Ch 9: The Scumbag’s Daily Wife-Doting Life [QT]

“Xie Li, get up quick, there’s something exciting happening!”

“What excitement?”

Ever since reaching an agreement with the Li family to get engaged first and marry later, Xie Li had become even busier.

Aside from occasionally going to work with the production team, he also had to avoid outsiders while entering the space to farm. Every day he was constantly on the move, planting vegetables, harvesting vegetables, planting vegetables, harvesting vegetables… like a squirrel obsessed with hoarding supplies, working desperately so he could marry a wife.

He only slept three or four hours a day. If not for the spiritual spring supporting his body, he definitely would not have been able to endure it.

Hearing Hu Dezheng’s words, he froze briefly before climbing out of bed.

“Wild boars came down the mountain again! The village is organizing a hunt right now. We’re going too!”

Hu Dezheng’s eyes sparkled with excitement. After calling for Xie Li, he rushed around waking the other educated youths before impatiently running into the courtyard to search for suitable weapons.

Xie Li frowned, still confused. He casually grabbed a stick from the courtyard and followed Hu Dezheng outside.

“They don’t really need our help chasing away wild boars, do they? The villagers can handle it themselves.”

The other educated youths had also heard the news and hurried out carrying tools and sticks. Hearing Xie Li’s question, one of them laughed.

“Xie Li, you don’t know? If the wild boar damaging the crops gets killed, everyone who helped gets a share of the meat.”

“Exactly! Last time the boar ran too fast and we missed it, otherwise the whole village could’ve shared pork. I haven’t eaten meat in forever. There’s no way I’m missing this chance!”

The group buzzed excitedly, clearly motivated by thoughts of pork.

At first, Xie Li did not fully understand what they were getting so excited about. But once he heard “meat,” his eyes immediately lit up.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Since arriving in this world, he had only gone to the county thrice, both times in a hurry. After over ten days here, he still had not eaten pork even once.

Grabbing his stick tighter, he became the first to rush out the gate, urging everyone to follow. Hearing the commotion, the other team of educated youths also emerged from their rooms, and more than twenty people from the educated youth station headed toward the source of the excitement.

When they arrived, they saw a lone wild boar trapped beneath a large tree at the foot of the mountain, surrounded by villagers. It looked at least two or three hundred jin in weight.

Li Jianguo stood at the front gripping a homemade shotgun, directing everyone to surround the beast and prevent it from escaping.

The animal had dug up freshly planted sweet potatoes only days after sowing, causing huge losses for the village. If they could not at least get some meat from it, the villagers would suffer terribly.

Li Jianguo noticed the educated youths arriving and glanced toward them before shouting:

“Xie Li, stand farther back! Don’t come closer. This isn’t a piglet this time, don’t underestimate it!”

“Hahahahahaha!”

The entire crowd burst into laughter.

Over twenty days had passed since Xie Li’s earlier injury, and the fake bandages he used as camouflage had long been removed. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. If Li Jianguo had not brought it up, everyone might have forgotten the scene where Xie Li had been knocked into the hospital by a piglet during the last wild boar incident.

“That’s right, Xie Li, hurry and move away. Don’t get knocked flying again!”

The villagers delighted in teasing him.

Black lines practically formed across Xie Li’s forehead. He knew Li Jianguo was just venting his frustrations over the fact that Xie Li had stolen away his daughter, so he helplessly stepped farther back.

“How about here?”

“No, no, farther!”

Xie Li laughed despite himself, shook his head, and retreated another three steps until he stood beneath an old tree.

“How about now?”

“That’s good, that’s good.” Li Jianguo had mostly been joking and had not expected Xie Li to actually obey so seriously. Feeling amused, he waved his hand. “If the boar charges you, remember to climb the tree.”

Xie Li: “……”

But Li Jianguo’s moment of amusement made him relax slightly, and a flaw appeared in the encirclement.

With a sudden gust of wind, before anyone could react, the wild boar violently charged forward. It knocked over two villagers and actually broke through the defensive line.

And by pure coincidence, it charged straight toward Xie Li.

Instantly, everyone’s eyes locked onto him.

As for Xie Li himself, watching the boar thunder toward him, he suddenly felt as though time had slowed.

