Transmigrated Into an Ancient Filial Piety Novel as a Scumbag Alpha (GL) - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Jiang Yubai didn’t dare think too much. She hurriedly helped Ji Huan pick up the straw mats on the floor.

Ji Huan held a bundle of straw mats, opened the door, and walked to the backyard’s pile of weeds, used for kindling. She threw the mats onto the pile. Jiang Yubai also tossed the mats she carried onto the heap.

They returned and made another trip, clearing all the straw from the room.

Then Ji Huan and Jiang Yubai went to the kitchen. Ji Huan knew how to use a flint but didn’t know where the original owner kept it. She simply asked Jiang Yubai, figuring the original owner treated Jiang Yubai poorly, so Jiang Yubai likely had little attachment to her and wouldn’t suspect anything.

“Where’s the kitchen’s flint?” Ji Huan asked, looking at Jiang Yubai.

Jiang Yubai’s hands clenched tighter. Her gaze toward Ji Huan held a hint of scrutiny, but she obediently replied, “It’s by the stove.”

Ji Huan followed Jiang Yubai’s gaze and saw the flint and fire striker by the stove. She picked them up, gathered some dry grass, and placed it on the floor. Ji Huan struck the flint with the striker, sending sparks onto the grass, which soon caught fire.

Ji Huan placed the burning grass in the stove, added some firewood, and the fire quickly grew.

Ji Huan filled a bucket with water and heated it in the large pot. Jiang Yubai quickly said, “Sister, I’ll get the basins.”

“Okay,” Ji Huan said, nodding with a smile.

As Jiang Yubai left the kitchen, she kept thinking about what happened. Why did Ji Huan seem unfamiliar with the kitchen? That shouldn’t be. Ji Huan used to come to the kitchen every day.

Unable to figure it out, she returned to the room and grabbed two wooden basins. Honestly, it had been a while since she properly washed.

Liu Fengmei was harsh with her, reluctant to let her use the family’s firewood and water. With Ji Huan in the room at night, Jiang Yubai couldn’t wash there. Sometimes, she had to wait until everyone was asleep to wash in the kitchen, always on edge in case someone came in.

While thinking, Jiang Yubai returned to the kitchen with the basins.

Ji Huan had nearly finished heating the water. She had no strength yesterday and sweated a lot. If she didn’t wash today, she felt she’d start to smell.

Jiang Yubai looked at the hot water in the pot, then at Ji Huan, pursing her lips in thought. Should she wash in the kitchen or the room? If in the room, Ji Huan would be there. Her ears turned red at the thought.

Though she and Ji Huan were married, the old Ji Huan, like others, feared Jiang Yubai would jinx her and kept her distance. Let alone consummating the marriage, Ji Huan barely spoke to her. But since yesterday, Ji Huan seemed different.

Seeing the water boil, Ji Huan scooped some into a basin, adding a bit of cold water. In winter, water cooled quickly, so she didn’t add much. She filled two basins—one for her, one for Jiang Yubai—to wash separately.

Ji Huan extinguished the stove fire, turned, and saw Jiang Yubai hesitating to speak. She smiled and said, “Let’s go wash in the room.”

Jiang Yubai hadn’t expected Ji Huan to say that. Her ears reddened, and she said softly, “Both of us washing in the room?”

Ji Huan noticed the little rabbit’s expression, understood her meaning, and nodded. “Yes, don’t worry. We’ll wash separately. I won’t peek.”

As if Ji Huan had read her mind, Jiang Yubai’s cheeks flushed. She quickly grabbed her basin and left the kitchen.

Seeing the little rabbit’s shyness, Ji Huan’s lips curved slightly. She picked up her basin and followed.

Back in the room, Ji Huan set down her basin and searched for clothes. But the original owner was truly the family’s workhorse, doing the most yet getting the least. Her quality of life was the worst. The clothes in the wooden cabinet were old, worn, and smelled moldy. Ji Huan sniffed and wrinkled her brow.

“This smells awful,” Ji Huan muttered softly.

Jiang Yubai took a set of spare clothes from her bundle. She only had one set to change into.

Ji Huan looked at Jiang Yubai’s clothes, then at her own tattered ones in the cabinet, and sighed helplessly. She needed to find a way to make money soon. She and Jiang Yubai were too pitiful.

Jiang Yubai heard Ji Huan’s muttering and quickly said, “Sister, I’ll sun the clothes tomorrow. That’ll reduce the smell.”

“Okay, that’s all we can do for now,” Ji Huan said, sighing. She carried her basin to one side and began undressing.

Seeing Ji Huan strip so casually, Jiang Yubai’s ears turned red first. She sneaked a glance at Ji Huan, saw her back turned with no intention of looking, and cautiously began undressing. She tried not to make noise, fearing Ji Huan might turn around.

When Jiang Yubai was down to her undergarments, she still felt uneasy. She glanced at Ji Huan again, and with one look, her face flushed to her neck.

She had just seen Ji Huan’s bare back. Jiang Yubai lowered her head, not daring to look again, and quickly washed herself.

Soon, she felt cold and sped up, too busy to think of anything else.

With rare hot water, Jiang Yubai washed her hair too, wrapping it in a cloth afterward.

Ji Huan washed faster as it got colder, fearing a cold. She washed her hair and body but felt unhappy putting on the smelly undergarments.

They tidied up, pouring the basin water into the yard’s drainage ditch.

Ji Huan set down her basin and hurried to the bed. Seeing Jiang Yubai hadn’t come, she waved. “Come up quick. Get under the covers to warm up.”

Jiang Yubai recalled Ji Huan’s pale back, her cheeks reddening unconsciously. She looked at Ji Huan awkwardly and said softly, “Coming.”

She climbed into bed and covered herself with the blanket.

With wet hair, Ji Huan didn’t want to lie down. She leaned against the headboard, waiting for her hair to dry a bit before sleeping.

Jiang Yubai saw her sitting, her ears red, and asked, “Sister, not sleeping?”

Ji Huan saw the little rabbit’s ears redden again, her smile growing. She said softly, “My hair’s still wet. I can’t sleep. I noticed some drafts in the room. Tomorrow, we’ll mix mud with straw to patch the gaps.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to you,” Jiang Yubai said. She glanced at Ji Huan’s smiling eyes, then shyly looked away.

“If you’re tired, sleep first,” Ji Huan said gently.

Jiang Yubai nodded and closed her eyes.

Ji Huan called the system in her mind several times but got no response. She tried the storage space the system mentioned, connecting to it with her consciousness. Soon, she saw the full view of the fifteen-square-meter space.

The storage space was indeed useful, but for Ji Huan, who was dirt poor, it wasn’t very helpful yet.