Chapter 14: The Unremarkable Cheat Code

Chi Wan’s words left Lu Xiangxiang speechless.

While the rumors about Chi Wan and Song Jing’s relationship were baseless, fabricated by Lu Xiangxiang, her own infatuation with Song Jing was an open secret in the village.

She was vain, unwilling to be a simple peasant girl, longing for the city life described by the educated youths.

Especially after meeting Chi Wan, whose fair and delicate skin and elegant demeanor made her the “beautiful and wealthy” in the villagers’ eyes. This filled Lu Xiangxiang with envy.

That’s why she was so smitten with Song Jing’s refined demeanor, believing his lies. She pursued him relentlessly, even going so far as to break her childhood engagement with Huo Nanchuan.

She even gave herself to him!

Yet, she ended up miserable. Meanwhile, Chi Wan, merely taking the man she rejected, lived a prosperous life.

Even in her previous life, Lu Xiangxiang couldn’t accept her fate. Now, reborn, she saw through Song Jing’s true colors – a scumbag who wasn’t even a rich city dweller. He couldn’t compare to Huo Nanchuan, who would become a future tycoon.

But why?

Despite her advantage of being reborn, she couldn’t win Huo Nanchuan’s heart, even pushing him further away.

It couldn’t be!

It had to be Chi Wan! That woman must be manipulating things!

She had to expose her true face and reclaim Huo Nanchuan!

Lost in her memories, Lu Xiangxiang’s emotions were terrifyingly twisted. She even forgot the pain in her wrist.

Chi Wan, however, had reached her limit.

She couldn’t stand being near Lu Xiangxiang any longer.

Chi Wan released her grip, brushing Lu Xiangxiang’s hand away.

But in that moment, the jade bracelet on Chi Wan’s white arm slipped down, gently swaying on her slender wrist.

For a fleeting second, the bracelet touched Lu Xiangxiang’s hand.

An inexplicable energy flowed from the bracelet.

Lu Xiangxiang stared in disbelief, her body jolted by the strange sensation.

She didn’t notice much at the time, only focusing on the bracelet on Chi Wan’s wrist, her anger flaring again.

“Nanchuan, how could you just give your family heirloom to this woman?”

Lu Xiangxiang’s eyes were red with jealousy.

Since childhood, she knew about Huo Nanchuan’s family heirloom, a precious and valuable jade bracelet.

When they were engaged, Lu Xiangxiang had demanded he use the bracelet to propose, promising to marry him.

But Huo Nanchuan remained unmoved, refusing to even let her see it.

Her former fiancé had been cold and dismissive towards her.

Now, he gave his heirloom to a woman he had only been married to for two days!

How could Lu Xiangxiang not be furious?

She viciously reached out, her sharp nails eager to scratch Chi Wan’s arm.

The bracelet was blinding, and that perfectly white skin even more so!

But in the next second, Lu Xiangxiang’s wrist was gripped tightly again.

This time, it was Huo Nanchuan.

He had already stepped in front of Chi Wan, shielding the delicate woman behind him.

“Lu Xiangxiang, are you done?”

His handsome face was clouded with anger. His dark eyes held only icy rage.

Without hesitation, he pushed Lu Xiangxiang away, watching her stumble back without a hint of pity.

Then, Huo Nanchuan turned and took Chi Wan’s hand.

His palm became gentle, his fingertips lightly caressing her skin. Only a warm current flowed between their touch.

Huo Nanchuan led Chi Wan away, his gaze lingering on the bracelet on her wrist.

He had witnessed Chi Wan’s quick and forceful action in grabbing Lu Xiangxiang.

It was completely different from the timid woman who couldn’t even look him in the eye during their blind date.

A flicker of surprise crossed Huo Nanchuan’s mind. But this surprise had occurred several times during his interactions with Chi Wan over the past two days.

And every time, after the surprise, his heart would race.

Huo Nanchuan found himself drawn to Chi Wan’s current bright and bold demeanor.

It was beautiful, captivating.

…

Huo Nanchuan and Chi Wan washed their clothes by the river. Huo Nanchuan did the washing, while Chi Wan stood by and watched.

The tall man squatted on a rock by the river, his long legs bent. His dark hands scrubbed the sheets, his arms and shoulders rippling with muscle as he moved.

Chi Wan had nothing to do, so she just watched.

As she watched, her face grew hot. She couldn’t tell if she was looking at Huo Nanchuan washing clothes or the bulging muscles beneath his clothes.

It was like a shameful scene of a strong man doing housework.

Fortunately, it was early in the morning, and there wasn’t anyone else by the river. Otherwise, such a sight would have shocked many.

As the morning light grew, they finished washing their clothes and headed home.

As they approached their small courtyard, they heard another commotion.

But this time…

“Hurry, hurry, hurry! Catch it! Don’t let it escape!”

“Hey, be gentle! Don’t kill it!”

“Block it, block it, block it! Got it? Quickly put it in the cage!”

It was Zhang Yue’e’s voice, full of excitement, rising and falling.

Besides her voice, there were hurried footsteps, chaotic and frantic.

When Chi Wan and Huo Nanchuan pushed open the door, they saw Huo Dongzhi and Huo Chuchun, their brother and sister, also awake.

