But when she opened that small bag, she was so startled she almost threw it out.
"No wait, you’re just giving this to me like this?" She couldn’t understand what he was thinking. He actually handed all of these things over to her.
"Yes. You are my wife and the mother of my children. This was always meant for you. From now on, I’ll need you to manage the household," Gao Zhijun said as he took off his shoes and got onto the bed.
Although he couldn’t get too close to his wife, they weren’t far apart. Fortunately, the kang was large; otherwise, it really wouldn’t have been able to fit their family of four.
"Aren’t you afraid I’ll take the money and run?" Bai Jiu’s mouth twitched.
That’s right, Gao Zhijun had given her a large bag of money. Most of it consisted of ten-yuan notes, but there were also some smaller denominations and one-yuan bills. Even without counting, she knew there was at least five or six thousand yuan here. There were also some ration coupons. He just gave her something so precious? They hadn’t even gotten close enough for this step yet, had they?
At this moment, Bai Jiu gained a new understanding of his statement about not getting a divorce. It seemed he truly had no intention of divorcing her.
"You won’t." He believed in her character. "I should have given this to you a long time ago," he added. "But you know what the situation at home used to be like, so I never dared to."
That was right—he hadn’t dared. It wasn’t that he was afraid she would squander it or anything. He was just afraid she wouldn’t be able to protect these things. No one knew better than him what kind of people that family was made of.
"You seem to have very little affection for your family." Bai Jiu looked up at him. Even though the night was pitch-black, she could still make out his face clearly.
Hearing this, he fell silent in deep thought for a good while.
"There are some things I don’t want to talk about, but if it causes you to worry and keep your guard up against me, I can tell you," he said. He didn’t want her to stay defensive against him because of this.
Indeed. Through his observations over the past two days, he had noticed her wariness toward him. Even while sleeping on the same bed, her nerves remained taut. She would wake up immediately at his slightest movement. Having undergone rigorous training himself, how could he not recognize her reactions? This whole situation had probably truly left her terrified. It was his fault.
Bai Jiu was dying of curiosity, but she genuinely didn’t want to listen because she wasn’t ready to spend the rest of her life with him yet. Furthermore, all the goodness he was showing right now was meant for the original owner of this body. But the original owner was no longer here. She didn’t want to accept this kindness. Fine, she just felt a mental block; no woman wanted to use something that had belonged to someone else. Whether it was an object, or a man. In his heart, she was the original owner, but she wasn’t. She just couldn’t get over this hurdle.
Gao Zhijun was indeed a good catch. Over the past two days, judging by his looks and everything else, he scored a solid ninety out of a hundred for now. But so what? This was someone else’s man.
"If you don’t want to say it, then don’t," Bai Jiu said as she wrapped the small bag back up and handed it to him. "You’d better keep this yourself. I don’t have anywhere to store it." She certainly wasn’t going to expose the existence of her pocket dimension.
Gao Zhijun didn’t take it.
"Are you blaming me?" he asked instead.
Blaming him? The original owner probably didn’t blame him, did she? Bai Jiu felt reluctant to answer his question.
"It’s late. I’m going to sleep," she said, choosing to evade it.
After waiting an entire day without Gao Zhijun coming to confront him, Gao Xingfu’s anxious heart finally relaxed a little. Early that morning, he went to find Gao Xingzong. "Second Brother, being stuck in this state of suspense is agonizing. Do you think we should ask Zhijun how he found out about that matter?" He was worried; he was scared.
Gao Xingzong took a drag from his dry tobacco pipe, a displeased look on his face. "How are you going to ask?" They couldn’t speak of it. The moment they opened their mouths, everything would be ruined. "Here’s what we’ll do. We’ll..." The two brothers discussed for a while before parting ways.
Gao Zhijun had no idea someone was plotting against him. Of course, even if he knew, he wouldn’t be afraid. He was at home looking after the children and processing the wild game he had brought back yesterday when a few elderly men arrived at his door.
Walking at the very front was a hunchbacked man leaning on a walking stick. Without waiting for an invitation from the host, he pushed the door open and walked right in.
