Chapter 61: My Husband Has Mysophobia

Du Ruo and the procuress turned their faces at the same time.

The procuress hooked her eyes upward, let out a contemptuous snort from her nose, and then spat out a few words: "Who do you think you are?"

Zhu Shi choked: "…………"

Previously, she certainly counted as Chunhua's mother, but now that the person had been sold and the thumbprint pressed, Chunhua had nothing to do with her anymore.

She could only count as nothing.

But clearly, Qunfang Pavilion was the buyer, so how did Chunhua end up in Du Ruo's hands in the blink of an eye?

Since that was the case, wasn't her arrogant display just now all a joke, and she had even benefited Du Ruo for nothing?

Thinking of this, Zhu Shi's blood surged, and she took the banknote out from her bosom again, shoving it into the procuress's hand like a rascal.

"Take the money back, I'm not selling anymore."

Saying this, she reached out to pull the person: "Chunhua, come with Mother!"

The poor little girl's scalp was almost torn off, and she cried out in pain.

The procuress's eyes turned sharp, and she waved her hand at the men behind her: "Throw this crazy woman outside the town for me, throw her far away. If she dares to come and make trouble again, report it to the officials!"

The men walked over grinning, lifted the person up, and left.

Zhu Shi howled like a slaughtered pig: "You bandits, forcing a sale, I'm going to the Ya Men to report you..."

The screaming grew more and more distant, until it could no longer be heard.

Seeing there was no more excitement to watch, the onlookers dispersed one after another, and the street finally became clear again.

Jiang Wan ran over hurriedly, using all her strength to help the disheveled little girl up, her voice mixed with sobs: "Chunhua, are you okay? It must hurt a lot, right?"

Seeing Jiang Wan, Chunhua could no longer hold back her emotions, hugging her and wailing loudly.

"Wan'er, my mother doesn't want me anymore. I won't have a mother in the future, and I won't have a home either..."

Jiang Wan quickly patted her back, just like her eldest brother used to coax her when she was little: "It's okay, it's okay. I have a home, from now on my home is your home, and my sister-in-law is your mother. You don't have to be afraid."

Du Ruo: "..."

Thanks, but she didn't want to become someone's mother at such a young age.

"Alright Wan'er, it's getting late, hurry and take Chunhua to the carriage. Sister-in-law will come in a moment."

Jiang Wan agreed and pulled Chunhua toward the carriage.

After walking only a few steps, Chunhua's legs suddenly went soft, and she fell to the ground.

She hadn't eaten for two days, and coupled with being dragged and pulled by Zhu Shi just now, her body had long since reached its limit. She had only been holding on by sheer willpower, and now that her spirit had relaxed, she collapsed.

Jiang Cheng had no choice but to step forward to help, picking the little girl up and saying with disgust as he walked: "Why are you so dirty?"

Chunhua shrank her body in embarrassment and apologized in a low voice: "I'm sorry, Brother Third Son, I will wash clean..."

Du Ruo pulled back her gaze and smiled at the procuress opposite.

"Thank you for today. I still need to go back and think carefully about the menu. If you aren't in a hurry, would you be willing to wait a few days?"

Actually, she had many recipes in her mind, if not thousands, then hundreds, but since the other party was so sincere, Du Ruo didn't want to just take out any random one to brush them off.

After all, a place like Qunfang Pavilion still had its standards.

You couldn't let people eat spicy hot pot while flirting, right?

The procuress was also easy to talk to: "No rush, no rush. Lady Du, just come whenever you are free, I can afford to wait."

At this moment, Jiang Li walked over.

"Wife, we should go back too."

Du Ruo nodded and was just about to say goodbye when she saw the procuress's eyes fixed on Jiang Li.

"This young master has such an appearance. I presume this is Lady Du's husband, Bu Tou Jiang?"

The procuress sized up Jiang Li and smiled coquettishly: "They say girls love handsome men, and this saying is not false at all. The girls in our pavilion love serving men like Bu Tou Jiang the most."

Jiang Li glanced at his wife, then moved his steps calmly, distancing himself a bit from the procuress.

It had nothing to do with him; he had never been to such a place.

"Oh, is that so?" Du Ruo curled the corners of her mouth slightly: "What a pity, my husband has mysophobia and doesn't like visiting flower houses."

Seeing her guarded expression, the procuress covered her mouth and chuckled: "Lady Du, rest assured. Every trade has its rules. Since I have made you a friend, our Qunfang Pavilion will absolutely not touch your people."

She paused and then said: "However, I still want to give Lady Du a reminder. A man's belt should still be tied to his own body. Once he gets a craving, he will go steal a taste, and once he starts eating, he won't be able to stop. So Lady Du, you must not let your man get too hungry."

Du Ruo: "... Okay, thank you for the reminder."

