Chapter 5

Dong Yun’s craftsmanship was very good. Pear Blossom carried a pot to the field, where the whole family hid in a corner among the rocks and enjoyed a meal of wild vegetables.

Pear Blossom had meat for two consecutive days, feeling satisfied but still wanting more. Unfortunately, today she didn’t gain any attributes directly like yesterday, but she didn’t mind much. Compared to before, being able to eat her fill was already something to be grateful for.

Watching the children eat and drink to their hearts’ content, Xiong felt increasingly guilty. She thought to herself that it was her incompetence as a mother that caused the children to suffer. Now even her simple-minded daughter had matured, making her feel uneasy about eating alone in secret due to her multiple marriages.

“Pear Blossom, take the pot to the river to wash and return it to Fu Bao Niang. It’s not good to trouble her all the time. See if you can help with something, but don’t let your grandmother catch you.”

Lihua replied and took the pot to the river. After scrubbing it several times with banana leaves, she also cleaned the outside of the pot ashes before heading to the Zeng family’s small courtyard.

Now she was stronger than before. Just after Dong Yun cooked the rabbit meat, she split two large bundles of firewood in one go, something she wouldn’t have dared to think about before.

Seeing her strength, Dong Yun couldn’t help but look at her more. This left Pear Blossom feeling confused for the rest of the afternoon. Normally, Dong Yun always smiled at everyone and joined other women in their conversations during her free time, but her gaze never lingered on anyone for more than a moment, leaving Pear Blossom feeling her distance.

It seemed that binding to this system was the right choice.

Unable to resist, she asked, “System, when will the widow like me a lot, a lot?”

What Pear Blossom wanted to say was when could she do something embarrassing with the widow. Since accidentally seeing what the pillar and his wife did a year ago, her body began to change in strange ways. Sometimes her dreams were also very strange…

The widow had to run in her mind eight hundred times a day. Pear Blossom was stupid and didn’t know what to do with the widow, just wanting to stick with her.

Just thinking about being close to her made Pear Blossom feel excited.

At this moment, the system suddenly sensed a huge energy surge in Pear Blossom’s body, causing its 0.01 energy pool to shoot up to 1. Instead of being happy, the system detected a bad vibe.

“What little widow?”

“Hey, you’re not going back on your word, are you? Yesterday when you wanted to bind with me, you promised me conditions to help our family live a good life, let my father come back, and let the widow like me. If you regret it, I won’t bind with you!”

Pear Blossom was very angry and stood up abruptly.

The system had forgotten about yesterday’s agreement!

So annoying.

The system then remembered this matter, feeling a guilty conscience that caused its electromagnetic field to make crackling noises. It took a while before saying, “Listen to me and transform yourself and do the tasks well. As long as you improve, the widow will naturally like you.”

Pear Blossom was somewhat discouraged. “So in the end, I have to work hard myself. Can’t you start from the widow’s side? If liking her gave attribute points, my liking for her would be a hundred by now, and she should add points to liking me.”

“No, I’m your system, I can only transform you and not manipulate others. But can you tell me who the widow is?”

Pear Blossom widened her eyes. “After all this time, you still don’t know who the widow is. Aren’t you omnipotent? Don’t you see that Sister Dong lost her husband and is raising a daughter?”

The system shook its non-existent head. “I didn’t see.”

Hearing this, Rika was extremely disappointed with the system. “It seems that I can’t rely on you for everything.”

After returning the pot, Dong Yun didn’t ask her to help with the work, so Pear Blossom could only reluctantly bid farewell. As she left, she waved to Dong Yun, but Dong Yun ignored her. Only Fu Bao cheerfully called out, “Pear Blossom, come and play~ Pear Blossom, come and play~”

Rika walked back regretfully.

Just as she returned to the field, she heard a commotion at the village entrance. The system said, “Those two big men from yesterday are asking about Mrs. Xiang and your second aunt. They’re coming to the village to take someone.”

Pear Blossoms suddenly became interested. She eagerly ran to the village entrance to see what was happening.

Ever since Pear Blossom returned last night, except for the main room, everyone in the Xiang family hadn’t slept well. If Pear Blossom hadn’t returned, they would have said she had gone missing because she was playing too much. But now that Pear Blossom was back, they didn’t know how to explain to the buyers who might come.

Early in the morning, Xiang Lao Tou sent Xiang Lao Er to the village entrance to watch. If the buyers came, he would tell the villagers it was a joke, and the people would drive them away together. Those people wouldn’t dare to enter the village. He also let Xiang Pozi and Zhou hide. If the buyers couldn’t see anyone, they wouldn’t be able to do anything, and they would eventually leave in embarrassment.

At this moment, Xiang Lao Er was with several peasants at the village entrance, stopping the two men and not letting them enter the village.

The two men were furious. “Yesterday, an old lady in your village sold her granddaughter. The girl ran away and must have returned home. Those who know their place should hand her over to us quickly.”

Several men from the village couldn’t help but exchange glances upon hearing this. They had all gone to witness the commotion at Xiang’s house yesterday. Pear Blossom claimed that Xiang’s mother-in-law had sold her off. Nobody had believed her then, but now that the people had come knocking at their door, could it be true? Had that girl Pear Blossom not been lying?

