Chapter 247

Fan Qian walked in with slumped shoulders and hands behind his back. He also felt that his mother was making things difficult. In the past, even in years without disasters, his parents could sell land to get by. Now, facing a flood and on the verge of running out of food, his mother still refused to sell!

Wasn’t this just making things hard for him?

Looking at the concerned faces in the room, he sighed and said, “The old village head called us together to discuss selling the rabbits. We’ll set off early tomorrow.”

The villagers still had rabbits to sell and had earned four or five taels of silver delivering goods for Old Bai, while his family only earned one tael. Their situation was undoubtedly better.

Fan Dazhu complained, “If only we had raised rabbits back then!”

He shot a resentful glance at his mother and grandmother. They had initially tried to be clever by exchanging an old hen for newly born rabbits, but their second aunt had brought only male rabbits, forcing them to send them back. Otherwise, they could be selling rabbits for grain now.

Sun Jinhua snapped, “It was Hu Shuiqing who tricked us!”

Moreover, when they later honestly tried to raise rabbits, they fell ill. With their health weakened and Zhaodi the only one taking care of the entire family, they had no time to gather grass to feed the rabbits!

“You’re just lazy and unwilling to work. If you were willing to gather grass, we could have fed the rabbits,” retorted Fan Dazhu.

The four brothers grumbled but said nothing. At the time, with food to eat, who wanted to work more? Playing was more enjoyable.

Raising rabbits not only required gathering grass but also cleaning and drying it, cleaning the rabbit pens, and tending to the young rabbits. There was a lot to do, almost no rest. How could the men do such trivial tasks?

The family members blamed each other, feeling that it was always someone else’s fault and never their own. They had been forced to do nothing in the past, and it was unavoidable.

Fan Qian’s head throbbed from the noise. He shouted angrily, “Enough! Stop arguing. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the provincial city and try to find Brother Damu. He stayed with us for a long time; I’m sure he’ll help us.”

“Father, Uncle Damu has already sold himself into slavery. What can he do?” Fan Sizhu was skeptical about Fan Damu.

Fan Erzhu disagreed, “Even if Uncle Damu sold himself, he’s a servant in the county magistrate’s household! Do you think that’s the same as working for our second uncle?”

Servants in the county magistrate’s household enjoyed good food and drink, unlike those in their second uncle’s household, who barely had enough to eat. The comparison was stark.

Fan Qian shared this sentiment.

Fan’s mother signaled her eldest son to step aside and whispered, “Find out how much a girl like Zhaodi can sell for.”

Fan Qian opened his mouth in shock, “Mother, Zhaodi is only eight years old!”

An eight-year-old wouldn’t fetch much silver, and selling his own daughter felt different from selling the older girls before. Even if the price was high, was it worth the bad reputation of selling one’s daughter?

“An eight-year-old can still do a lot of work! I’ve heard that big households prefer to buy young ones to train them in proper manners. She’s at the right age to be sold to a good family,” Fan’s mother said coldly, lifting her drooping eyelids.

Fan Qian hesitated upon hearing that she could be sold to a good family. If Zhaodi went to a wealthy household, she would live well and could support the family, avoiding the need to sell land.

He didn’t mind selling land, but he didn’t want to sell it to the second family! However, no one else in the village would buy it.

If Zhaodi entered a big household as a maid, she might even help her four brothers find good jobs. If she caught the eye of someone important, her brothers could achieve great success…

“But Zhaodi is dark, skinny, and short. Would a wealthy family be interested?”

“Big families are picky too, aren’t they?”

“You fool, if Zhaodi looked good, we wouldn’t need Damu’s help, would we? We’re seeking his help precisely to get into the county magistrate’s household. I heard from my sister-in-law that County Magistrate Wu has two legitimate sons, Guangzong and Yaozu. They aren’t very old. If Zhaodi can win one of them over, you’ll become an in-law of the county magistrate!”

Fan Qian’s eyebrows remained furrowed at the beginning but relaxed at the last sentence. Becoming in-laws with a county magistrate was something he never dared to dream of.

Now that his mother mentioned it, it didn’t seem entirely impossible.

“Alright, Mother, I’ll seek Damu’s help tomorrow!”

His second brother had previously mentioned that Zhaodi’s leg injury should heal in about two months. It’s almost been two months now, and Zhaodi could be sent back any day.

The whole family was already half-starved. Adding another mouth to feed would make life even harder.

It’s said that people thrive in new environments. Maybe Zhaodi would appreciate the decision he made today in the future!

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Recently, Fan Zhaodi had been feeling a bit anxious.

She arrived at her second aunt’s house in June, and now it was early August. Even though she used the excuse of a leg injury, it had nearly healed.

Though she didn’t want to go back at all, she knew she should eventually. She couldn’t just shamelessly stay at her second aunt’s house forever, even though they were all so kind.

“You want to go back?” Shuiqing asked, looking at the shy girl who had grown taller and gained some weight in her cheeks. She was surprised.

From the time she arrived, covered in rags and bruises, to now, dressed in clean, floral clothes, the transformation in just two months was like night and day.

Shuiqing always thought Zhaodi enjoyed staying at her house. Although there was a lot of work to be done and everyone was busy all the time, Zhaodi seemed happy.

She also assumed that as long as Fan Qian and Sun Jinhua didn’t come to fetch her, the girl wouldn’t return to her miserable life.

It never occurred to her that Zhaodi would voluntarily bring up returning.

Fan Zhaodi muttered, “I-I should go back.”

If she didn’t, her parents might come causing trouble again.

And no matter how well her second uncle and aunt treated her, her parents wouldn’t appreciate it. They would only wonder why they weren’t raising her four brothers as well. What good was it to raise just one niece?

Shuiqing understood. It was a matter of duty, not desire.

She looked at Fan Jin, who was silent beside her, and sighed. “Alright. Go meet with Yan Qiuxing and arrange a signal with Jiang Hehu. If you ever get hungry, ask them to bring some food to you.”

It would be a shame to lose the weight the girl had gained.

“Okay, Aunt, don’t worry. If I’m hungry, I’ll ask Big Sis and Second Sis,” Fan Zhaodi said, her nose tingling with emotion as she tried to hold back tears.

She wouldn’t ask for food. She knew her parents and brothers well enough to understand that once they realized her second uncle and aunt cared about her, they would use that to manipulate them.

Her brothers had already come to her, asking her to sneak food out for them. Knowing her leg had healed and she could work again, she decided it was time to go back.

Shuiqing glanced at Fan Jin once more, seeing that he still had no reaction. She got up and said, “I’ll pack a couple of outfits for you.”