Chapter 314: Chapter 314: The Husband Candidate
The next morning, Ji Huan, Widow Xie, and the siblings from the first branch were busy in the backyard when they suddenly heard someone banging on the front gate.
Ji Huan’s hands were full at the moment, so Ji Xuelan went to open it.
A moment later, they heard her shouting in a deliberately raised voice, "Wan, come quick! People from the old family homestead are here!"
Widow Xie was taken aback. "What are they here for?"
Ji Mingfang’s expression darkened. "Whatever it is, it can’t be good."
Ji Huan stood up, took off her apron, and set it aside. ’It’s only the day after Ji Liantang’s wedding,’ she thought. ’If they aren’t afraid of stirring up bad luck, what do I have to be afraid of?’
In the front yard, Dabao stood at the entrance to the main hall, his little face stern. Beside him sat Dahuang, watching their visitors like a tiger eyeing its prey.
Having suffered at the dog’s paws before, Ji Xiu’e stood outside the main gate with a sour look on her face, pretending she was too proud to enter.
Granny Kang knew her eldest daughter was afraid of the dog, but she wasn’t.
Ask anyone in the village—it had always been animals that were afraid of her, never the other way around.
Before coming, she had even grabbed a brick. If that vicious dog dared to bite, she’d kill it with one blow to the head and drag it home to stew.
When Ji Huan came over from the backyard, she found Granny Kang scolding Ji Xuelan.
"You damn girl, gotten pretty high and mighty, haven’t you! What’s all this about ’people from the old homestead’? You don’t even know how to call me ’Grandma’ anymore?"
Ever since learning the truth about how Ming Fang’s leg was crippled, Ji Xuelan had hated Granny Kang with every fiber of her being.
How could she bring herself to call the woman who had ruined her own brother "Grandma"?
She was nothing like Ji Liansong. He felt a debt to Granny Kang for raising him, so even if he harbored resentment, he couldn’t say much about it.
Ji Xuelan knew that in all those years with the Ji family, she’d never had enough to eat or warm clothes to wear; she’d lived worse than the pigs in the sty. Whatever debt she owed them, she had more than repaid it with her labor before she married.
So now, seeing Granny Kang again, her face remained completely blank.
Granny Kang, unable to tolerate such disrespect, pointed a finger at Ji Xuelan’s nose. But just as she was about to let loose a stream of curses, she spotted Ji Huan approaching.
She immediately redirected her fire, turning on Ji Huan with a furious scowl. "Have you no manners at all! Your elder comes all this way to see you, and it takes you half the day to show your face!"
Ji Huan glanced up at the sky. "I wonder what ill wind blew you in today, venerable elder."
Granny Kang felt that Ji Huan was insulting her, but she had no proof, and it left her seething with frustration.
"Stop being so damn sarcastic!"
Ji Huan feigned surprise. "I’m merely stating a fact. Back when I was lying in that dilapidated shack, without food or water, so sick I was about to die, I would call for you in my dreams every night, hoping you would come and see me just once. What, you never heard me? I called out like this, let me demonstrate."
Ji Huan put on a thin, reedy voice and cried "Grandma..." a few times. It sounded disturbingly like a vengeful spirit crying out for a soul to claim.
Then, she spread her hands. "A pity, though. From beginning to end, you never once appeared. And now you show up out of the blue on a day that’s not a festival or a holiday. If an ill wind didn’t blow you here, what other kind of wind could it be?"
Those cries of "Grandma" made goosebumps break out all over Granny Kang’s skin. For some reason, a persistent chill crept into her heart.
If before she had merely disliked Ji Huan, now what she felt was a mix of revulsion and dread.
’It was like after that wretched girl took a stroll through the gates of hell and back, she’d returned... strange. Unnatural.’
’The only thing that hadn’t changed was how utterly detestable she was!’
"You jinx, don’t think you can scare..."
Ji Huan raised a hand, cutting her off. "You’re the one who called me a jinx, so why are you brave enough to show up at my home? Don’t you know how much I usually hold back? If I didn’t, given my fondness for the old homestead, I’d be running over there every other day. But I’ve restrained myself, for your sake and Grandpa’s."
’What in the world was she talking about?’ Granny Kang was dumbfounded.
Ji Huan kindly offered an explanation.
"As everyone knows, I’ve been down on my luck recently, so I went to the street market and asked a fortune teller about it. He told me that this curse of mine has a quota. I only need to jinx two more people, and my ordeal will be over. He also said I don’t just jinx anyone—I specialize in jinxing my elder blood relatives. The closer I get to someone, the more I jinx them."
Granny Kang shuddered and instinctively took a step back.
It was useless, however. Ji Huan immediately closed the distance, getting so close she was practically plastered to Granny Kang’s side. Then, in a remarkably good-natured tone, she called out, "Grandma..."
