Transmigrated Leftover Woman in Rural Style

With the matter of Xu Yan resolved, Li Xiaonuan thought that the spirit of the unjustly deceased Li Xiaonuan should find some solace in heaven. After all, living under the tutelage of a legal wife must have been incredibly difficult for Xu Yan.

Then she thought of Wang Tu, the boy for whom her predecessor had lost his life. Even in death, her predecessor was still heartbroken that he had been deceived. Perhaps, when they first met, there must have been genuine feelings between them. Li Xiaonuan had tried to retrieve those memories, but couldn't find any images. Perhaps her predecessor had taken them with her, unwilling to share their emotions with others.

Xu Yan's affair became the talk of the town, replacing the topic of Li Xiaonuan's family buying and selling Ganoderma lucidum. Of course, some people wouldn't let go of Li Xiaonuan's family, frequently bringing up the matter of Li Xiaonuan seducing Qi Ji.

Fortunately, there are many reasonable people. Besides, due to the busy farming season, Li Xiaonuan could count the number of times she went to the city on one hand. Now that such gossip has surfaced, her father is even more reluctant to let her go to the clinic.

To reassure her parents, Li Xiaonuan had no choice but to obey and stay home obediently. She spent her time either digging bamboo shoots, pickling them, and drying them, or taking Zhou Jingjing up the mountain to pick sour plums, peaches, and apricots. Back home, they would make them into candied fruit or canned goods in syrup. Of course, the jars were earthenware, and the stoppers were corks.

However, there were two exceptions: the day when the renowned surgeon Prince Jing, Zhao Muyang, arrived, and the day when Father Li underwent surgery.

These days, Li Xiaonuan took out her meager dowry. She used all the fabric to make clothes for the whole family. She also distributed four quilts, one for each person except Li Xiaonuan. Li Xiaonuan's old quilt was fine, so she continued to use it.

Wearing new, brightly colored cotton clothes made of fine fabric, the whole family looked radiant. Li Xiaogang was so happy he jumped up and down a few times, grinning silently. Li Xiaonuan felt a pang of sadness watching them, thinking of buying more good fabric to make more nice clothes for her family.

When the family met Prince Jing, he had just come out of Li's father's room. Seeing the stunned Li Xiaonuan and the others, Qi Ji quickly stepped forward to introduce them.

"Aunt Li, Miss Li, Xiao Yang, Xiao Gang, this is the surgical master Jing..."

"Old Jing, you can just call me Old Jing. Oh, isn't this girl Chu Lin? When did she change her surname to Li and become someone's daughter?"

Prince Jing didn't allow Qi Ji to reveal his identity and interrupted directly. Upon seeing Li Xiaonuan, he immediately asked her about it. The renowned surgeon before her was only in his early thirties, and Li Xiaonuan couldn't bring herself to call him "Old Man Jing." Seeing the hesitant and unsure what to do, Su Shi, Li Xiaonuan could only step forward and greet him.

"Dr. Jing, we are just country folk, we've never seen much of the world. Please forgive us if we've been rude."

With Li Xiaonuan taking the lead, Su Shi and the Xiaoyang brothers finally came to their senses. Su Shi quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Doctor Jing, my manners are crude, please don't laugh at me."

The Xiao Yang brothers also said, "Please inquire after Doctor Jing's well-being."

Prince Jing was quite satisfied with the family's attitude. However, he still glanced at Li Xiaonuan a few more times and asked, "Are you really not that girl Chu Lin? You wouldn't happen to be someone Qi Jixin has taken a liking to, would you?"

Li Xiaonuan felt slightly embarrassed and quickly clarified, "Of course not. I'm just a poor country girl, how could I possibly catch the eye of Doctor Qi? Doctor Jing, you mustn't say such things, it wouldn't be good if Doctor Qi got angry and kicked my father out."

