Quick Transmigration: The Control Group in Sweet Novels

Once out of Lin Huaixu's sight, Qi Rongguang's eager smile faded almost entirely, and he pedaled his tricycle toward the village.

The tricycle wheels rolled over the uneven yellow mud and stopped at the entrance of the Qi family's low earthen courtyard.

The courtyards in the mountains are all very similar in their simplicity, with mud walls and the yards full of farm tools and firewood. When the wind blows, it stirs up dust that makes your eyes squint.

Qi Yang silently jumped down from the truck bed. As soon as she stood up, she heard faint sounds of someone reciting a text coming from the neighboring yard. She subconsciously glanced in that direction.

The walls here are very low; you can practically see into everyone else's yard from your own.

An eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl with double braids and delicate features was sitting in the courtyard reading aloud from a worn-out textbook. It was Chu Wangshu.

Qi Rongguang looked disdainful. Seeing Qi Yang's stunned expression, he sneered, "A girl like you, how many words do you even know?"

Qi Yang followed behind him, and upon hearing this sarcastic remark, the girl couldn't help but whisper, "You're a grown man, and I haven't seen you know that many women!"

Her voice was barely audible, but Qi Rongguang still heard it.

"What did you say?" Qi Rongguang stopped abruptly, his eyes widening as he turned to look at her. "I think you've gotten too big for your britches lately, following that Zhou family brat!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand to hit Qi Yang.

Qi Yang was prepared and quickly dodged to the side, avoiding his slap, and dashed into the house.

Qi Rongguang was filled with rage and strode in, intending to discipline his daughter. He cursed and swore as he walked, his vulgar voice echoing throughout the courtyard.

"That brat is getting more and more unruly."

Seeing that the commotion had gotten bigger, Dong Yuehua, who was guarding the stove, rushed out.

The woman, worn out from years of hard work, had a haggard, sallow face covered with deep and shallow lines. She reached out and grabbed Qi Rongguang's arm tightly. "Stop chasing him. Calm down first. Tianci was just complaining about his arm hurting."

Upon hearing this, Qi Rongguang stopped what he was doing, his previous anger dissipating considerably. He frowned, his face still grim. "If he dares to fight with others outside, he shouldn't come back complaining of pain. A grown man, yet he has no backbone at all."

Despite saying that, the anger on her face clearly subsided, replaced by heartache for her youngest son.

Qi Rongguang flung his sleeves, no longer bothering to chase after Qi Yang, and hurriedly walked into the inner room, thinking, "None of them are easy to deal with."

He turned to Dong Yuehua and instructed, "Fry two extra eggs when cooking dinner tonight; we need to give the child some nourishment."

Dong Yuehua quickly nodded in agreement.

Qi Yang hid behind the wooden box. These days, the houses in this mountain valley don't have doors; they're all separated by curtains, so there's absolutely no soundproofing between rooms.

She only came out when she heard the noise.

Some time ago, Qi Rongguang's beloved son, Qi Tianci, started going astray with the unruly boys in the village. He spent his days following them around, getting into fights and brawls, and always came back covered in bruises.

Immediately, Qi Rongguang angrily rolled up his sleeves and rushed to the other party's house to cause trouble, demanding compensation for medical expenses. However, when he arrived at the other party's house, he discovered that the other party's child was more seriously injured than Qi Tianci. With the two children in comparison, Qi Rongguang realized that he could not get anything out of the situation and had no choice but to slink back.

Even so, they couldn't bear to criticize Qi Tianci in the slightest.

Qi Yang bent down and straightened up from behind the old wooden box, raising her hand to pat the dust off her clothes.

She had just taken half a step when a tender little face suddenly appeared in front of her. It was her third sister, who was only a little over a year older than Qi Tianci. She was wearing patched coarse cloth clothes, which were Qi Yang's and her older sister Qi Jing's tattered clothes.

Qi An blinked her dark eyes at her, her voice soft, "Sister, you don't need to hide anymore. Dad went to see his brother, so he won't talk to you anymore."

Qi Yang looked at the little girl's gentle and obedient appearance, slowly walked out from the corner, raised her hand and gently touched the top of her head, without saying a word, with a hint of helplessness in her eyes.

The family has three daughters, each one cautious and mindful of others' feelings, but Qi Tianci is spoiled rotten by Qi Rongguang, which has long been the norm in this family.

In the evening, wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys of Qingya Village, and the air was filled with the aromas of grass, trees, and food.

On the simple wooden table were several plates of bland vegetables. The only meat was a fried egg specially reserved for Qi Tianci. The family of six sat together, but the atmosphere was not exactly lively.

Qi Rongguang picked at the rice in his bowl, put down his chopsticks, and said in a deep voice, "There are important things to do at home these days. You all better behave yourselves and don't cause any trouble."

The important matter he was referring to was the marriage of his eldest sister, Qi Jing, which he had been arranging recently. His eldest sister was twenty years old this year, and Qi Rongguang had long asked the village matchmakers to inquire about marriages, hoping to marry off his eldest daughter as soon as possible and earn some dowry money to save for Qi Tianci to build a house and get married in the future.

The older woman at the table lowered her eyes and quietly picked at the rice in her bowl, her fingertips slightly curled, revealing no emotion.

In short, no one cared about her feelings.

...

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, a thick morning fog still enveloped the entire mountain.

Qi Yang had already gotten up, carrying farm tools to the outside of the yard. There was a small plot of land in the yard used to grow vegetables.

Having been here for a while, Qi Yang had figured out Qi Rongguang's personality: he was easily angered and irritable, and he was the most selfish and self-serving kind of person.

Qi Yang has nothing yet and doesn't want to openly confront him, so she got up early, carried a hoe, and pretended to flip it a few times.

As Qi Rongguang passed by the courtyard, he glanced at her coldly. Seeing her working diligently, he couldn't help but scold her, "Hurry up!"

As soon as everyone left, Qi Yang threw down his hoe.

The village was exceptionally quiet in the early morning, with only birdsong coming from the valley. Smoke was already rising from some houses, and the sound of someone reciting lessons from next door could be heard again.

By the dim light of dawn, Qi Yang could see Chu Wangshu in the opposite courtyard, holding an old textbook and carefully flipping through it.

Before Qi Yang could look away, Chu Wangshu suddenly closed her textbook gently. She looked at the small, thin figure working on the other side of the fence, hesitated for a moment, then got up and took a few steps forward, calling softly through the fence, "Yangyang-mei."

Hearing the other person's faint voice, Qi Yang was startled and raised her small face covered with a thin layer of sweat.

This was the first time the two of them had spoken since she transmigrated.

Qi Yang stood up and replied softly, "What's wrong, Sister Wangshu?"

Chu Wangshu looked at the ground beneath her feet with mixed feelings. Every time she got up to study, she would see the girl next door bending over to work in the morning light, her thin and slender back bent, her hands struggling to grip the hoe in her hands.

She asked softly, "Do you do this every day?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yang nodded silently, looking quiet and sensible.

Chu Wangshu looked at her innocent appearance, paused for a moment, then suddenly leaned closer and lowered his voice, saying, "The world has changed now. It's no longer the time when you could make a living by farming. Studying is the most useful way out, otherwise you'll be trapped in these mountains for the rest of your life."

As she spoke, she looked into Qi Yang's pure eyes and said, "If you want to study, I have textbooks here that I can lend you."