Transmigration: I Have Storage Space in the Apocalypse-Chapter 2 - 00 This is Trying to Kill Me

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For a time, the bustling village women grouped in twos and threes into a semicircle, mostly with odd expressions on their faces, peering at the young man and woman still entangled in each other's arms, some asking anxiously with closeness.

"Goodness gracious, San Ni, what has happened to you? Don't scare your Aunt like that! Why on earth did you think of jumping into the water?"

"Exactly, such a well-behaved little girl, why did she suddenly jump into the water?"

"I just heard yesterday that the Zhi Country had arranged a marriage for San Ni, could it be that..."

This was the speculation of the well-informed women, instantly hitting the nail on the head.

"What a sin..."

The lake in the center of the village wasn't far from the Zhang Family, and before the village women could come to any conclusions about a prospective marriage or suicide by jumping into the water, even as Zhang Shan Ni [Yan Jinsu] still felt her head heavy with confusion, she suddenly heard sharp and hurried curses getting louder as they approached.

Lin Zhaodi cursed all the way, pushing through the village women circled in the center, and upon seeing that Zhang Shan Ni was unharmed and not dead, a wave of relief washed over her heart, immediately followed by a burst of scolding:

"Look at you, you rascal! What were you jumping into the water for? Do you want to be the death of me?!"

Upon hearing her little daughter had jumped into the water, Lin Zhaodi had rushed over in a panic. Seeing San Ni shamelessly clinging to a grown man, she rushed forward to pull them apart, "You shameless wretch, let go at once!"

"No, go away, you're not my mother!" Yan Jinsu shouted hoarsely, pretending to be scared as she burrowed into the young man's embrace. Seeing the olive-colored garment before her eyes, she had no other thoughts but instinctively felt she could trust the young man she was clinging to.

In the ten minutes or so since Yan Jinsu had come ashore, she had roughly come to understand the state of the body she was in, and now she clung tighter to the big man in her arms, her only thought being to get through this ordeal. Thus, with her eyes closed and her face pale and colorless with terror, she cried out:

"Woo, please, save me!"

Having screamed, Yan Jinsu tightened her grip around the neck she was holding onto even more, glaring at Lin Zhaodi with resentful eyes, she yelled back:

"Get away from me, you're not my mother, you don't deserve to be one! What kind of real mother could be so cruel, to force her daughter to marry an old man who is not only hunchbacked but also a slob? Whoo, what kind of cruel birth parents are these? I'd rather die clean than be forced to marry!"

"Wow~~" The simple villagers surrounding them immediately understood and expressed their shock.

"I also heard people from Old Lin Village talking about it; it was about an arranged marriage swap for that hunchbacked old wreck from Old Lin Village."

"Who?" Those in the know couldn't believe it and instinctively asked back. Though they understood, there was a mocking look at Lin Zhaodi, who was still loudly cursing, and the Zhang Family men who followed behind.

"That notorious Lin Lao Lai, Lin Aiguo!"

"Oh~~So it's him..." Many of the uninformed promptly understood who Lin Aiguo was when they heard the name. Thinking of San Ni, such a good girl being matched with that lazy toad, they could understand San Ni's actions!

"Hey, isn't Lin Aiguo that one?!" A few villagers with sharp eyes spotted Lin Aiguo mingling in the crowd, immediately pointing in his direction and exclaiming.

"There it is, that's the guy who came to our village for the matchmaking. No wonder San Ni is so distraught; he's dirty and old, and they say he's a notorious slob from Old Lin Village, lazy and poor to boot!"

"Alas... they're both daughters, how can the difference be so stark!" Some onlookers couldn't bear it and let out a sharp cry.

"Shush, quiet down, that Mrs. Zhang is not someone you want to mess with, the whole family's out of tune— the single decent one is just about to be bullied to death!"

While saying this, someone pointed to a certain spot, causing the villagers who were sensibly staying away to immediately reveal the old man who was somewhat of a stranger. His appearance aside, just the greasy, stiff clothes he wore, the thick layer of oil in his hair, and his obvious hunchbacked figure triggered even more loud gossip among the people.

"Good heavens, Zhiguo of the Zhang Family, this isn't right. San Ni is such a good little girl, how can you be so cruel as to marry her off to an old layabout!"

"Everyone shut up! Zhiguo, if you really marry San Ni to a man like that, your whole family can just get out of Shanglin Village!" Suddenly, a gruff old voice roared.

Hearing the Old Village Chief's voice, who held the most prestige, the originally clamoring villagers abruptly fell silent, fixing their eyes on the raging, dark-faced old man.

Old Village Chief Zhang Hongqiang somehow had come over, hearing the majority of the villagers' discussions, and seeing his own brother's granddaughter would rather cling onto a stranger publicly than let her nephew's wife get close, it was clear how mistreated this girl had been over the years!

"Uncle Grandpa, please, I beg you to save me, I don't want to marry that old man!" Zhang Shan Ni, in her confusion, seemed to have found a life-saving herb and directly knelt and thrust herself in front of the Old Village Chief, crying so hard she could hardly breathe.

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A young man dressed in olive clothes immediately draped his long coat over the girl's exposed and wet body. It was September, a time when the weather began to cool. Having soaked in the water and now exposed to the wind, she was bound to catch a cold.

At only eighteen years old, Zhang Shan Ni was well-known in the village for being honest, filial, and hardworking. Plenty of young men in the village wanted to ask for her hand.

But her own brother fancied the notorious slob of a younger sister from Old Lin Village—a no-good girl, roaming about seductively all day long, nearing twenty without a match, neither high nor low, with little chance of marrying well. Who asked for her to have such a brother!

"Such a misfortune! If Zhiguo's father were still here, he would never bear to watch his granddaughter suffer like this!"

Zhang Zhiguo's father, Zhang Honghan, was an old revolutionary, and even his wife was a nurse in the troupe—a family of loyalty and patriotism, yet their granddaughter was now being belittled by their son and daughter-in-law!

"Right, we are all San Ni's elders, how could we let her jump into the fire pit!"

The Aunt who was the first to discover Zhang Shan Ni's suicide attempt was none other than the Old Village Chief's wife. She had high status and a good reputation in the village, known for her warmth and fairness, a well-regarded matchmaker and midwife. When it came to marriages, people preferred to seek her out rather than asking strangers to make the introductions.

But due to age, she had withdrawn from such activities for the past two years, at home and comfortably living as an elderly lady, spending her free time with other old women in the village, setting up their gatherings, her days passing agreeably.

But now, this foolish nephew has driven his daughter to the brink of suicide! It's a complete disgrace to the Zhang Family. Squinting through narrowed eyes, the old woman said lightly,

"Zhiguo, if you don't want to live in Shanglin Village anymore, just say the word. It's simple for this old lady to cross out your family's name."

"Auntie, there's nothing like what you said. Our family's been living well here, we've never had second thoughts! It's just that San Ni's marriage has already been decided..."

Zhang Zhiguo was usually very apprehensive around this Old Village Chief's uncle, and even this Aunt was someone he greatly feared!

Now, as the Clan Leader and clan woman of the Zhang Family, how could he possibly talk back with defiance? He could only bow and plead for mercy.