The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 18

Chapter 18: An Elder in the House

By the time the two of them reached the vicinity of the Lin residence, the Lin family was having dinner in the main hall.

The clinking of bamboo chopsticks against porcelain bowls, mixed with the occasional sound of conversation, served as the best cover.

Jiang Huaizhen, having trained for years, was exceptionally agile and easily slipped through the small window.

The room had been completely transformed. There were now two thick quilts on the bed, and a newly made large cabinet and several tables had been added. It was a world of difference from when Lin Shuang had lived there.

It seemed that Lin Guo had moved in.

A cuckoo in the nest, but Lin Shuang had no grounds to argue.

Jiang Huaizhen lifted the mat. Fortunately, the shoe soles were still there. She took them and handed them to Lin Shuang, who was keeping watch outside the window, and then quickly jumped out.

But just as they were about to leave, Ma Guihua’s shrill voice came from the main hall.

“I secretly asked someone to inquire at the Qin residence today. It was that little slut who found someone to leak the news about the changed birth characters. Otherwise, how would they have known? So scheming at such a young age. Who knows how she’ll harm people when she grows up.”

Lin Mancang’s voice followed. “The money is already in hand. What’s the point of bringing up these old matters?”

“How can I not bring it up? If she had successfully married into the Qin family, I would have gotten at least ten taels of silver, and there would have been betrothal gifts during the wedding procession! But that jinx from the West Mountain Valley intercepted her, and I only got eight taels, nothing else. And I have to see that damn girl wandering around the village every day. It’s so disgusting!” Ma Guihua’s words were full of undisguised venom.

“That bitch surnamed Jiang, how dare she embarrass me! When I find a chance, I’ll tear that vixen’s face off!”

Hearing the distant voices, Lin Shuang’s face became unnatural. The viciousness of this family, how they usually treated her, only she knew. But to have it all laid bare in front of Jiang Huaizhen, and for her to be cursed as well, made her feel extremely embarrassed.

Jiang Huaizhen had naturally heard these words as well. She said nothing, but took Lin Shuang’s wrist. “Let’s go back.”

The two of them walked back toward the West Mountain Valley under the faint light.

The wind was strong on the late autumn night, rustling the surrounding trees. The sounds of insects and birds were much fewer than in summer, carrying a desolate chill.

Lin Shuang finally managed to push the words of Lin Mancang and his wife out of her mind. She squeezed the shoe soles in her hand. “When we get back, I’ll make them into shoes for you.”

But Jiang Huaizhen shook her head. “Your feet will still grow. Keep them for yourself to wear in the future.”

“They won’t,” Lin Shuang said. “…I feel like they’ve stopped growing this year. You walk a lot, so your shoes wear out easily. I’ll make you a sturdy pair that will last longer.”

Jiang Huaizhen was never one to argue with others, so she decided to wait until the shoes were made.

By the time they entered the valley and returned home, Old Madam Jiang’s scolding voice came from inside. “Where did you run off to so late? No lights on, no answer when I call. Are you blind or deaf?”

Lin Shuang looked at Jiang Huaizhen, a smile playing on her lips.

In the darkness, Jiang Huaizhen could vaguely sense her smile. She shot her an annoyed glare before stepping inside and striking a flint to light a lamp.

That night, after washing up, Lin Shuang lay in bed, her eyes wide open, staring at the dark ceiling.

Having gotten the shoe soles back, she felt a faint excitement, as if by getting this thing, she had cut off her connection to the past.

But she knew that what had happened, had happened. Even if it had happened in another life, it could never be erased.

She didn’t know how Jiang Huaizhen, in the places she couldn’t see in her past life, had endured the old woman’s death, how she had spent those ten years, and how she had become the person she was later.

And after she herself had died, how had she managed?

After being reborn, Lin Shuang had more than once regretted ending her life in that way, leaving Jiang Huaizhen all alone in that world.

Listening to the soft breathing beside her, she turned on her side. In the dark night, she couldn’t see the other’s silhouette, but she could feel the still pure and peaceful Jiang Huaizhen lying there.

But her body was curled up uneasily, as if trapped in the nightmare of the day.

Lin Shuang remembered the curses of the condemned prisoners at the execution grounds, the vicious words, and the splattering blood that had landed on this person’s forehead. The scene seemed to have just happened.

Infinite pity flooded her heart. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around the other’s slender body.

**

At the crack of dawn, the rooster behind the house crowed dutifully.

Jiang Huaizhen woke up early.

After getting up, she first boiled water, then went to help the old woman get up.

The days were hot and the mornings and evenings were cool. The old woman was afraid of the cold, so she needed hot water to wash up.

Lin Shuang also got up not long after.

After washing up, she went to knead some dough. She heated up the leftover pork bone soup from last night, added diced vegetables and dough drops, and finally beat two eggs and drizzled them in. Once the water boiled, it was ready.

