Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Penny Wise, Pound Foolish—A Deadly Lesson

Gu Qinghuan and Lin Xiaomeng never expected that even the notorious gossip, Qian Caihua, had such a past. They were still sighing over it when—

The next second, Qian Caihua let out a shriek like a pig being slaughtered. “Aiyo, you two! Stop dawdling and get to work! Wang Xiaohua and the others next door have already filled up a whole basket!”

The two of them could only squat down and start digging up sweet potatoes, resigning themselves to their fate. After the conflict last time, neither of them spoke to the other today. Each took a side and threw themselves into the work.

Although the autumn sun wasn’t too harsh, working under it was still unbearably hot. Sweat trickled down their faces and into their collars, quickly soaking the front and back of their shirts.

Carrying the sweet potatoes was also hard work. Luckily, their bodies had been nourished by the spiritual spring water recently, so they could just about manage to carry a full basket.

After two hours of hard work, Lin Xiaomeng noticed that many people nearby were getting tired and stopping for a drink and a rest.

She quickly said to Qian Caihua, “Auntie Caihua, let’s take a break too? I brought some osmanthus cakes—let’s eat together?”

Gu Qinghuan thought to herself, Here it comes, Lin Xiaomeng is about to make her move!

How should she stop her?

With Qian Caihua’s personality, there’s no way she’d resist taking advantage of a freebie.

Sure enough, the next second, Qian Caihua’s wrinkled face broke into a smile. “Oh, Xiaomeng, you even brought osmanthus cakes to work? Well, I’ll shamelessly have a taste then!”

Lin Xiaomeng’s plan was simple: after Qian Caihua ate the cake and got thirsty, she’d offer her some of the blessed spring water.

At worst… at worst, she’d just sacrifice her own water bottle and let Qian Caihua drink from it. In any case, she couldn’t let her drink Lin Xiaomeng’s water.

That was Gu Qinghuan’s plan.

Lin Xiaomeng really had brought osmanthus cakes. After being snubbed last time, she didn’t offer any to Gu Qinghuan today, only dividing four pieces for Qian Caihua.

She’d actually thought about taking down both women today, but was worried something might go wrong, so she decided to focus on Qian Caihua for now.

“These osmanthus cakes smell amazing. Thank you, Xiaomeng,” Qian Caihua said, beaming as she took the cakes. She tried one—soft and sweet—then wrapped the rest in a handkerchief to take home for her husband and son.

Lin Xiaomeng said, “You’re welcome,” and started eating as well.

Gu Qinghuan, meanwhile, took a big swig from her own water bottle. Xu Huaian had filled it for her that morning—just plain boiled water, but it did the job.

Qian Caihua noticed that Lin Xiaomeng hadn’t offered Gu Qinghuan any cake and wasn’t speaking to her either. She guessed there must be some bad blood between them and wondered what was going on.

Just as she was about to probe, Gu Qinghuan suddenly handed her water bottle over. “Auntie Caihua, you must be thirsty. Here, have some of my water.”

Gu Qinghuan smiled ingratiatingly and even shot Lin Xiaomeng a pointed look.

Lin Xiaomeng thought Gu Qinghuan was trying to compete with her for Qian Caihua’s favor.

You give her cake, I’ll give her water.

Little did she know, Lin Xiaomeng’s real aim in giving Qian Caihua cake was to get her to drink the blessed spring water.

That Gu Qinghuan—always meddling! Who asked her to butt in?

“Oh, wonderful! I am thirsty,” Qian Caihua said. She was used to roughing it and never brought water when working, so she was indeed parched. She took Gu Qinghuan’s bottle and was about to drink.

“Auntie Caihua, have mine instead! It’s honey water—I found a wild beehive on the mountain and got a whole jar of honey. It’s sweet and delicious!” Lin Xiaomeng said eagerly.

So, Gu Qinghuan could only watch as Qian Caihua handed her bottle back and made a beeline for Lin Xiaomeng’s, gulping down the honey water until the bottle was empty.

Only when she’d finished did Qian Caihua smack her lips in satisfaction. “Sorry, Xiaomeng, I finished all your water…”

Lin Xiaomeng just smiled even more warmly and waved it off. “It’s just water, nothing to be sorry about. I’ll bring more this afternoon.”

She even shot Gu Qinghuan a triumphant look.

See? She’d rather drink my water than yours.

Gu Qinghuan’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. This old woman was practically rushing to her own doom—did she have a death wish?

She’d thought offering water first would foil Lin Xiaomeng’s plan, but she’d underestimated the lure of “honey.”

She forgot—back in these days, anything sweet was a rare treat.

Forget it. She’d tried her best, even risking exposure to help, but it was all for nothing.

Even if they dodged it this time, Lin Xiaomeng would just try again next time. She couldn’t watch over Qian Caihua every minute. Maybe this was just Qian Caihua’s fate.

Can’t save her, just can’t.

Gu Qinghuan kept working, her mood sour.

Qian Caihua, thinking the two were just sulking, sidled over and said, “Huaian’s wife, I’ll drink your water next time.”

