Chapter 12: The Kind hearted Village Headman

“The village headman is here!”
“Uncle Village Headman, you’ve finally come!”

Excited voices rose from the crowd.

Ye Xin Ran looked toward the source of the commotion and saw an energetic old man making his way through the crowd. His hair was streaked with white, and his thin, dark face was marked with wisdom. His bright, sharp eyes reflected kindness, making it clear he was a good-hearted person.

He stared at Zhang Da Li for a few moments before scolding him in a stern voice:
“A man with no disabilities, resorting to selling his wife and child to survive, aren’t you ashamed?”

“Village Headman…” Zhang Da Li lowered his head, his tanned face darkening even more with embarrassment.

After reprimanding Zhang Da Li, the village headman turned to glare at the hunch back who was holding Xiao Hua. Frightened, the man immediately let go, and Xiao Hua ran into her mother’s arms as soon as her feet touched the ground.

The plump woman’s face twisted in anger at the scene. She put one hand on her hip and pointed at the headman with the other.
“Zhang Ya Suo, what business of yours is this? We’re making a fair trade, money for a person. There’s no theft or robbery involved. What right do you have to interfere?”

The headman retorted, “Luo Er Nian, don’t pretend you don’t know what you’re doing. You claim to be giving these children a better life, but you’re really sending them to brothels. You’re a mother yourself, how can you not do more to build good karma for your own children?”

Hearing this, the plump woman’s face changed immediately. “Who are you calling immoral? I’m offering two taels of silver! Two taels! That’s enough to buy them plenty of food!

“Zhang Ya Suo, Village Headman! It’s easy for you to talk big, but are you going to give them money? Or food?

“I’m telling you, my two taels of silver could save this entire family. If you stop this deal today, and they all starve to death later, that’ll be on your conscience!”

Hearing the words “brothel,” Chen Shi clutched her daughter even tighter.

The plump woman spat in disdain when she saw this. “Pah! You can’t even feed yourselves, yet you still care about dirty money? My silver is good anywhere. Just wait and starve to death.”

With that, she turned and swaggered away with a proud swing of her hips.

As Luo Er Nian left, the crowd began to disperse.

Ye Xin Ran stood quietly, watching as the village headman patted Zhang Da Li on the shoulder and said, “Send your wife to my house later to get two scoops of rice to tide you over for a few days.

“I’ll have someone measure out a plot of land for you near Dong Shan. The government is encouraging land reclamation now. It’ll be hard work, but you’ll get some harvests. If you work hard, you won’t starve.”

“Village Headman, am I not already working hard enough?” Zhang Da Li’s face was full of confusion.

For years, he had worked tirelessly through all four seasons. With his wife’s poor health, he had taken on both field work and household chores. Yet, despite all his efforts, he had been driven to the point of selling his daughter.

“You’re hardworking, yes. But sometimes, luck just isn’t on your side. As long as you persist, your fortunes will eventually turn around,” the headman said, patting his shoulder.

“Mm!”

Zhang Da Li nodded firmly, as if the headman’s words had reignited a glimmer of hope within him.

After finishing his conversation, the headman walked toward the door. His gaze landed on Ye Xin Ran, who was standing there with two children in her arms. He paused for a moment before asking, “You must be the new wife of Xiao Huai’an?”

Ye Xin Ran remained silent, but Chang An eagerly answered for her, “This is my aunt!”

“Good, good,” the headman said, bending down to pat Chang An’s head. “Since you’ve married into the village, live well and make the most of it.”

With that, he clasped his hands behind his back and strolled away at a leisurely pace.

As Ye Xin Ran watched the headman’s retreating figure, she couldn’t help but feel that the villagers were truly fortunate to have someone like him.

When they got home, Ye Xin Ran noticed that both children seemed sullen.

“What’s wrong with you two?” she asked.

Chang Ping kept her head down and refused to speak, but Chang An looked up and asked, “Auntie, when our food runs out, will you sell me?”

Ye Xin Ran finally understood what was troubling them. Smiling, she said, “Of course not! Chang An is so adorable, how could I bear to part with you?”

“Second Uncle can earn money, and he’ll take care of us,” Chang An suddenly seemed to have figured things out and cheered up.

“But what if Xiao Hua’s family runs out of food again? Will her father sell her this time?” Chang Ping was still worried.

Ye Xin Ran sighed softly.

Throughout history, farmers had always borne the heaviest burdens.

They relied on the land for sustenance, and when the harvest failed, they faced not only famine but sometimes even greater calamities. That’s why desperate stories like exchanging children for food had occurred.

“Xiao Hua’s mother said they won’t sell her,” Ye Xin Ran reassured Chang Ping.

“Do you think they’ll keep their word?” Chang Ping’s eyes blinked, filled with deep concern.

Ye Xin Ran smiled faintly and turned to leave. When she returned, she held a scoop of rice in her hands.

“This rice was bought by your Second Uncle for you. If you’re willing, we can lend a scoop to Xiao Hua’s family. But they’re poor, so there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to pay it back. What do you say, should we lend it?”

Chang Ping and Chang An exchanged a glance and answered in unison, “Yes!”

To justify their decision further, Chang An added, “The other kids in the village don’t play with us, but Xiao Hua and Yu Feng do. That’s why we want to lend it to her family.”

“Who’s Yu Feng?”

“Yu Feng is Grandpa Village Headman’s granddaughter!” Chang Ping replied this time.

“Well then, you two can quietly deliver the rice to Xiao Hua’s family. Tell her father to pay it back when they have more rice.”

Chang Ping scratched her head and gave a shy smile. “Auntie, you’re so kind!”

“And so are you two!” Ye Xin Ran playfully tapped each child on the nose. “Go ahead, deliver the rice. Once you’re back, we’ll light the fire and make lunch.”

“Lunch too?” Chang Ping’s eyes widened.

“Don’t you eat lunch?” Ye Xin Ran asked in return.

“Granny Zhang says eating lunch wastes food. No one in the village eats lunch,” Chang Ping explained.

Looking up, Ye Xin Ran noticed that it was just as Chang Ping said, none of the chimneys in the village were smoking.

“Well, if they don’t eat, that’s their choice. But you’re still growing, so we’ll do things differently.”

Not just the children, Ye Xin Ran thought. Even her current petite frame could stand to grow a bit stronger.

For children, nothing was more exciting than eating good food.

The two happily went to deliver the rice and brought back a bundle of fire wood on their way.

Chang Ping, greedy as ever, carried so much that her arms were almost over flowing. Seeing this, Ye Xin Ran quickly said, “Chang Ping, you’re small, carry less!”

Hearing this, Chang Ping picked up two more sticks from the ground and added them to her bundle.

“Auntie, don’t worry. I’m really strong!”

Ye Xin Ran remembered how Chang Ping had chosen the largest piece of purple yam earlier and asked, “Have you always been this strong?”