Chapter 38

There are malicious people, but there are also kind-hearted ones.

Li Tiantian secretly tugged on Shuiqing’s sleeve and softly advised, “Sister Shuiqing, better not eat it. What if it’s poisonous?”

Shuiqing gently patted her hand and reassured her, “It’s okay. I’ll feed some to the chickens and ducks first to test it.”

Chickens and ducks: … Thanks a lot.

Li Tiantian wanted to say that the lives of chickens and ducks matter too, but she was quickly interrupted by her mother.

People who have survived famines have a fervent enthusiasm for food. She held Shuiqing’s hand and made a reservation in advance, “Shuiqing, try planting it first. If it’s good, can you give me some seeds?”

“Not sure if it’ll taste good?”

“Well, having food to eat is good enough. Who cares if it tastes good?”

“True.”

Several old women started discussing how to cook it and what the taste might be like.

Shuiqing smiled silently.

In her mind, she thought, these are potatoes.

Potatoes are delicious no matter how you cook them: fried, boiled, sliced, or diced. They have won over millions of people in China. Don’t worry, ladies.

Zhang Tuozi, seeing that everyone’s attention had shifted, grumbled discontentedly, “I say, their family is so poor they have to dig wild vegetables and pick wild fruits. Do you really believe they can produce rice? Are you all stupid?”

Aunt Li, who was in the middle of a food discussion, couldn’t stand being interrupted and called stupid. She retorted with hands on her hips, “Stupid, stupid, stupid! Everyone else is stupid except you!

Look at how you live every day, still hopping around. If I were you, I’d plow the fields more and compost more to get a better harvest next year!”

Zhang Tuozi, who dared to bully the usually timid Hu Shuiqing and the scholarly Fan Jin, turned into a quail when faced with the always fierce Aunt Li.

He shrank his neck and didn’t dare to speak.

Old Wang Ma, emboldened by his age, was about to speak but was glared at by Aunt Li, who continued to scold, “If you don’t want it, just give it back. Stop making a fuss.”

“Of course Aunt Li doesn’t care about a little bit of food since she has plenty. But not us; we count every grain of rice, so we value it.” Fan Damu’s words were skillful, subtly escalating the situation.

Seeing that the potatoes were already revealed, Shuiqing no longer needed to hold back.

She smiled and said, “Come on, let’s weigh the Gorgon fruit and return it. As for whether this stuff is edible and tasty, we’ll discuss it later.”

What a joke. If they didn’t return it quickly, Fan Jin would soon carry the rice home.

She had to return it quickly. Once the rice arrived and was distributed, haha, she was eager to see everyone’s reactions.

It would be a sight to behold, more entertaining than a face-changing performance.

The list of recipients had been registered by the old village chief in advance. The people were the same as always, with no additions despite their efforts.

Shuiqing was satisfied.

Some people are stupid, and some are malicious. That’s normal. In a big forest, you find all kinds of birds.

As long as there aren’t too many. After all, too many fools can really dampen one’s spirits.

Zhang Tuozi, Old Wang Ma, Wang Laosan, and Fan Damu, roughly these four families.

Fan Qiansun and Jin Hua in the crowd frowned, not knowing whether they were satisfied or dissatisfied with the current situation.

After everything was distributed, Old Wang Ma was about to say something when a slow-moving ox cart appeared on the road.

“An ox! There’s an ox!”

The children scattered, all running towards the ox cart.

Shanshui Village was located deep inside, only passing through other villages without others coming to them.

The village was poor, and the fertile land was tilled by human power. No one could afford to buy an ox.

Some village children had never been to the county town even at ten years old and rarely left the village. Seeing an ox was a novelty.

The adults were better off, just enviously watching the ox.

With an ox, plowing, transporting grain, carrying people… everything would be better.

“It’s Uncle Fan Er. Is he bringing grain back?” someone in the crowd said with sharp eyes.

Zhang Tuozi’s face changed instantly, looking extremely ugly.

Wasn’t it said that Fan Jin was so poor he was just trying to cheat them out of food?

How did he really bring back grain?

Could it be he genuinely wanted to help the villagers?

Fan Damu was not angry but happy to see Fan Jin bringing back grain.

If Fan Jin could bring back grain, it meant this business was real!

The nobles in the county town liked eating Gorgon fruit. As long as he could take over this business, he would be making money.

He was secretly delighted and signaled to Fan Qian in the crowd.

Fan Qian was also full of anticipation. A cartload of rice, four to five hundred catties?

Just skimming some would be enough to feed his whole family… If he could get this business, a good life would be his…

Old Wang Ma was shocked, looking at the bulging sacks on the ox cart and then at the few pounds of Gorgon fruit in his hand, suddenly wanting to return it.

His sons and daughters-in-law were sullen, wanting to leave but also wanting to stay and see if it was really rice.

“Hey, Shuiqing, why are people so organized?” Fan Jin pretended not to understand, looking puzzled.

Immediately, someone enthusiastically explained, leaving Shuiqing with nothing to say, detailing the whole story and who had been ungrateful.

Fan Jin breathed a long sigh of relief and said lightly, “It’s okay. Maybe their families have plenty of food and don’t want to trade. It’s normal.”

Old Wang Ma, holding the Gorgon fruit with a smile, hunched forward to discuss with Fan Jin, only to see Fan Jin clasp his hands and say to the old village chief, “Old village chief, here are five hundred catties of rice. Can you distribute it?”

The sacks had already been unloaded from the ox cart, and the ropes untied, revealing the white, shiny rice inside.

“Wow, it’s really rice!”

“This rice looks great, so clean.”

“Not mixed with anything. Fan Jin, your friend is reliable.”

Old Wang Ma and Zhang Tuozi’s families watched eagerly as others gathered around, touching the rice and the ox cart.

Some children lined up to be lifted onto the ox’s back, smiling happily.

They felt bitter, thinking about the rice slipping away, feeling as if their lives were being taken away.

Zhang Chunhua watched her cousin Zhang Xiaocao running home to get sacks to load the grain, feeling a surge of bitterness.

She used to live better than Zhang Xiaocao, but now Zhang Xiaocao was getting dozens of pounds of rice while her family got nothing.

Some were happy, and some were sad. The happy families had no time to care about the sad ones.

They called their family members to help, got things to hold the rice, and some were already assigning tasks—they could exchange their hard work for more rice!

That was rice, pure white rice.

It could be exchanged for things at the market and was the most nourishing food!

Soon, the open space in front of Shuiqing’s house was bustling like a market, and the crowd was more joyous than during the autumn harvest.

“Old village chief, I remember the Gorgon fruit you brought out earlier. Let’s give you your share first.”