Traveling Through Those Years Of Farming (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 25

Baobao had been in this world for nearly sixteen years. Aside from that brief encounter when a wild boar came down the mountain when she was three, this was the first time she had observed Lin Rui at such close distance.

Today the army was on break, and Baobao was taking the bus home. She happened to run into Lin Rui, who was also returning home on leave. At the time, only the seat beside her was empty. 

Lin Rui paused for a moment after boarding, then sat beside her.

“Long time no see.”

The greeting was a bit stiff and awkward. In truth, Lin Rui herself didn’t know what she could talk about with Baobao.

In their past life, they were a hostile pair of sisters-in-law. In this life, the two of them were merely strangers from the same hometown.

“Mm. I heard you’re interning at the government nursery. That’s pretty good.” Baobao responded lightly.

“It is pretty good.” Lin Rui smiled. “Your brother is married now, right? How are he and your sister-in-law getting along?”

She herself couldn’t really say what she was feeling when she asked that question.

Because of school and her internship, she rarely returned home. And since Mother Lin knew her daughter disliked hearing her gossip about the Zhen family, whenever Lin Rui was home, she would speak little about them.

Lin Rui genuinely wanted to know whether Zhen Baoli and his new wife were getting along after being married for half a year. But so many things had changed in this life—like the troublesome old Widow Zhen remarrying, like the frail Baobao getting a respectable job and earning enough to support herself…

All that woman would need to face now was Xu Panhao alone. As long as she could accept that her husband listened to his mother more, she should be doing fine.

“Of course they’re good. School’s on break now, so my sister-in-law is helping at my brother’s shop. She’s also learning to make carved pieces, and the things she makes—my brother treasures them and hides them away.”

Baobao’s eyes flashed, and she suddenly became more talkative.

“Other than my sister-in-law, I really can’t find a second girl who matches my brother. Do you know how infuriating my brother is? Have him pass along a message and he can make the living die and the dead come back to life from sheer frustration. Only my sister-in-law can run his words through her head and roughly reconstruct what he originally meant.” Baobao joked lightly, recounting a few times her brother had delivered messages in catastrophically destructive fashion.

Ever since she had that dream, she strongly suspected that in the previous life, the deep estrangement between the so-called female lead Lin Rui and her in-laws had much to do with Baoli’s brilliant “message-relaying skills.”

For example, the final straw that broke Lin Rui—the message about Mother Hao refusing to help take care of the child.

Back then, this was what Zhen Baoli had told Lin Rui: “You gave birth to your daughter, so you raise her yourself. I need to take care of the daughter I gave birth to.”

Given what Baobao knew about her brother’s brain circuits and about Mother Hao, she believed the original words had been nothing like that.

By then, relations between Lin Rui and Xu Panhao as mother- and daughter-in-law had already grown tense. And regarding the child’s upbringing, conflicts were even easier to arise.

Xu Panhao had thought the best way to keep the peace was to reduce contact—she wouldn’t interfere with Lin Rui’s parenting, giving her full autonomy, and she focused all her energy on caring for her own frail daughter so that she wouldn’t fall ill and become a source of conflict Lin Rui resented.

But the way Baoli relayed the message made Xu Panhao’s attitude look cold and heartless, completely obscuring her reasons for not wanting to overstep in childcare.

When it came to handling mother-in-law and sister-in-law issues, Baoli clearly had big problems.

But was Lin Rui entirely without fault?

Husband and wife were supposed to be the closest of relationships. After nearly two years of sharing a bed, could she still not understand his personality?

Take Grandma and Mother Hao—they surely knew Baoli’s “re-processing ability” when relaying messages. If they truly hadn’t known, Grandma wouldn’t have accepted it so readily when Baobao pointed it out back then.

Their conflicts weren’t triggered by Baoli’s message-mangling; they simply had strong personalities and neither side was willing to give way. Baoli’s messages merely gave them more reason to hold their grudges.

Their marriage was based on a blind match—an inherently unstable foundation.

So when conflict arose, Lin Rui only felt her own grievances, never once considering trying to understand her husband or his family.

That marriage failed, and both sides bore responsibility.

“Otherwise why do you think I went to so much trouble to get a tape recorder for my brother when he got married? Just to keep him from tearing a peaceful household apart with that message-relaying of his.”Baobao joked, pretending not to notice the dazed look on Lin Rui’s face.

It wasn’t that she wanted to make friends with Lin Rui. But according to the story, the male lead Ou Shuqing would one day be a highly ranked, influential figure.

