Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 375: Chapter 199: Competition

After Zhang Huai and his parents pulled up all the radishes in their field, they began to till the soil and apply fertilizer. They were preparing to plant a crop of spring cabbage to earn some Silver.

Qingmu had been busy with his engagement the past few days, so Zhang Huai had no one to talk to. He spent his time working in the fields to keep himself occupied.

Just then, he saw Qingmu and Juhua leading a tall young woman over. He immediately understood that this must be Qingmu’s future wife.

Leaning on his hoe with a wide grin, he waited for them to approach. He shot Qingmu a knowing glance and then looked at him teasingly, waiting for an introduction.

Seeing his friend’s expression, as if he were settling in for a good show, Qingmu shot him a glare. He cleared his throat and said to Liu Yunlan, ”This is Huai Zi. You can just call him Huai Zi.”

Then he turned to Zhang Huai and said, ”This is your big sister, Yunlan.”

Zhang Huai almost bit his tongue. He really wanted to call her ”sister-in-law,” but with Juhua watching from the side, he reluctantly greeted her, ”Big sister Yunlan.”

Liu Yunlan was also quite embarrassed. ”Brother Huai Zi, are you tilling the fields?” she asked quickly. ”Working so hard during the New Year’s festivities?”

Zhang Huai smiled and said, ”Ah, well, I’m idle anyway, so I thought I’d till the soil and get it ready for some spring cabbage.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Juhua and saw her watching him with a gentle smile. He couldn’t help but smile back, stroking his hoe as if it were a tool for unearthing gold and silver. ’With this,’ he thought, ’I’ll build a life for us to share.’

Juhua looked from the freshly tilled, loose soil to Zhang Huai, whose forehead was covered in a light sheen of sweat from his work. She just smiled without a word.

After a bit of small talk, Qingmu noticed that the field was mostly tilled. ”Come on,” he said to Zhang Huai. ”Come have lunch at my place. You can spare the time.”

Zhang Huai quickly shook his head and waved his hands in refusal. ’With all the new relatives visiting,’ he thought, ’wouldn’t I just be making things awkward for myself by going over there?’

Qingmu didn’t press him. He turned and left with Juhua and Yunlan.

Once they were a good distance away, Zhang Huai lowered his head and continued tilling the soil. ’Qingmu won’t be on his own anymore,’ he mused. ’Once he’s married, will he still be as close to me as he is now?’

’He probably will. His dad and Uncle Zheng still drink together all the time, and his mom often does needlework with Aunt Zheng. And if I marry Juhua, Qingmu and I will be even closer.’

When Qingmu and the others returned to the courtyard, they found Liu Yungen sitting alone by the door, basking in the sun. It was only then that Qingmu remembered they had left his young brother-in-law behind. He asked apologetically, ”Yungen, why didn’t you come out and have a look?”

Liu Yungen thought to himself, ’You all ignored me. Who was I supposed to go with?’

But he didn’t dare say that out loud, not with his sister watching. He just smiled awkwardly and said, ”I was just sunning myself by the door.”

Juhua told Laicai to go inside and bring out a few small stools, and they all sat by the door to sun themselves and chat.

Liu Yunlan saw that her brother didn’t dare to look at Juhua. Both amused and exasperated, she sat down next to him and said, ”You’re not still mad at your big sister Juhua, are you? If you are, then everything I’ve taught you has been for nothing.”

Juhua chuckled softly. ”Big sister Yunlan, once you’re married and living here, who do you think he’ll rely on? If a young man can’t even support his own household, people will laugh at him. It’ll be hard to live a good life. If someone can’t even readily admit when they’re wrong, what great things can you expect from them?”

Seeing that Juhua’s words had made the boy’s eyebrows shoot up in anger again, Qingmu quickly stopped her from saying any more.

He then turned to Liu Yungen with a serious expression. ”Don’t be angry. If you’re really angry, you should channel that into working hard and proving to everyone that you’re a capable young man. Or do you really expect your sister to still be worrying about you after she’s married? You had an excuse when you were little, but you’re older now. Shouldn’t you be eager to take on household responsibilities? You have to at least show your sister that her affection for you wasn’t wasted.”

Liu Yungen felt a pang of resentment. He was already intimidated by Juhua and Qingmu, and now he felt both ashamed and indignant. His face flushed red as he looked up and retorted, ”Who says I’m going to rely on my sister? I’m just a teenager! How do you know I won’t have a good life later on? I’ll live a good life just to prove you wrong!”

This was directed at Juhua. He felt that his sister’s future sister-in-law deliberately poked at his weaknesses, enjoying putting him in an awkward position.

Before Qingmu could speak, Juhua said slowly and deliberately, ”Fine. I’ll be watching with my eyes wide open. Laicai!”

Laicai immediately answered, ”Yes, big sister Juhua!” He was sitting right next to her, and as he replied, he scooted his stool even closer.

Juhua patted his head and said to Liu Yungen, ”Laicai is from your village, so you should know how mischievous he used to be. But now, he’s become sensible just like that. And he’s younger than you. The two of you can have a competition and see who is more capable, who can truly support a household. Laicai, your grandmother is getting old, and your father isn’t as clever as you. The family will have to rely on you from now on. Even Laishou will be depending on you, so you have to work hard...”