Li Xiaonuan's attitude was unusually serious, which made Prince Jing nod repeatedly. He glanced at Qi Ji and snorted, "It's best if it's not. I'm still waiting to recruit Qi Ji as my son-in-law. If you're the one he's set his sights on, I definitely can't help save your father. He's the one who's going to steal my son-in-law."

Madam Su shook her head repeatedly, denying it outright: "No, we're just a country family, we certainly can't compete with you for a son-in-law. Doctor Jing, don't worry, my Xiao Nuan didn't take a liking to Doctor Qi."

These words made everyone in the room feel a little awkward. Li Xiaonuan quickly came to the rescue: "Mom, what nonsense are you talking about? Don't be nervous or worried, Doctor Jing is just joking. He knows we are not worthy of Doctor Qi, and he didn't mean it, so he was just joking. You took it seriously."

Then, turning to Prince Jing and the others, she said, "Doctor Qi, my mother just wanted to say that we didn't have any improper thoughts about you, please don't misunderstand. Doctor Jing, my mother is just saying things because she's afraid you won't treat my father. Please stop joking, my mother doesn't know how to play along and takes it all seriously."

Li Xiaoyang also rushed to explain: "Dr. Jing, people like Dr. Qi are like stars in the sky to us. We can only look up at them, we won't try to pick them, and we can't reach them anyway."

With a "pfft," Doctor Qi, standing behind Prince Jing, couldn't help but laugh. He stepped forward to defuse the situation, saying, "Alright, why are you all so nervous? Ji'er, I never expected you to be rejected. I'm so happy. Doctor Jing... no one can take your son-in-law away. Don't frighten him."

Prince Jing, however, was somewhat displeased and pouted, saying, "I didn't say anything wrong. If you don't have that intention, just say no. Look at how scared they all are; I'm quite suspicious of them."

Those present looked nervously at Prince Jing, fearing he might utter something shocking. Fortunately, he finally said, "Alright, I've examined the patient's condition. Young Master Ji has been taking good care of him these past few days. Prepare everything in the next couple of days, and I'll begin removing those wretched stones the day after tomorrow."

Li Xiaonuan breathed a sigh of relief and led her family forward to bow and express their gratitude: "Then we will thank Doctor Jing in advance. We will remember your kindness and repay you in the future."

Prince Jing waved his hand impatiently and said, "Alright, I hate this kind of thing the most. It was that kid Wei Yu who invited me here, and the conditions were all agreed upon. So, I have no favors to do for you, so please don't come looking for me to repay them."

This statement left everyone present bewildered once again. Su wanted to say something more, but Li Xiaonuan stopped her. She thought to herself that what she had given was more than enough to repay this kindness.

Therefore, they said, "We are grateful, after all, you saved my father. Don't worry, we are not ungrateful and eager to repay your kindness. Our family would rather die poor than be someone's slave."

"Alright, I like you, little girl. Just based on your personality, even without that brat Wei Yu, I would have stepped in to save your father. Alright, I have to go find that brat Wei Yu now. As for what you should prepare, just ask Ji."

After speaking, Prince Jing, with his hands behind his back, strode out. Those present quickly bowed to see him off, only relaxing once the carriage was far away. On the way back, Qi Ji asked Li Xiaonuan in front of everyone, "Am I really that badly looked down upon by your family?"

Li Xiaonuan respected Qi Ji, treating him with the same reverence she held for a doctor in her past life who dedicated himself to saving lives. Beyond that, however, she maintained a distance from him. Like two parallel planes, they always kept a constant distance. This was Li Xiaonuan's way of surviving in her past life, and it remained the same in this one.

The rest of the Li family treated Qi Ji like a god, and there was no question of whether they looked down on him or not. The reason was simple: people living in two different worlds could never intersect.

Therefore, under Doctor Qi's curious gaze, Li Xiaonuan replied, "Doctor Qi, in our family's hearts, you are like a god. Think about it, who would dream of marrying a god? We will only respect you, honor you, and be grateful to you. As for other thoughts, they are like stars in the sky; no one is foolish enough to actually reach out and pluck them."