Reborn as the Villain's Wife, I Shine in 80s

Chapter 66 - 065 City Dwellers (Extra Chapter)

After picking two or three stems of each flower, the entire basket was brimming by the time they were done. Then, Tian Sangsang and Li Zhengxiong walked back together. Along the way, Li Zhengxiong caught a few pieces of game, while Tian Sangsang stumbled upon a peach tree. The tree bore some green, unripe peaches, and she plucked a few, tossing them into the basket on her back. Now there was no need to worry about either peach blossoms or peaches.

Li Zhengxiong, though puzzled as to why she had picked so many flowers—flowers that wouldn't survive being brought back—kept his thoughts to himself, saying nothing more.

As they arrived by the riverside at the village entrance, both of them noticed a young man not far off. He did indeed look quite young, probably around the same age as Tian Sangsang. There were two other men following him, seemingly keeping an eye on his every move.

The young man held something in one hand that resembled a chamber pot, while his other hand tightly pinched his nose. Disgust was written all over his face as he glanced at the item in his hand, muttering something under his breath.

"Huh?" Tian Sangsang couldn't help but exclaim aloud. The contrast before her was striking.

The man's clothes were shabby—his jeans had two large holes at the knees, exposing his pale, round kneecaps to the open air; his button-up shirt looked like it hadn't been changed in ages, once white but now tinged with a dirty gray; and his hair was unkempt, messy enough that it seemed you could incubate an egg on top of it. Yet, he stood tall and carried himself with an air of slight arrogance. His skin was fair and clean, bearing no resemblance to the typical villagers.

Li Zhengxiong followed her gaze, then let out a soft sigh.

Tian Sangsang couldn't resist asking, "Big Brother Li, do you know who that man is? Why haven't I seen him before? And what's with the two guys tailing him..."

Li Zhengxiong said, "He's not from our village—he's from the city. Word is, about a week ago, he lost a gambling game against Chen Biao. When he couldn't pay back the debt, Chen Biao detained him and put him to work. He'll be let go whenever his family comes to settle the dues."

"So his family hasn't come to pay off the debt yet?" Otherwise, he wouldn't still be here.

"Not exactly." Li Zhengxiong shook his head faintly. "He hasn't told Chen Biao where his family is."

What a strange man. Tian Sangsang nodded thoughtfully, her mind buzzing. Wait a moment, wasn't this Chen Biao the same person that the matchmaker suggested to her?

"Now that you mention it, it's quite the coincidence," she said. "The matchmaker came to my house yesterday, trying to set me up with someone. And that someone turned out to be this so-called Chen Biao."

Li Zhengxiong's thick eyebrows furrowed as he stared at her in stunned silence for a good while, then asked blankly, "You agreed?"

Tian Sangsang hurriedly said, "No, I thought the matchmaker seemed evasive when she spoke, so I didn't agree. Who knows what kind of person this Chen Biao even is?" She realized she'd forgotten to ask Aunt Zhong about Chen Biao's situation earlier. Now that she'd run into Li Zhengxiong, she decided to bring it up, hoping he might have some insight. After all, the original host of this body had no memories related to Chen Biao whatsoever.

Li Zhengxiong seemed visibly upset. His face darkened as he clenched his fists. "How could the matchmaker think of setting you up with Chen Biao? That's practically pushing you into a pit of fire. Sangsang, you've called me Big Brother all this time, so don't feel I'm overstepping as an outsider by saying this. Chen Biao is absolutely not a good person. The next time the matchmaker comes around, just refuse outright. How could anyone behave like this?"

"Is Chen Biao really that bad?" Tian Sangsang had already suspected Chen Biao wasn't great, but seeing the fiery anger in Li Zhengxiong's eyes, she wondered if it was even worse than she had imagined.

Li Zhengxiong clenched his fists a little tighter. "Chen Biao is one of the local thugs in these parts. He frequently gathers people to play cards at his place. He's been married three times, each time abusing his wives so severely that they ended up dead. His reputation is terrible; only those with bad intentions hang around him."

Tian Sangsang was stunned. "Killed by him?"

"Yes," Li Zhengxiong replied. "Everyone in the village knows about it. Chen Biao likes to drink, and once he's drunk, he loses control of his hands and feet. He beats and kicks until his wives are bedridden, and before long, they all passed away."

"That's domestic violence!" Tian Sangsang felt her anger rise and frowned slightly. "And now he still wants to marry? How can anyone let him get another wife? It's a good thing I didn't agree to the matchmaker. But doesn't anyone do something about him? Killing his wives—shouldn't he be arrested and jailed?" The thought was terrifying! She'd already guessed the matchmaker wasn't introducing anyone decent, but she hadn't expected her to set her up with someone so abusive. Marrying someone like that would surely be a death sentence. What kind of grudge did the matchmaker have against her for such an arrangement???

Li Zhengxiong scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Arrest him for what? It's not that serious. He paid some compensation, and the wives' families didn't pursue the matter. What else could we do?"

Of course. The women were already gone, and making a fuss wouldn't bring them back. Especially in such a remote mountain village, where concepts like legal rights and justice weren't well-established. Most likely, those poor women were worn down by physical abuse and heartbreak alike—broken in both body and spirit. Here, it was always about keeping the peace, never about separation. As Li Zhengxiong put it, what more could be done?

Parting ways with Li Zhengxiong, Tian Sangsang remained puzzled. The matchmaker had claimed that Brother Biao wanted to marry her. Why would someone like Chen Biao, considering her appearance, want her as a wife? Surely he had some ulterior motives. But what could they be? Was she overlooking something? Nevertheless, Tian Sangsang didn't dwell on it for long. Once she got home, she entered her space and began organizing the day's harvest.

The harvest had earned her 40 points. The creatures she had added to the water earlier reproduced quickly, and the population jumped to 100. Since they were all small, the allowed population cap was 124, which wasn't a violation of the rules. In just a short span, Tian Sangsang's Greening Coins increased by 440 points.

The flowers came in 15 varieties, and Tian Sangsang had uprooted them entirely. She grabbed the space's hoe, loosened the soil, replanted them, and watered them with Spiritual Spring. The flowers rapidly grew vibrant and upright, their beauty eye-catching. Her Greening Coins went up by another 150 points.

Meanwhile, the ginseng and honeysuckle were planted in the neighboring garden, bringing her another 80-point increase.

The peach seeds had barely touched the soil when they sprouted into small saplings less than 40 cm tall. Tender green leaves emerged, and in a few hours, the saplings would surely become peach trees laden with soft, pink fruit. After taking care of all this, Tian Sangsang thought about how to extract essential oils from the flowers—a tricky task.

Generally speaking, extracting essential oils requires professional skills, equipment, and tools. For instance, at-home experiments often use distillation to extract rose essential oil. But that method requires chemical apparatus and some basic knowledge of chemistry. Experiments like these don't always go smoothly. The educational system in Tian Chao tends to emphasize rote memorization over hands-on skills. Even when students do conduct experiments, they strictly adhere to pre-defined procedures. Experienced engineers might not nail every experiment, let alone someone like her—she had graduated years ago and forgotten most of what she once knew.