Her husband always came home in the middle of the night, and when she pretended to be asleep, she discovered a shocking secret

Chapter 1: A Hellish Transmigration

"That old Chen family's wife really ought to be drowned in a pig cage, climbing into the Yu family's bed!"

"Exactly! She doesn't even look at what she looks like, would the Yu family take a fancy to her?"

"That old Chen family actually took her back, really..."

"Isn't it for the child? Sigh..."

In the wooden house of the old Chen family up on the mountain, a woman whose face was covered in pustules and whose body was bloated lay motionless on the bed.

A little boy of about four held a bowl of water, standing by the bed, feeding water to the woman on the bed.

The woman suddenly choked and started coughing, more and more violently, and finally opened her eyes, looking at the unfamiliar surroundings around her, her eyes full of confusion.

"Mother!" The little boy was overjoyed.

Xia Xiaomai coughed for a while before coming back to her senses. She looked over and found that a little bun was actually standing beside her, his face dusty and gray, so thin that there was barely any meat on his face, but his eyes were very bright.

"Who are you calling mother?" Xia Xiaomai turned her head with difficulty, looking around, and found that in this room, apart from the bun, there was only her. And with that one movement, she felt the fat on her neck catch and block her movement.

What was going on? Xia Xiaomai raised her hand to feel her neck, but what came into view was a dirty, fat hand. This had to be the hand of someone weighing at least 130 jin, right? Was this her? Was she dreaming?

Xia Xiaomai hurriedly pulled open the blanket. Her lower body was even more terrifying - obese, bloated, and she could even smell the stench coming off her own body.

Was this her? Xia Xiaomai was startled, and hurriedly scrambled up, wanting to get out of bed to find a mirror. Her legs went weak, and she sat back down on the bed.

By accident, her hand touched her own hair - a greasy clump, hard to the touch.

Good heavens, what was going on? Was this her hair?

Suddenly, her brain felt like it was about to explode, scenes flashing before her one after another.

She rolled around on the bed in pain as information rapidly poured into her mind. Only then did she understand that she had transmigrated. The original owner had married a hunter and even given birth to a little bun. When the son of Landlord Yu came home, she had actually climbed into the Yu family's bed, wanting to sleep with the Yu family's son, but ended up being thrown out. Walking back in a single layer of clothing in the dead of winter, she had lain in bed for two days and frozen to death.

What the hell? What kind of person was this original owner? How had she transmigrated into such a person?

Seeing his mother in such pain, the little bun's face was full of hesitation.

He wanted to see what was wrong with his mother, but was also afraid his mother would hit him.

In the end, he still couldn't hold back. He walked forward and timidly grabbed Xia Xiaomai's wrist, gently asking her, "Mother, are... are you having a headache?"

Xia Xiaomai was about to curse in her heart. This was just too hellish! How could there be such an awful original owner?

"How can this woman be so shameless?" Xia Xiaomai couldn't help but blurt out.

The little bun got scared and accidentally fell off the bed. With his short arms and legs, he scrambled up from the ground and hurriedly shrank into the corner.

What was wrong with his mother? Was she going to hit him?

Thinking of the scenes from before, the little bun was so frightened that he curled into a ball.

Only then did Xia Xiaomai see the little bun in the corner, looking only three or four years old, his hair a mess, his body all dirty. Most importantly, in such cold weather, he was actually wearing only a thin outer garment! He was now shivering.

She felt like slapping herself. Thinking of the abuse the original owner had inflicted on him, Xia Xiaomai felt a bit of heartache.

"Come to mother."

Xia Xiaomai tried hard to squeeze out what she thought was a kind smile, not knowing that with her face full of pustules and fat all squeezed together, it made her look even more terrifying.

The little bun hesitated a bit. His mother hadn't hit him, and was even telling him to come over... "I won't hit you, come here, or mother will get angry!"

Xia Xiaomai knew what the little bun was thinking, so she deliberately said this.

The little bun was afraid of Xia Xiaomai and slowly walked over. When he reached the bedside, Xia Xiaomai moved aside a bit, letting him climb onto the bed, and covered him with the blanket.