“No, no, you stick to her honey water. Mine’s just plain,” Gu Qinghuan replied, shooting her a look. Behind Qian Caihua, a progress bar—just like Lin Xiaomeng’s—had appeared, showing 10% luck value left.

Soon, all of it would belong to Lin Xiaomeng.

Sure enough, the next second, the number dropped to nine.

Eight.

Seven.

…

Until it hit zero. All of Qian Caihua’s luck had been siphoned away by Lin Xiaomeng, and the progress bar turned black.

Qian Caihua, oblivious, went back to work, not knowing that with one careless decision, she’d already set foot in hell.

Lin Xiaomeng, her plan a success, worked in high spirits the rest of the morning.

Until someone in the distance called out, “Oldest daughter-in-law, hurry home and make lunch!”

It was Liu Guifang’s voice.

Lin Xiaomeng reluctantly got up and said goodbye to Qian Caihua. “Auntie Caihua, I’m heading home to cook. I’ll be back early this afternoon.”

It was almost lunchtime. Some people had their half-grown kids bring food to the fields, some went home to cook, and others brought dry rations and ate right there before getting back to work.

They were all in the same group, so with Lin Xiaomeng leaving, the others didn’t feel like working much longer either.

“Alright, go ahead. Huaian’s wife, are you heading home too?” Qian Caihua asked, knowing Gu Qinghuan had a madman and two kids at home—she probably needed to cook too.

Gu Qinghuan shook her head. “No, the kids will bring food for me.”

That was the plan from this morning.

“Lucky you! Those two kids of yours are so capable. Treat them well—they’ll bring you blessings one day!”

Gu Qinghuan didn’t reply. She’d never thought about blessings—she just couldn’t bear to see suffering in the world.

But judging by the merit points from the Underworld Hall, doing good really did bring blessings!

After Lin Xiaomeng left, the two of them tidied up and went to the pond nearby to wash their hands.

Suddenly, Qian Caihua slipped and nearly fell into the water, but Gu Qinghuan reacted quickly and grabbed her in time.

Looks like with her luck drained, Qian Caihua’s misfortune was starting.

She didn’t seem to notice, though, and hummed a little tune, happy as ever.

They found a shady spot under a tree to rest and wait for their families to bring lunch.

Gu Qinghuan’s stomach was already rumbling from the hard work—she was both tired and hungry.

She suddenly remembered she’d brought a few persimmons that morning. She could eat one to tide herself over and regain some energy.

She took one out and started munching.

Qian Caihua eyed the persimmon greedily. “Huaian’s wife, that persimmon looks good.”

Gu Qinghuan rolled her eyes but handed one over.

Qian Caihua grinned, wiped it on her clothes, and took a big bite. It was juicy and sweet—maybe because she was hungry, but it tasted like a celestial peach, absolutely delicious.

The next second, Gu Qinghuan froze, a chunk of persimmon stuck in her throat—she couldn’t spit it out or swallow, nearly choking.

What did she just see?

Black smoke was starting to rise from the top of Qian Caihua’s head.

And the progress bar behind her was slowly turning red again, her luck value returning to one, then inching upward."

"Chapter 50: Qian Caihua’s Crisis Resolved, Persimmons Save the Day

Gu Qinghuan didn’t have time to wonder what was happening—she was choking.

Seeing this, Qian Caihua quickly gave her a hard thump on the stomach.

“Ugh—”

After a fit of violent coughing, the persimmon stuck in her throat finally came out.

“Eat slower! No one’s fighting you for food!” Qian Caihua said, munching on a persimmon herself.

Gu Qinghuan shot her a meaningful look. Wasn’t the person fighting her for persimmons sitting right next to her?

If she wasn’t mistaken, when Qian Caihua helped her just now, she’d sneakily swiped another persimmon from her pocket.

Multitasking—what a skill.

But it was strange. The luck that had been drained from Qian Caihua had somehow returned on its own.

Other than eating persimmons, she hadn’t done anything else just now.

Persimmons? That’s it—it must be the persimmons!

These persimmons had been watered with spiritual spring water. Eating them had a similar effect to drinking the spring itself.

In a flash, Gu Qinghuan remembered the words carved on the big stone: “Demon-Banishing Spiritual Spring.”

Suddenly, everything made sense.

Could it be that the spiritual spring treated the luck spring water Qian Caihua drank as evil energy and expelled it?

Otherwise, why would there have been black smoke?

That had to be it!

But it seemed no one else could see the black smoke—no one around reacted at all. Apparently, only she could see it.

After eating two persimmons, Qian Caihua’s luck value had recovered by 8%.

Gu Qinghuan generously picked up the last persimmon and handed it over. “Here, you have it!”

After that choking scare, she’d developed a bit of a trauma toward persimmons.

Even as thick-skinned as Qian Caihua was, she felt a little embarrassed. She’d already swiped one, and now Gu Qinghuan was giving her the last one too. What a good comrade—she’d better stop gossiping about her in the future.

