Chapter 11
11.
The broom was removed, revealing the owner behind it.
Guan Yue then got a good look at the village chief. He was quite old, around fifty years old. The nasolabial folds around his mouth made him look serious and cold. He wasn't very tall, and there were streaks of white hair at his temples, but his hands were strong and powerful like eagle claws. He held the broom like a warrior holding a weapon.
She's a woman, and a woman who's not to be trifled with.
Although Guan Yue knew that this was a world where women were respected, she still felt a strange emotion when she saw that the village chief was also a woman.
The village chief looked her up and down, then at Cheng Lingjun, and asked, "Did you come together?"
"no!"
Cheng Lingjun was about to speak when Guan Yue jumped up and denied it, "I arrived first, he arrived later, I don't even know him!"
The village chief glanced at her sideways, his expression revealing his meaning perfectly.
Cheng Lingjun rubbed his forehead. He had clearly shouted just now, which had already revealed that he knew Guan Yue's intentions. Moreover, they were standing so close to each other. It would be a lie to say that the village chief didn't suspect anything.
After Guan Yue finished speaking, seeing that the village chief clearly did not believe her, she had no choice but to say seriously, "Actually, I didn't know the way, so I asked Cheng Jun to help me find the way."
The village chief snorted, "Didn't you say you didn't know me?"
"Uh...hehehehe." Guan Yue laughed awkwardly.
The village chief ignored her and looked at Cheng Lingjun, saying, "Little Cheng, did this scoundrel force you? Tell me, why would she, a native of Dahuai Village, need you to lead the way?"
Cheng Lingjun looked at the village chief's protective manner and then at Guan Yue's embarrassed face, and shook her head and said, "No, Village Chief Rui, please don't misunderstand. She has lost her memory and can't remember the roads in the village. She really didn't force me or do anything excessive to me."
Rui Xi turned her head in surprise, only to see Guan Yue nodding vigorously, which made her even more astonished.
She circled Guan Yue a few times, muttering to herself, "...What happened? She's really changed her personality. She seemed so well-behaved, even better than my little one. Could she have eaten something wrong?"
Rui Xi didn't quite believe Guan Yue's amnesia, suspecting that Guan Yue was faking it. This was understandable, after all, she had acted like a scoundrel just a few days ago, and now she suddenly said that she had amnesia and had reformed. No one could believe it at first glance.
Guan Yue was at a loss, but she still had to ask the questions she needed to ask. She asked, "Village chief, actually I wanted to check my land. I want to grow some crops myself so I can make a living."
Rui Xi raised her eyelids slightly. "You don't have any land."
"What?!" Guan Yue couldn't help but exclaim, suppressing the anger rising within her, and said, "Village Chief Rui, even if you don't believe me, that's my family's land, you have to tell me, right?"
Rui Xi said, "I already told you, you don't have any land."
"you!"
Cheng Lingjun couldn't stand it anymore, so he stepped forward and said softly, "Village Chief Rui, I believe her. She really wants to live a serious life. Please don't make things difficult for her. No matter what, it's better than the kind of life she used to live."
Rui Xi's attitude towards Cheng Lingjun was clearly different from her attitude towards Guan Yue. Hearing Cheng Lingjun say this, her expression softened a bit. "You silly child, don't be so naive as to be sold out without even knowing it. But, I'm not lying to you, she really has no land."
"ah?"
Guan Yue and Cheng Lingjun were both dumbfounded. Guan Yue asked urgently, "How could they not have any? My parents didn't have their own land before? How did they make a living?"
"They do have some."
Rui Xi's words puzzled Guan Yue even more. Before she could ask, Rui Xi continued, "But it's in your hands now. You sold the land to someone from the same village the year before last. You haven't forgotten that, have you?"
Guan Yue didn't immediately notice the sarcasm in Rui Xi's words. She craned her neck, widened her eyes, and asked, "Sold...sold? I sold it?"
“Yes!” Rui Xi affirmed, “Could it be that I sold it? You owed a debt at the time and insisted on selling it. I testified to that. If you want proof, I can give it to you. But that’s the truth. Everyone in the village knows about this. I’m not lying to you.”
Guan Yue almost fainted. How could she be so foolish? If a farmer sold his land, wasn't that like selling his livelihood? She now wanted to go back in time and give the original owner a good beating.
No wonder her house was so poor; she probably sold quite a lot of things.
Rui Xi scrutinized her face closely and muttered, "Really lost your memory?"
Seeing that Guan Yue seemed dazed and confused, more like a simpleton than someone with amnesia, Cheng Lingjun quickly whispered, "Village Chief, has she been traumatized?"
Rui Xi said uncertainly, "No way..."
"Why don't you give the land back to her?"
“That won’t do,” Rui Xi waved her hand and said, “Even if I were willing, they wouldn’t be. They paid money for it, so my opinion won’t help.”
Cheng Lingjun was just saying it casually, but then he pondered, "What if she wants to buy it back?"
“It’s hard to say,” Rui Xi scratched her head. “That piece of land has been abandoned for a long time. Someone bought it and built a house there. It wouldn’t be worth buying it back.”
"Besides," Rui Xi whispered in Cheng Lingjun's ear, "look at her, does she look like she has money? Xiao Cheng, I'm telling you, don't get involved in this mess. She's not related to you at all, she might be faking it. Don't be so naive."
Cheng Lingjun remained silent.
Guan Yue, having also snapped out of her daze, overheard their conversation and felt a chill run through her. Buying the land was out of the question; she knew her house couldn't even hold a copper coin. She had broken tables and chairs, but they were probably only good for firewood. Buying the land was now impossible.
But she didn't give up and asked, "Village chief, is there any land left in this village that is uninhabited?"