Even if she couldn’t win favor, she shouldn’t provoke him either.

Baobao only wanted to tell Lin Rui that the in-laws she resented might not be as unbearable as she imagined. She hoped Lin Rui could put down some of her biases so they could peacefully coexist.

After saying that, Baobao closed her eyes, pretending to rest.

Seeing this, Lin Rui could no longer ask further questions and could only sit with a stomach full of tangled thoughts, sinking into memories of her previous life.

Jiang Mingmiao was indeed a woman of persistence and tenacity. Unfortunately, these good qualities were never used in the right place.

After being assigned to the Women’s Mediation Association, she cried in her room for one night, then quickly accepted reality.

She didn’t even dare tell her uncle Jiang Chengshi the real reason she’d been inexplicably transferred—because she knew that once he found out it was orchestrated by Ou Shuqing, he would likely be disappointed in her abilities.

Right now, what she needed to do was gain Ou Shuqing’s favor before Jiang Chengshi figured it out.

So Ou Shuqing soon discovered that the female comrade “who lived by the sea” was haunting him like a ghost, appearing around him even more frequently. Somehow, she had even managed to ingratiate herself with his mother and earn her good opinion.

When he saw his mother increasingly expressing admiration for Jiang Mingmiao, Ou Shuqing knew he had to act to make Jiang Mingmiao disappear from his life once and for all.

He had someone investigate her, then found something amusing.

Before targeting him, the Jiang family had actually set their sights on the Huo family.

Anything done would leave traces. Wang Juan’s repeated visits to the Huo home with her daughter and niece had long attracted attention. Add to that the period when Jiang Mingmiao had worked hard to attend gatherings where Huo Jun was present—it was obvious what she had been aiming for.

But ever since Huo Jun was expelled from the military academy, the family shifted their target to him instead. 

Strictly speaking, he was taking the hit in place of Huo Jun.

He also discovered another thing: the Jiang family had a daughter who had broken away from the family. She had married the older brother of the girl Huo Jun liked. 

The Jiang family had been unhappy and seemed eager to find an opportunity to teach them a lesson—one that would inevitably implicate the family of Huo Jun’s beloved.

Ou Shuqing had the mind of a politician. Except when dealing with Lin Rui, his intelligence never dropped. 

Realizing the matter involved the Huo family, he immediately saw an opportunity—an opportunity to build a connection with them.

Military and government were separate but not truly separate. Often, the two forces were complementary.

His father, newly appointed as political commissar of the Western Huai military district, lacked deep seniority and could not compare to battle-hardened superiors like Huo Xiongying and Yu Nan.

Winning favor with the Huo family, even a shallow one, would be extremely beneficial.

So the next day, Ou Shuqing arrived at the Huo home and had a private conversation with Huo Jun.

Jiang Mingmiao knew nothing about any of this. Using what little “sweet and pure” reputation she had accumulated over the years, she finally secured an opportunity.

Ou Shuqing would be attending a birthday gathering hosted by a second-generation military brat. Someone she knew had also been invited and could bring her along.

The gathering was held in a private room of a Moscow-themed restaurant.

They arrived early, but the friend who brought her had an unexpected issue and had to leave before even entering, handing Jiang Mingmiao her gift and asking her to pass it on to the host.

Jiang Mingmiao found the private room her friend mentioned. 

At the moment, only Huo Jun was inside.

She hadn’t expected to see the man who had disappeared for half a year.

He had changed a great deal. His outfit was stylish, trendy—Jiang Mingmiao had never seen such fashionable clothing on a man. Even if she’d originally liked him for his family background, seeing him in his denim jacket and flared pants, she was instantly captivated by his appearance.

She had heard that Huo Jun had not fallen apart after being expelled. He had gone south to do business and even had connections with Hong Kong-style commerce. In just half a year, he had made quite a bit of money.

In those days, power was valued far above wealth—but Huo Jun’s parents had both power and influence, and he himself could make money. His slight disadvantage now seemed negligible.

After repeated frustrations with Ou Shuqing, Jiang Mingmiao thought again of Huo Jun.

“These past six months… have you been well? Do you know how distressed I was for you? But I had no right…” Jiang Mingmiao pinched her thigh, forcing her eyes to fill instantly with tears. “I often saw that girl in the compound. She’s been shining these six months. If I were her, I’d never have the heart to let you suffer outside on your own.”

