When Xu Huaiyi turned and left in a daze, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. After he exited the main house, not a single person inside made a sound, and naturally, no one stopped him.
If he wanted to leave, he could just leave!
Silence meant tacit approval.
Li Qiuhua, who had been hiding beneath the window eavesdropping, watched his retreating figure enter the west wing. Imagining the sorrowful emotions he must be feeling at that moment, she rushed back to her own room in excitement. As soon as she entered, she couldn’t wait to say, “Husband, we misjudged him before! Third Brother—do you know what kind of person Third Brother really is? Good heavens! What ‘quiet gourd,’ what ‘couldn’t squeeze a word out with three strikes’—his mouth rattled on like frying beans! Even our mother was left speechless by him…”
Xu Huaili couldn’t stand her exaggerated fussing. Frowning, he scolded, “Speak properly! What exactly happened?”
Li Qiuhua patted her chest, took a few deep breaths, and then recounted the entire incident from start to finish in detail, even mimicking Xu Huaiyi’s tone vividly.
After listening, Xu Huaili spat and sneered, “I told you—the dog that bites doesn’t bark. Born from the same mother, how could he be a fool?”
Li Qiuhua was still in a state of disbelief and shock. “Was he really pretending all along?”
Xu Huaili raised an eyebrow and retorted, “What else? Can a person change overnight?”
Li Qiuhua was puzzled. “Then why did he pretend before? What good did pretending to be honest and simple bring him? Anyone could step on him and bully him; all the dirty and tiring chores in the house fell on him. Even the disgrace of becoming a live-in son-in-law—something that would make him lose face for life—landed on his head. If he was pretending, he must have been after something, right?”
Xu Huaili frowned, deep in thought.
Li Qiuhua didn’t dare disturb him, staring at him nervously.
After a long while, Xu Huaili suddenly slapped his thigh. “I’ve got it! He must have been after the Gu Family!”
“What? What’s there to gain from the Gu Family?” Li Qiuhua curled her lip. “Even if there’s silver or books, Mother has them all in her hands. What could he possibly get? Was he after the title of live-in son-in-law? Being pointed at and looked down upon everywhere—there’s no hope for him in this lifetime…”
Xu Huaili stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe the Gu Family is hiding something valuable that we don’t know about.”
Li Qiuhua wasn’t convinced. “Is that possible?”
Xu Huaili glared. “From now on, just keep an eye on things. The rest is men’s business.”
Li Qiuhua hurriedly agreed meekly.
In the RV, Gu Huanxi was half-lying on the bed, holding a pen and jotting something down in her notebook while pondering. Xu Huaiyi suddenly appeared, interrupting her train of thought.
“What did they want with you?”
“Wife, it’s done!”
They spoke at the same time. Seeing his excited, triumphant expression—his eyebrows practically flying to the sky—Gu Huanxi found it both amusing and curious. “What’s done? Did you manage to squeeze some silver out of the Xu Family?”
Xu Huaiyi sat beside her, grinning foolishly. “Even better than squeezing out silver! Wife, guess again! Be bold and guess something good!”
Gu Huanxi thought for a moment, her eyes lighting up. “We can move out?”
Xu Huaiyi nodded with a smile. “Surprised? Shocked?”
“Surprised, shocked, but…” After the initial excitement, Gu Huanxi began to worry. “You didn’t bring it up yourself, did you? Did you have a falling out with them? Did it come to blows?”
Xu Huaiyi raised his chin proudly. “No, I outsmarted them.”
Gu Huanxi was half-convinced, half-skeptical.
Xu Huaiyi recounted the events that had just taken place in the main house with all the flair of a storyteller, complete with vivid expressions and gestures. In the end, he wore a look of eager anticipation, asking, "Darling, what do you think of my clever maneuvering?"
Gu Huanxi applauded appreciatively and sighed with admiration, "Three days apart, and one must look at you with new eyes. Your acting was convincing enough to even outdo Granny Zhao. It truly is… chaotic fists can defeat a seasoned master."
Xu Huaiyi grew even more smug. "All those palace dramas I watched with you weren't for nothing, after all."
Gu Huanxi sighed softly, "Sometimes fools have the best luck."
She had just been pondering how to leave this family without causing too much damage—preferably by having the Xu Family drive them away themselves. She had only just begun to form a plan, and yet, by sheer coincidence, he had already accomplished it.
Now that they could move out, the couple had no desire to stay a moment longer. Before nightfall, Xu Huaiyi took the keys and hurried to the small courtyard at the foot of the mountain belonging to the Gu Family to start cleaning.
The Gu Family residence consisted of three main rooms facing south, with the central one serving as the living room. Heated brick beds were built at both ends, and a simple shed stood to the east, which could be used as a kitchen. The courtyard was enclosed by a stone wall about a meter high, meant to keep wild animals from the mountains at bay. Now, however, weeds had overgrown both the front and rear courtyards, thriving stubbornly despite the drought.
Pushing open the door to the living room, Xu Huaiyi opened all the windows to let in fresh air. After a quick survey, he had a clear idea of what needed to be done. He retrieved a fully charged vacuum cleaner from the RV, put on a disposable mask and cap, and within half an hour, all three rooms were spotless and tidy, with not even a speck of dust on the roof beams.
As for the weeds in the courtyard, clearing them was no trouble either. Having lived in the countryside before, he was no stranger to such tasks. He could even handle the entire renovation of an old house single-handedly, taking on roles like electrician, carpenter, and bricklayer with ease. A little work like this was nothing to him.
By the time he finished tidying the courtyard, it was already dark. Xu Huaiyi piled the weeds in a corner, locked the main gate, and headed back to the Xu Family home. Along the way, he saw many people gathered outside their doors, chatting and cooling off in the evening air. Words like "drought," "disaster," and "rising grain prices" drifted to his ears, stirring a growing unease in his heart. Could they really be that unlucky?
Transmigrating to ancient times was hard enough, but to encounter a famine on top of that…
As soon as he entered the gate, he heard the sound of children crying from the Second Branch's room, followed by Li Qiuhua's irritable cursing, "What are you crying for? I'm not dead yet, and you're already wailing! All of you, shut up!"
"Mom, I'm hungry, my stomach hurts…"
"Hungry? What good does telling me do? Can I give you meat to eat or blood to drink? I'm hungry too! Get lost, all of you, you little debt collectors, all you know is crying…"
"Wah, I'm hungry…"
"Go to sleep now! You won't feel hungry once you're asleep!"
After the Second Branch finished cursing, faint sounds of scolding could also be heard from the Eldest Branch's room. Only the main house remained quiet, its lights already extinguished early.
Xu Huaiyi's heart grew heavier. He entered his room, locked the door, and slipped into the RV. His first words were, "Darling, I'm afraid we might have to flee famine."
Hearing this, Gu Huanxi showed little surprise. "Who told you that?"
Xu Huaiyi smiled bitterly, "I figured it out myself. Last year's harvest was poor, and since the start of spring this year, there hasn't been much rain. The wheat has already suffered a poor yield, and if the newly planted sorghum and beans don't get rain soon, they'll be done for too. What will we eat in the second half of the year? Now every household in the village has switched to eating only one meal a day. And after that…"
He paused, sighing gloomily, "We have food and drink in the carriage, so we won't go hungry, but if everyone else is starving, would we dare to go out?"
People driven to desperation by hunger may no longer be considered human.