Xia Xiaomai accidentally touched the bun's hand and found it ice-cold.

This damn original owner, how could she have been so cruel to such a little bun?

Thinking of this, Xia Xiaomai wished she could gnash her teeth. If the original owner were here, she would bite her to death!

The little bun was stunned for a moment. His mother had actually let him lie on the bed with her. So warm...

Chapter 2: Wash, Wash, Scrub

As soon as the little bun sat down on the bed, his stomach rumbled, and he lowered his head in embarrassment.

That little look of his made Xia Xiaomai want to hug him and give him a big kiss.

But the little bun was also dirty all over, and Xia Xiaomai really didn't have the courage to do it. She also felt hungry herself, so she got up thinking of going to the kitchen to make lunch.

The whole room was filthy, and Xia Xiaomai didn't even want to touch anything, but for the sake of her stomach, she still opened the rice jar according to her memory. There was only a little bit of rice left at the bottom of the jar.

Xia Xiaomai really wanted to look up at the sky and sigh once more about how hellish this was! How could this family be so poor?

She was almost about to cry, but in the end she held back her sorrow, scraped out all the remaining rice, took it outside to the water vat by the door, and washed the rice with water.

It was the dead of winter now, and snowflakes were still drifting outside. Xia Xiaomai dragged her obese body along, finding it hard even to bend over.

She was very curious - how could the original owner have eaten like a pig in a family this poor?

Holding back her urge to complain, she scooped water and washed the pot inside and out several times before cleaning off the years of grime. Only then did she put the rice in the pot, adding quite a bit of water. This little bit of rice definitely wouldn't work for cooking rice, so she'd make porridge.

While Xia Xiaomai was struggling to light the fire under the stove with a flint, the little bun stood at the kitchen doorway, his big eyes fixed tightly on her.

"Come, Doggie, come here~" Xia Xiaomai said this name with great distaste. They all said that rural children had to be given ugly names to survive, but these were truly bad customs!

The little bun hesitated, then still walked over and squatted beside Xia Xiaomai.

Xia Xiaomai got the fire going, and under the stove it slowly grew warm. Only then did the little bun's lips regain some color - he had been shivering from the cold just before.

After finally cooking a pot of plain porridge, and after the two of them, one big and one small, had eaten their fill, Xia Xiaomai started heating water and gave the bun a hot bath, washing him until he was pink and tender. This was a genuinely adorable little bun! Xia Xiaomai couldn't resist her beastly urges and gave the little bun a big kiss.

The little bun shyly kept backing away, but in his heart he was very happy: his mother had kissed him.

"From now on, always stay this clean and tidy, so cute!" Xia Xiaomai said, helping the little bun dry off the water on his body, then carried him to the bed and wrapped him up tightly in the blanket.

"Just a bit thin, no meat on his body." Xia Xiaomai was somewhat dissatisfied.

But thinking that there was no rice left in the jar and dinner was still uncertain, her heart grew heavy again.

The fire on the stove never went out, constantly heating water. When Xia Xiaomai carried some hot water over wanting to wash her hair first, she was startled by her own reflection in the water.

"This ugly?!"

Xia Xiaomai almost poured the water out right there, but in the end she held back and looked carefully at her reflection in the water again. There wasn't a single good spot on her face - it was all acne, and some acne had more acne growing on top of them, some were even festering with pus. One look was enough to make you not want a second.

Besides the acne, there was even more fat on her face, having already squeezed all her facial features together - only narrow slits for eyes, and even her nose was almost indistinguishable.

"Is this even a woman? Good heavens, are you messing with me?"

Xia Xiaomai was still in grief and indignation, her body and head itching so much she wanted to roll on the ground.

She could only prepare a big wooden basin of water, soaking her hair in it. Before she even had time to scrub, the water in the basin had already turned black.

Xia Xiaomai's face darkened. She kept changing the water and scrubbing, and only by the fourth basin of water did she feel her hair was clean.