They were squatting in the courtyard with Zhang Yue’e, a large chicken coop in front of them, with chirping sounds coming from inside.

Zhang Yue’e looked up as she heard the door open, immediately greeting Chi Wan as if she hadn’t seen her own son, Huo Nanchuan.

“Xiao Wan, come and see! You’re from the city, you’ve never seen this before, come and see!”

Chi Wan smiled and walked over.

As she squatted down, Huo Chuchun smiled faintly and called out, “Sister-in-law.” Huo Dongzhi glanced at him and snorted softly.

Zhang Yue’e secretly patted her second son, then turned back to Chi Wan with a smile.

Her face, etched with years, was creased with wrinkles, yet she smiled so warmly and kindly.

“Xiao Wan, look, it’s chicks, newborn chicks!”

Inside the bamboo chicken coop, three palm-sized chicks, a pale yellow color, were chirping with their little mouths open.

They were fluffy and adorable.

Zhang Yue’e smiled with narrowed eyes, her mouth unable to close, exclaiming repeatedly.

“I told you, you wouldn’t believe me! I was picking up eggs in the chicken coop behind the house today when I saw these three chicks in the coop.”

“Not only were there three chicks, but there were also five eggs! Five!”

“That old hen has been around for half a year, and she’s never laid so many eggs! I counted them several times, it’s really five!”

“Not only are there eggs, there are also chicks. Look at these little guys, they’ve just hatched and they’re already running around the yard. In another half a month…”

Click, click, click.

In another half a month, the chicks would become hens and lay eggs every day.

They would not only have eggs to eat, but they could also sell the extra ones.

During the New Year and festivals, with so many hens, they could just grab one and kill it, making a pot of fragrant, oily chicken soup.

Their own home-raised chickens, the taste would be phenomenal!

Zhang Yue’e didn’t say the last part out loud, but it was on everyone’s mind.

Thinking of that bowl of chicken soup…

Chi Wan’s mouth went dry.

She also noticed that Huo Chuchun and Huo Dongzhi’s eyes lit up, their Adam’s apples bobbed, and they secretly swallowed.

They ate salted vegetables, tofu, potatoes, and sweet potatoes every day.

Although they occasionally had fish and meat as a treat, it was still far from real animal meat.

Just as everyone was looking at the three chicks, imagining them as delicacies, Zhang Yue’e continued to chatter happily.

“I tell you… Xiao Wan is our family’s lucky star!”

“Since she came to our house, we’ve had good fortune after good fortune.”

“Even the old hen lays more eggs, and now she’s hatched chicks! This is a great blessing we’ve never seen before!”

Her words attributed all the credit to Chi Wan.

Huo Dongzhi, who had been secretly swallowing, immediately turned sour upon hearing Chi Wan’s name, speaking sarcastically.

“Mother, what does this have to do with her?”

But a deep, thick voice came from beside him.

Huo Nanchuan said calmly, “I think it’s her good fortune.”

Everyone was surprised that Huo Nanchuan would participate in this conversation, and even speak in favor of Chi Wan.

This man didn’t seem like the type to believe in such things.

Chi Wan looked at him in surprise.

Zhang Yue’e smiled broadly.

Huo Chuchun blushed and smiled shyly, his eyes filled with a hint of girlish envy as he looked at Huo Nanchuan and Chi Wan.

Huo Nanchuan stood straight, his eyes shining as he looked at Chi Wan.

As if she were truly a lucky star.

Seeing this, Chi Wan also chimed in, “Mother, you’re right, those three chicks and those five eggs, I put them in the coop last night. It’s nothing, just an unremarkable cheat code. Tomorrow, I’ll put in some more.”

As soon as she said this, everyone burst into laughter.

Anyone listening would think it was just a joke.

Chi Wan laughed along with them.

But she knew very well that every word she said was true.

Those chicks and five eggs were indeed placed by her.

This story began the previous night.

Chi Wan had been tossing and turning in her Spirit Treasure Space, pondering how to improve the Huo family’s lives.

Although she had a wealth of resources, she couldn’t tell anyone directly.

Firstly, no one would believe her, and secondly, they might think she was crazy.

Chi Wan had to do it quietly without raising suspicion.

After much thought, she remembered the eggs that weren’t enough to go around at dinner, and Zhang Yue’e’s old hen in the backyard.

An idea struck her.

Chi Wan used the Spirit Treasure Space and her mental control to place several eggs in the old hen’s coop.

Originally, it was just eggs.

But unexpectedly, overnight, under the old hen’s incubation, three chicks hatched.

It was a pleasant surprise.

It gave Chi Wan a lot of inspiration.

Hens lay eggs, and chicks hatch from eggs.

A cycle of life.

She could play a big role in this cycle, just by using her cheat code.

Therefore, at dinner that day, everyone at the Huo family’s table had an extra sugar-water egg.

Zhang Yue’e was a good cook and made the sugar-water eggs round and beautiful.

“Xiao Wan, we don’t have brown sugar at home, so I used white sugar. Our little mountain village can’t compare to your city, you must be suffering.”

“Mother, it’s okay, things will get better.”

Listening to the kind words, a warm current flowed through Chi Wan’s heart. She lowered her head and took another sip of the sugar-water egg, the sweetness filling her mouth.

It was more delicious than any dessert she had ever tasted.