The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 7

Chapter 7: Wearing Your Clothes

Lin Shuang’s culinary skills were not innate.

In her previous life, she was sent to the Qin family for a chongxi marriage. Qin Chong hadn’t died yet, but he lingered on his deathbed for over a month before passing away. Lin Shuang entered the family as a second wife. Although she wasn’t treated with the respect of a young mistress, she was still considered half a master.

That month was the last peaceful time she had in her previous life.

She had a kind temperament and came from a poor family, which made her well-liked by the servants in the household.

One of the cooks was a refugee who had fled from the north and later sold herself to the Qin family. It was during that time that Lin Shuang learned a great deal from her.

What appeared to be a peaceful time to outsiders was actually filled with a constant, unspoken fear.

She didn’t have to personally attend to Qin Chong, but she would go to his room every day to sit for a while. Seeing the deathly pallor on the man’s face, she knew his time was short.

But she didn’t know what she would do with herself after he died.

After dinner, Jiang Huaizhen washed the dishes, then found a few pieces of wood and sat at the main entrance, beginning to hammer away with a clatter.

Lin Shuang took on the task of heating the medicine. After bringing it to the old woman, she moved a stool and sat down beside Jiang Huaizhen, asking, “What are you making?”

“A frame. I’ll add a board on top. It’ll be more convenient for Grandma to eat in bed.”

The small stool today had been quite convenient, but it was a bit small and unstable. The slightest movement would spill the soup.

Lin Shuang rested her chin on her right hand, which was propped on her knee. “You’re very skilled with your hands.”

Jiang Huaizhen pursed her lips and didn’t say anything, continuing to saw the wood.

“It’s already late autumn. When winter comes, Grandma’s body won’t be able to stand the cold. Have you thought about building a heated kang bed in her room?”

Changping County was located in the central region between the north and south. It would snow in the coldest parts of winter, but only a thin layer. However, the alternating cycles of damp cold and dry cold were the most unbearable.

Especially for a seriously ill old person.

Hearing this, Jiang Huaizhen stopped what she was doing and straightened up to look at her. “A kang? What’s that?”

“It’s an earthen bed made of bricks. You just need to light a small fire, and it will stay warm all night. I heard they have them in the north,” Lin Shuang explained.

“Do you know how to make one?”

“Yes.” Lin Shuang didn’t bother beating around the bush with her. The person before her was never one to press for details.

Heated kang beds were not uncommon in the north, but they were relatively rare in Changping County, which was located in the more southern part of the central plains. The cook from the north at the Qin residence, with whom Lin Shuang had become good friends, had taught her many things, including how to make northern-style pasta and this heated kang.

As expected, Jiang Huaizhen didn’t ask how she knew these things. She just looked at her with a hint of anticipation. “Tell me about it. When I have some free time in a few days, I’ll build one.”

Lin Shuang then explained the structure, principles, and materials of the heated kang in detail.

After she finished, Jiang Huaizhen quickly grasped the concept, her eyes shining. “That really is a good thing.”

The sky quickly darkened.

When the meal was finished cooking, a large log was placed in the stove to keep the water in the pot hot. Jiang Hua-zhen carried the water to help the old woman wash up.

The weather was starting to turn cold, and the old woman couldn’t stand the chill at all. After a brief cleaning, she scolded Jiang Hua-zhen away.

Jiang Hua-zhen thought about what Lin Shuang had said about building a heated kang, and her heart warmed again.

When it was their turn, Jiang Hua-zhen needed to take a proper bath. She had been on the execution grounds today, and although the prisoner’s blood hadn’t splattered on her, she felt tainted and needed a thorough wash to feel comfortable.

When she came out from her bath, she looked at Lin Shuang, who was sitting by the stove, and asked, “How about you make do with Grandma’s clothes for now…”

Once she received her reward money, she would have new clothes made for her.

Lin Shuang looked at her. “Can’t I wear yours?”

Jiang Hua-zhen hesitated. “…You don’t mind?”

Mind that she was an executioner, mind the baleful aura on her.

“What’s there for me to mind? Or are you unwilling to let me wear your clothes?”

“No, I don’t mind,” Jiang Hua-zhen said. “If you want to wear them, you can wear any of the clothes in the cabinet, except for the ones in the bottom drawer that I wear for work.”

With that, she led Lin Shuang back to her room and opened the cabinet against the wall.

When Jiang Gui was still working, although he earned one tael of silver per head, there weren’t many heads to be chopped in a county in a year. The money he earned was a bit more than an ordinary villager’s, but it was just enough to feed his family.

On top of that, he liked to drink and would occasionally gamble, so he never had any money left over. That’s why when he passed away and the old woman suddenly fell gravely ill, the Jiang family was instantly plunged into poverty.

But when he was alive, he had been very willing to buy clothes for Jiang Hua-zhen.

Unfortunately, Jiang Hua-zhen was only fifteen when he died, and she had shot up in height in the past two years, so her old clothes were all too short.

“I’ve grown taller now, so these should fit you,” she said, looking at the girl who was half a head shorter than her.

Lin Shuang didn’t care about the height difference. Jiang Hua-zhen was as tall as a man, and she herself had been poorly nourished since she was young, so she couldn’t catch up even if she wanted to.

