Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 56 - 54 Casual Talk on Reclamation

Chapter 56: Chapter 54: Casual Talk on Reclamation

Chapter 56 -54: Casual Talk on Reclamation

Shen Chengguang returned to the east wing with a sullen face.

Mr.

Shen sighed slightly and shook his head.

Since the separation, even his most obedient sons had become cunning, doing things behind his back.

Previously he found them to be obedient and respectful, but now it’s getting harder to handle them.

At least, they cannot be criticized for this.

Surprisingly, the third son bought that much wasteland all at once, and he as a father was kept in the dark.

Why didn’t his son dare to tell him how much land he had bought?

Was he afraid of it being taken away?

Mr.

Shen was worried.

Had he been wrong all along to take care of the main family first, hoping to improve everyone’s situation once the main family became rich?

However, Mr.

Shen might be overthinking this.

Prior to this, Shen Chengyao had simply been too busy and forgot to mention it.

When he did mention it, he was vague because he felt it was not the right time.

It had been less than two hours since Mrs.

Shen had made a scene.

Plus, buying this much wasteland at once was something even the village chief disagreed with, let alone his own parents.

He did not want to be scolded, yet he was confident the wasteland he bought would bring a huge profit.

This kind of unreasonable confidence in his children could not persuade others, so he only depended on the facts to prove it all.

Upon seeing Shen Chengguang storm back to the east wing, and Mr.

Shen looking troubled, Mrs.

Shen asked, “What happened?

What did the village chief say?”

Mr.

Shen didn’t hide anything and told her everything as it was.

Hearing what he said, Mrs.

Shen was so mad that she immediately put down the basket of sewing in her hands, preparing to get off the kang bed and confront Mrs.

Liu and Mrs.

Lu.

Mr.

Shen, however, held her back, “Enough, what do you think you are doing?

If you make a scene without thinking, it’ll be Chengguang and Wen’er’s reputation on the line!

If you make this mess, Chengguang’s previous efforts will be in vain, making everyone know whether Wen’er would be an official in the future or not.” Alas, this studying sure carries a heavy burden.

How could the third family not understand to support their own brothers?

Mrs.

Shen always heeded Mr.

Shen’s words, but she was still furious.

Today, Liu was responsible for cooking, she would have to vent on her.

As the saying goes, ‘Each flower blooms in its own way’.

Some villagers came to ask Mrs.

Liu if they could start work on the wasteland now, to which Mrs.

Liu gave a nod, “Yes, the wasteland on both sides of the road at the entrance of the village, all bought by our family.

You guys can start the work now, but you must bring your own farming tools.

Fifty coins an acre, after you finish, let me check, if it passes, I can give you the money right away.”

Hearing that they could start working on the wasteland immediately, everyone stopped talking and quickly lined up to sign up before going home to get their farming tools.

Those who went first could pick a better part of the land to work on, thus saving some effort and time to work on more land.

In this era, most villagers are not afraid of hard work or hardship, but are afraid of having no work and no food.

They believe that physical strength can never be exhausted.

But many times, even if they wish to work hard to earn money, there are no opportunities.

Five days later, at least one person from each household had gone to work, and they were now making the best use of their time.

Everyone in the family, old and young, was busy working.

Mrs.

Liu and her three daughters-in-law were chatting on the side.

“Mrs.

Chengyao, your family is paying too high a wage.

If you ask me, if you offer thirty or forty coins, many people would still do it.

This is an idle time for farming now, many people are idle at home,” Mrs.

Dashi said softly.

Mrs.

Liu had previously mentioned that she would help open up the wasteland, so she agreed without any hesitation.

They hadn’t discussed the wages, and she was certainly taken aback upon hearing fifty coins an acre.

Mrs.

Dashu also nodded.

“The wages are too high.

Your family will lose too much.

Both of us won’t accept wages and work for you for a few days.

We are idle at home anyway.”

Mrs.

Liu smiled, “How can that be?

We will give everyone else, so we will definitely not give less to you.

Xiao’er said that if the wages are higher, everyone will work harder, and we can cultivate the land faster.

Let’s just think of it as helping out our fellow villagers and accumulating some good karma.”

Mrs.

Youfu heard and praised her, “Xiao’er has such a kind heart, she not only can help but she is capable too.

Sister-in-law, you are blessed.”

“Xiao’er is a girl with her own ideas, very capable even at such a young age.

She is the first of her kind in our village.” Because they got along well with Mrs.

Liu and often went to do laundry together, they knew a lot of the money to buy the land came from Xiao’er’s drawings.

“Perhaps it’s true that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

Xiao’er had a head injury before and was on the verge of death.

