Chapter 89 — IAVD (QT) Chapter 89

When Tian Chunfang said those words, Ji Xiu paused slightly and looked up at her. “Are you sure?”

Tian Chunfang’s face was full of mockery. “Otherwise, do you want to live on coarse food and pay back that bank loan with me?”

Ji Xiu fell silent, feeling something subtly strange in his heart.

The original owner had never once thought about divorcing his wife. So after Ji Xiu arrived, he had not felt comfortable bringing up divorce either, feeling it would be unfair to the original owner. He had planned to wait—just wait a little longer.

But now, Tian Chunfang was the one who proposed divorce.

In that case, he could hardly be blamed.

Ji Xiu nodded and said calmly, “Alright.”

Tian Chunfang was slightly surprised. In her view, at this moment Ji Xiu should have knelt down, begging for her forgiveness, only for her to kick him away coldly.

Although the divorce was her decision, Ji Xiu’s indifference made her feel oddly uncomfortable.

She looked at him suspiciously and deliberately said, “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go get the divorce certificate now.”

“No rush—”

Before Ji Xiu could finish, Tian Chunfang interrupted him. A smug, disdainful smile appeared on her face. “If you’re not in a hurry, I am. No need to explain to me. I won’t forgive you. Dragging it out won’t help.”

Ji Xiu: “…Alright then.”

He had originally had other matters to attend to and planned to talk about it later, but he was afraid that if he said one more word, Tian Chunfang would become even more unbearable.

They could get the divorce in the morning and look for seeds in the afternoon.

Before divorcing, they first had to divide the property. The original owner had once had one hundred thousand yuan in savings. After Ji Xiu’s earlier expenses, only seventy thousand remained. Even so, Ji Xiu followed the rules and gave Tian Chunfang fifty thousand. As for the old house, it had been given by the two elders of the Ji family and had nothing to do with Tian Chunfang, so it did not need to be divided—and she did not care for it anyway. Their daughter was twelve; Tian Chunfang did not want her either, so Ji Xiu kept custody.

Thus, apart from the fifty thousand yuan, Tian Chunfang only took the gold jewelry from her wedding and the clothes she had accumulated over the years.

After everything was settled, she turned and went into the master bedroom, calling her two brothers to help pack. Very quickly, the bedroom was turned upside down, and even Ji Xiu’s few clothes were scattered everywhere.

They clearly had no intention of tidying up—only picking out Tian Chunfang’s things and ignoring everything else.

Coming out of the bedroom, Tian Chunfang said arrogantly, “Let’s go. Civil Affairs Bureau.”

“Mm.” Ji Xiu agreed. He felt it was a little strange. She did not fight over property at all, agreed to everything readily, and was in such a hurry to divorce.

As his gaze swept over her, Ji Xiu seemed to understand something.

Despite her poor reputation in Liuzhuang Village, Tian Chunfang had been considered a beauty in and around the villages when she was young. Otherwise, she would not have given birth to such a beautiful daughter as Ji Jingyu.

Beautiful people tended to have high standards.

She had married Ji Xiu only because she had been picky in her youth, failed to find a man with good conditions, and had been dragged down until she could no longer marry. It was a last resort.

In truth, she had always been dissatisfied with her marriage to Ji Xiu.

In her eyes, Ji Xiu treating her well was only natural.

After all, Ji Xiu was nothing but a migrant worker with only a decent face to his name, while she herself was so strikingly beautiful.

She had married down out of grievance, so he should have worshipped her and treated her like a goddess.

For over ten years, she had done no work, spending her days playing mahjong and cracking melon seeds. Her life was leisurely, and her appearance had hardly aged. On the contrary, with the polishing of time, she had gained the unique charm of a mature woman.

After all, she was only in her early thirties.

Especially today—she had dressed up deliberately, wearing a high-waisted chiffon dress and makeup. Her features looked delicate, at least five years younger than usual, and even more charming and alluring.

Of course she had the confidence to divorce Ji Xiu, casting aside the dark-skinned, rustic man who had grown that way from years of construction work.

As for whether she had someone else lined up, that was open to interpretation.

But based on Ji Xiu’s understanding of Tian Chunfang’s personality, unless she had found a suitable next option, she would never have agreed to divorce so easily.

