Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 109: Dream

Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Dream

The three men in the hall were engaged in a discussion that suddenly veered onto the topic of ghosts and gods.

"In my opinion, this year is nothing but God’s wrath; as if we, the unfortunate ones, are not allowed to live," said one of them.

Lin’s father took a sip of the tea his grandson had served him and sighed.

"Enough. What nonsense are you talking about at your age?"

Lin’s mother rolled her eyes at her husband’s statement, "You have sons and daughters now, you don’t have to worry about food and clothing. How can you still be suffering?"

"I was just saying..."

Lin’s father gave an apologetic smile, stroked his stubble, and decided to stay silent.

"But it’s almost September, why is it still so hot?" Lin’s mother blurted out, feeling a little puzzled.

Normally, at this time of the year, people would be wearing three layers of clothing to keep warm.

"Isn’t it strange indeed," Lin’s father muttered quietly.

Nanzhi initially put Zhiyu down for an afternoon nap, but the little one sneakily went out to play with his two brothers while she fell into a deep sleep.

Her dream was filled with piles and piles of ice cream, and plates of freshly cut watermelon.

Just as she was about to take a bite, laughing to herself, she felt the seat under her bottom shake.

Looking down, she realized that it wasn’t the soft chair she had been sitting on.

When she lifted her head again, the ice cream, watermelon, and fried chicken had all disappeared without a trace.

She was left alone, seated on a cart, occasionally hearing the sound of the donkey pulling the cart from behind.

Looking at the dark sky, Nanzhi felt her brain throb with a splitting headache.

"Fatty!"

Just as she was holding her head and shaking it, she suddenly heard a noise.

Nanzhi was stunned. How come the donkey’s braying was sounding like her eldest brother?

"Fatty! Fatty! Wake up!"

The voice was getting louder and louder. Finally, Nanzhi came to a swift realization - wasn’t that her eldest brother’s voice?

Once she realized this, Nanzhi managed to force her eyes open.

"Eldest brother..."

Lin Yicheng looked at her, sweaty and disheveled, with a bemused expression. How could she look like this just from a nap?

"Did you have a nightmare?"

Nanzhi nodded.

"Did it scare you?"

Nanzhi nodded again.

"Then how did you wake up?" Isn’t it said that it’s difficult to wake up from a nightmare?

"Woken up by the braying of a donkey."

Lin Yicheng was taken aback, was she referring to him as a donkey?

"Zhiyu is in the hall, saying that your brother-in-law’s letter has arrived."

"Eh, all right, I’ll go out now."

Nanzhi nodded and wiped off her sweat with a handkerchief.

It was early September, the arrival of autumn, yet why was it still so hot?

Regaining her composure, Nanzhi followed him out of the room.

She saw Zhiyu holding Adai, crying loudly, only to stop and snivel when she saw Nanzhi coming out. He complained, "Mom, dad wrote me a letter, but uncle cannot read, they are idiots!"

Lin Yicheng and Lin Ercheng stood aside with embarrassment on their faces.

However, their father rolled his eyes at them.

He had once tightened his belt to send them to school.

But these two rascals only went for one day and then quit. And now, they were being ridiculed by a little child.

"Zhiyu, give the letter to mom. Mom will read it to you." Seeing the atmosphere was getting tense, Nanzhi immediately spoke up.

Sulking, Zhiyu pouted, but didn’t say anything more.

Adai had just returned, he was carrying a letter to find Mother, but the two uncles said they would read it, and they ended up soaking the letter!

Nanzhi received the wet letter with a damp fingertip, a sudden chill descending her heart as she unfolded it.

The paper had been soiled by water, and the ink on it had blurred beyond comprehension.

Noticing that their mother looked upset, the little ones sniffled and toddled over.

Nanzhi quickly explained, "Zhiyu, your dad sends his regards, he asks if you’re eating properly, if you miss him."

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhiyu managed a smile, wiping her tears as she replied, "I’ve been eating well, I do miss dad!"

"That’s good. I’ll write back to your dad in a few days, Ok?" Nanzhi said, folding back the letter and gripping it tightly in her hand.

"Ok!" Zhiyu nodded enthusiastically, showing no trace of the sadness she had earlier.

Observing their parents’ expressions, Maomao and Doudou led Zhiyu away towards the backyard in an unspoken agreement.

Relieved by the children’s departure, the adults in the room took a moment to breathe.

"Dad, Mom, elder brother, Ercheng, I had another dream," Nanzhi said with a grave expression.

She’d had strange dreams before especially during the earthquake, where she could see everything around her, but this time it was just her, alone in a donkey cart.

She couldn’t discern whether it was a premonitory dream or not.

"What did you dream about?" asked her mother, as everyone else turned towards her, awaiting her response.

"In my dream, it was pitch black and I was alone on a donkey cart," Nanzhi tried to recall more details, but all she could remember was the braying noise of a donkey.

"Uh..."

They exchanged looks in astonishment, not knowing what to say.

Did this signify that they would all part ways?

But then again, it being Nanzhi’s dream, they couldn’t take any chances.

Silence descended upon the room.

"Let’s get a donkey from town," declared their father.

Lin Yicheng and Lin Ercheng shared a glance before nodding in agreement, "Yes, let’s buy a donkey."

"???"

Nanzhi was taken aback, had they decided already?

"We still have several taels of silver, enough to purchase two donkeys," her mother interjected, looking at her husband.

Though she managed most of the smaller operations, major decisions like buying donkeys and grain would be discussed amongst the family.

Lin Yicheng and Lin Ercheng went back to their rooms to discuss with their wives. In less than half an hour, the main room was packed with people.

Chen Qiulan and Sun Cui had just woken up, looking puzzled at everyone’s readiness to go.

What was going on?

"Everyone is here. Nanzhi had a dream today. In her dream, she was alone in a donkey cart. This could mean that our family might disperse. We currently have five taels of silver, enough to buy two donkeys. Once we have the donkeys, the elder and Ercheng can make a cart. Any objections?" her mother finished and looked around.

Subconsciously, Nanzhi glanced at her two sisters-in-law.

But to her surprise, Chen Qiulan and Sun Cui shook their heads.

"We have no objections."

"Alright, let’s gather our things and prepare to leave."

Satisfied, her mother nodded her approval and rose to change into a fresh set of clothes.

As her mother stepped out, everyone else returned to their rooms, leaving Nanzhi alone and baffled.

Were they really going through with it?

What if this whole thing was just a misunderstanding? Had she made a poor decision?

Nanzhi was increasingly anxious. Five taels of silver were a significant sum!

She returned to her room and hurriedly put on a worn-out garment.

Just as she was about to leave, she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye.

Upon opening the drawer, she found a few silver ingots — two twenty-tael ingots, and over a dozen more loose taels!

Seeing the white silver laid out in the drawer, Nanzhi felt as if her heart was about to leap out of her chest.