Shen Xuan carefully fetched a bucket of clear water from the well, washed the dishes and chopsticks, and put them away.
It was late now, but fortunately, the Wang family always slept soundly, so the commotion on his side wouldn't wake them.
It was quite a coincidence, actually. Only three days had passed since he hit his head and transmigrated back.
If it had been a few days later, his body would still have been foolish and dim-witted. This man would likely have met a tragic end, left to die in the street.
Although he had transmigrated, Shen Xuan was actually the original owner of this body.
Simply put, Shen Xuan had returned to his hometown with his Nanny Wang at the age of eight, then fell into water and transmigrated to the modern world.
After growing up into a university student in the modern world, he suddenly transmigrated back from there.
Having returned to the Great Jin Dynasty, Shen Xuan absorbed the memories of this body from over the years.
Only then did he realize that after he became foolish, the Wang family's ill-treatment worsened. They even moved him to the storage room in the back yard.
Even though Shen Xuan was foolish, he could still manage himself and work. The Wang family treated him like an animal, making him do heavy chores every day.
Only after he finished everything would they give him some thin porridge and leftover food.
Shen Xuan was tormented like this for ten years. Although he was a "ger," he worked daily, exposed to wind and sun, making him dark and thin.
Even the birthmark on his forehead was very dull in color, almost invisible if not looked at closely.
It's important to know that the redder a Ger's birthmark on the forehead, the easier it was for them to conceive.
Shen Xuan, whose birthmark was barely visible, he appeared to be someone who would have difficulty bearing children.
That's why Xue Fenglin had misidentified him as a man at first glance earlier.
However, when Shen Xuan transmigrated to the modern world, there was no such gender as "ger."
He had lived as a man for more than twenty years in that world, so he didn't mind being mistaken for a man by Xue Fenglin.
The hot water Shen Xuan had saved earlier had been used up by Xue Fenglin. After briefly washing himself with cold water in a secluded spot, he returned to the room.
Xue Fenglin's discarded bloody clothes smelled strongly of blood. Shen Xuan wrapped the bloody clothes in straw, placed them in a corner, planning to bury them on the mountain tomorrow morning to avoid attracting wild animals.
By this time, only a few hours remained until dawn. Shen Xuan then noticed that Xue Fenglin was lying on the straw bed, his eyes shining brightly, still awake.
Shen Xuan thought he couldn't sleep due to his wounds and comforted him, "Bear with it a little longer. Tomorrow I'll go to the mountains to pick some medicinal herbs. Eating them will help with detoxification and fever, and also benefit your wounds."
"Thank you," Xue Fenglin said after a long silence. Besides thanking him, he didn't know what else to say.
"No need to be so polite," Shen Xuan smiled at his words and suddenly stepped forward.
Startled by the sudden close proximity, Xue Fenglin gulped nervously and asked, "What are you doing?"
"What's wrong?" Shen Xuan looked puzzled. Then he reached behind Xue Fenglin, pulled a few large handfuls of straw from the bed, spread them on the floor, and looked back at Xue Fenglin.
"Nothing..." Xue Fenglin said hoarsely, "I... I encountered robbers on the road, and I'm still a bit panicked."
"I see," Shen Xuan thought, 'Isn't this just a psychological trauma?'
In his memories, there had been no bandits in Yunshui Village for over ten years. This person was truly unlucky to have encountered them so coincidentally.
He sympathized with Xue Fenglin and comforted him, "Don't be afraid. Now that you're in the village, I'm sure those bandits wouldn't dare to come here."
Then he blew out the oil lamp, lay down on the pile of straw, and said, "Go to sleep. It's getting late."
Xue Fenglin looked at the small straw bed beneath him, then at Shen Xuan on the floor. He had taken the bed, so Shen Xuan had no choice but to sleep on the ground.
Thinking about how he had been wary of Shen Xuan just moments ago, Xue Fenglin suddenly felt extremely remorseful, thinking he was a terrible person.
Soon after, Shen Xuan, exhausted from the day's labor, fell into a deep sleep, emitting even breaths.
Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling onto the head of the bed. Although the light was dim, it was enough to clearly see Shen Xuan's face.
He had a high nose bridge and thin lips, with a long, sharp facial contour. Although his eyes were closed at the moment, they had been quite large when seen earlier.
In the moonlight, Shen Xuan's entire face looked very clean. If he were a man, he would be considered very handsome. But as a "ger," Shen Xuan truly didn't look like one, which was why Xue Fenglin had mistaken him for a man earlier.
Xue Fenglin's gaze slowly moved down from Shen Xuan's face, landing on his hands.
Shen Xuan's hands were quite large for a "ger," with long fingers and neatly trimmed nails. Each fingertip on his palm was covered with a thin callus, clearly indicating they were hands that frequently performed work.
Xue Fenglin's heart clenched, and for some reason, he suddenly felt a little uneasy.
Shen Xuan seemed to have lived a very hard life. Seeing his appearance, he wondered what kind of life he had lived before.
***
When Shen Xuan woke up again, he found that the blanket from the bed had been placed over him by the man.
He stood up, somewhat surprised, and then placed the blanket back over the man. The man had fallen asleep at some unknown time and was now sleeping soundly, likely not waking up anytime soon.
Seeing that the man was still severely swollen, Shen Xuan remembered that he needed to collect herbs for him today.
