Chapter 49

At New Dawang Village, the village committee members and several team leaders anxiously awaited Jiang Ruan and Qin Ao’s arrival with the money to finalize the contract. The urgency was due to the township’s recent notice to the villages to order fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds. Delays could mean missing the crucial spring planting season.

Other villages had either the village committee cover the costs upfront or collected money from villagers in advance. But New Dawang Village, having just separated from another village, had managed to gather only a little over a thousand yuan from its more than 100 households—far from sufficient for the needed supplies. There was a hint of regret now, they should have conceded to lease out the hill at a lower price and endured the first difficult year of separation.

Today, people from Chengjia Village and Xiahe Village had come to watch, with Chengjia Village seizing the opportunity to mock them.

“You insisted on separating, and while there’s plenty of seeds available from the seed station, without enough fertilizer and pesticides, you’ll face another poor harvest this year. Why go through all this trouble? If you admit your mistake and dismiss the current village committee, we at Chengjia Village might consider merging the villages again.”

Most of the villagers in New Dawang Village, who had not signed the original petition against Xun Li, remained united.

“Even if we starve, we won’t merge back with Chengjia Village.”

Relatives of the Qin family from Xiahe Village also came to enjoy the spectacle, gossiping among themselves, “Qin Ao isn’t going to make it today, is he?”

“Uncle went to the city himself; Qin Ao will have no choice but to sign the lease with Xiahe Village.”

“Qin Ao is so ungrateful. He refuses to lease our old hometown’s hill for six hundred yuan and instead wants to lease land at Dawang Village. It’s a slap in the face to Xiahe Village.”

At the Qin household, just as Qin Ao was about to leave, his uncle from the old family home arrived. Being of the same generation as his grandfather, Qin Ao had no choice but to greet him and invite him in.

The uncle ignored Qin Ao and directly addressed Grandma He, “Older sister-in-law, your family wants to lease land, but instead of bringing some benefit to your own kin, you’re going to Dawang Village to disgrace the Qin family. Are you trying to sever ties?”

Qin Ao felt frustrated. The hill in Dawang Village wasn’t just barren land, it had a lake, a stream, and mountain produce, which could easily make up for the higher leasing cost. It was obvious that his uncle was being unreasonable, taking advantage of their familial ties by demanding six hundred yuan for barren land. Not agreeing to this didn’t make him ungrateful.

To be clear, it was always his grandfather who supported the relatives in the old village. If there was any ingratitude, it came from those ungrateful family members.

Grandma He had long grown tired of the blood-sucking relatives. In the past, half of her late husband’s salary went to help the old family, and now they even wanted to drain her grandson.

Grandma He sighed, “Brother, you may not know our situation. Qin Ao dared to reveal that the second son isn’t biologically ours. We can’t control him anymore. As for his cousin, that girl is fierce enough to fight anyone. We wouldn’t dare to provoke her.”

Qin Ao’s mother added, “How about lowering the price to three hundred yuan, and I’ll convince Qin Ao to change his mind?”

Grandma He scolded her, “You fool! Can you really compare barren land with the hill at Dawan Village?” She then ordered, “Go make breakfast for our uncle!”

Jiang Ruan was impatiently waiting outside and finally rushed in, urging, “We already signed an agreement with Dawan Village. If we don’t sign the contract, we’ll owe three times the compensation. Xiahe Village would have to pay eighteen thousand yuan in damages if we breach the contract.”

Three times the compensation? Grandma He believed it and, alarmed, quickly said, “What are you waiting for? Go quickly!”

Jiang Ruan pulled Qin Ao away.

The old uncle left in a huff, saying, “Fine, fine! You ungrateful wretches. Let’s see how far you can go.”

“Have some breakfast before you leave!” Grandma He called out, only to spit in the uncle’s direction as he walked away.

For once, Grandma He felt triumphant and didn’t find Jiang Ruan so irritating anymore.

She turned to her eldest daughter-in-law, “Go talk to your niece. Use your head and don’t get Qin Ao involved. Rumors are spreading that before Lu Zaiqiang was arrested, his leg was broken by Xun Li. That man is vengeful, you must not provoke him.”

Ke Mu Xiu protested, “But how could my niece not be good enough for a former prisoner?”

Grandma He glared at her, “Don’t jeopardize Qin Ao just to help your own family. If you do and provoke Xun Li, he could break your son’s leg.”

“That’s unlikely, isn’t it?”

Grandma He sneered, “I’m warning you. If you put Qin Ao at risk, I’ll have the eldest divorce you so that your family doesn’t drag us down.”

Ke Muxiu felt utterly wronged.

On the way to New Dawang Village, Qin Ao and Jiang Ruan were blocked by some distant relatives from Xiahe Village.

They accused, “Qin Ao, even with our uncle intervening, you still want to take the money to Dawang Village?”

It was six thousand yuan—if it went to the village committee, at least half of it could line the Qin family’s pockets.

Qin Ao was in a hurry and sighed, “I approached Xiahe Village first, but you raised the price.”

