Chapter 21: Beyond Recognition

“Ha, why is that?”

Jiang Pan Yu shook her head: “It’s not entirely clear. Some say Wang the Third Daughter was so furious upon realizing she’d been deceived that she died of anger.

Others say it was due to poor health or something else? But there are also whispers that she might have been killed by the man’s wife in the city.

But who knows what’s true or false? The Wang family was utterly heartbroken by their daughter, and since they didn’t even care about how she died, how could we outsiders know the real reason?”

Yang Guiying and Chen Lamei listened for a while but still couldn’t figure out the connection between Wang the Third Daughter and her husband’s story and the tale Jiang Pan Yu had told earlier that morning.

Jiang Pan Yu then began to explain: “That man had gotten a job in the city, right? They say money changes people, and it’s not untrue.

The man ended up sharing a bed with someone else’s wife. Who could accept being cuckolded? Later, he was caught in the room, and in desperation, he tried to escape through the window.

But his city wife was waiting for him below. The two of them started talking past each other. One said, ‘Wife, I was wrong.’

The city wife below heard it as, ‘Wife, I did it with her.’

The city wife shouted back, ‘Be careful, just come down.’

But the man above heard it as, ‘Be careful, just jump down.’

One said, ‘Wife, I was wrong, I’ll never take a mistress again.’

The other heard it as, ‘Wife, I did it, I’m going to take a mistress!’

This miscommunication, combined with the door being kicked open and the woman’s husband storming in, scared the man so much that his legs gave out, and he fell from the building, ending up half-paralyzed.

It’s said that his city wife has since divorced him, and now, half-paralyzed, he’s lost his job.

Even his relatives in the city have turned their backs on him. In the end, he moved into a restroom, truly sharing the same fate as Wang the Third Daughter.”

Yang Guiying and Chen Lamei laughed, both agreeing that Wang the Third Daughter’s husband got what he deserved. After venting their shared disdain for the man, the conversation turned back to Wang the Third Daughter.

“If you ask me, that Wang family daughter was just too foolish. Why was she so fixated on that poor guy? She fought so bitterly with her parents, only to be abandoned halfway. Her judgment was really off!”

Chen Lamei spoke while shaking her head, her face full of disapproval.

“That guy must have been heartless. Bringing Wang the Third Daughter back was probably with ill intentions.

I bet he came back to take revenge on the Wang family for humiliating him back then!

If he truly loved Wang the Third Daughter, why wouldn’t he give her face? Why would he start a family and career elsewhere?

I think he never really cared about her.

Taking her out was probably just a convenience. If she obeyed, he’d keep her, but if not, he’d do whatever he wanted with her.

I think that’s why Wang the Third Daughter ended up the way she did.”

Yang Guiying’s thoughts took a conspiratorial turn as she theorized about Wang the Third Daughter’s death.

The aunts chatted back and forth, their discussion lively and animated. At one point, they even switched to their local dialect, chattering away so fast that Jiang Pan Yu couldn’t get a word in.

When they stopped to rest halfway, the aunties went to find their familiar sisters and shared this freshly baked piece of gossip with them.

Anyone who has passed on a message knows that sometimes, a single sentence can change its meaning entirely after being passed from person to person.

Not to mention such a story, which, after being embellished by each person, had transformed into something entirely fantastical by the time it reached Jiang Pan Yu’s ears.

What? Wang the Third Daughter had resorted to eating maggots from the toilet when she had nothing to eat?

Jiang Pan Yu was quick to deny it: “I didn’t, I’m not, I would never fabricate such a story about Wang the Third Daughter.”

Who on earth added that part? It was so vivid and graphic!!

Even Jiang Pan Yu was left speechless, her eyes wide with shock, proving that rumors are indeed unreliable.

The educated youths naturally heard this gossip as well. However, by the time it reached them, the story had already been heavily embellished with countless additions.

As for the story of Wang Baochuan, Tan Yanlu hadn’t noticed it either, and combined with the earlier misheard messages, if Tan Yanlu could actually discern the truth, Jiang Pan Yu would truly have to admire her.

Tan Yanlu simply admired Jiang Pan Yu’s ability to spin such a tale, finding it quite entertaining and flavorful.

After finishing work in the evening, Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu went to the vegetable garden at the educated youth residence to harvest the cabbages.

The cabbages had fully grown, and they needed to be pulled out, washed, and dried to preserve them for winter.

There was no well in the courtyard of the educated youth residence, so they had to carry the cabbages outside to wash them. It was there by the well that they witnessed a commotion.

The wellside was always bustling with people—those fetching water, washing clothes, or cleaning vegetables—and many children playing nearby.

Despite having been in the village for less than two days, Jiang Pan Yu had already made an impression on many villagers thanks to the sensational gossip story she had shared at noon.

As soon as she appeared, the aunties washing vegetables and clothes by the well greeted her warmly and even made space for her and Tan Yanlu to wash their cabbages.

Jiang Pan Yu responded with a sweet smile, enthusiastically greeting the aunties and introducing Tan Yanlu, who stood beside her.

Tan Yanlu was also a natural at socializing, and under Jiang Pan Yu’s introduction, she quickly struck up a conversation with the aunties.

While they were chatting, three more people arrived at the well—a middle-aged woman with a sharp, unkind face, accompanied by two scruffy-looking children.

Someone greeted the woman: “Old Gao’s wife, here to wash clothes too?”

The woman, known as Old Gao’s wife, nodded and said, “And to give these two little ones a bath as well.”

As soon as Jiang Pan Yu heard the surname “Gao,” she quickly looked over, and with the help of her Gossip System, she confirmed that this was indeed the mother of the male lead, Gao Shaolin, named Lin Wumei, along with Gao Shaolin and Gao’s Sister-in-law’s two children—a boy named Gao Xiaohu and a girl named Gao Xiaoyu.

She wondered if Gao’s Sister-in-law had already started the process of divorcing Gao Shaolin and whether the villagers were aware that Gao Xiaoyu and Gao Xiaohu were Gao Shaolin’s children.

Judging by the sharp, unkind expression on Gao Shaolin’s mother’s face, it was clear she was not an easy person to get along with—stingy and always looking to take advantage of others.

She said she was going to bathe the children, but all she brought out was a loofah.

Then she pulled the two children to the well, drew a bucket of water, stripped Gao Xiaohu’s clothes, and poured the well water over the child.

Although the weather was hot now, taking a cold bath wasn’t a big deal. Many children were playing in the streams and by the riverside.

However, the water drawn from the well was really too cold. Usually, people would leave it in the sun to warm up before using it for bathing.

But no one was as casual as Lin Wumei, though the people around were used to it, indicating she often did this.

Lin Wumei shamelessly asked someone nearby for some plant ash. The person she borrowed from rolled their eyes and said, “It’s not that I’m stingy. A bit of plant ash isn’t worth much.

It’s just that you always forget and have to borrow from others every time.

Lin Wumei, when will you ever change your habit of always trying to take advantage?”