Transmigrated Into an Ancient Filial Piety Novel as a Scumbag Alpha (GL) - Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Ji Yuan was startled by Ji Huan’s cold gaze. Only after Ji Huan and Jiang Yubai returned to their room did Ji Yuan realize that Ji Huan had been pretending the whole time.

Ji Yuan furrowed his brow, looked at Ji Huan’s room door, and walked toward the dining hall.

Liu Fengmei saw Ji Yuan return and hurriedly asked, “What happened? Where is Ji Huan?”

“Mother, she took Jiang Yubai back to their room. I told her to come see you first, but she said she was busy,” Ji Yuan said, glancing at Ji Mantun and Liu Fengmei.

Ji Mantun’s face darkened, but he held back and said, “Forget it. She’s upset about this matter. Don’t provoke Ji Huan these next few days. Treat her better, and she’ll go back to working for the whole family like before.”

“I understand, Father. What about the chores? Are we still doing one day per family as we discussed?” Ji Ming asked next.

Ji Mantun nodded and said, “Yes, let’s settle it like that for now. Once Ji Huan softens up in a few days, we’ll hand those chores back to her.”

In Ji Mantun’s mind, he instinctively thought Ji Huan was just sulking. As long as they showed her a bit of kindness, she would return to being the obedient workhorse who did everything they asked.

Ji Sen, sitting to the side, snorted a few times. He didn’t think so. The ferocity Ji Huan showed when she hit him made Ji Sen doubt she would ever let the family order her around like before.

“Alright, everyone else can leave. Third son, stay behind. I have something to ask you,” Ji Mantun said after taking a few more puffs from his pipe.

Ji Ming’s family and Ji Sen’s family left the dining hall.

Ji Sen glanced back inside and whispered to Ji Ming, “Brother, what do you think Father wants to talk to Ji Yuan about, keeping it from our two families? Could he be secretly giving Ji Yuan money?”

“Do you think he’s getting little? The biggest expense in this family is Ji Yuan. Everything at the academy—food, clothes, housing, travel—costs money. He really thinks he’s some young master?” Ji Ming said, mocking discontentedly.

In the dining hall, Ji Mantun waited until Ji Sen and Ji Ming were far away before lowering his voice and saying, “Third son, how do we get those four taels of silver back from Ji Huan? That’s four taels—enough for most of your expenses for half a year. Ji Huan stays in the village every day, so that money’s wasted on her. It’s better to keep it for you to network and build connections with the gentry in the county. It’ll help your future career as an official.”

Ji Yuan’s eyes lit up at the thought of the money going into his pocket. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Father, we can’t rush this. If we bring up the money right after Ji Huan returns, it’ll seem too hasty, and we can’t mention it directly. But I’ve already thought of a way.”

Ji Yuan leaned closer to Ji Mantun’s ear and whispered something quietly.

Ji Mantun nodded, a smile finally appearing on his face, and said, “As expected from someone who’s studied. I’ll listen to you, Father.”

…

Meanwhile, Ji Huan and Jiang Yubai had just tidied up their room. Feeling the constant draft blowing in, Ji Huan decided to patch up the areas where the wind leaked in. She and Jiang Yubai might need to stay there for a while.

“Let’s go mix some mud and add some weeds. I’ll patch the holes in the room to stop the draft,” Ji Huan said.

“Okay, Sister, I’ll go with you,” Jiang Yubai said quickly.

Ji Huan’s eyes curved with a smile. The little rabbit was quite clingy, following her everywhere.

“Alright, let’s go find some yellow clay,” Ji Huan said, leading Jiang Yubai out the door. They then saw Liu Fengmei, who was preparing lunch.

Liu Fengmei’s eyes lit up with joy. She thought Ji Huan must have lost her mind yesterday but still cared for her mother in her heart. Coming out now, she must be bringing Jiang Yubai to help with the cooking.

Ji Huan looked at Liu Fengmei, noticing her greedy expression, like a hungry dog spotting meat. A flash of disgust passed through Ji Huan’s eyes, but she smiled and said, “Cooking, Mother? Make some extra good food for lunch. Yubai and I couldn’t eat enough before. Don’t let the villagers say you’re neglecting us.”

With that, Ji Huan grabbed an unused wooden basin from the courtyard and led Jiang Yubai out.

The smile on Liu Fengmei’s face froze. Not only was Ji Huan not helping, but she was asking her to cook more?

“Ji Huan, where are you going?” Liu Fengmei asked angrily, but Ji Huan, already far away, ignored her.

