Ch 2: The Scumbag’s Daily Wife-Doting Life [QT]

The place where the original host had been sent down was called Xiaoxipo, a large village with more than two hundred households. It was extremely far from town, and walking back took two full hours.

Earlier that morning, when Xie Li had gone to the clinic to get stitches, brigade leader Li Jianguo had used the brigade’s ox cart to send him there. Naturally, there was no such treatment for the return trip. The road was rough, there were no vehicles coming or going, and they could only rely on their own legs to walk back.

During the entire journey home, Li Tiantian refused to say another word to Xie Li. Whether she was trying to avoid suspicion or simply disliked him, she also kept her distance physically, staying as far from him as possible.

Xie Li felt helpless inside. See? Girls just didn’t like him.

Forget it. Winning over a girl was never something easy anyway. There was still plenty of time. He could take it slowly.

Right now, the most important thing was getting back to his residence and figuring out what exactly the “Bishui Space” in his mind was.

After parting ways with Li Tiantian at the village entrance, Xie Li watched her lively and pretty figure disappear before turning around and following the original host’s memories back to the educated youth dormitory.

The dormitory had been built at the foot of the mountain, far from the village itself. There were four large communal rooms housing more than twenty educated youths, plus two smaller buildings used for cooking and bathing.

It was around four in the afternoon. The production team had not yet finished work, so the dormitory was completely empty.

Cautiously inspecting the surroundings, Xie Li returned to his room and shut the door. Sensing the extra presence inside his mind, he had just been about to ask the system about the Bishui Space when, in the blink of an eye, he found himself in an unfamiliar world.

Two mu of black soil, several bamboo cottages, and a spring of spiritual water…

Xie Li wandered around in a daze, staring without blinking, nearly unable to recover his senses.

So the Bishui Space was a portable dimension. As expected, it really was an incredible treasure.

[The Bishui Space is also sold in the system store. Player may view the item description to understand its functions.] The system appeared and disappeared unpredictably, speaking only once before vanishing silent again.

Used to it by now, Xie Li paid no mind and opened the system store.

The items in the store were arranged from highest to lowest price. The Bishui Space occupied the very front row, classified as a small orange-tier premium item, with a terrifying price tag that made people despair at first glance.

If he relied on missions alone, who knew how many worlds he would have to pass through before earning that many points?

There was also a detailed description.

Anything planted in the black soil would thrive, with plant growth accelerated at a ten-to-one ratio.

Food stored in the bamboo cottages would never spoil. Whatever state it was placed in would remain unchanged when taken out.

The spiritual spring flowed endlessly and possessed effects such as cleansing the marrow and strengthening the body, restoring dying vitality, detoxifying poisons, and tempering the physique…

Xie Li was an artsy young man who disliked reading novels. This was his first time encountering something so fantastical, and he found it deeply unbelievable.

All he could say was that products from the system truly were miraculous.

Then again, if the system could revive the dead and send people across time and space, creating something like this was hardly strange. Xie Li quickly calmed down, exited the space, and decided to test whether its description had been exaggerated.

Finding some seeds, he returned to the space. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Following the farming knowledge buried in the original host’s memories, he divided the handful of seeds into rows and planted them carefully into the soil.

After planting, they needed watering, something called “root-setting water.”

The educated youth dormitory was nowhere near a water source. Normally, even drinking water required walking two li to fetch it from the village well, so none could be wasted.

Glancing around, Xie Li set his sights on the nearby spiritual spring. Scooping up a handful of water, he sprinkled it over the seeds. Soon he felt unsatisfied with that and actually exited the space to grab a gourd ladle for watering.

One ladleful could water half a row of seeds, so the task was quickly completed. Yet the level of the spiritual spring remained exactly the same, without even the slightest change.

After finishing everything, Xie Li left the space frowning slightly, feeling that the work was somewhat tiring. Still, he became even more excited about the space’s effects.

If it truly worked the way the description claimed, then he had really stumbled onto an enormous bargain.

Not to mention how valuable an independent space capable of year-round cultivation would be in this era of food and clothing shortages, before hybrid rice had even been developed, this space would be immensely useful in other worlds as well.

…

A little after six in the evening, the educated youth dormitory gradually became lively.

“Comrade Xie Li, you’re back from the clinic? Are you alright?”

The original host had possessed refined and gentle looks, the best appearance among all the educated youths, along with elegant manners in every gesture. He was extremely popular among the female educated youths. The moment the girls returned from work and saw him, they ignored their exhaustion and swarmed forward to ask after him.

Caught completely off guard, Xie Li struggled to maintain his composure as he soothed the adorable girls one by one.

“I’m fine. I’ll be able to return to work in a few days.”

“Your health isn’t good. You should rest more.”

“Exactly! Comrade Xie Li, rest a while longer. Missing a few days of work points won’t matter. Don’t exhaust your body.”

