Xu Shengnan suppressed her anger and said with her head down, "My hand is swollen, I really can't pull the weeds. I'm taking sick leave this afternoon, so I'll go find Song Xin. I just got married here and I'm not very familiar with this area. Song Xin doesn't care about me, and I'm feeling anxious. I'd better find him first."
"Your hand is swollen? You got it swollen just from pulling up a little grass? You're kidding me!"
"Exactly, they're all girls who grew up in the countryside, how could they be so delicate?"
"I'm not lying to you, look if you don't believe me." Xu Shengnan angrily stretched out her hands, but to everyone's surprise, her hands were fair, tender, and incredibly smooth, showing no signs of swelling.
Upon seeing this, several women began to mock, "Do you think we're blind? Can't you even tell if it's swollen or not?"
"Oh my god, this is hilarious! This is the first time I've ever seen someone make up such an excuse to be lazy."
"You can't live without a man, so you're making excuses to go find one. You're really shameless. Can't you tell your man doesn't want to see you? You've driven him to the point where he doesn't even want to go home. You're really something!"
"Isn't she capable? She can throw herself into the water, tear off her clothes, and cling to a man! We can't compare."
"You! What are you all babbling about for no reason? What I do is none of your business! Who are you? Aren't you all gossipy old hags afraid of going to hell after you die!" Xu Shengnan angrily grabbed a broom to scare them away, "Go away, go away, stop blocking my doorway, get lost!"
"Hey, what's wrong with you? You have a problem, but you're afraid of people talking about it?"
"You're the one going to hell! If you're not afraid of anything, why should we be?"
"Let's go tell the brigade leader what kind of person she is. She doesn't work and still thinks she's right. Let's go, it's beneath us to talk to her."
The group left, grumbling and cursing, clearly intending to give Xu Shengnan a good scolding. Xu Shengnan tossed aside the broom, raised her hand to look at her palm. How could she have forgotten that after drinking the spiritual spring water, all the swelling and pain had disappeared, and she no longer felt unwell.
But just because her spiritual spring water had a good therapeutic effect doesn't mean she didn't experience that painful and unbearable experience that morning. As a result, she can't even refute it now and can only let them talk nonsense. It's really frustrating!
For a moment, she thought about not drinking the spiritual spring water after her next job, so everyone could see how much she had suffered. But she immediately dismissed the thought. She could see it, but she couldn't possibly endure not drinking the spiritual spring water forever; how uncomfortable would that be?
As long as she drinks the spiritual spring water, her body will be fine, and if others see her again, who will care about her swollen and injured hand?
A short while later, the brigade leader's wife came to find her herself, telling her in a very rude manner not to try to slack off or cheat, and that since she was in the fifth team, she should work honestly. She also said that she would keep an eye on her, as her words and actions would affect the reputation of the whole village, and that she would absolutely not allow her to do anything improper.
Xu Shengnan was furious. She felt like everyone in this wretched place could boss her around and lecture her. Who did they all think they were? The village chief of this run-down village was nothing, and his wife was even less important. Why did they have the right to tell her what to do?
Xu Shengnan insisted that she wasn't lying, claiming that she had a special constitution and recovered quickly. The brigade leader's wife, of course, didn't believe her. Xu Shengnan recounted how quickly she recovered from the snake bite, but the brigade leader's wife thought she was a repeat offender, always slacking off and faking poisoning in the fourth team, never learning her lesson – a complete scoundrel.
The two had a big argument, and in the end, the village chief's wife said that if she didn't work diligently, she would report her to the commune. She was new to the fifth team, and even if she were reported, the higher-ups wouldn't think it was the fifth team's poor management; they would only publicly criticize her. Then she would be used as a negative example and criticized by name by all the other brigades.
Even though Xu Shengnan didn't care about her reputation, she couldn't stand this kind of thing and went to work in the fields in a fit of anger.
When people are angry, they naturally exert more force, partly as a way of venting. But to others, Xu Shengnan seemed quite strong, her hands were fine, and she looked healthy. Otherwise, how could she pull weeds so forcefully? This further confirmed the fact that she was lying and being lazy.
Labor is glorious, laziness is shameful, and telling such a utterly foolish lie is even more shameful. Xu Shengnan now bore another label as a liar. The murmurs of the crowd made her face burn with embarrassment and her heart pound with frustration. She had never imagined that living in the countryside would be so difficult after her reputation was ruined; every minute and every second spent working together was torture!
After working all afternoon, she was exhausted and her back ached. She had planned to bring water in the afternoon so that she could drink the spiritual spring water discreetly and not get tired, but she was so angry that she forgot to bring it. She couldn't drink the spiritual spring water, her hands were swollen, and her body ached all over.
When they finished work, someone with sharp eyes noticed Xu Shengnan's hand and told others in surprise. Everyone found it unbelievable that her hand was really swollen.
Of course, this matter had to be told to the brigade leader's wife. As a result, the brigade leader's wife went to find Xu Shengnan, who had already finished drinking the spiritual spring water, and her hands were white and tender again.
The brigade leader's wife was furious, thinking that she had somehow gotten her hands red, so she washed it off when she got home.
When the brigade leader's wife returned home, she discussed it with the brigade leader. This person had to be punished, otherwise everyone would follow suit and cause chaos. They directly changed Xu Shengnan's work to heavy work, 8 work points a day. With more work points, the work was much more tiring than pulling weeds.
