Chapter 17: Conspiracy on the Mountain

Yu Chunxiang couldn’t bear the rumors anymore and decided to just go with it, marrying Qi Da’wa. Originally, Yu Chunxiang thought that after she agreed, the village rumors would gradually disappear. But unexpectedly, Qi Da’wa bragged everywhere, saying that Yu Chunxiang wouldn’t ask for a dowry and would even bring 300 yuan as a dowry. Whenever Yu Chunxiang went out, people would ask her about the truth of the matter. One day, Yu Chunxiang was stopped again by a well-meaning auntie. “Yu Zhiqing, I heard from Da’wa that you’re not going to ask for a dowry and you’re bringing 300 yuan as a dowry?” Yu Chunxiang couldn’t take it anymore and directly explained, “Auntie, that’s not true. My family doesn’t have just me, how could they give me 300 yuan?”

 This statement caused a stir. Qi Da’wa’s buddies started joking about it. Feeling that his face had been lost by Yu Chunxiang, he decided to talk about it after the marriage. After marriage, their life was miserable. She slept later than a dog and woke up earlier than a rooster, and she also suffered from Qi Da’wa’s beatings. Her youthful bloom was withered, and she looked like a woman in her 30s. Wang Xiulian tasted the sweetness of Qi Da’wa’s marriage and set her sights on the new girls who came to the countryside. Due to what happened with Yu Chunxiang, everyone subtly reminded the new female educated youths. Although the original owner was timid, she wasn’t stupid and had always been careful. But she couldn’t resist trusting Wang Xiangdong, that scumbag. He received a letter from Xu Yulan and decided to marry the original owner to Qi Er’wa.

 One day, Wang Xiangdong, as someone the original owner trusted, tricked her to the mountain. Qi Er’wa seized the opportunity and hugged the original owner. The original owner, in a panic, bit Qi Er’wa’s hand. When the villagers saw this, they knew what was going on. Originally, everyone saw how thin and weak the original owner was and felt pity for her.

They also regretted their gossiping, which had harmed Yu Chunxiang. Seeing that everyone was silent, Wang Xiangdong pretended to be heartbroken. “Nanyi, if you want to marry Qi Er’wa, tell me. As your brother, I will definitely agree. How could you…” The original owner looked at the person she trusted with disbelief. She understood that it was over, and she collapsed on the ground. Qi Er’wa saw how helpful Wang Xiangdong was and directly carried the original owner. Some villagers stepped forward to stop Qi Er’wa. “Er’wa, what are you doing? Put down the little educated youth.” Qi Er’wa was a scoundrel by nature.

He glared at the man and threatened, “Anyone who stops me, I’ll make their house a mess.” Everyone knew that Qi Er’wa meant what he said, so they could only apologize to Ye Nanyi. Qi Er’wa snorted triumphantly, carried her away, and didn’t care how much Ye Nanyi struggled. After they left, everyone looked at Wang Xiangdong with complex expressions, wondering why he did that. They knew that the little educated youth trusted this educated youth who came from the same place as her, but she was betrayed. Wang Xiangdong knew that he couldn’t stay here anymore, so he contacted his family and got himself transferred back to the city. It’s unknown if it was because Wang Xiangdong was too insane, but two years after returning to the city, his legs were broken.

 Xu Yulan, who had been clinging to him, no longer cared for him. After the original owner married Qi Er’wa, she lived the same life as Yu Chunxiang, only worse. She didn’t have a single piece of good skin. It was always Yu Chunxiang who secretly helped her apply medicine and brought her food. After recalling this memory, Ye Nanyi had already made a decision. She would not let Yu Chunxiang fall for Qi Da’wa. After thinking for a long time, Ye Nanyi couldn’t hold on any longer and fell asleep. The next morning, she was woken up by noises outside.

“Zeng Zhiqing, what’s wrong with you? You’re not going to wash the pot after using it?” Ye Nanyi heard the voice, it must be Liu Lili. Zeng Bailing knew she was wrong, but she still argued. “Can’t you just wash it? It doesn’t take much time.” Liu Lili was almost choked with anger. “You… If you don’t wash the pot again, you can cook separately!” These words hit Zeng Bailing’s weakness. She only knew how to cook noodles, she didn’t know how to cook! “I apologize, Liu Zhiqing. I will definitely wash it clean from now on.” Seeing that Zeng Bailing had softened, Liu Lili didn’t press her any further. She went back to the kitchen in a huff. Ye Nanyi didn’t have any firewood yet, so she had to borrow a bundle from Liu Lili. “Liu Zhiqing, I’ll borrow a bundle of firewood.

 I’ll go up the mountain to collect firewood right away, and I’ll return it to you tonight.” Liu Lili was still angry with Zeng Bailing, and she didn’t want to agree. But seeing Ye Nanyi’s appearance, her heart softened. “Okay, go get it yourself.” Ye Nanyi gave Liu Lili two candies and then went to Liu Lili’s firewood storage to get a bundle. After eating, Ye Nanyi went up the mountain with her backpack. Arriving at the mountain, Ye Nanyi took a deep breath. The air on the mountain was so fresh! There was also a lot of firewood on the ground. Ye Nanyi didn’t delay. She found a larger dead tree, looked around to make sure no one was around, and kicked it with her foot.

“Crack” the dead tree snapped. Ye Nanyi quickly kicked all the branches off the dead tree, put the trunk into her space, and then repeated the process with a dozen more dead trees. If she wasn’t afraid of being noticed, Ye Nanyi would have stored enough firewood for a year. Looking at the branches on the ground, Ye Nanyi skillfully bundled them together, put one bundle in her backpack for show, in case she ran into someone, it would be easier to explain. The firewood was done, Ye Nanyi thought about seeing if she could find some good things, after all, there were many treasures in the mountains! Before Ye Nanyi could find any treasures, she heard someone talking nearby. Originally, Ye Nanyi was about to turn around and leave, but she heard someone call out “Da’wa.”

 The two words “Da’wa” made Ye Nanyi shiver. She knew it was the original owner’s emotions, after all, she wasn’t afraid of Qi Da’wa. Ye Nanyi carefully walked towards the sound, hiding in the grass, wanting to hear what Qi Da’wa was up to. “Da’wa, just listen to your mother. That Yu Chunxiang will definitely give mother a big fat son.” “Mother, I like that Li Yao, Yu Chunxiang isn’t as pretty as Li Yao.” Through their conversation, Ye Nanyi guessed the identity of the other person – Qi Da’wa’s mother, Wang Xiulian, who loved to come up with bad ideas.

This shameless woman, she was lazy and beat people, and she was still picky. It seemed that she needed to remind not only Yu Chunxiang, but also Li Yao. What if they saw that Yu Chunxiang didn’t fall for it and then set their sights on Li Yao? Wouldn’t that be harming Li Yao? After talking for a long time, Qi Da’wa finally compromised and decided to target Yu Chunxiang. When the two of them were almost done talking, Ye Nanyi quietly slipped away.

 As luck would have it, she came across a chestnut tree. Ye Nanyi looked at the huge chestnut tree in front of her and almost drooled. She wanted to eat candied chestnuts. She did what she said she would do. This time, she didn’t kick it with her foot, but took out a stick from her space and knocked the chestnuts down.