And now she had主动提出 divorce…

In fact, the truth was not far from Ji Xiu’s guess.

At first, Tian Chunfang had returned to her parents’ home out of anger, wanting Ji Xiu to admit his mistake. But after she got there, she accidentally ran into her first love returning to their hometown, and things changed.

That first love had once been a well-known underachiever in the surrounding villages, with very poor family conditions. Even on dates, he could not afford anything decent.

After dating him for two years, Tian Chunfang had been lured away by the son of a wealthy family and broke up with him.

Her first love left in anger to make his fortune elsewhere and had been gone for over ten years without any news.

Now he had returned successful, claiming that he had come back specifically for Tian Chunfang.

He now did business outside, had assets worth tens of millions, owned a factory, and had two apartments in the city. What he lacked was a beloved mistress of the household. But he was unwilling to share the fruits of his labor with anyone else—only with Tian Chunfang.

Upon hearing that Tian Chunfang was already married, he was extremely dejected. Drunk, he cried bitterly, saying he should never have stayed away for more than ten years just to save face.

If Tian Chunfang was willing to divorce, he did not mind that she had been married before. He could immediately go with her to the Civil Affairs Bureau to remarry, and half of his assets would belong to the lady of the house.

Life in the countryside was dull, and people loved gossip.

The story spread widely. Tian Chunfang’s two brothers, tempted by the man’s multimillion assets, deliberately came to talk to her about it, hinting that she should divorce.

Once Tian Chunfang heard this, she was tempted as well. After meeting her first love, she returned and had her brothers accompany her to seek a divorce from Ji Xiu.

In fact, if not for her family reminding her—lest her first love become jealous—she would not even have bothered packing clothes. She would have divorced directly, taken the fifty thousand yuan, and eloped with her first love. Wouldn’t it be better to become a rich wife in the city?

On the way to town, the Tian siblings whispered among themselves nearby. Ji Xiu accidentally overheard the inside story and felt no surprise at all.

This was exactly how reality tended to unfold.

What puzzled him was that Tian Chunfang’s first love, who had managed to build a fortune of tens of millions from scratch, should be a very capable man.

Would such a person really have no girlfriend?

Would he really need to come back to look for a girlfriend from over ten years ago?

Of course, Ji Xiu was only speculating, with no proof. Perhaps the man truly cherished old feelings.

But with this premise, the divorce proceeded very smoothly.

Ji Xiu requested notarization of the property division, and Tian Chunfang agreed.

Once the divorce certificate was in hand, she left impatiently.

Ji Xiu and Ji Jingyu stood at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, father and daughter looking at each other.

Ji Xiu spoke first. “This wasn’t Dad who wanted a divorce. You can’t blame me.”

Ji Jingyu’s expression was odd. “Dad, what are you thinking? I… I actually wished you two would divorce earlier. Why would I blame you?”

Eh?

Ji Xiu was a bit surprised, but he did not dwell on it. He nodded in relief. “That’s good. Let’s go buy seeds.”

Their direction was exactly opposite to Tian Chunfang’s.

The road split like a line, and they walked straight ahead without hesitation. Neither of them looked back.

But after walking a bit farther, Ji Jingyu still could not help turning her head.

Just as Ji Xiu had said, that woman was, after all, her mother…

Before her rebirth, she had not seen this woman for more than ten years. After being reborn, to avoid clashing with her, she had deliberately kept her distance.

So she barely remembered what kind of person this woman was, whether they had ever had harmonious days together, or even whether she had ever loved her.

Now, this woman was completely leaving her life.

Ji Jingyu felt a moment of melancholy, then looked at Ji Xiu’s back, confidence rising in her heart.

Luckily, there was still Dad.

…

They had twenty thousand yuan in hand. After spending a portion on seeds, only a few thousand remained. Ji Xiu also bought an electric three-wheeled vehicle.

With this tricycle, they could bring seeds back without carrying them by hand. In the future, going up and down Jingfeng Mountain would also be easier, without having to walk.

“Hold on tight, girl.”

Ji Xiu turned the key, started the electric vehicle, and carried the father and daughter home.