The bath that followed was even more incredible. She heated three big pots of water, poured them into a big wooden tub, and slowly scrubbed the blackened flesh on her body. Watching the water in the tub turn black, Xia Xiaomai could only dry herself off, put on an undergarment, and use great effort to move the tub of water outside.

That tub of water was too heavy, and Xia Xiaomai couldn't move it. The ground was slippery, and her foot slipped - she was about to fall flat on her face.

Great, she was already ugly, and now she'd land face-first!

Xia Xiaomai thought bitterly. For a long time she didn't feel any pain. Just as she was about to open her eyes, a mellow male voice sounded by her ear: "Are you not going to stand up?"

Chapter 3: A Fresh Flower Stuck in Cow Dung

Xia Xiaomai opened her eyes and found herself suspended in midair. She scrambled up using both hands and feet.

Looking up, she saw a handsome man standing in front of her! A hugely handsome man!

Descriptions like "sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes" were not an exaggeration when applied to him at all. His nose was also high and straight, and his build looked sturdy. This height had to be 1.9 meters, right? She wondered if he had muscles - she wanted to pinch them.

"Since you're awake, I'll be direct. I can't give you the life you want. If you want to leave, I won't stop you. Forget about Landlord Yu's family. You can look for other families."

The handsome man frowned, his eyes full of impatience, and his words were very blunt.

Xia Xiaomai was stunned. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't want to go to Landlord Yu's family to plead for you again!"

After the handsome man said this, he left without looking back. His retreating figure looked very dashing, and in his hand he still clutched a dead pheasant and a dead rabbit.

Xia Xiaomai's mind flashed, and she suddenly remembered - this seemed to be the original owner's husband! What was his name? Oh right, Liu Xingchen!

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a waste. Such a handsome man, actually wasted on such an original owner..."

Xia Xiaomai shook her head repeatedly, sighing for the handsome man. How could he have brought himself to kiss the original owner's face, and even have a child with her? He really was not picky at all!

Giving up such a handsome man and going to seduce some landlord's son - with this look, who would want her?

But this handsome man didn't seem to like his wife much. In this freezing weather, he wouldn't throw her out, would he? No, no, absolutely not. She couldn't let herself be thrown out, or she wouldn't even have a place to live. She had to talk nicely to the handsome man - they were husband and wife after all, he couldn't be so heartless.

Xia Xiaomai thought to herself, and in the end still mustered her strength to dump out the water in the tub. When she went back to the kitchen to scoop water, she found Liu Xingchen plucking the pheasant's feathers.

When Liu Xingchen saw her come in, he didn't even raise his eyelids, continuing with the work in his hands.

In Xia Xiaomai's memory, Liu Xingchen was a hunter. He usually hunted some game to bring back to eat, and occasionally took it to town to sell for grain. In such deep winter, he could still hunt wild rabbits and pheasants, which showed he was quite skilled.

"Liu Xingchen, I was wrong before, but after this time I've understood. Let's live well this winter." Xia Xiaomai squatted beside Liu Xingchen, watching his movements, and gave him a promise.

After all, it was freezing cold, and if she went out, she didn't even have any silver on her - she would definitely freeze to death. She didn't think she could transmigrate a second time. So she took the initiative to show goodwill. Besides, there was the adorable little bun here, and a handsome man like Liu Xingchen - easy on the eyes too.

As for the future, once she earned enough money, she could go out and look around, find a suitable place to settle down.

Liu Xingchen gave a "Mm," his hands not slowing down in the slightest.

Although he didn't like his wife, Doggie needed someone to look after him. He ran around outside every day and couldn't bring Doggie along, so he could only endure it.

Xia Xiaomai of course didn't know all this, but looking at the pheasant before her, her mind immediately thought of dish after delicious dish. Her stomach, which hadn't eaten its fill at noon, was now already rumbling. She moved her stout body and leaned a bit closer to Liu Xingchen.

"Are we eating chicken tonight?"

Liu Xingchen replied coldly: "I'll give the chicken to my parents. We'll keep the rabbit for ourselves."

