Tian Yu walked for quite a while from the outskirts of the village before finally arriving at the wasteland the village head had mentioned. The land looked arable, located halfway up the hill behind the village. It appeared to have been cultivated before, but the surrounding fences were badly damaged, indicating it would require considerable effort. The area was quite large; she wondered if she could manage it all by herself. After quickly repairing the fences, Tian Yu didn't dare linger and headed back, planning to return the next day with her belongings. On her way back, Tian Yu took a shortcut, passing through the village where she encountered several women sitting under trees sewing clothes and making shoe soles. As Tian Yu passed by, the crowd began whispering and gossiping. Just as Tian Yu was about to pretend she didn't hear and leave, she heard Grandma Gouzi stand up and call out to her from the crowd. Tian Yu went to her, helped her sit down, and asked if she was feeling better. She explained that she had been too busy at home to visit her. Grandma Gouzi smiled and answered each question. Finally, in front of everyone, she praised Tian Yu, saying that whoever married such a good girl was truly blessed, and those who didn't would naturally be envious and gossip behind her back. She declared that she wouldn't tolerate anyone speaking ill of Tian Yu in front of her; if it weren't for Tian Yu's help, she would be dead long ago. From now on, no one was allowed to bully Tian Yu, or else they would be making things difficult for her. The other old women lowered their heads and stopped talking. A chubby woman next to them spoke up first to smooth things over, saying, "Aunt Zhao Jun, we were just chatting casually because we heard some nonsense from others! Actually, we all know what kind of person Zhao Sibao is. Young lady Zhao, please don't be angry with us. We were just joking around."

“That’s right, Sister-in-law Zhao, you can’t take this seriously.” A younger person next to her chimed in.

"It's alright, I don't take it seriously. You can just call me Tian Yu from now on. I have something to do, so I won't keep you company any longer."

After exchanging pleasantries, Tian Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief and left. She went to the riverbank to find Tang Yuan, and then helped Gouzi and the others collect snails for a while before going home. She ran into Chen Chong at her doorstep, who had just arrived. She asked him why he had rushed home, but he remained silent, acting mysteriously. He pulled Tian Yu inside, pulled a bag from his pocket, and threw it on the table, saying it was for building Tian Yu's house. Tian Yu opened it and saw a bag full of silver coins, several in various sizes, filling a small sack. She asked him how he had so much money, and Chen Chong explained that he and his father had saved up what they earned from hunting over the years, as they hadn't spent much. Tang Yuan was overjoyed. Hearing about building a new house and seeing so much money, he said he would also hunt to earn money to build a new house for his mother. Chen Chong said there were about seventy or eighty taels of silver, definitely enough for building a house. Tian Yu carefully put the money away and tried to give it to Chen Chong to take home for later use, saying she had her own money for the house. Chen Chong, of course, wouldn't let Tian Yu accept it; it was meant for her anyway. Tian Yu didn't want to explain to this simpleton, so she asked him where he was going to get money to marry a wife if he had given her everything now. She then took out a small silver ingot from her bag, saying that was enough, and she would keep the rest for herself. Tang Yuan chimed in, urging him to save more money, otherwise how would he marry his mother?

Hearing what Tian Yu and Tang Yuan said, Chen Chong nodded with a silly grin and stuffed the money back into his pocket. The three of them looked at each other and smiled, because they all felt that the future was promising.

The next morning, after breakfast, Tian Yu went to the village head to discuss the wasteland behind the village. Tangyuan and Maorong went to the river to find Gouzi and the others. Just as they arrived at the village head's house, before even entering, they heard Chen Chong's voice. Tian Yu didn't believe it, thinking she'd misheard. Entering, she saw that it was indeed Chen Chong talking to the village head. Chen Chong glanced at Tian Yu casually before continuing his discussion. Tian Yu thought to herself, "Is he going to pretend he doesn't know me again? He's quite the actor." Zhao Jinxin's wife, Wen Hong, led her into the house. Zhao Jinxiu had gone to the county town and hadn't returned yet. After exchanging a few polite words with Wen Hong, she heard Chen Chong say, "Village head, you flatter me. I came today to ask if the wasteland behind the village could be leased to me for cultivation."

"Oh, you want to farm? You're not going to hunt anymore?"

"No, it's just that I'm thinking about making more money in my spare time so I can get married in the future, isn't that right?"

"Oh, is that so! But I promised to let Xiaotian plant it yesterday, what should I do? Luckily she's here now, why don't you talk to her about it first?"

"In that case, I'll ask her opinion first."

Tian Yu pretended not to know Chen Chong and greeted him politely. They pretended to discuss something and finally decided, at the village head's suggestion, to plant the crops together, splitting the profits equally. After agreeing on the terms and signing the contract, the two walked out of the village head's house together. Only then did Tian Yu say, "Great! Chen Chong can even act now. Are you worried that I can't handle it all by myself, so you came up with this idea so you can help me legitimately?"

"Good to know, let's go!" The two smiled at each other and then separated by some distance.

"No, I need to go to the river to find some glutinous rice balls first."

"Then I'll go with you."

"No, you still need to farm to earn money to get married, so I won't bother you."

"Alright then, I'll be going now." He gave Tian Yu a proper bow and actually left. Tian Yu wanted to laugh, but since they were in the village, she lowered her head and slowly followed Chen Chong to the riverbank. When they reached a secluded spot, Chen Chong deliberately slowed his pace, waiting for Tian Yu to approach or glancing back at her before continuing on. At the riverbank, they didn't see Gouzi, but they did see Gouzi's grandmother and Xiaohua collecting snails. Chen Chong took off his shoes and went into the river to help. Tian Yu learned that Gouzi had collected a lot yesterday and had taken them to the county town early this morning with some herbal medicine sellers. Tian Yu told Gouzi's grandmother not to go into the water, as she would feel terrible if she made her sick again. Chen Chong told her to rest and that he would collect the snails himself, then he, along with Tangyuan and Xiaohua, went into the water to collect snails. Gouzi's grandmother then returned to the bank to rest, promising not to go into the water again, but she asked Tian Yu to sit down and rest with her. Grandma Gouzi, sitting on the shore, touched Tianyu's hand and said, "You are all good children. You like that child, don't you?"

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