Chapter 45: Ruthless
“Going to work, Sister-in-law Luo Xia?”
“Mm, digging for some wild vegetables.”
“Don’t work too hard, the sun is a bit harsh today.”
“I know, I’ll be careful. Many thanks, Auntie.”
Under the big tree at the entrance of the village, a group of people were chatting.
Everyone who passed by would be commented on.
Watching the receding figure of Qin Luoxia.
Everyone chimed in: “Jiang the Second really married well. His wife is so capable, incredibly hardworking.”
“And she has a good temper, never getting into arguments with anyone.”
“Her disposition is good too.”
“If you ask me, her disposition is too good, too soft.”
“It’s not soft, it’s stupid. That big house in the county seat—if it were me, I’d go make a scene, cry, and throw a tantrum. I’d definitely get something out of it.”
“Pfft, those wealthy, influential families are deep waters. What do you know?”
“I heard Jiang the Second was kicked out of his family because he poisoned his father to death~”
“Hiss, no way. Jiang the Second isn’t that kind of person.”
“It’s just hearsay, mind you. They say his father was very ill, and Jiang the Second accidentally knocked over his father’s medicine. Then, not understanding any better as a child, he replaced it with something else. As soon as his father drank it, he breathed his last.”
“Ah~”
“Hiss~”
There were many versions of rumors about Jiang the Second in the village; this was just one of them.
The main thing was that Jiang the Second was originally a young master from a wealthy family, but ended up just as miserable as them, if not more so. After all, Jiang the Second couldn’t do anything—he couldn’t farm, couldn’t carry manure, and couldn’t chop down trees. A person like that would starve to death.
However, Jiang the Second had studied, and the villagers still had a natural respect for educated people.
Moreover, at first, they thought there was no grudge between a Mother and son that couldn’t be resolved overnight; who knew, maybe Jiang the Second would return to the big mansion someday.
As for Qin Luoxia, an outsider and orphan, being able to marry Jiang the Second, the crowd was also a bit jealous.
In the village, well, people say all sorts of things.
But after so many years, with Jiang the Second having children and finding work just like them, they got used to it. They would tease Jiang the Second and make snide remarks behind his back, but they had also accepted them.
After all, Jiang the Second and Qin Luoxia were good people. Whenever someone in the village had trouble, they were always willing to lend a hand and help out.
Jiang the Second also knew a little medicine, so everyone would ask him to take a look when they had a headache or fever.
Jiang the Second didn’t take money; he would just tell them how to get the herbs.
The couple had a very good reputation in the village.
At this moment, hearing this version, the crowd was amazed, but few believed it.
And someone even came out to debunk the rumor.
The tipsy Jiexi, who was leaning against the big tree, cursed: “Nonsense! In those wealthy, influential families, there are countless maids and servants. A child knocking over medicine and replacing it for the patient to drink without anyone noticing? It sounds like a lie the moment you hear it.”
The crowd’s attention turned to Jiexi.
Jiexi was also a well-known figure in the village.
He was also an outsider who came as a refugee.
As it turned out, his Mother had abandoned him here while fleeing from famine and ran off with another group of refugees.
The villagers pitied him, and he was clever, helping out with work here and there to get by.
He stumbled his way into adulthood.
After he grew up, the villagers certainly wouldn’t support him anymore; he had sound hands and feet, so he had to work for himself.
But Jiexi happened to be lazy. He would work just enough to get food, never doing a bit more.
He didn’t look for a wife either. At his age, he was considered an idler in the village.
He didn’t have any bad habits like stealing, but once he was full and had a drink, he loved to sing, and he actually sang quite well.
Everyone would tease him, telling a grown man like him that he might as well go sing for a living.
Of course, telling someone to sing for a living was an insult. Although the villagers were poor, they still looked down on those who sang for a living.
Jiexi went his own way, with messy hair, spending his days eating, drinking, and lying under the tree, and sleeping in some dilapidated shack at night.
When he spoke up to debunk the rumor, others laughed at him again.
“Jiexi, you refugee, what do you know about wealthy, influential families? You’ve never even stepped foot into one.”
“Jiexi, if you ask me, drink less, save some money, and getting a wife is what matters…”
Jiexi waved his hand, annoyed by the noise, and stumbled away.
His hair was messy, his beard was messy, his clothes were messy, and his figure was staggering.