“But you’re still offering Dawang Village six hundred yuan a year; why not do the same for your hometown?”

“The hill in Dawang Village is different; the price factors in the mountain produce and fish!” Qin Ao tried to reason with the unreasonable people.

Jiang Ruan, not in the mood for a confrontation, suggested, “Let’s take another route.”

The detour took forty extra minutes, and by the time they arrived, it was already noon. The village officials at Dawang Village eagerly welcomed them to the shabby village office.

“You’ve finally made it!”

Qin Ao explained that they had taken a detour, causing the delay.

It didn’t matter, what was important was whether they had brought the money. The village secretary, Zhou Chengzhong, was sweating with anticipation. “No problem, no problem. It’s fine as long as you’re here.”

Jiang Ruan took off her shoulder bag and opened it, revealing a whole pack of money. “Six thousand yuan. Count it, and we can sign the contract.”

In just five days, they had managed to collect six thousand yuan.

The villagers of New Dawang erupted in cheers. After being persuaded by the village officials, they didn’t feel shortchanged at all. The mountain’s produce wouldn’t amount to much individually, and the cost of bringing it to the city wasn’t worth it.

The village was poor, but now that it was independent, it no longer had to deal with the officials of Chengjia Village. If they worked hard for a year, life would improve.

The people from Chengjia Village envied the bundle of cash. If the village hadn’t split, the leasing fee would have been in Chengjia’s control, essentially making it theirs.

A few from Chengjia led an attempt to demand half of the lease fee but were driven away by the united villagers of New Dawang Village.

After signing and sealing the contract, the thirty-year use of the best part of the hill now belonged to Jiang Ruan and Qin Ao.

Jiang Ruan said, “Brother Zhou, don’t keep the money overnight. Too many people from Chengjia Village are envious.”

Zhou Chengzhong chuckled, “I won’t wait till night. I’ll arrange for the fertilizers and pesticides right away. Come, let’s go up the hill.”

Jiang Ruan had plans to grow medicinal herbs, which needed an unspoiled natural environment to cultivate high-quality seeds. She intended to use the rare Shencao flowers for breeding.

In this world, Shencao flowers were scarce, as they grew from wild ginseng. Artificially cultivated ginseng produced only a few flowers even from several dozen plants, and wild ginseng was even rarer. Jiang Ruan didn’t want to use artificial seeds, she aimed to breed a new variety using wild ginseng.

When Jiang Ruan expressed her desire to explore the hill alone, Zhou Chengzhong warned them about wild boars in the area and advised caution before heading back to his village duties.

Qin Ao doubted her plan to find wild ginseng. “If there was wild ginseng here, it would’ve been discovered long ago.”

But Jiang Ruan, who had survived an apocalyptic world, knew where ginseng was likely to grow. After searching all afternoon, she managed to find two finger-sized wild ginseng plants.

Leasing this hill was definitely worthwhile. Qin Ao was impressed, “You’re really lucky. These two could probably sell for several hundred yuan.”

Jiang Ruan didn’t want Qin Ao to misunderstand her intentions. She broke the ginseng into small segments about a centimeter each and said, “I’m going to use them to cultivate seedlings. Don’t worry, I’m not pocketing it.”

Qin Ao was speechless. Just like that, several hundred yuan was gone.

“That’s not how you grow ginseng!” Qin Ao protested. Although he wasn’t an expert, he knew that growing ginseng was different from planting sugarcane. Ginseng produced seeds after flowering.

Jiang Ruan replied, “Let me give it a try. Just don’t tell anyone we found wild ginseng in the mountains.”

Of course, they couldn’t let the word get out, or the whole forest would be filled with people digging for ginseng.

Qin Ao asked, “Where do you plan to cultivate the seedlings?”

“We’ll start at home,” Jiang Ruan said. “We can plant them in some foam boxes first. If the seedlings sprout, then we’ll find a place to transplant them.” She added, “You can head back now. I’m going to find Liang Yong to get a few foam boxes.”

…

Back at the crowded courtyard, Jiang Jianchun was sobbing and waiting for Jiang Ruan to return. Meanwhile, Liu Jinyun looked worried because the police had contacted Han Qingqing earlier, questioning her about a 2,000 yuan remittance from Liao Chunxing, which they claimed was illicit and needed to be returned.

Liao Chunxing had been arrested in Pengcheng, and there was no way to deny the remittance with the bank records. But Liu Jinyun saw this as an opportunity for Jiang Jianchun. Her eldest daughter, after remarrying, was having a much harder life compared to her previous marriage. Liao’s old mother was harsh and stingy, forcing Jiang Jianchun to care for an elderly person and two children while she was pregnant. Liu Jinyun thought it would be better if her daughter divorced now that Liao Chunxing was facing jail time.

She shared her thoughts, advising, “Jiangchun, don’t be foolish. If Liao Chunxing is going to prison, you should divorce him.”

“But we don’t know how serious his crime is or how long he’ll be sentenced,” Jiang Jianchun replied.