I was worried and couldn’t sleep for several nights.

I didn’t expect that her intelligence would improve after she woke up.” Thinking about the past, Mrs.

Liu felt heartbroken.

“It seems you are the lucky one.

Your family’s Jingrui and Jinghao are not bad either.

Look at Jingrui just now, he was not nervous at all when he was talking.

He looked more dignified than when you’re in charge.”

“Children don’t know what fear is, unlike us adults who are always trying to safe face.”

At this moment, a young wife came to Mrs.

Liu and timidly spoke, “Mrs.

Liu, I also want to sign up, can I?”

Seeing who it was, Mrs.

Liu enthusiastically said, “Is that you, Wen Hui?

Of course, you can!

I’ll count you in.”

“Thank you, Mrs.

Liu.

Then I’ll start working the wasteland now.” Xu Wenhui spoke in a very soft voice, but Mrs.

Liu still heard her and nodded.

“Ah, poor girl.

She’s still so young, it’s truly unfair on her.” Mrs.

Liu remarked pityingly as she watched her receding figure.

The young wife’s name was Xu Wenhui.

Only two years into her marriage, she and her husband agreed to a divorce.

She was originally married to a scholar who earned the qualifications of a second-tier scholar after they were wed for two years.

He was noticed by a high-ranking official who planned to welcome him as a son-in-law.

Hearing this, the scholar’s mother divorced Wenhui using the excuse they had no children after two years of marriage.

Wenhui disagreed, as by the laws of the Minze Dynasty, a wife can only be divorced if there’s no offspring after three years into the marriage.

She didn’t agree to the divorce, but she was willing to separate, and the scholar accepted because both outcomes would have the same result for him.

Wenhui returned to her maternal home, only to be unwelcome by her brother and sister-in-law.

Her only mother, already grieved and angry due to her circumstances, had an already frail health deteriorate further, and passed away within the year.

Wenhui was then thrown out by her sister-in-law.

The village chief pitied her and gave her a plot of land, and also arranged for several men from the village to build her a thatched house and fence a courtyard.

This way, she had a place to reside.

To earn a living, she did some needlework and grew and sold some vegetables in the courtyard of her thatched house.

She was now barely nineteen – not even twenty – and was living a widow’s life.

Because of her marital status, the villagers kept their distance, and under frequent rumors from her sister-in-law, about her being lazy or being a petty thief, she barely had the courage to face people.

She spent each day enduring pointing fingers and sidelong glances, thus becoming more and more withdrawn.

“She’s not at fault for her divorce; she was a good girl.

It’s all down to her bad luck.

If only she had married well, things wouldn’t be like this.” Dashi’s wife remarked, shaking her head in regret.

“Her ex-husband wasn’t a man at all!” Youfu’s wife remarked angrily.

“A girl’s second life depends on whom she marries.

When we choose a match for our daughters in the future, we must know them well.” Dashu’s wife, thinking about her ten-year-old daughter, cautioned.

The other women agreed, for a lifetime is too long to be married to a bad match.

The conversation veered onto other matters when a shrill voice intruded, “Oh my, third sister-in-law, you were secretive about buying such a large amount of land.

It must have cost at least 300 taels – you even pay your workers a high wage of 50 coins per acre.

You really struck a pot of gold.

Why do you always hide things at home?”

“What are you talking about, second sister-in-law?

Her father already told our parents that we bought some wasteland to farm and build a house.”

She knew that the third branch of the family bought some wasteland to build a house yesterday, but she didn’t know they bought so much.

More than eighty acres of wasteland, plus two hills, added up to at least two hundred acres.

This would require at least 300 taels – where did the third branch get so much silver?

She felt a twinge of envy and jealousy.

“Who doesn’t hide their silver?

Do you share yours openly?” Youfu’s wife was the one who couldn’t stand Mrs.

Li, having had minor disputes with her in the past, hence she shot back without hesitation.

“What has our conversation got to do with you, mind your own business.”

“Wasn’t it you who interrupted us, so I spoke up when I saw an injustice.”

…

The two quarrelled incessantly.

At this point, Xiao’er brought a sign-up list and walked over with Jingrui, “Mom, everyone has signed up, let’s go to the village head to see the situation.

Aunties, are you coming too?”

“Go, why not?” Youfu’s wife answered loudly, then glazed away at Mrs.

Li and left.

“Second sister-in-law, are you going?” Mrs.

Liu asked Mrs.

Li, who was ready to argue.

Mrs.

Li saw that Youfu’s wife had left and snorted, “Not going!”

Mrs.

Li saw Aunt Wang and several women from the village chatting about something and decided to go listen, as they were the know-it-alls of the village with the latest gossip.