Chapter 34 – The Female Supporting Character Whose Life Was Taken Away by a Transmigrated Woman

He Xiunian finished his shower and came out. It had started to drizzle, and the sky was overcast with mist. He dried his hair, put on work pants, and headed out.

He went to the store to take a look and then went straight to Wen Xin’s small courtyard.

The gate of the courtyard had already been opened, but Wen Xin wasn’t inside. He Xiunian couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved. After all, he had just had that kind of dream the previous night. It hadn’t been long, and even though he was thick-skinned, he still felt embarrassed to see her in person.

Since it was raining, it was the right time to plant the peach trees. Wen Xin put on a raincoat and rubber boots and started planting from the bottom of the mountain. Before long, she had planted halfway up the hill. Seeing that it was almost mealtime, Wen Xin headed home to cook. The dishes were similar to those of the previous day, but since there was an extra person, Wen Xin fried an additional dish of celery and cured meat.

Cured meat was a tasty dish. Even with bad cooking skills, it would still smell good when fried, though it could be a bit greasy. Wen Xin ate a few pieces but soon couldn’t eat any more. However, she finished the celery, leaving the rest of the cured meat for He Xiunian, who took care of it without hesitation.

He Xiunian wasn’t slow. In just three days, he had finished laying all the floor tiles. Wen Xin inspected the work and expressed her satisfaction, immediately paying him the final amount. He Xiunian accepted the payment, thought for a moment, and then asked Wen Xin: “I know a bit about electrical work. Your place hasn’t had the electricity set up yet, right? Do you want me to help?”

Wen Xin froze for a moment and then became very happy. “You know electrical work? That’s great, saves me the trouble of finding someone else. Don’t worry, I’ll pay you the market price for the electrical work.”

He Xiunian wasn’t one to smile much, but he nodded and said: “We’re from the same hometown. I’ll give you a discount, 20% off.”

Wen Xin had rented the land, built a house, done some simple renovations, and customized some furniture. With not much money left, she was still very pleased that He Xiunian offered a discount. “Alright then, I won’t be polite.”

He Xiunian said little and nodded. The next day, he went to the village with his tools for the electrical work. Installing the electricity wasn’t complicated, and he finished it in a day. He knew Wen Xin hadn’t prepared any lights, so he brought some along himself. After completing the electrical installation, He Xiunian walked around the small courtyard, feeling like there was nothing else left for him to do. Once Wen Xin had paid, he packed up his things and left.

Wen Xin walked him to the foot of the mountain, and they parted ways to go home.

He Xiunian drove his tricycle back home, but was stopped by Wang Zhuang under his building. Wang Zhuang was from Wangjiaba, the village next to Danxi Village. He and He Xiunian were classmates in elementary school. He Xiunian left at the age of fourteen to venture out, and Wang Zhuang had followed. Now, he was helping He Xiunian manage the renovation sites.

“He Zi, tell me, what have you been doing these past few days since you weren’t at the store?”

He Xiunian had a cigarette in his mouth and looked at him sideways. “Don’t you know?”

Wang Zhuang clicked his tongue. “I heard from Xiao Zhao that the person you were renovating for has a pretty girl? You didn’t go there to work just because of the girl, did you?”

He Xiunian put his hands in his pockets and ignored Wang Zhuang.

The more Wang Zhuang thought about it, the more he was convinced it was true. He clicked his tongue again and followed He Xiunian. “The street BBQ stall has opened. Let’s go get some barbecue.”

He Xiunian paused for a moment while unlocking the door, then took back the key. “Let’s go.”

The front street wasn’t far from where they lived; it only took a few minutes to walk there. They arrived early, and the owner had just opened the shop. Wang Zhuang found a seat and said to the owner: “Boss, give us forty skewers—ten of kidney, a plate of stir-fried river snails, make it extra spicy, and a plate of spicy crayfish, also a little spicier. And bring six bottles of beer, chilled.”

“Got it.” the boss quickly got to work, and the lady in the back, who was in charge of the stir-frying, began cooking the snails.