Xia Xiaomai gave an "Oh," didn't say anything more, but got up, scooped up the hot water from the pot, and carried it away.

Liu Xingchen's hands paused. Watching her obese body move with difficulty, he felt somewhat puzzled.

In the past, whenever he gave even a little game to his parents, Xia Xiaomai would make a scene with him, arguing for days and nights on end. Why was she not saying much at all this time? As if she didn't care at all?

Chapter 4: You're Actually Eating Meat Here!

Just now, from when he came back until now, she hadn't cursed him for being poor like she used to. Why did she seem like a different person? Was it his imagination?

Over here, Xia Xiaomai had no idea what Liu Xingchen was thinking. She had only gotten halfway through her bath just now, and her body still wasn't cleaned up.

After pouring the water into the tub, she hurriedly stepped into the tub.

The weather was too cold. She searched the whole house and found that the original owner actually only had two thin outer garments! The little bun had only one set of clothes, which was why she had stuffed him into the blanket after washing him.

"In such cold weather, wearing so little, and he actually didn't freeze to death!"

Xia Xiaomai soaked in the hot water, scrubbing herself, and only then felt much warmer.

After she finished washing and put all her clothes back on, she immediately felt extremely cold.

When she went to the kitchen again, she found that Liu Xingchen was no longer there.

Xia Xiaomai didn't care. She took the rabbit left in the kitchen, skinned it, and started preparing it. The weather was too cold, so she used only hot water when cleaning the rabbit. The firewood in the stove never stopped, and Xia Xiaomai kept adding water to the pot.

After the rabbit was cleaned, she found a kitchen knife, chopped the rabbit into small pieces, threw them into the pot to blanch, removing all the blood.

She searched around the kitchen and found nothing except a few wilted sweet potatoes and a little bit of salt. She didn't even see any oil.

Xia Xiaomai had no choice but to put the sweet potatoes in the stove to roast, and the rabbit meat could only be cooked slowly over a low fire with salt added.

When Liu Xingchen entered the kitchen and saw that Xia Xiaomai was actually cooking, he was stunned.

"What are you doing?"

"Cooking." Xia Xiaomai answered casually, continuing to add a piece of firewood to the stove.

Liu Xingchen frowned again. What was this woman trying to do now?

"By the way, there's not a bit of grain left at home. Can we go buy some grain?" Xia Xiaomai looked up at Liu Xingchen, her voice a bit weak. After all, one who takes from others has a short hand, and one who eats from others has a short mouth... She could only tuck in her tail now, after all, she was eating and drinking off others... Just as she was thinking this, someone outside started shouting.

"Sister, why haven't you given the family any meat for so many days? The family is about to run out of food!"

A girl's voice came from outside the house. It didn't sound loud, but the voice was very piercing.

As soon as the voice finished, a girl entered the house.

Xia Xiaomai looked at the newcomer, a girl of fourteen or fifteen, quite pretty in the face, neatly dressed, with little braids in her hair, the very picture of a lovely young maiden. Xia Xiaomai searched her memory and found that this girl was the younger sister of this body, Xia Lianhua.

Lianhua hadn't expected Liu Xingchen to already be home. Her steps paused, but in the end she turned to look at Xia Xiaomai: "Didn't you say you'd bring us meat these past couple of days? How come you still haven't sent it over? Mother made me come ask you!"

Xia Xiaomai was stunned. The original owner had promised that?

By then Xia Lianhua had already caught the aroma of the rabbit in the pot. Her eyes lit up, and she ran over in a few strides, lifted the lid, and when she saw the rabbit meat inside, she couldn't help but swallow.

"Sis, you actually don't care about us and eat meat here by yourself! Mother raised you for nothing!"

As she spoke, Xia Lianhua reached out to grab the rabbit meat.

This sister of hers, ugly as she was, still brought shame to their family! And now she dared to eat meat behind their backs. She'd tell Mother when she got home and have Mother come deal with her!

Chapter 5: Don't Be in the Way Here.