“Huai’an’s wife, you’re really kind-hearted. Did you buy these persimmons from outside? They’re so tasty and refreshing, way better than the wild ones in the mountains.” Qian Caihua happily took the persimmon and started munching away.

Gu Qinghuan nodded.

Qian Caihua really was a chatterbox and loved to take advantage of others. No wonder Lin Xiaomeng had targeted her.

Watching the luck value behind Qian Caihua’s head return to its original 10%, and the progress bar slowly fade away, Gu Qinghuan finally relaxed.

It seemed the luck spring water had been completely purged from her body.

It was both a blessing and a curse—if Qian Caihua hadn’t been greedy and drunk Lin Xiaomeng’s water, she wouldn’t have been affected. But it was also because she wanted persimmons that Gu Qinghuan discovered the spiritual spring could save her.

Qian Caihua had her faults, but Lin Xiaomeng had no right to control her fate.

To save a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda.

Gu Qinghuan felt genuinely happy.

Of course, it was just a matter of timing and luck. She could only help those she happened to encounter—she wasn’t some saint who could save everyone in the world.

Soon, Qian Caihua’s husband and son came over from work to rest, waiting under the shade for her youngest daughter to bring lunch.

Qian Caihua carefully took out some osmanthus cake from her pocket, giving a piece each to her husband and son, enthusiastically describing how delicious it was. She tucked the last piece back into her pocket—probably saving it for her daughter.

Ordinary people had their own little happiness.

A united family was the greatest blessing.

As Gu Qinghuan was lost in thought, she noticed Qian Caihua’s son, Tugen, sneaking glances at her from time to time.

“Comrade Gu, do you want some?” Tugen blushed, holding out his osmanthus cake.

Gu Qinghuan was startled, remembering how Qian Caihua had joked about spending 101 yuan to marry her. She quickly waved her hands.

“You all eat. I’ll go see why my two kids haven’t come yet—maybe they got held up on the way.”

She found an excuse to walk away.

Once she was gone, Qian Caihua smacked her son on the head.

“What are you doing? She’s had better things than this—no need to curry favor! Don’t get any ideas. She’s a married woman. Even if you want to, it’s impossible. From now on, call her ‘sister-in-law,’ not ‘Comrade Gu.’”

Tugen hung his head, aggrieved. “Oh.”

Qian Caihua shook her head in exasperation.

She knew Gu Qinghuan was a good girl.

They’d just been a step too late. If she’d known earlier, she’d have been willing to pay 150, even 200 yuan.

But Gu Qinghuan was already married. Trying to seduce a married woman was asking for trouble.

—

People gradually headed home for lunch, while others waited under the trees for their families to bring food.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t have to wait long before Dabao and Beibei arrived.

Dabao carried a small basket, inside which a big bowl held two large, dark multigrain steamed buns.

At first glance, they didn’t look special—just two dark buns.

But biting in, you’d find a tasty surprise: chili sauce stir-fried with pork, made by Zhong Zijun. It was the perfect filling for the buns.

Liu Guifang passed by, and from a distance, she saw the black buns in Gu Qinghuan’s hands and the new clothes on the two kids. She gritted her teeth in anger.

Gu Qinghuan was so good to those two little brats—eating coarse buns herself while buying them new clothes.

Showing off, making herself look so virtuous.

Making Liu Guifang look like the villain.

Her anger over the grain stockpiling flared up again. No, she had to teach Gu Qinghuan a lesson, show her who was boss.

But she wouldn’t do it in public—she’d go about it the sneaky way.

Gu Qinghuan had no idea someone was plotting against her. She was happily eating her bun and drinking water.

The two kids had already eaten and were chattering away.

“Mom, we picked a basket of fresh wild greens at the foot of the mountain this morning, and ran into Erdan and the others.

Erdan found a nest of wild eggs. We all cooked and ate them together. He shared one with me and my sister, and we gave them some of our peach crisps.”

Gu Qinghuan could hardly imagine the kids digging wild eggs out of the ashes and sharing peach crisps with their dirty little hands. It must have been a mess.

But that’s childhood—there’s only one.

“As long as you had fun!”

—

In the big courtyard of the Xu family.

Lin Xiaomeng was cooking when she suddenly felt a wave of panic and broke out in a cold sweat.

Taking advantage of the empty house, she hurried to drink a bowl of luck spring water to calm herself. Suddenly, the bowl slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor, soaking her cloth shoes.

But she didn’t even notice.

Because she realized that the luck she’d just gained that morning had suddenly vanished. Her luck value was back down to 30%.

A whole year’s hard work, gone in an instant.

Why did Xu Lao’er’s luck remain, while Qian Caihua’s suddenly disappeared?

Lin Xiaomeng felt a chill in her heart, but couldn’t figure out why. She could only accept it.

From now on, she’d have to be careful—not to mess with other people’s luck so recklessly.

After all, reincarnation and the luck spring weren’t omnipotent."

"Chapter 51: Primitive Treatment Methods