Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Juhua couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Suddenly, she stopped. If her hands weren’t covered in dirt, she would have clapped them over her mouth—He and Zhang Dashuan were standing in the middle of the courtyard, staring at her and Huai Zi with overjoyed expressions.

He asked excitedly, "Huai Zi, is Juhua expecting?"

Huai Zi was in the middle of a happy tirade when Juhua suddenly jabbed him in the arm. Only then did he realize his parents had come in at some point. Hearing He’s question, he said awkwardly, "No... not yet. We’re just preparing, hehe, just preparing..."

Juhua wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it. ’It’s one thing to talk about this with Huai Zi, but when the whole family discusses me getting pregnant and having babies, I feel so uncomfortable.’ And yet, they all looked so excited whenever the topic came up—carrying on the family line and producing heirs was a major affair, after all. He’s eyes, in particular, roamed over her ceaselessly.

Mortified, she forced a smile and said, "Mother, we just saw that Sister-in-law is about to give birth, so we were thinking of some names for our nephew in preparation..."

Zhang Dashuan and He finally understood, and they couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment. Zhang Dashuan laughed. "Aren’t you two worrying for nothing? When Qingmu has his baby, the grandparents will name him. If not them, Qingmu and his wife can do it. How did it become your turn to help with the naming?"

Huai Zi quickly said, "They’re nicknames, not official names. We’re just coming up with some for Qingmu and his wife to choose from. We’re not saying they have to use them." ’Qingmu will definitely like these names,’ he thought.

Zhang Dashuan’s interest was piqued. "What kind of names have you two come up with? Tell me. If they’re any good, we can save a few for our own grandchildren."

He also smiled at the two of them.

Zhang Huai glanced at Juhua first. Seeing no objection, he listed all the names they had just thought of and explained in detail why he chose them.

When Zhang Dashuan and He heard them, they were thrilled. He laughed heartily. "Good, good! These names are excellent. But Huai Zi, we have to save some of the good ones. We can’t let Qingmu take them all."

Seeing that her father-in-law had the same idea as Huai Zi, Juhua lowered her head and giggled to herself.

Huai Zi eagerly repeated what Juhua had said to his father, explaining that the names had to match the child’s temperament to sound especially endearing when called out.

He’s heart bloomed with joy as she listened. Her mind filled with names like Shanyu, Chili, Eggplant, and Huang Gua, imagining a group of children to match—some sturdy, some feisty, some quiet, some lively. They were of all shapes and sizes, short and tall, skinny and plump, but every single one was lovable!

She said to Zhang Dashuan, "Huai Zi is right. These names are all good, as long as they match the temperament. Oh! We can pick and use them one by one. Have a baby, pick a name..."

Juhua got over her initial embarrassment and decided not to care anymore. Thickening her skin, she let them joke and laugh as she went to wash the vegetables and cook dinner.

While the Zhang and Zheng families were still joking about nicknames for the baby, the Fang family was overjoyed to learn that Qingnan Village was selling them the two workshops. They readily offered a price that satisfied all the villagers and made a promise—anyone who wanted to keep working there could stay, and they were even going to hire more hands to expand the business!

In truth, the Fang family was most grateful to the Zheng Family. They didn’t even need to buy the sausage workshop, as they already had one of their own. It was simply that the Zheng Family had given up their rights to the sausage business, returning this segment of the market to the Fang family.

With the Fang family running these two workshops, the scale of the operation would be far beyond what Qingnan Village’s original workshops could compare to. Moreover, the area had such a high-quality supply of fresh pork and fish, not to mention the recipes for the pickled vegetables.

Manager Song invited Qingmu, Zhang Huai, Li Changming, and others to continue managing the workshops, but they all declined, using the excuse that they were too busy at home. This was the truth. The Fang family was moving the workshops to Xiatang Market, and it was impossible for them to leave their homes to work there. Only a few village families with little land, who were also struggling with the burden of apportioned taxes, went to work at the market workshops.

The Fang family began expanding their sausage and pickled vegetable workshops in Xiatang Market with great fanfare, which infuriated County Magistrate Li half to death. ’I haven’t even made my move yet, and these cunning peasants have already sold the workshops!’ His eyes burned with fury. He didn’t dare provoke the Fang family, but were there not ways to deal with those peasants?

Therefore, he started scheming, trying to figure out a way to squeeze the money they’d earned from selling the workshops out of them. He was itching with greed, certain that the Fang family must have paid a hefty price to satisfy all those peasants. It couldn’t possibly be what the rumors claimed—that each household had only received twenty taels of silver.

With the workshops sold, the people of Qingnan Village didn’t sit idle. They all focused their energy on farming and raising livestock.

During the autumn harvest, Liu Xiaomei returned to her family’s home for a night. She was overjoyed to see Juhua, Meizi, and the others. The group gathered together, their chatter and laughter endless, their voices overlapping in a cheerful din.

Juhua asked if she wanted to eat at her place, so she could prepare something. She and Mei didn’t bother with false pleasantries; they always spoke frankly with one another.

Liu Xiaomei’s big eyes blinked as she said regretfully, "If it were up to me, I’d love to eat at your house. It’s been so long since I’ve gotten to talk with you all, and it would be so nice to eat and chat together. But you know how it is, it’s a bit complicated—I really should spend some time with my parents and my brothers and sisters-in-law. My second brother is treating me to lunch, my Third Brother is treating me to dinner tonight, and I have to have breakfast with Mom and Dad tomorrow morning, right? See, my eldest brother hasn’t even gotten a turn yet!"

Everyone burst into laughter at her words. Meizi, who was helping her son practice walking in the courtyard, pouted and said, "Don’t make it sound so difficult. Look how happy you are. You say you want to eat with us but can’t because of your parents and brothers, but really, aren’t you just showing off how many brothers you have?"