She was skilled at sowing discord. For someone petty, her words would have easily planted a seed of resentment—he had left in anger, struggled for half a year, and yet his “girlfriend” had lived carefreely and proudly.

But unfortunately for her, she completely misunderstood the relationship between Huo Jun and Baobao.

First, they had never formally confirmed a relationship.

Second, even if they had been in a relationship, Huo Jun would never let the woman he liked suffer alongside him.

Her attempts were doomed.

Sitting on the sofa, Huo Jun only glanced at her, then stood up and left the room.

His reaction made Jiang Mingmiao’s heart pound. She didn’t know whether her words had worked. After half a year apart, this might be the perfect time to step between them.

But as she was overthinking, Ou Shuqing entered the room.

“Why are you the only one here?” He frowned, clearly displeased to be alone with her.

“Wait!” Seeing him prepare to leave, Jiang Mingmiao rushed to block him. Compared to the uncertain future of Huo Jun, who was trying to make it in the south, the man in front of her was her true target. “I never wanted to hurt Lin Rui. But feelings aren’t something you can control. I simply like you—is that wrong?”

Jiang Mingmiao’s voice trembled. She appeared pitiful, weak. “Should I not bother you? Have I caused you trouble…? It’s just—I didn’t expect I would one day fall for a man who already has someone… I’m the latecomer in this story…”

She was far more direct now than she had been before.

“How many people have you said those words to?” Ou Shuqing lifted a brow, then walked to the other side of the room and opened the closed partition door.

In the adjoining room—just one wall away—a group of listeners sat watching, expressions varied. Among them was the very “tool person” she had once gotten drunk to manipulate at a gathering.

Jiang Mingmiao’s face immediately went paper-white.

If she had said such words to only one man, people might call her foolish, falling for someone unavailable. But just recently she had whispered similar ambiguous lines to Huo Jun, and among those watching were several men she had kept as “backups.”

In front of so many witnesses, the mask she had painstakingly crafted over the years was ripped away completely.

Her mind buzzed—she knew her reputation was finished.

Ou Shuqing didn’t think he was being excessive at all. Having ambition was fine. Wanting a better life was fine. But when she sought her own gain by trampling morality and hurting other innocent girls, she should have been prepared for retaliation.

They didn’t need any prompting from Ou Shuqing or Huo Jun. The men she had kept on the hook were furious.

Men could imagine just as much as women. Seeing how she had two faces for Ou Shuqing and Huo Jun, they naturally substituted themselves in her past behavior. Even if she had only acted coy to gain favor, that was enough to fuel their imaginations.

To them, it looked like she had once flirted with them too, but found them unworthy, so she had dangled bait to keep them hanging. When a better target appeared, she tossed them aside mercilessly.

That was raising dogs—pamper them when you felt like it, kick them away when you didn’t.

Most young men in the compound were considered the pride of their era. None could swallow this humiliation.

Before the next day, every detail of Jiang Mingmiao’s actions had spread through the entire compound.

Her constant networking was now seen as Jiang Chengshi’s tool for climbing up the political ladder—she was the “social butterfly,” and Jiang Chengshi the “pimping uncle.”

For a politician, such a reputation was ruinous.

Jiang Mingtíng, however, benefitted. Outsiders had never known why she broke ties with her family. Her parents had claimed she had a bad temperament and was jealous of her orphaned cousin. Many had believed it then.

But now, hearing the Jiang family’s scandals, everyone suddenly understood. She wasn’t of bad character at all—she had simply refused to be complicit. It was a sign of integrity.

Jiang Chengshi soon faced political review. His path of promotion indeed had dubious elements. He was demoted.

Their reputation was so terrible that he eventually requested reassignment and was sent to a poor rural township as deputy secretary—a dramatic fall from his former position.

Jiang Mingmiao couldn’t keep her job either. At the Mediation Association, the elderly retirees found a new target in her, tormenting her daily.

No longer the precious niece and daughter, she became a powerless young woman with no backing.

Eventually, she fled—she went south as well.

There were many nouveau riche men there. Rumor said she became someone’s fourth mistress for a while and was doted on, but in the outside world, beautiful women were many, and even more were genuinely gentle, genuinely kind, genuinely charming… and also many like her, who could act sweet and pitiful to win favor.

Even among such women, Jiang Mingmiao had no real advantage and was soon replaced by “number five” and “number six.”

Only after the Jiang family left did Baobao learn what Huo Jun and the male lead had done.

“That brat is vicious.” Huo Jun sneered. “I do things out in the open. If he hadn’t begged me to help him, I wouldn’t have bothered with that woman.”

