Chapter 13: Heading to Town

Qiao Jiaojiao felt stifled. Why did Qiao Nian get to enjoy herself? She had already been rejected from her engagement, yet she still had the nerve to stew meat and eat it?

No one could tell whether Qiao Jiaojiao was sulking with herself or angry at the main family, but she stood rigidly under the eaves, inhaling that increasingly overwhelming aroma, until night fell completely.

“Jiaojiao-Jie,” Ping’an called out again with great reluctance when she didn’t respond. If he weren’t worried she might scare Grandmother, he wouldn’t bother with her at all. As far as he was concerned, he would never forgive anyone from the second branch for the rest of his life.

Realizing that the brat was speaking to her, Qiao Jiaojiao gave a loud snort and turned back to her room. She couldn’t be bothered to waste words on him. Someone destined to spend his life digging in the dirt—what future could he possibly have? She had no reason to lower herself to argue with people like them. With that thought, the knot in her chest finally loosened a little.

Watching her leave, Ping’an figured he’d better tell Grandmother, just in case she caused another scene.

Qiao Nian was unaware of anything happening in the Courtyard. She was already inside the space, rummaging through a storage room filled with her Grandmother’s precious belongings. When she was little, she used to love playing hide-and-seek in here. In addition to her Grandmother’s various stashed items, the room also housed the family’s seeds and farming tools.

Qiao Nian wanted to test whether the black soil inside the space could be used for planting—whether it had the ability to accelerate crop growth. She hoped to stockpile grain, vegetables, and fruits inside the space. If the crops grew well, she could eventually replace all their seeds at home with ones cultivated in the space, boosting their visible food reserves.

As far as she could recall, the crop varieties in this world were more or less the same as in her past life. The difference was the lack of advanced hybrid strains, fertilizers, or pesticides. As a result, the yields were low, and the produce was small. The three potatoes Hua Guixiang brought home today, each about the size of a child’s fist, were already the largest their fields could produce.

Qiao Nian took a portion of each type of vegetable seed, along with some corn seeds, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. She also grabbed a hoe before heading to the black soil field.

The black field matched the size of the original Courtyard—not exactly large, but close to half a mu. In Huaishu Village, most old family Courtyards were spacious, and a few families even had larger ones than hers.

Qiao Nian divided the land into sections: one-third for vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, string beans, eggplants, leafy greens, and radishes. Another third she planted with corn. After the summer harvest, most families in the village would sow a second round of corn. Since she didn’t have a large supply of corn seeds, she planted as many as she could. If time allowed, she could replace the home’s seeds later on.

The final third was for sweet potatoes and regular potatoes. Qiao Nian didn’t worry about whether she needed to sprout them first—this was all inside the space, after all. She treated it as a learning experience. Picking up the hoe, she began digging furrows and channels.

She had no idea how long she worked. Whenever she got tired, she took a sip of the spirit spring water and instantly felt revitalized. She didn’t stop until everything was planted. Exhausted, she plopped down on the steps under the eaves. Farming really was the most exhausting work, no matter where you did it.

After resting for a while, Qiao Nian went to check the time inside the space. There was a wall clock in the living room—22:32. She had come in at just past 18:00. She’d been working nonstop for four and a half hours. No wonder she was both sleepy and hungry; dinner had already been fully digested.

Opening the fridge, she found everything just as fresh as when she first placed it inside. Not in the mood to cook, she rummaged around and grabbed the only piece of strawberry cream cake, a box of cherries, and a carton of milk, then went to the sofa to eat.

She ate quickly, conscious of needing to get up early the next day. As she reached the cherries, it suddenly struck her—she could try planting their pits. If even one or two sprouted, she could eventually achieve cherry freedom.

After finishing her food, Qiao Nian went to the edge of the field and buried the cherry pits separately. Tossing the hoe aside, she exited the space, pulled out her bedding, and fell fast asleep. The insomnia and restless dreams of her past life were now entirely gone.

