eyes were darting around and avoiding eye contact, Xu Huizhen suddenly realized: "You're doomed, I told you so!"
Don't deny it. If you didn't have feelings for Zheng Ya, you wouldn't have left Xu Family Village no matter how much the men in the village made a fuss.
Leaving Xujiazhuang proves you want a fresh start?
The fact that you changed your surname back to your original name when you came back proves that you're not looking back and have decided to start a new life!
So if you weren't interested in Zheng Ya, you wouldn't have done that?
Tell me, what is so special about Zheng Ya that caught your eye?
"Oh, is it that obvious?"
"How come I didn't know? And you made it sound so incredible, like it was true!" Xu Qi denied it to the death, her face flushed red, revealing her true thoughts.
This made Xu Huizhen extremely envious: "You should be secretly happy, right?"
Think about what my situation was like before and after my marriage?
Don't laugh at me, but just so I could have a hot meal every day, stop freezing and starving, and help my suffering family, I agreed to the tavern owner's request to marry his adopted son without really thinking it through.
Unfortunately, his adopted son was lazy and gluttonous. He fell in love with my cousin, and on the third day after our wedding night, he ran off to the countryside to find my cousin and eloped.
Having gone through this, I endured the humiliation and accepted it silently.
Fortunately, the old man left a will before he passed away, allowing me to inherit the tavern business.
Otherwise, what kind of person would I be, and how would I live?
I don't know how many scornful looks and gossips I've endured to get to this point.
Now that it's a public-private partnership, the public manager has taken over the tavern, which has given me some peace and quiet.
What do you think I'm after?
It's better for you to find someone you love, someone to look forward to and rely on, and a chance to make your dreams come true!
"That's much better than me being lonely and wasting my youth, isn't it?"
"Alright, don't be sad anymore. You'll find your other half eventually, unless you're too picky."
Otherwise, with all the people coming and going every day, it's impossible not to find someone you love." Xu Qi felt the same way when she saw her tear up.
The two women had different experiences, but both were surrounded by men and had similar circumstances.
It's truly distressing to be caught in this situation trying to make a living and still being harassed by others.
Even the desire for a stable and peaceful life is unattainable.
Perhaps this is the sin of being born handsome?
Xu Huizhen suppressed her sorrow and smiled sadly: "I wish I could."
But my true love hasn't appeared yet.
I envy you for finding your sweetheart. Perhaps you could bring her over to meet us sometime?
Let me see what kind of man stole away this celestial beauty!
"Don't give me that. I don't even know if we'll ever see each other again."
Besides, I came here to stay because I wanted you to help me take care of Bao'er so I could go into the mountains to hunt and raise my child.
"Don't you have the time to talk about love?" Xu Qi denied it outright, but in her heart she had another plan, not wanting to be looked down upon.
Being a village girl or a widow is something that people look down on.
If you don't strive for success in your career, don't expect others to look up to you.
She felt that Zheng Ya's gaze was initially very eager, but eventually became indifferent.
The biggest reason is Bao'er's appearance, and her status as a widow?
This puzzled Xu Huizhen, who said worriedly, "It's no problem for me to help you take care of Bao'er."
Anyway, I've finally got some free time now.
It's been over a year since the public-private partnership was established. The government manager has taken over the operation and management of the tavern and won't let me get involved.
I've been quite free lately, so I'll take the opportunity to help you take care of your baby.
"Are you sure you want to make a living by hunting and not go back to Xu Family Village?"
"My daughter and I settled in Xujiazhuang back then in search of medical treatment."
The old village chief took in my father and me back then, which was a great kindness to me. Over the years, I have helped the old village chief hunt to repay that kindness, and that is more than enough.
"The old village elder is too old to worry about me anymore?" Xu Qi didn't finish her sentence.
Actually, it was because the old village chief failed to suppress the unmarried men who caused trouble, which led to the whole village humiliating her, an outsider.
That was blatant pressure.
Is she being pressured to choose a man from among unmarried men?
This was something she couldn't accept; she had no choice but to leave.
Xu Huizhen sensed something in her eyes, which were filled with hidden hatred, and nodded, saying, "Alright, it's good that you've made your decision!"
Don't worry, even if you don't go hunting in the mountains, I can still support you and your daughter..."
"No way, I won't cause you any trouble. I'd be incredibly grateful if you'd let me stay at your place," Xu Qi said earnestly.
The two exchanged a smile and then started talking about Zheng Ya, making it a sleepless night...
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