Hands shoved into his flared pant pockets, he lifted his shoulders slightly—a pose he had imitated from Hong Kong movie stars, supposedly very handsome and popular with girls.

That line was meant for Baobao. He worried the girl might be too soft-hearted and think they had gone too far.

Huo Jun’s thinking was the same as Ou Shuqing’s: the Jiang family deserved everything they got.

Baobao was thoughtful. 

The male lead’s actions weren’t far from how the story described him—he never allowed the female lead any chance to misunderstand him.

“The meteorological station says it might snow the day after tomorrow.” Huo Jun subtly leaned closer, closing the distance between them. “Want to watch the snow together?”

Who said there would be no snow this winter? Even Heaven was giving him an opportunity.

“Snow?” Baobao looked at him, and again her eyes were stabbed by his fashion sense. “Change into something warmer, or you’ll catch a cold.”

Huo Jun scoffed. As if he would catch cold that easily. And listening to a girl and adding layers? How would he maintain his dignity then?

“…Okay.” He rubbed his nose. It definitely had nothing to do with listening to his future girlfriend.

He had completely forgotten how half a year ago he had mocked Zhen Baoli for being henpecked. 

Truly, human nature was “really fragrant.”

N years later

Ou Shuqing and Huo Jun became friends after that incident. Whenever Huo Jun returned from the south, the two would meet.

After marrying Lin Rui, Ou Shuqing had boy-girl twins. 

It should have been a blessing, but as the children grew, troubles grew as well.

Lin Rui’s daughter-in-law was a spoiled princess. Lin Rui disliked such a fragile daughter-in-law, but her son adored her and insisted on marrying her. 

Now mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were constantly fighting.

Her son always took his wife’s side, infuriating Lin Rui, who swore he had forgotten his mother after getting married. She constantly called her daughter home to lecture her son and daughter-in-law. 

The daughter loved her mother, so fights between sister-in-law and sister-in-law broke out as well. The once inseparable twins now harbored resentment toward each other.

With constant turmoil at home, even Ou Shuqing’s work was affected.

Baobao was surprised when her husband mentioned this. In the story, it had only been written that the twins were adorable as children. She didn’t expect so many conflicts afterward.

Lin Rui had once hated her husband for not caring enough about her, and her mother- and sister-in-law for meddling too much. Yet after becoming a mother-in-law herself, she had become the very thing she once despised.

Perhaps she didn’t hate her mother-in-law or sister-in-law—she only hated that other people’s priorities weren’t centered on her.

Baobao simply smiled.

It was an amusing cycle. If Lin Rui never figured it out, her old age would likely be filled with endless strife.

As for Baobao, she naturally had her own happiness.

She had succeeded her mother-in-law Yu Nan and became the commander of the Western Huai Military Region’s Women’s Special Forces Unit. She was a decorated soldier—twice awarded First-Class Merit, five times Second-Class Merit, and eleven times Third-Class Merit.

Once, during pursuit of foreign spies, intelligence had been wrong. They misjudged the enemy’s numbers and weapons. That mission cost four outstanding soldiers their lives and injured seven badly enough to retire.

At the moment their unit was nearly wiped out, Baobao had remained fearless, using her strength and precision to eliminate several key enemies and recover military secrets that were moments from leaking.

She had taken a bullet to the chest in the process, nearly losing her life. It was Huo Jun and her family who stayed at her bedside day and night, recounting memories, calling her back.

That was when she earned her First-Class Merit, and also when she confirmed her relationship with Huo Jun.

In China, countless heroes like her walked quietly through the world, never thinking of spreading their deeds.

It wasn’t until decades later, when social media had become popular and her granddaughter proudly posted photos of half a wall covered in medals, that the public learned of this female general who had never appeared in their textbooks.

Her photos sparked a wave of remembrance for heroes. People began uploading pictures of medals left by their elders—heroes who had fought invaders, rescued flood victims, battled crime…

By then, Baobao was already elderly. Seeing the nation cherish and honor its heroes, she smiled in relief.

In this life, all her loved ones had beautiful endings.

Grandma and Grandpa Niu passed away one after another, according to their shared wish—they were buried beside their first spouses. For them, companionship in old age had been happiness enough.

Mother Hao remained single all her life, but she lived surrounded by the children she loved most, and later in life, by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Zhen Baoli and Sister-in-law Mingtíng never once quarreled—they lived sweetly for a lifetime.

And as for Baobao—She, too, was happy.