Transmigrated as the Scum Alpha in a Farming Novel (GL) - Chapter 5

In the original novel, Liu Huaixu was eventually conquered by the original protagonist and then left with the Jie Yuan.

But looking at Liu Huaixu’s attitude now, Yu An couldn’t understand how she could possibly be conquered.

Liu Huaixu’s hostility towards the original protagonist was simply too strong. Since arriving in this world, Yu An hadn’t had many conversations with Liu Huaixu, but each conversation’s content was basically similar to these.

Today it was about selling the house; the previous two times were about brothels and gambling dens.

Oh, and selling chickens.

Yu An couldn’t understand. Given the situation, why was Liu Huaixu wasting her energy staying with Yu An in this dilapidated mud house?

After all, she wasn’t the original protagonist. Yu An hadn’t done anything, and being stuck with the reputation of a promiscuous woman and a spendthrift was already annoying enough. These past few days, she had been quite perceptive, helping Liu Huaixu with many things. When Liu Huaixu planted vegetables, she followed along. When Liu Huaixu tended to the vegetables, she also followed along.

But after several days, why was Liu Huaixu still speaking like this?

Yu An, who felt she had been constantly trying to please, started to get a bit annoyed by Liu Huaixu’s repeated questions.

“I just thought it was cold and wanted you to get inside quickly. Why are you acting so fierce?”

Yu An’s expression was somewhat aggrieved, and Liu Huaixu was also surprised to see it.

Those heroic eyebrows had always only furrowed when she couldn’t get money. Now, after a mere sarcastic remark from her, they were even more furrowed than usual?

Liu Huaixu stood motionless in front of the house, wondering if Yu An would eventually be unable to maintain her act. But after waiting a while, Yu An seemed even more wronged, looking as if she had been bullied.

Neither of them spoke. Liu Huaixu didn’t want to waste time on her.

The autumn harvest season had arrived, and she needed to eat early and go to the fields. The food was leftovers from last night; Liu Huaixu simply warmed it up and finished it in a few bites. She also tucked a steamed bun away, thinking she would eat it later if she got hungry.

While busy with these tasks, Liu Huaixu didn’t even glance at Yu An. Only when she was leaving did Yu An make a move. She casually grabbed a steamed bun herself and followed behind Liu Huaixu.

After locking the courtyard gate, Liu Huaixu’s gaze fell on Yu An. She didn’t speak, but Yu An understood her meaning: Liu Huaixu was asking what she was following her for.

“I want to go to work with you.”

“?” Liu Huaixu frowned and looked at her from head to toe.

Yu An also looked herself over. Her clothes were fine… right?

Ever since Liu Huaixu’s sarcastic remark about her clothes that day, Yu An had dug out some linen clothes from her room. The fabric was similar to what Liu Huaixu wore, just a different color; hers was dark gray, while Liu Huaixu’s was light green.

When her gaze landed on Liu Huaixu, Yu An suddenly realized what was missing: the sickle!

“Wait for me, I’ll get a sickle and go to the fields with you.”

The “courtyard gate” was just a simple gate made of branches, and the lock was merely a chain. Yu An easily opened it, entered the courtyard, rummaged around, and finally found a rusty sickle after a long search.

Yu An looked at the sickle in Liu Huaixu’s hand outside the gate, then at the one in her own hand, and asked in confusion, “Is yours the only usable one at home?”

Having grown up in the countryside, Yu An still had some common sense. How could a farming family only have one sickle?

Her innocent confusion, in Liu Huaixu’s eyes, was nothing but a deliberate question.

Since she was the only one working at home, naturally, only that one was usable. It was rusty, and Liu Huaixu didn’t know how to sharpen it.

So, she remained silent with a cold face.

Yu An waited for a while but received no response, knowing that Liu Huaixu wouldn’t answer. Liu Huaixu’s appearance was truly to her taste, but she was just too cold.

Even colder than she had imagined.

“I’ll sharpen it quickly.”

Yu An casually found a stone in the courtyard, sprinkled some water on it, and quickly sharpened the rusty sickle. She walked to the gate, locked the courtyard gate again, and said to Liu Huaixu with a smile, “Let’s go!”

She took two steps forward, noticed Liu Huaixu behind her hadn’t moved, and turned back to ask confusedly, “What’s wrong?” Actually, what she wanted to ask was, “What’s wrong *again*? What else does this sister want?”