Xu Shengnan couldn't refuse and was furious. But there was nothing she could do. She had been fearless in the fourth team because Wang Baoguo didn't want to take responsibility for his poor discipline. He couldn't possibly report her to the commune as a troublemaker or a negative example, so she naturally did whatever she wanted.
But in the fifth team, just like the team leader's wife said...
In that case, since she had just married into the family, the other party had no responsibility. Reporting it to the commune for criticism would not affect the Fifth Team at all.
That would leave an indelible stain on her, and everyone could despise her. Even the entire surrounding brigade would remember her. She didn't want that!
She prepared such a lavish dowry so that they would envy her in the future and say, "Boss Song's wife was quite something back then. She prepared such a huge dowry all by herself. She doesn't work now only because Boss Song dotes on his wife, so she can enjoy life in peace."
That's what she wants. She knows she's incompetent and can't do anything right. Even if she has a spatial dimension, it's only ten cubic meters. How can that help her make money? She has a spiritual spring, but she can only condense one or two bowls a day. What can that do? Is she going to take it out and tell a rich man that it's a miracle cure? She doesn't flaunt her wealth. Without the ability to protect herself, she wouldn't dare do such a thing.
Therefore, she hopes her future reputation will be that she was once very powerful, but after getting married, she became Mr. Song's virtuous wife and no longer cared about being in the limelight. This is perfect for her; she can have a powerful reputation and enjoy a comfortable life.
But if she is criticized by the commune in recent years and leaves a stain, people will say, "Boss Song's wife was criticized by the whole commune back then. Everyone in the village hated her. Even Boss Song didn't like her. She had to beg and plead to get the job."
Good reputation or bad reputation, it's all about which is more serious and can overshadow the other. As long as she gets through these few years smoothly, and she becomes successful while the Xu family falls into poverty, people will only say that she made a decisive decision to separate from those people, and that she made a lot of money and had the foresight to choose Song Xin.
Therefore, she absolutely could not let the Fifth Team report her, and because of this, she was thus controlled by the captain's wife.
The captain's wife didn't expect this trick to work so well, and she was quite satisfied, finally able to keep this troublemaker in check.
As darkness fell, Song Xin reluctantly left Xu Zifan's courtyard and returned home.
Xu Shengnan saw him and angrily asked, "Where have you been?"
Song Xin glanced at her and scoffed, "What's it to you? It's none of your business where I go."
"I'm your wife, why can't you tell me what to do?"
"She's just a woman who's clinging to me. I'll never acknowledge you as my wife, nor will I ever sleep with you. You'll be living a life of widowhood."
Song Xin casually made a sarcastic remark and was about to go back inside when Xu Shengnan angrily stopped him, saying resentfully, "Song Xin, don't go too far! What do I lack that makes me unworthy of you? I..."
"Get out, get out of my sight! Who knows if you're clean or not? You threatened me to marry you, and I did. If you're not satisfied, get out! Who's keeping you here? Don't try to be so great, thinking you're some kind of gold nugget. No wonder no one would genuinely like someone like you." Song Xin jumped away as if avoiding a plague, bypassed her, unlocked the door, went inside, and then locked the door from the inside.
Xu Shengnan stared wide-eyed in disbelief, banging frantically on the door, but there was no response. Song Xin was determined to ignore her. She snapped, "Aren't you going to eat? I don't believe you won't come out!"
But Song Xin remained silent. It was as if she were performing a one-woman show, punching a cotton ball without being able to utter a single word. She felt incredibly frustrated.
She originally wanted Song Xin to come back and give him a good talking-to, and then make him cook. She was exhausted from working all day, while Song Xin was on sick leave and hadn't done anything; wasn't it fair for him to cook?
As a result, Song Xin closed the door as if she didn't exist. She was starving and had no choice but to go to the kitchen to cook herself. The smoke and heat were unbearable, and the spiritual spring couldn't help her. She was incredibly frustrated! Why did she have to be reborn at this time? Couldn't she have been reborn a few years later when her life improved?
Her complaints were useless and only made her feel more frustrated. There was only her and Song Xin at home, and she had no one to vent to. She was so angry that she ate the burnt food, which made her stomach hurt. She drank the spiritual spring water and felt better. She drank all the spiritual spring water for the day, which made her feel very distressed.
The next day, when she went outside, she saw that Song Xin's door was locked. He had already left and she didn't know where he had gone.
She cooked and drank the porridge with a gloomy face, and learned her lesson. She made a point of bringing a pot of water to work, but this day was even more tiring. She was so tired that she couldn't help but drink some spiritual spring water after working for a while. The spiritual spring water condensed in the space couldn't keep up with her drinking speed. In the end, she was so tired that her back ached, and she ran out of spiritual spring water for the day.
Xu Shengnan went home and saw that Song Xin hadn't returned yet. She got so angry that she smashed things in the kitchen. But then, as luck would have it, it suddenly started raining heavily!
She rushed back to her room, but seeing so many leaks, she stood at the doorway and finally couldn't hold back her tears. Why was she living like this? It was worse than staying at her parents' house. How long did she have to endure before Song Xin became successful? Why was everything going wrong after her rebirth? Was God playing a cruel trick on her?
A sudden clap of thunder startled Xu Shengnan, causing her to shrink back in fear. Too frightened to complain any longer, she could only find a dry spot to huddle and wait for the rain to stop, suffering terribly.