With the entrance to Zhangjia Village just a short distance away, the lingering emotions of the original owner made it difficult for Ji Xiaoxiao to take another step. Her once calm heart began to stir with turmoil, and Ji Xiaoxiao knew it was the influence of the original owner's remaining feelings.
With each step Ji Xiaoxiao took, her heart sank a little deeper. Reaching the village entrance, no matter how much Ji Xiaoxiao tried to rouse her body, it remained firmly rooted to the spot, unmoved.
Ji Xiaoxiao knew that the original owner's feelings stemmed from guilt towards the people of Zhangjia Village; she was hesitant to act due to the trepidation of returning home. Left with no other choice, Ji Xiaoxiao followed the original owner's emotions. With a dull thud, Ji Xiaoxiao realized her knee was numb.
Mr. and Mrs. Zhang were flustered and tried to pull Ji Xiaoxiao up, but Ji Xiaoxiao refused righteously, saying, "Dad, Mom, I'm sorry to the villagers. Please let me kneel down so I can feel better."
Mr. and Mrs. Zhang knew exactly what had happened from their daughter's words; they were just heartbroken.
Of all professions, only studying is noble. Zhang's parents were happy and gratified that their daughter was studying and had achieved good results, but they were also constantly worried about her tuition fees.
When their daughter was admitted to university, achieving the highest score in the province, Zhang's parents were overjoyed but also overwhelmed with helplessness. In their most vulnerable moment, it was the villagers who stepped forward to help. They chipped in, one cent here, one cent there, until they had enough for their daughter's tuition. Their daughter knew all about these acts. The image of her, grateful and true to her roots, vowing to dedicate herself to her hometown, remains vivid in Zhang's parents' minds.
Plans never keep up with changes. For the sake of a man, their daughter forgot her responsibilities and vows in the blink of an eye. Zhang's parents were heartbroken and disappointed in their daughter, but they couldn't bear to see her heartbroken, so they had no choice but to reluctantly marry her off. The villagers had a lot of complaints about this. "If you don't make a promise, we won't have any expectations. You swore an oath to heaven, but you went back on your word. Where do you stand with us?"
As the saying goes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
A few white clouds drifted lazily across the sky, and the sun shone languidly on the earth, seemingly without any energy.
Ji Xiaoxiao remained kneeling on the ground, her clothes soaked with sweat. Having just suffered a miscarriage, her body, which had been carefully recuperating for a long time, couldn't withstand Ji Xiaoxiao's exertions.
Mr. and Mrs. Zhang were so anxious they were jumping up and down, but their daughter was determined and they couldn't persuade her otherwise.
After waiting and waiting, the village chief of Zhangjia Village arrived with a large group of villagers. Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, Ji Xiaoxiao kowtowed heavily to the ground. She performed three resounding kowtows with utmost care.
Ji Xiaoxiao's eyes were red, her face was covered in dust, and her tears and sweat mixed together, making her look ugly but also touching. "Uncle and Auntie, I'm sorry."
Without saying much, after the tears flowed, Ji Xiaoxiao felt that the remaining emotions of the original owner in her body had finally disappeared.
A child who knows their mistakes and is still loved is considered a good child; this is how older generations have always treated children.
Ji Xiaoxiao was helped up by the village chief. Looking at Ji Xiaoxiao with affection, the village chief, who was over fifty years old, said with tears streaming down his face, "Xiaoxiao, I won't say anything more. I know you're a good person. Sigh, you're not fully recovered yet. Hurry up and go to my house. Your aunt has made chicken soup and is waiting for you."
Ji Xiaoxiao went to the village chief's house for soup before returning home to rest.
Lying in bed, Ji Xiaoxiao recalled the events of the original owner of the body.
After being falsely accused by Wang Da'an, the villagers, prejudiced against the disrespectful original owner, pointed fingers and gossiped. The original owner, believing himself to be virtuous, thought that the innocent would remain innocent and the guilty would remain guilty. To Zhang's parents, he simply said, "I didn't do it," and ignored everyone else.
Rural people can be described as simple and honest, or they can be described as ignorant; the difference lies only in the words used, the meaning remains the same. If you don't stop it, the rumors will spread and snowball, until the original owner couldn't bear it anymore and married a widower, reaping what she sowed. The original owner had many grievances; if it weren't for those gossipy people, she, a college student, would never have married a widower with children. It wasn't until the deaths of Zhang's parents that the original owner came to her senses.
The original owner, now crippled, learned of his parents' deaths a month later. Fortunately, the villagers helped him, preventing his parents from being abandoned in the wilderness, homeless and destitute. The original owner was deeply grateful for the villagers' kindness, vowing to repay them in the next life if he could not do so in this one.
There is no such thing as indifferent good or bad in this world. The original owner betrayed the villagers first, so it's no wonder they didn't care about him. If you're good to me, I'll be good to you; human nature is actually quite simple.
The original owner only realized this truth on his deathbed.
The original owner of this body clearly didn't harbor much desire for revenge against Li Lanhua and Wang Da'an. What she cared about most were her parents, her fellow villagers, and the development of her hometown. Ji Xiaoxiao had a clear sense of right and wrong, knowing exactly what to do and how to do it well.
With a clear direction and a plan, the mind naturally finds peace, and Ji Xiaoxiao thus slept soundly without any dreams.
Afterwards, Ji Xiaoxiao temporarily put aside her affairs with Li Lanhua and devoted herself wholeheartedly to the great cause of contributing to the development of her hometown. Having surveyed the entire village, she found Zhangjia Village to have a good geographical location and relatively abundant resources. However, implementing Ji Xiaoxiao's series of plans required a large amount of capital. And unfortunately, in such a remote rural area, what was most lacking was precisely this glittering cash.
After much thought, she had no other choice. Ji Xiaoxiao lost several pounds in the process of working for the development of the village.
Just when she was at her wit's end, Ji Xiaoxiao remembered that in the original owner's memories, the entire country had suddenly experienced a complete cooling down in recent years, and this had been the case for several years in a row.
The temperature dropped, people needed clothes, and making warm clothes required cotton. As a result, the market demand for cotton surged. No one had anticipated several consecutive years of harsh winters, leading to a cotton shortage and persistently high prices.
If Zhangjia Village seizes this opportunity and dares to work hard, it will surely make a fortune.
Without hesitation, Ji Xiaoxiao organized the villagers and shared her ideas with them, including the future weather forecast. Everyone had witnessed and remembered Ji Xiaoxiao's recent efforts for the village's development, and the villagers gradually forgave her.
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