Transmigrated as the Villain Boss's Mother

When Wang Chunhua was sent home, she saw her husband sitting at the table, happily eating pickled vegetables and drinking wine. She was furious.

"Still eating, still eating. They don't even care that their own son can't afford a wife. I went to that brat's place today, and she's got a temper now, completely different from before. Even the village head is on her side. What are we going to do now?"

Xu Dahai slightly raised his eyes, "How did the village head know about this?"

Xu Dahai had worked as a servant for several households when he was young, and he immediately grasped the core of the problem.

Wang Chunhua lowered her head guiltily. After all, if she hadn't gone into the courtyard to call out, the village head wouldn't have come. But usually, even before she called out, that brat would humbly admit her mistake. Now, she didn't know what was wrong with her; it was like she was a completely different person. Wait, could she be possessed by a monster?

"Hey, honey, do you think our eldest daughter might be possessed by a monster?" Wang Chunhua quickly asked, trying to change the subject. But as soon as she asked, she felt even more frightened. Could she really be possessed by a ghost or something? Thinking of this, she couldn't help but shudder.

"If you were possessed, would you still be standing here properly? You're always thinking useless things," Li Dahai said impatiently. "Hurry up and tidy up the table."

Wang Chunhua quickly tidied the table, but she still felt that Xu Zhu was different from before, and thought about finding a day to ask the Taoist priest.

Xu Zhu took the silver from the cave and went to Aunt Zheng's house next door.

"Auntie, is Auntie home?" Xu Zhu went to Aunt Zheng's house.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Xu Zhu."

"Hey, I'm here, I'm here." Aunt Zheng jogged over and hurriedly opened the door for Xu Zhu.

"What's wrong, Li Bao's mother?"

"Auntie, we're out of food at home, so I'd like to buy some noodles, oil, eggs, and things like that from you," Xu Zhu said, placing a small piece of silver into Aunt Zheng's hand.

"Oh dear, what money do you need! Li Bao's mother, you're really too..." Aunt Zheng tried to return the money.

“Auntie, please take it. I’ll feel bad if you don’t. Besides, these things aren’t cheap. Auntie, don’t be so polite.” Xu Zhu pressed down on Aunt Zheng’s hand.

"Come in with me quickly, I'll get you your things." Aunt Zheng didn't refuse anymore. After all, eggs, noodles, and oil were indeed expensive, and her family only ate them once or twice a year during festivals. After paying taxes to the imperial court, the common people barely had enough to eat.

Aunt Zheng gave Xu Zhu half a bag of flour, a dozen eggs, and a jar of oil.

"Li Bao's mother, we don't have much oil left at home. I'll go to town to buy some more when I get back and share some with you."

"Auntie is going to town to buy oil?" Xu Zhu asked, intrigued.

“Yes, we should go to town to buy oil. The oil sold at the village entrance is always shortchanged. I'd rather go to a town further away to buy it; it'll be full and fragrant.” Aunt Zheng said carefully as she packed Xu Zhu’s things.

"Auntie, when are you going? Call me if you want to come along. My baby's clothes aren't long enough, I need to change them." Xu Zhu was too embarrassed to say that they were too worn out, since all the children in the village wore rather shabby clothes. If she said that, people would think she, Xu Zhu, was some kind of high-minded or noble person.

"Okay, I'll call you when I go."

"okay!"

Aunt Zheng returned to the house, and her husband asked, "Who came?"

"Oh, who else could it be? Li Bao's mother. The poor thing has nothing to eat at home, so she gave me some money to buy her some things. You know, Wang Chunhua is so cruel, like she's not even her own daughter." Aunt Zheng showed her husband the silver Xu Zhu had given her.

"I'll help if I can in the future. It's not easy taking care of a child," her husband said after a long silence.

"Ah."

After Xu Zhu returned, she went to the main house to check on Li Baobao, fearing that something might happen to Li Baobao while she was out for a while.

Upon entering, Xu Zhu found the child asleep on the bed, one of his short legs sticking out. Xu Zhu quietly pulled the blanket over him. The little leg kicked out again, and Xu Zhu tapped his little nose.