"Zhijun, it’s good that you’re home," the old man called out to Gao Zhijun, who was handling the game, as soon as he entered.
Seeing the arrivals, Gao Zhijun didn’t stop his hands. He merely told the two children to go inside the house. Their arrival was expected, yet also somewhat unexpected. These people—he suspected they all knew about what had happened back then.
"Yeah, I’m home." Gao Zhijun washed his hands, then looked at the men. "Do you need something?"
An elderly man next to the hunchback saw Gao Zhijun’s attitude and looked furious. "Is this how you were raised? Do you not even know how to greet your elders when you see them?"
Gao Zhijun glanced at them. "If you have business, say it. If not, don’t come around." He didn’t like a single member of the Gao family. If he hadn’t lacked the power back then, he would have sent all these people to hell long ago.
"You—how insolent!"
"It’s the New Blue Country now. There’s no such thing as being insolent. If you have business, speak up. If not, stop dropping by other people’s homes." When facing these people, Gao Zhijun’s tone carried obvious anger.
Meanwhile, Gao Xingfu and Gao Xingzong, who had followed the group, felt a chill run through their bodies. What else was there to not understand? He knew.
"You, you, you..." The man who had just spoken was nearly angered to death.
"Hmph, we came here to ask how you plan to deal with that woman," the hunchbacked old man said, stopping the other elder and asking directly. These men were considered elders of the Gao family, sharing common ancestry within the last five generations.
"Exactly. A woman who caused the deaths of her mother-in-law and brother-in-law is not fit to be a daughter-in-law of the Gao family."
"That’s right, Zhijun. That woman is too vicious. No matter how wrong your mother and the others were, she’s still the mother who gave birth to you and raised you, and he’s your blood brother. But look at what she did—sending them straight to face the firing squad! In the old days, she would have been beaten to death to pay with her own life."
The old men at the front grew more and more worked up as they spoke. But the two brothers standing behind them subconsciously took two steps back, because they saw the murderous intent in Gao Zhijun’s eyes.
Yes, genuine murderous intent.
"Heh. Gave birth to me? Raised me? Are you sure about that?" He originally hadn’t wanted to bring this matter up again. Bai Jiu sending those two to their deaths could be considered as bringing comfort to her spirit. He hadn’t expected this. Who gave them the nerve to come here?
"Have you forgotten how I nearly starved to death when I was five?
"Have you forgotten how they strung me up and beat me until I was half-dead?
"Have you forgotten how they tried to trade me for grain?
"Have you forgotten how they forced me to find a job for my eldest brother?
"Have you forgotten how they used my wife to force me to send money home every month, threatening to torment her if I didn’t?"
Every single incident, every single detail—he remembered them all perfectly clearly.
"Heh, it’s fine if you’ve forgotten." Gao Zhijun looked up at the two brothers, Gao Xingfu and Gao Xingzong, standing behind them. "You two couldn’t have forgotten, could you? After all, she died right in front of you."
As soon as these words were spoken, Gao Xingfu and Gao Xingzong slumped to the ground.
"When... when did you find out?" Gao Xingzong asked with great difficulty.
"I saw it with my own eyes when they tried to starve me to death back then. And I heard with my own ears how you used me to threaten her." Gao Zhijun’s eyes were bloodshot. If only... he would definitely have made them pay with their lives. But his current status didn’t allow him to. Yet, he wouldn’t let them off easily either.
That poor woman. Even though she was tormented by them until she was like a tattered rag, she still worried about him, terrified that they would hurt him. Why was the heavens so unfair, forcing her to endure so much torture from these beasts?
"You, you..."
Gao Xingfu peed his pants in terror.
"It had nothing to do with me! It was your father who agreed to do it!" Gao Xingfu was the first to break, opening his mouth to wail and cry out.
Gao Xingzong was much tougher. He immediately moved to cover his brother’s mouth.
The old men at the front merely frowned upon hearing this.
"It’s all in the past now. There’s no point in bringing it up again, Zhijun. Besides, aren’t you living perfectly well now? You’re more successful than anyone else in the village," the hunchbacked old man said shamelessly.