He could clearly see the boar’s coarse, hardened bristles, packed together with pine resin like thick armor…

There’s no way I can beat a wild boar.

The thought flashed through his mind.

In the next instant, Xie Li twisted sideways and narrowly dodged.

Man and beast brushed past one another, nearly colliding.

Even after recovering, Xie Li himself found it unbelievable. In that split second, he had not been confident he could avoid it at all. He had almost hidden inside the space.

Fortunately, he resisted the urge and managed to dodge in time.

As that thought crossed his mind, a loud crash rang out behind him.

Turning around, he saw the massive wild boar continue charging straight into the tree.

The horrifying impact sound alone made it obvious to everyone present what would have happened if that collision had landed on Xie Li instead.

At best… he would have been crippled for life.

Li Jianguo was right behind it, the second person there to recover from the shock. Seizing the opportunity while the boar was injured, he raised his shotgun without hesitation.

Bang!

Then he shouted anxiously:

“Move! An injured boar is even fiercer. Don’t let it bite anyone!”

The villagers fought wild boars every year to protect their crops and already had plenty of experience. Without even needing Li Jianguo’s command, they had already formed a human wall around the injured beast.

Hoes, shovels, carrying poles, clubs…

Everyone rushed forward together and beat the wounded boar to death in a chaotic flurry of blows.

The dead wild boar lay sprawled on the ground, tusks jutting outward. Black and massive, it radiated savage dominance even in death.

Li Jianguo did not care about any of that. Brimming with pride, he waved his hand grandly.

“Well done! Boil water, butcher the pig! Everyone gets a share of the meat!”

Instantly, Xie Li forgot all the tension from moments ago and began eyeing the boar meat greedily.

…

Although they had not contributed much, the educated youths still received shares of meat after the boar was butchered. Those who had worked harder received more, while those who barely helped received less.

The two villagers who had been knocked over by the boar suffered only superficial injuries and each received two jin of meat.

Altogether, Xie Li and the other educated youths received three jin.

Most of the credit for that apparently belonged to Xie Li. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Li Jianguo declared that if not for Xie Li serving so well as bait and luring the boar into smashing itself against the tree, the hunt would never have succeeded so easily.

The villagers burst into laughter once again, laughing so hard Xie Li nearly questioned his life choices and wondered if he had somehow become the village comedian.

Once everyone received their portion of pork, the crowd gradually dispersed.

But before leaving, Li Jianguo reluctantly said in front of everyone:

“Come to my house for dinner tonight.”

“???”

What? Things progressed this fast?

The villagers’ curious stares practically became tangible as they examined Xie Li from head to toe like some rare creature.

Having been stared at enough lately, Xie Li’s skin had thickened considerably. Calmly, he replied:

“I’ll remember that.”

“And one more thing. You received a package. Come pick it up from my office later.”

After saying that, Li Jianguo carried the shotgun in one hand and five jin of pork in the other as he turned to leave.

Xie Li’s heart jumped with joy. He immediately chased after him.

“Father-in-law, wait a second! I’m free anyway, so I’ll go get the package now.”

If nothing unexpected had happened, the package should have come from the original host’s parents.

Their lives had been even harsher than the original host’s. They had been sent to Beidahuang near Changbai Mountain, where the labor was exhausting, the food terrible, and the living conditions miserable. Because of that, they had never been able to support their son much.

A while earlier, when Xie Li decided to grow medicinal herbs, he thought of them and sent a letter.

Inside the letter, he tucked two ten-yuan bills between double layers of paper so they could improve their living conditions. Sending more money would have been too conspicuous. Twenty yuan happened to equal the original host’s total savings, making it seem reasonable.

Besides the money, Xie Li also wrote about Li Tiantian.

In the letter, he used every beautiful phrase imaginable to praise her, making it absolutely clear that he intended to marry no one else in this lifetime, and asking his parents for their approval.

In the previous life, the original host had never told his parents about Li Tiantian at all. Until the day they died, they never learned of the terrible thing their son had done. But in this life, Xie Li had written honestly to them, and he suspected they would agree.

At the end of the letter, he also asked them to send him some ginseng seeds.

The parents of the other educated youths all worked in cities, but the original host’s parents had been exiled instead. Because of this, they felt especially guilty toward their son. Somehow, through unknown connections, they managed to send the package within just over ten days.