Old Madam Jiang didn’t make a fuss this morning. She leaned against the bed and ate the dough drop soup.

The two young girls sat at the table by the bed, each with a large bowl, eating until they were sweating.

Lin Shuang finally understood why she hadn’t grown tall in her past life. Before the age of sixteen, at the Lin residence, she had never had enough to eat or warm clothes to wear. The food she ate wasn’t enough for her to grow. Later, when she went to the Qin family, she had a few good meals in the first month before Qin Chong died. But at the same time, she was worried that Qin Chong would die at any moment, and she was so anxious she couldn’t sleep at night. Later, when Qin Chong really died, she was targeted by the Qin family’s grandmother and grandchildren. She had endless work to do and endless insults to endure, and the food she ate was not enough, much worse than at the Lin residence. She had missed her last chance to grow taller.

Since she didn’t grow tall, her feet were also small. No wonder the shoe soles were of no use to her.

Unlike Jiang Huaizhen. Jiang Gui had fallen to his death when she was fifteen, but before that, he had truly doted on this daughter. Although her food and clothing couldn’t match that of city folk, at least she was always warmly dressed, and her clothes had no patches. While she didn’t eat meat every day, she could have it for at least eight or ten days a month.

Her biological parents must have been good-looking, and with adequate nutrition, it was no wonder she grew so tall.

Looking at Jiang Huaizhen, who had to hunch over just to eat her breakfast, Lin Shuang decided that from now on, she would also have to nourish her body well. She couldn’t be that much shorter than her.

After breakfast, it was broad daylight, and the two of them set to work on the kang.

Building a kang required bricks and slabs for the top. After discussing it, they decided to buy the bricks from the kiln.

A single heated kang would require around a hundred bricks, and at about one copper coin per brick, it was still within their budget.

As for the slabs, they would make them themselves out of adobe, a mixture of fine, sandy soil and wheat straw.

Jiang Huaizhen was skilled with carpentry. She measured the spot in the old woman’s room where the kang would go, determined the size needed for each slab, and quickly fashioned a mold.

Afterward, the two of them went deeper into the valley to dig up soil, then brought back some rice straw from the fields, chopped it up, added water, and mixed it all together. Finally, they poured the slurry into the mold and packed it down firmly.

Once removed from the mold, the slab was placed in a cool, shady spot to air dry.

“It hasn’t rained these past few days, and it’s been quite windy, so they should be ready in four or five days. There’s no rush for the bricks. We can ask around the next time we’re in the city. They’ll definitely have over a hundred bricks in stock, and we can just have them delivered then,” Lin Shuang said, washing her hands and feet with the water Jiang Huaizhen ladled for her.

“After we eat lunch, want to come up the mountain with me to dig for herbs?” she asked.

That large patch of herbs we saw yesterday—we only dug up the yams. We haven’t touched the fangfeng yet. With the two of us, we can finish digging it all in one afternoon.

With her work at the yamen finished for now, Jiang Huaizhen had no other way of earning money, so she nodded in agreement.

They had eaten dough drop soup in the morning, and afterward, they had carried soil, chopped straw, and mixed mud—all strenuous work. Both of them were in their teens, so they burned through energy quickly and got hungry fast.

Lin Shuang had just resolved this morning to nourish her body and grow taller, so she naturally wouldn’t neglect herself. After washing her feet, she went to the kitchen to wash rice and cook.

Lunch was simple: porridge with a small stir-fried dish, and a steamed egg for Old Madam Jiang.

Old Madam Jiang felt bad about them spending money and told Lin Shuang not to make a special egg for her anymore. Her exact words were: “This body is about to be in the ground anyway. What’s the point of wasting that money? When I’m buried, I’ll just be a pile of fertilizer.”

Lin Shuang smiled. “With me around, it’ll be hard for you to get into the ground. Eat well, drink well, and you’ll have no problem living for another twenty or thirty years.”

Old Madam Jiang said unhappily, “Live that long? Do you want me to become an old fossil?”

Since Lin Shuang had already decided to repay and atone to Jiang Huaizhen, she naturally had to care about everything she cared about, which meant she had to first stabilize this little old lady.

“An elder in the house is like a treasure. And a treasure only becomes more valuable the longer you keep it.”

Of course, that old hag from the Qin family is an exception.

Hearing her say this, Old Madam Jiang pursed her lips. How many descendants in this world would treat a bedridden old person as a treasure? She grunted a couple of times but didn’t say any more, changing the subject instead. “All this bustling in and out all morning has given me a headache. When will that kang of yours be ready? I don’t want it, but you two won’t listen to me. Might as well get it done sooner rather than later, so I can have some peace and quiet.”

“The adobe bricks aren’t dry yet. We’ll have to wait about four days,” Lin Shuang said, not pointing out her obvious anticipation.

Hearing this, Old Madam Jiang slumped back against the head of the bed, her appetite for her meal gone.