"You naughty boy, don't kick off the blanket, or Mommy will be angry." Then, in a good mood, she covered him with the blanket again.

Upon arriving at the main room, Xu Zhu decided to prepare some simple dishes, since she didn't have many ingredients.

Xu Zhu washed his hands and mixed the eggs and flour together. He added some water and stirred in one direction with chopsticks to form a batter. He boiled water in a pot, then gently poured the batter into the pot along the side. Once it formed, he stirred the bottom of the pot with a spoon to prevent it from sticking. He added salt, and it was ready to serve.

Xu Zhu took a deep sniff. Mmm, it smells good!

Turning around, I saw Li Baobao standing at the door of the main room.

"Baby, why are you here? It's cold outside. Go back inside, go back inside. Mom will get you some rice in a bit. Hurry up, don't get cold," Xu Zhu said to Li Baobao, frowning. Children are most susceptible to catching a cold right after waking up.

"Mom, it smells so good! What is it?" Li Baobao swallowed hard as she smelled the aroma.

"Noodle soup, hurry back inside."

Li Baobao ran back into the house in a flash.

"Time to eat!" Xu Zhu said, carrying two bowls of noodle soup.

As soon as she put it down, Li Baobao scooped a spoonful of food for Xu Zhu, which touched Xu Zhu deeply.

"Good son, you eat, your mother has some."

"Mom, eat first." Li Baobao insisted on giving Xu Zhu food first.

"Mom, is it delicious?"

"It's delicious, eat it quickly."

Li Baobao scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, and put it in her mouth.

"Mmm, Mom, it's delicious, delicious," Li Baobao said with a mouthful of rice.

Then she ate it with gusto, her little mouth burning red from the heat.

"Eat slowly, don't rush, there's more in the pot." Xu Zhu ate while holding her bowl, her eyes never leaving Li Baobao.

"Mmm," Li Baobao said, her cheeks puffing out as she ate.

She ate two large bowls, even licking the bowls clean. Xu Zhu's eyes stung as she looked at Li Baobao, her head buried in the bowl—the poor child.

"Mom, this is the best meal I've ever had in my life!" Li Baobao excitedly waved her fist at Xu Zhu after finishing her meal.

Xu Zhu went over to wipe Li Baobao's mouth. "This is nothing. If you want to eat this in the future, Mom will make it for you anytime, and even better." Xu Zhu choked up. "A lifetime is so long, and this is the best thing you can eat?"

“Of course, Mother, I’ve never eaten anything this good before,” Xu Zhu said earnestly, looking at Li Baobao with wide eyes.

She suddenly realized: the villain in the book had never eaten such delicious food in his entire life. After he became successful, he would be all alone, and who would be willing to cook him a hearty meal? In that light, Li Baobao was right.

Xu Zhu felt a stab in her heart, and tears welled up uncontrollably, one drop, then two: "Mother, you must, you must make sure Bao'er has a good life, that Bao'er has meat to eat. Okay?"

“Mom, you’re crying.” Li Baobao wiped the tears off Xu Zhu’s face with her little hands and stared at her, saying, “I don’t want Mom to be too tired. I can go without meat. I don’t like eating meat.”

Xu Zhu cried even harder, and Li Baobao panicked. What's going on? Did I say something wrong? Why is Mom crying even harder? Er Gouzi was right, women are all made of water.

Xu Zhu took the small hand that was wiping away her tears, put it to his lips, and kissed it.

In the evening, Xu Zhu and Li Baobao leaned against the headboard and talked.

"Mom, you seem different from before." Li Baobao finally said the words she had been holding back for a while.

Xu Zhu was startled; everyone says children are the most sensitive. Her back was bent; this wouldn't be easy. If she couldn't properly comfort the child, the child wouldn't truly accept her.

"How is Mother different now compared to before?" Xu Zhu asked softly. But if you listened carefully, you could hear that Xu Zhu's voice was trembling slightly.

"Yes, Mom used to be very gentle," Li Baobao answered after thinking seriously for a long time, biting her little hand.

Xu Zhu...

"Isn't Mother gentle now?"

“No, Mom is gentle now too, but it’s different. Before, it was that kind of gentleness, now it’s this kind of gentleness. Now she can talk back to Grandma.” Li Baobao is only four years old and knows a limited vocabulary.