“Yes, we do have some, uncultivated land. You can have some if you want, but even if you plant now, you might not have enough to eat by this time next year,” Rui Xi said coolly, leaning on her broom.
"Hmm..." Guan Yue replied weakly.
Cheng Lingjun looked at her and suddenly said, "Isn't it time to reap the rewards?"
“Yes,” Rui Xi replied, somewhat puzzled as to why he suddenly asked that question.
"I heard that the village chief's family grows four or five acres of rice. It must be difficult to harvest them, right?"
"It's nothing, we can collect them slowly."
Cheng Lingjun said, "If there's one more person to collect it, it should be faster, right?"
Rui Xi had a bad feeling. "I have a lot of people in my family, so I don't need anyone's help."
"But I heard that the village chief's daughter and son-in-law have to visit relatives and might not be able to come back in time to harvest the rice?"
"You actually knew that?"
“You’ve forgotten that your granddaughter and my son studied at the same private school, so naturally she would have heard some things. I only overheard Xiao Guang mention it by chance, so I’m sorry if I offended the village chief.”
Rui Xi snorted, but there was no anger on her face. She simply said, "It doesn't matter if an old woman like me takes a little longer to clean up. Everyone in the village will help each other. Once the others are free, we can all clean up my rice paddy together."
Guan Yue didn't know what Cheng Lingjun's purpose was in saying all this to the village chief. Was she telling the village chief that it was rice harvest season and her situation was not optimistic, hoping to gain the village chief's sympathy? For example, could she ask the village chief to give her a piece of her family's land?
No way? Such a good thing really exists?
Guan Yue's mind was racing with all sorts of guesses, but she didn't want to bother Cheng Lingjun. Although she didn't understand, she could keenly sense that Cheng Lingjun was trying to help her, and no matter the outcome, she would always be grateful to him.
Cheng Lingjun laughed and said, "The rice harvest will probably start in the next few days. Everyone will be busy with their own family first, as they will need to pound and dry the rice. Even if the whole family works together, it will take several days to finish the harvest. By the time they have time to help the village chief with the harvest, it will be several more days. I imagine the village chief must be having a headache."
Rui Xi fell silent. She looked at Cheng Lingjun, then at the clueless Guan Yue, and asked, "So?"
“Ahem,” Cheng Lingjun said meaningfully, “What if there were a strong and capable laborer right now who could help the village chief?”
"Who?" Rui Xi asked knowingly.
“Hmm…” Cheng Lingjun pondered for a moment, and the two of them looked at Guan Yue at the same time.
Guan Yue: Huh? Me?
Rui Xi scoffed, "What can she do? She's just a silly girl."
Cheng Lingjun secretly broke out in a cold sweat. He had only come up with this idea on a whim, but the most crucial point was that he hadn't told Guan Yue beforehand. What if Guan Yue wasn't willing to do it? Wouldn't that be giving a bad idea and causing trouble?
He whispered in Guan Yue's ear, "Would you like to help the village chief harvest rice? It's not much, but if she agrees, she'll definitely give you some compensation. I can't guarantee how much, and you might have to do more than others but get less in return. After all, that's how the village chief will be willing to let you help... Why don't you think about it?"
Cheng Lingjun said this with a bit of guilt, because his idea wasn't very clever, but he had no other choice. Guan Yue's reputation in the village wasn't good, and other people certainly wouldn't be willing to ask Guan Yue for help, but the village chief might be different. If Guan Yue showed more enthusiasm, the village chief might agree. Moreover, if even the village chief was willing to accept Guan Yue, then whatever Guan Yue wanted to do in the future would probably go smoothly in the village.
However, Cheng Lingjun didn't tell Guan Yue what he was going to say next. Firstly, they were under the village chief's nose, so it wasn't appropriate to say too much. The longer they delayed, the less confident they seemed. Secondly, it mainly depended on Guan Yue's wishes. He hadn't done much farm work, but he had seen others do it, and they were all covered in sweat and mud. It was hard work, and he couldn't justify asking Guan Yue to do it, especially since there wasn't necessarily much reward. If Guan Yue wasn't willing...
Guan Yue felt his breath tickling her ear. Although it was said that men and women should be different, he was giving her advice after all. Guan Yue endured the heat rising in her ear and listened to Cheng Lingjun's words.
This is not—
Is this great news?!
Guan Yue looked at Cheng Lingjun and said, "Your idea is definitely correct. We'll do everything you say."
As a modern person who had transmigrated and knew nothing, she decided not to become a stumbling block to her good neighbor. She trusted Cheng Lingjun; he was a very good person and would never harm her.
Cheng Lingjun paused for a moment, then, under the other person's strangely innocent gaze, said, "...It's very hard and tiring, and the pay is probably low..."
"Hey, this is nothing," Guan Yue waved her hand dismissively. "It's alright, I'm not afraid of hardship or fatigue!"
Rui Xi, who was standing to the side, heard Guan Yue's bold words clearly. She began to look at Guan Yue in a different light, which also aroused her competitive spirit. She said, "Alright, alright, since you're so brave, I'll let you do it. I won't let you work for free. One mu of land, ten jin of grain. If you do a good job, there will be more. How about it?"
Guan Yue didn't know what ten jin meant. She just quickly calculated in her mind how much rice she used to use each month. The village chief had four or five mu of land. If she worked all of it, wouldn't she have forty or fifty jin of grain? Not to mention anything else, it would definitely be enough for the whole winter.
Before agreeing, she glanced at Cheng Lingjun, who was clearly hesitant. After a moment, he gave Guan Yue an encouraging look and whispered, "Don't force yourself."
Guan Yue's eyes lit up, and she looked at the village chief, saying, "Alright, Village Chief Rui, I'll do it!"
Rui Xi nodded, looking at her meaningfully, "Young people are full of energy, just don't give up halfway."
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