She always felt that this Ying Jiuniang had a hidden meaning. Could she tell that she was still a virgin? It wouldn't be that eerie, would it?

The procuress went inside with a smile.

Du Ruo also turned and walked toward the carriage.

Jiang Li followed closely behind.

Du Ruo suddenly asked: "Husband, did you understand her words?"

Jiang Li was a bit conflicted. Should he understand or not?

After thinking for a moment, he said: "I understood."

Du Ruo stopped and turned to face him: "Really understood or pretending?"

Jiang Li's eyes flickered: "I... probably understood."

Du Ruo said "oh" and asked again: "Then are you craving it?"

Jiang Li shook his head: "Not craving."

He hadn't even broken his fast, hadn't eaten pork, so naturally, he wouldn't crave the deliciousness of pork.

Besides, craving was useless anyway; his wife wouldn't let him eat.

Du Ruo turned her head and continued walking, humming: "Then you must not like that flavor. If you change the flavor, perhaps you would crave it?"

Jiang Li: "..."

While talking, they had already reached the carriage. The couple got in and headed toward Longquan Cun.

Passing by the east end of the village, seeing the small dilapidated courtyard burned to such a state, the two little ones almost cried. Although this place was broken and old, it was the place where they grew up; it was their home...

However, this sad emotion completely vanished the moment they arrived at their new home.

"Wow, this place is so big!"

Jiang Cheng circled the house several times, his mouth grinning almost to the back of his head in excitement.

Gouzi checked every corner from front to back, digging into every hole to ensure no snakes, insects, rats, or ants would come to disturb them, before sitting in the center of the courtyard wagging its tail.

The empire I have to protect has increased by several more mu, Woof woof woof woof!

Jiang Wan was more interested in the rooms, pulling Chunhua into the house to inspect them one by one, her face flushed with excitement.

Seeing that the children liked it here, Du Ruo was also very gratified.

She let them assign the rooms themselves and went to prepare dinner.

Jiang Li helped with the fire.

Before the meal was ready, Chunhua came in.

"Brother Dalang, Sister-in-law." The little girl knelt on the ground with a thud, her eyes red: "You saved me, from now on I am the Jiang family's maid. I can do a lot of work, wash clothes, cook, chop wood, I can do anything. I also eat very little, one steamed bun a day is enough, I am not hard to raise at all."

Du Ruo and Jiang Li exchanged a glance, both tacitly not helping her up.

It wasn't that their hearts were hard, but some things had to be said upfront.

"Chunhua, do you know why we bought you?" Du Ruo said slowly: "Logically speaking, you are from the Li family. Your brother burned down our courtyard, and your mother still harbors malice toward us. Our two families are enemies."

Chunhua was full of shame: "I know, it's because of Wan'er."

Du Ruo nodded: "Correct. Because Wan'er wanted to save you, we saved you. The person you should be most grateful to is her."

Chunhua looked up, her expression firm: "Sister-in-law, don't worry, I will be good to Wan'er, always good, always good, much better than I am to myself!"

Du Ruo went over and helped her up.

"Good, Sister-in-law believes you. From now on, you can call me Sister-in-law just like Wan'er."

Chunhua bit her lip and asked timidly: "I, can I call you Sister Ruo?"

Seeing the confused look on Du Ruo's face, she hurriedly explained: "I have a sister-in-law at home too, but she isn't good to me, always secretly pinching and hitting me. Every time I call her, I get very scared..."

Du Ruo understood. Was this stress-induced?

"Sure, you can call me whatever you want."

After Chunhua went out, Jiang Li said: "She is quite sensible."

Du Ruo put the vegetables from the pot onto a plate: "Who says she isn't? I didn't expect a good seedling to grow out of the Li family's mud pit. With Chunhua accompanying Wan'er in the future, her mood will surely be better. When her mood is better, her illness will naturally heal faster."

"Wife is right."

Speaking of Jiang Wan, Du Ruo suddenly remembered something: "By the way, Husband, I plan to let Wan'er go to the village school to study. What do you think?"

Study? Jiang Li was greatly surprised: "Why?"

Du Ruo asked him back: "Why not? Do you also think like those old pedants that a woman's lack of talent is a virtue?"

If that were the case, she would really be a little disappointed.

Jiang Li stood up, patted the wood ash off his hands, walked over, and pinched Du Ruo's cheeks, which were puffed up like a bun.

"You, you are good at everything, but you have one bad point: you always like to think the worst of me."

He said helplessly: "How could I oppose Wan'er studying? If it weren't for her being weak and sickly since childhood and unable to handle fatigue, I would have already started her education."

Back then, the three brothers were all taught by their father, Jiang Mo Nian. Father was kind and gentle to others, but extremely strict when teaching them; they weren't allowed to eat until they finished the day's homework.

