My Wife is the Vicious Supporting Character from an Era Novel - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

◎I Just Want to Be Friends With You◎

In the end, Ji Baiqing left with a canteen and a thermos bottle. The canteen was filled with steamed brown rice and fragrant chicken, and the lid was on to keep the aroma locked in. The thermos bottle was filled with chicken soup.

He Xiangyue, a woman with a sharp tongue but a kind heart, was usually a fiery and hot-tempered person, but she was actually very kind.

What’s more, it was Ji Baiqing’s request, and she had always doted on her only daughter.

When she arrived at the educated youth point, Ji Baiqing knocked on the door and glanced at the people sitting and eating inside, but she didn’t see Wen Miao.

It was expected.

She said, “I’m looking for Wen Miao.”

Seeing that the person who had come was a village girl in patched coarse clothes, a look of contempt flashed in everyone’s eyes.

Only Pan Hongxia looked at the things she was holding and said, “Educated Youth Wen is in the room.”

Ji Baiqing didn’t waste any more time with them and knocked on the door of the room.

“Wen Miao, it’s Ji Baiqing.”

Wen Miao inside the room naturally heard the commotion outside, but… why was Ji Baiqing looking for her at this time? She looked at the sky outside the window, which was already a hazy gray.

She opened the door and frowned at Ji Baiqing. “What is it?”

Ji Baiqing blinked at her and gave a shallow smile. “Let’s talk inside.”

With that, she ignored Wen Miao’s wishes and squeezed through the door.

Wen Miao was speechless for a moment, seeing how naturally she came in. In the end, she locked the door.

Ji Baiqing found a low cabinet and put the canteen and thermos bottle on it.

“I brought you something to eat. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

Hearing this, Wen Miao was slightly stunned. She came to bring her food?

Why? Was Ji Baiqing trying to show her favor? In fact, many people had tried to show her favor throughout her life.

Wen Miao’s looks were too striking, and her naturally aloof aura made people hesitant to approach her. Most people’s first impression of her was not good, and they wouldn’t try to approach her.

As for those who did approach her like butterflies to a flame, they all had other motives. They were either after her money or the Wen family behind her.

So what was Ji Baiqing’s motive for approaching her? Wen Miao was a little confused. Had she already found out her true identity? If that were the case, it wouldn’t be strange.

Guessing that Ji Baiqing had ulterior motives, she was actually relieved. After all, only when she knew that the other person had a motive could she accept Ji Baiqing’s kindness with a clear conscience.

“I haven’t eaten.”

Ji Baiqing took off the lid of the canteen and called out to Wen Miao, “Come and eat. My mom just made it, and it’s still hot.”

The aroma of chicken and chestnuts instantly filled the room. Wen Miao hadn’t eaten all day and had no appetite on the train. When she smelled the aroma now, she couldn’t help but swallow.

Thinking that Wen Miao might not have prepared her own utensils, she also brought a pair of chopsticks and a spoon.

Ji Baiqing picked up a piece of chicken and brought it to Wen Miao’s mouth, her eyes curved into a smile. “Try a bite and see if you like it.”

Wen Miao hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she took a bite from her hand. The tender chicken still had the sweet and nutty aroma of chestnuts, which made Wen Miao, who had been eating a simple meal for several days on the road, even hungrier.

Even though she didn’t say anything, Ji Baiqing could tell that the woman liked it. Her charming eyes narrowed slightly, and the corners of her lips curled up a little, like a greedy fox.

A thought suddenly popped into Ji Baiqing’s mind: it seems that foxes really do like to eat chicken.

The smile on her face deepened, and she moved to the side to let her eat.

“Eat, Wen Miao.”

Wen Miao began to eat under Ji Baiqing’s warm gaze. She was used to eating polished rice at home, so the brown rice was a bit rough on her throat. Fortunately, Ji Baiqing had given her a lot of chicken and chestnuts, and with her small appetite, she could get full just by eating the vegetables.