The crowd burst into laughter.
Amidst the laughter, a young woman whispered: “Jiexi would probably look quite handsome if he cleaned himself up.”
“He County.”
“He County.”
“He County is not far.”
After Qin Luoxia left the village, her pace became faster and faster.
Her shadow stumbled, unable to keep up with her body.
She held her breath and ran all the way to He County.
She had thought it all through last night, thinking for the whole night about which route was the fastest so she could make it back in time to breastfeed.
As she approached He County, there were gradually more signs of human life.
The sun was scorching, but there were still people farming in the fields.
He County was clearly more prosperous than their place; the fields were flat and fertile.
The water sources were abundant.
Qin Luoxia disguised herself as a farm woman, wrapping a cloth around her head so that her face couldn’t be seen from the front.
She walked with her head down and shoulders hunched, looking a bit timid.
Apparently, the news that The Peddler and his wife were Kidnappers hadn’t spread here yet.
The county seat of He County was large, and the surrounding area was prosperous. The county seat itself was clearly much wealthier, with streets twice as wide.
Qin Luoxia wandered around the county seat, and finally squatted in a corner, gnawing on a dry steamed bun, bite by bite.
The corner where she was squatting was opposite a brothel, the kind of crude establishment.
During the day, the door opened occasionally.
A young woman, disheveled, numbly opened and closed the door.
Occasionally, sounds of beating, scolding, and crying came from inside.
“You thousand-man-ridden bitch, you dare to sneak food? If you dare to eat one more bite of the bun, I’ll break your legs today!”
“Even if you’re dying of illness, you better spread your legs for me. Do you think you’re still a young lady from a wealthy family?”
Qin Luoxia squatted under the wall, swallowing the bun bite by bite.
She had no water, and the bun made her eyes ache as she choked it down.
Perhaps because Qin Luoxia had been squatting there for too long, a man came out from inside to chase her away.
“Where did this beggar come from? This isn’t a place for you. Get lost!”
The man raised his foot to kick her.
Qin Luoxia rolled away before he could land the kick.
Looking disheveled, she stumbled away in a panic.
After leaving that place, Qin Luoxia found her way to the entrance of an alley. She placed her basket in front of her, pretending to be there to sell herbs.
There were a few children playing in the alley.
Among them was a chubby child, who looked very sturdy with fleshy cheeks and arms, but he seemed to be mentally slow. The other children bullied him from time to time, and the new, good-quality fabric clothes he wore quickly got dirty.
The fat child didn’t know how to dodge, and when hit, he would just giggle foolishly.
When he laughed, he looked exactly like the Little Peddler.
His face was almost identical.
The Little Peddler had a dwarf’s body.
The fat child was not; his body was healthy, he was just mentally slow.
Qin Luoxia could imagine how ecstatic a dwarf would be if he could father a healthy baby boy.
The children were playing and fighting, while adults were chatting nearby, looking accustomed to it all.
The fat child didn’t know he was being bullied; he thought he was playing well with the other children and kept crowding around them.
As a result, one child couldn’t control his leg and kicked him in the back, knocking the fat child to the ground, sending him flying quite a distance.
An old woman cracking melon seeds by the wall shouted: “Stop hitting him! If you hit him again, his father will come back and catch you to sell you off!”
The alley always used this to scare the children. At first, the children were afraid—after all, a dwarf was a bit scary—but after being scared so many times, they weren’t afraid anymore and ran off giggling.
The old woman didn’t come to help the little fat child up either; she just continued chatting with others. She was hired to look after the fat child, and she was used to it.
Children bumping and scraping was normal, especially for a slow one.
The fat child was kicked right in front of Qin Luoxia.
The other children continued playing.
The old woman was chatting with people in the corner, fanning herself to cool off.
The little fatty was truly fat; his elbows were chubby, his fingers were round with dimples. It was clear he was well-fed; without meat, you couldn’t raise such a fat child.
Qin Luoxia helped the fallen fat child up and gently patted the dust off him.
Qin Luoxia’s touch was very light.
Seeing that he had bumped himself and his nose was bleeding.
She gently wiped it for him.
Perhaps because she was also sturdy, she looked a bit like his Mother.
The little fatty smiled foolishly.
While smiling, he drooled.
“Mother, want to eat, yummy.”
