Farm Tough Girl
Chapter 369 - 369 370 Unworldly_1

Chapter 369: Chapter 370 Unworldly_1 Chapter 369: Chapter 370 Unworldly_1 “Really, he got his reputation all back? That’s just too incredible, I was still feeling sorry for him, saying he’d spent his whole life reading books for nothing. Who would’ve thought, he could stir up such a fuss!”

“You must not have seen him when he came back just now, clearly looking ragged and chased out of the village before. But this time he returned with several carts full of goods to visit his relatives, riding in a luxurious carriage, even attended by servants. It’s like a salted fish turning over!”

These whispering discussions were ongoing along the way, showing just how much of a stir Qiao Yuanzhen’s return had caused in the village.

Muniang had been awake for some time, listening groggily and couldn’t help but furrowing her delicate brows.

Yu Ze noticed her stirring, “Woken up by the noise? You can sleep more when we get back.”

Muniang shook her head, “I’m fully rested. What’s the deal with this Qiao Yuanzhen, did he suddenly run into a stroke of **** luck or something?”

A smile tugged at the corners of Yu Ze’s lips, laced with a hint of disdain, “They say he’s made something of himself outside and has come back specifically to visit relatives.”

Muniang snorted, “Him, visiting relatives? Don’t think I don’t know how much he’s ignored the Qiao parents. Even if he really did strike it rich, I doubt he’s thinking of giving them a single penny. The way he’s swaggering back into town, I bet it’s mostly to show off his newfound wealth and that he’s retrieved his scholar’s reputation.”

“You’re really not dim-witted,” Yu Ze pinched her face, “The more one lacks something, the more they like to flaunt it. Let’s just sit back and enjoy the show.”

Yu Ze couldn’t care less about Qiao Yuanzhen, he even felt it would dirty his hands to deal with him. The best strategy was to utterly ignore him.

And sure enough, Muniang was right. Qiao Yuanzhen’s triumphant return to the village, ostensibly to visit relatives but actually parading several carts of belongings, was really to show everyone in the village that the man they had despised and driven out was now living a far better life than all those bumpkins!

Qiao Yuanzhen stood at the doorway, watching the villagers’ discussions and the envious glances, and his sense of accomplishment grew exponentially.

The Qiao parents were overjoyed, eyes fixed on the treasures being moved into their house, their mouths hardly closing. Just days before, when they went to town to visit Yuanzhen and found he had disappeared once again, they searched frantically for days with no result. Just as they were about to give up, their son came back on his own to visit, and with such fine goods in tow, how could they not be ecstatic?

“Yuanzhen, what have you been doing out there? You’re so successful now, your mother is so proud,” Madam Zhao said, beaming.

Qiao Yuanzhen’s expression darkened, remembering Mrs. Luo’s disgusting face, and he said irritably, “Would you understand what I’ve done?”

Madam Zhao quickly replied, “I don’t understand, I’m just a village woman, of course not as learned as a scholar like you, eh? But now, look at you, with your reputation and your wealth restored, life is sure to be much easier, and I certainly won’t ask another word!”

Qiao Yuanzhen just huffed, without even glancing at Madam Zhao.

But suddenly, he noticed a carriage slowly approaching from not far away. He recognized it at a glance as belonging to Qiao Muniang’s family. His hand, hidden in his sleeve, clenched tightly. He remembered all too well how Qiao Muniang had caused him to be driven out of the village, stripped of his reputation, and left to be defiled by a man like Mrs. Luo. Now that he had risen again, he would not miss the opportunity to put this woman in her place.

Qiao Yuanzhen made a gesture to one of the carriers who was unloading the carriage, and the lad immediately nodded in understanding.

The servant sneakily tore a small opening in a bag of rice on the cart, and as the horse carriage was passing by the entrance of the Qiao family’s home, he stumbled and fell, spilling the bag of rice all over the ground. Muniang’s carriage then rolled right over the spillage.

The servant immediately stood up, arrogantly blocking Qiao Muniang’s carriage, and began to curse, “Who’s that blind fool? Can’t you see what treasures lie on the ground? This is top-quality Japonica rice, and you dare let the carriage wheels roll over it! Poor folks might not have seen the world, but that’s no excuse for being blind!”

There was a sense of accomplishment in the servant’s voice, as if the spilled Japonica rice was as precious as pearls.

Upon hearing that it was top-quality Japonica rice, the villagers were also secretly amazed. In their village, the number of households that could afford rice was few and far between. Even if they could eat rice, it was either old or broken rice; Japonica was such a rare delicacy that only the wealthy families in town could afford it.

Yu Ze really wanted to slap this reckless servant to death, but Muniang stopped him, “This is the village, in front of all the villagers.”

It couldn’t be so bloody.

“Well then, I’ll quietly deal with him when there’s no one around,” Yu Ze said nonchalantly.

Muniang tugged at the corner of her mouth. Ever since her husband’s wits had sharpened, he had become increasingly violent. However, she liked it~

Muniang and Yu Ze got out of the carriage, and although the servant wanted to continue his tirade, he was stunned into silence by Yu Ze’s imposing aura, his face rigid and his calves trembling.

Qiao Yuanzhen cursed under his breath, “Useless wretch.”

“Whose rice is this?” Muniang asked, feigning ignorance.

The servant then stiffened his neck and said, “It belongs to our young master.”

Muniang then glanced at Qiao Yuanzhen, her eyes devoid of the surprise and annoyance he had anticipated. Instead, she was unnervingly calm, “Oh, it’s yours, is it?”

Madam Zhao was furious watching such fine rice being ruined under Qiao Muniang’s carriage wheels and immediately rolled up her sleeves and stormed out, “Look at you, shameless thing, crushing my rice! Do you know what kind of rice this is? You, who have not seen the world, it’s top-quality Japonica rice, and yet you stand there so calmly for all to see. You probably haven’t eaten anything good before! Do you even realize how precious this is? Even noble households rarely get a few bags of it!”

Qiao Yuanzhen also lifted his chin proudly, as if mocking Muniang for her lack of worldliness. Such fine Japonica rice was so rare that even Mrs. Luo only had a few bags, and him having a bag was a sign of her recent favor.

What kind of rice he ate didn’t matter to him at all. What mattered was letting Qiao Muniang understand his current worth!

But to everyone’s surprise, Muniang looked genuinely shocked, “Is Japonica rice really so expensive?”

Madam Zhao snorted a few times, “As expected, you’ve never eaten anything good, not even knowing about Japonica rice. You always pretend to be a lady of high status, putting on airs for whom?”