She was used to getting up early. The rooster had only crowed twice when Guan Xiaorou woke up.
Looking at Jin Feng sleeping beside her on the pillow, her heart filled with satisfaction and security.
She couldn’t help but snuggle into Jin Feng’s arms, like a kitten, gently rubbing her face against his chest.
She lingered in Jin Feng’s embrace for a while, then lightly lifted the quilt, got out of bed, and started preparing breakfast.
After breakfast, Jin Feng went to town to sell the wild rabbits, exchanging them for thirty jin of rice and some miscellaneous daily necessities.
Of course, he also bought some snacks like peanuts and dried plums to appease the naughty children.
Thirty-odd jin wasn’t heavy, but the mountain path was difficult, and carrying the cloth bag was uncomfortable. He walked and rested, and by the time he got home, it was past noon.
Guan Xiaorou, after all, had just experienced her first time, and her walking posture was a bit off, but she still busied herself running back and forth, bringing water and wiping sweat.
“Alright, rest for a bit.” Jin Feng pressed Guan Xiaorou into a chair, glancing at her thigh area, “Does it still hurt?”
Guan Xiaorou shook her head, blushing.
“Lying isn’t what good children do.”
Jin Feng scraped her nose with his finger.
“I’m not a child anymore!”
“That’s right, last night you became a little wife.”
“Hubby…”
Guan Xiaorou was both shy and annoyed, burying her head in Jin Feng’s chest, nearly knocking him over.
“Hey, watch how I deal with you!”
Jin Feng scooped Guan Xiaorou into his arms, his hands wandering.
Guan Xiaorou instantly turned limp like mud, collapsing in Jin Feng’s embrace, her big eyes becoming watery.
The young couple was playfully messing around when a discordant voice came from the door, “Jin Feng, come out!”
Hearing someone speak, Guan Xiaorou jumped up as if electrocuted.
She glanced outside, realising the courtyard couldn’t be seen from there, and sighed in relief. She gave Jin Feng a coquettish glare, then blushed as she straightened her clothes.
The two walked into the main room and saw the ruffian Xie Guang swaggering into the courtyard, swaying with every step.
As soon as he entered, he stared intently at Guan Xiaorou.
Guan Xiaorou gave Xie Guang a disgusted glance, then lowered her head and went into the inner room.
“What are you here for?”
Interrupted in their intimate moment, Jin Feng’s tone was very displeased.
“Your dad borrowed ten jin of wheat from me before. I pitied you and never came to collect, but now my family has an extra mouth to feed, and we’re struggling. Pay back the wheat.”
Xie Guang acted as if he were in his own home, casually pulling up a stool and sitting in the courtyard.
“My dad borrowed ten jin of wheat from you?”
Jin Feng laughed in anger, “Have you ever seen ten jin of wheat?”
In West River Bay, whose family was the poorest? The gambling addict Xie Guang definitely ranked first, truly penniless, having even sold his bed to gamble.
If not for the villagers remembering his father’s past kindness and not wanting the Xie family line to end, giving him food when he couldn’t survive, he would have starved long ago.
How could someone like that have ten jin of wheat to lend to the old blacksmith?
It was clearly an attempt to extort.
“Get lost quickly, don’t embarrass yourself here and annoy people.”
For such a ruffian and scoundrel, Jin Feng couldn’t be bothered to deal with him.
“Jin Feng, looks like you’re set on defaulting?”
As a seasoned ruffian, since Xie Guang had come, he was prepared. How could he be dismissed with a few words from Jin Feng?
He glanced at the door, stood up, and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Everyone, come judge! Jin Feng is refusing to repay borrowed grain!”
At the door, a group of women returning from digging wild vegetables in the back mountain to drink water happened to pass near Jin Feng’s home. Hearing Xie Guang’s howl, they all gathered by the low wall.
With the audience in place, Xie Guang sat on the ground and began his performance.
“Everyone, judge for me! Old Jin borrowed ten jin of wheat from me three years ago…”
He shouted while slapping the ground, executing his shameless tactics to perfection.
In an era lacking entertainment, this was definitely a big scandal.
The village women’s eyes were practically gleaming.
“Do you think Old Jin borrowed grain from Xie Guang?”
“How could he? Someone like Xie Guang not borrowing from Old Jin is already good. Where would he get grain to lend to Old Jin?”
“Then why is Xie Guang here demanding grain?”
“Isn’t it because he knows Jin Feng sold rabbits and bought grain, coming to extort?”
“Jin Feng too, just got some money to buy grain and shows off. Now he’s targeted by Xie Guang.”
“It wasn’t Jin Feng showing off. When he returned from town, he met Third Aunt at the village threshing ground. She insisted on checking his cloth bag to see what he bought. You know Third Aunt, she’s a big mouth. Now the whole village knows.”
“This time Jin Feng is in trouble. Xie Guang is like sticky plaster. Without giving a few jin of grain, Xie Guang won’t leave.”
The onlooking village women chattered away, watching with great interest.
“A father’s debt is repaid by the son, it’s only right. Jin Feng, you claim to be a scholar, but when your dad dies, you default. Does that honour your dad? Does it honour the sages’ books you’ve read?”
Xie Guang pointed at Jin Feng, performing even more energetically.
Admittedly, Xie Guang’s acting was decent, with tone and expression on point, and a good grasp of human nature.
If it were the old bookish Jin Feng, he might have felt embarrassed and chosen to settle quietly.
But the current Jin Feng had started part-time work from his freshman year, having endured all sorts of societal beatings. Xie Guang’s antics seemed childish to him.
Seeing Xie Guang rolling around shamelessly and refusing to leave, he sneered and nodded, “You want grain, right? No problem, I can give it to you.”
Xie Guang’s face lit up, about to respond, when he heard Jin Feng continue, “But first, pay back the two taels of silver your mother owes me.”
“When did my mother borrow silver from you?” Xie Guang was utterly confused.
“Ten years ago, the year your mother fell ill.”
“Ten years ago, you were only eight. Where did you get two taels of silver?”
“You could have ten jin of wheat at sixteen. Why couldn’t I have two taels of silver at eight?”
“I… I…” Xie Guang couldn’t find words to refute.
Outside the courtyard, the group of village women burst into giggles.
“Alright, stop acting. Either show proof that my dad borrowed ten jin of wheat from you, or get lost.”
Jin Feng pointed at the door.
“Bookworm, you’re dead set on defaulting, huh?”
The ruffian Xie found he couldn’t outtalk Jin Feng, so he dropped the act, stood up, and dusted his backside, “Since you don’t want face when given, I don’t need to be polite anymore. Today, you’ll give the grain whether you want to or not!”
“What, you plan to rob me?”
Jin Feng glanced disdainfully at the ruffian Xie.
“It’s not robbing, it’s collecting a debt!”
The ruffian Xie rolled up his sleeves, his face twisted ferociously.
