The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 35

Chapter 35: I’ve Always Been Here

After the Qin family left, Lin Shuang stood there, watching the carriage disappear into the distance, her expression dazed.

Even though she had not repeated the same mistakes in this life, she still felt a lingering sense of fear.

The cruel treatment, even after a lifetime, was still painfully etched in her memory, as if it had just happened yesterday.

And the hatred was still there, never having disappeared.

Remembering that there was no sadness on their faces just now, she guessed that Qin Chong was still clinging to life.

She didn’t know how Wang Chun’er was doing now. Perhaps she was as anxious and fearful as she had been before the storm.

She had originally thought that she would not provoke these people in this life, but thinking of the suffering she had endured in her past life, she was unwilling to let it go.

And, if Wang Chun’er was trapped in a wolf’s den and being tormented in every possible way, just like herself in her past life, how could she bear it?

But nothing had happened yet, and Wang Chun’er would not ask for her help for no reason.

She sighed softly. She could only wait.

Just then, a burnt smell wafted over, and she realized she had been distracted. Jiang Huaizhen, who was next to her, was quick-eyed and quick-handed. She lifted the lid and quickly took out the flatbread.

She flipped it over. The bottom was slightly burnt.

Lin Shuang looked at Jiang Huaizhen with some apology. “I was distracted for a moment…”

Jiang Huaizhen said, “It’s alright. I was just getting hungry anyway. It’s just right to fill my stomach. There’s no one around now, so let’s rest for a while. I’ll get you a bowl of tea.”

With that, she broke the burnt flatbread in two, wrapped the other half in a lotus leaf, and walked toward the tea shed.

Lin Shuang watched her retreating figure, lifted the frying pan and placed it to the side, then sat down on a small stool and rested her head in her hands for a while.

Soon, Jiang Huaizhen returned with a bowl of tea in her hand and handed it to her.

Lin Shuang looked at her and saw the concern in her eyes. She took the bowl and gulped down several large mouthfuls. The warm water went down her stomach, taking away her anxiety.

She smiled and explained, “I just saw that this family is not easy to get along with. I was thinking that if you hadn’t saved me back then, and I was at their house now, I don’t know how uncomfortable I would be.”

Hearing this, Jiang Huaizhen was slightly relieved and asked, “Are you still thirsty? I’ll get you another bowl.”

They usually brought their own water when they set up their stall. Now that there was a tea shed next to them and the two families were cooperating, Old Man Liu would not charge them for tea and told them to drink as much as they wanted.

Lin Shuang said, “That’s enough. I’ll have another bowl before we go back.”

Jiang Huaizhen hummed in agreement and got up to return the bowl.

Lin Shuang had rested for a while and had talked to her for a bit. She felt a little better. Hearing the sound of horse hooves in the distance, she stood up and continued to make flatbreads.

When Jiang Huaizhen came over and saw that she was busy again, she said nothing, but bent down to add some charcoal to the stove.

They were busy until the third quarter of the Hour of the Monkey(3 PM to 5 PM). The eighty catties of dough they had brought today were almost all sold out. The remaining three flatbreads were already made and were left at the tea shed for Old Man Liu to serve the later customers.

As usual, Jiang Huaizhen stacked the two baskets, put them in her basket, and then put the pot inside, carrying everything by herself.

Lin Shuang used the carrying pole as a walking stick and hobbled back.

“Thirty dough balls will be enough for tomorrow,” Jiang Huaizhen said.

“Why? We almost sold out all forty today,” Lin Shuang looked at her. “Are you tired?”

Then she thought it was impossible. This person was full of energy, her mind filled with money, money, money. The sauce flatbreads were making a profit now, so she wouldn’t just give up on such a good business.

Then there was only one reason. She thought she was tired.

Lin Shuang’s mood instantly brightened. She sidled up to her and linked her left arm with hers. “I’m not tired at all. While there are still people on the road before the new year, let’s earn a little more. When the new year comes, and there aren’t as many people, we can rest at home then.”

Jiang Huaizhen looked at the road ahead and, after a long moment, said, “Then thirty-five.”

Lin Shuang compromised. “Alright.”

“If there’s an ox-cart on the road later, you go back first. I’ll go to the city to buy white flour and sauce. I’ll be home before dark.”

“I don’t want to go back first. I’ll go to the city with you,” Lin Shuang said.

