RYEY – Chapter 46 Afraid to Drink the Well Water

Cheng Qiao froze for a moment. What is a celestial body? Oh—so Li Huan really thought of her as a fairy descended to earth. She reached out, wanting to pull him into her space to take a look.

But when she stood at the edge of the black soil in the backyard, she realized she was the only one there. Li Huan couldn’t get in at all. Cheng Qiao hurriedly stepped out of the space, and sure enough, saw Li Huan’s pale face, eyes full of panic.

“Wife, why did you suddenly disappear? Where did you go? Are you abandoning me?”

The moment he saw her reappear, Li Huan grabbed her tightly, asking with deep unease.

“Mhm. If you don’t listen to me, I really will leave you.”

Cheng Qiao’s heart softened. Normally, this man acted like a rascal, yet in front of her he revealed such helplessness. Her past self had been truly blind.

“Wife, I remember the first time I saw you. You had just arrived in our Xiangyang Village. You wore a red jacket with green floral patterns, black pants, and a pair of shiny black leather shoes that almost blinded me.”

Cheng Qiao thought carefully—wasn’t that exactly the outfit she wore the day she came down to the countryside? This guy really had a good memory.

“And your face was pale white, your eyes sparkled as you curiously looked around. I followed your gaze, looking left and right too. Then, when you looked at me—that one glance lodged itself right into my heart.”

“How come I don’t remember any of that?”

“My heart was pounding like I had heart disease, I couldn’t even catch my breath. At that moment, I was secretly hoping—if only this girl would marry me.”

“So when you saw me fall into Xu Laidi’s trap that day, you couldn’t wait to… do that to me?”

Cheng Qiao narrowed her eyes deliberately, teasing.

“I… Cheng Qiao, I’m sorry. That day you were a little… um… feverish, thirsty, so I…”

Li Huan also thought of that night. If time could turn back, he would still make the same choice. But as for Xu Laidi—she had better watch out.

“Li Huan, can you promise me one thing?”

“Not just one—if it’s you, even a hundred, I’ll promise.”

“In the future, if you see Xu Laidi in the mountains, don’t have any contact with her. Stay as far away as possible.”

Li Huan was stunned. A big grown man like him, having to hide from a female educated youth? That would be embarrassing. But since he had promised Cheng Qiao, he had to keep his word.

“Wife… don’t tell me Xu Laidi is the same as you, also from that place?”

The thought suddenly struck him. If both Cheng Qiao and Xu Laidi had come from the same place, then it wouldn’t be surprising if they were heavenly beings. Only, Cheng Qiao was the good immortal, and Xu Laidi was the evil one.

“No. She’s not an immortal. She’s a demon.”

A chill of sweat broke out on Li Huan’s back, but his resolve to protect Cheng Qiao only grew firmer. Demon or ghost, if she dared bully Cheng Qiao, he would cut her down.

“Li Huan, let’s go back.”

Cheng Qiao didn’t want to recall the past anymore. Revenge could be taken slowly; there was no need to torment herself with memories.

Li Huan nodded. Tomorrow, the village would be distributing grain. Based on Cheng Qiao’s work points, she likely wouldn’t get much. But hadn’t Xu Laidi owed his wife two hundred yuan? Tomorrow, they would demand every last cent.

“Oh, right, Li Huan, I forgot to tell you something. Xu Laidi owed me a total of two hundred and twenty. Last time, Zhang Yuefang helped me collect one hundred. So she still owes me one hundred and twenty.”

“Heh, owing money is good. Come on, let’s go back.”

Cheng Qiao locked the door. Li Huan pedaled his bicycle, taking her back toward Xiangyang Village. As they entered the village, they saw Chen Dazhu working hard all alone in the small grove.

The grove had already been cleared away, the ground leveled. Chen Dazhu was making adobe bricks. Once they dried, he could use them to build a house.

Most families in Xiangyang Village lived in such adobe houses—they were cheap to build, but every year, the outer walls had to be plastered with mud, otherwise they couldn’t withstand heavy rains.

If one year the plastering was forgotten and the weather turned bad, the walls could collapse. So, whenever families had money, they would buy bricks and tiles. Once they saved enough, they could build a brick house.

Li Huan glanced at him and sneered. “Wife, Chen Dazhu is about to win over Xu Laidi. Her good days are just about to begin.”

Cheng Qiao nodded, smiling inwardly. Xu Laidi, your so-called good days are coming. Everything I suffered in my past life—now it’s your turn.

When Cheng Qiao returned to the educated youth spot, the place was silent. Everyone had fallen asleep from exhaustion after turning in grain to the state. She went into the backyard, found a quiet corner, and entered her space.

She opened her sack—there were many types of seeds, mostly corn and rice. Focusing her mind, she willed the corn seeds into the soil.

Following her intent, rice, wheat, sorghum, vegetables, and even some seeds she couldn’t identify were all planted.

Next was watering. She stared at the well water and the tap water, unsure which to use. After some experimenting, she discovered the well water contained a trace of spiritual spring, though in very small proportion.

At first, she had been drinking the well water every day, and found her skin improving more and more. If anyone brushed aside the bangs on her forehead, they would be shocked—the scar that had taken four stitches was already fading.

Afraid of arousing suspicion, she stopped drinking the well water.

She quickly decided: half the land with well water, half with tap water. Later, she would compare the results.

At her thought, both sides were irrigated. The crops watered with well water sprouted green shoots almost immediately, while those watered with tap water showed no movement. As expected.

Satisfied, she ate a little at the grocery shop, bathed in the public bathhouse, then exited the space and returned to the dormitory.

“Cheng Qiao, Cheng Qiao, wake up! We have to line up early to get our grain!”

She had planned to wake up early, but hadn’t expected to sleep so soundly. Luckily, Han Chunmei next to her called her awake—otherwise, she might have slept until noon.

She quietly touched her stomach. Maybe it was because of pregnancy that she was so drowsy. But once she married Li Huan, things would be easier—no need to live in constant fear.

“Mhm, I’m up. Thank you, Sister Chunmei.”

Stretching lazily, Cheng Qiao got up slowly, only to notice a pair of eyes fixed on her. She turned her head to look—