Seeing the situation, Xiang Lao Er quickly cursed at the two men, “Where did you come from, you troublemakers? You randomly pointed to a village and came here talking nonsense. No one from our village went to the city yesterday. You’ve got the wrong place. Hurry up and look elsewhere, or else don’t blame us for being rude.”

“We didn’t get the wrong place. The butcher selling meat at the city gate said that on that day, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law came back and bought four pig’s trotters and a basket of large intestines from him. The carriage they rode belonged to someone from his hometown, and they took the road to Daliusu Village.”

Xiang Lao Er grew anxious, “This road doesn’t just lead to our Daliusu Village; there are several villages to the west. How do we know you’re not colluding with the butcher to deceive people, trying to snatch children from our village? Hurry up and leave.”

The two men were not of good character to begin with. The situation escalated quickly, and they were soon pushing and shoving. It looked like a fight was about to break out.

The village had no shortage of onlookers, and soon a large crowd had gathered.

Most were ignorant bystanders. Upon hearing Xiang Er shout about troublemakers, they really thought troublemakers had entered the village. They were indignant, grabbing hoes and carrying poles, ready to swing at the two men.

Although the two men were big, they couldn’t handle so many fists. They could only fight back while retreating, taking several hits. They ended up bruised and battered.

As they ran, they shouted, “You wait. We’ll bring people back.”

The villagers mocked back, “Just a troublemaker like you being so arrogant. Come back to the village, and we’ll hit you again.”

Upon hearing the villagers’ shouts, Xiang Er felt relieved. These two would only suffer this time, and they wouldn’t dare come again. This was good news. Pear Blossom hadn’t lost anything and even got ten taels of silver.

Thinking this, Xiang Er hurried home and told the situation at the village entrance to the elderly couple. Xiang’s mother-in-law was overjoyed, “Last night, I was complaining about these two idiots returning. Now, it’s clear they came back for a good reason. Next time, sell again, and Da Lang and Er Lang can use the silver to marry wives. Even her third uncle can study in peace.”

Xiang Er joined in the joy. Only Lao Xiang frowned silently.

“Dad, what are you thinking? I think everything is fine now.” Xiang Er couldn’t help asking when he saw his father’s expression.

Elder Xiang said, “That’s true, but what if those two bring reinforcements?”

“Father, you weren’t at the village entrance just now. The people there were fierce, threatening that if those two came back, they’d beat them again.”

“I’m afraid it might escalate to the authorities. Didn’t the old lady say she signed a contract to sell herself? If they come to take her, we won’t have a leg to stand on.”

At these words, the other three instantly turned pale.

“Dad, what do we do now?”

“For now, we can only hide the troublemaker away. If it comes to that, we’ll have to pay up in silver. We’ve already handed them over. If they lose her, that’s their problem.”

“But won’t the villagers look down on us for this?”

“Times are hard for everyone nowadays. Selling sons and daughters isn’t uncommon. It’s not the first time something like this has happened in our Daliusu Village. Didn’t Li Si’s family sell their second daughter to Master Zhang?”

“But we sold her to human traffickers—”

“Selling is selling. What’s the difference?”

Second daughter-in-law, Zhou Shi, still felt uneasy and said, “But what if his elder brother returns and finds out we’ve sold Pear Blossom and refuses to serve in the army?”

Upon hearing this, Elder Xiang’s voice suddenly raised several notches, “He dares—”

Over a decade ago, Lao Xiangtou had accidentally been injured, so he had sent his 16-year-old elder son, Xiang Dageng, to serve in the army. Although the old man’s injury had healed after just two months, he had never brought Xiang Dageng back. Nearly twenty years had passed, and the Xiang family’s military service was still sustained by him.

This was also why the Xiang family was cautious about dividing their assets. If they did, the second and third branches would also have to send their men to serve in the army.

“Eldest son has a soft spot. Every time he returns, it’s only for a day or two. You should indulge him with sweet words. As for the Xiong family, they won’t stir up trouble. Those children are simple and won’t complain. We’ve been managing like this for years without any incidents.”

“You’re still formidable, Dad. As long as you’re here, we have nothing to worry about. The eldest will have to serve a lifetime in the army, even if he doesn’t die. And when the time comes, we can send Dangniu to the barracks, and he can serve for decades.”

Even so, Lao Xiangtou still furrowed his brow and said, “Second child, Da lang won’t be able to study anymore. Erlang is following Lao San in the city. I’m no longer concerned about his education. But you still need to send Sanlang and Wulang to school. If they can pass the exams in the future, they can leave the military service and live worry-free lives, even for their grandchildren.”

Xiang Er quickly nodded and replied, “I understand, Father. Earlier, we said we didn’t have enough money at home. Now that we’ve sold Pear Blossom and got ten taels of silver, we’ll have enough for next year’s expenses. We won’t delay anything.”

Lao Xiangtou sighed, “Lao San has been taking exams for so many years and is still a student. I don’t know if he’ll make it. We’ve spent quite a bit of money, and if things continue like this, when will our family produce a Jinshi? We won’t even discuss leaving the military service.”

Xiang Er hurriedly said, “Dad, Sanlang, and Wulang have been clever since they were young, and they definitely won’t let you down.”

Zhou Shi also echoed her agreement.

Lao Xiangtou’s brow furrowed into a character “Sichuan shape”. These words had been promised by Xiang Er and his third son many times. But none of them had succeeded.