NOVEL WEB Chapter 76
Chapter 76: The Scumbag Returns to the Village in Disgrace
The village primarily relied on farming for survival. Every day, the villagers worked in the fields, plowing the land, sowing seeds, and then eagerly watching for the first sprouts. After that, it was all about weeding and fertilizing, followed by anxiously waiting for the crops to flower and bear fruit.
By August, the harvest season began gradually. Now, in early September, the villagers spent every day in the fields, checking if the crops were ready. Most families harvested a little at a time to avoid waste, but if bad weather struck, they had to rush to gather everything.
After checking the crops and seeing that they were almost ready, Xu Zhizhi noticed there were no weeds in the fields. Realizing it was almost lunchtime, she and Xiao Jingheng led Xu Xiaowu back home.
On their way back, she saw a large group of villagers gathered under the big tree where they usually chatted. Curious, Xu Zhizhi pulled Xu Xiaowu and Xiao Jingheng closer to see what was going on.
As they approached, they saw a disheveled down-and-out man.
The man’s hair was a tangled mess, as if it hadn’t been cut in decades. His entire body was filthy, and he looked to be around thirty years old.
However, his face wasn’t dirty, and his features were clear—he wasn’t an ugly man.
He just looked exhausted and embarrassed.
Staggering toward the village, the man was initially surrounded by villagers, but they quickly made way for him and followed behind.
His thin frame shivered in the autumn wind, making him look even more pitiful.
“Zhizhi, are you back from the fields?” a middle-aged woman asked.
“Yes, we’ll start harvesting the soybeans tomorrow,” Xu Zhizhi replied with a smile.
Jin Zijun, hearing the gentle and clear voice, looked up and saw an extraordinarily handsome man and a stunningly beautiful woman holding the hand of a boy who looked like a porcelain doll.
Since when did their village have such a family? Were they new? When Aunt Ma called out “Zhizhi,” he had thought she was referring to the ugly Xu Zhizhi!
Such a good-looking family—they must be either wealthy or noble. Jin Zijun thought that since he had just returned to the village, befriending such a family would be a great opportunity.
“Excuse me, sir and madam, are you new to our village? I’m Jin Zijun, just returned from the imperial exams in Hengzhou…”
“You’re Jin Zijun? How did you end up like this?” Third Aunt Jin shrieked.
Aunt Ma took a closer look. “Jin Zijun, you look like a beggar!”
“Did you fail the exams?”
“Your mother has been talking nonstop about you, waiting for you to return as a provincial scholar so she can hold her head high!”
“Jin Zijun? The confident man from before? How did he become so down-and-out?”
“Are you really Jin Zijun?”
After failing the exams, Jin Zijun had been overwhelmed by despair. Then, Wang Shishi’s rejection had crushed him even further. That was when he realized:
There was no bottom to despair—only deeper levels of it!
With no money, he had begged his way back to the village, which was why he looked like this now.
Jin Zijun, seeing the villagers’ skeptical looks, felt deeply ashamed!
But he was desperate to make connections with wealthy people, which was why he had introduced himself…
“Third Aunt, it’s me, Zijun! How can you not recognize me?”
Third Aunt Jin retorted sharply, “Zijun, you’ve turned yourself into this mess, and now you’re blaming me? Ask anyone here—who would recognize you like this?”
“That’s right! Even if you failed the exams, you didn’t have to come back looking like a beggar!”
Xiao Jingheng understood now. This man, who looked even worse than he had during his own miserable days, was his little wife’s former fiancé.
Her ex-fiancé didn’t even recognize her? How interesting!
What made him even happier was the way Jin Zijun had addressed them: [“Brother and sister-in-law.”]
This clueless man—how could he have been worth his little wife chasing after him for years? Xiao Jingheng couldn’t believe it.
He glanced at Xu Zhizhi, but he didn’t see any signs of lingering affection. She just frowned slightly, lost in thought.
Xu Zhizhi was inwardly venting: [“Sister-in-law”? This pathetic man didn’t think Xu Xiaowu was her son, did he? She was only seventeen! How blind could he be?]
“Jin Zijun, did you just call me ‘sister-in-law’? You don’t think he’s my son, do you?” Xu Zhizhi pointed at Xu Xiaowu, her tone curious.
“Isn’t he your son?” Jin Zijun instinctively assumed they were a family of three, so he reflexively asked.
“…”
“…”
“Hahaha…”
The crowd fell silent for two minutes before erupting in laughter.
“Did Jin Zijun fail the exams and lose his mind?”
“Yeah! How could he not recognize Zhizhi?”
“Xu Xiaowu has grown a bit, so not recognizing him is understandable, but not recognizing Zhizhi?”
Jin Zijun, hearing the villagers gossip, felt his frustratio) rising again…
They were saying he had lost his mind? He was perfectly clear-headed, okay?
“What did you say?”
Xu Zhizhi finally remembered—Jin Zijun was the scumbag ex-fiancé from the original host’s memories.
When she had first arrived in this ancient world, she had been slapped by this very scumbag.
At that time, she had been dazed after arriving in this world and hadn’t even fully regained consciousness before being slapped!
[If her modern friends found out, they’d look down on her so much!]
[Hehe! Now that she’s established herself), she’s going to make this scumbag suffer! If she doesn’t, she’ll stop being a Xu!]
In her memories, the scumbag had been quite vain. How had he turned into such a sloppy beggar? He looked like he was in his thirties!
Xu Zhizhi could guess that the scumbag must have failed the exams.
In her opinion, the scumbag failing was a cause for celebration!
Xu Zhizhi’s smile grew even brighter, and her mood improved even more~
Served him right!
Jin Zijun finally realized that the stunningly beautiful woman standing before him was Xu Zhizhi.
He clenched his fists tightly, furious inside. Why did all the women who left him become so beautiful?
Xu Zhizhi, looking at the pathetic scumbag, decided to add insult to injury:
“Jin Zijun, failing the exams just shows that you’re not as skilled as others. Your learning ability is poor. Back then, you only passed the county-level exams because of my luck. Look how well I’ve been doing since I left you! You should study harder and try again in three years. There’s no need to come back looking like this! The villagers won’t ask you to repay the money they contributed.”
Jin Zijun, seeing Xu Zhizhi’s radiant smile and hearing her cutting words, felt his vision darken. He swayed, on the verge of collapsing…
Xu Zhizhi remained calm, not even batting an eyelid.
Just these few sentences were enough to make him suffer.
She thought to herself, if he died from anger, that would be even better. It would save her the trouble of slapping him twice.
Xu Zhizhi smiled at the crowd. “It’s getting late. I won’t keep chatting with everyone. I’m heading home for lunch.”
As the villagers watched Xu Zhizhi and her family walk away, they turned back to point and gossip about Jin Zijun.
The general consensus was: “Back then, Zhizhi gave her all to you and your mother. But once you passed the county-level exams, you turned into a heartless ingrate)…”
(End of Chapter)