"You always said I jinxed my parents to death, right? So, other than them, my closest living blood-kin elders would just be you and Grandpa, wouldn’t they...?"
THUMP! Granny Kang’s heel slammed against the threshold. She staggered backward, nearly falling right out the door.
Though she was standing right there, Ji Huan didn’t lift a finger to help. She simply watched, a wide smile spreading across her face.
If Ji Xiu’e hadn’t been there to catch her from behind, Granny Kang would have taken a nasty fall.
The moment Granny Kang was steady on her feet, she grabbed Ji Xiu’e and tried to leave.
"See! I told you she was a jinx! The heartless little animal! Isn’t it enough that she’s ruined the Ji family? Now she wants to jinx me and your father to death! Let’s go! Let’s go now!"
Ji Xiu’e held Granny Kang back. "Mother, you’re forgetting why we came."
Granny Kang, terrified that every extra moment she stayed would cost her a year of her life, couldn’t care less about their "important business."
But Ji Xiu’e held on tight and refused to let her leave.
Ji Xiu’e turned her head back, her eyes locking onto Ji Huan with a chilling stare.
"Wuan, your grandmother is getting on in years. It’s not easy for her to travel this far. She only came because she’s worried about you. It’s one thing to be ungrateful, but must you scare her so?"
Ji Huan looked utterly confused. "How is that scaring her? Weren’t you the ones who started all this talk about me jinxing my family and livestock, about how I curse anyone I get close to?"
Ji Xiu’e was left speechless.
As the originator of the rumor, she knew exactly what was going on. She just never imagined Ji Huan would be so brazen as to use the "jinx" label to her own advantage and turn it back on them.
Not wanting to dwell on the subject, she cut straight to the chase. "We came today mainly to discuss your future. You’re not a young girl anymore..."
’Ji Huan mentally rolled her eyes.’
"I’ve already separated from the Ji family, so you two don’t need to trouble yourselves with whether or not I get married. If you’re really so bored you’re growing mold, maybe you should worry about Ji Xuechan and Ji Xuejuan instead."
’Listen to her! Just listen to her! So bored we’re growing mold? What kind of nonsense is that!’
Granny Kang was about to erupt with curses, but she didn’t dare step closer. Instead, she stood a good five paces away, hands on her hips, craning her neck to bellow.
"Separated or not, I am still your elder! If you dare to disobey, I’ll report you to the government office!"
Hearing her mother mention the government office, Ji Xiu’e quickly interjected. Her goal wasn’t to actually report Ji Huan and have the authorities assign her a husband.
"Your parents are no longer with us. We can stay out of your other affairs, but we can’t ignore something as important as your marriage. As a young woman on your own, it’s not proper for you to handle these matters yourself. It’s best if we arrange it for you."
’Looks like they’ve made up their minds and came prepared.’
"So you’re saying, Aunt, that you’ve already picked out a prospective husband for me?"
Ji Xiu’e nodded. "Rest assured, your aunt would never harm you. I guarantee you’ll be pleased with my choice."
Ji Huan had figured Ji Xiu’e wouldn’t be able to stay put, but she hadn’t expected her to act this fast—and to use her marriage as the point of attack, no less.
She smiled and adopted an air of eager attention. "Might I ask the name of my future husband?"
Ji Xiu’e didn’t try to be mysterious. "You’ve met him, actually. He was with your cousin last time when they came to take me home. He’s my husband’s younger brother’s son. His name is Huang Junping."
Ji Huan searched her memory. The name did sound vaguely familiar.
She’d stormed the old Ji family homestead to find Dabao, and Ji Xiu’e had thrown her off by dragging two young men into the confrontation.
One of them was Ji Xiu’e’s younger son, Huang Juncai. The man standing beside him must have been this Huang Junping.
She only recalled that he was a head taller than Huang Juncai and seemed pleasant enough, but she couldn’t remember his face at all.
She remembered Huang Juncai quite clearly, however.
Ji Xiu’e’s voice became gentle. "The boy is handsome, honest, and a hard worker who isn’t afraid of a little toil. If you two were to marry, with him helping you, you wouldn’t need to rely on outsiders for your business or other ventures."
’So that’s what this was all about. They were after her business.’
’The hot and spicy soup business was already sold. What made her so confident I’d start another one?’
’Or had word about the spice workshop already reached her?’
"Have you forgotten, Aunt? I’m registered as the female head of my own household. Even if I were to marry, by law, my husband would have to marry into my family."
"Actually, these days, people around here aren’t so strict about those things..."
Ji Xiu’e paused, faltering under Ji Huan’s mocking half-smile.
"However, if you can’t bear to let go of this household you’ve established, having him marry into it is also an option. I’ve already asked Junping, and he is willing."