Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 589: Chapter 306: A Couple at Ease (Part 2)

It pained He to watch, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop Juhua. All she could do was continuously rub the spots on the rooster where the feathers had been plucked.

Juhua, meanwhile, quickened her pace and said, "Just a little longer, almost done... There!" She let out a long breath, clutching a handful of bright, gleaming feathers as she announced the end of the rooster’s torture. Hearing this, He immediately released the bird.

The rooster jumped to the ground and bolted for the front yard. It had clearly been tormented by Juhua—after all, wasn’t it a miserable fate to have a patch of its colorful coat plucked out for no reason? It even staggered as it ran, as if drunk, only steadying itself after covering a good distance.

Juhua watched with amusement, then called out to He before heading off to make breakfast.

For the past few days, the Zhang family had been fertilizing their carrot field. Zhang Dashuan and his son hauled shoulder-poles carrying load after load of collected chicken and duck manure mixed with plant ash, while He was in the field, applying it to the soil.

While she was busy, Liu’er’s mother walked past the edge of the field with a hoe on her shoulder and greeted He. "Huai Zi’s mother, putting down fertilizer?"

He hadn’t exchanged many words with the woman over the years, but she replied easily enough, "Aye! Just adding some manure to give the carrots a boost and help them grow faster. Are you off to do some weeding?"

Liu’er’s mother stopped and said with a wide smile, "That’s right. My Tie Zhu’s wife is pregnant, so she can’t do any heavy lifting. That leaves us old folks to look after the farm. *Sigh*, I was born for a life of hard work, never a day of rest all year! Why are you out here working, too? Oh! Don’t tell me... Juhua is pregnant as well? Hehe, in the blink of an eye, we’re all becoming grandmothers."

He’s expression darkened. "Juhua isn’t pregnant," she said, her voice heavy. "She’s still young. Besides, there’s plenty to do around the house, and we need someone to manage it, so she stays home. You’re very fortunate, though. You’ll be a grandmother soon."

Liu’er’s mother laughed, full of herself. "Oh, it’s still a ways off. The baby isn’t due until July or August of next year." Seeing that He had no intention of replying, she finally ambled away.

Just then, Zhang Dashuan arrived with another load of manure. He watched Liu’er’s mother’s retreating figure and asked He, puzzled, "What did that busybody want? Since when are you two so chummy, laughing and chatting like that?"

He cursed, "Chummy, my ass! That wretched woman. Tie Zhu’s wife is pregnant, so she had to come and flaunt it in my face. I was baffled at first; I thought she might have actually changed. But I should have known a leopard can’t change its spots. She deliberately asked if Juhua was pregnant. Is being pregnant really that amazing? Which daughter-in-law can’t have children? She’s always loved to show off, always has to be one step ahead. We’ll see if her daughter-in-law gives birth to a phoenix or something."

As she spoke, she angrily grabbed a handful of manure and slammed it onto the ground, knocking a nearby carrot sprout crooked.

Zhang Dashuan frowned. "Just ignore her from now on. Her family is nothing special, thank goodness. Liu’er’s marriage wasn’t exactly a grand affair, either. If it had been, that woman’s nose would be even higher in the air."

He pursed her lips. "Grand affair? Who knows what kind of life that girl is leading, as thin as she is now. Only her mother could still find something to smile about. If Liu’er were my daughter, I’d be losing sleep over it."

The couple exchanged a few more words on the matter, falling silent only when they saw Huai Zi approaching.

After breakfast, Juhua finished her chores, took a basket, and went to her family’s fields to gather some chestnut burs. Once home, she emptied the spiky burs in a corner of the courtyard, then brought over a small stool, set a small wicker tray beside her, and began to shuck them.

She was in the middle of her work when she heard the courtyard gate creak. She turned to see Huai Zi returning, a shoulder-pole with empty baskets across his back. She immediately dropped her clippers, hurried over, and asked solicitously, "Do you want to rest for a bit and have some water? Maybe a little something to eat?"

She knew physical labor made a person hungry fast, that feeling of an empty stomach and the urge to eat, which was why she asked.

A gentle look filled Huai Zi’s eyes as he smiled. "I’ll go load up the manure first. You can just pour some water and leave it for me to drink later. I won’t eat anything right now. The sooner I get this done, the better. We still have several more plots to cover."

Juhua nodded. Once he headed to the backyard, she went into the kitchen, poured warm water into a bamboo canteen, and took a few pumpkin cakes from a pot, placing them in a large bowl—they were simply mashed, cooked squash pan-fried in a little oil. When Huai Zi emerged carrying a full load of manure, she said to him, "Come sit and catch your breath. Have a cake to tide you over."

She gestured for him to set his pole down in the courtyard, then pulled him over to sit on the small stool under the plum tree and handed him the bamboo canteen.

Huai Zi tilted his head back and took several large gulps of water. After catching his breath, he looked at the bowl in her hands and chuckled. "I wasn’t even hungry, but the sight of these cakes has made me feel hungry all over again. You keep spoiling me like this. You’re making me more and more gluttonous."

Juhua gave a light laugh. Seeing the beads of sweat on his forehead, she pulled the handkerchief from her waist and gently wiped his brow. "It’s nothing fancy," she said. "Just have a couple to hold you over. We can have Father and Mother come back for some later, too."

She saw that his short shirt was soaked through with sweat again. His bare arms, tanned a deep reddish-brown, were rippling with firm, powerful muscles. Her heart ached for him, but she wasn’t one for dramatics and didn’t offer any empty platitudes. ’This is the life of a farming family,’ she thought. ’The only thing I can do is manage the household well, make sure they eat and drink their fill, and keep their spirits high.’

Huai Zi took a few more sips of water before handing the bamboo canteen back to her. He then took the chopsticks from her, picked up a pumpkin cake, and polished it off in two large bites, stuffing his mouth full.

Juhua quickly held out the bamboo canteen again, a worried look on her face as if she feared he might choke.

Huai Zi pressed his lips into a smile and shook his head at her. Seeing her gaze fixed on him with such concern, his heart softened. ’It’s always Juhua,’ he thought, ’treating me and my parents like we’re made of glass, terrified we’ll overwork ourselves. But are farmers really that delicate? We’ve always lived this way. Nobody ever stopped for snacks like this. At most, you’d chew on a piece of scorched rice if you got hungry.’

Suddenly, his gaze landed on the pile of chestnuts near the courtyard wall, and he began to laugh.

Juhua asked him, puzzled, what was so funny.

Huai Zi swallowed the last of his cake and said with a grin, "Seeing those chestnuts reminds me of when Hulu was being named. Your brother was dead set on calling his son Banli, but he ended up with Hulu instead. Honestly, I don’t think Banli sounds any better than Hulu. I have no idea why he was so fixated on that name in the beginning."

Juhua shot him a look. "What do you mean, *my* brother? Isn’t he your brother, too?"

Huai Zi laughed. "I’m just so used to calling him Qingmu. It’s hard to get used to calling him Brother."

He looked at Juhua and smiled without realizing it, thinking of all the wonderful names waiting for their own future sons and daughters. Qingmu’s experience with naming his son had proved Juhua right—it didn’t matter what the name was, as long as it fit the person, it would be a good one. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)