Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 4 Freedom
Beijiwu's home is at the west end of the village, which is the farthest from the county town and also the farthest from the village entrance.

However, it is not far from the farmland west of the village.

The village has land reclaimed in all directions over the years, with each household having an average of more than 40 mu of land.

The output of more than 40 mu of land is more than 100 jin of grain per mu. One-seventh to one-eighth of the grain is kept for sowing, and the rest is used to exchange for money to buy various production tools such as sickles.

This place is sparsely populated. The original inhabitants were all slaughtered by bandits a hundred years ago. Over the past hundred years, people have been coming and going.

Summers are dry, winters are cold, and it's a frontier region. Unless ordered by the imperial court, most people wouldn't want to settle here.

To prevent anyone from escaping, the people here are basically not allowed to leave the village.

Beijiwu is that kind of person. Although he has some strength, he ultimately stays here to farm and support himself.

Pushing open the door and entering the house, Beijiwu returned to his 500-square-meter courtyard.

The courtyard is over 20 meters on each side, with grape trellises, gourd trellises, and a pomegranate tree.

The house is smaller, consisting of three rooms.

In the middle are the main room and the kitchen. As soon as you enter, you can see an earthen stove against the wall. To the left is the main room, and to the right is the original cowshed.

Winter is cold, so the cows are brought inside the house.

There was also a house in the county town, which was a reward given to veterans by the imperial court, but it was used for my elder brother's wedding. The remaining thirty-five acres of land in the family were also near the county town.

These fifteen mu were deliberately scattered; the good land couldn't all be divided together, so each person had to get some medium or low-grade land to make up the difference.

The house and courtyard were left by previous residents. They had all collapsed, but Beijiwu repaired them over the past year.

The ground had been cleaned in advance, and the wheat on the Arctic general's cart was untied and thrown on the ground.

Fifteen mu of land yields less than two thousand jin of wheat, and even with the haystacks, it's definitely less than ten thousand jin. This large courtyard is more than enough.

The remaining wheat straw didn't need to be piled up in the fields. There were plenty of trees and weeds in the way behind the house, and the sounds of wild birds and cats could often be heard at night in Beijiwu, but there was no time to clean it up.

Having fewer people has its advantages; there's enough space and land.

Perhaps due to the early years of the dynasty, resources were abundant per capita.

Beijiwu didn't lock the door and quickly went back to continue hauling grain.

The sun had already risen, and Old Man Li and his family had come to the fields to work.

The son, Li Niu, had recovered somewhat, but the father and son still felt bitter looking at the vast expanse of wheat.

Old Man Li quickly said to his daughter, "Eldest daughter, go to the county in a few days. Our family really has no other choice now."

Li Hong looked at her aged father with a complicated expression and tried her best to say, "Dad, I'll find someone to harvest our wheat. I'll marry someone from our village. Don't mention going to the county town anymore, I'm not going."

Li Hong directly rejected Old Man Li's suggestion; she knew perfectly well what she was going to do in the county town.

Her parents wanted to sell her to a brothel to make money.

Aunt Li scolded, "I've raised you for eighteen years! You eat and drink from our food, now it's your turn to repay our kindness. You think you can just refuse to go? Do you want your father, mother, younger brother, and younger sister to starve to death?"

Li Niu couldn't bear it. "Mother, let's harvest the wheat in the field. If we harvest it, we can pay back the money."

Aunt Li glared at Li Niu, "How old are you and you still haven't gotten married! If we don't hurry up and make some money to build you a house, how will you get married? Your sister will be married off in the future, and your sister will help you build a house to pay off our family's debts. Otherwise, we can't make a living."

Old Man Li quickly looked at his eldest daughter with a hard expression, "You need to be sensible. Other people's daughters starved to death when they were six or seven years old. None of your aunts survived, and your mother's sisters were sold to others as maids or wives. Don't hate your parents. No matter where you look at it, we are in the right!" Li Hong had only been here for a few years, and when she was a refugee, she knew very well that selling children was normal, and even eating children was common.

"Can I try to harvest the wheat at home and borrow some things to make ends meet?"

Li Hong had already decided to sell herself, but not to the county town. At this moment, she argued forcefully, "I will marry Bei Jiwu from the west end of our village!"

Aunt Li was furious. "Fine! You shameless wretch! Your parents raised you for eighteen years, and you've gone and gotten together with a heartless scoundrel! You've disgraced your parents! Don't you care whether your parents live or die?"

The Li family is short of money and has to sell their daughter, not to marry her off.

Li Hong shouted, "What difference does it make who you sell me to? Can't you sell me to someone in the village?"

At this moment, many people nearby were looking in this direction, curious about what had happened.

Curiosity aside, most people wouldn't rashly get involved in such a family dispute, and even strangers would come to mediate.

Aunt Li retorted angrily, "Can he give me the money? If he can produce the money, do whatever you want with me. I won't care if you live or die from now on!"

Li Hong was in great distress, but in doing so, she seized the opportunity to escape this quagmire of despair.

How much are you going to sell me for?

Aunt Li was stunned. Forgetting her anger, she turned to look at Old Man Li.

Old Man Li hadn't thought about this, mainly because he didn't know how much others were willing to pay.

After a slight hesitation, Old Man Li replied, "At least five thousand coins!"

Aunt Li scolded, "Don't listen to this brat! Let her go to the county; we can't let her embarrass us in the village!"

Li Hong still couldn't take control of her own life. After realizing that she couldn't control her destiny no matter what, Li Hong picked up the sickle in a fit of anxiety and anger.

She pointed the sickle at herself and shouted to her parents, "I will find a way to give you money. Don't force me. If you sell me to the city, I will die right now!"

Old Man Li grew anxious, shouting, "Put it down! Don't do anything foolish!"

Aunt Li refused to admit defeat, shouting, "If you want to die, then die! If you die, I'll sell your sister!"

Seeing this, Li Bing gritted her teeth and looked at the mother, then quickly and resolutely said, "If you sell me out, I'll bite my tongue and kill myself! You can pay back the money yourselves and go harvest the wheat yourselves!"

Like most men and women of that era, the two sisters were constantly on the move, growing tenaciously like wild grass.

Previously, I was unable to control my own destiny, nor was I ever driven to the brink of despair.

Now that we've finally seen a glimmer of hope, we absolutely refuse to be sold into a living hell!

Old Man Li no longer needed his wife to play the villain, and at this moment he angrily cursed, "You two lowly maids! I'll beat you to death today! I'll sell you two unfilial lowly maids together!"

Li Hong ran straight into the distance, shouting, "Bingbing! Let's go!"

Li Bing was surprised when his sister ran away. He then suddenly realized that his parents were staring intently at him.

There is no way out!

Li Bing also quickly ran out!
Aunt Li shouted urgently, "Come back! Don't run! Catch them!! Go after them!!"

(End of this chapter)