Chapter 34

Jiāng Wǎn pretended to have sprained her foot until they reached the bottom of the mountain. When she saw more villagers nearby, she stopped pretending.  

“Xiǎo Wǎn, what happened?”  

“My foot’s fine. I was just pretending back up on the mountain.”  

As she hurried with Yínzhū toward their home, Jiāng Wǎn explained, “Earlier, I felt like someone was secretly watching me on the mountain. I was scared and wanted to get down quickly. Luckily, I bumped into you on the way, so I made up the excuse about spraining my foot for you to help me down.”  

Yínzhū nervously bit her lip and glanced back at the mountain, feeling an inexplicable chill down her spine.  

“Did you see anyone watching you?”  

“No, I didn’t see anyone, but it’s because I didn’t see them that I was scared. I hope I’m just overthinking it.”  

Jiāng Wǎn pulled Yínzhū into their yard and called out to her cousin to greet her before quickly slipping into the outdoor toilet behind the house.  

Once she had dealt with the personal matter, she came back out to find the two women still chatting happily.  

“Sister Yin, your clothes are so well-made! Can you teach me?”  

“Of course, I’ll be making clothes at home for the next couple of days. When you have time, come over and I’ll show you.”  

Yīn Níng was a bit reluctant to interact with men but was very welcoming toward young women. After hearing about Yínzhū’s situation from her cousin, she felt a sense of sympathy for her.  

As they continued talking and sewing, neither of them noticed when Jiāng Wǎn left the room.  

Jiāng Wǎn couldn’t sit still and, seeing some dirty clothes, took them to the riverbank. The family hadn’t bought soap or other laundry supplies, so she just soaked the clothes in the water and scrubbed them by hand. She was quite capable.  

She found a good spot by the river and was almost finished washing when the sound of a few women laughing reached her from behind.  

There were about three or four of them, and though Jiāng Wǎn didn’t recognize all their voices, she did recognize one—Mother Hutou.  

She felt a little unlucky. Running into them alone might be trouble.  

Jiāng Wǎn stayed silent, intending to finish wringing out the clothes and leave quickly.  

“Heh, isn’t this the young lady from the capital? Why is she washing her own clothes?”  

Jiāng Wǎn remained silent, continuing to wring out the clothes.  

Mother Hutou was both pleased and angry. She was annoyed that Jiāng Wǎn didn’t react, making her lose face, but she was pleased because it was clear Jiāng Wǎn was afraid of her and didn’t dare speak up.  

“A Hóng, isn’t she the one who bullied Hutou last time?”  

“Yeah, that’s her. She’s fierce for someone so young. She bullied my son and even scolded him, making Hutou cry for a long time when he got home.”  

“She doesn’t look like it though, so thin and small.”  

Seeing Jiāng Wǎn quietly washing her clothes without making a sound, they couldn’t imagine her being the same arrogant girl that A Hóng had described.  

Mother Hutou slammed her bucket down on the stone slab, making a loud noise.  

“Do you really think I’m lying? Don’t we know each other well after all these years?”  

The other three women forced awkward laughs.  

It was exactly because they had known each other for so long that they understood too well.  

The three women laughed uneasily as they shifted the topic, taking out their own clothes to soak in the water.  

Mother Hutou kept glancing at Jiāng Wǎn’s spot, feeling that the large stone she was sitting on was the best place. Without hesitation, she pushed Jiāng Wǎn hard to make her move.  

Jiāng Wǎn, however, was the type to yield to gentleness but not to force. If Mother Hutou had asked nicely, she would have moved, but since she was being rough, Jiāng Wǎn glanced at the river and noticed that the current was fast, but the water was shallow.  

“What if I don’t move? What will you do?”  

“If you don’t move, I’ll kick you into the river, and then the spot will be mine,” Mother Hutou sneered.  

With no one else around to stop her, Mother Hutou grew bolder. She had lost face when the village chief scolded her last time at Yīn’s house, and she wanted to take her anger out now.  

After all, these were all familiar people, and no one would testify against her if she hit Jiāng Wǎn.  