After arriving, Ji Xiu unloaded the seeds into the granary behind the house and urged Ji Jingyu to cook. Once she obediently went off, he cleaned the house thoroughly inside and out, throwing out many things Tian Chunfang did not want.

With these gone, the house looked much fresher, and Ji Xiu finally had his own independent room.

He was in a very good mood and ate an extra bowl of rice that evening. Ji Jingyu watched in admiration, barely blinking.

Ji Xiu explained with a straight face, “Working consumes energy. I’m just eating a bit more.”

Ji Jingyu’s eyes were full of disbelief. “Dad, who are you fooling? You’re clearly just greedy.”

After discovering the wonders of the spiritual spring, Ji Xiu had fallen in love with eating river delicacies. Every two days he went to the river to catch small fish and shrimp to raise at home. Yesterday, he had even brought back two jin of crayfish.

From the moment Ji Jingyu started cooking the crayfish, Ji Xiu had been guarding the stove, waiting for them to be done.

Ji Jingyu felt she understood his thoughts perfectly.

Ji Xiu said shamelessly, “That’s because Jingyu’s cooking is too delicious. Truly a marvel of the mortal world.”

Ji Jingyu blushed, both proud and embarrassed. She explained softly, “It’s not all my credit. We don’t have many seasonings at home—without rice, even the cleverest cook can’t cook. The reason it tastes so good is still because these river delicacies were kept in spiritual spring water. Their flesh is much more delicious than ordinary ones.”

Take crayfish for example. When they were first caught, they were small and dirty from living in the river, making them unappetizing.

But after being raised for a day, they not only grew a size larger, but also underwent amazing changes—their bellies turned clean white, the meat became delicate, the roe abundant and clean, some even carrying eggs, giving them a unique flavor.

If she had had such premium ingredients when she ran restaurants in her previous life, her expansion speed could have increased tenfold.

But Ji Jingyu took it lightly.

Nothing was more important than Dad. As long as Dad was alive, whether or not she had restaurants did not matter. Even living on coarse food together made her happy.

Thinking of something, Ji Jingyu asked, “By the way, Dad, are we out of money now?”

Ji Xiu said, “There’s still about two thousand yuan.”

“Two thousand doesn’t seem enough. How about we raise some crayfish to sell, earn a bit first, then continue planting vegetables?”

Ji Xiu thought for a moment, then looked at her with appreciation. “That’s a good idea. We can raise them on Jingfeng Mountain. No one knows whether Jingfeng River originally had crayfish anyway—we can say whatever we want. And crayfish reproduce quickly. Even if we sell in large quantities, it won’t be strange.”

They acted immediately. The next day, Ji Xiu went to town to buy a large piece of wire mesh, set it up at the downstream end of Jingfeng River, fixed it with stones and wooden stakes, and then began planting aquatic grass in the river.

By the second day, thanks to the spiritual spring, the grass quickly took root and spread.

After that, Ji Xiu poured ten jin of crayfish into the river and also set up an automatic dripping device at the very upstream end.

It was an extremely simple handmade device, whose sole function was to drip spiritual spring water at a rate of one drop per minute.

But the moment it was activated, the fish and shrimp already in Jingfeng River went mad, surging upstream frantically, trying to compete for the minute traces of spiritual spring in the water.

Even the small fish and shrimp downstream desperately tried to squeeze through the wire mesh to get up there.

Watching the swarm of river creatures, Ji Xiu thought he had miscalculated.

If he had known, he would not have needed to throw in ten jin of crayfish—there were already some here.

Still, his work was not in vain.

Because those ten jin of crayfish had been raised at home in spiritual spring water for a day beforehand, many were egg-bearing females. After being released into the river, in less than three days, the clear riverbed of Jingfeng River was almost covered with crayfish.

This batch of crayfish grew at an astonishing rate.

If not for the aquatic plants also absorbing spiritual spring water and growing extremely fast, they would not have withstood the consumption and would have been eaten clean by the crayfish long ago.

Ji Xiu felt this would not do—they needed to start harvesting quickly.

Just as the Ji family’s rice fields were almost done being harvested, Ji Xiu’s elder brother finally had free time. Ji Xiu planned to ask him for help with the catch.

