Chapter 35: Living Apart

Hearing those words, it was Liu Zhaodi scolding her daughter again.

This had been going on for a while now. On the surface, she was scolding her daughter, but in reality, she was being sarcastic towards Xu Jiaojiao.

Even Dani and Erni had been afraid to approach her lately.

“You, Liu Zhaodi, what are you muttering about in there? Is that how you act as a mother?”

Wang Fengmei couldn’t take it anymore and turned to scold her.

As soon as the mother-in-law’s voice fell, Liu Zhaodi’s scolding in the room stopped abruptly.

The other children had already run out, and the entire courtyard was quiet.

“Dani, Erni, come out and help pick vegetables.”

Wang Fengmei called out, and after a while, the door opened.

Two listless girls walked out of the house.

Seeing them, Xu Jiaojiao felt helpless.

Erni’s eyes lit up when she saw her third aunt in the courtyard.

But remembering something, she lowered her head and said nothing.

Dinner was plentiful today. Qin Shuo had bought a large bone from the county again.

Besides that, he also bought a block of oil.

Xu Jiaojiao had already eaten a big meal today and wasn’t that hungry anymore.

She sipped her soup slowly.

But Liu Zhaodi, sitting opposite her, looked miserable.

It was as if she wasn’t eating bone soup but some kind of garbage.

“If you can eat, eat. If not, give it to someone else!” Wang Fengmei couldn’t stand it anymore and said with a stern face.

She had bone soup to eat, yet she was making a fuss.

Hearing this, Liu Zhaodi’s face turned bad, and she lowered her head and started to drink her soup.

But the expression on her face clearly showed resentment.

And that resentment was directed at Xu Jiaojiao across the table.

Xu Jiaojiao didn’t even raise her head, too lazy to pay attention to her.

“Earning money but not bringing it home, spending lavishly, which wife is like her?”

Unable to hold back, Liu Zhaodi finally spoke.

As soon as she finished, the table fell silent.

Although everyone didn’t say it out loud, they all knew that Xu Jiaojiao’s medicine money was definitely more than that.

Otherwise, who would spend so much money on sweets for the children without any special occasion?

Although she knew she would attract envy, Xu Jiaojiao didn’t expect this day to come so soon.

After a pause, she said, “I earned the money, and I can keep five yuan. Can you?”

Hearing this, Liu Zhaodi’s face turned black.

She couldn’t, not to mention five yuan, even five cents she couldn’t earn.

“No matter how much you earn, before we split the family, it belongs to the family.”

Hearing this, Xu Jiaojiao laughed.

“Then let’s live apart, so you don’t have to look at me with displeasure.”

As soon as Xu Jiaojiao finished speaking, the entire kitchen fell silent.

Dani and Erni both looked frightened.

Ding Xiujing almost rolled her eyes to the sky. This fool was really stupid.

Xu Jiaojiao could earn money, which was a good thing. They could also benefit and live a good life.

But she went and offended her.

What good could they get if they separated?

Liu Zhaodi didn’t expect Xu Jiaojiao to say such a thing. For a moment, her head buzzed.

“What are you talking about?” she said angrily, glaring at Xu Jiaojiao. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what do you mean? You want us to work like oxen and horses and earn money for you to spend?”

Xu Jiaojiao scoffed.

Who in the entire brigade didn’t envy the Qin family’s life?

Qin Lao San was a soldier outside, and he sent money back every month, making their life better than most.

Yet she wasn’t satisfied? She still cared about the little money Xu Jiaojiao earned.

Hearing this, Liu Zhaodi’s face turned pale.

She turned to look at Qin Shuo next to Xu Jiaojiao, but saw that he looked indifferent, as if separating or not didn’t matter to him.

How could this be?

Suddenly, there was a “bang” as a rice bowl hit the table.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Qin Sheng with a black face.

He said to Liu Zhaodi, “We don’t lack food or drink at home. If you’re not satisfied, go back to your Liu family!”

As soon as these words fell, Liu Zhaodi’s face turned pale, and she didn’t dare to say anything more.

The kitchen became quiet again, only the sound of slurping could be heard.

After being disturbed like this, Xu Jiaojiao had lost her appetite.

She ate a bowl of rice haphazardly and went out.

The thought of moving out and living separately had become clearer in her mind.

But she couldn’t decide on this matter.

For a while, she felt suffocated, and the joy of making money during the day had vanished.

At night, the two of them, whose relationship had become cold again, went back to their own beds and slept quietly.

Since she had transmigrated, her mission hadn’t gone smoothly, and her life had been bumpy.

Xu Jiaojiao had no emotions at all.

She stared blankly at the dark ceiling, her mind in a mess.

On the other side, Qin Shuo realized that he had been affected by that woman.

His face was complex.

That night, both of them had different thoughts, but when they woke up the next day, they both fell into a taciturn silence.

Xu Jiaojiao didn’t want to see his cold face, so naturally, she wouldn’t go out of her way to seek abuse.

It was better if he ignored her.

The work in the brigade had also changed from picking tea to plowing the fields, preparing to plant rice seedlings.

She had thought picking tea was hard enough, but compared to plowing, it was child’s play.

The brigade only had one ox, which wasn’t enough, so they had to use shovels to dig the ground.

Xu Jiaojiao was strong and joined the aunts in the field to dig.

In a row of dark-skinned aunts, she, a white-skinned young wife, stood out.

“Xu Jiaojiao, did your husband buy you something to put on your face? Why are you so much whiter?”

An aunt asked curiously.

“Didn’t you see her gain weight? It’s normal to be whiter.” Another aunt agreed with Ding Xiujing’s opinion.

Fat = White.

Hearing this, the aunt took a closer look at Xu Jiaojiao.

After a while, she nodded. “Indeed, she’s gained weight. You know what, I wouldn’t even recognize her from afar.”

As the old saying goes, “A fair complexion covers three flaws.”

Xu Jiaojiao’s skin had turned whiter, making her look prettier. At first glance, people would think she was from the city.

Several people discussed it, each saying their piece.

The conclusion was that Qin Shuo had returned, Xu Jiaojiao was happy, and she had become prettier.

Xu Jiaojiao: …

You do you!

Once again, she managed to get away with it and couldn’t help but want to wipe away her sweat.

She cursed the useless system in her heart for the nth time.

She was someone who worked in the fields every day. How could her skin get whiter?

But that useless system was nowhere to be found.

It said it was going to check, but it hadn’t come back with any results. Xu Jiaojiao felt that it had probably messed up.

It had abandoned her to fend for herself.

Otherwise, with her relationship with the main system, wouldn’t it be able to figure out what was going on?

But Xu Jiaojiao wasn’t in a hurry now. The system could produce food every day.

After the incident of going to the county last time, she would occasionally sneak a bite of something.

Sometimes, Qin Shuo would catch her, but Xu Jiaojiao pretended not to see him.

She ate her own food with a clear conscience.