She fiercely said Yu An had caused trouble, and Yu An didn’t argue with her. Now that she was showing initiative, why was Liu Huaixu still cold-faced?

Yu An turned around, took Liu Huaixu’s hand, and softly said, “Good sister, let’s go work.”

*Swish*, Liu Huaixu snatched her hand back, her eyes dark and unreadable.

Yu An, though confused, didn’t ask, only saying, “Let’s go quickly.”

This time, Liu Huaixu moved, following behind her.

When Yu An called her “sister” just now, Liu Huaixu was somewhat lost in thought, as if she had returned to more than ten years ago, the first time she saw Yu An.

At that time, Yu An was innocent and carefree, hiding behind Old Madam Yu, softly calling her: “Sister.”

Liu Huaixu was five years older than Yu An and had played with her since childhood, watching her transform from an innocent child to a Qian Yuan, and then into her current state.

Tall and slender, heroic and dashing, she would never softly call her “sister” again.

Yu An walked ahead and encountered a fork in the road. For a moment, she didn’t know which way to go. She turned back to ask Liu Huaixu and coincidentally saw her lost in thought.

When Liu Huaixu was thinking these things, her facial expression was very relaxed; her usual cold face was gone, and her beautiful eyebrows weren’t furrowed. Besides being a bit distant, there was a hint of tenderness. Yu An caught it and thought that her words just now had made Liu Huaixu realize things and start to trust her.

Her gaze dropped, and Yu An saw her swinging the sickle. Fearing she might injure herself, she quickly reached out to grab the sickle…

“What are you doing?” With just that one action, the hint of tenderness on Liu Huaixu’s face vanished, and she stared at her with wide, angry eyes.

For a moment, Yu An felt a bit awkward and explained, “I saw you were distracted, and I was afraid the knife would cut you.”

“I wasn’t distracted.”

With a cold face, Liu Huaixu bypassed Yu An and walked towards the left fork in the road.

Yu An pouted behind her, muttering, “Ice face,” then followed.

The dozen acres of barren land at home were in a remote location, almost outside Yuanze Village. This was Yu An’s first time walking so far in the few days since she arrived.

Earlier, as she passed many fields, Yu An wanted to ask Liu Huaixu if they had arrived.

But Liu Huaixu kept walking with her head down, showing no intention of stopping. Yu An didn’t ask again and just kept following.

Since she had no watch or phone, Yu An didn’t have a strong sense of time, but she felt they had walked quite far. So she stopped and asked Liu Huaixu, “Sister, how much longer until we get there? We’ve been walking for almost half an hour, right?”

Fields rarely were very close to homes, but they weren’t this far, were they?

Yu An wasn’t tired, but walking aimlessly like this was truly annoying, which is why she asked Liu Huaixu.

But to her surprise, when Liu Huaixu heard her words, she didn’t even turn her head, just said coldly, “Don’t call me sister.”

She walked two more steps, then Liu Huaixu stopped and turned to ask her, “What is half an hour?”

“Uh…”

Yu An scratched her head; she had asked that in a moment of urgency.

“Is it… about two *ke* (quarters of an hour)?” Yu An’s tone was uncertain.

“Not yet.” Liu Huaixu’s answer was brief, clearly not wanting to say more. Seeing that Yu An hadn’t answered her question, she didn’t press further, but turned and continued walking.

Yu An was actually very carefree and highly curious.

She hadn’t directly answered Liu Huaixu’s question, and seeing that Liu Huaixu didn’t press, she thought about the “sister” incident earlier. She quickly walked over and asked Liu Huaixu, “Then why can’t I call you sister?”

Liu Huaixu was five years older than her, so calling her sister was fine, wasn’t it?

Stopping, Liu Huaixu glanced at her, unsure if she was feigning ignorance or truly didn’t understand.

“We are nominally wives. You shouldn’t call me sister.”

Besides that, Liu Huaixu also didn’t want the current Yu An to call her sister.

Just now, recalling Yu An’s childhood, as adorable as child Yu An was, that’s how hateful she was now.

Yu An hadn’t expected it to be for that reason. Seeing Liu Huaixu walk away after speaking, she followed, shamelessly saying, “Then what should I call you? My wife?”

