Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 9: From a hard life to a disaster

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and during these two days, Shen Yu felt like every day was a year.

Sometimes she was worried that the restaurant would not need her and she would not be able to start a new life. Sometimes she was worried that she would not be able to convince Li not to let her go to town. Sometimes she was worried that the original owner was too weak and frail, and doing odd jobs in the kitchen was really hard work.

She could only worry secretly in her heart, and dared not reveal anything until the matter was accomplished. Although the food was rough, she tried to eat more at every meal. When she saw that no one was at home, she did some moderate fitness exercises to move her hands and feet, hoping to quickly get her body back in shape.

Because there has been no rain for many days, the stream is almost dry and there is almost no water available for irrigation.

Even the drinking water well in the village has seen a lot of drop in water level. When you lower the bucket down, you can only get half a bucket of water. If you come too late, there will be no water left. You have to wait for half a day for the water to slowly come up before you can continue to get more water.

The villagers could only line up to fetch water, and when they got together, they could not help but gossip about other people's affairs.

I don't know who brought up the matter of the eldest daughter of the Shen family breaking off the engagement, and exaggerated it. Shen Yuzhi obeyed the order and was forced to bring unlucky to her father and husband, so the engagement was broken off. It turned out that the drought was also caused by her, and she became a disaster star that everyone had to avoid.

When Li was a scholar's wife, she couldn't help but look down on the women in the village. She always spoke with an air of superiority, which offended many people. Now that she has fallen, those who have been offended want to vent their anger.

Few women in the village were on good terms with her, but many wanted to make fun of her.

When Li heard these slanderous words against her daughter, she was so angry that she jumped three feet high, her face turned red and she rolled up her sleeves to go and quarrel with someone.

But although she was fierce, she could not stop everyone from talking. After scolding her several times, her clothes were torn in the process. She was scolded until her voice was hoarse, but she could do nothing about it. Instead, everyone became more and more serious. Some people even suggested to drive Shen Yuzhi out of Dongxi Village.

At home, Li said sternly that these people would be punished and go to the hell of tongue-whispers, but she could do nothing about it. She secretly cried behind her children's backs and forced herself to go to the fields, but she looked even more haggard.

Yutao and Yucheng could only look at their mother and sister pitifully. The whole family was in a gloomy mood and only dared to fetch water at night when no one was around.

In fact, as a modern person, Shen Yu would never believe in the saying of disaster stars. These are obviously superstitious sayings. She did not take them seriously at all, nor did she realize what consequences they would bring to her.

She used to be a hot-tempered person, walking like the wind and doing what she said. These days, she could only slow down her pace, secretly learn to talk and act like the people around her, and try to be a shy country girl with natural words and deeds.

She pretended to be scared and afraid to see anyone. She looked worried in front of her family. But in fact, she was worried about how to leave this small village and let the original owner's family live a good life.

Unexpectedly, before she could figure out how to convince Li, rumors started spreading among the villagers that she was a disaster star, and the rumors became more and more true.

On the third day, Shen Yu waited patiently until the sun set, and told Li that he wanted to go see Doctor Sun.

Li had been fighting and quarreling with villagers for several days, and was exhausted. She had no intention of asking why Shen Yu went out. She just reminded her to be careful when going out, to go around people when she met them, and to come back early.

Shen Yu agreed and promised to come back soon. He straightened his clothes and went out. After thinking for a while, he took a detour and took a small road at the edge of the village. This road was usually seldom walked and would not pass by the well in the village.

The sun had set and the moon had not yet risen. The village was dark and few people were walking around.

Shen Yu walked for a long time before arriving at Doctor Sun's door, regretting that he should have lit a torch.

Looking through the wall, Doctor Sun's house was pitch black, with no lights on, and it seemed as if he was not at home.

Shen Yu tried knocking on the door, but no one answered. He pushed it again, but it was locked.

She was anxious and was hesitating whether to wait in front of Doctor Sun's door or go home and come back tomorrow, when she saw a figure walking towards her with a lit torch.

She huddled in the shadow of the willow tree in front of the door, thinking that if it was someone from the village, she would have to hide to avoid any trouble.

When they got closer and could see clearly, they saw that it was Doctor Sun who came back with a torch in his hand and a basket on his back.

"Doctor Sun, you're back."

Doctor Sun was busy looking for the key when he was startled by a person walking out of the shadows. He saw that it was Shen Yu and said angrily and amusedly, "You little girl, you are so naughty at your age. You just stood in the shadows without saying a word and scared me, an old man."

"Don't blame me, Doctor Sun. I was waiting anxiously at the door. I was so happy to see you back that I forgot about it. I was reckless."

Shen Yu smiled and walked forward in a servile manner to take the backpack from Doctor Sun, then followed Doctor Sun into the yard.

After the oil lamp was lit, the room became much brighter, and I could see that Doctor Sun looked like he had just returned from the mountain, with a lot of grass leaves and dirt on his clothes and shoes.

After all, Sun Yu had been here once, so he was familiar with the place and quickly fetched some water to help Doctor Sun wash his hands and face.

After washing the mud off his hands and changing into clean clothes in the inner room, Doctor Sun sat down and talked to Shen Yu in a refreshed state.