“Fourth Bao, Fifth Bao, you both did well this time! But next time, remember—if you can’t handle something, go find help. Don’t just charge in foolishly! When we get back, I’ll reward you with two wild eggs. Tell me how you want them cooked, and I’ll make them for you!”
Thinking about it, Lin Ruxia felt a little scared herself. If they had run into a large animal, she would’ve been in danger too. Although she had the marketplace space, it would still take time to find a weapon.
She also wondered—if she died, would the original owner of this body come back? But judging from her intuition, the original owner probably wouldn’t return. Otherwise, why did she feel no discomfort at all, as if this had always been her own body?
After coming down the mountain, Lin Ruxia went straight to the production team leader’s house. He wasn’t home—only his wife and Gou Dan were there.
“Zhicheng’s wife?” The team leader’s wife looked at Lin Ruxia. “It really is you! Did you come over to visit?” She was a bit curious about why Lin Ruxia had come.
“Auntie, I’m here to see the team leader. Is he home right now?”
In the countryside, work usually ended around four or five in the afternoon. It was already past five. Because Lin Ruxia had gone deep into the mountains, the children only finished cutting pig fodder just now. She had waited for them before heading down together. Afterward, they went to water the fodder, while she came to find the team leader.
“Him? At this hour, he’s usually at the village committee! You should go look for him there. Ever since he became the team leader, he’s been busy until dark every day. Everyone else finishes work early, but he’s always running around doing this and that—I don’t even know what he’s so busy with…” the woman began complaining nonstop.
“You’ve worked hard, Auntie! The team leader is very dedicated. With someone like him leading the team, everyone has hope…” Lin Ruxia could only praise him.
“If you’ve got something urgent, go find him!” the woman said, a little embarrassed after hearing her husband praised so much.
“Alright, Auntie! I’ll head to the village committee then!”
Lin Ruxia went straight there.
“Team leader! You haven’t gone home yet? Auntie was just complaining about how busy you are!” she said with a smile as she walked in and saw him writing alone.
“Zhicheng’s wife? What brings you here?” he asked.
“Team leader, how are Gou Sheng and the others? Have they come back?” Lin Ruxia had just returned and didn’t know their situation.
“They’ve had surgery, but they’re still at the town hospital. They haven’t come back yet. The village doctor told me after he returned. They lost a lot of blood, so they need to stay for observation for a few days,” he said, frowning.
“These are what I found deep in the mountains today. This ginseng is about ten years old, and this He Shou Wu is also around ten years old. Both are good for replenishing blood. These are the best I found today. I want to give them to those two kids to help them recover. Could you pass them on for me tomorrow?”
These herbs were actually the youngest ones in her herb field—there was no way she’d give away older, more valuable ones. Although ginseng was precious, a ten-year one wasn’t that rare and could only sell for about a dozen yuan.
“Zhicheng’s wife, you really found ginseng in the mountains? And you’re willing to give both the ginseng and the He Shou Wu to them?” The team leader was surprised. He thought she had risked her life to find them—wasn’t it a pity to give them away?
“Yes. I went up the mountain today to find medicine for them. Since I found something this good, why not give it to them?” Lin Ruxia put on a selfless expression, though inwardly she was already complaining.
“Zhicheng’s wife, you truly are an admirable military wife!” the team leader said with respect. To him, every villager’s life was important.
“I’ll hold onto these for now and give them to the boys when they return,” he said, carefully putting them away.
“Alright. Team leader, actually, I came for another matter as well,” Lin Ruxia said.
“Oh? What is it?”
“It’s about the estate you mentioned the other day. I’d like to buy it now and move in once it’s renovated.”
“That place? Sure. Do you have enough money?” he asked curiously.
“I do.” She took out a pouch and counted out one thousand yuan. “This is what I’ve saved. I went to take a look today—it’s quite nice, so I want to buy it as soon as possible.”
“I see.” He nodded. “Alright, I’ll prepare the paperwork.”
