Chapter 2 – Borrowing Rice

Auntie’s eyes were red as she pointed at Chu Xiaoqi. “It was that little wretch Chu Xiaoqi who hit me!”

Ji Yanyang turned his head in shock to look at Chu Xiaoqi, then looked back at his own mother with a disbelieving expression. He pointed at Chu Xiaoqi and said, “Mom, you must still be half-asleep, right? That coward Chu Xiaoqi? You think she’d dare to hit you?”

“It was her!” Auntie gritted her teeth in rage.

“Really?”

“I hit her. It has nothing to do with my sister-in-law…” Ji Jingze, who had been watching the commotion for a while, suddenly rushed forward and stood protectively in front of Chu Xiaoqi.

Chu Xiaoqi stared blankly at the boy now shielding her, momentarily stunned and confused.

“Heh, I was wondering who had the guts—so it was you, brat?” Ji Yanyang swaggered over to Ji Jingze, gave him a once-over, then suddenly grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up. “Let’s see if I don’t beat the crap out of you today, you little bastard.”

Ji Jingze simply closed his eyes, resigned.

But the expected pain didn’t come.

Instead, a loud slap echoed in the air, his collar was suddenly released, and he fell to the ground. Then a howl erupted above him.

“Aiyoooo! Chu Xiaoqi, you dare hit me? You tired of living? Let’s see if I don’t beat you to death…” Ji Yanyang had been struck on the back of the hand by Chu Xiaoqi with a wooden staff. He immediately raised his fists and charged at her, ferocious and full of rage.

But before he could react, he was kicked away. Then came a flurry of fierce strikes raining down on him, leaving him rolling on the ground wailing and screaming for his parents.

The scene stunned not only the entire Ji family but also the villagers watching nearby.

Since when did Chu Xiaoqi become so fierce?

Even Chu Xiaoqi herself didn’t know why she had suddenly become so violent. Her movements seemed ingrained in her bones, reacting instinctively in the face of danger.

And though it looked chaotic, every strike was aimed to harm.

If her body hadn’t been weakened from days of hunger, Ji Yanyang might have died after just a few blows.

“Chu Xiaoqi, you little slut, how dare you hit my son? I’ll fight you to the death—”

“Owwww!”

“Murder! Murder!”

Auntie, seeing her son completely overwhelmed and unable to fight back, rushed forward to help. But just as she approached, she was kicked to the ground as well.

“Stop! What do you think you’re doing?” A stern male voice came from the entrance of the courtyard.

“The village chief is here, the village chief is here!” The onlookers quickly made way.

Auntie, seeing the village chief, took the chance to lie on the ground and start her hysterics. “Murder! There’s been a murder! Jingxuan’s wife is killing people!”

“What’s going on here?” The village chief looked at the mess in the courtyard, his face darkening with anger as he bellowed.

The Ji family remained silent, only sobbing. Chu Xiaoqi wanted to explain herself, but didn’t know where to begin—after all, she was technically the instigator.

“Village Chief, you must stand up for us! Chu Xiaoqi tried to kill us!” Auntie wasted no time playing the victim, rushing to accuse first.

“She was the one who tried to take Ji Jinglan and sell her as a concubine to Lord An in the county, and now she’s accusing someone else—shameless!”

Someone in the crowd blurted out the truth, and the villagers began to whisper among themselves:

“Exactly, exactly, we all saw it. The Ji family was trying to accuse others first.”

“It was that mother and son who came to make trouble, and got what they deserved from Chu Xiaoqi!”

“Serves them right…”

The villagers had long been disgusted by Ji Yanyang. He’d been a local bully for over a decade, using his size to push others around.

He was a troublemaker from a young age—if he wasn’t beating up someone’s kid today, he was stealing from another family tomorrow.

When he was little, he at least had the decency to do it secretly. But as he grew up, he didn’t even bother to hide it anymore.

He didn’t even bother to be discreet anymore—if he saw something good, he’d just take it outright.

It wasn’t like no one had ever reported him to the authorities, but the incidents were usually minor, and he’d be released after a few days.

And once he got out, he’d immediately retaliate—breaking into people’s homes, smashing things, causing havoc.

The villagers were furious, but sadly, no one could do anything about him.

Now, seeing Ji Yanyang get beaten so thoroughly by Chu Xiaoqi was incredibly satisfying. Naturally, everyone started speaking up for Chu Xiaoqi.

“Wu Shi, I’ve tolerated you and your son long enough.
If you don’t tell the truth today, both of you can get out of Ji Family Village right now.”

The village chief looked down at Auntie Wu, who was still sprawled on the ground, his voice cold and commanding.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Ji Yanyang, who was trembling on the ground. He couldn’t have been more pleased. After more than ten years of headaches caused by this brute—someone he couldn’t beat or scold—finally, someone had managed to put him in his place.

Auntie Wu knew how to read the room. Seeing that things weren’t going in their favor today, and that Ji Yanyang had been thoroughly crushed by Chu Xiaoqi, she quickly wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeve and began to explain:

“Village Chief, Chu Xiaoqi clearly agreed to let me take Ji Jinglan to Lord An’s house. I even received a deposit. When Jinglan didn’t show up this morning, I came to pick her up. But when I did, the second Ji family suddenly went back on their word and refused to hand her over. How am I supposed to explain that to Lord An?”

“Pah! You old witch! You want me to slap you to death?
What did you say to me at the start?

You said you were sending Xiaolan to Lord An’s household as a cleaning maid, with a salary of one tael of silver a month—that she could help support the family and wouldn’t go hungry. That’s why I agreed to let her go.

Who knew you actually promised Lord An to send Xiaolan to be his concubine?

