Carrying the block of tofu in her arms, Jiang Qingli headed out, already calculating how quickly she needed to get back and cook for Shen Xiaohua. The little girl was probably starving by now.
The moment she stepped through the gate, a flash of bright floral fabric entered her line of sight.
Su Keqing?
Jiang Qingli’s heart tightened.
She knew this girl well. Su Keqing was the one who had constantly whispered in the original owner’s ear that the Male Lead had been sent down for re-education, that he had no future ahead of him, that his injured right hand made him incapable of doing any work.
What the original owner never realized was that Su Keqing wanted to marry Shen Li herself.
Unfortunately for her, Shen Li already had someone in his heart. Even if the original owner disappeared in the end, Su Keqing would still amount to nothing more than a supporting character.
“Sister Qingli~”
Su Keqing’s sweet, cloying voice rang out. The smile on her face was so fake it was nauseating.
“You’re still out working this late?”
Jiang Qingli straightened her back and returned a polite smile.
“Yes, I was helping Brother Wang with some tofu. Do you need something?”
A trace of malice flashed through Su Keqing’s eyes.
Helping with tofu?
More like taking advantage of the tofu seller.
Wang Dagou was the only tofu maker for miles around, and all the tofu supplied to the Changmin Supply and Marketing Cooperative came from him.
In these days when most people struggled to fill their stomachs, everyone knew he was practically a gold mine.
Then again, this worked perfectly for her.
She had been wondering how to get this fool away from Brother Shen.
With that thought, she quickly replaced her expression with a hypocritical smile.
“Do I need a reason to come see you? Aren’t we best friends?”
Best friends?
Jiang Qingli scoffed inwardly.
Please don’t insult my intelligence with that pitiful little performance.
She knew exactly what this so-called friend had been doing behind her back.
“Of course you can.”
Jiang Qingli answered calmly.
“But it’s getting late today. Another time.”
With that, she carried the tofu away without another glance, leaving Su Keqing standing where she was as the smile on her face slowly twisted into something ugly.
…
Three days later.
Before dawn had fully broken, Jiang Qingli returned from her morning run in the hills behind the village.
For the past few days, she had been running there every morning and had discovered quite a few interesting things.
Anping County was surrounded by mountains on all sides. At the foot of those mountains lay a surprisingly large lake hidden from view.
The water was crystal clear, and it was filled with large fish, yet very few people paid any attention to it.
What a waste.
After wandering around for only a short while, Jiang Qingli had managed to catch a large, long Kanglang White Fish from between the rocks.
People here left home before dawn and returned after dark just to earn work points. Although Kanglang White Fish was edible, it had little meat and too many bones. In everyone’s eyes, it could never compare to the grain growing in the fields.
Taking this fish home would be perfect for improving Xiaohua’s nutrition.
After returning to the courtyard and pushing open the storeroom door, she immediately saw Shen Xiaohua staring at her with wide eyes.
“Sister-in-law, what’s that in your hands?”
Over the past few days, her sister-in-law had been cooking delicious meals for her every day.
The day before yesterday there had been tofu cooked with eggs, yesterday scrambled eggs with locust blossoms…
It felt as though she had eaten an entire year’s worth of eggs in just a few days!
The moment she woke up that morning, she had already been looking forward to breakfast.
But in the next instant, the little girl’s brows furrowed.
She recognized the fish.
It was a Kanglang White Fish.
Everyone in the village disliked it because it had too many bones and too little meat. Hardly anyone was willing to eat it.
Looking at the sweat-soaked hair at Jiang Qingli’s temples, Shen Xiaohua suddenly felt her heart ache.
Sister-in-law must be starving.
For the past few days, she had always given all the good food to Xiaohua while surviving on little more than wild vegetable soup herself.
The little girl secretly studied Jiang Qingli’s visibly slimmer face, and her nose stung with emotion.
Sister-in-law had lost even more weight.
Sister-in-law was so good to her.
Completely unaware of the girl’s train of thought, Jiang Qingli happily lifted her catch.
“Look at the fish I caught. I’ll make something delicious for you in a little while.”
“Let me help, Sister-in-law!”
Although Shen Xiaohua did not like fish, it had already been three days. She could not keep lying in bed while her sister-in-law did all the work herself.
Yesterday, Jiang Qingli had washed every piece of clothing in the house.
She must have been exhausted.
Thinking this, Shen Xiaohua pushed herself to her feet.
She could already walk normally now. Yesterday, while Jiang Qingli was washing clothes, she had secretly tested her leg and discovered that it did not hurt at all anymore.
It was incredible.
Her sister-in-law’s medical skills were even more impressive than the village healer’s.
“No need, no need. Just sit and wait obediently.”
Jiang Qingli waved her hand dismissively.
The girl’s leg had only just recovered. She could not risk overexerting herself.
Seeing Jiang Qingli frown, Shen Xiaohua immediately stopped moving.
Timidly, she said, “Sister-in-law, you’ve gotten thinner… You should eat more today…”
Hearing that, Jiang Qingli instinctively touched her cheek.
The original owner had overeaten constantly and hated exercise. Since arriving here, Jiang Qingli had adjusted her eating habits and maintained regular exercise, so the weight had indeed come off quickly.
But she also knew that a weight-loss plateau would arrive sooner or later. She would need to maintain or even increase her current level of exercise.
Unfortunately, although the original owner’s body carried plenty of excess weight, her physical condition was genuinely poor. She became breathless after only a short run.
Only she knew how difficult it had been to keep up her routine these past few days.
“I’ll change clothes first, then I’ll cook the fish.”
The original owner had been extremely overweight. Once she started exercising, she lost moisture rapidly and was now drenched in sweat.
As she spoke, she headed toward the inner room.
But when she opened the wardrobe, she froze.
The clothes she had washed yesterday were still damp.
The only thing she could wear was a neatly folded men’s synthetic shirt tucked away in the corner.
It belonged to Shen Li, the husband whose image in her memories remained frustratingly vague.
Taking a deep breath, she picked up the shirt and caught a faint scent of soap.
Xiaohua must have taken it out regularly to wash and air it.
The fabric seemed fairly stretchy. It should fit well enough.
After trying it on, she found it was a little tight but still wearable.
She pushed open the door and prepared to head to the well to clean the fish.
However, the moment she stepped outside, a shrill voice rang out from beside the well.
“Well now, Shen Li’s wife, what exactly are you wearing?”
After speaking, Old Lady Liu repeatedly looked Jiang Qingli up and down.
Captain Su had already told her that Shen Li’s wife had her eye on Wang Dagou from the tofu shop.
Now she was walking around in broad daylight wearing a man’s clothes.
Could the rumors actually be true?
As she scrubbed vegetables in a basin, Old Lady Liu cast sideways glances at Jiang Qingli, an ambiguous smile hanging from her lips.
Jiang Qingli turned and immediately recognized her.
This was the same Old Lady Liu she had met the other night, Liu Yanshuang, the wife of Zheng Jianguo, Director of Production at the May Seventh Livestock Farm.
This woman loved gossip and was frequently associated with Su Keqing.
Her voice was loud enough to attract attention almost immediately.
Before long, people nearby began turning their eyes toward Jiang Qingli.
This was exactly the effect Liu Yanshuang wanted.
Seeing everyone watching, she continued loudly,
“Oh my, that’s a man’s shirt, isn’t it? It’s quite stylish. I haven’t even seen one like it at the department store. Where did you buy it?”
Jiang Qingli could not be bothered to deal with her.
Carrying the fish, she turned to leave. All she wanted was to get home and start stewing it.
“Hey, hey, don’t go.”
Seeing her walk away, Liu Yanshuang immediately picked up her vegetable basket and hurried after her, stepping directly into her path.
Her eyes darted about before she suddenly covered her mouth in exaggerated shock.
“Oh my! Why is your hair still wet? Don’t tell me you just came back from a little lovers’ swim together?”
The moment those words left her mouth, the entire courtyard erupted into an uproar.