Rebirth: My Dear Little Wife Is So Scheming

Chapter 23: Chapter 23 Discussion Chapter 23: Chapter 23 Discussion After the meal, Bai Xiao used the excuse of feeling much better to get out of bed, and it was only then that she noticed An Zhiyuan and a few other men from the village building a wall for the collapsed room in her house. It was almost finished, and even the top of the courtyard wall was now topped with an extra half-meter of mud. She couldn’t help but purse her lips in a smile.

The Instructor An really had a keen eye for detail.

The work was quickly finished, and everyone left.

After cleaning himself up, An Zhiyuan saw Bai Xiao standing at the doorway of her house, grinning at him and asking, “Feeling much better now?” Seeing her rosy cheeks, he guessed she was indeed much better.

Bai Xiao nodded, “Instructor An, thank you. I really owe you one today!” It was absolutely heartfelt! No one in her life had ever treated her this well, not to mention in her previous life. Today, she felt more cared for than she had ever been before.

“That’s good. If you need anything in the future, just come to me. Our troops are training nearby your area. Is your wound feeling better? Otherwise, can I apply some medicine for you?” An Zhiyuan asked as he looked at her arm, wondering if she could change her bandage by herself.

Bai Xiao quickly shook her head, “There’s really no need, the aunties are helping out.”

What a joke. Her wound had already healed, and this piece of gauze was just for show, to deceive others. If An Zhiyuan saw it, the jig would be up.

“Okay then, if you need anything, just let me know. Don’t be shy; serving the people is our duty!”

“Alright, Instructor An, I certainly won’t hesitate to bother you if something comes up!”

Bai Xiao saw off Instructor An and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

What a chaotic day it had been.

She carefully checked out the room. On the kitchen stove was a bag of cornmeal, likely carried inside by Camp Head Instructor An, the water jar was filled to the brim, and the woodpile was neatly stacked, seemingly newly tidied. The room too had been neatly repaired.

It was only then that Bai Xiao remembered she still hadn’t given back the hot water bottle, which must have been provided by Instructor An.

Well, she would talking about it the next time she saw Instructor An.

Suddenly, she felt a sense of relief wash over her. Life was still so wonderful.

She decided to find the postman. In their village, mail delivery only started at noon, with the postman going from house to house. Generally, the villagers didn’t receive much mail; no one would waste two cents on a postage stamp for no good reason, unless there was some important family matter that needed communication. Besides, most villagers had lived in the village for generations and didn’t even have the possibility of receiving mail.

So, the postman showing up was usually a big deal.

Over at the Bai Family’s place, from yesterday until today, the atmosphere was tense, especially between Li Chunhua and Bai Jianguo, both of whom had dark expressions, making everyone in the household tread on eggshells.

Bai Mei felt like crying out of frustration. Ever since Bai Xiao had arrived at their home, for four years, she had never done any chores, but now she had to wake up early to cut pigweed, then come back to chop it up for pig feed, not to mention the chickens that were waiting to be fed.

The pigsty and chicken coop both needed cleaning, those piles of excrement were so revolting Bai Mei felt like vomiting just looking at them, tasks that used to be Bai Xiao’s.

Now assigned to her, she didn’t dare shirk them, her own father’s slap from yesterday was still fresh in her memory; she absolutely didn’t dare to provoke Bai Jianguo at this time.

She could only sit there, seething with resentment as she chopped pigweed, cursing Bai Xiao viciously, “That wretched girl, let her starve to death for all I care. Without our family supporting her, she’d not even have dog feces to eat. She actually dares not to return after leaving, let her have the guts to never come back in her lifetime.”

Bai Jianguo and Li Chunhua didn’t go out to the fields today, Bai Shan and Bai Zhuang went instead, the three adults stayed behind, not working the land.

Mainly because Bai Jianguo now didn’t know how to show his face, with that dead girl Bai Xiao causing such a scene yesterday, now the whole village was eagerly watching to laugh at the Bai Family’s misfortune, Bai Jianguo felt guilty himself, unable to step out the door.

Yesterday, he had no choice but to thicken his skin and pretend to help at Bai Xiao’s dilapidated house, with so many villagers, the instructor, and the village chief and other officials present, he didn’t dare not lend a hand. Jeered at by some of the gossiping women in the village, Bai Jianguo felt a fire in his belly.

This was the first time in his life he had ever lost so much face.

“Just let that dead girl get away with it? That house is…” Hao Fang said, gritting her teeth in hatred, she and Bai Jianguo had already planned to sell that house as quickly as possible, after all, Bai Zhuang’s marriage was coming up and needed a fair bit of money. Marrying off a daughter-in-law meant the house would face famine; of course, that house couldn’t just sit there unused.

But now, to their dismay, the cooked duck had flown away.

Li Chunhua waved her hand, her face full of impatience, “No worries, sister-in-law. As long as I’m here, Bai Xiao won’t escape from the palm of my hand. We’ve supported her for so many years; it’s time for her to repay us.” Over the years, she had long come to view Bai Xiao not as a person, but as a property for her grandsons and granddaughters, a property that could change their fortunes one day.

Especially now, at the critical moment of Bai Zhuang about to get married.

Bai Jianguo, taking a drag from his dry tobacco pipe, inhaled deeply twice, “Mom, I think this matter is likely to fall through. Don’t bring up the matter of the house for now. With so many eyes in the village watching, the issue of the house is illegitimate and our behavior yesterday unreasonable. We didn’t have the upper hand, so let’s not be too stubborn about the house.

Better not to stir things up, making everyone even more focused on it. I think we should deal with Bai Xiao first. If she won’t go out to work, then we should quickly find someone to marry her off, the dowry is one thing, but she can’t be allowed to freeload at home anyway.”

He had contemplated it all night long.

Hao Fang perked up at this, slapping her thigh, “Right, marrying off Bai Xiao kills two birds with one stone. First, the dowry is definitely a sum of money, and second, once Bai Xiao is married off, the house will be free again. We can then deal with the house, and it would be rightful and proper.”

That made sense; Li Chunhua nodded in agreement, “That settles it. I’ll go find a matchmaker in the next couple of days. She’s the best around here, I’ll find a suitable family for Bai Xiao. As long as they’re wealthy, we’re not picky about the groom. As long as they can afford the dowry, that’s fine!” No sooner said than done, Li Chunhua got up on her feet. Bai Xiao had become an open sore for her; she was anxious for her eldest grandson.

Bai Jianguo grabbed Li Chunhua’s arm, “Mom, don’t be hasty. This isn’t a matter to rush at the moment. I think for the next few days, you should quickly find the postal carrier to settle Bai Xiao’s admission notice issue. As long as she doesn’t have this acceptance letter, everything else is up to us to decide. As for the matchmaker, let Xiaofang handle it, she has a few well-off and well-connected relatives on her mother’s side. Let’s all refrain from provoking Bai Xiao these few days and avoid giving the villagers a handle to use against us.” He was thinking ahead, planning on how to convert Bai Xiao into money.

Hao Fang immediately stood up, “Mom, I’ll go. I’ll return to my parent’s house right now. My elder sister-in-law mentioned that there is a family looking for a bride, and they offer a hefty dowry—reportedly two hundred yuan! We’re trying to come up with a significant betrothal gift. This could be a considerable sum of money, inside and out.” The mention of this made Hao Fang’s face beam with delight, smiling as if she was in full bloom.

She didn’t care whom Bai Xiao married, as long as it brought money to their family. Bai Xiao could marry a pig or a dog for all she cared.

Li Chunhua agreed, and the family reached a consensus.