Xie Li picked up the package and opened it on the way back.

As expected, it contained ginseng seeds.

The Xie parents had no idea why their son wanted them, but in Beidahuang, ginseng seeds were relatively easy to obtain. People there had already begun experimenting with cultivating ginseng successfully, so it was easier for them to acquire than many other things.

They had generously sent fifty seeds at once.

Not only that, they also enclosed instructions on how to grow ginseng.

These methods had only recently begun spreading in the north and were far more practical than Xie Li’s own guesses. Unfortunately, because he possessed the space, he did not need to worry about temperature or humidity at all, making much of their painstaking effort unnecessary.

Beneath that was another letter. Judging by the handwriting, it was from the original host’s mother.

The letter roughly said she approved of his marriage plans and encouraged him to pursue the girl sincerely. If he truly succeeded in winning her heart, then he should treat her well.

“Mother knows my son has always been proud. If you have truly fallen for a girl, then she must surely be exceptional. Since that is the case, why not devote yourself wholeheartedly?”

At the bottom were two small words:

Good luck!

Xie Li smiled warmly after reading it and realized he had genuinely begun liking this pair of parents.

Even while enduring terrible hardship, they remained optimistic. They never dumped negativity onto their son and never interfered with his marriage decisions. Even in modern times, parents this open-minded were rare.

He truly hoped time would pass faster so he could meet them in person.

Returning to the educated youth station, Xie Li found an opportunity to enter the space and planted the ginseng seeds.

Six-year-old ginseng had the best value. Older roots gradually became woody and slowed their growth dramatically, meaning this batch would need roughly seven months inside the space.

But when speaking to Li Jianguo earlier, Xie Li had boasted he could build a future within three months…

To speed things up, he carefully watered every single ginseng seed with a scoop of spiritual spring water, hoping they would mature quickly and earn him the money needed to marry Li Tiantian sooner.

…

Growing ginseng took time, so Xie Li did not rush it. Instead, he began preparing the engagement arrangements.

First, he needed someone to formally visit the Li family on his behalf.

According to Xiaoxipo customs, the matchmaker did not necessarily need to be an official go-between. Any married older woman would do, especially one with a harmonious family and both sons and daughters, since that was considered auspicious.

Xie Li gifted some dried fruits to Li Dasheng’s family and asked Li Dasheng’s mother to act as the engagement representative.

Besides that, he prepared the traditional four kinds of engagement sweets, along with two portions each of cigarettes and alcohol. He also made another trip to the county to sell vegetables, finally gathering one hundred yuan as the formal engagement gift money.

When they visited the Li family to discuss the engagement, Wang Cuihua looked surprised upon seeing the red envelope but firmly refused to accept it.

“This is only an engagement. We can’t accept something this valuable.”

“Auntie, I heard that in Xiaoxipo, the larger the engagement gift and bride price, the more it shows the man values the woman. I don’t yet have my own house, so I can’t properly marry Tiantian yet. But I still want you to understand my sincerity. I truly love her.”

Wang Cuihua looked at Xie Li with a complicated expression.

At first, she had only agreed to the engagement because she was angry with Li Jianguo. But now, seeing the sincerity in the young man’s eyes, she suddenly realized she might have made the best decision of her life.

Her daughter would not regret following him.

“You speak very well,” she said with a smile. “But… you still need to build your house. Keep the money for now. Once your house is finished and you’ve married Tiantian, then you can come honor me as your mother-in-law.”

After thinking for a moment, Xie Li accepted the envelope back.

“Thank you, Mother-in-law.”

If the one hundred yuan returned to him, so be it. Once he officially became their son-in-law, there would be endless opportunities to honor them properly later.

At the moment, he had no visible source of income except the package he had recently received. Wang Cuihua likely assumed the money came entirely from his parents and worried he had spent all of it on the engagement gift, leaving himself with nothing to survive on and indirectly burdening Li Tiantian later.

He really needed to establish a legitimate visible income source soon so he could openly spend money without suspicion.

And just like that, the engagement was settled.

Watching Xie Li and the older woman leave the Li family home together, the entire village quickly learned that he and Li Tiantian were now officially engaged.

Most people secretly shook their heads with pity for Li Tiantian.

Not a single one of them believed this relationship would end well.

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