Chapter 1 You Guarantee It

At the age of nine, Shanlai decided to sell himself into slavery.

Jiangnan is a land of abundant water, both in the sky and on the ground. Shanlai is a wild girl who grew up in this watery region.

Huixian Town, Qingshui County, Pingzhou Prefecture.

The fairy's descent was a very long time ago. It is said that a radiant light illuminated the surroundings, and with a wave of her fair hand, points of light seeped into the earth, instantly turning the land into a field of blooming flowers and fluttering butterflies. The story has been passed down through generations and is still known to everyone today. The people of Huixian Town are all proud of it, because their home was once blessed by the gods and is a blessed land.

Huixian Town is indeed a blessed place; the flowers always bloom better than elsewhere, and the water is sweeter, but it is poor.

Beautiful mountains, beautiful waters, and beautiful lands are all the possessions of noble people, the blessings of fairies. How can ordinary people be worthy of enjoying them?

Shanlai's family was extremely poor.

The Yao family consists of only two people, the father and daughter, who live at the foot of the mountain by the stream, making a living by tending their four acres of paddy fields.

Rice is grown in the fields all year round. Because they couldn't afford an ox, the father took on all the work in the fields, working hard from dawn till dusk every day. The daughter stayed at home, peeling lotus pods, opening water chestnuts, picking water caltrops, cutting water shield, and chopping grass to feed the chickens and ducks. She was also busy all day long.

However, they are still poor.

It rains, lots of rain. The seedlings rot at the bottom of the water, the pollen is washed away, and they can't bear fruit. Even if they survive and reach harvest time safely, after threshing the seeds, they still have to be dried, and it still rains.

While drying the rice, people sat under the trees peeling lotus pods. Suddenly, a heavy rain fell without warning. People were busy harvesting rice, while geese and ducks were busy quacking and breaking through the bamboo fence, escaping into the paddy fields to eat fish and shrimp to their hearts' content.

The rain stopped quickly.

It was so fast that it left people bewildered and wondering why such a rain was falling.

She couldn't figure out why, and cried very hard.

Yao Yong rushed back in a panic. He had gone into the mountains early that morning to gather medicinal herbs. Deep in the mountains grew many valuable herbs, but also poisonous snakes and wild beasts; people often disappeared there. Yao Yong needed the money he could earn from the herbs, and his daughter needed him, but his daughter was more important, so he never coveted anything, only taking short trips nearby. He hadn't gone too far, but it was still too late.

The heavy rain ruined everything, and his daughter squatted on the ground, burying her face in her hands and crying.

He knew why his daughter was crying, so he hurried over and told her in a gentle voice, "It's alright, it's not your fault. You are the best and most obedient daughter in the world." As he spoke, he reached behind his back, grabbed two bright red peaches from his basket, and handed them to the crying little girl, saying, "These peaches look very good. They should be very sweet. Eat them quickly."

The geese and ducks were herded back inside the fence. Since they couldn't find suitable bamboo for the time being, they patched up the broken holes with branches. The rice was spread out again. Shanlai sat under the tree, holding a peach and eating it slowly. Yao Yong said with a smile, "Later, we'll go to the rice paddy to catch a big carp and make soup for my daughter to nourish her body. My daughter has been helping me with so many things lately, she's worked so hard."

He is truly the best father in the world.

Therefore, Shanlai was willing to do anything for him.

Selling herself into servitude was nothing; as long as it could save her father's life, she wouldn't even flinch if it meant her own death.

Yao was very ill.

He was a good father and a good person.

A mile west of the Yao family lived a family of three: a young couple and a young child. This family was also poor, even more so than the Yao family. But just a few years ago, things were much better. Back then, the family consisted of an elderly mother, two brothers, their wives, and their five children, all living together in a bustling, prosperous household. The young widow had endured hardship, raising her two sons, finding them wives, and caring for their newborn. She often remarked that misfortune had finally spared her, and she was sure to have a better life from now on. But she was wrong, terribly wrong. The elder of her two sons, for the sake of the family's future, left their homeland to go south to do business. He was a capable man and quickly built a fortune. Capable people are rarely satisfied; he wanted to earn more. This led to disaster. He borrowed money everywhere, but ended up losing all his goods and even his life. Fortunately, he was dead; with death comes the debt, and there was nothing more to say. However, his mother and brothers chose to repay his debts. All the laughter and joy vanished like a dream, leaving only desolation. The young widow wanted to remarry, taking her two seven- or eight-year-old sons with her. The old widow, knowing the hardships of widowhood, granted her wish. To repay the debts, the old woman once again went to the fields with her son and daughter-in-law. She died on a cold winter day, quietly, without disturbing anyone. Her son and daughter-in-law buried their mother, and later buried their two children as well. Last winter, during a heavy snowfall, the family, carrying several earthenware jars filled with copper coins, knocked on the door of their last creditor.

Yao Yong often visited this family. He was moved by their plight, admired their character, and spared no effort in helping them.

This year's weather was excellent, with favorable winds and rain, resulting in a rare bumper harvest. The village was filled with joy during the rice harvest.

After finishing his own work, Yao Yong went to help that family, threshing and drying the rice.