The document was essentially the village’s property certificate. Whoever’s name was on it owned the house. Lin Ruxia knew the documents for her current home were under Song father’s name—only one name could be written, that of the head of the household.
When the team leader was writing, Lin Ruxia asked him to use her name, but he said the head of their household was Song Zhicheng, so it should be his name.
“Why must it be his name? Can’t it be mine? He barely stays here!” she said unhappily.
“If it’s written under your name, wouldn’t that make Zhicheng like someone who married into your family? Your parents-in-law wouldn’t agree,” he explained.
“Then maybe write him a letter and discuss it?” he suggested.
“Forget it. Just use his name.” Waiting for letters back and forth would take months—too troublesome.
At that moment, Lin Ruxia felt a bit annoyed with Song Zhicheng, the man whose face she could barely even recall.
Meanwhile, far away in the army, Song Zhicheng sat at his desk, writing a letter with a stern expression. Ever since he received the telegram yesterday afternoon, his mood hadn’t improved.
With sharp features, piercing eyes, and a tall, imposing build, he was already known in the army as the “Living Yama” for his strict demeanor. Today, his presence felt even more oppressive—no one dared approach him.
He hadn’t expected the family to split so quickly—or that his young wife was pregnant again. He couldn’t help but worry. Though he didn’t have much emotional connection with Lin Ruxia, she was still his wife—his responsibility.
And what about the children? He knew how Lin Ruxia treated them, but he still hoped that one day she would treat them better—they were his flesh and blood, after all. Seeing how she treated his elder brother’s daughter Wan’er differently, he thought perhaps she just wanted a daughter. So when she didn’t bring up contraception, he didn’t either—secretly hoping their next child would be a girl.
Although he knew about the situation at home, he couldn’t do much. The army was too far away, and he couldn’t get leave. All he could do was write to comfort Lin Ruxia, ask her to take better care of the children, and send back the money he had borrowed and advanced. He also wrote to a former subordinate in town, asking him to check on her situation.
Back on Lin Ruxia’s side, she had already signed the paperwork. Now they needed the village head’s signature and seal. So the team leader took her to the village head’s house.
“Village head’s wife, is your husband back?” he asked at the door.
The woman turned around and glanced at Lin Ruxia.
“This is Zhicheng’s wife—she has something to discuss with the village head,” he explained.
Lin Ruxia recognized her from earlier, though she hadn’t paid much attention at the time. The woman’s gaze was clearly unfriendly, which Lin Ruxia disliked—but she said nothing.
“What is it?” the woman asked coldly. She disliked Lin Ruxia for making her son work earlier that day. When she heard Lin Ruxia had gone deep into the mountains, she had even hoped she wouldn’t come back.
“That’s none of your concern. I just need to see the village head,” the team leader said.
“He’s not back yet. Don’t know where he went,” she replied.
“Mom! Dad just asked when dinner will be ready!” a voice came from inside—it was her son.
The lie was exposed.
“How can you lie? What if something important got delayed?” the team leader said. “We won’t argue about it this time—just take us inside.”
“…Come in,” she muttered, glaring at Lin Ruxia before turning away.
Inside, the team leader explained the situation.
“She wants to buy that empty estate. Everything’s ready—just need your signature and seal.”
“The estate?” the village head looked at Lin Ruxia. “It costs one thousand yuan. You’ve agreed?”
“Yes. My family is large, and the place is spacious. I’ve already given the money,” she replied.
“Alright. Give me the document.”
After signing and stamping it, he handed it back.
Lin Ruxia let out a quiet sigh of relief. She didn’t fear the village head causing trouble—but she also didn’t want to make enemies. It was always better to have more friends than foes in the village.
The team leader kept one copy and gave the rest to her before they left.
“I’ll head back now. Don’t worry too much—the village head cares about his reputation. He won’t make things difficult for you over today’s incident,” he reassured her.
“Mm, thank you, team leader,” Lin Ruxia said before parting ways.