I Transmigrated and Already Had a Wife - Chapter 8

Time flew by, and the afternoon was half gone. The autumn wind held a hint of coolness. Jiang Zhou beat the quilt clean and spread it on the bed, then began to set up a temporary stove in the courtyard.

To build a temporary stove, she first needed to find some suitable stones. She was reminded of a pile of stones she saw by the field this morning; they seemed to be just the right size. If she could haul them back, she could not only build a stove but also properly repair the courtyard wall.

Or, she could bring back more to build a new room. This thatched hut was too rudimentary; it would definitely leak if it rained, and winter was fast approaching. It was drafty and offered no warmth; they might freeze to death before they starved.

Just as she was thinking, a knock sounded at the door. She stood up, a trace of confusion on her face. She didn’t know anyone here, and from her observations, the original owner was also new to the area. Who could be knocking?

As she wondered, Madam Jiang came out of the room, looked at the dazed Jiang Zhou, glanced at her, and scolded, “What are you standing there for, child? Why don’t you go open the door?”

Jiang Zhou came back to her senses and saw the inexplicable joy on Madam Jiang’s face. She frowned, wondering: Does my cheap mother know who’s outside?

She pursed her lips and walked over to open the door.

A man stood outside. He looked honest, with dark skin. He scratched his head and grinned at Jiang Zhou, revealing a set of white teeth that sharply contrasted with his dark skin.

Jiang Zhou couldn’t help but think of African Americans, though the man in front of her wasn’t that dark. His dark skin was due to working in the fields under the sun year-round.

“Can I help you?” Jiang Zhou asked, pressing both hands on the door.

The man was simple and honest, laughing, “My mother lives next door to you. She sent me over to ask if there’s anything I can help with.”

So it was Old Lady Zhang’s son. Jiang Zhou relaxed.

Hearing the man’s words, Madam Jiang’s face couldn’t hide her disappointment. She forced a smile and said, “I don’t really understand these things. Speak to Jiang Zhou about it.” After saying that, she turned and went back to her room.

Jiang Zhou sighed inwardly. From her surprise to her disappointment, she knew without guessing that her cheap mother still held a glimmer of hope for her cheap father.

The male flaw is just that; even with a beautiful wife at home, they still mess around outside and abandon their long-suffering wife, especially rich men, who have multiple wives and concubines, with women treated as appendages.

Someone like Madam Jiang couldn’t escape such a fate. Although she hadn’t been here long, it wasn’t hard to see from Madam Jiang’s speech and actions that she was a woman of ideas.

It was unexpected that she would be so blind in matters of the heart.

Jiang Zhou felt it wasn’t worth it for her. She pulled her thoughts back. Now was not the time to dwell on this; any more delay and they would probably go hungry tonight.

She looked at the man. There was indeed one thing she couldn’t handle alone. She thought to herself: He’s come at just the right time. She didn’t stand on ceremony and smiled, saying, “Brother Zhang, you’ve come at the right time. Little brother here just happens to need help with something. Don’t stand in the doorway, please come in and talk.”

She invited the man into the courtyard but didn’t take him inside the house. There were only three women at home. No matter how honest the man looked, who knew if he harbored ill intentions? For safety, it was best to be cautious.

She pointed to a corner of the courtyard. Jiang Zhou said, “I want to build a small kitchen here, and I need some stone materials. Could I trouble Brother Zhang to come with me to haul some stones back?”

The man looked repeatedly in the direction Jiang Zhou pointed, thought for a moment, and nodded in agreement.

He didn’t know much about these things, but his mother told him to come and help, so he did. When he came, his mother specifically instructed him to do whatever they asked. He just had to do it, as he had the strength.

The man was named Zhang Tie Niu and was the son of their neighbor, Old Lady Zhang. When the farm work was done, he was usually idle at home, occasionally going up the mountain to hunt wild game to sell in town.

Zhang Tie Niu went home, fetched his ox cart, and followed Jiang Zhou to the fields. The two loaded the stones onto the cart and hauled them back to the thatched hut. What didn’t seem like much stone turned out to fill two whole cartloads, piled up by the door.

Jiang Zhou then asked him about building a house. Only then did she learn that if she wanted to build a house here, she not only needed to register with the village head and buy a plot of land for a house foundation but also needed independent household registration.

