“Mom, what did Xu Feng say?”
The moment Xu Qiang thought about Lin Xixue’s appearance and figure, a wave of desire surged in his heart. But when he saw his mother’s gloomy expression, his hopes immediately sank.
“Xu Feng agreed.”
As soon as he heard that, Xu Qiang jumped up in excitement. “Really?!”
Unlike his joy, his two younger brothers looked gloomy. Why did all the good things have to go to the eldest brother? They were not young anymore either—it was time for them to get married too. And they had seen Lin Xiyue before. Who wouldn’t be jealous of such a woman?
“Her dead husband owed 133 yuan. If you’re capable enough to pay off that debt, you can take her home.”
That one sentence immediately extinguished Xu Qiang’s excitement. Even if he sold the entire house, it wouldn’t be worth 133 yuan. If he had 50 yuan on him, he would’ve already found a wife.
Meanwhile, the two younger brothers looked gleeful as soon as they heard their mother say that. Misery loves company—if no one could have her, that would be fair.
“Sigh, I thought Xu Feng had grown greedy and wanted both sisters for himself. Turns out she’s a worthless burden no one wants. Don’t bother thinking about her, son. I’ll find someone better for you in a few days!”
…
“A’Feng, do you really think Sister is a burden?”
After dinner, Lin Xixue took the initiative to clean up the dishes. Lin Xiyue, who was pregnant, wanted to help but was stopped by her sister.
“What do you think, wife? Your man doesn’t even have enough time to love the two of you. I said that on purpose just now, because I was worried the villagers would start gossiping about you sisters living with me.”
The villagers would only think like Aunt Li did, that the sister was a worthless burden who owed 133 yuan. Xu Feng wouldn’t be troubled by that. If it weren’t for his sister-in-law, he would have long ignored everything.
But he wasn’t worried about people calling the sisters shameless for living with the same man. Gossip was a powerful weapon, especially in a village like this. Some things could be done, but not spoken of.
Lin Xiyue wasn’t stupid—she immediately understood what he meant. Xu Feng hadn’t spoken loudly, but in a house like this, there was no such thing as soundproofing.
Washing dishes in the kitchen, Lin Xixue was touched and felt guilty for the thoughts she had earlier.
“But what about the 133 yuan? We don’t even have a single coin.”
As she spoke, Xiyue felt heartache over the meat they had eaten for lunch. If they hadn’t eaten it, they could’ve saved some money.
“Don’t worry, wife. If your man can’t even handle this, how is he supposed to take care of both of you?”
Not to mention the System—just considering the value of the sisters, that little bit of money was nothing.
Thinking of the Lin family behind the sisters, Xu Feng suddenly realized something deadly. When the Lin family came looking, he and his wife’s broken relationship would have already turned into one full of affection, and Lin Xixue might even be involved.
But the problem was—would the powerful Lin family look favorably on a poor guy like him? Not to mention both daughters had already been with him. That was something they definitely couldn’t tolerate.
Even if he wouldn’t end up dead like in his past life, the Lin family would never allow him to keep the sisters.
With that thought, Xu Feng’s desire to earn money burned even more intensely.
After tidying up, Xu Feng carried his wife to the bedroom for a nap. Lin Xixue slept in the room next door.
“Wife, let’s finish what we didn’t last time!”
Last time, things had been interrupted by the mountain guard, and they’d been busy ever since. Now, looking at his beautiful and kind wife, how could Xu Feng not be tempted?
“Stop it, it’s daytime.”
Xu Feng’s touch made Xiyue’s body ticklish, and with the room being so bright, she felt too embarrassed.
“Besides, Sister is right next door…”
The mud walls could block wind and vision, but as for soundproofing—they might as well not exist.
“If nothing changes, she’ll be living next door for good. Are we supposed to stop being intimate forever?”
Xu Feng didn’t give her a chance to refuse—his hands were already undoing her buttons.
Seeing she couldn’t resist him, Lin Xiyue blushed and whispered, “Just keep your voice down…”
“Alright!”
That was the line Xu Feng had been waiting for. As for keeping quiet—he wouldn’t be thinking about that in a moment anyway.
They were going to be together for the rest of their lives. Even if she heard—so what?
“Wife, I love you!”
…
Selling deer skin and deer penis wouldn’t get them much money. The real profit lay in the food stored in the System space. But exchanging that for cash might risk being accused of speculation and profiteering. So the only option was the black market.
There was no black market in the village. To get to one in the capital, he’d have to wait for tomorrow morning’s bus.
Even then, he’d have to wait until nightfall—and if his luck was bad, he might not even find the black market that day.
All in all, the round trip would take at least until the day after tomorrow.
“Is Xu Feng home?!”
It was Qin Zhenguo from the neighboring village. His loud voice woke Lin Xiyue, who had just fallen asleep.
Hearing that familiar voice, Lin Xiyue frantically signaled Xu Feng not to answer.
Ever since the widowed Wang’s husband died from eating peanuts, Xu Feng had been hanging around with that man. She was afraid Xu Feng would follow the same bad path again.
“Trust me, wife. If I ever become that kind of man again, you two don’t need to do anything—I’ll chop my own hand off.”
Knowing exactly what his wife was worried about, Xu Feng made a firm vow.
He had just been wondering how to get into the city, and now someone with a bicycle had come.
Seeing the sincerity in her husband’s eyes and remembering his behavior over the past few days, Lin Xiyue decided to trust him.
“I’ll go see who it is. Wait for me.”
Seeing his wife’s face glowing with joy, Xu Feng couldn’t help but kiss her before stepping out.
“You brat, shutting the door so tightly in broad daylight—what, making babies again?”
Qin Zhenguo craned his neck, looking around as if he could see through the mud walls to where Lin Xiyue was lying on the bed.
At this time, even people in the city didn’t all own bicycles. So one could imagine how valuable Qin Zhenguo’s second-hand bicycle was in the countryside.
By all logic, a guy like him wouldn’t hang around a poor man like Xu Feng—unless he was eyeing Xu Feng’s wife.
He often gave Xu Feng small favors, but behind his back, he was always scheming.
Once, he even lent Xu Feng money to go gambling, hoping to trap him and take his wife as collateral.
But Xu Feng had made up an excuse and used the money to buy liquor instead.
Qin Zhenguo clearly hadn’t given up. Now he was back, trying to lure Xu Feng to the capital again.
Knowing this two-faced bastard was eyeing his wife, Xu Feng immediately blocked his line of sight.
“Just had lunch, and was taking a nap.”
Xu Feng didn’t cut ties—this guy might still be useful.
Qin Zhenguo didn’t notice Xu Feng’s change in tone. His mind was still on Lin Xiyue.
“Let’s go. I got some cash again. Let’s head to the capital and have some fun—find a brothel with a half-closed door.”