Ugly girl only wants to farm

Chapter 202 Flood and Ferocious Beasts

Shen Siheng looked as if he was afraid of being pestered, while Meng Jiuhe was annoyed by that unrestrained gaze. The woman pretended to be shy and gave him what she thought was a shy smile.

Little did they know that the smile was chilling, sending shivers down their spines, giving them the feeling of a hunter eyeing its prey.

Seeing Shen Siheng's indifferent attitude, Qin Zhenzhen felt a little dissatisfied. She thought to herself, "What's so smug about this Shen boy? If it weren't for the fact that his friend is good-looking, who would bother with him?"

She didn't show it on her face, but her smile deepened, and she pretended to be relaxed: "Why does Shen Siheng want to leave as soon as he sees me? Am I some kind of monster? With our relationship, do you need to act like this?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Siheng nearly snapped at her: "What's our relationship? Don't talk nonsense here. You're ruining my reputation. Besides, what are you doing running around outside all the time? You cling to every man you see, you have no shame at all. No wonder you've been jilted so many times. It's no wonder people look down on you. With your fickle nature, whoever marries you is doomed!"

Shen Siheng's mouth rattled off a whole bunch of things like a storyteller. Qin Zhenzhen's shy smile turned into anger. Just as she was about to unleash a torrent of curses, her friend tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Zhenzhen, don't get agitated. Don't be so impulsive. Don't you know what kind of person Shen Siheng is? He's just a spoiled brat who does nothing but eat, drink, play, and fight crickets. He's just trying to provoke you so everyone will laugh at you. Don't fall for his tricks."

Meng Jiuhe dodged her greedy gaze and said, "Forget it, I won't go back to get the books to copy today. I'll do what my wife asked me to do first. What if the general store runs out of stock after Zhang Xuyang left?"

Because it's close to the end of the year, the grocery store is often short of items.

Seeing that they were about to leave, Qin Zhenzhen quickly stepped forward and blocked Shen Siheng's way with a fake smile: "Shen Siheng, don't be in such a hurry to leave. You came here to buy books, right? I came to pick up a few books for my older brother today. I heard that you were looking for a chess manual last time. My older brother happens to have a few of them. Why don't you and your friend come to my house to take a look?"

Shen Siheng grabbed Meng Jiuhe in front of him and walked outside, looking resistant: "I don't think it's necessary. You can keep it and study it slowly on your own, or give it to your little brothers. We can't afford it."

Qin Zhenzhen's expression visibly changed. She stomped her foot angrily: "Shen Siheng, what exactly do you mean? Who are you being sarcastic to? It's wrong of me to kindly give you the chess manual. Don't think you can act tough and lecture me just because you have some connection with my older brother. You're just an ignorant little rascal. Do you even deserve to be looked at by me? Bah! Who cares about you?"

While Qin Zhenzhen was cursing, Shen Siheng had already dragged Meng Jiuhe far away. Glancing at Zhang Xuyang, who was still slowly walking around, he took a rare moment of kindness, went over, pulled him up, and started running too.

He led one of them by the hand, and they ran until they were both panting heavily. After running almost a block, Zhang Xuyang asked, panting heavily, "Shen Siheng, why are you running like that? Aren't you tired? We are! Is that woman some kind of tigress?"

Seeing that he had run out of the street, Shen Siheng sat down in a teahouse next door, and a waiter came over to call someone to bring him a pot of tea.

Shen Siheng patted the stool: "Come on, you two sit down and have some tea to soothe your throats. Let me tell you, that woman Zhang Xuyang is more terrifying than a tigress. You're lucky you met me today, and I'm unusually kind and saved you. I'm not usually this easy to talk to."

After saying that, he looked at Zhang Xuyang with a smug expression, as if to say, "Why don't you hurry up and thank me?" Zhang Xuyang looked at him blankly and said, "Why should I thank you? She's just a woman, what's so scary about her? The beasts in the mountains have sharp teeth, does she have fangs and eat people?"