But Xu Zhu understood, "You mean Mother was weak and let Grandmother bully her before, right?"

"right"

"Do you like your current mother?"

"like!"

"What?"

"Mommy's cooking is delicious." Xu Zhu patted Li Baobao's head and listened attentively as he continued. But after a while, Li Baobao still didn't speak.

"And what else? What else do you like about your mother?" Xu Zhu couldn't help but ask Li Baobao.

“That’s all!” Li Baobao looked up at Xu Zhu, seemingly wondering why he was being asked this question.

"Oh, okay, I only like Mother's cooking, I don't like Mother herself." Xu Zhu pretended to be jealous. He found it amusing; after all, she was just a child, easily won over with a single meal.

"No, I don't just like Mommy's cooking, I like Mommy." Li Baobao, the clever little devil, probably realized that her mother was jealous, and her eyes rolled. "I was actually just joking with Mommy." As she spoke, she hugged Xu Zhu and rubbed her little head against her.

“Mother knows, Mother knows everything, Mother was just joking,” Xu Zhu replied.

"Mother, is Father really dead?" Li Baobao asked in a muffled voice as she lay on Xu Zhu's body.

Xu Zhu knew that what those people said during the day had had a significant impact on Li Baobao.

She looked at Li Baobao very seriously: "Li Baobao, it seems this secret can't be kept forever?"

Li Baobao fluttered her eyelashes, her face filled with surprise. Xu Zhu continued, "Your father isn't dead, but we can't expose this secret. He's currently deep in enemy territory, and revealing it would put your father in danger."

"Really?" Li Baobao asked in a low voice.

"correct."

"Then I won't tell anyone, so that Daddy will be safe." To prove that he kept his word, Li Baobao covered his mouth.

Heaven knows how hard it was for Xu Zhu to hold back his laughter; children this age are so easy to fool, so adorable.

"Go to sleep." Xu Zhu pulled the blanket over Li Baobao.

Outside, the wind howled, but inside, the warmth of family love filled the air.

As Xu Zhu listened to Li Baobao's soft snoring, the corners of his mouth widened, widened, and finally turned into a bright smile.

In this harsh and desolate borderland, the war between Qi and Liang has raged for five or six years, and it is unknown how much longer it will last. Neither emperor is willing to yield, yet the king sees no battles fought on the yellow sands, no lonely city to be seen in the distance, and no general to achieve victory.

General Guo of Qi stood with his hands behind his back on the city wall, gazing at the distant desert and the lone smoke rising from the sky. He watched as his soldiers methodically buried the dead, picked up a broken sword and a shattered bow from the ground.

"Alas, this war should be coming to an end soon!" General Guo sighed after a long pause.

"Yes, it's been going on for far too long. If this continues, the soldiers will collapse. It's almost over, almost over. The Liang Kingdom has suffered a great loss this time." The strategist was also looking forward to it.

"Li Qian, Wang Yu, and Yang Gu, the three of you have contributed greatly this time. I believe the Emperor will reward you according to your merits upon our return to the capital." The strategist smiled at the three men and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards the capital.

"Yes, they are all young heroes." General Guo agreed wholeheartedly.

"Brother Li, the war's over. What are you planning to do back there? I'm going back to find some fun. In this godforsaken place, you can't even find a sow." Wang Yu tried to put his arm around Li Qian's shoulder, but Li Qian was too tall, so he couldn't reach him. He gave an awkward laugh and patted Li Qian's shoulder.

"I want to go back to see my wife," Li Qian said in a deep, magnetic voice.

"What? Brother Li, you have a wife?" Wang Yu exclaimed in surprise. "I'm telling you, Li Qian, you're really not being fair. Four years, four years, and I had no idea you had a wife. Don't you consider us brothers?"

“Yes, Brother Li is not being fair,” Yang Gu echoed.

Li Qian smiled bitterly. His wife was aloof and indifferent. He knew she didn't like him, especially since he hadn't been home for the past four years. If she fell in love with someone else, he would readily give her a divorce.