Seeing her stubbornness, Jiang Huaizhen said, “You’ve been standing and making flatbreads all day. You should go back early and rest. Why do you have to make this trip? I’ll call for an ox-cart to take me in when I get back.”

“No, if we’re going, we’re going together.”

Jiang Huaizhen was helpless and didn’t say anything, which was a tacit agreement.

Lin Shuang said, “We need a lot. Next time, we can just have it delivered to the village. We can just pay a little extra for the delivery.”

Jiang Huaizhen thought it was feasible and nodded.

There were still carts on the road at this time, and the two of them were not stingy with the money. They got on an ox-cart and headed for the city.

This time, they bought over a hundred catties of flour. After discussing the delivery with the shop owner, they left the city and went home.

By the time they got home, it was already dark. Jiang Huaizhen lit the lamps in several rooms, illuminating the surroundings.

It was now winter, and the weather was gradually getting colder. When they had left in the morning, they had added two large logs to the kang stove, and the room was still warm when they returned.

Seeing that they were finally back, Old Madam Jiang, while feeling sorry for them, couldn’t help but nag a few times.

The firewood in the stove was almost burnt out. Jiang Huaizhen added some firewood and a large pot of water for their baths at night.

She washed the rice and cooked.

She had bought a catty of pork belly on the way back, which she sliced thinly and stir-fried with vegetable stems. She also made a vegetable and egg drop soup, and dinner was ready.

Old Madam Jiang could get out of bed now, so she ate in the kitchen.

Lin Shuang had originally said that since it was cold, they could eat on the kang, but she refused, saying that the kang was for sleeping. If they ate on it and spilled oil, how could they sleep?

The two young people didn’t insist and helped her off the kang to eat dinner.

The pork belly was fried until it was very fragrant, and a lot of oil had been rendered. Stir-fried with the vegetable stems, it was crispy and delicious. Poured over the rice with the juices, it was super appetizing.

The two of them, having been busy all day, were starving. They each had two or three bowls of rice.

The old woman still mainly ate porridge. She would cook a large pot in the morning, and just heat it up for lunch and dinner.

With seventy or eighty catties of dough a day, they could earn over a tael of silver. They were no longer as tight on money as before, so of course, there was enough rice for everyone.

Seeing the two of them wolfing down their food, Old Madam Jiang put down her chopsticks, hesitating to speak.

Seeing this, Lin Shuang asked, “What’s wrong, Grandma?”

Old Madam Jiang said, “I’m much better now. Why don’t we stop the medicine? You two don’t have to work so hard—”

Before she could finish, the two of them interrupted in unison, “We’re not working hard.”

“How are you not working hard? You get up early every day to prepare the goods, busy all day, and only come back after dark. How can you not be tired?”

Lin Shuang said, “Compared to others, we’re already doing well. When we save up enough money, we’ll buy a horse-drawn carriage, and it won’t be so hard.”

“The medicine doesn’t cost much now. Selling two flatbreads is enough for you to take medicine for half a month,” Jiang Huaizhen added.

Old Madam Jiang fell silent.

After dinner, Jiang Huaizhen took on the task of washing the dishes. Lin Shuang rested for a while and then went to take a bath.

The sky had completely darkened, and the wind was howling outside, much colder than during the day.

After her bath, she went to the old woman’s room for a while. Seeing that Jiang Huaizhen had finished her bath, she returned to her own room.

It was a while before Jiang Huaizhen came in.

She was lying on her side, her head resting on a pillow, watching the other. “What took you so long?”

“I was talking to Grandma for a while,” Jiang Huaizhen sat down on the edge of the bed and felt the quilt on her. “It’s a bit cold at night. Why don’t you go and sleep on the kang in Grandma’s room?”

She had washed her hair today, and her long hair was loose on her shoulders. In the dim lamplight, she looked a little gentle. The black mole on the side of her neck was faintly visible as she turned her head.

On top of that, having been well-fed at the Jiang residence these past few years, she had grown tall and was more beautiful than an ordinary woman. Her thin inner clothes clung to her body, and the cool wind made her curves seem even softer.

As if possessed, Lin Shuang wanted to touch that mole. But in the end, when she reached out, her fingers landed on her long hair, and she gently twisted it.

It must have been mostly dried in the old woman’s room just now. So she tugged on her sleeve and said, “Get into bed. It’s not that cold yet. I don’t want to squeeze with her.”

