Chapter 25: Little Wife
"That won’t do. How can you manage planting peanuts all by yourself? I’ll go with you. My right hand is useless, but my left hand can still do some work. I can help a little," Zhao Lan said.
Uncle Hu was initially reluctant, but he couldn’t hold out against Zhao Lan’s persistent persuasion and finally nodded in agreement.
When mountain folk worked, they worked for the entire day. Those who were better off would bring some dry rations to eat when they got hungry. The poorer families would simply endure the hunger for a day, eating only when they returned home after work in the evening, having just two meals a day.
"Mom, Uncle Hu, Hu Feng and I will bring you lunch at noon," she said suddenly. The thought of Zhao Lan and Uncle Hu working in the fields all day on an empty stomach made her feel awful. She didn’t want them to suffer from hunger.
Zhao Lan was taken aback and immediately waved her hands. "No, no, there’s no need. I don’t feel hungry when I’m working, so you don’t have to bring me lunch." ’They had nothing right now except for a few eggs. She wanted to save them for Zhi’er to help her recover. She couldn’t let her waste them.’
Uncle Hu had wanted to say that if she wanted to bring lunch, she should just bring it. But then he thought of the nearly empty rice bin at home and how the crops had just been planted in the fields, so he kept his mouth shut.
Bai Zhi had already made up her mind, so she didn’t say anything more. After seeing her mother and Uncle Hu off, she shouldered a bamboo basket and set out for Luoying Mountain with Hu Feng.
Along the way, Hu Feng walked ahead without saying a word, not even glancing back once. It was as if he were still the only one heading up the mountain today.
Hu Feng walked quickly, and Bai Zhi found it incredibly hard to keep up. Her legs were thin and small, and she still had injuries on them. Every step was agonizing.
"Hey, Hu Feng, wait for me!" She was so exhausted she couldn’t go on. She plopped down on the ground, panting heavily, and refused to get up. "I’m not walking anymore. You go on by yourself."
Hu Feng finally stopped and looked back at her, his handsome brows knitted together. "You don’t even have this much stamina? What’s the point of going up the mountain? You might as well go back."
It was clearly a goad, but it was also effective.
’In her past life, she, Bai Zhi, had lived for twenty-three years. Although she was an orphan from a young age and never knew the love of parents, and her life in the orphanage had been incredibly hard, when had she ever given up easily? She had studied medicine with all her might, all to change her own life and destiny.’
’Now that she had come to this new world, even though she was in a different body, Bai Zhi was still Bai Zhi. She would never give up easily. She would do everything in her power to change her own fate and the fate of those around her.’
She climbed back to her feet, and the stubborn look in her eyes made Hu Feng raise his eyebrows.
She fell into step behind him again, gritting her teeth and swallowing down the pain and exhaustion as she pushed forward one step at a time.
Hu Feng also seemed to intentionally slow his pace, making it less arduous for her than before.
Along the way, they came across some fellow villagers working in the fields. The group teased, "Look, look, Hu Feng is with Zhi. From a distance, it really looks like he’s with his little bride."
"Isn’t that the truth? If you ask me, Uncle Hu is a smart one. Taking in Zhao Lan and her daughter to live with him, he’s clearly getting a great deal. Zhao Lan is a master at farm work, worth three people in one. And don’t let Zhi’s age fool you—she’s so fresh and pretty! In a couple of years, she’ll definitely be a great beauty, as lovely as a flower. Wouldn’t it be perfect if she married Hu Feng? Think of how much silver he’d save on the bride price!"
"Exactly! And I don’t know what got into that Old Mrs. Bai. She must be crazy to agree to let Zhao Lan and Zhi go to the Hu Family. Now that Zhao Lan’s gone, the Old Bai Family’s fields can just wait to be overrun by weeds."