Ji Huan headed toward the village’s main road. She remembered passing by several patches of yellow clay there.

Jiang Yubai, puzzled by Ji Huan’s choice to go so far for clay, asked, “Sister, isn’t there a big patch of yellow clay at the foot of the hill behind our house? Why come here to dig?”

Ji Huan smiled at Jiang Yubai and winked, saying, “Of course, it’s to dig for others to see. Just watch.”

Her little white rabbit was still too naive. Ji Huan adjusted her emotions to appear more listless. When they reached the spot, she began digging the yellow soil with a wood-cutting knife.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long for passersby to notice her.

“Hey, isn’t that Ji Huan? What’s she doing here?” someone said.

“I heard Ji Yuan took her back this morning. Poor thing, stuck with that family. Look, she’s already working right after returning,” another villager said.

“How can her family be like that? They’re really awful,” someone else remarked.

“Dear, should we go ask her?” said Er Zhuzi’s mother, whom the villagers called Aunt Wu.

“Alright, let’s go ask,” Zhou Zhongtian replied with a sigh. He had heard about Ji Huan’s situation from his son and felt she had a tough life.

“Ji Huan, didn’t you just get home? Why are you out working again?” Zhou Zhongtian asked.

Several villagers who had been chopping firewood together gathered around, curious as well.

Ji Huan gave a forced smile and explained, “The room Yubai and I stay in has always been drafty. I was too busy with family chores before to fix it. Now that I’m back, I thought I’d get some yellow clay to patch up the room.”

“Your room is drafty? In this cold weather, you haven’t fixed it?” Zhou Zhongtian asked, stunned. Ji Huan was too honest.

“There’s so much to do at home, and no one else does it. If I don’t, what can I do? I can’t let the whole family go hungry. My own matters are small; a bit of cold is nothing,” Ji Huan said earnestly, still making excuses for the Ji family.

“You poor child, you have it rough. If you need anything, come find me. I’ll send Er Zhuzi to help,” Zhou Zhongtian said, seeing Ji Huan still defending her family.

“Thank you, Uncle Zhou. My parents probably won’t do that anymore, or they wouldn’t have sent Ji Yuanлемент

System: Yuan to fetch us,” Ji Huan said with a smile to Zhou Zhongtian.

Zhou Zhongtian and Aunt Wu exchanged a glance, both sighing heavily, their eyes showing unspoken words.

As they walked away, Zhou Zhongtian said to Aunt Wu, “Ji Huan is just too kind and too filial. She doesn’t realize a dog can’t stop eating sh1t. Mark my words, that family will cause trouble again.”

“Yes, we outsiders can’t persuade her. Poor child, living in a drafty room in the dead of winter,” Aunt Wu said with pity, thinking she’d never let her own children freeze like that.

Ji Huan and Jiang Yubai filled the basin about halfway with yellow soil. Ji Huan thought it was enough, but besides the broken parts of the house, the windows were another big issue. The window paper in her room was nearly torn, letting wind in at night.

Ji Huan recalled that in the original story, the original owner had asked Ji Yuan to borrow some paper to paste on the windows. Ji Yuan refused without a second thought, saying his rice paper was too precious to use for windows. The original owner, being timid and reluctant to trouble others, let the window repairs slide.

Ji Huan’s lips curved into a smile. She’d go to Ji Yuan’s room later to grab some paper for the windows. She wasn’t going to listen to his nonsense.

“Let’s go, this should be enough,” Ji Huan said, preparing to stand. Someone called out to her from behind.

“Ji Huan, what are you two doing?” The person calling was a female Qianyuan, but since Ji Huan lacked the original owner’s memories, she had no impression of her.

“Oh, my room is drafty, so I’m getting some clay mixed with weeds to patch the holes,” Ji Huan replied, sticking to her earlier explanation.

“Need anything else? Let me see if I can help,” the female Qianyuan said warmly.

Ji Huan’s mind raced, and she quickly said, “The window paper is mostly rotten. I asked Ji Yuan for some, but he said his rice paper is too precious for windows.”

“Window paper? I have some. Come on, let’s go to my place and grab some,” the female Qianyuan offered.

“No need, it’s not that cold. I don’t want to trouble you,” Ji Huan said hurriedly.

“We’re neighbors, no need to say that. Besides, it’s not anything valuable. A lot of it is paper I’ve written on—hope you don’t mind?” the female Qianyuan continued.

“I don’t mind. Anything that works is great,” Ji Huan said quickly.

“Then come on, you know my house, it’s just over there,” the female Qianyuan said, leading the way.