He hugged the bloody clothes he had wrapped the night before, took a hoe and put it in his back basket, and after securing the door latch, quietly slipped out through the back door.
It was still early morning, and many villagers had just woken up.
Shen Xuan didn't encounter anyone on his way up the mountain. He found a hidden spot to bury the bloody clothes, then went to dig for herbs that could reduce heat and detoxify.
There were many wild plants on the mountain, such as half-lotus and wild chrysanthemum, which had these effects. Villagers would also dig them up to boil and drink when they were injured or sick.
Shen Xuan dug whenever he saw them, and soon he had a pile. When he saw other people starting to appear on the mountain, he began to head down.
On his way, he met two neighbors carrying bamboo baskets: Ger Zhong and his younger sister.
Ger Zhong and his sister were on the mountain to dig for bamboo shoots. They looked a bit nervous when they saw Shen Xuan. After all, bamboo shoots sprouted overnight, and people came up to dig for them in the early morning. If they came too late, all the bamboo shoots would be gone.
"Shen ger, how many bamboo shoots have you dug?" Zhong Xiaomei, Ger Zhong's younger sister, asked while running over to rummage through Shen Xuan's back basket.
She opened the white cloth on the basket and saw that it was full of messy wild flowers and weeds, with not a single bamboo shoot.
Seeing this, Zhong Xiaomei covered her mouth and laughed, telling Ger Zhong, "Look at him, he's so foolish, he dug up a bunch of random junk."
Shen Xuan didn't say anything, just quietly covered the white cloth again. Ger Zhong then pulled Zhong Xiaomei's hand and said, "Don't bother with this fool, let's go dig for bamboo shoots quickly."
After they had gone far away, Shen Xuan quietly pulled out two plump wild yams he had hidden in his embrace, looked at them, and then hid them back. He had dug these on his way.
These villagers used to bully him because he was foolish, often snatching things from him.
Ever since Shen Xuan regained his senses, he always found ways to hide things elsewhere to prevent them from being stolen.
Shen Xuan quietly slipped back into the house through the back door. He first hid the yams he had brought in the straw pile, then washed the pile of wild herbs and put them in a broken pot to boil.
After finishing these tasks, he went to the main kitchen and found a corner to start chopping firewood.
After chopping for a while, people in the main Shen family courtyard began to wake up and move around. The Wang family's daughters-in-law successively went to the kitchen to start cooking.
Seeing Shen Xuan obediently chopping firewood in the corner, the Wang family's daughters-in-law yawned naturally and sat by, chatting and waiting.
"Why is Shen Xuan up so late today? The firewood isn't chopped yet," complained Lady Li, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Wang family.
"Who knows? This fellow has been getting up quite late these past few days. He's really getting lazier and lazier," Lady Luo, the second daughter-in-law of the Wang family, added.
After Shen Xuan regained consciousness, he would secretly take time each morning to do his own things. In their eyes, it just looked like Shen Xuan was getting up late and had learned to be lazy.
Shen Xuan didn't say anything. After he finished chopping the firewood, he lit the stove.
Only then did Lady Li and Lady Luo take out the rice and flour locked in the cabinet and begin preparing breakfast.
Once a pot of steamed buns was ready and a pot of mixed grain porridge was cooked, the aroma wafted from the kitchen.
The Wang family men and the matriarch, Nanny Wang, arrived tardily, accompanied by the unmarried Ger Wang Xiaolian.
If Xue Fenglin had been present at this moment, he would have immediately recognized the powdered and made-up Wang Xiaolian as the Ger he had mistakenly identified as Shen Xuan that day.
"Mother, I want to eat an egg," Wang Xiaolian said with some disdain, glancing at the white steamed buns and mixed grain porridge in the pot.
"We don't have many eggs left at home. You can eat them in a few days," Nanny Wang said, glaring at Wang Xiaolian. "You're so picky at home now; what will you do if you get married?"
"Tsk, then I'll marry a rich man and enjoy a comfortable life," Wang Xiaolian said, pouting.
Hearing his words, Lady Li and Lady Luo, who were standing by serving their husbands, rolled their eyes simultaneously.
In the Great Jin Dynasty, it was already difficult for Ger to marry. Which family with good conditions wouldn't want to marry a woman who could bear children easily?
Their brother-in-law, so greedy and lazy, had been kept at home until he was eighteen with no one wanting him. Yet, he still dreamed of marrying a rich man. He really ought to take a good look in the mirror.
Wang Xiaolian was used to being pampered at home and had no idea what his sisters-in-law were thinking.
He grabbed a steamed bun, plopped down, and glancing at Shen Xuan nearby, said, "What are you still standing around for? You're annoying to look at. Get out!"
Shen Xuan lowered his head and walked out, wishing he could be as far away from these Wang family members as possible.
He hadn't had time to eat breakfast today, but it didn't matter; he could make his own now.
Shen Xuan first went to the corner of the backyard, poured the brewed medicine into a bowl, then washed the two yams and buried them in the hot ash.
Carrying the bowl of medicine, Shen Xuan pushed open the door and found that the man he had saved last night was already awake.
"You're awake. Drink your medicine first," Shen Xuan said, placing the medicine bowl by the bed and adding a warning to be careful as it was hot.
The man was silent for a while, looked at Shen Xuan for a long time, and then asked, "Did they... did they bully you?"
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