Chapter 8 – Farce

What Ruan Jiaojiao didn’t expect was that on her way to find Fu Ting, she ran into Ruan Xiaodie first.

Ruan Xiaodie had no children and was still a “sent-down youth,” so of course she had to set an example by going to work.

But she felt it was unfair. Why should her cousin, this brainless woman with only a chest to boast of, get to enjoy an easy life at home while she had to do backbreaking labor?

So what if her cousin had a child? What was so great about that?

And on top of that—she even got to eat chicken!

The savory fragrance of the chicken soup made Ruan Xiaodie’s mouth water uncontrollably, but she was too embarrassed to ask for any directly. So she said,
“Cousin, this chicken soup must be for Comrade Huo, right? You’re already married. It’s not proper for you to be close with another man. Let me deliver it for you!”

“Comrade Huo was injured because of you, you must feel bad for him. So you spent money from the household to buy this chicken, to help him recover, isn’t that so?”

Ruan Xiaodie deliberately raised her voice, attracting the attention of many. And as if trying to cover her own intentions, she added loudly,
“Don’t worry, Cousin! Your feelings for Comrade Huo—heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know. No one else will ever find out! I’ll keep your secret, I swear!”

Mm, that kind of oath practically echoed through the mountains, hehe.

Sure enough, before long, sharp-eared villagers followed the sound over.

“Tsk tsk tsk, her again! That Ruan Jiaojiao—never acts like a proper educated youth. Barely down in the countryside for a few days and already pregnant. Even after marriage, she’s still restless, pining for Huo Yunshu!”

“Mmm, smells so good—chicken soup, right? This shameless woman is wasting Fu Ting’s hard-earned money to feed Huo Yunshu again! How disgusting!”

“She may look prettier than Ruan Xiaodie when standing together, but I only see Xiaodie, not her. She’s not worthy!”

“If you ask me, a good young man like Huo Yunshu deserves only Ruan Xiaodie. As for Ruan Jiaojiao? A withered, broken flower! Pah!”

“Fu Ting works half a year breaking his back, and she squanders it all away. Poor Fu Ting!”

“Exactly. He’s wearing a green hat lush enough to sprout grass, yet still stupidly raising this whore! If you ask me, women like Ruan Jiaojiao should be drowned in the pond!”

“Or thrown off the cliff to feed the wolves!”

“…”

“You’re not allowed to insult my mama! My mama never betrayed my papa! We found this chicken, and the meat is for Papa to eat! You’re all bad people—blaming her without knowing the truth! Bad people! You’re disgusting! You’re all pigs! Big-mouthed sows with hippopotamus jaws!”

The first person to defend Ruan Jiaojiao was actually Dabao.

This quiet, unsociable child—the one less likable than Xiaobao, this little straight-laced boy—was the first to step up and speak out when Ruan Jiaojiao was slandered.

At that moment, Ruan Jiaojiao’s heart swelled with a bittersweet ache. She was about to melt from this child’s courage.

But the villagers’ impression of her was already too deeply ingrained. They would rather believe malicious gossip than Dabao’s truth.

Dabao grew red-eyed with anxiety, shouting hoarsely in her defense.

Ruan Xiaodie was a little surprised. She remembered that Ruan Jiaojiao’s eldest son had always clashed with her. Why was he suddenly pleading for his mother?

But before she could dwell on it, Ruan Jiaojiao slapped her hard across the face. The crisp sound instantly silenced the gossiping tongues.

Ruan Xiaodie held her cheek in disbelief, her expression shifting rapidly before settling into a pitiful, teary look.
“Cousin, why did you hit me?”

“Fine, I understand now—you want to deliver the chicken soup to Comrade Huo yourself, don’t you? Then I won’t help you. Why not just tell me instead of hitting me?”

She choked back sobs, pitiful as a little rabbit.

But Ruan Jiaojiao didn’t give her the chance to keep spouting nonsense. She said coldly,
“Of course I hit you—because you deserved it! Ruan Xiaodie, I am your elder cousin, and I’m already married. Yet in front of others, you dare spread rumors about me and another man besides my husband? Do you have proof? What kind of cousin slanders her own family like this?”

The crowd: “…”

Actually… that did sound reasonable.

After all, wasn’t there a saying, ‘Don’t air your family’s dirty laundry’? If there really was a scandal, wouldn’t relatives try to cover it up? Who would go shouting it in public like Ruan Xiaodie just had?

But Xiaodie, praised as the “clever and insightful heroine,” reacted quickly even in this situation. She said,
“Cousin, we’re all modern young women. We advocate freedom in marriage. I know you like Comrade Huo but feel too shy to admit it. I only helped say it aloud for you. If you don’t thank me, fine, but why hit me?”

The crowd: “…”

Hmm. That… also kind of made sense.

“Hmph,” Ruan Jiaojiao rolled her eyes. “Which eye of yours saw me liking that skinny dog Huo Yunshu?”

The crowd: “…” Skinny dog? What on earth was that? Something edible?

“I’ll tell you this—I only like one man: Fu Ting! Fu Ting is my sky! If I ever fall in love with another man, may I die a horrible death! I swear to heaven!”

The villagers were still superstitious. Hearing her swear like that, most of them were 70–80% convinced.

“I made this chicken for my husband Fu Ting. Today I brought our two sons to visit their hardworking father in the fields. Who could’ve guessed a rabid bitch would jump out halfway? Not only barking nonsense, but biting too. Everyone better watch out~”

Her words were so biting yet amusing that many villagers burst into laughter.

The laughter made Ruan Xiaodie’s chest ache with humiliation.

She lowered her head, sniffled hard, and muttered through clenched teeth,
“Even so, you shouldn’t have hit me. I’m your cousin, blood is thicker than water…”

“Pah! Even real brothers keep clear accounts, let alone cousins like you.” Ruan Jiaojiao stepped forward, poked her on the shoulder, and said,
“Look at the clothes you wear, the things you use—how many of them weren’t taken from me? How much money have you borrowed from me over the years? Have you ever paid it back?”

“And your peeping-tom father who spied on widows bathing—wasn’t it my father who bailed him out? Ruan Xiaodie, what gives you the right to act arrogant in front of me?”

Ruan Xiaodie was only a cousin, not even a sister, yet she had taken so many things from Ruan Jiaojiao without shame—
White sugar, face powder, new clothes…

The original novel had painted Ruan Xiaodie as a poor yet clever young woman, born into a disadvantaged family background, meant to showcase how a girl from poverty could rely on her wits to succeed.