I'll Raise Pigs to Support You - Chapter 7

Massaging bruises hurts the most. The woman’s fair, jade-like skin was rubbed red in several places.

The young girl was drenched in cold sweat, her body trembling, her teeth tightly biting her red lips. Several times she wanted to beg her to stop, but each time she met the other’s serious expression, she swallowed her words.

It hurt so much, but not as much as when she had been beaten by her. Better not anger her again.

Finally, after dispersing all the bruises on the other’s body, she looked up to see the girl’s reddened eyes, mist gathered in their depths, teetering on the verge of falling—like she had been cruelly bullied.

Song Yugui: “…”

So fragile?

Well, the hallmark of a great villain is their mastery of appearing fragile.

Always softening hearts like cotton.

Once again, she forgot the persona she needed to maintain. Her voice softened as she stroked the girl’s soft, long black hair. “It’s done. You’ll be fine now. I’m going to feed the pigs in the back. You… rest at home for a while, okay?”

Her tone carried a hint of inquiry, but only Shen Xizhi knew that this was her way of keeping her from going out, from interacting with other men.

She neither liked her nor could let go of her possessiveness. If any man spoke to her and she found out, she would fly into a rage and beat her…

Hah. For a moment, she had almost believed she had changed. But no, she was still as detestable as ever.

Shen Xizhi lowered her eyes, her expression revealing no cracks, meekly agreeing, “Understood, wife.”

Song Yugui nodded, stood up, and went outside to gather pigweed to feed the pigs.

In the countryside, every household raised pigs—even a wastrel like the original owner had two.

Except… these pigs were alarmingly skinny. Even if sold, they wouldn’t fetch much money.

Song Yugui’s heart sank at the sight. She had been thinking of slaughtering one for practice, but they needed fattening up first.

Then again, with only Shen Xizhi managing everything at home, her strength was limited. Each time she cut pigweed, it was never enough—how could the pigs grow fat?

Song Yugui spread the pigweed from her basket into the trough, watching the pigs grunt and devour it. Picking up the basket, she headed out again.

Pigweed grew in many places, but since every household needed it, the nearby patches had long been cleared. She had to go farther to find more.

After half a day’s work, as the sky darkened, Song Yugui finally returned, carrying a full basket of pigweed and an armful more.

When she got home, Shen Xizhi was sitting in the yard, lost in thought.

Her beautiful, clear eyes gazed absently into the distance, her chin resting on her palm, lost in who-knows-what.

Song Yugui didn’t disturb her, quietly moving the pigweed to give the pigs an extra meal.

The noise finally snapped Shen Xizhi out of her daze. She stood up in confusion, and upon seeing her wife return, instinctively took half a step back—her aversion unmistakable.

Realizing this, she quickly lowered her head to hide the loathing in her eyes.

Luckily, the other didn’t seem to notice, just walked past her toward the pigpen.

Holding the hem of her skirt, Shen Xizhi sat back down quietly, watching Song Yugui’s retreating figure.

Country folk ate little and were often thin—she was, and so was Song Yugui.

Her narrow shoulders didn’t look the least bit dependable.

Hmph.

The perpetually disgruntled girl turned her gaze away, no longer looking at her.

If Song Yugui didn’t speak to her, she wouldn’t bother either.

Dinner was prepared by Shen Xizhi—wild vegetable porridge again. The greenish broth was enough to turn anyone’s face green.

Song Yugui sat down with difficulty, silently vowing that once she had money, wild vegetables would be banished from her world!

“Xizhi, do we have any farmland?”

This was something she had been meaning to ask. With farmland, they could at least grow their own rice instead of buying coarse grains that scratched the throat. Even growing vegetables would be better than eating wild greens every day—she wasn’t some wild vegetable spirit.

Shen Xizhi was used to her strange questions by now. Whether she was pretending to have amnesia or not, she answered whatever was asked.

“Yes, we have a few plots. But with no men in the house and me alone unable to manage them, they’ve been left fallow.”

“Oh…”

That made sense. With just the two of them, Shen Xizhi had to cook, clean, raise pigs, and feed them—how could she possibly farm too?

The thought alone was exhausting.

“Is there any smaller land? I’ll buy some vegetable seeds to plant later.”

“Wife wants to grow vegetables?”

Her expression was surprised.

“Yeah. We can’t keep eating wild greens forever. Don’t you think they taste awful?”

Song Yugui asked earnestly.

Wild vegetables always carried a faint bitterness she couldn’t stomach.

Shen Xizhi fell silent. Of course she thought wild vegetables tasted bad, but what choice did she have?

The household’s money was barely enough to buy rice, let alone other vegetables.

“Then… does wife have any silver?”

This was also a probe—to see if Song Yugui had hidden money. She herself had none left, but if Song Yugui did, growing vegetables would naturally be a good idea.

Because her money was never spent on her, never letting her benefit in the slightest.

Song Yugui instantly stiffened, her face frozen. She buried her head in her meal, her silence speaking volumes.

Shen Xizhi’s eyes flickered with disappointment.

But soon, she heard the other mutter gloomily, “I’ll earn money.”

She had brought this up several times today. Shen Xizhi couldn’t help wondering—was Song Yugui really willing to work hard for money now?

Or had some woman outside said something to her, making her want to earn more?

Frankly, Shen Xizhi leaned toward the latter.

She had liked many women outside, enough to make one wonder—if she didn’t like her at all, why had she spent her entire fortune to marry her?

This person’s thoughts were always so hard to decipher.

Song Yugui didn’t want to say more to prove herself. After gulping down the porridge, she left to walk around the village, afraid that staying would make the awkwardness between two strangers unbearable.

The countryside was most peaceful at night. Walking down from her house, she passed several households eating in their yards. She didn’t recognize them, but they knew her. A few uncles greeted her warmly, “Yugui, out for a stroll?”

Her face instantly stiffened. Forcing a smile, she mumbled some greetings before fleeing.

Shen Xizhi was at home cleaning up. By the time everything was tidy, Song Yugui returned.

She looked listless, asking as soon as she entered, “Apart from you, are there other women in the village who have anything to do with me?”

Shen Xizhi: “?”

Her long lashes fluttered as she glanced over nervously. “What does wife mean?”

If Song Yugui were a man, this would sound like she was considering taking a concubine.

But Song Yugui wasn’t a man, and no one would marry someone like her as a concubine.

“Nothing. Just now, a girl stopped me on the road and told me not to follow her anymore—the same one who spat at me this morning. Who is she?”

Shen Xizhi: “…”

So that’s what happened.

Lowering her eyes, she replied softly, “Wife has harassed many girls in the village. Their mothers have all come looking for me before. From what you’ve said, that was likely the village chief’s daughter.”

Song Yugui: “…”

Original host, you truly deserve death. How dare you marry a wife and still harass others, leaving your wife to face their families’ wrath?

Shen Xizhi said it lightly, but anyone with a brain could guess—if she had harassed their daughters, the mothers’ attitudes wouldn’t have been friendly. And Shen Xizhi had always been meek and easy to bully. No wonder the villain suffered, no wonder she turned so dark later.