“…” Liu Huaixu ignored her.

She didn’t even spare a glance.

Feeling bored, Yu An stopped bothering her and continued to follow.

They hadn’t walked long before they arrived at a wasteland. The reason it was called a wasteland…

It was truly desolate.

On their way there, they had passed a large expanse of golden fields. Yu An had thought that Yuanze Village had good land, and the rice grew well.

But now… these uneven, even half-dead rice paddies made Yu An feel tired.

“What happened to these rice paddies?”

A dozen acres of barren land, if calculated by yield, was less than four or five acres of fertile land. Liu Huaixu understood what she was asking, but she also felt it was unnecessary.

Wasn’t barren land called barren land precisely because its yield was low?

In previous years, the Yu family’s fields were all fertile, and the few times Yu An had seen them, they were golden and full. It was normal for her to be surprised to see such desolate land now.

But the land was lost because of her; did she still have the nerve to ask what happened?

“Drought.”

Liu Huaixu’s answer was concise and to the point. Yu An understood but still had a question: “The rice paddies upfront looked pretty good, though?”

Liu Huaixu, who was already preparing to work in the fields, thought she was asking the obvious and didn’t want to bother with her.

Yu An didn’t dwell on the question but looked around the vicinity.

With one glance, she understood.

Since they were planting rice, water was crucial. Most of the fields ahead were closer to the Yuanze River and had small weirs built, ensuring abundant rainfall and fertile soil, so they grew very well.

However, these dozen acres of barren land were at the very edge of Yuanze Village. Even if water reached here, it wouldn’t be enough.

Yu An sighed slightly, feeling the hardship of life.

While she was thinking, Liu Huaixu hadn’t been idle. She had already cut about half an acre of land, by estimation.

Why so fast?

Because one acre of this land couldn’t even yield half an acre of crops. What Liu Huaixu had harvested so far was less than a quarter of what fertile land would yield.

Sighing again, Yu An also started cutting rice. She was strong and fast, catching up to Liu Huaixu in no time.

Although Liu Huaixu didn’t look at her, she knew Yu An was working. She looked up, intending to tell her to stop messing around, only to find that Yu An’s posture was more professional than hers, and her cutting technique was precise.

Liu Huaixu had less strength; she would manage with easy-to-cut crops, but with difficult ones, it would take several swings to cut them. Yu An, however, would usually cut the rice with one swing of the sickle, and it would fall neatly.

This left Liu Huaixu a bit stunned. She had practically watched Yu An grow up, indulged since childhood, and had never done such work.

So now…

Yu An, completely unaware that she had revealed herself, felt Liu Huaixu stop. She stopped too and asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Are you tired?”

Liu Huaixu pursed her lips and remained silent.

“I’m strong and work faster than you. Go rest.”

Yu An clearly saw the fine sweat on Liu Huaixu’s forehead; she must be tired. She looked up and noticed the sun was quite harsh.

It was autumn now, cool at night and in the mornings, but starting to get hot around noon. She couldn’t tell the exact time, but the increasing heat indicated it was nearing midday.

She took out the steamed bun she had brought and offered it to Liu Huaixu: “Are you hungry? Have some steamed bun.”

Yu An didn’t actually like steamed buns; they were dry and bland. But they were indeed filling. Eating a large steamed bun with a big gulp of water would definitely make one feel stuffed.

But Liu Huaixu wasn’t hungry or tired; she just found Yu An strange.

Over the years, she had always held hope for Yu An, only to be repeatedly disappointed. The events of last year had completely shattered any hope she had for this person.

Now that Yu An was acting so “normal,” it only made her feel panicked.

Because she couldn’t figure out what Yu An was trying to do.

Taking the steamed bun, Liu Huaixu thought for a moment and then asked, “How do you know how to do these things, and… why are you doing this?”

Yu An, who was about to go back to work, was stopped by her question and also froze.

Yes, she didn’t even know if the original owner knew how to work, yet she had just performed such a series of actions.

She sat casually on the ground, placing the sickle beside her, thinking about how to answer.

But she didn’t know that during that brief pause, Liu Huaixu began to overthink, believing she was trying to fabricate another excuse to deceive her.

Liu Huaixu lowered her gaze. She had to admit, she still harbored some unrealistic fantasies about Yu An, hoping she could change for the better. But now, it seemed Yu An had only changed her approach.

