I Transmigrated and Already Had a Wife - Chapter 10

The next day.

Just as the faint starlight appeared, Jiang Zhou got up early and made breakfast. It was still rice porridge, which was all they had at home right now. This kind of food was not very filling, and usually, they would feel hungry before noon.

Jiang Zhou heard from Zhang Tieniu yesterday that he was going hunting in the mountains today, and she wanted to go along and try her luck. As for the household chores, it wouldn’t hurt to skip them for one day. Maybe she could even catch some game and exchange it for money in town?

Speaking of money, she remembered that Lin Muran had given her all the money in town yesterday. The money pouch was still in her sleeve pocket. After eating, she found the clothes she changed out of today, took the money pouch out of her sleeve, thought for a moment, and felt a little reluctant. After yesterday, she had a rough idea of the currency situation here: one tael of silver was equal to one thousand wen, and one catty of rice was about fifty wen. After deducting the money spent yesterday, they now only had two taels of silver left.

Jiang Zhou blinked and rubbed her forehead.

This money was being spent too quickly. They were spending more than they earned, which was equivalent to living off their savings, especially since this mountain was not very big.

A sense of helplessness immediately rose in her heart. She gritted her teeth and handed the money pouch to Lin Muran.

Lin Muran stared at the money pouch for a long time, then said lightly, “My husband should keep it. That way, you won’t have to bother coming to me for money when you need it.”

Jiang Zhou choked, feeling like she had been seen through.

She forced herself to say, “It’s better for my wife to keep it.”

Seeing that Lin Muran wouldn’t take it, Jiang Zhou simply put the money into her hand. Knowing she was in the wrong, she habitually scratched her eyebrows, “Where I come from, all the money earned is given to the wife to manage. I will give you the money I earn in the future too.”

Where I come from?

The place she used to live?

Lin Muran looked up at her, said nothing, and silently put the money away.

“Wife, I want to go hunting in the mountains with Brother Zhang today. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to catch some valuable wild game,” Jiang Zhou said.

“Hunting in the mountains is dangerous. My husband has never done this before, so maybe you shouldn’t go,”

Jiang Zhou’s heart warmed, and she beamed with joy. “It’s alright, wife, don’t worry. My skills are pretty good, and Brother Zhang will be there, too.”

Since Lin Muran was concerned about her, Jiang Zhou nearly patted her chest to guarantee it, as if a big tail was wagging behind her.

Lin Muran pursed her lips. After a while, she walked to the window, took out an oil-paper package, and handed it to Jiang Zhou. Jiang Zhou opened it, and it was exactly the steamed bun she had left for Lin Muran yesterday. Why hadn’t she eaten it?

“Wasn’t it good?” Jiang Zhou asked.

Lin Muran shook her head. “I don’t eat much. Take this with you to eat in the mountains. Come back early.”

Bidding farewell to Lin Muran, Jiang Zhou went to the agreed meeting place with Zhang Tieniu. She held the steamed bun Lin Muran gave her in her arms, and the smile on her face never stopped.

She took the bow and arrows from Zhang Tieniu. It was homemade. Jiang Zhou weighed it in her hand. It was very light. She doubted whether such a bow and arrow could actually shoot any game. Zhang Tieniu said he usually only managed to shoot some rabbits and pheasants. Jiang Zhou used to shoot arrows; she would play a few rounds in her spare time, but this was her first time with this kind of bow.

She realized the mountain was not what she had imagined when she got there. The mountain was densely forested, and even if they spotted game, by the time they got through the heavy obstacles, the game would have long disappeared.

She shot two arrows, and without exception, the arrows fell to the ground with a “pata” sound some distance before reaching the prey.

The insufficient range became a disadvantage. As for the entire day, she didn’t catch anything. Looking at Zhang Tieniu, who at least caught two wild rabbits and one pheasant, she was basically just running along the whole time.

Fortunately, she gave up on the bow and arrows in time and set a few traps on the mountain, planning to come back tomorrow morning to see if she could catch any game.

As for the bow and arrows, they definitely needed to be improved—seriously improved.

When they were heading back, seeing her dispirited expression, Zhang Tieniu gave her the pheasant he caught. Jiang Zhou carried the pheasant in her hand, feeling a mix of emotions. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she shouted, “Wife, I’m back.”

“This rascal, has a wife and forgets his mother,” Madam Jiang heard the sound and came out of the room, giving her a reproachful look. She couldn’t help but sigh, she raised the child, and now that she had a wife, she forgot about her mother.

The mother was feeling a great sense of loss!

“Of course not,” Jiang Zhou said.

At this moment, Lin Muran also came out of the room, wearing a light cyan dress and looking indifferent. She was about to take the pheasant from Jiang Zhou’s hand, but Jiang Zhou dodged. “It’s dirty. Don’t touch it. I’ll take it to the river to wash later and cook it for you tonight.”