“There are so many clothes, they’ll last a long time,” she said with a smile.

She only had two sets of clothes to change into at the Lin residence, both tattered and worn. When it got cold, she would just throw on an extra layer and endure it. Looking in Jiang Huaizhen’s cabinet, she saw there were even padded jackets.

“But I still need to go back to the Lin residence when I have time.”

“What for?”

“I made a pair of shoe soles for you. I have to get them back.”

“You… when did you make shoe soles for me?” Jiang Huaizhen was a little surprised. They had only interacted in the past two days.

As she spoke, she couldn’t help but shift the cloth shoe with the large gash in it backward. She thought to herself that this person must have seen her torn shoe and was insistent on going back for the soles because of it.

Lin Shuang said, “It’s none of your business when I made them. They’re for you to wear, that’s all that matters.”

Jiang Huaizhen thought for a moment and agreed.

Only then did Lin Shuang grab a change of clothes and go to wash up.

When she came out, Jiang Huaizhen had already made the bed.

One bed, only one quilt.

Jiang Gui’s quilt had been buried with him in his coffin when he died. This one had been moved from the old woman’s room.

By now, it was pitch black outside. Jiang Huaizhen said, “You sleep on the inside, I’ll sleep on the outside.”

She had to get up in the middle of the night to check on the old woman next door, so it would be inconvenient to sleep on the inside.

Before her father passed away, Jiang Huaizhen had always shared a room with her grandmother. After he died and her grandmother fell ill, she hadn’t moved out, so she could take care of her.

It was only in the past few days, since she started carrying out executions, that she feared the baleful aura on her would affect the old woman, so she hadn’t dared to go over.

There was actually another reason. These past few days, having killed someone for the first time, her sleep had been restless. She tossed and turned, afraid of disturbing her grandmother’s rest.

Before blowing out the lamp, she first went to check on her grandmother, waiting until she was settled before returning.

Lin Shuang lay on her pillow, her body turned to the side, watching her softly.

She had just smelled the scent of mugwort and realized that Jiang Huaizhen had placed the sachet she had given her under her pillow. A feeling of happiness bloomed in her heart.

Seeing her blow out the lamp and lie down, she moved closer, snuggling up to her like a kitten.

When Jiang Huaizhen was found by Jiang Gui, she had almost frozen to death, which had damaged her constitution. As a result, her hands were perennially cold. In previous years, when she shared a bed with Old Madam Jiang, she would use a separate quilt, afraid of chilling the old woman.

Now, with a soft, fragrant body close to her, she felt a little uncomfortable, but more than that, it was a strange and novel feeling.

The light, fresh scent of a young girl was naturally different from that of an elder. In the darkness, she closed her eyes, letting the refreshing fragrance linger around her.

**

Although Jiang Huaizhen kept telling herself that the heads she had chopped during the day were just carrying out the law, she was still young, her mind just reaching maturity. Coupled with the demons of her childhood, she was still somewhat frightened and uneasy, always feeling as if someone was watching her from the darkness, cursing her.

She hadn’t had a peaceful night’s sleep in days.

Now, with someone beside her—warm, soft, and with a sweet scent—it was as if a giant halo of light had formed, driving away all the ghosts and ghouls in the darkness, and enveloping her within it.

The fatigue accumulated during the day washed over her like a tidal wave, instantly submerging her. As soon as her head touched the pillow and her eyelids closed, she fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, perhaps due to her thoughts, the ferocious and beautiful face of the female prisoner from the day’s execution merged with the memory of her mother’s face, suddenly transforming into the image of a vengeful ghost and lunging at her.

With a jolt, she snapped her eyes open.

Her body was cold and tense, unable to move.

Just then, a pair of warm arms wrapped around her from the side, circling her waist.

“Huaizhen, are you having a nightmare…”

It was like a comfort, yet also like a murmur in a dream.

Lin Shuang, who had cared for the Qin siblings for over ten years, was often woken up in the middle of the night to soothe the two frail and sickly little ingrates. She had caught Jiang Huaizhen’s slight movement, even in her sleep.

But she was still very sleepy at the moment. Without even opening her eyes, she held Jiang Huaizhen and gently patted her back, comforting her in broken phrases, “…It’s okay, I’m here… All the demons and monsters, stay away… Let’s go back to sleep…”

Jiang Huaizhen’s tense body finally relaxed under the continuous comforting pats. She let out a soft sigh of relief.

She remembered the past two nights, when she had also woken up startled in the middle of the night. Her body had remained tense for over an hour before she could relax, and she would wake up sore and exhausted.

She gently removed Lin Shuang’s arm and sat up.

Lin Shuang groggily opened her eyes and asked, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going next door. I’ll be right back.” Jiang Huaizhen quietly got out of bed and felt her way to the next room in the dark.

A dim oil lamp was lit outside Old Madam Jiang’s room. She stood by the bed for a while, and hearing the even breathing from the bed, she turned and went back to her room.

As soon as she lay down, the body beside her wrapped around her again, holding her tight.

Jiang Huaizhen’s body stiffened slightly. After a long moment, she returned to normal, pulling the quilt up to cover both of them.

Drowsiness followed, and she closed her eyes, quickly falling back asleep.