Shen Siheng picked up a rough bowl with some disdain, then slammed it down in front of him and rudely poured him a bowl of water. He looked at him with displeasure and said, "I'm here today to save you from your suffering. If that woman takes a liking to you and takes you back to be her husband, your life will be over."

Then she carefully poured a bowl of tea for Meng Jiuhe from the teapot: "Brother Meng, have some tea. I'm telling you, it's a good thing you're a married woman, but don't be complacent. Qin Zhenzhen is immoral. Even if you were a married woman, she would still snatch you away. With your face, why don't you run away quickly and stay there to let her take advantage of you?"

Meng Jiu looked at him with a puzzled expression: "What do you mean by that?"

Shen Siheng took a sip of tea, his brows furrowing visibly: "This tea is really bitter, and it tastes like stale tea. Boss, is this old tea? And it's all tea dust. Can't you get a better pot?"

The owner walked over with a smile: "Sir, you get what you pay for. A bowl of coarse tea costs one coin, enough to quench your thirst. Don't be too picky. If you want to drink the finest tea, look, there's a teahouse just ahead on the right."

Zhang Xuyang covered his mouth and chuckled to himself. After the shopkeeper left, he smiled at Shen Siheng and said, "Young Master Shen, don't you even know how it is in this humble place? We're lucky to have a bowl of coarse tea to quench our thirst. You're making such a fuss. You're such a spoiled brat who doesn't know the hardships of life."

Shen Siheng looked unconvinced and gulped down another bowl of tea, forcing it down: "Who said I'm a rich young master who doesn't know the hardships of life? Let me tell you, whatever you can eat and drink, I can do the same."

Meng Jiuhe had a faint smile on his lips. These two were always arguing when they were together. They were either bickering or on their way to bicker. They had just finished arguing again.

Shen Siheng suddenly shouted, "We've been so busy arguing with you that we forgot to get down to business. Let me tell you, Qin Zhenzhen is the daughter of Chief Clerk Qin. Her father dotes on her a lot in his old age. I don't know if Qin Zhenzhen is just incompatible with him or if she's just destined to be unlucky, but she's been rejected by three men. She's already in her early twenties and still hasn't gotten married."

Zhang Xuyang took another sip of tea and asked the question that had been bothering him: "Twenty is still unmarried, so she's not exactly an old maid. How come she's acting like a tigress? The way you're so afraid of her is like she's some kind of monster."

Shen Siheng shook his head and waved his hand: "That's not right. Although she's not a monster, she's not far off. Her three fiancés are the most handsome and learned men in the county. She spent a long time choosing them at the academy, but after they were engaged to her, they either fell off their horses for no reason or were disfigured. She started arranging marriages at fifteen and didn't get married until she was twenty. In the past five years, she's only been engaged to these three men. And those she messed up, Qin Zhenzhen is just like her father, the magistrate, who loves beautiful women."

"Whenever she saw a man with any good looks, she would flirt with him. Relying on her father, who was a clerk, she acted recklessly in the county. Every time young men of marriageable age saw her, they would avoid her and take a long detour. Some even wore veils when they went out."

Zhang Xuyang was so shocked that his mouth dropped open: "Is it really that exaggerated? We just walked along the road, and all the men we saw were dressed normally!"

Meng Jiuhe nodded: "That's right, the outfits we saw were all very normal, not as exaggerated as you described."

Shen Siheng then explained: "Although she broke off the engagement three times, her father was reprimanded by the county magistrate in the past two years, which made other eligible young men afraid to show off in public. So she has become more restrained. But she has a father who is a clerk and has a good relationship with the county magistrate, so he can only turn a blind eye."

Zhang Xuyang nodded: "That makes a lot of sense. Besides, these days officials just protect each other."

Shen Siheng nodded: "What you said makes sense. And let me tell you, if you want to get into the county school, the clerk has to decide on the exam."

Meng Jiuhe looked at him, his confusion deepening: "We are entering the county school to take the exam openly and aboveboard, so why should this registrar have the final say?"

Shen Siheng: "You are unaware of this. Although the county school is funded by the county, it has several owners. One of them is the registrar's brother-in-law. He is just a figurehead; he is the one who actually controls it."