The original host’s health really had been poor. Thinking of this, Xie Li suddenly realized he had forgotten to test the spiritual spring’s effects. After a brief hesitation, he replied:

“Thanks for the reminder. I’ll see how I feel in a few days.”

If the spiritual spring truly worked, then the original host’s body could still be saved. He would not have to continue farm labor with such a weak and frail physique.

At that moment, Hu Dezheng, who had come to the countryside in the same batch as the original host, approached looking as though he had something to say. Xie Li immediately seized the chance to escape the siege of girls, dragging Hu Dezheng outside into the courtyard as an excuse to find some peace and quiet.

Hu Dezheng first gave him a mocking look, then suddenly straightened his face and slapped Xie Li hard on the shoulder.

“You were way too reckless, kid. Even if you like Captain Li’s daughter, you still need to cherish your own life. Next time you run into wild boars, stay far away. Don’t rush toward them again.”

Without changing expression, Xie Li calmly accepted the blame on behalf of the original host.

“It was my first time seeing wild boars. I got frightened. Next time I’ll definitely stay far away.”

“As long as you know that.” Hu Dezheng did not think much more of it and changed the subject. “But since you’re injured, are you planning to rest for a few days?”

After thinking for a moment, Xie Li replied:

“That’s right. I suddenly remembered I should tell the brigade leader about what happened today, and I also need to ask him for a few days off. Save me some food. I’ll head over before it gets completely dark.”

Hu Dezheng waved his hand.

“That makes sense. The brigade leader’s a pretty decent man, and you like his daughter too. Since you’re asking for leave, it’s better to personally go to their house and say it.”

Xie Li answered with an “Mm,” then started walking, one deep step and one shallow step, toward the village glowing with scattered lamplight.

…

“Tiantian, what are you doing? Leave the bowls there, I’ll wash them. Don’t touch them.”

“I didn’t go to work today, Mom. Just let me do it. You should rest properly.”

Before he even reached the Li family courtyard, Xie Li could already hear the voices coming from inside. Curling his lips into a smile, he thought to himself that the little girl was quite hardworking.

He knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Li Tiantian’s voice rang out. As she spoke, she walked over carrying bowls in her hands.

The moment she saw it was Xie Li, her face reddened slightly as she remembered the embarrassing events from earlier that day.

“Why did you come? Are you feeling unwell?”

“I won’t be able to work for the next few days, so I came to ask the brigade leader for leave.”

Li Tiantian immediately called out, “Dad, hurry over! Comrade Xie Li is looking for you!” Then she hurried back into the courtyard clutching the bowls.

Judging by her reaction, she probably did not want to see Xie Li again for the next few days.

Xie Li felt somewhat regretful. His gaze followed her until she disappeared around the corner before finally withdrawing it.

A moment later, brigade leader Li Jianguo came out.

He was in his forties, with dark skin and an imposing presence even without anger. He had likely just gotten off work. Mud from the fields stained his clothes, and he wore a pair of green Liberation shoes. The way he looked at Xie Li was guarded and hostile, exactly like every father-in-law staring at the man pursuing his daughter.

It seemed the original host’s pursuit of Li Tiantian had already become common knowledge.

Feeling guilty, Xie Li coughed lightly and explained why he had come.

“This is just a small matter. Be more careful next time. Don’t recklessly cause trouble and make things difficult for everyone,” Li Jianguo said sternly.

Xie Li nodded, behaving exceptionally humble and polite in front of his future father-in-law.

“I understand. Next time I definitely won’t delay everyone’s work again.”

“Good. You can head back now. I’ll approve five days of leave for you. Remember to return to work after that.”

After speaking, Li Jianguo noticed Xie Li still standing there silently and became displeased.

“Is there something else?”

“I…” Xie Li still wanted to see Li Tiantian. His eyes drifted toward the direction where she had disappeared. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Before he could finish speaking, he met Li Jianguo’s suddenly sharp stare. After a pause, he helplessly said, “Nothing else. Thank you, Brigade Leader. I’ll head back first.”

So he would not let him see Li Tiantian?

Unless Li Jianguo planned to guard her day and night, there would always be chances to catch the little girl alone.

Xie Li grumbled inwardly, then realized he sounded like some villain trying to abduct an innocent girl. The thought left him both helpless and amused.

…

After returning to the educated youth dormitory and eating some leftover food, Xie Li rinsed off and climbed into bed.

Although it was a communal sleeping platform, everyone maintained decent hygiene, so there was no unpleasant smell. He slept peacefully until broad daylight.

When he woke the next morning, all the sleeping spaces around him were empty.

The others had probably wanted him to sleep longer, so they had left without making any noise at all. Rubbing his temples, Xie Li realized that after being sick for over half a year, his alertness had declined quite a bit.