He caught five jin of crayfish, planning to use them as a gift when visiting.

He had been running up the mountain frequently these days because of the crayfish and rarely came down. When he finally did, he saw someone sneaking around and peering into his house.

“Who are you?” Ji Xiu stepped forward warily.

The man turned around, revealing a fairly memorable face—a middle-aged man in his thirties.

“Are you Ji Xiu?”

Ji Xiu sized him up and nodded. “I am. What do you want?”

The man showed a trace of guilt and took out the document bag tucked under his arm. “I’m Tian Chunfang’s first love. I heard you divorced. I feel very sorry. This is compensation for you.”

The bag was bulging. Through the zipper gap, Ji Xiu could see large-denomination bills—at least over a hundred thousand.

“What does this mean?” Ji Xiu smiled faintly. “You’re giving me money? You think stealing my wife wronged me?”

The man nodded awkwardly.

Ji Xiu said calmly, “That’s unnecessary. One man’s honey is another man’s poison. The person you like isn’t someone everyone likes. In fact, I should thank your appearance—it set me free.”

Though he looked down on a male third party, he could not deny that life after divorce was quite comfortable. He had no intention of arguing with this man.

The man froze, then showed a satisfied look. “I knew it. No normal person would like her.”

Three question marks popped up in Ji Xiu’s head.

What did that mean?

The man pulled a mocking smile. “I’m not a masochist. How could I be hung up on a woman who abandoned me over ten years ago? Hatred always lasts longer than love.”

Ji Xiu understood—this man had not returned to find a lady of the house, but to take revenge on Tian Chunfang for abandoning him.

Ji Xiu’s expression became subtle.

Still, this was none of his business. These were their grudges and entanglements.

Ji Xiu had no interest in intervening. He nodded, ignored the man, and called Ji Jingyu’s name over the fence.

Ji Jingyu quickly ran out. After glancing at the unfamiliar middle-aged man, she asked Ji Xiu who he was.

Ji Xiu did not answer. He shook the crayfish in his hand, signaling her to go eat at Big Brother Ji’s place together.

Ji Jingyu paused, her expression somewhat uninterested.

Her uncle lived together with the two elders of the Ji family, who favored sons over daughters and often ignored her. Visiting Uncle’s house was always boring.

Seeing this, Ji Xiu said that if she did not want to go, she could stay home and do homework, and he would bring food back.

Ji Jingyu thought for a moment. “Forget it. I’ll go. I haven’t seen my cousins in a long time.”

Father and daughter tacitly ignored the middle-aged man and walked toward Big Brother Ji’s house.

The man remained where he was, watching their backs fade into the distance. He looked down at the money in his briefcase and let out a self-mocking laugh.

If he had not deceived Tian Chunfang into divorcing, she might really have lived a happy life.

This man had solid character, and his daughter was sensible and beautiful. If Tian Chunfang had settled down and lived honestly with them, she would certainly have enjoyed great fortune in the future.

Unfortunately, he—the one seeking revenge—had arrived.

…

Ji Xiu and Ji Jingyu carried the crayfish to Big Brother Ji’s house.

Big Brother Ji was named Ji Qin, two years older than Ji Xiu. He had married early. His eldest son, Ji Dawen, was nineteen; his younger son, Ji Xiaowu, was sixteen—both older than Ji Jingyu.

Because the family had no daughters, the two brothers doted on Ji Jingyu.

But their grandparents were old-fashioned, so they did not dare to visit Ji Jingyu often. They could only look out for her at school.

In the past two years, both brothers had gone to the city for high school and were busy with studies, leaving even less time to see Ji Jingyu. Their bond had gradually faded.

Seeing Ji Jingyu arrive, both were very happy and coaxed her inside to watch TV and eat fruit.

Ji Jingyu’s lips curved upward in helpless amusement. She was no longer a little child.

Still, she happily followed her two cousins inside, enjoying a brief spell of princess treatment.

After handing the crayfish to his sister-in-law, Ji Xiu came out and, not seeing Ji Jingyu, did not mind. He talked with his brother Ji Qin in the yard about needing help.

Ji Qin nodded. “That’s easy. Just tell me the time and I’ll come.”