Because of this, the third brother didn't know how many meals he had gone hungry.

Only Wan'er, because she was a posthumous child, hadn't even seen her father's face, and her health was poor. He only hoped she would grow up safely; how could he dare to hope for her to read and write...

So that was it. Du Ruo felt a little ashamed.

She indeed lacked sufficient trust and understanding of Jiang Li, always thinking that because he was an ancient person, his thoughts must be very old-fashioned, habitually measuring a gentleman's heart with a petty person's yardstick.

"I know you are worried about Wan'er, but Wan'er really wants to study. Moreover, her physical condition has been very stable recently, so I think we can give it a try."

Jiang Wan had already taken the fast-acting heart-saving pill produced by the system, so she wouldn't have an attack.

But Jiang Li didn't know that, so he was definitely worried.

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Li chose to take a step back: "How about this, let her go for a few days first. If Wan'er's body can handle it, then she can continue; if she can't handle it, then..."

Du Ruo immediately took over the conversation: "If she can't handle it, you don't even need to say it, I will be the first one to drag her back and keep her locked at home, okay?"

"Okay." Jiang Li smiled, wrapping her chubby little hand in his palm, lowering his head and smiling softly: "Thank you, Wife."

How many sisters-in-law in this world could do this much for their sister-in-law? Not to mention the money and effort, it was thankless work.

But knowing the result, Du Ruo still did it. Such a passionate and sincere woman, what reason did he have not to like her?

Dinner was very ordinary: stir-fried pork liver, home-style tofu, a plate of green vegetables, plus a bowl of steamed egg custard.

The Jiang family was already used to it and didn't feel anything was wrong.

Chunhua, however, was so shocked her mouth wouldn't close.

It wasn't that her family hadn't eaten such a sumptuous meal, but only the eldest brother and the younger brother could eat; everyone else, including her father and mother, only had the share of watching with envy.

Unlike here, there was no distinction between men and women, no matter what dish it was, anyone could pick from it...

"Chunhua, don't space out, eat, eat." Jiang Wan scooped a spoonful of steamed egg custard into her bowl.

Chunhua was a little afraid.

She timidly looked at Du Ruo and Jiang Li to check their expressions.

Du Ruo picked up a piece of pork liver for her: "This is good for your body. You are too thin, you need to eat more."

Chunhua was flattered: "I, I can just eat rice..."

"If I tell you to eat, then eat." Du Ruo picked up a piece of tofu and put it in her bowl, saying with a straight face: "From now on, you are also part of our family. Our family doesn't believe in that set of valuing men over women. We eat the good things together, and we endure the bitterness together, hear me?"

Chunhua made a few "ohs" and hurriedly lowered her head to shovel rice.

After just one bite, her eyes lit up. It was so delicious, she had never eaten such delicious food!

The little girl could no longer care about being reserved and began to wolf it down.

Jiang Cheng curled his lips: "Hey, are you a starving ghost reincarnated, eating so fast? Be careful of choking."

Although Chunhua was pitiful, Jiang Cheng was very annoyed whenever he thought about her brother burning down their courtyard.

But he could barely accept it, since Wan'er liked her.

After dinner, they washed up, and the family returned to their respective rooms.

Although there were enough rooms, Jiang Wan still pulled Chunhua to sleep together and even contributed a few of her own clothes. Chunhua was a year older than her and taller, but fortunately, the clothes bought last time were bought on the larger side, so they fit Chunhua perfectly.

The two little friends lay in the comfortable quilt, whispering excitedly, and fell asleep before long.

Du Ruo, however, couldn't sleep.

Jiang Li had to return to the Ya Men tomorrow, and she was quite reluctant to let him go.

By the way, didn't she save Chunhua today? The system mission should be completed.

Taking advantage of Jiang Li being outside taking a shower and not having come in yet, Du Ruo hurriedly brought up the system interface.

Host: Du Ruo

Available Points: 5.5

Level: 2 (Needs 24 more points to reach the next level)

Mall: Unlocked

With less than 3 points available, Du Ruo thought for a moment and asked: "Little System, how many points does a silkworm need?"

She was still taking medicine, but the effect was slow. If she had a silkworm as a medicinal guide, she could completely eradicate the toxins in her body. By then, her face would also get better, and she wouldn't have to be mocked as an ugly monster everywhere.

"There are silkworms, but you have been poisoned for too long. You need at least ten silkworms, which means ten points."

Ten points, she was still far off.

Du Ruo felt deflated. Forget it, save them for now and buy them next time.

Anyway, she had been ugly for so long, she was almost used to it; no need to rush.

Before long, Jiang Li came in.

Just as Du Ruo was about to blow out the lamp to sleep, Jiang Li suddenly lowered his voice and slowly leaned over.

"Wife, don't move." ===== CHAPTER 62 =====