Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Zheng Changhe fanned harder and said, "You call this a lot? You can’t expect a place with livestock to be completely free of mosquitoes and flies. Our cowshed and pigpen are clean since we shovel the manure every day, so we have very few mosquitoes. Some families only clean out the manure every few days—you can barely set foot inside their barns."

Juhua pursed her lips. "Being lazy is easy, but who do they think they’re fooling? They’re only fooling themselves. If the livestock don’t grow well, they’re the ones who lose out in the end."

Zheng Changhe nodded and took the torch from her hand. "You should head out, or you’ll be covered in bites if you stay in here. Taking care of cattle is still pretty simple—you just need to put in some effort grazing them and be diligent about cutting grass. The horses, on the other hand, are much more work. Most families really can’t afford to keep them. To be fair, our two horses have been a huge help—they’ve done plenty of plowing and pulling carts—but they’ve also eaten a lot of Huangdou and corn. It’s a good thing our family plants a lot of Huangdou every year. Otherwise, where would we get enough to feed them?"

Juhua agreed. ’With the water buffalo, keeping two extra horses is very expensive, but we can’t sell them—they were a gift. I guess we’ll just have to plant more Huangdou and corn.’

Back in the front courtyard, Zhang Huai was also holding a small torch, huddled with Qingmu over the threshing machine and inspecting it. Liu Yunlan stood to one side, gnawing on a peach with one hand while using the other to vigorously fan Qingmu with a large cattail fan.

Yang Family had also just finished her bath and was sitting on a bamboo cooling bed, fanning herself. When she saw Juhua approach, she quickly said, "Come rest and cool down. Honestly, you... running off to see the cattle so late at night? The cowshed is where the mosquitoes are worst."

Juhua went over and sat down beside her. Yang Family immediately began fanning her vigorously. Juhua turned to see her brother sweating from his work and couldn’t help but ask, "Brother, do you even know how to fix that thing? You’re working so hard you might just make it worse. Wouldn’t it be easier to take it to a workshop at the market? It’s so late, and you haven’t even bathed yet?"

Yang Family chimed in, "That’s what I told him, but he just has to keep fiddling with it. Huai Zi, you’ve already bathed. Don’t get all sweaty again."

Zheng Changhe held his torch over to help them see. Qingmu and Zhang Huai muttered to each other for a moment, then turned back to his mother and Juhua with a smile. "It’s almost done. I’m just nailing the drum and the baffle board on tighter. Nothing else is broken, so we don’t need to send it for repairs."

Hearing this, Liu Yunlan said quickly, "I’ll go get the water. Come wash up when you’re done." With that, she turned and went into the house, and Yang Family hurried in after her.

After a bit more joking around, Qingmu and Huai Zi carried the threshing machine into the house and went to wash up.

Huai Zi came over to Juhua and said, "Let’s go home. You still haven’t bathed!"

Juhua nodded, said goodbye to Zheng Changhe and Yang Family, then went home to bathe and cool off.

The night was muggy, feeling as if it were about to rain. But when she rolled into bed and felt the cool bamboo mat beneath her, Juhua felt instantly refreshed. Her mind settled, and a wave of deep sleepiness washed over her.

Suddenly, she felt a warm presence draw near. Juhua quickly rolled toward the inside of the bed, muttering, "Huai Zi, get away from me—you’re like a furnace." ’Sigh! Men are just so full of vitality. In the winter, she’d naturally cuddle up to him like a personal heater, but in the summer, it was better to keep some distance.’

Zhang Huai felt quite frustrated as he watched her scoot away from him. Unlike Juhua, he loved getting close to her on hot days. Apart from the fact that they were newlyweds and he naturally wanted to be affectionate and clingy, there was another reason: Juhua’s body was refreshingly cool to the touch.

Every evening after dinner, Juhua would drink a large cup of boiling water to deliberately make herself sweat profusely. Then, she would take a quick hot rinse, and her skin would be ice-cold afterward. Huai Zi loved to hold her and knead her arms, which were as soft as noodles. They felt so cool and smooth, so incredibly comforting.

And so, Juhua would vehemently protest, saying his palms were burning hot. Besides, all that kneading and squeezing often led to trouble.

Left with no choice, Huai Zi had to sleep on the outer edge of the bed. He tried to will himself to sleep, forcing himself not to look toward Juhua while quietly counting chickens—a trick Juhua had taught him, promising he would eventually fall asleep if he kept at it.

Tonight, however, was different. Perhaps it was because of the roast chicken they’d eaten; the food had been so good that he was brimming with energy. By the time he counted to one thousand chickens, he was still wide awake. Listening to Juhua’s even breathing from her side of the bed, he couldn’t help but sigh. ’This is unbearable.’

Soon, however, Huai Zi was free from such torment. The summer harvest season had arrived. Every day was spent cutting and threshing rice, carrying grain, and hauling straw. He was constantly drenched in sweat, and the blazing sun tanned his skin to a deep wheat color. The intense physical labor was so draining that every night after getting into bed, just as he was about to whisper a few sweet words to Juhua, his eyelids would grow heavy, and moments later, he would be fast asleep.