Ji Baiqing stared at Wen Miao eating. She thought that not only was she beautiful, but the way she ate was also very elegant. Every move was a delight to watch.

After Wen Miao finished eating, she dabbed her lips with a handkerchief and looked up, meeting Ji Baiqing’s gentle apricot eyes.

“Wen Miao, are you not used to eating brown rice?” Ji Baiqing noticed that she hadn’t touched much of the rice. It seemed she should find a way to earn more money and tickets to buy polished rice for Wen Miao.

Wen Miao nodded. “I’m done eating. Ji Baiqing, now you can tell me. What is your motive for trying to please me?”

Her words were very direct, making the woman opposite her slightly stunned.

Ji Baiqing saw the wariness in Wen Miao’s eyes and sighed a little in her heart. In the end, she had no choice but to state her purpose.

A little shy, she rubbed her nose and said, “…I want to be your friend.”

“Be my friend?” Wen Miao almost lost her composure. She looked at the woman who was half a head taller than her with a confused expression. The reason she was trying to please her was that she wanted to be her friend?

Wen Miao pursed her lips, her tone cold. “Don’t lie to me. If you don’t say what you want now, you won’t have another chance.”

Ji Baiqing was amused by her forced coldness. She moved a little closer to her and tentatively reached out to hold Wen Miao’s wrist. The touch of a cold and a warm hand.

“Wen Miao, I’m serious. I want to be your friend.”

She looked at the woman in front of her, about to say something, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Wen Miao, open the door. I’m coming in!” It was Shen Niannian’s voice.

Ji Baiqing regretfully let go of Wen Miao’s hand, packed up the things she had brought, and instructed, “Educated Youth Wen, the thermos bottle has chicken soup. I’ll bring you breakfast tomorrow morning.”

With that, she ignored Wen Miao’s reaction, picked up her things, opened the door, and walked past Shen Niannian on her way home.

Shen Niannian had only cooked some rice and vegetables today, so the meal was bland. As soon as she entered the room, she smelled the leftover aroma of food. She looked at Wen Miao suspiciously. “You’re cooking a small meal behind our backs?”

Wen Miao sneered. “What’s it to you?”

Shen Niannian was so angry at her words that her face almost twisted again.

After they finished eating, Fang Haiyang and the others went to tell the village chief about the leaking roof in the female educated youths’ room. The village chief had people repair the roof and also notified them that they would have to start working with the other villagers tomorrow.

The educated youths were all exhausted from the journey and went to sleep without even taking a bath. Wen Miao wanted to take a bath, but unfortunately, she didn’t know how to start a fire. She tried several times in the kitchen but failed, so in the end, she could only use cold water to wipe her body.

The next day, Ji Baiqing woke up very early. She wanted to make some buns for her parents and Wen Miao, so she used half of the five jin of high-quality flour she had saved this year. Yesterday, He Xiangyue also picked some shepherd’s purse, so she made a filling with shepherd’s purse, eggs, carrots, and green bamboo shoots. She made twenty buns in one go.

After putting the buns in the steamer, Ji Baiqing carried a basket and went to the back mountain with the other village children to cut a basketful of pig feed. After feeding the pigs and returning, the steamer was just letting out steam. They would be ready in a few more minutes.

Yunshui Village allowed villagers to cultivate barren land, and every family had their own vegetable patch. Ji Wei and He Xiangyue only came back from the fields half an hour before work started.

He Xiangyue put the cabbages she had picked at the door and entered the kitchen. When she saw the steamer on the stove, her eyebrows twitched fiercely. When she looked again, she saw that half of the high-quality flour she had painstakingly saved was gone.

“Ji Baiqing!” She couldn’t help but take a big step toward Ji Baiqing and grab her ear. “Are you trying to die?! Wasting the good stuff your mother saved up!”

Ji Baiqing’s face was all smiles as she begged for mercy, “Mom, how am I wasting it? It’s all made into buns.”

