Chapter 50

The auntie continued, “You can’t judge a book by its cover. I never thought this girl, at such a young age, would be dishonest. I wonder what kind of family would marry a girl like this.”

Another woman agreed, “Even if my son stayed single his whole life, he wouldn’t marry a lazy, dishonest woman like that.”

“Who says that’s not true? If you marry someone like that, who can afford to feed her? She eats meat every day. Look at her clothes. There’s not a single patch on them. I wonder where she got them.”

The auntie laughed, “You don’t know? There have been two intellectuals eating at her place every day. They must have given her the clothes. Otherwise, she only had one set of old clothes when she left her family. Do you think Old Lady He, who’s so stingy, would give her any money?”

The auntie continued, “Don’t you think this little girl will be like our village’s Xiaohua? She got pregnant and was abandoned. No one wanted her anymore.”

“It’s possible. Those intellectuals are from the city. Who would want a girl from the countryside? They must be just playing around. Otherwise, why do you think Xiaohua was abandoned? She was very obedient and hardworking.”

The women gossiped, each taking turns talking, with great enthusiasm.

Xia Yunxuan put away the things she had bought. She put some in her space, knowing that some people are dishonest.

She took out the salt-and-pepper pork ribs and braised pork trotters she had prepared for lunch. She also made stir-fried pork liver, a green vegetable dish, and a soup. That was about it.

Xia Yunxuan had no idea that her rumors were spreading like wildfire outside. The people in the village were excellent at gossiping.

Almost everyone in the village knew that Xia Yunxuan used the money from the two men to buy clothes and food. She was immoral. They also spread rumors that she would be abandoned by those two men soon.

Meanwhile, Xia Yunxuan, the subject of the gossip, was in her space, fighting with Duan Yue, one wolf and one girl. They were evenly matched. Feifei clapped her hands in delight. “Feifei said, ‘Sister, go for it! You have to knock that wolf down, or I’ll despise you.'”

Xia Yunxuan said, “Feifei, you love watching the show so much. You’re so strong. Why don’t you come and fight? You have a lot of strength, right? You can spar with Duan Yue. Let’s see who’s better.”

Feifei said, “Bring it on! Who’s afraid of who? Then she got into a fighting stance and provocatively said, ‘Duan Yue, come on. Let’s see who’s better.’ Duan Yue rolled her eyes at Feifei and ignored her.”

Feifei said, “Duan Yue, are you scared? You don’t dare to fight me. You’re such a cowardly wolf. Don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you for my sister’s sake.”

Xia Yunxuan, also enjoying the drama, said, “Duan Yue, fight with Feifei. Let’s see who’s better. Are you really afraid to fight her, like Feifei said?”

Duan Yue let out two angry howls. Feifei understood. It meant, “You’re asking for it. Don’t blame me if I kill you.”

Feifei provocatively said, “Bring it on! You dead wolf! Who’s afraid of you? Then the flower and the wolf started fighting in the space. Xia Yunxuan sat there, munching on sunflower seeds, enjoying the show. They were both powerful, neither one backing down.

Seeing Duan Yue’s speed now, she was so fast, her two sharp teeth bared, she lunged at Feifei’s face. But Feifei was strong and even faster. She used her yellow flower to attack Duan Yue. Duan Yue jumped back and dodged. A large pit appeared in the ground.

Xia Yunxuan saw this and thought, “When Duan Yue fought me, she was holding back and didn’t use her full strength. Otherwise, I would have been dead long ago.”

They fought for almost half an hour, but neither of them had won. Xia Yunxuan said, “Alright, stop. If you keep fighting, what will this space look like?”

Feifei said, “No, Sister. I haven’t knocked that dead wolf down yet. If I stop now, it would prove that I can’t beat her. Sister, the top spot by your side is mine. She can only be second.”

Xia Yunxuan said, “You’re both number one, alright? Stop it. If you don’t listen, I’ll throw you both out.”

Duan Yue and Feifei knew that Xia Yunxuan was about to get angry, so they stopped. Feifei pushed Duan Yue far away. She came to Xia Yunxuan and said, “Sister, what do you think? I’m amazing, right? If we encounter bad guys, you can let me out. You won’t even have to do anything.”

“I don’t need you if you’re so cute. It would make me look useless. Besides, there’s still that dead wolf. She’s not good at anything else, but if you throw her out, she’ll definitely scare those people away. Hmph, Feifei shook her petals and said arrogantly, ‘She’s only good at that.'”

Xia Yunxuan almost choked on her laughter. What a competitive and arrogant flower. Xia Yunxuan said, “Feifei, you and Duan Yue have to get along, alright?”

“Feifei, you can’t bully Duan Yue because she can’t talk. Don’t keep picking on her. That’s not right. You have to be a polite and kind flower. That’s how people will like you, alright?”

Feifei said, “Sister, I understand. I was just playing with Duan Yue. We’re both your treasures. We won’t make you upset.”

Xia Yunxuan stroked the wolf’s head and then touched Feifei’s face. She praised, “Feifei and Duan Yue, you’re both amazing.”

Xia Yunxuan looked at the time. “She said, ‘Go play by yourselves. I’m going to cook.’ Duan Yue heard Xia Yunxuan say she was going to cook. She looked at the meat in the basin and howled twice. She also pointed with her paw, meaning she wanted to eat meat.”

Xia Yunxuan said, “Alright, I’ll cook for you. You can take your cubs to the mountain to play for a while. Come back later to eat meat.” Duan Yue was also obedient. When she heard Xia Yunxuan say this, she called her wife and two cubs and ran to the back mountain.

Yuan Bao and Chen Bao ate well and grew very fast. They were probably almost 10 pounds now. They now needed a large basin to hold their milk.

Xia Yunxuan planned to cook in her space today. She blanched the pork trotters, took them out, and put them in a pot with oil and spices to simmer.

She sliced the pork liver, added salt, pepper, MSG, and oyster sauce, mixed it well, and set it aside. The pork liver would be delicious when stir-fried.

She washed the green vegetables and then minced some garlic. She would make blanched lettuce for a change of pace.

Then she prepared the ingredients for the soup and started making the salt-and-pepper pork ribs. It was done in less than an hour. Cooking in the space was fast. Xia Yunxuan picked up a rib and tasted it. It was delicious.