Seeing that hand about to reach the rabbit meat, Xia Xiaomai immediately shouted:

"Stop!"

That shout really gave Xia Lianhua a fright. She quickly pulled her hand back, and even the pot lid in her other hand slipped--her hand trembled and it clattered to the ground.

Liu Xingchen, standing nearby, was also stunned--not frightened by the volume of Xia Xiaomai's voice, but shocked that she would yell at Xia Lianhua so loudly.

Usually when Xia Lianhua and the others came, Xia Xiaomai wished she could give them everything in the house. And now she was actually telling Xia Lianhua to stop?

Xia Xiaomai shifted her bulky body, hurried over to Xia Lianhua, and suddenly squatted down. Xia Lianhua was instantly bumped by Xia Xiaomai's rear end and pushed back a meter.

Xia Xiaomai picked up the pot lid from the ground and quickly put it back on the pot, then let out a sigh of relief.

She'd finally gotten some rabbit meat to eat, and it wasn't cooked yet--this was the crucial moment. She couldn't let the rabbit meat go to waste.

Xia Xiaomai was relaxed now, but behind her, Xia Lianhua was furious.

She raised her voice and shouted:

"Sis, what are you doing? I almost got pushed to the ground by you! Why did you put that lid back on the rabbit meat? Hurry up and pack it for me to take back for Mother to eat!"

As she spoke, she glared fiercely at Xia Xiaomai.

If it weren't for the meat, she wouldn't want to look at this sister of hers even once!

At this point, Liu Xingchen came back to his senses and quickly glanced at Xia Xiaomai. He really worried that Xia Xiaomai might now not even care whether Gouzi lived or died, and would give all this stuff to Xia Lianhua anyway.

Xia Xiaomai shifted her fat body and turned to look at Xia Lianhua.

"No way! We only have this little bit left at home. If you take it all, what will we eat? Gouzi is still starving!"

Liu Xingchen was instantly stunned.

Th-this, was this really coming out of Xia Xiaomai's mouth?

As for Xia Lianhua, she was truly shocked. Usually when she came to ask for something, wouldn't Xia Xiaomai hurriedly pack it up for her? Today she actually refused?

Her heart was by turns alarmed and angry.

"Sis, do you know what you're saying? Mother is starving right now--do you not even care whether Mother lives or dies?"

She refused to believe that this time Xia Xiaomai still wouldn't pack up the rabbit meat for her!

Just as Xia Lianhua was full of confidence, she heard Xia Xiaomai say:

"Lianhua, how can you curse our mother like that? I remember I just brought you quite a bit of meat a couple of days ago. No matter what, we have to let our family eat and drink our fill first, otherwise where will you get meat from in the future?"

Xia Xiaomai shut Xia Lianhua up with that one sentence. Xia Lianhua's eyes went wide with disbelief.

Was this still her sister--that fat, stupid, simple-minded, clumsy one?

"Sis, do you know what you're saying?"

Xia Xiaomai glanced at the rabbit meat in the pot, saw it was about to be done, and said:

"All right, hurry on back. Don't be in the way here."

As she spoke, Xia Xiaomai shifted her body over toward the stove fire.

Xia Lianhua had been thoroughly snubbed, and she was both angry and resentful.

Fine, Xia Xiaomai! Your wings have grown stiff, huh? She'd go home right now and tell Mother, and see how Mother would teach her a lesson then!

With that thought, she stamped her foot hard, turned, and headed out, not forgetting to glare fiercely at Liu Xingchen on the way.

At this moment Liu Xingchen was staring at Xia Xiaomai in shock--how would he have the time to look at Xia Lianhua?

He never would have imagined that Xia Xiaomai would actually protect this family and instead drive her own sister away. Thinking of the past, he truly found it hard to believe--was this person in front of him really Gouzi's mother?

By now the rabbit meat in the pot was stewed. Xia Xiaomai carried the rabbit meat over to Liu Xingchen and smiled:

"Here, hurry and take it inside to eat with Gouzi. Don't let it get cold."