Chapter 326: Wait and See

Chapter 326: Chapter 326: Wait and See

Lunch was another big pot of stew, just enough to get by.

In the afternoon, the head chef hired from the neighboring village arrived early with his tools to inspect the site. He was quite pleased to see that the stove had been built and all the ingredients were ready.

He brought an apprentice to assist him, but they still needed more help.

After some discussion, they decided to follow the same arrangement as last year’s housewarming banquet. Aunt Wang and Aunt Gao would wash the vegetables, Sixth Sister-in-law Feng and Second Sister-in-law Xu would chop them, and the apprentice would be in charge of plating.

Ji Mingfang and Hu Dacheng, who had taken the day off, were in charge of tending the stove. The task of serving the dishes was given to Shi Yong and Ji Liansong.

Hu Liang was responsible for greeting guests in the front courtyard, while Ji Xuelan was to accompany the bride, Ji Huan.

As for Widow Xie, she wasn’t planning to show her face on the wedding day, afraid she might bring bad luck to Ji Huan.

Ji Huan couldn’t care less about such silly superstitions. Knowing she couldn’t reason with the widow, she resorted to a pity play.

She lamented that Mrs. Wei couldn’t be there to see her get married, and now even Widow Xie refused to watch her wed.

After she said that, how could Widow Xie possibly refuse?

With every detail arranged, everyone returned to their own homes to carry over tables and stools, borrowing from neighbors if they didn’t have enough.

With such a great commotion, it was impossible not to attract attention.

In the span of a single afternoon, the news spread like wildfire through more than half the village—

Ji Huan was getting married! No, wait, she was taking a husband into her family!

The first reaction for many people upon hearing the news was, "For real? Why so sudden?"

Still unable to believe it after asking around, they went in groups to find the village chief.

He always knew which families were marrying off their sons or daughters.

The village chief was cornered by a crowd on the road. He knew there was no point in being evasive; the wedding was tomorrow, and everyone would find out then anyway, so he didn’t hide anything.

"She is indeed taking a husband."

"Heavens, so it’s really true..."

Someone else quickly asked who she was marrying. Which village was he from? What did his family do? And why would he be so reckless?

The village chief, Meng, said, "Do you all remember that beggar who ended up at our village entrance at the beginning of the year? It’s him."

The crowd’s jaws dropped.

"How is that possible? Village Chief, you must be joking, right?"

"Exactly! No matter how... desperate Ji Huan is, she wouldn’t stoop to someone like that..."

"I remember he was a cripple, couldn’t even walk. What’s he going to do after marrying into the family? Is she doing charity work?"

"More than that, I think there was something wrong with his head too."

"Could she have been provoked by something? Song Jing just married the Academic Administrator’s daughter, and now she’s rushing to get married right after..."

"What’s that got to do with Song Jing? Didn’t she look down on him?"

"Who can say for sure..."

The speculations ran wild.

When everyone first heard the news, they all thought the man must have been reckless.

After all, Ji Huan’s reputation as a jinx was still out there.

Even though her life had been getting better over the past year, and the families close to her were also doing well and hadn’t been "jinxed," that only proved she wasn’t a jinx to everyone.

Her reputation for jinxing her six closest relations had been personally confirmed by the old Ji Family. Just because she didn’t jinx her neighbors and friends didn’t mean she wouldn’t jinx her own husband and future children.

Sharing a bed with her day in and day out, he could lose his life at any moment. The very thought sent shivers down their spines.

And that was without even considering factors like her being a female-headed household and him marrying into it.

That’s why everyone was so desperate to know which unlucky soul it was.

But when they heard with their own ears who the groom was, the crowd was dumbfounded.

Some were in disbelief, while others were skeptical.

But how could this be a joking matter? Especially since it came from the village chief’s own mouth.

Then it must be true.

After all that, the unlucky one turned out to be Ji Huan!

Just then, someone hit the nail on the head, pointing out the key issue.

"Hey? Didn’t that beggar leave our village? We haven’t seen him for a long time. How could he suddenly..."

"No way. Could it be that Ji Huan has been keeping him all this time?"