“Tomorrow night. During the day I’ll run around to find buyers, see which hotel is willing to purchase. We’ll transport them the morning after.”

Ji Qin agreed. The two brothers chatted about other topics.

“I heard Chunfang ran back to her parents’ place?”

Ji Xiu smiled. “We divorced.”

“What?!” Ji Qin jumped in shock, his voice loud enough to draw the old man over.

“What are you shouting about? Can’t people have some peace?” the old man scolded.

Ji Qin stood up. “Dad, my brother and Chunfang divorced.”

Old Master Ji froze for a moment, then quickly returned to normal, looking as if it were nothing serious. “Divorced? So be it. It should’ve happened long ago.”

He waved his hand and strolled off to continue his walk.

Ji Qin stared in disbelief. “Why is Dad so calm?”

Ji Xiu joked, “It means the old man sees more clearly than you do. Big Brother, you still need more cultivation.”

Ji Qin glanced at him and sighed, his eyes clearly filled with sympathy.

Ji Xiu felt both amused and helpless.

His life was going quite well—what was there to sympathize with?

While they talked, dinner was soon ready, and everyone sat down.

The five jin of crayfish Ji Xiu had given his sister-in-law were cooked with seasonings and vegetables into a huge basin placed at the center of the table.

When Ji Qin’s two sons came out and saw it, their eyes lit up.

Young people loved crayfish. In summer, paired with cold beer or drinks, it was the ultimate night snack.

But in the countryside, crayfish were not considered respectable food. They lived in ditches and mud, always dirty. There were even rumors that crayfish grew by eating garbage and were poisonous, causing villagers to reject the dish.

The Ji family normally never cooked it. Today they did only because Ji Xiu had brought it—it was a matter of face.

Poor brothers—outside, they only watched classmates eat it. Back home, even though the village river was full of crayfish, they had barely tasted it.

Now seeing it, they could not hide their excitement. Their faces bloomed with joy as they hurried to sit down and wait to eat.

“Eat,” Old Master Ji announced.

Ji Dawen quickly picked up a crayfish and put it in his bowl. He was momentarily surprised by its size, then snapped back and began peeling it with both hands.

Because it was fresh, the shell came off easily, the meat and roe connected together, filling half his palm.

He dipped it in some sauce and put it into his mouth.

“Mmm!!! This is so good! No wonder everyone loves it!”

His eyes shone as he reached for another.

Ji Xiaowu followed suit, his eyes lighting up as well. He immediately launched an assault on the big basin in the middle. The two brothers competed fiercely, completely forgetting to take care of their little cousin.

Ji Qin’s wife frowned. “Eat less.”

She would not say in front of Ji Xiu that crayfish were dirty or ate garbage, but she still disliked seeing her sons eat them.

Ji Dawen, eating happily, paused. After hesitating, he took the time to peel a whole piece of crayfish meat and put it into her bowl.

“Mom, try it. This is really good.”

Ji Qin’s wife’s expression nearly collapsed.

What kind of cursed son was this, sabotaging his own mother like this?

Seeing Ji Xiu look over, her cheek twitched. She forced a dry laugh, helplessly picked up the crayfish meat, and took a bite.

“……”

Her eyes suddenly widened, disbelief written all over her face.

So… this was what crayfish tasted like?

It was way too delicious!!!!

Rich roe, tender meat, combined with the spicy, salty sauce—once it entered her mouth, it was impossible to stop.

Without waiting for Ji Dawen to persuade her again, she finished the piece in a few bites and reached her chopsticks toward the big basin.

Ji Qin froze, hesitantly looking at his wife.

What was going on?

Hadn’t she, like him, never eaten crayfish before?

Ji Qin was a farmer. Though he had agreed to help Ji Xiu, he personally looked down on crayfish. He thought they were mostly shell and claws, with little meat, and carried a muddy smell—very unpleasant.

Under his influence, Ji Qin’s wife had also detested crayfish and had never tried them even once.

Now seeing her attitude change so drastically, he was genuinely confused.

Unfortunately, at this moment, Ji Qin’s wife had no attention to spare for him.

She grabbed another crayfish and clumsily began peeling it. After finally extracting the meat, she eagerly put it into her mouth, completely immersed in the irresistible charm of crayfish.