“Exactly! I saw it myself. Who knows what that lazy woman said Commander Song shoved her away right away. It made me so happy. Someone like her totally deserves it.”
At that moment, they noticed Qiao Yuwei. Their smiles froze instantly, caught red-handed talking behind her back.
Auntie Zhang, who had been silent the whole time, spoke first to break the awkwardness:
“Well, if it isn’t Qiao Yuwei. What are you doing with all those big bags?”
Before Qiao Yuwei could answer, Sister-in-law Zhao confidently cut in, her tone laced with mockery:
“What else could it be? She was probably kicked out by Commander Song and is packing her things in advance, ready to leave the compound anytime.”
“Someone as outstanding as Commander Song how did he end up marrying such a disaster? He should’ve kicked her out long ago,” a younger woman chimed in.
They had rushed through their banquet just to come back quickly, afraid of missing the moment when Commander Song would throw this lazy woman out.
Carrying two bags of trash, Qiao Yuwei tossed them straight into the garbage bin in front of them. With a sly smile, she deliberately said,
“You guessed wrong. While you were off at the banquet, I packed up everything at your doorways and threw it all away.”
Everyone was shocked.
“Oh no my cabbages are still by the door!”
“My melon seedlings…”
With just that one sentence, the group instantly panicked and ran back home in a frenzy, terrified that this troublemaker had really thrown away their belongings.
After all, if she dared to “snatch a husband,” what wouldn’t she dare to do?
Qiao Yuwei held back her laughter as she watched their flustered backs. Shaking her head with amusement, she thought with such “lovely” neighbors, she definitely wouldn’t be bored anytime soon.
After a whole day of hard work
Before sunset, Qiao Yuwei finally finished organizing everything. Looking at the now spotless room, her mood lifted considerably.
After resting for a while, she caught a whiff of the lingering stench on her body. She boiled a pot of hot water over firewood and took a long, satisfying bath, scrubbing herself several times before finally getting all the grime off.
After bathing
Standing in front of the mirror, Qiao Yuwei finally saw her true appearance clearly. Her skin was fair and smooth, and without the thick layer of cheap white makeup, her face looked delicate and refined. Her eyes were large, and her long lashes fluttered beautifully when she blinked.
Years of using heavy, low-quality cosmetics had left her skin dry and slightly yellow, but that wasn’t a problem. A few herbal face masks from the pharmacy would fix it quickly.
Nodding in satisfaction, she said,
“Not bad, not bad. The foundation is there. With proper care, I can definitely charm that cold-faced husband.”
She found one of the few clean outfits left by the original owner a faded white shirt and black work pants. Though old-fashioned, it was far better than that gaudy red wedding dress.
Grrr~
After a full day of work, her stomach began to protest.
In her memory, Song Zhinian used to bring food back from the canteen and leave it at the door. But today perhaps because he truly intended to divorce her the steps outside were completely empty.
This man was really ruthless, cutting off her food supply to force her to give up. But she was a woman of the 21st century give up?
Absolutely not!!
She rummaged through the kitchen shelves and finally found a small handful of noodles only to realize that more than half had been gnawed away by rats.
She searched her pockets, even turning them inside out, but didn’t find a single coin.
The original owner had spent all of Song Zhinian’s allowance on Lin Sen’s medical bills, leaving herself no backup at all.
“Well, guess I’m not eating.”
In the heat of midsummer, it wasn’t cold. Without blankets, she simply lay down on the wooden bed and fell asleep.
Early the next morning, just as dawn broke, Qiao Yuwei got up.
After a night’s rest, she felt refreshed. The wound on her knee had already scabbed over, and having been hungry for so long, she no longer even felt hunger.
Looking again at the still-empty doorstep, she decided if she didn’t want to starve to death, she’d return to her old profession from her previous life: farming.
Relying on others was worse than relying on herself “self-sufficiency brings abundance.”
She dug out a hoe and a sickle from the storage room, registered them briefly, then hoisted them over her shoulder and headed for the back hill.
By the time she reached the wasteland, several early-rising women were already watering their vegetable plots nearby. Seeing Qiao Yuwei carrying a hoe, they were stunned, then quickly gathered together, chattering among themselves.
“Isn’t that the lazy woman? I heard from my husband that Commander Song has already submitted a divorce report. Didn’t she pack her things yesterday? What’s she doing with a hoe now? Don’t tell me she’s going to farm?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. With how lazy she is, she can barely hold a broom farming? I bet she’s just putting on a show because she’s afraid of being kicked out.”
Qiao Yuwei didn’t argue back. She simply gave them a polite smile and walked toward a patch of empty land nearby.
Seeing that she didn’t respond, Auntie Zhang called out kindly:
“Hey, you don’t be fooled by how big that land looks. The weeds there are taller than people. Nothing grows there. Don’t waste your effort.”
From her experience in her previous life, Qiao Yuwei knew that land indeed wasn’t ideal for planting. But all the nearby plots had already been claimed. To find another spot, she’d have to go two kilometers farther.
Two kilometers didn’t sound far, but it was all mountain terrain and far from water that would be far more troublesome. This plot might not be good now, but it was close to water. With proper techniques, it could definitely be improved.
Seeing she still didn’t respond, Sister-in-law Li said unhappily:
“Why bother reminding her? Let her suffer a bit maybe she’ll stop causing trouble in the compound.”
Sister-in-law Li had the biggest grudge against her. Once, when she and Auntie Zhang tried to help clean her house, Qiao Yuwei had splashed slop at their door. She couldn’t stand her now.
“She’ll lose interest in no time. I bet she won’t last.”
Qiao Yuwei set down her hoe. Knowing these women were sharp-tongued but kind-hearted, she didn’t get angry. Turning back to them, she said:
“Thank you for the advice, sisters. I still want to give it a try. If I manage to grow anything, I’ll bring some over for you to taste first.”
After that, she ignored their gazes, picked up the sickle, walked to the edge of the land, and began clearing weeds.
…When did Qiao Yuwei change?
In the past, she would’ve already started yelling at them. Now she was being polite and even thanking them, making them feel like they were the unreasonable ones.
Could it be that Commander Song’s divorce report had affected her that much?
No there must be some scheme. They didn’t believe this lazy woman could change so drastically.
Just then
A naked little boy came running toward them, crying loudly and wiping his tears.
Sister-in-law Li looked up and saw Datou running over bare-bottomed and bawling. She was instantly furious:
“Didn’t I tell you to play with mud nearby? Did you sneak off to the stream in the ravine to swim again?”
Auntie Zhang rolled up her sleeves, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and leaned on her hoe, teasing him on purpose:
“Did Datou get into a fight with our Xiao Hu and lose? Is that why you’re crying?”
At the mention of Huzi, Datou cried even louder:
“Huzi… Huzi, he…”