He Xiangyue glared at her fiercely. “How are the three of us going to finish all of these?!”

Ji Baiqing laughed awkwardly. “I… I’m bringing breakfast for my friend.”

“What friend? I didn’t know you had one! You’re so good to her. Bring her back to meet me one day.”

“I think you were a young lady in your past life, which is why you’re so generous.”

“Alright, alright. You have a friend now and you’ve forgotten your mother. I can’t control you anymore.” He Xiangyue waved her hand.

In the end, Ji Baiqing directly hugged her and shook her arm playfully. “Mom~ How could I forget you? She’s just a very good friend of mine. She just arrived here and no one is taking care of her…”

Her tone made Wen Miao sound like a pitiful little thing. He Xiangyue was soft-hearted anyway, and she didn’t want to meddle in Ji Baiqing’s and her friend’s affairs. Food was important in this era, but their family was relatively well-off, so they weren’t lacking in food. She just let Ji Baiqing be happy.

“Alright, alright. Just be careful.”

The family ate buns with pickled vegetables together. Ji Baiqing quickly finished her meal, wrapped three buns in oiled paper, and went to the warehouse. She was the work point recorder, so she had to register people’s attendance and work points every time they went to and from work.

Therefore, she had a broken watch that Ji Wei had given her, specifically for telling time. Even though it was a broken watch, it was still a unique item in the village, and not many people had one, so it was considered a treasure.

Around eight o’clock, people came one after another to sign in, get their tools, and then go to the fields to work.

At eight o’clock, the educated youths finally arrived late. Looking at the five people in front of him, Village Chief Li stood to the side and said, “Hurry and sign in. The male educated youths will follow me to carry manure, and the female educated youths will go to the fields to pull weeds. Remember to come earlier from now on, or your work points will be deducted.”

Ji Baiqing looked at them signing with a poker face and wondered, why hasn’t Wen Miao come yet?

The male educated youths were already dissatisfied with Village Chief Li’s arrangement. They were all from Beijing, and no one wanted to do the dirty and tiring work.

At this time, Lu Yan suddenly spoke up. “Village Chief, there’s one more female educated youth who hasn’t come.” The village chief was stunned. He looked carefully and indeed found that one person was missing.

“Where is she?”

Shen Niannian bit her lip, hesitant to speak, but in the end, she said, “Educated Youth Wen probably isn’t trying to be lazy. She just slept too soundly to get up. Why don’t you let her come to work in the afternoon, Village Chief?”

Pan Hongxia stood to the side with her head down, not saying anything, but she nodded slightly.

The village chief frowned, about to get angry, when Ji Baiqing suddenly interjected, “Uncle Li, you can take the other educated youths to work. Don’t waste any more time. I’ll go check on Educated Youth Wen.”

That made sense. The village chief nodded. “Alright, Baiqing, go check on her quickly.”

Ji Baiqing ignored the resentful looks of the other educated youths and put away the notebook for attendance and work points. The buns in her pocket were still warm. Ji Baiqing strode toward the educated youth point, a little worried about Wen Miao.

Based on her understanding of Wen Miao from the original book, even if she didn’t want to work, she wouldn’t be absent on the first day.

When she arrived at the educated youth point, she knocked on the door and called Wen Miao’s name, but there was no response.

In the end, Ji Baiqing just opened the door and went in. She immediately saw Wen Miao sleeping by the bed. The beautiful woman’s cheeks were flushed. She reached out and touched her. She was very hot.

Wen Miao seemed to have a fever.

Ji Baiqing panicked a little. She wanted to pull her hand back and take Wen Miao to the clinic, but the woman clutched her fingers. The woman gently rubbed her palm like a cat and uttered a soft word.

“Hot.”

Ji Baiqing’s heart almost melted. Looking at the delicate look on the woman’s face, she coaxed her, “Wen Miao, be a good girl. You have a fever. I’ll take you to the clinic.”