Qiao Nian was awakened by a deep, steady knock on the door. She opened her eyes groggily and responded instinctively before turning over and using her limbs to shake off the drowsiness. Sitting up, she dressed herself in the dark and opened the door. Outside, the sky was only beginning to lighten, and she could barely make out the outline of people.

“Nian Nian, you’re up. Go wash your face,” Hua Guixiang said, her voice warm. “I boiled one egg each for you and Ping’an for the road. Here’s some money for the ox cart. Take it. You’ve got a lot to carry today, so don’t bother walking. Just take the cart straight there.”

Hua Guixiang knew Qiao Nian had some silver from the household split, but not a single copper coin. If she needed change in town, it’d be a problem, so she handed her some small change in advance.

Ping’an had been up early and was already helping Hua Guixiang get everything ready for the day: a large carrying basket, a smaller basket, two rabbits, and a wild pheasant, all neatly tied with rope. They had kept the animals in Hua Guixiang’s room overnight—hers was the biggest in the house—and none of the three felt comfortable leaving them outside.

Qiao Nian didn’t waste time. Bathroom and washing took no more than five minutes, and she was ready to go. Since there was a lot to carry, Hua Guixiang insisted on escorting them to the village entrance, so the three of them set off together.

By the time they reached the village entrance, there were already two people seated in the ox cart. As they got closer, they saw it was Widow Liu and her daughter-in-law. Hua Guixiang offered a curt but polite greeting, while Qiao Nian and Ping’an also greeted them. Wang Tiehai, the Village Chief’s second son, called out to them and helped them aboard.

Hua Guixiang waved her hand with a smile and said, “I won’t be going today. The two children are selling wild herbs they dug up in the mountains. It’s their first time traveling alone—please wait for them on your way back this afternoon.”

Wang Tiehai lifted his arm and replied heartily, “Don’t worry, Madam. I’ll be sure to bring them back safe and sound.”

They waited at the village entrance for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick. During that time, two more village women arrived. When no one else came, Wang Tiehai cracked his whip through the air, and the old yellow ox slowly began to move.

Qiao Nian urged Hua Guixiang to return home. Though it wasn’t cold anymore, the morning wind still carried a chill. She had asked her earlier to go back, but Hua Guixiang insisted on waiting until the ox cart left before turning around.

This was Qiao Nian’s first time riding an ox cart, and the constant jolting made her nauseous—it was all she could do not to throw up. On top of that, she had to endure the occasional glances from the others, which made her so uncomfortable that she nearly jumped off to walk. But she held herself back. Doing so would make her seem foolish, and she didn’t want Ping’an to have to walk alongside her, so she grit her teeth and endured.

After nearly an hour, they finally arrived at the town gate. Wang Tiehai pulled the cart over to the side of the road and reminded everyone that the last cart returning to the village would leave at the end of Shen hour (around 5 PM).

Qiao Nian got off and paid six copper coins. The fare was two coins per person, but since they brought two baskets plus a pheasant and two rabbits, she paid for an extra person. Wang Tiehai didn’t want to accept the extra coins, but Widow Liu had been eyeing them the whole time with a look that clearly said, “If you don’t charge them, don’t expect us to pay when we bring things.” Helpless, Wang Tiehai reached out and accepted the six coins.

After paying, they said their goodbyes. Ping’an immediately shouldered the heavy backpack, then reached for the rabbits on the ground. Qiao Nian quickly stopped him—there were at least fifty or sixty jin of herbs in that basket. For a child, carrying that was already exhausting. Any more, and he might not grow properly.

Qiao Nian slung the basket over her shoulder, one hand holding the pheasant and the other the rabbits. The siblings quickly made their way into town. Behind them, some villagers felt pity, some sneered in disdain, but most were simply envious. Life was hard for everyone—so why was their family able to catch wild pheasants and rabbits?