"Hehe, I was just afraid of upsetting you guys. Yang Gu, what are you doing at home?" Li Qian quickly asked Yang Gu.

"To pay for my mother's medical treatment and my younger brother's tuition; my brother is a very good student." Yang Gu was born into a declining scholarly family. Their fortunes began to decline with his grandfather's generation, and by the time of Yang Gu's father, they were practically destitute. Despite their poverty, they persisted in their studies. Unfortunately, none of them had passed the imperial examinations. Unable to bear seeing his father struggle so desperately for his two brothers' education, Yang Gu secretly ran away to join the army. Unexpectedly, he abandoned his studies for the sword and achieved some minor merits.

Li Qian found it increasingly difficult to sleep at night. Although he and his wife had known each other since childhood, they were not originally from the same village.

That year, during the plague, Granny Li also unfortunately contracted it. When she learned that she had the plague, she refused to let Li Qian get close to her.

Later, the imperial court sent down imperial physicians to treat the people, and many of them recovered. However, my mother-in-law was probably too old and had been ill for too long, so she didn't make it through.

From then on, Li Qian lived a life of eking out a living from one house to another. But who would willingly support someone with no connection to him for long? The village head later told him that someone wanted him to be adopted.

He then went to Xujia Village to become an adopted son. At first, that family treated him like a precious jewel, holding him in their arms for fear of dropping him or melting him. He even had to ride on his adoptive father's head to go to school.

Back then, he would hide by the wall every day to listen to the sound of Xu Zhu from the Xu family next door being scolded and crying. Sometimes he would even climb over the wall to mock her for having no father or mother to love her.

They say karma is a cycle, so don't be too arrogant. Otherwise, you'll be the one getting punished by heaven.

Little did anyone know that within a year, the woman from that family became pregnant. The treatment of Li Qian, this adopted son with no blood relation, was naturally quite different.

Still want to go to school? Ha, how naive! Every day you'll be fetching water, chopping wood, washing clothes, starting a fire, and cooking.

Thus, such a scene appeared in Xujia Village.

"You brat, still sleeping? Get up and wash your third brother's clothes! You're so lazy!"

"Oh dear, I'm pregnant now, some people can't really treat themselves like my sons anymore. I'm pregnant, so go and clean the house."

Finally one day.

"Da Ya, we're out of firewood! Go up the mountain and gather some."

"You, go chop firewood, don't stand here in my way."

The two bumped into each other as soon as they stepped outside. Li Qian scratched his head awkwardly, after all, it had been just a few months since he had laughed at her for climbing over the wall.

"Hey, little girl, where are you going?" Li Qian asked her.

Xu Zhulian ignored him completely. Just a few days ago, he had been acting arrogantly, and she still remembered his gloating expression.

When Li Qian saw that she was ignoring him, he went and tugged at her two hairpins.

"What are you doing? You've messed up my hair!" Xu Zhu said angrily.

"It's your fault for not replying to me. Besides, your styling doesn't look good." Li Qian said righteously.

Xu Zhu continued walking forward with red eyes, ignoring her.

"What are you doing? Why are you stealing my firewood!"

"What's wrong with me taking a little? I just accidentally fell asleep... Okay, okay, stop crying, I won't take yours anymore! You crybaby."

"Xu Xiaozhu, Xu Xiaozhu..."

"what?"

"Shall I help you?"

"I don't need you, get out of the way... never mind, you can carry it for me!"

"Hmph, I'm not going to memorize it!"

"You call yourself a young master? Do you even have the life of one?"

Li Qian, nicknamed "Little Pig Xu," gritted his teeth, but still carried Xu Zhu's firewood onto his own back.

And so, the childhood nemesis, bickering and fighting, gradually grew up. When he reached marriageable age, no girl wanted to marry him, because he was poor and had no parents.

Xu Zhu's parents told him that if he could come up with ten taels of silver, they would marry their daughter to him.

He thought to himself, since no one will marry him anyway, he might as well marry someone he knows. Even though he didn't like Xu Zhu.

Li Qian went to the pawnshop and pawned the jade pendant that Granny Li had always told him to keep carefully, which she always wore around her neck. He used the money to marry Xu Zhu and buy several acres of land.