Chapter 53: Wasting a Beautiful Face

The next day, Xia Li went up the mountain as usual to pick two baskets of goji berries.

She had heard that frost was expected in the coming days, so she needed to hurry and gather more to sell, saving some capital for future plans.

In the afternoon, Zhao Xueling came looking for her again.

Standing at the door, she sniffed and detected the faint aroma of chicken soup from inside, surprised as she asked, “What’s the occasion? Li Zi, did you cook chicken?”

Her familiar demeanor suggested she had completely forgotten about the little quarrel they had last time.

Zhao Xueling’s mother had been a sent-down youth, and although her family was not as well-off as some in the village, they had enough to eat daily. However, chicken, duck, and fish were only served on special occasions.

Not to mention that after her rebirth, with two younger sisters at home, there was more pressure on food supplies.

As soon as she caught a whiff of the chicken soup’s oily fragrance, she could hardly contain herself.

After all, since her rebirth, she hadn’t had much meat!

Thinking back to her previous life, when the economy had soared and gradually improved, she had married into the city. Although her husband was disappointing, they certainly didn’t lack for meat and vegetables at home.

So, reborn in her youth, everything was good, except her conditions were too poor.

Zhao Xueling inhaled the aroma of the chicken soup and met Xia Li’s gaze, quickly swallowing the saliva that had unconsciously pooled in her mouth.

Xia Li said, “What’s up? I’m eating.”

Zhao Xueling had just eaten at home before coming over.

Though she was hungry, she always felt superior and didn’t want to ruin her image by begging Xia Li for food.

So she deliberately averted her gaze, resisting the urge to look at the dining table, and complained, “You’ve been so busy lately. I came to find you yesterday because I wanted to check on Wei Tianhong. I don’t know what’s wrong with him; he hasn’t been looking well lately. But you were gone all day—where did you run off to?”

Now she was deliberately bringing up Wei Tianhong in front of Xia Li?

Xia Li was certain that Zhao Xueling had some ulterior motive.

She casually replied, “I was busy. You know I’ve fallen out with my uncle and aunt, so I need to earn some money to support myself.”

Zhao Xueling turned her eyes to glance at her, taking in Xia Li’s fair and delicate features.

In her view, Xia Li didn’t know how to dress herself, always wearing rough and shabby clothes, wasting her beautiful face.

She had thought about it carefully after going home.

This time, Xia Li’s falling out with her uncle and aunt was actually a great thing for her.

With this happening, her aunt wouldn’t think about marrying her off to that little hoodlum Zhou Zhengbin, and the red thread connecting Xia Li and Zhou Zhengbin had already been cut.

Isn’t this just perfect? Zhao Xueling felt quite pleased.

She thought to herself that heaven was helping her.

It seemed that her fate in this life would be much smoother than in her previous one.

Moreover, she had a big secret that no one would believe if she told them.

With a smile in her eyes, she pulled Xia Li’s hand, saying, “You’re not busy today, right? Come with me to see Wei Tianhong? He’s not doing well, and maybe seeing you will help him feel better.”

She said this deliberately, hoping to see a shy smile appear on Xia Li’s face.

Xia Li wasn’t shy at all; her delicate brows lifted slightly.

After pondering something, she gently curled her lips, saying, “That’s not necessarily the case.”

Seeing him might actually make things worse.

Xia Li returned to the backyard and reminded Jiang Chenyi to finish eating and clean up the dishes, saying, “I’m going out for a bit. There’s still medicine in the jar; remember to apply it yourself when you’re done. You should be fine after applying it again.”

Jiang Chenyi glanced at her gloomily.

Not only was his little wife going out without him, but today she also expected him to apply the medicine by himself.

What was this supposed to mean?

He didn’t say anything, just pressed his thin lips together.

Xia Li wanted to say more, but Zhao Xueling had already walked into the house.

From a few steps away, she looked at the man and called out in a gentle voice, “Li Zi, let’s go! Wei Tianhong is waiting for you.”

Xia Li responded lightly, “Mm.”

She stepped out in response.

Leaving Jiang Chenyi alone, watching that strange woman take his little wife away.

He stared at the empty doorway, his gaze cold and dark.

On the way, Zhao Xueling asked curiously, “Is that person really your distant cousin? He’s so tall and big; I was startled when I saw him for the first time. He must be from the city, right?”

Xia Li met her gaze, noticing the flicker of interest in her eyes, and replied, puzzled, “Why do you say that?”

Zhao Xueling smiled with her eyes squinted, “…Uh, I was just guessing. He doesn’t look like the young men from our village.”