"Stop crying, crying too much harms the body, and I was wrong about some things in the past..."
Yunjin was stunned, blankly staring at Chen Jie. She had never dreamt that Chen Jiusi would say these things to her.
For a moment, she actually stopped crying.
It was too shocking.
This brute admitted he was wrong?
In Yunjin's eyes, the original person was a total mess: a drunkard, a gambler, abusive at home, and a coward outside, vain and aggressive only within his own home.
While they were barely scraping by at home, he was praised by someone and ended up loaning the last sack of grain to the lazy neighbor, Ma Liu.
And he was such a coward; once he got into an argument with the neighbor, Lu Qinsi, and when she came over to scold and hit Yunjin, he just stayed inside the house and didn't even dare to speak up for her.
When she came back after being slapped twice by that shrew, he even blamed her for causing him trouble.
His wife was chased down to their home and slapped twice, and as a man, he didn't dare to fart—a man like that, could she rely on him?
But if not him, who could she rely on? In this world, there was no such thing as divorce or even separation. For a village woman like her, the only outcome was a divorce decree.
But with her parents' home gone, where would she go if she were divorced? Should she become halfway to a prostitute?
Moreover, she still had a sister; there really was no choice at all!
She could only blame her fate for marrying a man who was a beast in human clothing, a man who was a coward outside and tyrant at home.
Chen Jie looked at the confusion on Yunjin's face, slowly crouched down and looked at Yunjin seriously, only then realizing how beautiful this woman was, especially with her pear-blossom-tear-stained face, which was pitifully lovable.
Seeing that his words had an effect, Chen Jie knew they had worked.
His predecessor had done many despicable things, he at least owed her an apology.
At the very least, he could offer this poor woman a bit of comfort.
Seeing her expression visibly relax, Chen Jie decided to say a few more words to stabilize her emotions.
He reached out, and Yunjin instinctively dodged, but Chen Jie still held her face with his hands and used his thumb to wipe away her tears, leaving her very surprised, her body even trembling slightly.
"Yunjin."
Chen Jie spoke. He initially wanted to call her Jin'er, but thought better of it to avoid frightening her further, considering her current unstable emotions.
Yunjin looked at Chen Jie in surprise; he usually called her "surname Su" or even worse, would call her a "cheap woman."
He had never called her by her name, leaving her unsure of what he would do next.
Chen Jie looked at her and said, "I know I've wronged you about things in the past."
"You've also suffered a lot following me, I didn't expect you to be driven to this extent, it's all my fault."
Yunjin trembled all over, her gaze filled with disbelief; she thought she had misheard him a moment ago, but now he was apologizing again—was he truly trying to change?
Yunjin wavered for a moment, but then quickly shook her head, a leopard can't change its spots, what is he scheming now, is he worried I'll commit suicide with Yun Rui and he won't be able to make any money?
Chen Jie saw the wariness and concern in her eyes.
Then, he took her hand, which should have been soft and supple but felt rough and even slightly cracked.
This was caused by doing farm work and laundry over a long period.
Such hands should not belong to such a beautiful woman.
He had grabbed her hand, and Su Yunjin felt a panic, wanting to pull away, but Chen Jie said, "Don't move, listen to me—I really do realize my mistake, and I'm not trying to deceive you."
"I know that no matter what I say now, you won't believe me, but I still hope you give me a chance, I have truly changed."
Chen Jie knew words were pale, but some attitudes had to be conveyed.
Su Yunjin paused for a long time, gradually turning cold as she asked, "Are you really not going to sell Ruirui?"
Chen Jie replied, "Absolutely not!"
Su Yunjin fell silent upon hearing this, and took a long while before saying, "Chen Jiusi, mother has been kind to me, so whatever you do to me, I can accept. But Ruirui is still young, she absolutely must not lose hope, do you understand?"
"Uh-huh."
Chen Jie nodded.
Su Yunjin continued, "If you say one thing and do another, and try to sell Ruirui, we can die without poison, and ensure that you won't get even one cent."
Chen Jie responded, "Uh-huh, I understand now, trust me."
Hearing these words, Su Yunjin slowly got up from the ground and started tidying up the things on the floor; Little Daisy also began to help collect items. Seeing this, Chen Jie immediately took away the pot of white porridge laced with poison and found a place to bury it.
After finishing these chores, Chen Jie returned to the house, where both women ignored him. He knew he must look like a Demon in their eyes.
Gurgle, gurgle...
In this awkward moment, Little Daisy's belly suddenly grumbled loudly.
Yun Rui looked at her stomach, then tightened the rag around her waist and muttered, "Ruirui is the best, Ruirui is not hungry."
Gurgle, gurgle...
Another stomach growl sounded, and Su Yunjin's face turned red—it was her stomach, but she didn't speak.
Chen Jie knew the family's rice bin was nearly empty, if he didn't find food soon, they would probably starve to death. With this thought, Chen Jie suddenly remembered hearing that a rabbit had crashed into a tree and died on the back hill.
It seemed he needed to visit the mountain.
Thinking so, Chen Jie stood up and said to Su Yunjin, "Stay home, I'm going out for a bit and will be right back."
No one paid attention to him, and Chen Jie didn't mind; he turned and left the dilapidated thatch hut.
Watching Chen Jie walk out the door, Su Yunjin crouched down and looked at Yun Rui, asking, "Is Ruirui hungry?"
"No, Ruirui is not hungry."
Gurgle, gurgle...
As she spoke, Little Daisy's belly began to rumble again.
But Little Daisy held her head high as if to say, I'm not hungry.
Su Yunjin smiled and gently patted Little Daisy's head, then sighed and said, "Let's go dig up some wild vegetables later, and have wild vegetable soup for lunch, okay?"
"Uh-huh, yes—"
Hearing about food, Little Daisy's eyes lit up; having something to eat was good, but it was a shame she hadn't gotten to taste that delicious-looking white porridge.
Su Yunjin patted Little Daisy's head again, then stood up, went back into the house, found a bamboo basket, grabbed a shovel, and after thinking for a moment, also took the scissors from the sewing box.
Leading Little Daisy out the door, although Chen Jiusi said he had changed, who knew if he was just deceiving her to lower her guard and then try to sell Ruirui again?
So now when she went out, she had to take Ruirui and scissors with her—if Chen Jiusi lied, she might not be able to kill him, but couldn't she kill herself?