The Village Chief paused the motion of tapping his pipe against the sole of his foot, glancing at Tang Intellectual Youth who had just arrived in the countryside yesterday, then looking at Jiang Manman standing nearby.
The house at the west end of the village had previously been the site of a violent death involving a family of three, so the villagers all avoided that area.
It was understandable if Tang Intellectual Youth didn’t know about this, but Old Jiang’s second daughter couldn’t possibly be unaware.
The Village Chief hesitated, his gaze falling on the bag of items Manman had brought.
The Village Chief’s wife had already inspected the contents earlier. Seeing him look over, she silently mouthed to him that it contained white rice.
The Village Chief cleared his throat lightly.
“Well, Tang Intellectual Youth, the Tang family happened to come by earlier to discuss that house as well. What do you think—”
“Tang Intellectual Youth? Tang Intellectual Youth!”
Tang Intellectual Youth was currently staring blankly at Jiang Manman and the Tangxin Tangyuan following beside her.
He only snapped out of it after the Village Chief called his name twice.
“Ah, Village Chief, what did you say just now?”
The Village Chief’s mouth twitched slightly, but his attitude toward this Tang Intellectual Youth remained amiable.
“I said that this member of the Tang family also came by earlier about the house at the west end. What do you think?”
Jiang Manman looked at this Educated Youth surnamed Tang, then at the two children beside her. Truth be told, they did bear some resemblance.
Hearing the Village Chief’s words, Tang Yumin was momentarily stunned. He glanced at Jiang Manman and said to the Village Chief:
“In that case, I won’t take the house at the west end. Village Chief, please build me a new house instead! Just tell me how much it’ll cost.”
Listening to his bold tone, the Village Chief’s eyebrows lifted almost imperceptibly.
“Building a new house would probably cost around eighty to a hundred yuan.”
Tang Yumin nodded.
“No problem, Village Chief, please organize the villagers to build it for me right away! I’ll give you a hundred yuan upfront—just let me know if it’s not enough.”
As he spoke, he took ten large-denomination bills from his pocket.
The original Jiang Manman had seen one or two of these large bills before, but the newly transmigrated Jiang Manman had never laid eyes on them.
In this era, ten large bills were no small sum. For him to produce them so readily was certainly extravagant.
Seeing his generosity, the Village Chief didn’t hesitate and immediately made a decision:
“Alright then, tomorrow I’ll organize the villagers to build your house.”
He then turned to Jiang Manman and said:
“In that case, you can move into the house at the west end. Just one thing—you know the place has a troubled history, so if anything unfortunate happens, we won’t be held responsible. Also, since you’ll be living there, and we’re all from the same village, the rent will be twenty work points per month. It can’t be easy raising two children alone—have you ever considered remarrying?”
Jiang Manman knew that “remarrying” was what he meant by “starting another family.”
“No, thank you for your concern, Village Chief. We’ll head back now and move in tomorrow. As for the work points, you can deduct them from Old Wang’s share later.”
“Very well!”
With her business concluded, Jiang Manman turned to leave with the two children.
Not far from the Village Chief’s house, the Educated Youth surnamed Tang caught up with her.
The seventeen- or eighteen-year-old lad called out to her after catching up:
“Um, comrade, fellow villager, wait a moment.”
Jiang Manman stopped and turned to look at him. The young man had a long face, straight eyebrows, and phoenix eyes. Though he couldn’t compare to those in the World of Cultivation whose features were refined by spiritual energy, he could still be called a handsome lad.
In the village at dusk, before it grew dark, families were sitting outside with their bowls, enjoying the cool evening air while eating.
As she was stopped, some people craned their necks to look in their direction.
“What’s the matter?”
Tang Yumin glanced at Tangxin Tangyuan again, then turned his gaze to Jiang Manman. Suddenly, he slapped his own forehead and said:
“Oh right, right! Um, may I ask your surname, fellow villager?”
“Jiang!”
Jiang Manman didn’t understand what was wrong with this person when she heard him immediately follow up with another question:
“Jiang? Which Jiang? Comrade, don’t you think these two children look somewhat like me?”
Jiang Manman’s originally indifferent face instantly darkened.
What nonsense about looking like him?
In the original body’s memories, the children’s father wasn’t this guy.
Perhaps sensing the cold aura around Jiang Manman, Tang Yumin quickly explained:
“Don’t misunderstand, don’t misunderstand! I mean these two children bear some resemblance to me. Not that I—I mean I look somewhat like my Third Uncle. And your surname is Jiang. My Third Uncle, my Third Uncle is named Tang Changsheng. Do you remember him?”
At this, Jiang Manman’s face completely darkened.
Wasn’t that original body’s scumbag man exactly named Tang Changsheng?
So this guy was actually related to the original body’s man?
“I don’t remember. You’ve got the wrong person.”
After speaking, Jiang Manman tried to leave with the two children again.
Tang Yumin quickly stepped forward to block her path, his previously smiling face now showing anger:
“These two children look exactly like carbon copies of my Third Uncle, and you claim you don’t know him? I think you found out my Third Uncle broke his leg and decided to climb to a higher branch instead, not wanting to acknowledge him anymore? I never expected you to be that kind of woman. If not for my Third Uncle’s mobility issues, he would have come long ago to take the children back to the Tang family.”
Jiang Manman rolled her eyes as the two little ones rushed forward, positioning themselves in front of her, glaring fiercely at Tang Yumin:
“Don’t bully our mom!”
“Go away, bad person!”
Tang Yumin immediately put on a smiling face toward the children:
“I’m not a bad person, I’m your cousin! Do you want a daddy?”
While Jiang Manman darkly contemplated his words, Tang Yuan looked up at her and shook his head:
“Don’t want daddy. Having daddy makes mommy sad!”
Tang Xin whispered:
“I want a daddy. They all have daddies, I want a daddy too.”
Tang Yumin snorted coldly at Jiang Manman, then turned and squat down to coax the children gently:
“I know where your daddy is. It’s getting late now, but tomorrow I’ll write to the city and have your daddy come get you, okay?”
The children’s eyes sparkled, and they unconsciously nodded before catching themselves and shaking their heads, both looking up at Jiang Manman simultaneously.
Their pitiful expressions made Jiang Manman’s mouth twitch as she asked him:
“You just said I knew your Third Uncle broke his leg? But he left without a trace. How would I know about his broken leg? How ridiculous!”
Tang Yumin stood up, looking at her with suspicion:
“You claim you didn’t know? My Third Uncle wrote you many letters—are you saying you never received them?”
Jiang Manman thought about it—the original body truly hadn’t received a single letter. How strange!
“No, I didn’t receive even one!”
Tang Yumin looked surprised, yet somewhat distrustful of the woman before him.
His mother had said the more beautiful a woman was, the better she lied. Was this woman deceiving him?
“How is that possible? To my knowledge, my Third Uncle wrote seven or eight letters. You say you didn’t receive any—then where are the letters?”
“Just you wait, I’m going to the brigade tomorrow to check. Whether it’s letters or telegrams, they all have to go through the brigade. I’ll know if you’re lying once I ask!”