Chapter 440: Day 5 into the Farming Story

Chapter 440: Day Five in a Farming Novel

Wang Shi was stunned, her mouth hanging open like a fish out of water, unable to catch her breath for a good while.

She clearly hadn't expected that kind of reaction from An Yi.

By all rights, being publicly accused of being a "lover" should have elicited either a flustered, red-faced denial or an enraged, cursing outburst. Who would openly—even self-deprecatingly—admit to being "a loafer just passing by to watch the show" and act like "go on, don't mind me"?

All the mud-slinging and slander she had prepared got stuck in her throat, choking her with frustration.

"You—you stop playing dumb here!" Wang Shi shrieked, her bluster paper-thin. "You two must be hooking up! Why else would you always be hanging around my front door? Sneaking around—clearly up to no good!"

An Yi let out a sigh and raised a hand, rubbing his brow with his knuckles.

In the original owner's memories, there had indeed been some vague, unsavory thoughts about Jiang Chiliu—a man with a delicate face and pitiful circumstances. Occasionally, when passing near the Li family's place, he'd sneak a glance or two.

But that was it.

Because he hadn't made his move yet.

Once he did, the protagonist would have him thrown in jail.

Too bad there'd be no sewing machine to pedal.

Jiang Chiliu himself had always avoided him, and they'd never had any interaction at all.

Wang Shi's accusation was purely a cornered dog lashing out, wildly biting at anyone in reach.

"Aunt Wang." An Yi lowered his hand and looked at her with a calm gaze, his tone almost courteous, though his words were like a soft knife. "Now, this road in our village—it wasn't built just for your family, now was it? I pass by here, look at the sky, look at the ground, look at the trees—how is that 'sneaking around' and 'up to no good'? Are you saying that any man who walks by and happens to glance at your courtyard is a 'lover' or something?"

He paused, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepening, his gaze drifting meaningfully over Li Fu, who'd been standing there silent in the yard the whole time, and then over the few men watching from the sidelines, before adding slowly:

"Then you'd better get busy counting."

"Pfft—HAHAHA!"

This time, someone in the crowd finally couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing, setting off more barely suppressed laughter from all around.

Wang Shi's face flushed a deep red. Her finger, pointing at An Yi, was shaking like crazy. "You—you—you little punk! You piece of trash! How dare you insult me?!"

"No, no, I wouldn't dare." An Yi waved his hands repeatedly, his expression earnest. "I'm just following your logic. See, doesn't that show your logic doesn't quite hold up?"

Another wave of laughter swept through the crowd.

The way people looked at An Yi changed. This was the same man who used to slink around with his head down, a shiftless good-for-nothing—what had gotten into him today, acting like a completely different person?

And he was actually kind of funny?

Jiang Chiliu nearly lost his composure too, his mournful, restrained expression almost cracking. He quickly lowered his eyes, hiding the flicker of amusement in his eyes.

He didn't have time to dwell on it. He knew he had to clarify things immediately, before Wang Shi could drag things further into such disgusting territory.

He looked up at Wang Shi, then glanced at An Yi, and quickly turned his gaze back. "Um... Brother An?"

"Before today, I have never spoken a single word to him, nor have we had any connection at all. Mother, you cannot drag an innocent person into this just to smear my name—it would ruin his reputation for no reason."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of tiredness and grievance. "You say I'm always going out, but every time I leave, isn't it because you told me to do something? Gathering firewood on the back mountain, washing clothes by the river, fetching medicine in town... Which one didn't you personally tell me to do? If I were using those trips to... to do something improper, how could I possibly return within the time you set, having finished the mountain of chores waiting at home?"

Comment section:

【HAHAHAHAHAHA "a loafer just passing by to watch the show"! An Yi, is it? I'm remembering you!】

"This guy is hilarious! Naturally funny!"

"Kind of adorable (whispering), though from the villagers' reactions, he really does seem to be a no-good loafer with a bad reputation!"

"But the way he called himself a loafer was so funny!"

"I hate people like Wang Shi who spread nasty rumors! An Yi shut her down so well!"

"Think he'll turn over a new leaf and work for the protagonist? He seems pretty sharp."

"Wouldn't be surprised—these farming novels always have that trope where the local thug gets recruited as a lackey later."

"..."

A flicker of amusement passed through An Yi's eyes.

Work for the protagonist?

That wouldn't be happening.

An Yi watched Wang Shi's furious, flustered expression, and the amusement in his eyes deepened.

He said nothing more, just gave a slight shrug toward Wang Shi, a gesture of casual helplessness, then took another step back, crossed his arms over his chest again, and tilted his head slightly, striking a pose that said, "You two keep arguing—I'll keep watching."

Wang Shi trembled with rage at his attitude. Her bony finger pointed at him, her lips quivering as she stammered, "You—you—you—" but couldn't muster any more forceful accusations.

She turned back around, venting all her fury and frustration onto Jiang Chiliu. "Fine! Fine, you Jiang Liu'er! Now you've got some wild man backing you up, you've grown wings, daring to talk back to your old mother! Fine! Our Li family's temple is too small to house a great Buddha like you who goes around seducing everyone! Get out now! Get out of our house this instant! From this day forward, you have nothing to do with our Li family! If my son were alive, he wouldn't acknowledge a wife who doesn't know her place!"

Li Fu, who had been silently puffing on his pipe the whole time, finally knocked the ash out with a few hard taps and stood up. His drooping eyelids lifted, his murky eyes fixed on Jiang Chiliu as he rasped, "You're not taking a single thing from this house! Clothes, bedding, pots and pans—they're all ours! Consider it payment for my son's life!"

The words were utterly cold and heartless.

Jiang Chiliu hadn't brought much dowry when he married in, but surely some of his daily belongings were his own.

The Li family's second daughter-in-law, who had been hiding behind Wang Shi, quickly glanced up at Jiang Chiliu, then at her in-laws. Her brow furrowed slightly, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, under Wang Shi's sharp glare, she lowered her head and took a half-step back, avoiding any gaze Jiang Chiliu might cast her way.

Jiang Chiliu lowered his eyelids. He was silent for a moment, and when he looked up again, the rims of his eyes were faintly red, the tip of his nose tinged pink as well. "Fine."

He spoke, his voice trembling. "I'll go."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the harsh-faced Wang Shi and the grim Li Fu, then made his request: "But I ask Father, Mother, and all the villagers here to bear witness. Let us put this in writing today as proof. From this moment on, Jiang Chiliu and the Li family are quits—life, death, marriage, all separate and unrelated. And in the future, I ask that no one come looking for trouble with me on any pretext."