Wang Zhuang lazily leaned back against the plastic chair, cigarette in his mouth, watching He Xiunian. “Old He, you’ve got your eye on that young lady now, huh? Now that the tiles are laid and the wiring’s done, what other excuse do you have to keep getting close to her?”

He Xiunian shot Wang Zhuang a sideways glance. “Stop talking nonsense, what do you mean ‘getting close’? She’s our fellow villager, I’m just taking extra care of her.”

“Oh? Fellow villager? Who’s that?”

The shop owner, in between grilling the meat, brought over six bottles of beer and a plate of peanuts. He Xiunian picked up a peanut with chopsticks and ate it expressionlessly before saying: “Wen Xin.”

Anyone who hung around He Xiunian wasn’t unfamiliar with the Zhou family, and they had heard of Wen Xin, the unfortunate girl.

Wang Zhuang couldn’t help but click his tongue. “Oh, it’s her. Last time I was home, I heard my mom mention her. Apparently, that girl ran away from home just so she wouldn’t marry you. What a twist of fate, huh? Who would have thought you’d run into her in the Provincial Capital?”

Wang Zhuang chuckled at the thought. But then he realized, if he were Wen Xin, he wouldn’t want to marry He Xiunian either. It wasn’t that He Xiunian wasn’t good or excellent, but He Xiunian was the cousin of Wen Xin’s former fiancé, and a cousin raised by the Zhou family no less. Such a complicated relationship was too much for any woman to handle.

Talking about Wen Xin made Wang Zhuang think of Wen Xin’s rival—the woman who had slept with her good friend’s fiancé. “You know Zhou Wenhai’s cheap wife, right? Let me tell you, she really made a fool of herself. I don’t know what nasty thing she did, but a few days ago, some stray dog bit her right in front of her house. After a lot of effort, she finally recovered from the injury, went out to walk around, and got hit by a crazy cow. She was lying on the ground for a long time before she could get up. The funny thing is, the baby in her belly was fine, even after all that. And you know your aunt, she’s so paranoid, so she took her to the county hospital for a checkup.”

“Hey, it’s almost miraculous. She’s really pregnant. In the past few days, she’s been bitten by dogs and hit by cows, and yet the baby’s still fine in her belly, as strong as Nezha. Your aunt took her home, but before they even entered the village, she got covered in bird droppings from some unknown birds. Your aunt got so angry, calling her a ‘broom star.’ Your aunt’s always been superstitious, just like how she believes you bring misfortune to the family. Now she’s convinced that Su Quihe is the broom star, always causing trouble. If it weren’t for the fact that Su Quihe’s carrying her family’s baby, she probably would’ve kicked her out by now.”

The skewers were served, and He Xiunian ate while listening to Wang Zhuang gossip. When he mentioned Mother Zhou, He Xiunian’s brows didn’t even twitch.

The two of them ate heartily at the food stall. Afterward, He Xiunian took a shower, lay in bed, and the alcohol quickly took its toll. He fell asleep in no time. That night, He Xiunian had another dream. He dreamed he was a soldier, married to a beautiful wife. In the dream, he and his wife did this and that, but when she turned around, her face was still Wen Xin’s.

He Xiunian woke up suddenly, the sky still dark. He lifted the blanket and glanced at the time, swore under his breath, and got up to take a shower and change the bedsheets.

The smell from the tiles had faded after two days, and the custom furniture she had ordered was now ready. Wen Xin invited people from the village to help move everything up the mountain. She unpacked all the things she had bought recently and arranged them in the house, tidying up. She had now fully settled into the house on the mountain.

The peach trees planted on the mountain had been nurtured by spiritual energy in the space, so they took root very easily after being transplanted. It had only been one day, but the leaves, which had wilted at first, had already perked up quite a bit.

Wen Xin went up the mountain and gathered a lot of medicinal herbs. She cleared some land in her backyard and planted them there. When she built the house, she had only used about five-tenths of the land, leaving the other half outside. Wen Xin directly enclosed a piece of land and planted vegetables.

The vegetables in this garden were transplanted from the village head’s house. Every week, Wen Xin watered them twice with diluted well water, and the vegetables grew strong and healthy.

Once planted, Wen Xin didn’t bother much with them.