Although they were driven out by the Jiang family, the original owner’s household registration was still with them. She immediately felt worried. Her mother still held hope for Old Master Jiang and would definitely not agree to move the household registration out and establish a separate household.

Did they have to keep living in this thatched hut?

“You can also buy other people’s houses. A few families in the village have moved away. You can go ask around,” Zhang Tie Niu said.

Hope instantly reignited in Jiang Zhou’s heart. She immediately followed Zhang Tie Niu to see those few houses. Because the houses had been neglected for years, not only was the courtyard full of dead grass, but the mud walls also had places that had collapsed. They were simply unsafe dwellings. Living in such houses was much more dangerous than the thatched hut. She immediately rejected the idea of buying a house.

It seemed she still had to build a new room.

She had to find a chance to talk properly with Madam Jiang.

After unloading the cart, Zhang Tie Niu didn’t rush back. He stayed and helped Jiang Zhou chop a cartload of wood from the mountain before leaving. Jiang Zhou originally wanted to invite him to stay for a meal to express her gratitude. Jiang Zhou thought she might need his help in many other areas if she wanted to build a house. However, the stove hadn’t been built yet, and they really didn’t have anything to entertain him with at home. She decided to thank him in other ways later.

After Zhang Tie Niu left, Jiang Zhou began to build the stove in the courtyard. Soon, Lin Muwan came out of the house. Her eyes fell on Jiang Zhou, who was building, and her gaze darkened slightly. Biting her lip, she handed her the water pouch.

Seeing this, Jiang Zhou was delighted. Ignoring appearances, she wiped her sweat with her hand, instantly leaving a dark smudge on her face. She smiled as she took the water pouch and said, “Thank you.”

After a while, seeing that Lin Muwan wasn’t speaking and her eyes were fixed on the half-built stove, she thought she was worried about cooking tonight and reassured her, “Don’t worry, you’ll definitely have a hot meal tonight.”

Lin Muwan pursed her lips without a word, her gaze falling again on the water pouch in Jiang Zhou’s hand.

Jiang Zhou was puzzled. She took two big gulps of water and only then realized that the water pouch was empty. She looked at Lin Muwan, then down at the water pouch in her hand, really unwilling to use bad intentions to speculate about her.

But it didn’t matter. Since she had great strength, wasn’t it just fetching water? She wouldn’t let anyone go thirsty, would she?

She cheered up again, shaking the water pouch in her hand. “I’ll go fetch water later, don’t worry.”

Lin Muwan’s pupils trembled, and she quickly regained her composure, coldly saying, “I’m not worried.”

Jiang Zhou choked, unable to find anything to refute her.

After speaking, Lin Muwan found a stone nearby and sat down on it, lowering her eyes and beginning to quietly space out again.

In the setting sun, the woman sat quietly in the courtyard, a faint sadness unintentionally flowing between her brows. Her long eyelashes were distinctly separated, occasionally blinking, like the wings of a butterfly about to take flight.

Jiang Zhou stared at her in a daze, blinking, feeling an indescribable emotion. She seemed to be like this all the time, seemingly resigned, rarely arguing, and more often quietly spacing out, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

It wasn’t until a “Brother Jiang” broke the silence that Jiang Zhou snapped back and turned to look.

The courtyard gate wasn’t closed. Zhang Tie Niu was scratching his head, holding an iron pot, and standing at the doorway, giving his simple and honest smile and his signature big white teeth. “Brother Jiang, you can use this pot first.”

Saying that, he entered and placed the pot in the courtyard. Seeing another person in the courtyard, he was visibly stunned. Having lived in the village since childhood, when had he ever seen such a beautiful woman? His face turned red, and he stammered, “I, I’ll put, put it here.”

Without waiting for Jiang Zhou to thank him, he hurriedly left.

Jiang Zhou habitually scratched her eyebrows. It seemed she really had to properly thank him. If Zhang Tie Niu hadn’t brought the pot, she really wouldn’t have remembered that the family was missing a pot. Having rice without a pot would also be a problem. Not to mention, the promise she just made to Lin Muwan about a hot meal definitely couldn’t have been kept.

Compared to Jiang Zhou’s worrying situation, Lin Muwan appeared very calm.

Her expression was indifferent.

Jiang Zhou sighed and continued working, quickly setting up a simple stove and placing the pot on top.

Perfect.

A satisfied smile appeared on Jiang Zhou’s face, her voice unconsciously lifting, “Let’s go, time to fetch water.”