After casually eating something, he shut the door and entered the space.

Over the course of a single night, all the seeds planted in the space had sprouted and grown. The slower-growing ones only had a few tiny leaves, while the faster-growing ones were already as tall as an arm. Some had even bloomed with beautiful yellow flowers. After examining them for a while, Xie Li recognized them as pumpkin blossoms growing among lush green pumpkin vines. It truly looked like “a touch of yellow amidst endless green.”

Logically speaking, they should not have grown this quickly. Even with a tenfold growth rate, this speed was far too exaggerated.

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Xie Li turned to look at the spiritual spring.

Could it be because he had watered them with the spring water?

After pondering for a long time without reaching any conclusion, Xie Li decided to give up thinking about it.

Forget it. Today he was going to be a human test subject and see whether the spiritual spring’s effects were real.

After searching around outside the space for a long time and failing to find a cup, he remembered that everyone here drank water from bowls. Feeling slightly miserable, he took a large clean bowl, filled it with spiritual spring water, and gulped it down in one go.

It tasted a little sweet, but otherwise he felt nothing.

Frowning, Xie Li repeatedly reopened the system store to confirm the description of the Bishui Space, puzzled as to why there was no effect.

Very quickly, the effects arrived.

In less than half an hour, Xie Li ran to the toilet three times. By the time he came out, his face was pale and his legs weak, yet strangely enough, he felt healthier than ever before. It seemed as though endless strength was flowing through his muscles.

Of course, that was just an illusion.

He tried lifting a large stone in the courtyard and could barely raise one corner. It seemed his body had merely recovered to the level of a normal healthy person, perhaps slightly stronger than average. He was no longer as frail as the original host, though he certainly had not gained supernatural strength either.

Most likely, the spiritual spring had cured the original host’s malnutrition from the past two years and adjusted his body into its optimal condition.

Suddenly thinking of something, Xie Li removed the bandage from his forehead to take a look.

As expected, the small wound had nearly healed completely.

He was delighted. A spiritual spring with effects like this was already more than enough.

For the rest of the day, Xie Li remained inside the space studying everything there.

The spiritual spring had already proven effective, and the bamboo cottages matched their descriptions as well. What truly impressed him, however, was the black soil. No matter what he did to it, it never dried out, always maintaining a moist condition. Crops planted there required no watering and almost no effort to care for.

At one point, he noticed several plants had flowered and remembered the issue of pollination. He immediately went outside, caught several bees, and brought them into the space to raise there.

Aside from that, everything necessary already existed within the space. There was sunlight, air, and water, meaning it practically managed itself.

Finally reassured, Xie Li stopped worrying about the space and flashed back outside.

Since he did not need to work and his wound had healed well enough that there was no need to visit the county hospital, he wandered around the educated youth dormitory for a few laps with nothing to do. Eventually, he simply took inventory of all his possessions.

Including the clothes on his body, Xie Li owned three sets of clothing in total, half a packet of malt candy, a Hero-brand fountain pen, and a scattered collection of bills and coins amounting to twenty yuan, three mao, and six fen.

It sounded like a lot, but in reality, it was only about half a month’s wages for a city worker.

If not for the portable space, surviving on this little bit of money really would have been difficult for the original host. No wonder he had gone down the crooked path of trying to seduce Li Tiantian.

Xie Li frowned slightly, feeling a sense of urgency. He thought to himself that once the crops were harvested, he needed to find a way to sell them for money.

…

After learning about the spiritual spring’s effects, Xie Li stopped using it to accelerate growth and instead allowed the crops to grow naturally.

The spiritual spring was far too miraculous. The vegetables grown from it would definitely be extraordinary as well. He worried that if he used too much spring water, the produce might attract unwanted attention once sold.

Even so, the crops still grew extremely quickly without additional watering from the spring.

The first crop to mature was eggplant.

That morning, after waking up and eating breakfast, Xie Li watched several familiar educated youths head off to work in groups. He was thinking that since his body had already recovered and the vegetables in the space were not yet ripe, perhaps he should cancel his leave and return to work. It would also give him a chance to talk to Li Tiantian…

Still thinking about it, he entered the space and immediately noticed the situation inside.

More than ten half-human-height eggplant bushes were hanging heavily with long eggplants as large as an adult’s palm. The fruits were abundant, glossy purple, and upon rough counting, each plant held more than ten eggplants, with even more hidden beneath the leaves. Some of the lower-growing fruits nearly dragged against the ground. Purple blossoms still bloomed beside them, attracting groups of buzzing bees collecting nectar.

At first glance, it looked as though two rows of pale purple ocean waves had suddenly appeared in the space, dazzling to the eye and filling one’s heart with a powerful sense of harvest satisfaction.

They were actually ripe!!