You deserve a beating…”

Chu Xiaoqi raised her cudgel high, but the village chief quickly coughed heavily and said, “Ahem! Ahem! Stop that… can’t you see I’m still standing right here?”

He shot her a fierce glare, then lowered his head to ask Auntie Wu, “Wu Shi, is what Chu Xiaoqi said true?”

Chu Xiaoqi pouted and reluctantly lowered the cudgel.

She wasn’t making anything up. That’s exactly how the original version of her in the book had explained things to the male lead.

Auntie Wu shrank like she was constipated, her eyes darting evasively. “W-Well… being a concubine isn’t worse than being a maid, right? At least she’d be like… half a mistress…”

The village chief was so furious he felt like his head might explode. He stamped his cane hard on the ground.

“Wu Shi, you beast! How could our Ji Family Village produce such a vile woman like you—heartless enough to sell your husband’s niece to become some old man’s concubine…

If it’s such a great opportunity, why don’t you send one of your own nieces from your mother’s side?”

“Village Chief, I… I…” Auntie Wu looked anxious but didn’t know how to defend herself.

Back then, she had told Chu Xiaoqi she was sending Ji Jinglan to the An residence to work as a maid.

Her real plan was to get Jinglan into the house, and once she was taken by Lord An, she’d just say the lord had taken a liking to her and insisted on making her a concubine.

That way, she could pocket the benefits without having to share anything with the second branch of the family.

But who knew Chu Xiaoqi would hit her head, wake up, and seem like a completely different person—daring to confront her openly, and even hitting Ji Yanyang!

If Chu Xiaoqi became this fierce from now on, it would be hard to control the second branch in the future.

She turned toward Ji Laoda, who was squatting in the corner silently smoking, and began to whine, “Ji Laoda, are you even a man? You’re just going to sit there and watch an outsider bully your wife and son?”

Ji Laoda turned to glance at her, preparing to stand up, but the village chief coughed twice—he immediately crouched back down.

Auntie Wu was so angry her head buzzed. She slapped the ground and wailed loudly, “Oh heavens!
What kind of useless man did I marry…”

“…Useless coward! Just standing there watching your wife and son get bullied by outsiders…

I’m taking my son and going back to my mother’s house tomorrow!”

“No need to wait till tomorrow—go pack your things now and get out of Ji Family Village at once!” the village chief snorted coldly, his tone like ice.

“You old dog, how dare you talk to my mother like that—” Ji Yanyang scrambled up from the ground and charged at the village chief with his fists raised.

But suddenly, a cudgel slapped down in front of him with a sharp crack. He immediately changed course and, without a word, went to help his mother up and walk her out.

Chu Xiaoqi, holding the cudgel, turned and winked cheekily at the village chief. The village chief twitched his mouth in amusement and thought, Well, at least this girl has some sense.

Ji Yanyang supported his mother as they shoved through the crowd, cursing loudly, “Chu Xiaoqi, this isn’t over! Just you wait! Tomorrow I’ll go to the city and bring my brothers back to deal with your second branch!”

Ji Laoda tapped his pipe and cheerfully trotted after the mother and son, following them back toward their courtyard.

The village chief turned and waved at the villagers. “Alright, it’s settled. Stop gawking and get back to whatever you were doing.”
The crowd, having had their fill of excitement, began to slowly disperse.

Once everyone had left, the village chief turned to Chu Xiaoqi and looked her up and down. “When did you learn martial arts, girl? Could it be that your memory has returned?”

Chu Xiaoqi blinked in confusion, then shrugged. “I don’t know. I just… knew how to fight when I woke up.”

The village chief saw she didn’t seem to be lying and probed further, “Really don’t remember anything? Your name, your hometown—nothing at all?”

Chu Xiaoqi still looked completely blank and shook her head.

She didn’t even have the original host’s memories—what could she possibly remember?

According to the book, the original host was rescued by the male lead, Ji Jingxuan, by the river.

When the original host woke up, she had complete amnesia—didn’t even know her own name.

Both of them had climbed out of the river soaking wet, and when the villagers returning from market saw them together, rumors flew. With no other choice, the male lead and the original host ended up getting married.

Since he rescued her on the seventh day of the eighth lunar month, he named her Chu Xiaoqi, and that’s what she’d been called ever since.

The original host, having lost all her memory, always believed the male lead had taken advantage of her while she was vulnerable—ruining her chastity and forcing her into marriage with this dirt-poor family, living a life of hunger and hardship. She despised them all.

She never treated the family as human. Whenever she was in a bad mood, she’d beat the younger ones, and scold the elders nonstop—she could curse for a whole hour without repeating herself once.

She was especially brutal to the male lead—hitting and cursing him constantly.

That said, the original host did have a beautiful face, charming with a touch of boldness. The family always let her have her way, never arguing with her. Whatever little good they had, they gave it to her first.

Even so, it wasn’t enough—they were so poor they barely had one meal, let alone a next one.

“Ah, forget it, forget it…”
The village chief sighed. “Since you don’t remember anything, just try to live your life well. Stop stirring up trouble.”

He turned to leave.

Chu Xiaoqi called out weakly, “Village Chief, it’s hard to live well when we’re starving…

Could you kindly lend us some grain?”

The village chief paused mid-step, then waved dismissively without even turning around. “We just paid our taxes—my grain jar’s nearly empty. Where would I find extra to lend you…”

He hadn’t even finished the sentence when he clutched his cane and bolted toward the gate as if ghosts were chasing him.

Chu Xiaoqi reached out helplessly like a melodramatic TV heroine. “Hey—hey! Village Chief, don’t go!

Lend me one dou of rice, I’ll pay back one and a half!

If that’s too much, lend half a dou, I’ll return one!”

But the village chief didn’t even look back as he darted away. Years of chronic leg pain seemed to vanish in an instant—he ran faster than he ever did in his youth.