The more Mother Hutou thought about it, the more pleased she became. Just as she reached out to push Jiāng Wǎn, Jiāng Wǎn suddenly slipped into the river. In the process, she also grabbed Mother Hutou’s bucket of clothes and pulled it into the water.  

The clothes fell into the water and were quickly carried away by the current. Mother Hutou froze for a moment, unsure of what had just happened. She hadn’t even made a move yet, so why had Jiāng Wǎn fallen in?  

“Help! Help! I’m scared!”  

Jiāng Wǎn “struggled” as she drifted into the middle of the river, pushing away the remaining clothes.  

Mother Hutou screamed and jumped into the water, but Jiāng Wǎn wouldn’t let her get her way. She grabbed onto Mother Hutou and shouted for help.  

The cries for help soon made the other three women realize what had happened. They hurried to get the two of them out of the river before any villagers could gather around to watch.  

“My clothes! Those are my clothes! I’ll kill you, you little brat!”  

Jiāng Wǎn, small and agile, dodged, making Mother Hutou crash into the stone slab. The older woman became even more frantic.  

Her three friends were getting scared and quickly tried to calm her down, urging her to go after the clothes first.  

The river was fast, but there were many stones, and the clothes could get caught. If Mother Hutou went after them, she might still be able to recover some.  

But Mother Hutou refused to listen. She was now only focused on getting revenge on Jiāng Wǎn.  

“It’s all that little brat’s fault! Her family will pay for this! You brat, come here!”  

The chase resumed, with Mother Hutou chasing Jiāng Wǎn.  

When the old village chief arrived, Jiāng Wǎn was already exhausted. Mother Hutou immediately slapped Jiāng Wǎn across the face, pushing her aside.  

“Mother Hutou!”  

A familiar voice rang out, and it felt like an automatic reflex to Mother Hutou. Her hand seemed to freeze, and the slap never landed.  

“You really are something, causing a scene over washing clothes. What did Jiāng Wǎn do to offend you this time?”  

“She kicked all my clothes into the river! They’re all gone!”

“Compensate!”  

Mother Hutou felt completely justified as she clung to Jiāng Wǎn, refusing to let go.  

At this point, Jiāng Wǎn had been swimming in the water, running for so long, and now she felt weak all over with a pale face. The old village chief glared fiercely at Mother Hutou and ordered his daughter-in-law to help Jiāng Wǎn over.  

“Girl, is what she said true?”  

If it was, then this girl would certainly have to be punished. Everyone in the village was poor, and clothes had to last for years, being mended and patched; it was a shame to just throw them away.  

Jiāng Wǎn immediately denied it.  

“I didn’t kick her clothes. She insisted on taking the stone I was using to wash my clothes and even pushed me. When I fell into the water, I accidentally took the bucket with me.”  

The old village chief instinctively looked at Mother Hutou. Although she was trying to hide it, there was still a guilty look on her face.  

“Weren’t you two washing clothes together? What’s going on here?”  

The three women who were about to slip away were caught by the village chief. Turning around, they saw Mother Hutou signaling them with her eyes. They immediately followed her lead and lied, blaming Jiāng Wǎn.  

There was always a sense of closeness or distance, and it was clear that these women were closer to Mother Hutou, so they naturally sided with her.  

The old village chief snorted coldly.  

The three women, clearly nervous as they lied, were blinking rapidly, making it obvious who was in the wrong.  

“Mother Hutou, always causing trouble in the village. You three are lying and bullying a child. A warning is no longer useful for you. I’ve decided to revoke your families’ eligibility to board the ship for two months.”  

Hearing this, the three women immediately panicked and surrounded the village chief, speaking over each other.  

“Village chief, it was A Hóng who pushed the girl, it has nothing to do with us!”  

“Yeah, yeah, village chief, we’re telling the truth, don’t punish us!”  

“Please, village chief, my husband will get mad and hit me!”  

The old village chief had a cold expression and was about to speak when he suddenly heard his daughter-in-law gasp.  

“Dad! This girl has passed out!”