“Let’s wait until Jiang Ruan returns. She was involved in his arrest, so she should know the amount involved in the case. I’ve heard that if the amount is above a certain threshold, the penalty could be death.”

The amount Liao Chunxing had sent home was already over 5,000 yuan, which suggested that the total was likely significant. Even if he avoided the death penalty, he could face at least seven to eight years in prison.

Jiang Jianchun seemed to be wavering, anxiety evident in her voice, “Every time I leave the house, that old woman chases me down to cause trouble. Why isn’t Jiang Ruan back yet?”

“She went to Dawang Village today to sign a contract for land leasing. I heard the Qin family’s patriarch was against them contracting outside their village, so things might not be going smoothly,” Liu Jinyun replied. She had already heard this news earlier and felt secretly pleased, but now she was eagerly waiting for Jiang Ruan to come back so she could ask about Liao Chunxing’s situation.

Han Qingqing was also in tears. When the police showed up at the shop today, she was scared to death. Luckily, they only asked her to return the money. But where could she find 2,000 yuan now?

Liu Jinyun didn’t have that kind of money, and Jiang Jianchun had her own problems to deal with.

Jiang Jianchun and her mother advised, “Qingqing, why don’t you try asking your adoptive mother for help? Your family mentioned buying the courtyard for you before, so they should have the money. You could borrow it from them. Our relatives here are all struggling financially.”

Han Qingqing was extremely distressed, “I’ll try then.”

Before they could even find Jiang Ruan, Liao’s old mother came over and tried to drag Jiang Jianchun back, accusing her, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting. You’re just waiting for my son to go to jail so you can divorce him, aren’t you? As long as my son isn’t sentenced to death, there will come a day when he’ll be released. Do you dare to divorce him?”

Liu Jinyun was furious and began hitting the old woman, shouting, “You vile woman, I’ll take you down with me!”

Grandma Huang, standing at her doorway, watched the scene unfold and couldn’t muster any sympathy for Liu Jinyun. It wasn’t that she didn’t care for her children, but she never showed any love towards Jiang Ruan. If she had treated Jiang Ruan better and hadn’t indulged Jiang Jianchun so much, things wouldn’t have reached this point.

…

When Jiang Ruan returned home carrying three foam boxes filled with soil, she saw the chaos unfolding outside Liu Jinyun’s house. Grandma Huang informed her that Jiang Jianchun had suffered a miscarriage.

Grandma Huang said she had witnessed it clearly, “Jiangchun deliberately stepped in to take the blows meant for her mother, making it look like she was accidentally hit by the old woman. She never really wanted to keep the child, not when she didn’t know who the father was. Ah, it’s such a tragedy.”

“Did Han Qingqing and Liu Jinyun go to the hospital with her? Has no one informed my older and younger brothers?” Jiang Ruan asked.

“Han Qingqing went back to her family to borrow money, and your brothers haven’t been involved in family matters for a while,” Grandma Huang replied.

She then noticed the foam boxes Jiang Ruan was carrying and asked, “Ruan Ruan, it’s almost winter. What are you planning to grow?”

Jiang Ruan didn’t hide her intentions. “Grandma, I want to try cultivating a valuable medicinal herb. I don’t know if it’ll work, but it’s worth a shot.”

“That’s great! It’d be wonderful if it works out. Give it a try,” Grandma Huang encouraged.

Jiang Ruan carried the foam boxes to an empty room and whispered to Grandma Huang, “This medicinal herb is top secret, so I have to work on it alone.”

“Go ahead, I’ll guard the door. I won’t let anyone peek,” Grandma Huang assured her.

Jiang Ruan chuckled and went inside to start working on her wild ginseng seedlings. Though ginseng typically required seeds to grow, she intended to experiment. With her special abilities, she believed she could get the ginseng roots to sprout.

Just as she finished preparing the seedlings, Liu Jinyun returned, teary-eyed, and said to Grandma Huang, “Thank goodness, Jiangchun’s baby was saved. If she had lost it, I wouldn’t have let Liao’s old woman get away with it.”

Grandma Huang could only shake her head at Liu Jinyun’s foolishness. How could she not realize that Jiang Jianchun had never wanted the child?

Jiang Jianchun was probably heartbroken by now.

Liu Jinyun, her hands covered in soil, grabbed Jiang Ruan and pleaded, “Ruan Ruan, let’s not bring up old grudges. Just tell me honestly, how long do you think Liao Chunxing will be sentenced for?”

Jiang Ruan freed herself from her grip and went to wash her hands, replying, “If all the embezzled money is repaid and he shows remorse, he might get five or six years. But if the money can’t be recovered, it’s hard to say.”

Something seemed to dawn on Liu Jinyun, and without saying another word to Jiang Ruan or Grandma Huang, she rushed out in a hurry.

Grandma Huang found her behavior strange, “What’s gotten into her now?”

Liu Jinyun was eager for Jiang Jianchun to divorce Liao Chunxing and would likely want him to serve a longer sentence. “She’s probably gone to tell Jiang Jianchun and Han Qingqing not to return the stolen money,” Jiang Ruan speculated.