Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 6 Good Young Man
The Li family finally reached the finish line, panting heavily.

After seeing that his two daughters had stopped running away and were standing next to a young man, Old Li began to scrutinize him.

The young man had poor eyesight, and behind him was a huge haystack cart.

Just as Old Li was about to say something, the young man took out a sickle from behind his back and held it in his hand.

"No!" Bei Gong Dingbian quickly stopped him.

Li Hong and Li Bing initially didn't think there was anything wrong, but after Bei Gong Dingbian inexplicably shouted something, they, like the Li family, stared in astonishment.

After thinking for a moment, Beijiwu still stuck the sickle into the haystack behind him.

“I already know about your two daughters. Since you want to sell them, then everyone can be a witness. I will buy these two girls today, and from now on, they will have nothing to do with their family.”

Old Man Li stared at the young man in astonishment. "Who are you?"

Li Niu explained, "It's Beijiwu from the west of the village; his brother is from the military settlement."

Old Man Li was terrified of soldiers; he had been afraid of soldiers and other military personnel since he was a child.

"You want to buy Li Hong? How much?"

Beijiwu said, "I'll buy both of them and give you ten acres of wheat. I can tell you can't read or write an invoice. It will cost money to find someone to write one. There are so many people in the village watching today, so let's just agree on this."

Old Man Li hesitated, feeling that the price was too low.

Aunt Li made an outrageous demand, "No way! Both of them together would cost fifteen mu of wheat!"

Beijiwu bargained, "I need to keep some wheat for myself and for planting next year. How about this, I'll give you ten mu of wheat and help you harvest five mu of wheat. Once that's done, we'll go our separate ways."

Li Niu shouted, "I need ten mu! Five mu isn't enough!"

Beijiwu was too lazy to haggle anymore. "Alright, so many people saw and heard this today, let's put it this way. I'll transport our wheat back home and come over this afternoon to help you harvest your wheat, ten acres."

Old Zhang from next door shouted, "Why do you need to spend money to get married? I'll give you my two daughters for free. You just need to harvest five acres of wheat for us. These girls who are a waste of money live at home and spend our money. You can take them back and provide for their food and drink."

Daughters are a money pit, and Old Zhang doesn't want to waste food raising two daughters. He'd rather raise more sons so they can eat more.

It happened to be right next to the land of Beijiwu. After the two daughters moved there, the family would no longer be afraid of being bullied.

Old Man Li, who had originally wanted to haggle, stopped trying when he heard that Old Man Zhang wanted to give away his daughter.

Aunt Li quickly replied, "You have to keep your word! This year you have to provide ten mu of wheat and help with the work on ten mu of land!"

Beijiwu gripped the handlebars with both hands. "Go back to work. I'll come over this afternoon to help you. I'll take them back now to harvest our wheat."

The heavy cart was easily lifted by Bei Jiwu, and he passed by Bei Gong Dingbian as if he were pulling an empty cart.

The road was narrow, and Bei Gong Dingbian and his horse were squeezed into the ditch in the field next to them. Luckily, the horse didn't trip over its legs.

Bei Gong Dingbian quickly dismounted, glaring angrily at Bei Jiwu, but dared not utter a word.

Beijiwu walked calmly past Li Yong, Old Man Li, and Aunt Li.

Li Hong and her younger sister Li Bing also followed hurriedly with their heads down, completely separating themselves from their family.

Half of the courtyard of Beijiwu was already filled with nearly two to three thousand kilograms of wheat straw, which were being laid out to dry.

“I’ll go and bring back the last cartload later. You can help dry the wheat straw here. There are vegetables and flour in the kitchen. You can cook the food. We’ll eat first and then get back to work.”

Arctic Martial has found two live-in partners.

Li Hong and her sister looked around the courtyard, then at the three rooms and the wheat straw on the ground. "Okay, we're yours from now on!"

Li Hong readily acknowledged her promise.

Li Bing wasn't surprised by this unexpected situation, after all, a capable man can support several people at the same time.

They had no other choice but to fight in the Arctic.

Men over eighteen are already married.

Li Hong was still unmarried at eighteen, which meant that most men were no longer able to support another adult woman.

Now that the dynasty has just been established, in order to restore the population as soon as possible, the court stipulates that women who are over eighteen years old and do not marry shall pay three times the tax.

A woman without a dowry will not be respected after marriage.

Neither of the sisters had a dowry, so they were indeed somewhat unsuitable as wives, especially since they were women bought.

Without thinking too much, Beijiwu happily said, "I'm going to get to work now. I'll go out and get some water after I bring back the last truckload."

Li Hong nodded and said, "Okay, just tell us what you need us to do."

"Let's sleep together tonight," Beijiwu said with a smile, then happily pulled the cart away.

Li Hong watched him run away with a smile, then said to her younger sister Li Bing, "You sprained your ankle, sit down and rest. I'll go cook."

"Okay." Only then did Li Bing feel the pain, sitting at the door of the main room, touching her sore ankle.

Her older sister, Li Hong, always cared about her and could tell whether she was hungry or healthy.

Although it is now the early years of the Wen Dynasty, the court, which has only been established for a year, is no different from the short-lived regimes that have died out intermittently before.

People who have grown accustomed to a century of chaos do not have high expectations for life, and when looking for a man, they prioritize finding one who can feed their family.

When a family is together, it's easier to run together; once separated, they won't never see each other again.

Li Bing sat there looking at the golden wheat straw covering the ground. Under the sun, the white straw was reassuring.

After threshing all this wheat straw in the yard, it will be our food supply for this year and next. If we plant some chestnuts, oats, turnips, and peas, we'll have enough for the whole year.

Li Bing was happily lost in thought when her foot stopped hurting.

As soon as Li Hong entered the kitchen, she saw a large rat. The fat rat, as big as a shoe, also sensed the sudden light coming in from outside. It quickly scrambled along the earthen wall and squeezed into the gaps in the thatched roof at the corner of the wall.

Li Hong wasn't afraid of mice. When she saw the mouse, she didn't scream; instead, she looked delighted.

"With such a big rat, how much grain is this family hiding?"

Last year, a heavy rain during the wheat harvest caused severe damage to the military and civilian settlements in Beiyuan County. People were starving to death, and naturally, rats couldn't get fat either.

“That’s right, he only needs to eat his fill so the whole family won’t go hungry.” Li Hong quickly revealed a simple and honest smile. “No wonder he didn’t seem too willing to accept us. It turns out he didn’t want two more mouths to feed and not have enough to eat.”

If one person can do all the farm work, then having two women join in is clearly a waste of food.

Li Hong was definitely not leaving, and with a smile, she began tidying up the kitchen.

"If we make him feel comfortable, he won't kick us out."

"Every family has a few women, right?"

(End of this chapter)