Ji Huan deliberately slowed her pace, holding the wooden basin in both hands. She leaned closer to Jiang Yubai, and seeing the female Qianyuan wasn’t looking, whispered near her ear, “Who is she, again?”

Jiang Yubai’s ears warmed from Ji Huan’s breath. Her eyes widened at the question. She was from Xiniu Village and only came to Dongniu Village after marrying Ji Huan, but even so, she knew Zhou Xiaochun, the village head’s only daughter.

Jiang Yubai’s mind raced, but she didn’t dwell on it and whispered back, “Zhou Xiaochun, the village head’s daughter.”

Ji Huan nodded, giving her little white rabbit an approving look and a wink.

Jiang Yubai wasn’t sure what Ji Huan was planning, but it probably wasn’t bad—at least not for them. As for the Ji family, who knew?

Ji Huan adjusted her expression to look less excited. She’d spoken offhandedly, not expecting this female Qianyuan to be the village head’s daughter. Perfect—she could stir up more trouble for the Ji family in front of the village head. A win-win.

“We’re here. You two sit in the front hall for a bit,” Zhou Xiaochun said, leading Ji Huan and Jiang Yubai toward the front hall.

Ji Huan thought for a moment and set the basin of soil down in the courtyard. It was full of dirt, and bringing it inside someone’s home wouldn’t be polite.

Zhou Xiaochun noticed Ji Huan’s action and, though she said nothing, thought Ji Huan was very courteous.

“Sit here for a bit. I’ll try to pick out some larger sheets of paper,” Zhou Xiaochun said.

Fearing Ji Huan and Jiang Yubai might feel uneasy, Zhou Xiaochun called out to the courtyard, “Mother, Ji Huan and her wife are here. If you’re not busy, come greet them.”

Xia Hong heard her daughter and hurried out of her room to the front hall.

The village head’s home was the grandest in the village, with front and back courtyards. Unlike most homes built with yellow mud and branches, the entire compound was made of brick and tile, looking far more impressive than others.

Xia Hong entered the front hall, and Ji Huan and Jiang Yubai quickly stood to greet her.

“You two are so polite. Sit down. I’ll get you some hot water to drink—it’s too cold today,” Xia Hong said, moving to pour water.

Ji Huan stood quickly and said, “No need, we’re already troubling Xiaochun by coming here. You don’t need to pour water for us. We’ll leave soon.”

“It’s no trouble, just a matter of grabbing two bowls. Don’t be shy, sit,” Xia Hong insisted.

“Auntie, I’ll help you carry it,” Jiang Yubai said quickly.

In the end, Xia Hong brought them water.

Ji Huan drank half a bowl of hot water, feeling warmed up. Zhou Xiaochun returned to the front hall with a stack of rice paper, saying, “See if these are enough. If not, I have more.”

Ji Huan stood to thank her, saying, “It’s enough. Thank you so much. Otherwise, Yubai and I wouldn’t know what to do with our room’s windows.”

“No problem. These are papers I practiced writing on. I picked ones with less writing, but they won’t look as nice as blank paper on the window frames,” Zhou Xiaochun said with a smile.

“As long as they block the wind, it’s fine. Thank you, and sorry for troubling you and Auntie,” Ji Huan said.

“What’s that talk? If you need help with anything else, just come find me,” Zhou Xiaochun said. She hadn’t interacted much with Ji Huan before. The old Ji Huan was quiet, always buried in work, and they only exchanged greetings when passing by. This was the first time she’d spoken so much with her.

“Thank you. My parents are waiting for us to return, so Yubai and I won’t stay longer. We’ll head back now,” Ji Huan said politely, then left with Jiang Yubai, carrying the supplies.

They took plenty of rice paper, enough to redo the room’s windows.

Jiang Yubai looked at the paper in her arms and worried about the paste. Liu Fengmei wouldn’t let them use white flour for it.

“Sister, what about the paste? Mother probably won’t let us touch the white flour, right?” Jiang Yubai asked, thinking aloud.

Ji Huan smiled and said, “Before, she definitely wouldn’t. But these next few days, I think the Ji family will behave for a bit. If they don’t let me use the flour, I’ll just have to tell the whole village about it.”

Jiang Yubai’s eyes brightened. The recent events had already damaged the Ji family’s reputation in the village. They probably didn’t want more incidents to make the villagers despise them further.

When the two returned to the Ji household, they saw Liu Fengmei in the courtyard, cursing loudly about no one helping her with the chores. Seeing Ji Huan and Jiang Yubai return from outside, her anger flared even more.