Chapter 5: The Villain
Gu Jiao was surprised to have dreamt of a man.
"Do I really miss him that much?" Gu Jiao touched her chin with amusement.
However, it was just a dream, and Gu Jiao did not take it to heart.
It was still dark outside, with a few stars in the sky, indicating it would be a clear day.
Gu Jiao couldn't remember the last time she woke up so early. Although she worked in a research institute in her previous life, those who knew her well knew that she was a night owl. Most of her research and surgeries were scheduled for the afternoon. As for the tasks assigned to her by the organization, she rarely worked from sunrise to sunset.
Today, Gu Jiao was wearing her own clothes.
Last night, she had brought the brazier into Xiao Liulang's room and had warmed her clothes by the fire for a while. However, she had moved quietly and didn't wake Xiao Liulang up.
Gu Jiao went to the backyard to fetch water to wash up.
Xiao Liulang's door was open, and he was no longer inside.
She thought she was up early, but apparently someone had gotten up even earlier than her.
Gu Jiao searched the house but couldn't find any trace of Xiao Liulang, except for a missing bucket next to the water tank.
Gu Jiao looked at the half-full water tank, touched her chin, and said nothing.
The door latch on the front door was still in place, indicating that Xiao Liulang had gone out through the back door of the kitchen and locked it from the outside. This meant that outsiders couldn't come in easily, but if Gu Jiao wanted to go out, she could open the front door and leave.
After washing up, Gu Jiao applied ointment and took her antibiotics.
At this point, Xiao Liulang had not returned yet, so Gu Jiao cooked the last bit of cornmeal. This was their last remaining food.
Gu Jiao had to find a way to sell the wild chicken she had brought back in exchange for some food to bring back home. However, since the original owner had never left the village, Gu Jiao was also unsure of the way to the town.
Making noodles was time-consuming, so Gu Jiao took a broom and swept the backyard, hall, and her room. Since Xiao Liulang was not around, she didn't go into his room.
She had only washed half of her clothes last night, and the rest were still in the wardrobe. Gu Jiao took them all out and placed them in a big wooden basin in the backyard.
This era had soap nuts, which the original owner had seen on the peddler's stretcher. However, the villagers were poor and couldn't afford them, so they used the soap nuts harvested from trees.
Gu Jiao smashed the soap nuts and evenly applied the resulting foam to her clothes. She kept pounding them with a wooden stick until a fragrant lather formed before she began washing them repeatedly.
The cleaning power of soap nuts was not as strong as she had imagined, but Gu Jiao was determined to wash her clothes clean.
Finally, she managed to make a small hole in her undergarment.
Gu Jiao: "..."
"Stop, you villains."
JiGu Jiao remembered who this little villain was. He was Gu Xiaoshun, the second son of Gu family.
Gu Xiaoshun is thirteen years old this year, the youngest among the grandchildren of the Gu family. He is also the only one who is sincerely close to the original owner. He doesn't mind that the original owner is a fool, nor does he mind that the original owner is ugly.
Perhaps it's because Gu Xiaoshun is too lazy, unwilling to study well, always fooling around, and his siblings always scold him, and his parents always beat him. Only the original owner would hold his hand foolishly and coax him with candy saved from her own mouth. Xiaoshun is good at fighting, he's really good at it.
Gu Xiaoshun knew that Gu Jiao was acting this way because she was foolish, but he was not a clever person either.
He just felt that whoever was good to him, he would be good to them.
"Sister! Sister! It hurts!" Gu Xiaoshun cried out in grievance.
Gu Jiao released him, placed her right hand behind her back, and pulled him up with her left hand. She asked calmly, "Why did you bully your brother-in-law?"
"Brother-in-law?" Gu Xiaoshun suspected that he had misheard, "Didn't you tell me to beat him?"
"Me?" Gu Jiao was confused.
"Yes!" Gu Xiaoshun glanced at Xiao Liulang and whispered, "You told me that you didn't want this little cripple anymore and asked me to drive him away so that you could be with Xiaocui in-laws!"
He thought his voice was not loud, but everyone present heard it.
Xiao Liulang's expression was cold and clear.
The villains were all stunned."
Gu Xiaoshun said, "Sis, you didn't forget, did you? You said it to me yourself!"
Gu Xiaoshun wouldn't lie to her, and it seemed that the original owner did say such words. However, the original owner herself had forgotten, but her little brother hadn't forgotten a single word!
"I just... said it casually, and you believed it?" Gu Jiao's tooth hurt.
"Now what should we do?" Gu Xiaoshun realized that he had made a mistake and stood there with his head down, like a little quail.