"My Sijia was also hit by her."
The brigade leader shot a sharp glance at her. "Do you have something to say?"
Old Lady Li turned and slapped her again. "Shut up, stop embarrassing us."
Turning back to the brigade leader, she smiled and said, "Brigade leader, rest assured, we have no objections."
"I'll bring you the money later."
The brigade leader nodded, then walked away with his hands clasped behind his back.
Scanning the crowd of onlookers, he angrily said, "What are you all gathered here for? Have you finished your tasks?"
At the brigade leader's words, everyone immediately scattered like birds and beasts.
After everyone left, Sun Hongmei glared fiercely at Aunt Cuihua. "You just wait."
Aunt Cuihua curled her lips smugly. "What can you do? Just because your Song family has sons, you think I'm afraid of you? Come at me if you dare."
Sun Hongmei choked back her words, nearly forgetting that this old hag alone had five sons, not to mention the other branches of her family. Even her grandsons were old enough to fight.
In terms of numbers, the old Song family really couldn't compete.
Aunt Cuihua lifted her chin and swaggered away with an arrogant stride.
Song Sijia cried out, "Why? I think the brigade leader is biased. Everyone knows Song Siyi is about to become his daughter-in-law."
Old Lady Li poked her forehead, exasperated. "Can't you just behave? If the brigade leader hears this, what will he think of our Song family?"
Ruan Lihua rolled her eyes hard. "Sijia, you should really calm down. Look at what you've done to the Song family. I think you've been spoiled rotten and don't know your place."
Eldest cousin Song Yu reached out to pull her. "Say less."
Ruan Lihua shook off his hand. "What did I say? You all treat her like a treasure and Siyi like dirt. Even a clay figure has some temper."
"Don't just pick on one person. If it weren't for her, Song Sijia, would the family have so many problems?"
Ruan Lihua snorted coldly and walked away, not caring what expressions they wore.
The others also looked at Song Sijia with a hint of resentment.
Song Sijia was stunned. What had she done wrong?
Why was everyone blaming her?
It was all that little bitch Song Siyi's fault. She had been reborn—shouldn't they all be on her side?
Xie Jingzhou carried Song Siyi and quickly ran toward the Health Clinic.
Song Siyi secretly opened her eyes a slit. Seeing no one around, she finally opened them fully.
She patted Xie Jingzhou. "You can put me down. I'm fine."
With Xie Jingzhou's military-trained alertness, it was impossible for him not to have noticed she was fainting.
The moment he picked her up, her entire body had stiffened.
Xie Jingzhou didn't let go. He said, "You fainted in front of so many people. You should still go to the Health Clinic to get checked. Otherwise, if someone sees you, who knows what they'll say."
Song Siyi couldn't find fault with his words and even thought they made sense.
"Well… alright."
Now that she wasn't pretending to faint, the atmosphere became awkward.
Song Siyi cleared her throat. "Um, you saw how I hit people. Since we're not married yet, if you think this marriage isn't suitable, it's still not too late to call it off."
Upon hearing this, Xie Jingzhou slowed his pace slightly. "I won't call it off. On the contrary, I think you're great."
"You weren't wrong to fight back, but next time, protect yourself first."
"If they bully you again, you can come to me. I'll help you deal with them."
Xie Jingzhou spoke earnestly, but Song Siyi was utterly astonished.
Didn't he find her behavior utterly embarrassing?
She glanced up at Xie Jingzhou. The man had sharp, well-defined features—sword-like brows and starry eyes, with deep, bright pupils that shone like brilliant stars in the night sky, radiant and captivating.
He appeared spirited and dignified, exuding a unique charm.
His wheat-toned skin was visible through his army-green short-sleeved shirt, hinting at the firm, powerful muscles hidden beneath the fabric.
No wonder Song Sijia had boasted about this marriage arrangement every day in her past life—she must have been drawn to his striking appearance.
If Xie Jingzhou hadn’t been injured, Song Sijia would never have agreed to the exchange marriage.
With every place Song Siyi’s gaze swept over, Xie Jingzhou’s muscles tensed slightly.
Under her intense stare, he felt rather awkward.
Fortunately, they soon arrived at the Health Clinic.
After her injury was treated, Xie Jingzhou escorted Song Siyi back to the Song household, insisting she not return to work.
Song Siyi thought it made sense—since she was about to marry, any work points she earned would only benefit the Song family anyway.
So when Xie Jingzhou offered to help with her tasks, she flatly refused.
When Song Siyi returned home, Song Sijia was already there, glaring at her venomously.
Tiedan even ran up and kicked Song Siyi in the calf, but Song Siyi grabbed him by the collar and spun him around.
Tiedan slapped at her hand, shouting, "You… you bad person! How dare you hit my sister? I’ll beat you to death!"
He didn’t dare call her a "money-wasting burden" this time. Song Siyi tossed him toward Song Sijia and said coldly, "Don’t bother me, or I’ll beat you up."
Tiedan crashed into Song Sijia, knocking her to the ground. She accidentally aggravated her injury again, grimacing in pain.
By the time the two of them tried to confront Song Siyi, her bedroom door was already shut.
Song Siyi’s room was spacious enough. When the house was built, she was the only one in their branch of the family, and her only request was to have a room to herself.
Over the years, Song Sijia had asked several times to move in but was always refused.
This was her territory, and she certainly wasn’t going to give it up.
Once she confirmed the door was securely closed, Song Siyi slipped into her space.
She drew some Spirit Spring Water and drank several mouthfuls in a row.
As soon as the water entered her mouth, the pain in her body immediately lessened—the effect was instant.
Within moments, a foul odor emanated from Song Siyi’s body. Her pores seemed to open like floodgates, releasing a thick, sludge-like substance that oozed out.
Even though this was her second time experiencing it, Song Siyi still couldn’t stand the stench and gagged involuntarily.
She rushed into the bathroom as quickly as possible.
It was her own fault for drinking too much at once.
It wasn’t until forty minutes later that Song Siyi emerged from the bathroom, feeling fresh and clean.
She looked at herself in the mirror. Even after just one dose of Spirit Spring Water, her skin had become at least ten times fairer.
Her hair was no longer as dry as before, and even her hands had turned fair, delicate, and slender, with the thick calluses reduced to a faint layer.
The change was indeed too rapid, so she quickly fetched some makeup to conceal it slightly.
After tossing her dirty clothes into the washing machine, Song Siyi pushed open the back door of the villa. Behind it lay endless spirit fields.
In her previous life, she had built her fortune by cultivating in this space, and she certainly couldn’t neglect it in this lifetime.
Fortunately, time in the space flowed ten times faster than outside, so even if she stayed longer inside, no one would notice.
Song Siyi went to the warehouse to gather various seeds.
Rice, wheat, corn, tomatoes, greens, peppers—whatever Song Siyi could see, she planted them all.