Chapter 307 - 117: The Green Tea Female Side Character in a Period Novel (4)
Chapter 307: Chapter 117: The Green Tea Female Side Character in a Period Novel (4)
After resting for a long time, she had volunteered for work. Since she couldn’t work outdoors, she was set to shelling peanuts inside. But before she’d even finished two, she cut her finger, and blood gushed out, refusing to stop. It looked as if a terrible tragedy had occurred, making the hearts of anyone who didn’t know better skip a beat.
A girl that fragile was, indeed, only suited to be kept indoors and coddled...
Following her train of thought, the crowd’s faces flushed as they considered it. ’That’s right,’ they thought. ’With a body like hers, she can’t even consummate a marriage. What normal man would really commit to a purely platonic relationship with her?’
Once they thought of it that way, they found her rather pitiful. Without a healthy body, enjoying any amount of good fortune was like someone who’d lost their sense of taste eating fine delicacies off a jade plate—like chewing wax. What was there to envy?
Even Zheng looked regretful. He felt he had been too harsh, as if he’d just unleashed a violent storm upon a delicate rose. It was too cruel, too unkind.
The poor girl was already sick, and now she had to endure the devastating fact that the man she loved had finally found a legitimate way to cast her aside and pursue happiness with someone else.
Just look. The man who had once been so attentive and caring was now treating her with indifference. Leaving her with leftovers was one thing, but there wasn’t even a sip of hot water for her...
Jiang Zishi had only been a step too slow because he was carefully stashing his money and ration tickets. In that instant, the image he had so carefully cultivated in his dealings with Chi Yun’er completely flipped. He was now branded a lonely, heartless cheat!
’He knew perfectly well that someone as simple-minded as her was telling the truth. She was incapable of lying, let alone possessing the cunning to plot anything. And yet, her accidental, bullseye accusations nearly made him see red.’
Jiang Zishi hurried outside, pretending he’d just woken up and thrown on his clothes. Seeing the courtyard full of people, he smiled in feigned surprise. "You startled me. I thought I’d overslept and you all had already left."
Then, he glanced over at Chi Yun’er under the eaves. Anger and disgust flashed through his eyes, but he put on a worried smile. "Chi Yun’er, it’s drafty under the eaves. What are you doing standing out here?"
"Hurry back inside. If you need anything, just tell me. Whether I get married or not, I’ll always be your big brother, someone you can rely on."
"I’ll have a word with Comrade Bian Yumin later. From now on, you won’t just have me—Brother Zishi—to look after you, but you’ll have your Sister Yumin, too. We’ll take even better care of you than before, and we’ll make sure no one bullies you."
His meaning was clear: he was caring for her only as a brother, defining their relationship as one of unrequited love. He was by no means a heartless cheat.
He and Bian Yumin would continue to treat her well, so everyone else had better watch what they said and did.
Zheng, still feeling intensely guilty over how he’d treated Chi Yun’er, now shot back with biting sarcasm:
"Oh, give it a rest, Jiang. You know full well how Chi feels about you, yet you’re hitting her while she’s down, twisting the knife in her heart again and again!"
"Jiang, I used to think you were a decent person, but I guess it’s true that the deepest cuts come from the ’nice guys.’ Tsk, tsk. Yesterday, Chi fell in the water, and where were you? You were busy running over to the village chief’s house to curry favor, making sure everyone knew it was you who’d pulled another girl out, held her, and even kissed her, all so you could rush to ’take responsibility.’"
"We all figured you were with her, so we stayed busy in the fields instead of crowding around. After all, Comrade Bian has plenty of people fussing over her—not like our Chi, who was lying all alone in her little room."
"And what was the result? The simple matter of getting Chi a bowl of ginger soup was delayed by you for so long that she nearly died..."
The other young women in the group also chimed in enthusiastically. One of them stepped forward and took Chi Yun’er’s hand.
"Chi, you should hurry back inside and rest. What have you had to eat? I have an egg left over from cooking; how about I make you some egg drop soup?"
Another one smiled with exceptional warmth. "That’s right. Chi, are you still feeling unwell? Has your fever broken? Have you taken any medicine? Do you need one of us to run to the clinic for you after work?"
The women’s sudden attentiveness immediately put Jiang Zishi on the spot. The young men chimed in from the window, "Chi, we’re fast walkers! We can grab you some cough medicine..."
"Chi, it looks like Jiang is going to be busy working for the Yue Family from now on, so he won’t have time to earn work points for you. A few of us guys can easily pool ours together to make sure you get a full share. When it’s time to distribute grain and meat, just give us whatever you think is fair. We’re all comrades living in the same courtyard; there’s no need to be calculating."
"We’re not going to take advantage of you—give you a little something and expect a huge return, right?"
Jiang Zishi’s face darkened. Of course he knew they were doing this on purpose.
’They were taking Chi Yun’er’s side, righting her perceived wrongs. They were denouncing him for the advantages he’d taken in the past, all to express their intense anger, dissatisfaction, and sarcasm.’