Chapter 31

When the villagers heard that Jiyan was letting everyone stay, they suddenly became excited.

This was good news—at least they didn’t have to wander around anymore. Everyone had originally thought the wealthy man was going to drive them away, but it turned out he wanted them to stay.

Voices rose in discussion; people felt there was nothing to think about—of course they would stay.

Sitting among the crowd, Ding Gui quietly asked his daughter, “What do you think about this?”

Ding Xiaodie rested her chin on her hand, elbow propped on her tiny knee, and muttered, “Dad, you’re not that naïve, right? When has a pie ever just fallen from the sky?”

Sure enough, after hesitating for a moment, Ding Gui added, “But they also made it clear: if we stay, we have to work. Specifically… we have to clear out the corpses from the houses. It’s been a while, and there’s a risk of disease.”

“The village chief, does he want us to stay just to clean up dead bodies in town? That’s such an unlucky job. Did he say if there’s any kind of reward?”

Someone immediately asked about compensation upon hearing they’d need to help out.

Others chimed in:
“Yeah, moving corpses? That’s bad luck.”
“In the countryside, people get a red envelope for that kind of job.”
“Exactly.”

Laifu raised his hand to quiet them. “Let me finish—he said everyone would get a bowl of porridge as payment. Not plain porridge either, but hot porridge. Plus, everyone gets a steamed bun.”

A bowl of porridge and a bun?

With this many people, how much grain would it take to cook that every day?

Regardless of how rich this merchant was, the bigger point was—how long had it been since these famine refugees had eaten hot porridge and buns?

Just hearing about food stirred everyone’s hearts.

But someone still asked warily, “Is it a white flour bun?” “And does every family member get one?”

Laifu nodded. “White flour. As long as one man from the family works, the rest can get food too. Master Lu said if everyone agrees, food will be distributed tomorrow morning. If not, then tonight is your last night here—you’ll have to leave Yangliu Town.”

Ding Xiaodie thought to herself, Well then, this Master Lu sure isn’t some benevolent saint. Looks like it’s either agree or get out.

Still, one person working so the whole family could eat? That deal was hard to resist.

Without thinking too hard, the men in the village stood up one after another to agree.

“Alright, I’ll do it.”
“It’s just moving some corpses. As long as my family can eat, I’ll do anything.”
“We’ve got shelter and food here in Yangliu Town—we’re not leaving!”

Seeing everyone agreeing, Ding Gui had no choice but to stand up too, under the gaze of his wife and daughter. They didn’t have much of a choice—they had to follow the crowd.

Ding Xiaodie tugged on her father’s pant leg. When he bent down, she whispered, “Aren’t you curious where this Master Lu’s house is?”

Ding Gui finally realized and quickly asked, “Village chief, where does Master Lu live? We’ve been all over the town, and never saw any grand residence.”

“There’s a small hill on one side of the lotus pond—follow the road around it and you’ll find the Lu family estate.”

So, when they were digging lotus roots in the pond yesterday, the Lu family must’ve seen them.

Laifu continued, “Any more questions? Hurry up if you have them.”

No one said anything. As long as there was food, nothing else really mattered.

“Alright,” Laifu concluded. “Let’s count heads. One man per household. Once we have a list, we’ll group people based on age and strength. A few men will handle each house.”

No one objected to this. The men stepped forward and lined up, waiting to be counted and assigned.

Now that they had hope for survival, the women finally relaxed. Smiles, long absent, appeared on their faces. Children began running and playing in the streets, laughing, playing hide-and-seek and throwing stones.

There would be food tomorrow—no need to lie around saving energy anymore.

Ding Xiaodie sat on the steps, cheek in hand, lazily swatting away mosquitoes. Compared to the other kids, she looked lonely. But expecting a soul of twenty years to go play with little kids? She’d rather go back to sleep.

Wang Dafeng, now full, headed into the crowd to socialize. Zhang Xiu followed to make connections too.

The whole street suddenly buzzed with life. Adults chatting, children laughing—it didn’t feel like a refugee village at all. It was almost festive, like New Year’s.

But Ding Xiaodie squinted thoughtfully. She noticed a problem.

If it really was that simple, why was Uncle Laifu still frowning?

Could it be he was worried that once the corpses were cleared, they’d be kicked out of Yangliu Town?

Now she was very, very curious about this Master Luyan.

“Cousin, why aren’t you playing with us?”

At some point, Dingxiang had noticed her lonely cousin and came over to ask.

Ding Xiaodie really liked this cousin. From the original host’s memories, she knew that although Dingxiang’s parents and sister weren’t exactly good people, this little one had a rare, untainted spirit.

She wasn’t mean. In fact, she was pure and adorably clueless.

Seeing Dingxiang’s braid coming loose, Ding Xiaodie pulled her over to sit in front of her and began rebraiding it under the moonlight. “I don’t play with them—they’re just little brats.”

Dingxiang giggled, covering her mouth. “Aren’t you a little brat too, Cousin?”

That angelic smile made Ding Xiaodie laugh too.

“Dingxiang, what are you doing? Come back!”

Just as the two cousins were happily chatting, Sun Shi rushed over, yanked Dingxiang up, and started scolding her with veiled insults. “Are you stupid? Letting just anyone touch your head—don’t you think it’s dirty?”

What kind of thing was that to say?

Ding Xiaodie saw Dingxiang’s mouth twist and tears fall—this madwoman must’ve yanked her too hard.

And her words were so nasty. Ding Xiaodie was about to snap back when her mother, Zhang Xiu, stepped in front of her protectively.

“Sun Shi, who are you calling dirty? Whose hands are dirty? Sounds to me like it’s your heart that’s filthy. Xiaodie and Dingxiang are cousins—what’s wrong with them talking and playing together? You’ve got such a narrow heart you can’t even tolerate children bonding? Who do you think you are, anyway?”

Sun-shi opened her mouth to retort—but got choked up, speechless.

What was going on?

All these years, she’d been bullying Zhang Xiu openly and secretly. What had gotten into her tonight? Did she eat gunpowder or something? Did the sun rise in the west today?

Just as Sun Shi was about to recover and let loose some more venom—

WHACK!

She got hit on the leg with a stick.