However, it started raining again, with a sudden downpour without any warning.

Fate really loves to play tricks on the unfortunate.

Yao was soaked to the bone by the heavy rain.

Shanlai was concerned about his health, but he was more concerned about the family's future.

"If the next few days are sunny, it won't matter if the rice gets soaked by rain. But if... they harvest too late, even if it's just two days early! That would be really bad luck!"

They were indeed unlucky, because for more than ten days in a row after the rain, it was cloudy and rainy.

That family's stone mill kept turning.

Soaked rice cannot be stored anymore; it can only be ground into flour, mixed into a paste, and used to make cakes.

A family of three—parents and their five-year-old child—were all working tirelessly around the stone mill.

Many people went to help.

Yao Yong did not go.

He was so sick he couldn't get out of bed.

That night, after being caught in the rain, he felt feverish and dizzy. He thought he would get some medicine during the day, but after dawn, he no longer felt unwell, so he saved the money for the medicine.

This is definitely a losing proposition.

Shanlai didn't know when his father started burning up; he only knew that by the morning of the third day, his father was scalded like burning charcoal.

The doctor arrived, and the villagers came one after another, offering advice and helping, but Yao Yong's condition showed no improvement.

The jar that held the money was smashed, the newly harvested rice was loaded onto the truck, medicine was always simmering in the pot, and smoke kept billowing from the chimney.

Shanlai also went to the temple to ask for medicine.

He kowtowed three times with each step, his head breaking and blood staining the stone bricks, all to obtain a handful of incense ash from before the Buddha's throne.

Yao drank the incense ash water, but his condition still did not improve.

The family that had received his kindness offered him all their possessions as a way of repaying him, but he refused to accept a single penny. When they left with the money, he insisted on returning it to them.

He knew in his heart that he was probably doomed this time, and there was no need to implicate others.

I just feel bad for my daughter.

One day, Aunt Huang, a wealthy and shrewd widow, came to the Yao family. She wiped away her tears as she spoke, saying that the father and daughter had suffered a lot, that Heaven was blind, and that good people did not get good rewards. Later, she talked about her own suffering, that her husband had died early, and that her mother-in-law was a formidable woman who tormented her. Finally, she said that she was willing to take Shan into her home and would definitely raise her as her own daughter.

Widow Huang has a son, the only son in the Huang family. He was born mentally challenged and is now eleven years old. He is excessively fat and stupid, like a pig.

This is taking advantage of someone's misfortune.

Shanlai was a very beautiful girl. Despite growing up in a poor family, she had the qualities of a flower. She was fair-skinned, so fair and translucent, with only her cheeks flushed like pink dumplings. Her features were bright and her demeanor was pretty and graceful.

People say that Old Man Yao is lucky; with such a daughter, she might marry a county magistrate someday and enjoy endless wealth and honor for the rest of her life.

Now, seeing that he has no future, Old Man Yao's beautiful daughter, unable to become the county magistrate's wife, can only marry a fat, pig-like fool.

That's utterly degrading.

Aunt Huang made an opening.

Even a toad wants to eat swan meat.

The others couldn't sit still any longer either.

Although they were not as wealthy as Widow Huang, their son was a capable man, not stupid, and able to work.

It's just a matter of adding a bowl of rice, or even less than a whole bowl; half a bowl would be enough.

Families with unmarried sons, regardless of whether their sons are thirty years old or still breastfeeding, all want to bring Shan to their homes.

They fought over the ailing Yao Yong, even coming to blows. When the village elders arrived, they didn't stop, and eventually smashed Yao's house to pieces.

Once the commotion was over, everyone dispersed.

Amidst the chaos, the Yao father and daughter stood silently, tears streaming down their faces.

Without her father, where will the little girl go? Where will she find shelter? Will she be able to survive?

This child has always been burdened with too many worries.

Yao was determined to do something; he wanted this girl to live a strong and courageous life.

Yao Yong had a secret that he had kept hidden in his heart for many years and had never told anyone.

Today he intends to tell the girl in front of him a reason to live.

Just as he was about to speak, another guest arrived.

Chunyan, the fourth daughter of the Song family, was a fourteen-year-old girl. A few years earlier, she had been sold by her family to a wealthy family in the city to work as a maid. When she left home, Shan came to her house and gave her thirteen eggs. Shan had been saving up those thirteen eggs for half a month.

The Song family had many children, and even boys were worthless, let alone girls. They were just weeds, abandoned after birth. The sisters would fight over this and that. Chunyan was small, so she couldn't win against this or that, and thus she was thin and never pretty.

But things are different now.

Tall and voluptuous, dressed in red and green, adorned with rouge and white, and embellished with gold and jade, she shone brightly wherever she went.

She still remembers those thirteen eggs.

“That Huang fellow is insane! He’s really got some nerve! Come with me, Shan! Go to the Liu residence. The young master is short of someone to serve him with his writing materials. They’ve been searching everywhere for over a month and haven’t found anyone suitable. You’re guaranteed to do it! Come with me, don’t let them mistreat you! With the money, get some good medicine for Uncle Yao. He’s your only relative, you have to keep him here…”

A note from the author: