Chapter 13: Do You Like It?

The next morning, Jiang Mingyue took the two yuan she had received from Zhao Hongying and the three yuan she had saved, heading to Grandma Liu’s house at the entrance of the village.

She returned with ten chickens, each weighing over a pound.

After buying the chicks, she made a detour to the village committee before going home.

Mingyue, are we raising chickens for sale?” Grandma, who could see only with one eye, asked when she noticed the chickens in the chicken pen in the backyard.

Jiang Mingyue added water for the chickens, picking some vegetable leaves from their private plot to throw in as well.

We won’t sell them. We’ll eat them ourselves.

We’ll eat them ourselves…” the old lady thought for a moment before nodding.

“Okay.”

“Yeah.”

Jiang Mingyue smiled and held her grandmother’s arm as they left the backyard. After breakfast, she told her grandma and little Manyue to keep an eye on the chickens while she and Jiang Xinyue went up the mountain to dig for medicinal herbs.

With the corn and rice still a few days away from harvest, she wanted to make some money in the meantime.

The quickest way to earn cash was by collecting medicinal herbs from the mountain.

A few years ago, the fields were divided among households, with each family assigned a piece of land on the hilltops.

The mountains between the two Jiang family houses were close together. In recent years, Second Aunt Jiang had been manipulating the boundaries repeatedly.

The mountain, which was originally more than 300 meters wide at the base, had been encroached upon by Aunt Jiang for dozens of meters.

When Jiang Mingyue reached the mountain and saw the boundary encroachment into their land, she felt a mix of anger and amusement.

Sister…” Jiang Xinyue was equally furious. “Zhao Meihua is really pushing it!”

Alright, let’s dig for herbs first.

The climate was pleasant, and the mountains were rich in fertile land and products.

There were plenty of medicinal herbs to be found in the mountains.

Having grown up exploring these hills, the Jiang sisters were skilled at foraging.

They dug up Astragalus, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Angelica, Adenophora, and other herbs they recognized.

By eight o’clock, with the sun high in the sky, each sister had filled a urea bag with herbs.

Sister, we’ve had great luck today!”

The two sisters sat beneath the shade of a tree to rest and drink water. Although they were tired, their faces beamed with joy at their harvest.

Do you think we can sell it for fifty yuan?

If we pack it well, it’ll be over fifty yuan.

Hey, that’s fantastic!”

Jiang Xinyue exclaimed happily.

Jiang Mingyue shared her sister’s enthusiasm.

Thanks to nature’s bounty, as long as farmers worked diligently, they would never go hungry.

During the great famine in the past, while other places suffered, their area managed to sustain itself with minimal hardship.

After resting, the sisters got back to work, using a knife to cut down small trees along the boundary of their property.

They didn’t cut too many, just a tree every one or two meters, leaving stumps half the height of a man.

From a distance, it looked like a forest had been neatly carved in two.

As they worked, someone who had a good relationship with Second Aunt Jiang saw what they were doing and rushed to inform her.

As soon as the Jiang sisters arrived home, Aunt Jiang stormed over, cursing and yelling.

You damn brats! You cut down so many trees on my property! Is there any justice or law for this?”

This is too much! I can’t live like this!

Jiang Xinyue, who had been washing her hands, was ready to confront Aunt Jiang.

Jiang Mingyue held her sister back.

Take Man Yue and Grandma inside to sort the medicinal herbs.

“Sister…”

“Don’t worry.”

After reassuring her sister, Jiang Mingyue picked up a basin of water, opened the courtyard door, and splashed it out.

The water splashed at Aunt Jiang’s feet.

Holding the empty basin, Jiang Mingyue smiled at the startled Aunt Jiang.

What are you doing standing in front of my house? Crying like your parents are dead? They’re in Zhaojiacun. You’re crying in the wrong place.”

No one could have predicted that Jiang Mingyue would speak like this with a smile. Aunt Jiang was equally taken aback.

Her eyes widened in shock, her mouth hanging open as she processed the unexpected confrontation.

It took her a moment to react.

“You, you, you…”

“Leave me alone; let’s go.”

Jiang Mingyue returned the basin to the yard, closed the door, and headed toward the village committee.

Aunt Jiang had never expected that the usually docile Jiang Mingyue would show such a fierce side.

She stood in stunned silence.

After walking a bit further, Jiang Mingyue glanced back at Aunt Jiang, “Don’t you think I’ve invaded your forest? Come on, let’s go to the village committee and discuss it with the village chief.”

“Talk to the village chief?”

Second Aunt Jiang was a typical bully. She would terrorize those she considered weaker but dared not confront village officials.

When she heard the mention of the village chief, a flicker of fear crossed her face.

“Are you too scared to go? Feeling guilty?”

Jiang Mingyue pressed.

The villagers who had gathered to watch turned their attention to Aunt Jiang.

Second Aunt Jiang could feel the pressure; she couldn’t let Jiang Mingyue, a girl everyone deemed an outcast, intimidate her.

“Let’s go!”

She didn’t believe that the village chief would side with the Jiang family, which had a college student, over her family.

The crowd followed them to the village committee, a large group with a significant presence.

Jiang Mingyue walked confidently, her steps steady, her back straight, exuding a faint aura of confidence.

Gu Dongqing happened to be in Qianjin Village for business that day. As he exited the village accountant’s office, he spotted the gathering crowd and paused.

As he stood with one foot on the bicycle pedal, he unconsciously lowered it again, drawn to Jiang Mingyue’s calm demeanor in front of the approaching crowd.

Second Aunt Jiang, seizing the moment, howled about Jiang Mingyue bullying her, claiming she had secretly cut down trees on her property, demanding compensation from the village committee.

She should pay me two hundred yuan, no, three hundred yuan! She cut down so many trees on my land!” Aunt Jiang yelled.

Jiang Mingyue ignored her.

She handed the land registration certificate and the forest boundary registration form she had prepared to the village chief as he emerged.

Could you please confirm whether this certificate of land allocation and forest distribution was originally issued to our family by the village?”

No one expected Jiang Mingyue to come with evidence.

Not even Aunt Jiang.

She pointed at Jiang Mingyue and tried to step forward to curse at her.

“Shut up.”

Village Chief Liu Yongzheng glared at Aunt Jiang, glanced at the certificate in his hand, and nodded slowly.

This certificate was issued by the village, yes. It also carries the signature of the former village chief.”

Yes, then the boundaries of our fields and mountains are delineated according to this certificate. So, I believe my Second Aunt, since 1979, you have occupied our family’s land and mountains for six years. What are your intentions?”

Are you bandits and robbers, bullying our family without brothers?

Every word from Jiang Mingyue struck Aunt Jiang like a dagger.

The villagers watching were equally astonished.

Under the shade of a tree, Gu Dongqing stood outside the crowd, unable to take his eyes off the striking girl confronting Aunt Jiang.

It turned out that this sweet-looking girl had such a fierce side!

Gu Dongqing recalled his dream from last night.

He clicked his tongue against his back molars. “What’s so great about Jiang Mingyue?”

“She’s beautiful, really beautiful, and has fair skin.”

The man beside him, also admiring Jiang Mingyue, answered.

Gu Dongqing turned his head to look at him, his expression unimpressed. You like her?

Well, who wouldn’t like a girl as beautiful as Mingyue?” The man replied, his gaze still fixed on her.

You don’t like her?