Jiang Huaizhen leaned over to blow out the oil lamp by the bed and got into bed.

“If you don’t want to sleep with Grandma, when we go to the city in a couple of days, we can buy a thicker quilt for our side.”

Lin Shuang hummed in agreement. “You should also get some new clothes.”

The ones Jiang Gui had bought before were all worn by her now. Jiang Huaizhen only had a few longer ones that she wore for work. It was getting cold now, so they had to get some padded jackets and thick clothes.

Jiang Huaizhen was noncommittal. “We’ll see when we have time to go shopping.”

Lin Shuang sensed that she seemed a little unhappy and snuggled up to her. “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Huaizhen replied, “Nothing.”

“There’s clearly something,” Lin Shuang insisted.

Only then did Jiang Huaizhen sigh softly. “Qin Chong is still alive and well. If I hadn’t interfered back then, and you had married him, you wouldn’t have to go out early and come back late with me, selling flatbreads and suffering.”

Hearing this, Lin Shuang couldn’t help but feel a little angry. “We’ve been living together for so long, and you’re still thinking of pushing me away. Or is it that you never really wanted to take me in?”

Jiang Huaizhen quickly said, “I’m not trying to push you away.”

“But as long as Qin Chong doesn’t die, you’ll keep bringing this up.”

Jiang Huaizhen bit her lip.

She hadn’t wanted to bring up the past.

Lin Shuang said helplessly, “Sometimes I really wish you were a man. Then I could just marry you, have your children, and we’d be tied together, so you wouldn’t have to blame yourself and regret it all day.”

Her careless words made Jiang Huaizhen’s heart skip a beat. It took her a long time to find her voice. “The most unreliable thing in this world is marriage. I’ve never believed in it.”

She had witnessed the breakdown of her own parents’ relationship. Her father had been affectionate with his lover in front of her and her mother. Then she had seen her mother kill her father and his lover with her own hands. Finally, she had seen her mother being pushed onto the execution platform, dying under her adoptive father’s ghost-head saber.

The images were distant, but the memory was deep.

The two people who had once been in love, the more passionate their love, the stronger their hatred.

She also gradually realized that she had inherited her mother’s deep affection and stubbornness.

If,

if she also met a man she liked who was also unfaithful, would she follow her mother’s old path?

Jiang Huaizhen stared at the dark ceiling, suppressing the turmoil in her chest, and closed her eyes.

But her arm was touched by a warm body, which hugged her tightly.

“What are you afraid of?”

Jiang Huaizhen didn’t answer.

Lin Shuang snorted. “I was clearly scared to death when I met the Qin family today, and you still think I regret missing out on their wealth and glory.”

Jiang Huaizhen asked, “Are you afraid of the Qin family?”

“Yes. That child makes my blood run cold just by looking at him.”

Hearing this, Jiang Huaizhen remembered her reaction during the day and realized that she had been so preoccupied with her own anxiety that she had overlooked something. She said guiltily, “Don’t be afraid. I won’t let them hurt you.”

Lin Shuang pressed her warm face against her arm. “Jiang Huaizhen, you’re all I have.”

Jiang Huaizhen lay there, these words echoing in her ears.

She had been abandoned by her family since she was a child. The people around her had left her one by one, including the small animals she had once taken care of, which had also died one after another.

Even Grandma had almost left her.

So she had gone crazy to save her. Not to mention becoming a mere executioner, she would have even given her own life.

But she also gradually realized that she couldn’t hold onto anything.

She had even foreseen a future of being all alone.

But now, someone was telling her that she was all she had.

A faint thumping started in Jiang Huaizhen’s heart. Her usually cold hands and feet, driven by the heat from her heart, gradually warmed up.

She said, “I’ll always be here.”

She would always be here. Lin Shuang knew that. It had been proven in her past life, so of course, she knew.

But she also wanted Jiang Huaizhen to know that she would also always be here. She wouldn’t let her be left alone and desolate like in her past life.

But this kind of thing couldn’t be proven just by words.

But with the other’s assurance, she was happy. She giggled a couple of times and hugged Jiang Huaizhen’s arm tightly. “And Grandma.”

Jiang Huaizhen hummed softly. “Go to sleep. You’ve been exhausted these past few days.”

Listening to her gentle words, Lin Shuang tried to recall the encounter with the Qin family during the day, but her mind was already a muddle. She gave up on thinking, closed her eyes, and fell asleep next to the woman beside her.