Lin Muran nodded, went back inside, and brought out a bowl of water for her.

Madam Jiang watched from the side, her eyes unblinking. Was this still the daughter who used to beat her wife all the time?

She felt like she had changed into a different person.

Jiang Zhou finished the water and said to Madam Jiang, “Mother, I’m going to the river with my wife to wash this pheasant. You wait at home.”

?!

Who wants to go? Madam Jiang couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

She was happier than anyone that her daughter could change for the better.

Lin Muran glanced at Jiang Zhou, pursed her lips, said nothing, and followed her out.

Jiang Zhou carried a bucket in one hand and the chicken in the other, deliberately choosing a spot downstream. She crouched by the river and began to clean it. In a little while, it was all cleaned up.

To stew chicken, spring onions, ginger, and garlic were essential. Jiang Zhou returned home, took ten wen from Lin Muran, rushed to the village vegetable shop to buy the ingredients, and, with a tentative attitude, asked around and found that the shop actually sold vegetable seeds. She chose a few seeds for vegetables that couldn’t be eaten here in winter.

The owner glanced at her and shook his head. “I won’t charge you for the seeds.”

Jiang Zhou was delighted. “Thank you.”

Who knew that as soon as she stepped out of the shop, she heard the owner talking to his wife: “This silly kid doesn’t even know what seeds to buy this season. No wonder the Jiang family kicked him out.”

?!

The whole village knew that she was kicked out by the Jiang family?

She returned home with this question and found out that the old house of the Jiang family was in Jiangjia Village. It had long collapsed due to disrepair. Her great-grandfather had gone out with some young people in the village back then to learn how to do business. Among those people, only her great-grandfather succeeded. Not long after, he moved his entire family to the town to live. Slowly, the business grew bigger and bigger, leading to the Jiang family of today.

Listening to Madam Jiang, Jiang Zhou understood. Grandfather Jiang was a native of Jiangjia Village, and it was not surprising that he had dealings with the people here. No wonder her affairs spread so quickly in the village.

Just taking advantage of this opportunity, Jiang Zhou said, “Mother, I plan to build a new house. It’s not a solution to always live in a thatched hut. What do you think?”

Madam Jiang hesitated, then nodded after a while.

“Then I’ll go to the Jiang mansion these days to move our household registration out.”

“What?” Madam Jiang was stunned, raising her voice, her eyes wide. “You wretched child, if you move out the household registration, are you planning to leave the entire Jiang family to the Second Branch?”

With that, she grabbed Jiang Zhou’s ear and twisted it hard.

Without holding back at all.

“Ouch! It hurts, Mother, let’s talk nicely.” A burning pain instantly spread across her ear.

Jiang Zhou didn’t expect Madam Jiang to act so quickly. If she had known this, she would have kept her distance before bringing it up. Her ear wouldn’t have fallen into her hands.

Madam Jiang didn’t hold back at all. Jiang Zhou’s forehead was sweating from the pain.

“Tell me, will you dare to do it again?”

“No, I’m doing this for our own good, Mother, please let go first.”

“I think you’ve become rebellious.”

Jiang Zhou was on the verge of tears. How could this be her biological mother? More like an enemy!

What kind of biological mother would be this vicious? “Wife, save me, save me.”

Lin Muran was momentarily stunned. The incident happened too suddenly and completely exceeded her expectations. When she reacted, she felt a little soft-hearted. She walked up to Madam Jiang. “Mother, why can’t we talk nicely? My husband is also worried about our situation and is acting out of desperation.”

Seeing Lin Muran coming out to plead, as the mother-in-law, she couldn’t say anything more. She glared at Jiang Zhou, then let go of her hand, not forgetting to threaten her. “If there’s a next time, see if I don’t twist your ear off.”

?!

Jiang Zhou pouted, feeling immensely wronged, with tears welling up in her eyes, looking pitifully at Lin Muran.

“Wife,” she pouted, glancing at Madam Jiang standing nearby, and managed to hold back her tears.

Lin Muran’s heart tightened, but she also found it amusing. This person, with a face she once hated the most, making such a pitiful expression, was surprisingly not so repulsive.

She reached out and lightly touched Jiang Zhou’s red ear. Jiang Zhou’s body trembled. The cool sensation on her ear was magnified infinitely, and her heartbeat grew louder and louder. She quickly turned away, dodging Lin Muran’s touch, and covered her chest with one hand, afraid that Lin Muran would hear it—it was really too loud.

“I’m going to cook.” As soon as she finished speaking, she darted into the room.

“You child, why are you running into the room to cook?” Madam Jiang’s complaining voice came from the courtyard.