Liu Jin brought a jin of brown sugar and a box of green bean cakes, and went to the village head’s house. It was not until he lingered for a good half of the day that he left.
The village head watched the small figure leave his doorstep, picked up his tobacco pipe, and his face bore an expression that was hard to define.
"Old man, look." The village head’s wife showed him what Liu Jin had brought: "It’s brown sugar, and there are cakes too."
Upon seeing this, the village head sighed even deeper.
"What’s the matter?" The village head’s wife felt very puzzled by the old man’s expression.
"It’s really unexpected—Ying Mei and her family might make a comeback. Looking at their little house, it seems they’re on the rise," the village head said with a deep look in his eyes.
"What do you mean by that?"
The village head took a puff on his pipe and said, "That youngest one, Wufu, is quite capable and knows how to handle things. Now their household, they’ve even started to keep a servant. You might think that young kid is small in age, but he’s sharp and smart. Give it time, and he’ll surely achieve great things."
When the master is strong, the servant is strong too. Judging a servant to understand the master, and a servant being so bright, what about the master herself?
There are cases where the servant bullies the master, but that girl Wufu—I’ve experienced her intelligence, and she definitely won’t be outwitted.
When the master is strong, the servant is also strong; they both have their own ideas. That little house, could it be looked down upon in the future?
Even when they came to my house to inquire, they didn’t come empty-handed, which tells you they handle matters with stability.
"That Zhang Jiguang’s family has a shrewish wife. Old man, that land..." Madam Zhou said with a frown, "Uncultivated land belongs to whoever clears it; this has been the rule set down through generations. If we really come down to it, Wufu’s family really doesn’t have solid ground to stand on."
The village head snorted: "That wife of Zhang Jiguang is shallow and greedy, thinking that by clearing the land, she has people in her grasp? Foolish. Just you watch, it will backfire on her."
That girl Wufu, how could she be outsmarted by that wife? And her temperament, hmph, it’s a wonder she’s not the one scheming against others.
"So we’ll give them the land?"
The village head glanced at the brown sugar in her hand and said, "Let’s wait and see. If they can really handle that wife, then I’ll decide to give them the land. If not, I’ll allocate a new lot for them as a homestead, which is still better than the mountainside."
Seeing this, Madam Zhou didn’t say more and happily put away the brown sugar and green bean cakes.
As soon as Liu Jin returned home, he was surrounded by Hongyu and Madam Zhou, eager to know the village head’s thoughts.
When Madam Zhou heard about the unwritten rule that whoever clears the wasteland owns it, her face turned pale, and her eyes began to redden.
"Madam, don’t worry. We must have that land, and although it may be troublesome, we can solve it with a little silver. The village head also mentioned that if we agree, he could allocate a new homestead lot for us to build," Liu Jin said with a smile.
"Is that really true?" Madam Zhou asked.
Liu Jin nodded: "It’s true. Of course, we’ll need to spend some silver, but the village head said just a courteous contribution would suffice."
Upon hearing this, Madam Zhou immediately beamed with happiness. The village head was still somewhat fair and just.
However, living in the village, those rumors...
She pursed her lips, and her eyes firmed up again—if it really came down to it, living in the village was fine. They hadn’t stolen or robbed anyone—they feared no one.
"Are we going to buy a homestead lot in the village?" Hongyu asked.
"How we decide on this matter will still need to be discussed with Miss," Liu Jin responded.
No sooner had he spoken than a voice came from the doorway: "What opinion are you asking for?"
They all looked over, only to see Wufu, disheveled and yawning as she walked in, looking as if she hadn’t slept in days.