Chapter 33 – Arriving at the Village with Thank-You Gifts

At this moment, several luxurious carriages arrived at the entrance of the village. They slowly rolled in, attracting the curious gazes of the passing villagers.

The carriages stopped at the gate of Xiaojiu’s courtyard, and from them stepped a few elegantly dressed, graceful ladies.

As soon as Shen Zhiyuan saw her mother, she immediately pulled Xiaojiu along excitedly and ran over. “Little benefactor, this is my mother. Mother, look, this is the little benefactor who saved me. She’s amazing!”

Madam Shen looked at the soft and adorable little girl with affection written all over her face. She was truly adorable. Though clearly just a child, she stood there with her hands behind her back and her head held high, trying to act like a little adult — it was too cute.

She kindly took Xiaojiu’s hand and spoke gently, “Little girl, thank you so much for saving my daughter. Our Shen family will never forget this kindness.”

The chubby boy’s mother and Shen Zhiyuan’s cousin’s mother also quickly gathered around, holding Xiaojiu’s hand and expressing their concern and gratitude with every word.

Xiaojiu was a little embarrassed by the sudden warmth. She waved her hand nonchalantly, pretending not to care. “It was just a small favor, nothing worth mentioning.”

But inside, she was already frantically calling her system:
“System, system! Did you hear how they were praising me? Tell me, isn’t my charm just off the charts? Hahahahahaha!”

The system was getting a headache from Xiaojiu’s loud, hands-on-hips triumphant laughter in her mind.

Help!
Why did I bind with a little brat?!
Every day it’s one thing after another, exhausting!

The chubby boy, seeing his mother had arrived, rushed straight to the carriage. He had made sure to tell his father to bring lots and lots of gifts to the village — he planned to give them all to Xiaojiu.

He instructed the servants to carry the boxes from the carriage into Xiaojiu’s courtyard, one after another.

When Shen Zhiyuan saw her cousin, she immediately thought of what had happened the day before.

Her stomach filled with anger, she looked at her cousin, clearly wanting to speak but not knowing how to begin.

He Jiaojiao noticed her expression and asked curiously, “Cousin, is there something you want to say to me?”

The other ladies also looked over, especially Madam Shen — she knew her daughter well. That girl usually spoke faster than she thought, so it was rare to see her at a loss for words.

Shen Zhiyuan thought of Li Qiang’s infuriating face, and quickly pulled her cousin aside, telling her the entire story from the previous night with righteous indignation. At the end, she even added, “Cousin, you absolutely must not go through with marrying him. Once I’ve trained well in martial arts, I’ll beat him up every time I see him!”

He Jiaojiao couldn’t help but smile at her angry little cousin. “Thank you for worrying about me, cousin. I’ll think carefully about it.”

She gently patted her cousin’s head, but in her heart she knew — whether the engagement would be broken off or not wasn’t something she could decide.

Since ancient times, marriage had always been a matter of parental orders and matchmakers’ arrangements.

She didn’t think her father would agree to call it off. The Li family was of a higher status than theirs, and her father was very satisfied with this match. Even if he found out Li Qiang had tried to force himself on a village girl, he probably wouldn’t think it was a big deal. After all, “men are naturally flirtatious” — even her father had many concubines and mistresses.

Her mother had always been deeply in love with her father, constantly yielding and obeying his every word.

He Jiaojiao felt a bit envious of her cousin — born into a loving family, with affectionate parents. In her memory, her cousin had always been a bright and confident girl, full of life and energy.

Unlike herself — surrounded by many half-siblings at home, and her mother only had her as a daughter. Her mother held no real standing in the He family and often sighed in disappointment, lamenting that she hadn’t given birth to a son.

Her father treated her as if she were invisible.

Whenever her half-siblings acted spoiled in front of their father, she couldn’t help but feel envious.

As a child, she had once tried to fight for fairness, quarreling and competing with her half-siblings for toys or asking her parents to buy things for her too.

Her father scolded her, saying she didn’t know how to love and care for her younger siblings, while her mother would only take her hand and say, “You’re the older sister — you should give in to your younger brothers and sisters. When you’re married off one day, you’ll have to rely on your half-brothers.”

Over time, He Jiaojiao learned to accept a life where she wasn’t anyone’s priority. She tried to be sensible, obedient, and well-behaved.

She grew up cautiously, carefully avoiding stepping out of line, never fighting or competing — just like most people, enduring her way through life.

When Shen Zhiyuan heard her cousin agree, she was finally relieved. She quickly grabbed He Jiaojiao’s hand and ran toward the courtyard. “Cousin, let me tell you, Sister Xiaoxiao’s food is so good. Let’s hurry or else Wang Zherong will eat all the cake! He totally would!”

Shen Zhiyuan hadn’t forgotten that Sister Xiaoxiao had promised yesterday to make cake for everyone.

Meanwhile, Xiaojiu was inviting the ladies to come sit in her courtyard.

They had brought her so many gifts — of course she had to host them properly.

The chubby boy was still clinging to his mother’s hand, chattering nonstop about how delicious the food here was, how fun it was, and how he wanted to live here permanently.

Madam Wang was originally reluctant, but when she heard that the village also offered both schooling and martial arts training, she started to reconsider. Her son hadn’t been able to keep up with the lessons at the town’s academy, so maybe he’d actually be able to learn something here. It didn’t matter how strict or lax the teachers were — as long as her son could recognize a few characters and wouldn’t get cheated in the future, that was good enough. After all, the Wang family had plenty of wealth to ensure he could live comfortably for the rest of his life.

As for the imperial exams? The Wang family had never once entertained the idea — not a trace of good fortune had ever risen from their ancestral grave.

Madam Wang thought to herself: when we get back, I’ll tell my husband to donate some money to the village school. After all, our son will be staying here and bothering them. She still felt a bit guilty thinking about how the town’s teacher was always running to their house with complaints. Hopefully the village teacher could endure a bit more — and given how far this place was from town, it was unlikely he’d go reporting to them every other day.

She patted her plump son’s head and said, “You can stay here, but living in a young girl’s house isn’t proper. I’ll ask your father to buy a plot of land in the village and build you a house. We’ll have Dong’er come take care of you. But you must behave. If they kick you out, I won’t have the face to come begging for you.”

The chubby boy hugged A’Dou excitedly and shouted, “Did you hear that? Did you hear? My mom agreed to let me live here! Hahaha!”

Then he rushed into the courtyard to tell everyone the good news.

By the time everyone gathered in the courtyard, Xu Xiaoxiao had finished making the cakes — several dozen of them — and even prepared bubble milk tea following a recipe from a book.

Xiaojiu quickly invited the ladies to take a seat.

It was the first time the noble ladies had seen food like this. They looked at it curiously and asked, “What is this? It looks exquisite and smells delicious. And what’s this drink in the cup?”

Xu Xiaoxiao handed each of them a sample to try.

Madam Wang couldn’t wait and scooped up a spoonful. As soon as it entered her mouth, it melted instantly — the smooth texture and rich sweetness were absolutely intoxicating. That single bite made the whole world feel sweeter.

Then she took a sip of the milk tea. The creamy milk and fragrant tea blended together like silk sliding down her throat. The warm, sweet liquid spread across her palate, as if instantly washing away all the fatigue and troubles in her body.