Chapter 4: The First Appearance of the Jinx

Chapter 4: The First Appearance of the Jinx

"Sorry... alright? Are you satisfied now?" Lin Dongzhi stubbornly raised her head.

Li Chunxing didn’t take it to heart, either. "Third Sister-in-law, there are still clothes..."

"I'll wash them," Sun Sipan chimed in.

Li Chunxing was satisfied.

She never intended to do these chores anyway.

It was even better that Third Sister-in-law took the initiative to share the burden.

Li Chunxing returned to the room, and Lin Nan immediately came up to her, "Mom, did you stick up for my sister?"

Seeing Lin Xixi absentmindedly eating the egg custard, Li Chunxing knew what was on Lin Xixi's mind. She smiled proudly, "Of course, who do you think your mom is? I don’t let anyone take advantage of me. The chores your grandma assigned to me, your aunt took the initiative to do. Your aunt is such a sweetheart."

"Mom, you're the best! Next time, I'll learn from you. I don't want to go gather firewood either!" Lin Nan praised.

"Your mom is smart, right? If you don't want to go, figure out a way to get out of it yourself. It’s up to you to figure out how to get out of it," Li Chunxing said, not ashamed but rather proud.

Lin Xixi was just speechless. Can’t this mother and son learn anything good? Did they think things weren't chaotic enough?

Wait—

Something didn’t feel right.

Lin Xixi racked her brains.

She thought and thought, when did the protagonist get reborn?

Oh no, it was because the book's overbearing aunt pushed the chores assigned to her onto the third branch.

When the protagonist was helping her mother wash clothes, she accidentally fell into the water. After being rescued, she found out she had been reborn.

At that time, Lin Dongzhi fell into the water and, after waking up, told the villagers that she was helping her lazy aunt wash clothes. There were too many clothes, and after working all day, she was too tired and accidentally slipped and fell.

This incident actually happened, and it wasn’t meant to smear the fourth branch. The laundry chores were assigned to Li Chunxing, who pushed them onto Sun Sipan. Lin Dongzhi was helping her mother wash clothes for Li Chunxing when she fell into the river. No matter how you look at it, the fourth branch is involved.

Most of Linjia Village shares the Lin surname, tracing back to the same ancestor. For a while, everyone turned on Li Chunxing and Lin Laosi.

Lin Laosi and Li Chunxing's already bad reputation worsened.

Lin Laosi also had a hand in it, never bothering to maintain good relationships. He always took advantage of everyone. When this incident came out, except for Lin Laotou and Lin Laotai, who were worried about their youngest son, everyone else just sat back and enjoyed the show.

Her mind raced. What should she do?

Should she just let the plot unfold?

Watch as Lin Laosi and Li Chunxing are treated like pariahs, and her older brothers are secretly badmouthed at school? They couldn't stand it and ended up beating someone, then got severely criticized by the teacher. This only made the two, who were already struggling to focus, even more distracted.

If her parents and brothers got into trouble, she wouldn't fare well either.

Besides, although her parents and brothers were extreme and had many small flaws, like being lazy and cunning, no one is perfect. With the family lens, she could accept these flaws. Moreover, they treated her very well, stood up for her, and were worthy of her, Lin Xixi.

Li Chunxing was more hands-off with her sons but took much better care of her delicate little daughter. Noticing her little daughter's dazed expression, she asked with concern, "What's wrong, Xixi?"

Lin Xixi's little brain turned and turned, "Auntie has so many clothes to wash. Why don't we help wash the clothes together? Xixi has grown up now and can help too. With Mom, me, and Auntie washing together, it will be much faster."

If it were the two mischievous boys at home saying this, Li Chunxing would definitely not be able to resist slapping them and scolding them for being foolish. Isn't it nice to have someone help with the work? Why would they be so eager to do it themselves?

When her little daughter said this, Li Chunxing just thought it was innocent and adorably naive. She ruffled her round little head and said softly, "Your third aunt is very quick at her work, and the clothes she washes are much cleaner than mine. If we go, we'll only get in her way."

Li Chunxing looked into her daughter's clear, innocent eyes and lied without a hint of guilt, feeling it necessary to teach her little girl a lesson. Otherwise, she might grow up not knowing how to take it easy, working hard without getting any recognition. She couldn't allow her daughter to be like that.

Lin Xixi knew that Li Chunxing's mindset wasn't something she could change with just a few words of her own.

Especially since her second brother, Lin Nan, was already giving her a look of utter disdain, as if he couldn't believe he had such a foolish sister.

Lin Xixi pretended not to notice. He just didn't understand!

The heavy burden of saving the entire family rested on her young shoulders. She was in agony!

"Mom, what if third aunt twists her ankle or takes a tumble on the way to wash the clothes? Everyone will know it's because you made her wash your clothes that she took a fall, and they'll all laugh at you."

Li Chunxing felt a sense of relief. No wonder people say daughters are their mothers' little comforters. She had thought her parenting had failed and her daughter had turned out wrong, but it seemed she was just worried her mom would be the butt of jokes.

Her voice grew even softer, "That's not going to happen. Your third aunt isn't some little kid. How could she possibly fall or twist her ankle? Don't worry, no one would dare laugh at your mom." Your mom isn't someone to mess with.

No sooner had Li Chunxing finished speaking than there was a loud 'bang' from outside.

"Ouch!"

Everyone who had been resting inside came out to see what had happened.

Li Chunxing, along with Lin Nan and Lin Xixi, came out as well.

"What's going on? Oh my, third sister-in-law, how did you take a tumble when everything was fine?" Zhao Xiuxiang, the second aunt, was extremely surprised and quickly went over to help her up. Her room was closest to the main gate, and Sun Sipan had fallen right in front of the gate, close by.

Zhao Xiuxiang had a loud voice, so Li Chunxing and the two children knew what had happened as soon as they approached.

The earlier noise must have been the sound of the wooden basin falling to the ground, with clothes scattered around.

Lin Dongzhi and her sister Lin Lidong picked up the dirty clothes together.

Sun Sipan was helped up by Zhao Xiuxiang. "Second sister-in-law, I don't know what happened. I was walking just fine, and suddenly my foot twisted and I fell." She was puzzled herself. She had been carrying the wooden basin carefully, paying attention to the ground, which was flat with no bumps or anything. It was strange.

"Third sister-in-law, move your foot a little to make sure you didn't hurt any bones," said Qin Qiaolian, the eldest aunt.

Old Mrs. Lin snorted, "What a delicate person. I don't know what she's good for. She can twist her ankle on flat ground. Go back to your room and rest. Don't delay tomorrow's harvest. There's a lot of work to be done."

Lin Dongzhi glanced cautiously at Old Mrs. Lin and mustered the courage to whisper, "Grandma, my mom's foot might be twisted. It would be better to have the village doctor take a look."

"What do you kids know? A little fall doesn't need a doctor. Seeing a doctor costs money, and our family's money doesn't grow on trees. I have medicinal wine in my room. Rub it on and rest for the night, and she'll be fine." Old Mrs. Lin refused without a second thought.

Li Chunxing didn't think much of it, assuming Sun Sipan had done it on purpose. How could it be such a coincidence that she fell right then? She must be faking it to avoid washing the clothes.

Thinking this, her words couldn't help but carry a hint of sarcasm, "Third sister-in-law, you're so careless. You didn't fall earlier or later, but right at the doorstep. I must say, third sister-in-law, you're destined for a life of luxury. You can fall on such flat ground. What else can you do?"