Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 22: River Clam Spirit?!

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: River Clam Spirit?!

Nanzhi was deeply engrossed in turning over stones when she heard Gougou’s voice. Thinking something had happened, she dropped the stone in her hand and ran over through the water.

"What happened, what happened."

As she checked Gougou, she found that he had only gotten a bit muddy.

"Mother, look, a big river clam!" While Gougou was being examined by his mother, he showed no impatience. After Nanzhi completed her examination, he proudly showed her his discovery.

Only then did Nanzhi notice a large mud pit by Gougou’s foot. Most likely, the mud on Gougou’s body came from digging the pit.

There was a river clam as big as a basin in the mud pit, leaving Nanzhi slightly uneasy.

Could it be that Gougou was the legendary boy of fortune? Compared to him, she undeniably seemed to have absolutely none.

After some admiration, Nanzhi rolled up her sleeves and spent a fair amount of effort prying out the river clam.

Looking at the enormous river clam, Nanzhi swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Could this possibly be a river clam spirit?

It felt kind of sinful to eat such a large clam.

"Mother, big meat!" Gougou was filled with joy as he tugged at the stick caught in the river clam.

His mother said that river clams could be eaten, and they had meat in them. His clam was so big; there must be a lot of meat inside.

Looking at Gougou’s face, Nanzhi complimented him, "Gougou, you’re great."

Unquestionably, compared to her, Gougou was far more impressive.

Approaching noon, Nanzhi gathered the river clams into a bamboo basket and prepared to head home with Gougou.

Gougou was extremely excited about the river clam he had found and volunteered to bring it home by dragging the stick stuck in it.

If she were to eat this enormous clam, it would be rather brutal. So, she left it to fate; if nothing happened to the clam on their way back, she would keep it in a basin. If it broke or died during the journey, she would cook it when they returned home.

Nanzhi looked at the large river clam dragged by Gougou with mixed feelings.

She had given it a chance; it all came down to whether it could seize it or not.

On their way back, they ran into several women returning home after picking chestnuts. Seeing Nanzhi’s bamboo basket filled to the brim with river clams, they seemed puzzled.

Can these be eaten?

In the past, the children in the village had caught these in the river, and they didn’t have much meat in them. Some families, unable to make ends meet, had brought them home to eat but found them tough and unpalatable.

Although full of doubt, no one asked. They were all shocked when they saw Gougou behind Nanzhi, struggling to drag a gigantic river clam. Wasn’t this clam almost as big as their washbasin?

As soon as they returned home, the first thing Nanzhi did was check if the clam Gougou had dragged back had cracked anywhere.

Seeing no cracks on the clam’s large shell, Nanzhi was oddly disappointed. Although she felt it was a pity not to eat the clam, she still fetched a large wooden basin and placed it under the eaves of the house. She washed the river clam, which was covered in mud and grass, in the well water before putting it in the basin.

Well, it had survived the journey back home, so it must have a strong life force. It would be a shame if she had cooked it.

Suppressing her disappointment, Nanzhi turned and headed to the kitchen to fetch utensils.

Not long after the river clam was placed in the basin, it seemed to enjoy being soaked in the cool well water, and finally opened its shell to release the stick.

Finding this amusing, Gougou squatted by the basin, watching attentively. From time to time, he would use the stick to poke it, clearly having a wonderful time.

Nanzhi, on the other hand, took a kitchen knife and ceramic bowl and sat by the well to deal with the other river clams.

"Mother, aren’t we going to eat this big river clam?" Noticing his mother showed no intention of preparing this clam, Gougou, who was squatting beside the basin, asked, tilting his head.

The river clam in the wooden basin trembled inexplicably, quickly closing its shell tighter.

Nanzhi swiftly opened a river clam she was holding, replying only by saying, "Keep this river clam alive."

Gougou gazed at the tightly closed clamshell, slightly puzzled. Wasn’t it open just a moment ago? Why had it shut all of a sudden?

While opening each river clam, Nanzhi carefully searched for pearls in the flesh.

She recalled that some river clams naturally produced pearls due to stimulation; although the chances were slim, she hoped that with Gougou, their little lucky charm around, perhaps she might indeed find a few pearls.

Natural pearls fetched a high price in this world. The former body had run into pearl divers when she was young. Stone Village, however, was not near a river, so they had to travel to Lihua Village to dive for pearls. It seemed they eventually gave up due to the lack of substantial yields and haven’t returned since.

Even after opening all the river clams from the bamboo baskets, Nanzhi found no sign of a pearl. She felt deflated, now believing that she’d fantasized too much. After all, even professional pearl divers had often returned empty-handed, she was merely an amateur, it seemed absurd to expect anything.

The lunch was satisfying. For the first time since crossing over, Nanzhi had a spicy dish. The river clams were plentiful, so she stir-fried a plateful and made soup. To her surprise, Gougou liked the spicy food and polished off two black pancakes along with a plate of river clam meat.

After the meal, Nanzhi coaxed Gougou into taking a nap.

Being still so young, Gougou needed sleep to grow taller. Presently, he still looked like a toddler just over two years old, a sight that tugged at Nanzhi’s heartstrings.

Having cleaned up the dishes, Nanzhi moved a small stool under the eaves to sit and space out.

Although there was enough food at home for her and Gougou for a while, it was bound to run out eventually.

Without farmland of her own, she couldn’t grow crops. Considering the tough times, unlike the heroines in other novels, she couldn’t start some small trade. Without a legendary system or magic weapons in hand, she surely couldn’t let herself and Gougou starve...

The more she thought, the drowsier she became. Eventually, she leaned against the door frame and fell asleep.

In her dream, she saw her grandmother, as clear as day, always smiling at her, teaching her to read and write.

It was only a pity her grandmother didn’t live to see the day she got into university.

A cold breeze in the June heat woke Nanzhi abruptly.

It had been two years since her grandmother passed away, this was the first time she had dreamt of her.

Wiping away her tears, Nanzhi shook off her somber mood, after all, her grandmother had raised her; she couldn’t let herself starve in this strange land.

Upon entering the house, Gougou was still sound asleep, occasionally murmuring "Mama" in his sleep.

Seeing the child’s face, Nanzhi felt a softness in her heart; she was now Lin Nanzhi of this world, she had Gougou, and a father and brothers. Perhaps the heavens took pity on her and sent her here.

After kissing Gougou’s forehead, Nanzhi went to the backyard where the river clams lay in the large wooden basin, quietly spouting water. The scorching sun bleached the ground white, and the only sound was the occasional cicada’s song.

"Plop--"

The river clam in the wooden basin suddenly opened its shell wider, the chunky white clam muscle exerted effort to push out a pearl, then quickly shut its shell tightly, as if nothing had happened.

Nanzhi did not notice the subtle noise; she just drew a bucket of water from the well and took it to the kitchen.

Only after Nanzhi had entered the kitchen did the clam in the wooden basin seem to relax, opening its shell and happily resuming its water spouting.

This human was not to be trifled with. It knew that she had looked disappointed earlier when it appeared fine.

It had struggled to find this place, it wasn’t about to let this woman casually cook and eat it.

With that thought, the river clam disdainfully spat out two more pearls. It had plenty of pearls anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to bestow a few on her after all, she had some connection to its arrival here.

Guilt creeping up, the river clam spat out a few more pearls. Once it felt it had made up for its actions, it contentedly resumed its hiatus.

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