Now it was autumn. In Xiang Province, autumn rains were frequent, and it was raining again outside. Wen Xin decided not to go out and stayed at home.

She had placed a concubine couch in her room. The windows of her master bedroom were low, and the couch was aligned with the windows. She had spread soft bedding on it and placed colorful bed sheets. She also arranged a few throw pillows scattered across it.

Wen Xin leaned against the throw pillows, reading a book. On the small side table next to her, there was a plate of homemade snacks and a cup of tea.

There was a knock on the door, and Wen Xin got up from the couch. She slipped on her slippers and went to open the door. Outside stood Zhang Chunhua, wearing a raincoat and a conical hat, holding an umbrella.

“Big Sis Wen Xin, our old hen hatched about twenty chicks. She sent me to ask if you’d like to raise some.” Zhang Chunhua said.

The backyard had a livestock pen that was still empty. Yesterday, it hadn’t rained, and Wen Xin had been thinking of going down the mountain to the village to catch a few chicks. But with Zhang Chunhua bringing up the idea, it saved Wen Xin the trouble. “Sure, I’ll take ten. It’s pretty cold out with the rain, come on in and warm up.”

Wen Xin pulled Zhang Chunhua inside.

The entrance hall had three rooms in total, with the main door being one of them. Wen Xin had asked Uncle Zhang to make a shoe cabinet with leftover materials, and when the tiles were being installed, half of this room was tiled as well.

Zhang Chunhua had come to Wen Xin’s house not only to talk about the chicks but also to spend some time with her. This wasn’t her first visit. She took off her raincoat and hat, placing them on the rack next to the shoe cabinet, then effortlessly changed into a pair of slippers. She followed Wen Xin into the house, and as soon as they entered, she flopped onto the concubine couch.

“Wen Xin, your place is so comfortable. If I ever get married, I wish I could live in such a nice house.” Zhang Chunhua sighed.

Wen Xin sat next to her and nudged her further in. “Has your family set you up with a match?”

There were many ethnic minorities in Xiang Province, and for the girls from these communities, it was normal to marry at fifteen or sixteen. By nineteen or twenty-nine, they were considered old maids. The Han people, who had lived alongside these minorities for so long, had also become somewhat influenced by these customs when it came to marriage. It was quite common for people to marry in their teens.

However, Zhang Chunhua wasn’t considered old by these standards.

“Did your aunt find a match for you?”

Zhang Chunhua rummaged through the small bag she brought with her and pulled out a pair of shoes she was making. She was currently embroidering the tops of the shoes. Her skills were impressive; the flowers she embroidered were vivid and beautiful.

“I don’t know yet. He’s from the neighboring village. He said he’ll come by in a couple of days.” Zhang Chunhua replied.

Wen Xin nodded, and the two of them chatted about other things. Zhang Chunhua stayed at Wen Xin’s house until the afternoon before heading back.

For lunch, the two of them made some potatoes and sweet potatoes to eat.

Looking ahead, Wen Xin figured she’d still be living alone for quite some time, so she decided to improve her cooking skills. She planned to head to the bookstore in town to buy a few cookbooks.

After leaving the bookstore, Wen Xin was called out to. She turned around and saw that it was He Xiunian.

Wen Xin raised an eyebrow. “He Xiunian? What a coincidence.”

He Xiunian nodded coolly, maintaining his distance. He pointed to the neighborhood behind her. “This neighborhood is newly built, and they just handed over the properties. There are quite a few people doing renovations here, and I’m working on one of them. Are you here to buy cookbooks?”

He Xiunian couldn’t quite understand why he had called out to Wen Xin. He frowned deeply, his face growing even more serious as he tried to figure it out.

“Yeah, you know my cooking isn’t great, so I wanted to improve.” Wen Xin said, glancing over at the area he had pointed out. Then she added: “Is someone calling for you?”

He Xiunian grunted in affirmation.

Wen Xin had planned to take advantage of the early time to stroll around the street, so she didn’t want to continue with the awkward small talk. “Alright, you go ahead and get back to work. I’m heading off. If you have time, stop by my place sometime.”

He Xiunian remained impassive. “I’ll be free this weekend.”