"It’s not impossible. Don’t you remember? That time Dabao was almost kidnapped, I heard it was the beggar who saved him."

"Nonsense! He was clearly a cripple. How could he save anyone?"

"I’m not sure about the details. I just ran into someone coming down from the mountain that night, and that’s what they said..."

"Forget about whether he saved him or not. Do you think the beggar has been living at Ji Huan’s place all these months?"

"Oh my! A single man and a single woman... doesn’t that mean they’ve already..."

Hearing this, Village Chief Meng quickly raised his hand to quiet the crowd.

"You’re all wrong. The beggar never left. The reason you haven’t seen him is that I settled him in Dabao’s grandfather’s old earthen hut. As the village chief, how could I turn a blind eye to a displaced person at our village entrance? And Ji Huan and he are not... ahem, involved in the improper way you’re thinking. I was the one who matchmade them."

This man, Village Chief Meng, wasn’t necessarily the most competent in his post, nor was he a hundred-percent saint.

But he did have a certain soft spot for Ji Huan.

He thought about how difficult it had been for an orphan girl like her to get to where she was today. He figured he should help where he could, which would also count as repaying a past favor.

Ji Huan had said Aunt Wang was the matchmaker, but Aunt Wang wasn’t nearly as convincing as he, the village chief, would be.

It was indeed very convincing, and the villagers did believe him.

But then they couldn’t understand it.

"Hey, Village Chief, that’s just despicable of you! What kind of match is this? Aren’t you just setting poor Wuan up for ruin?"

"Exactly! Even if her prospects aren’t great, if she looked in the deep mountains—the mountain folk have it even harder than us—it shouldn’t be hard to find an able-bodied young man willing to marry into her family. Why on earth would you introduce her to a beggar..."

Someone muttered under their breath, "Maybe he did it on purpose. After all, Ji Huan did embarrass his nephew..."

"That’s true... Otherwise, why would a village chief, with nothing better to do, play matchmaker? Have you ever seen him make a match for anyone before?"

"If that’s really the case, then that’s just wicked. Forcing a cripple on her... Ji Huan will have to spend the rest of her life taking care of him... That’s not how you’re supposed to pull the red strings of fate..."

Village Chief Meng’s face turned green.

"He’s not a cripple! He was only like that because his injuries hadn’t healed. Now that he’s recovered, he can run and jump. He has nothing to do with being crippled. And Ji Huan isn’t a fool!"

The crowd remained skeptical.

It wasn’t that they doubted the beggar was no longer a cripple, but rather that even if he wasn’t, he was still a beggar!

To put it bluntly, they suspected Village Chief Meng of having impure motives and ill intentions, of playing tricks to harm a helpless orphan girl.

Village Chief Meng was about to cough up blood.

’I never would have imagined this!’ he thought. ’I finally take the initiative on something, only to end up shooting myself in the foot.’

’Is it too late for regrets now?’

"Ai! Just go and see for yourselves tomorrow. He’s really not a cripple..."

He waved his hand listlessly, not wanting to say anything more.

Even after walking a good distance, he could still hear their chattering behind him. He didn’t need to guess what they were discussing.

Village Chief Meng couldn’t be bothered with them anymore. ’Just wait until they see Guan Shan tomorrow...’

’This is bad!’ Village Chief Meng’s heart skipped a beat.

’When they see Guan Shan’s face tomorrow, won’t they be even more convinced I’m plotting something?’

Village Chief Meng stood motionless at his doorway, his eyes glazed over.

His little grandson ran over and asked, "Grandpa, why aren’t you coming in?"

Village Chief Meng said, "Grandson, Grandpa’s tired."

His grandson started pulling on him. "Then I’ll massage your legs for you."

Village Chief Meng patted his head. "Massaging my legs won’t help. It’s not my legs that are tired."

His grandson looked up and asked, "Then what part of you is tired?"

Village Chief Meng tapped his chest and let out a long, low sigh.

How else could he be tired? He was mentally drained.

Meanwhile, the two culprits responsible for his mental exhaustion were not only completely oblivious but also getting along in perfect harmony.