Chapter 17 The Diligent Man

Such a monster! No wonder her two aunts, who often saw her, were still frequently frightened by her.

It was simply a tragedy; a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl had been tortured into this state. It was quite remarkable that she had lived for half a year before dying.

Just a moment ago, she was cursing Jin Zijin for being a beast, lamenting that her two lifetimes of innocence had been ruined and even her sickly self had been devoured by a wild boar. Now, she couldn’t help but feel a little

sorry for Jin Zijin. How hungry must that wild boar be to be so indiscriminately devouring a monster like her?

A while later, clanging and crackling sounds came from inside the house. It seemed Jin Zijin had gone inside to cook.
He was so poor that he only had a thatched hut. On the left side of the hut was a bed, separated from the room by a bamboo partition. On the right side was a small stove!

Thick smoke billowed from the thatched hut, making it look like it was on fire!

Gu Youyou frowned slightly, deeply worried about her breakfast!

“Alright, don’t be picky here. Just wait to be fed and watered. At least you can have a decent meal.”

Soon, Jin Zijin came out of the house, carrying a small bamboo table.

There are large bamboo forests in the mountains behind the house, so every family in Lotus Village has someone skilled in bamboo craftsmanship. It seems Jin Zijin is no exception!

He put down the table and said to Gu Youyou, “It’s dark inside, let’s have breakfast outside!”

“Hmm? Okay!” She couldn’t be happier.
Gu Youyou watched him skillfully bring out two bowls of congee and a plate of wild vegetables.

He picked up one bowl and quickly drank it down. Although Gu Youyou was ill, she wasn’t slow. How long had it been since she had a proper meal? Poor thing, it seemed like she hadn’t had a full meal since she transmigrated here.

The two of them quickly finished off two bowls of congee. Jin Zijing glanced at Gu Youyou’s empty bowl with surprise, then got up and filled another bowl.

This time, however, the bowl wasn’t full; it was only half full. Gu Youyou was about to complain about his stinginess, but seeing that his own bowl was still empty, she said nothing.

This wasn’t the Gu family home; he was so poor, he probably had nothing left!

Well, since that was the case, she didn’t stand on ceremony and drank the remaining half bowl of congee, then picked up a piece of vegetables!
She was a patient, so of course she needed to eat more. Looking at Jin Zijing, who was tall and strong, it wouldn’t make much difference if he drank less!

Gu Youyou happily basked in the sun for nearly two hours, watching Jin Zijing busily cleaning the front and back of the house and even washing clothes. Heh heh, having lived two lives, this was the first time she had ever seen a man wash clothes!

By the time Jin Zijing finished, it was already noon.

He walked towards Gu Youyou and said, “The midday sun is too strong; you can’t adjust yet. Let me take you back inside!”

Before Gu Youyou could agree, he picked her up, blanket and all, and carried her straight into the house.

Gu Youyou: “…” Why did he always speak to her in a consultative tone, yet never allow her to object, making decisions so abruptly?
She hadn’t seen the sun for half a year and wanted to bask in it a little longer.

Farmers only eat two meals a day, and to conserve food, they skip lunch, so lunch was out of the question.

Gu Youyou had only eaten a bowl and a half of thin porridge in the morning, and by noon she was starving, but there was nothing she could do. Even the Gu family only had lunch occasionally when they were busy with heavy work, let alone the impoverished Jin Zijin family; he certainly wouldn’t give her lunch.
Josh ink: comment for the next chapter.