Chapter 40: Do You Want This Wife?

“Yes!” Er Wang’s father’s words were immediately agreed upon by the others.

They had heard that a water source was found on Mi Lu Mountain, but whether there was enough water to use was uncertain. How could they rely on it for irrigating the fields?

“You don’t understand, the underground water on Mi Lu Mountain can continuously supply us,” Li Zheng explained. “As for why it never flowed down before… well, Huai’an’s wife, could you explain to everyone?”

Ye Xin Ran didn’t expect that Li Zheng would suddenly mention her.

Luckily, she had been listening to everyone’s discussion, so she knew exactly where the conversation was going.

She stood up from the ox cart.

Although she was shorter than most, standing on the cart, she was still taller than the villagers by half a head.

This was her first time seeing so many people in one place.

Everyone turned to look at the small, thin woman. She was ordinarily plain, even somewhat unattractive, but with the sunlight shining from behind, it seemed as though a golden halo surrounded her, making her appear radiant and full of life.

“Uncle Li Zheng bought this mountain because he cares about all of us,” Ye Xin Ran began, her voice soft and gentle.

“We understand that Uncle Li Zheng did it for everyone’s sake, but the water on the mountain won’t even flow down. Even if there is water, it’s no use!” Er Wang’s father continued to question.

Ye Xin Ran calmly explained, “The reason the water doesn’t flow down is because it’s too dispersed. Without gathering it, it’s difficult to form a stream. Let me show you.” She borrowed a water sack from Niu Er, got down from the cart, and walked over to the crowd.

“I’ll pour the water like this onto the ground, and it will quickly disappear.”

She opened the water sack and casually poured the water onto the dry soil. The water quickly sank into the earth and disappeared.

“But if I dig a hole in the ground and pour the same water into it, it will form a small puddle.”

She dug a shallow hole and poured the water into it, and indeed, a small puddle appeared on the ground.

Ye Xin Ran stood up.

“This is the difference between dispersing and gathering.”

“Although there was water on Mi Lu Mountain before, it didn’t have any channels, so the water was scattered and couldn’t flow down the mountain.”

“As long as we dig a channel from the springs on the mountain to the base, the spring water can flow down to our fields.”

“That makes sense.”

“Seems like it’s really like that!”

The crowd nodded in agreement.

“But digging a channel on the mountain is a huge project, it will take a lot of time!” someone raised another concern.

“Although it will take time, it’s the best solution we have right now,” Ye Xin Ran replied with determination.

Li Zheng added, “If anyone doesn’t want to spend the time on this, speak up now. When the water comes down from the mountain, we’ll block their fields and not let them use a drop.”

“That can’t be allowed!”

“That’s not going to work!”

“Without water, the rice will be ruined this year!”

“Since no one has any objections, starting tomorrow, all the able-bodied men in the village will come with me to dig the channel. If anyone can’t go, come to me and request leave. Huai’an’s wife, you can keep track of who comes to work each day.”

“Okay, Uncle Li Zheng,” Ye Xin Ran agreed.

Li Zheng then announced, “The East Mountain of the village has been sold to the Xiao family.”

“When I bought Mi Lu Mountain, Ye’s wife also invested 100 taels of silver. So, from now on, no matter when, half of Mi Lu Mountain belongs to the Xiao family. I hope you all remember this.”

“I will also give Ye’s wife a formal document later, and we’ll keep one at the ancestral hall too.”

For the villagers of Yun Bian Village, it was unprecedented for an outsider to hold such high status in the village, especially someone who had already secured half of a mountain.

However, since Ye Xin Ran had helped the village find water, everyone was grateful to her.

“Uncle Li Zheng, when can we bring the water down from the mountain?” someone asked.

“That depends on how quickly you all work,” Li Zheng replied.

“Just remember: if we all work together, the water will definitely come down soon.”

…

After finalizing the plans for the next day with Li Zheng, Ye Xin Ran returned home, carrying the items she bought.

She first put the two chickens in the pen before heading to the backyard with the meat.

Xiao Huai’an was repairing the kitchen window. When he saw Ye Xin Ran return, he surprisingly greeted her: “You’re back.”

Ye Xin Ran was a bit surprised but simply nodded in response: “Mm!”

“Are you going to the mountain again tomorrow?” she asked.

Xiao Huai’an paused for a moment and then asked, “Is there something wrong?”

“Mm!” Ye Xin Ran thought for a while and then said, “Tomorrow, the village is going to dig a ditch to bring water down from the mountain. I was thinking, if you have time, maybe you could stay and help the others.”

Xiao Huai’an understood what Ye Xin Ran meant.

They had just officially become villagers in Yun Bian, and it was important to build good relationships with the community.

He wasn’t very good at that, he was used to giving orders.

But since Ye Xin Ran had mentioned it, he nodded and agreed: “Alright.”

Ye Xin Ran didn’t expect him to agree so readily, and all the words she had prepared to persuade him got stuck in her throat.

“That’s great!” Ye Xin Ran smiled sweetly.

In the evening, Ye Xin Ran made red-braised pork again.

She hadn’t done a great job with it the previous time because she didn’t have all the seasonings, but this time, she was determined to redeem herself.

She cut the pork into evenly sized pieces, caramelized the sugar with rock candy, added spices like Sichuan peppercorns and star anise, and poured in some cooking wine to remove the smell.

Ye Xin Ran’s smooth, practiced motions filled the kitchen with the aroma of the pork, which slowly infused the air.

The scent wafted into the houses of Zhang Da Li in the upper courtyard and Zhang Po Zi in the lower courtyard.

Zhang Quan Xi sat in the yard and swallowed his saliva: “Mom, the meat at the Chang An family smells really good!”

Chen Shi pinched her son’s skinny little face: “When I get better, I’ll take some money and buy you some meat.”

Zhang Da Shan, upon smelling the meat, threw his chopsticks down angrily: “Mom, how come the Xiao family is eating meat again! You said you were going to chase that young woman away, but now look, Uncle Li Zheng is treating her better and better!”

“Son!” Zhang Po Zi picked up the chopsticks and smiled mysteriously, “Do you think that Ye girl is pretty?”

Zhang Da Shan thought for a moment: “She’s so thin and small, and there’s a scar on her face. What’s so pretty about her?”

“If a woman like her became your wife, would you want her?”

“Mom, are you out of your mind?” Zhang Da Shan was quite angry.

“I’m not out of my mind!” Zhang Po Zi grabbed her son’s hand and said earnestly, “I know you don’t like Ye Xin Ran, and she’s not good enough for you. But I think this Ye girl has some ability, and she has a good family. Ever since she came to the Xiao family, has there ever been a day when they didn’t eat meat?”

“If we could get a person like her into our family, you wouldn’t have to worry about meat again in the future.”

As soon as Zhang Da Shan heard about the possibility of more meat, he immediately became interested.

“But Mom, isn’t she already Xiao Huai’an’s wife?”