Didn’t that mean he could earn his first bucket of gold today?!

Amid his shock, Xie Li thought thankfully: good thing I didn’t cancel my leave, or I never would have discovered this.

Patiently, he picked all the ripe eggplants one by one, arranged them neatly, tied them together with hemp rope, and temporarily stored them in the bamboo cottage inside the space. Then he carried another ten or so eggplants out of the space, stuffed them into a woven sack, and prepared to take them to town to see if he could sell them for money.

The town was two hours away on foot. Walking there was possible, but exhausting and unnecessary.

So Xie Li went into the village to borrow a bicycle.

According to the original host’s memories, only two families in the village owned bicycles. One belonged to brigade leader Li Jianguo’s family, and the other belonged to Li Dasheng’s family on the west side of the village.

At a time like this, he obviously could not go borrowing from his future father-in-law’s house.

Arriving at Li Dasheng’s home, Xie Li explained why he had come.

Li Dasheng immediately revealed a troubled expression. Clearly, he did not really want to lend the bicycle to Xie Li. Yet in the end, he still agreed, though he looked deeply worried and repeatedly reminded Xie Li to ride carefully and not scratch the bike. After checking the time, he hurriedly left for work, still looking uneasy.

Xie Li did not pay much attention to it. Thanking the young man who kept looking back every few steps, he headed off in the opposite direction.

Because there had once been an incident where educated youths from outside the village became so hungry they formed groups to steal corn from the production team, the villagers generally held poor opinions of educated youths. Under those circumstances, Xie Li felt that Li Dasheng being willing to lend him the bicycle at all was already quite generous.

Riding the bike, Xie Li set off down the road.

This was far faster than walking. He rode out from the Li family courtyard, skillfully avoiding loose stones on the path as he sped toward the village exit.

“Creak!”

As he passed the village entrance, Xie Li caught sight of a familiar slender figure. He immediately squeezed the brakes, planted one foot on the ground for balance, and called out loudly to Li Tiantian ahead:

“Comrade Li Tiantian, are you heading to work?”

Hearing his voice, Li Tiantian turned around with a bewildered look.

“Yes… I’m going to work. Where are you riding off to?”

“I’m heading to town to buy some things. Want me to bring you something back?” Xie Li asked with a gentle smile.

Blushing, Li Tiantian shook her head and stepped back.

“You should just go by yourself.”

Xie Li revealed a helpless expression.

“You don’t have to be so afraid of me, you know.”

Not wanting the girl to keep avoiding him like this, he explained:

“Actually, you don’t need to feel troubled. Liking you is my own business. All you need to do is watch my actions properly and give me a chance. If you feel I’m not good enough, just say the word and I’ll disappear from your sight and never bother you again. But if you think I’m acceptable…”

Pausing slightly, Xie Li looked at her with warm eyes.

“Then you can like me too.”

Li Tiantian: “……”

Never in her life had she seen someone so shameless.

Her eyes widened as she wanted to scold Xie Li for being utterly without shame. But seeing his handsome refined face, his smiling eyes, she suddenly found herself unable to say the words.

When Xie Li first arrived in Xiaoxipo two years ago, which village girl had not secretly experienced a flutter of springtime affection for him?

Wearing a pale blue shirt, tall and straight-backed, handsome and elegant, he possessed a grace that even many city people lacked. Appearing in Xiaoxipo Village, he was like a phoenix falling into a chicken coop, naturally attracting everyone’s attention.

Li Tiantian had been no exception. Filled with girlish crushes, she often gathered with others to secretly watch Xie Li from afar.

But later, she discovered that he looked down on the villagers. He stayed silent, gloomy-faced, always seeming to hide unknown thoughts that made people uneasy. Quietly, she buried those feelings away.

Now Xie Li had changed.

His eyes were bright, his manners upright and courteous. The fluttering emotions from two years ago seemed to return once more to the tip of her heart.

“Then… I’ll watch your behavior,” Li Tiantian replied. She had no idea what virtue or fortune she possessed that could make someone as outstanding as Xie Li fall for her, yet somehow she agreed in a daze.

Only after speaking did she come back to her senses. Covering her burning cheeks, she worried Xie Li might think her too unreserved and quickly added:

“If your behavior’s bad, I won’t go easy on you.”

“Alright. I’ll listen to you.”

Xie Li could not help laughing. Leaning over, he plucked a pale yellow wildflower from the roadside. Pushing down on the bicycle pedal, he rode close to Li Tiantian, tucked the little flower into her hair, then lightly patted her head before speeding away.

“I’m off. I’ll remember to bring you something tasty.”

The pleasant scent from the young man brushed past in an instant.

Li Tiantian froze. Reaching up to touch the small flower in her hair, she muttered softly in a spoiled tone:

“Who wants the food you bring back anyway…”

╰───♡───╯