“If you don’t want to say, don’t say it.” Liu Huaixu said coldly, then returned the steamed bun to Yu An.

Liu Huaixu was five years older than Yu An. Some Kun Zes her age already had children who could help out in the fields, but what about her?

Every day she had to coddle this big child, fearing she would cause trouble, fearing she would squander away their last remaining possessions, living in constant anxiety.

It was exhausting, truly exhausting.

Actually, Yu An only paused for a short moment.

But Liu Huaixu was too sensitive.

When she finally thought of an explanation, she realized Liu Huaixu was already preparing to continue working, and her face was even colder. Yu An shivered, feeling as if the harsh sun had been scared away by Liu Huaixu.

“What’s wrong?”

“…” Liu Huaixu didn’t respond again, preparing to lower her head and work.

Liu Huaixu’s current coldness was somewhat different from before. Yu An thought for a moment and asked her, “Are you upset?”

Liu Huaixu, who had lowered her head, paused, her beautiful eyes blinked, then she awkwardly tucked the stray hairs behind her ear.

The strong midday sun, almost noon, cast a dazzling light on Liu Huaixu. Yu An squinted, taking in the scene, and her heart pounded twice. She quickly clutched her chest, feeling a bit guilty.

Yet her eyes remained fixed on Liu Huaixu.

Perhaps sensing her gaze, Liu Huaixu turned her face to look at her.

The staring gaze was too hot, more dazzling than the sun itself. Liu Huaixu had to look at her, and upon seeing her, she became even more annoyed.

Liu Huaixu subconsciously covered the back of her neck. The suppression cream there had melted a bit from the sun, and with a strong sniff, she could smell a faint cool scent.

A hint of shame and anger flashed in her eyes, and her tone of voice gained some warmth compared to usual: “Stay away from me.”

This warmth was the warmth of anger and shame.

Yu An had no idea what she had done. Seeing Liu Huaixu being fierce with her, she thought it was because she hadn’t answered quickly enough and quickly said, “I… I just learned by watching you cut a few times, and I’m a Qian Yuan, so I’m strong.”

This was the answer Yu An had thought of earlier while pondering, and the logic was sound.

As the main labor force, Qian Yuans were naturally more skilled in this area than Kun Zes, and Liu Huaixu wouldn’t suspect anything.

But she didn’t know that Liu Huaixu’s focus was no longer on why she worked so quickly.

Instead, because of Yu An’s frivolous actions, she thought of Widow Cui.

“Stay away from me,” Liu Huaixu said again, even throwing the sickle Yu An had been using far away.

“I don’t care what you’re trying to do, but I can tell you clearly: there’s nothing left in this house for you to ruin. Although this harvest is small, it’s what we need for winter. Don’t you dare think about selling it.” And don’t you dare think about me, either.

Yu An, who felt she had been doing quite well lately, was also angered by Liu Huaixu’s harsh tone and gaze.

The original protagonist was scum and bad, and she couldn’t change that. But now, if she wanted to live here, she had to change the current situation. But why wouldn’t Liu Huaixu give her a chance?

Thinking of this, her tone also soured.

“Everyone says turning back leads to the shore, so why, when I want to change, do you not give me a single chance?”

Hearing Yu An still blaming her, Liu Huaixu almost laughed in anger.

Was it her who wasn’t giving a chance? It was Yu An who didn’t want, and disdained, the chances she had given.

Liu Huaixu didn’t want to argue with her. She didn’t continue the conversation but lowered her head to work.

Feeling wronged, Yu An became even angrier seeing her like this. She had never experienced such injustice before, and she wouldn’t be satisfied unless she clarified things with Liu Huaixu.

She couldn’t change the past, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t change the future!

She pulled Liu Huaixu’s arm, stopping her from working, and said stubbornly, “I’ve been working hard these past few days, can’t you see that?”

“Working hard??”

Yu An nodded: “Yes.”

Her self-righteous answer infuriated Liu Huaixu even more, and her voice grew colder: “Working hard, yet you still have time to flirt with Widow Cui? I’ve told you many times not to do such things in the village.”

“I didn’t flirt!”

“Then how do you explain Widow Cui’s silver bracelet? Wasn’t it given by you?”