In the afternoon, Cheng Su stifled a sigh, her nose stuffed with wads of paper, and carefully stood in the dry straw of the pigpen as she poured the cooked pig feed into the trough.
Following the leftover food fiasco, whether it was resolved or not, the food had already been dumped into the slop bucket, and Mother Qi, no matter how thrifty, wouldn't possibly fish it out to eat; so really, it ended up benefiting the pigs.
But even when benefiting the pigs, it wasn't something she could just serve up all at once. Instead, it had to be portioned out over several meals, scooping a little at a time, mixed in with chopped sweet potato vines and leaves before cooking, and only then was it fit for the porcine dignitaries.
And so, the task of feeding the pigs naturally fell upon Cheng Su, the prime instigator of the problem.
Not only did she have to feed the pigs, but she was also expected to shovel their manure. Cheng Su just took one look and vomited out the food she had for lunch, adamantly refusing to go into the pen.
Mother Qi's glare could kill. Her face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and she jabbed Cheng Su with barbed words.
Cheng Su ignored her, grabbing a towel to wrap around her mouth and nose before carrying the pig feed to the pen, completely disregarding her mother-in-law's flabbergasted expression.
Listen to this, she's still being accused of putting on airs like a city girl, even though she's just a girl from the countryside!
Cheng Su chuckled bitterly. In her past life, she was indeed an orphan, but she grew up in an orphanage, never doing farm work—so whether she was a city person or not, she was probably half and half, at best.
"Enjoy your meal, guys. For your happy feasting, I've been severely scolded," Cheng Su said as she watched the two fat pigs gobbling their food with gusto, sighing deeply.
Her gaze fell again on the pig manure scattered around the pigpen, and her stomach began to churn, making her close her eyes.
Heaven had sent her back here to suffer and struggle!
In her previous life, she hadn't even raised a dog, so she had never held the title of a "pooper scooper." Now, here she was, stepping into the role for pigs.
So, this was Heaven's trial for her.
The truth was, she would rather go back to the twenty-first century to suffer and struggle, thank you very much!
She picked up the shovel, her face pale as she walked over to the piles of manure, and, with an expression full of disgust, she turned away to pick through the waste.
Qi Taiguo stood outside, arms crossed, watching Cheng Su.
Look at her strange getup—wearing who knows where those water shoes came from, a towel wrapped around her mouth and nose, and her hair covered with a headscarf. No wonder his mother accused her of being pretentious.
In the countryside, which woman hadn't done these chores? Yet here she was, looking like a complete novice, her disdain unmistakable and unfeigned.
So, was Cheng Su really that delicate? Did she never have to do these things at her parents' home?
Qi Taiguo didn't like her and didn't take the initiative to find out more about her; everything he knew came second-hand from his parents and siblings.
Now, looking at her mannerisms, it was clear she didn't have the brisk efficiency needed for farm work. So either she had never done it at home, or she was just a lazy person.
Clang.
Qi Taiguo snapped back to reality, only to see Cheng Su throwing down the shovel and running out, gasping for air.
"I can't do this, I can't! I can't handle this!" Cheng Su screamed.
Too disgusting and too unbearable. She couldn't handle the job of a pooper scooper!
Qi Taiguo scoffed, "Pretentious."
"Then why don't you do it!" Cheng Su snorted, "That's just how pretentious I am."
Qi Taiguo gave her a look, drove the pigs back into the pen that were trying to escape, and picked up the shovel Cheng Su had dropped. Without changing his expression, he efficiently shoveled the pig manure into a heap.
Having served in the army for over a decade, he had seen it all, having been through gunfire and shrapnel. What was shoveling pig manure in comparison?
Watching his adept movements, Cheng Su couldn't help but raise her eyebrows and commanded as if it were the most natural thing, "Hey, while you're at it, give the pigs a wash too. They're filthy!"
Qi Taiguo's eyes shot a cold glance her way.