Farmhouse Green Plum

Chen smiled and said politely, "We are all busy. There is endless work to do every day. We have hardly had a rest at home."

The Xu family is an outsider family and they don't interact much with the villagers.

She looked up at the moon climbing over the treetops and said again, "Let's not go inside to sit. We still have to go to Sister Meihua's house. We can come back next time when we have time."

Faced with Aunt Meihua being mentioned again, Yang was a little embarrassed. She had just compensated Aunt Meihua's family with a basket of millet a few days ago. Although it was the compensation she should receive, she couldn't help feeling uncomfortable.

Li was calm and composed, with no sign of displeasure on her face. She nodded and said, "It's time to go. Every household is busy at this time of year. Only they are kind-hearted. If it were anyone else, no one would be willing to drop their work in the fields to help."

Chen didn't know how to respond to this, so she just smiled and passed it off.

The next day, the energetic Daya packed up early, carrying a backpack and holding a sickle, and prepared to go out.

When she opened the gate, she saw Aunt Liu walking towards her house.

Thinking of Li's warning, Daya was ready to hide, but Aunt Liu was sharp-eyed and had already seen her. She called her, "Daya, are your grandma and the others home?"

The tone was as normal as it could be, as if it was not Daya who ruined her plan to secretly sell her daughter and spread her vicious reputation to several nearby villages.

Daya had to suppress her panic and replied, "Yes."

Then he called out to the yard, "Grandma, Second Aunt, Third Aunt Liu is here."

Aunt Liu entered the yard, exchanged a few simple pleasantries with Li and Yang, and explained her purpose: "My eldest son's marriage has been arranged, and it will be at the end of the month. When the time comes, I will have to trouble Aunt Liu and Second Sister-in-law to help."

End of the month?

Daya was a little surprised. Farmers would try to avoid the busy farming season when doing anything except funerals. Most weddings for young girls and boys were held around the New Year. She had never heard of a wedding at the end of August.

Why are you in such a hurry?

"Isn't this... too rushed?" Mrs. Li was also shocked, and looked at Aunt Liu with a little more inquiry.

Aunt Liu sighed, "The girl's grandfather is old, and he fell down a few days ago. It was nothing at the time, and he was able to walk after being helped up. Who would have thought that he would be in such a bad condition that night, and the doctor said he might not survive.

Firstly, the old man raised his granddaughter single-handedly, and he would not feel at ease until he saw her get married; secondly, the girl wanted to use the marriage to bring good luck, maybe the old man would get better; thirdly, they were also worried that if the old man passed away, the marriage of the two children would be delayed. "

"At this age, I'm afraid of falling down." Li said she understood and advised Aunt Liu, "Don't think it's troublesome. Everyone gets old and may encounter such things.

Let's arrange the marriages for the two children first. Your second sister-in-law and I will go there early in the morning to help."

Aunt Liu thanked them quickly and rushed to other homes.

When Daya thought of Xiaohua who was in the brothel at this moment, her mood inevitably became heavy. She sighed and took Song Yuan out.

The Wang and Ma families acted quickly. Three days later at noon, Daya was working hard in the fields when she heard that someone from the Ma family was coming to discuss the marriage.

I thought that both parties had already discussed the matter and it was just a formality. They should have a lively meal and a friendly chat. Unexpectedly, in just half an hour, the lively atmosphere changed and the angry roar of Aunt Liu could be heard from the foot of the mountain.

"This is too much! I won't retreat! I will never retreat!"

Daya was a little confused. What was she returning? The betrothal gift?

No, the betrothal gift is given by the man to the woman. If the betrothal gift can be returned, Aunt Liu will wake up laughing in her sleep.

What does the woman want to return? Dowry?

This is only the first step; the dowry hasn't been brought over yet.

It’s impossible for the woman to cancel the engagement, right?

Aunt Liu's voice was angry and sharp, and it almost spread throughout the whole village. Soon, people working at the foot of the mountain brought the news up.

Xiao Hua couldn't bear the humiliation and hit her head against the wall and died. The human trafficker was so angry that he came to ask Aunt Liu to return the money.

Zhao Xiaocui, who was working in the field next to Daya's house, called out to her, "Daya, let's go and see how Aunt Liu is feeling!"

Zhao Xiaocui is Aunt Meihua's daughter and Xiaoxiang's cousin from the next room. She is of the same age as Xiaohua and they are very good friends.

Xiaohua was sold, and she was even more sad than Daya and the others. When she heard that the culprit, Aunt Liu, was going to have her money refunded, she couldn't help but gloat over her misfortune.

Daya was shocked. She didn't expect her to react like this. After a long while, she asked hesitantly, "Sister Xiaohua is dead. Aren't you sad?"

Zhao Xiaocui turned her head and looked in the direction of Qingshui County, and sighed deeply: "Being sold to that kind of place, for Xiaohua, death is the only relief."

Daya disagreed in her heart, but she couldn't find a reason to refute, so she had to remain silent.

After a moment, she said softly, "It should be that old lady Xu who is coming. I won't go."

Thinking of how Mrs. Xu had viewed Daya that day, Zhao Xiaocui expressed her understanding. Thirty taels of silver was not a small amount and human hearts could not resist temptation.

Besides, having just lost Xiaohua, Mrs. Xu might urgently need to buy a girl as a replacement, and Daya would naturally be her first choice.

Seeing that the two of them had made up their minds, Song Yuan quickly said, "Sister, I want to go and see."

Daya was in no mood to talk. She pointed at Zhao Xiaocui and motioned him to follow her.

Song Yuan jumped up and ran towards Zhao Xiaocui, saying as he ran, "I'll be back after I finish watching."

Watching Zhao Xiaocui and Song Yuan go down the mountain, Daya sat there in a daze for a while, then suddenly stood up, grabbed a sickle and started working desperately. She had to finish the work in the fields quickly and dig herbs!

She didn't want to be like Xiaohua, who was sold by her mother without any resistance. She had to make money, a lot of money, so that even if she was abandoned one day, she could survive on her own!

Whipped by fear, before noon, most of the grass on the field had been cut, and today's farm work target had been met.

She began looking for plantain on the roadside, and then went to the low, shady places to pick some ground worms, before estimating the time to go home and cook lunch.

The farce in the Wang family had not yet ended, and from time to time, the sound of Aunt Liu and Mrs. Xu cursing at each other could be heard.

At the end of noon, Li, Yang, Song Yuan and Song Tian all returned from Wang's house, lamenting the gossips of the Wang family.

Uncle Song went to a faraway place to catch eels today and will not be back until noon. Daya brought five bowls of porridge to the table and listened to them talk about the outcome of the matter.

Aunt Liu and Mrs. Xu argued until their faces turned red and neither of them was willing to give in. In the end, the village chief stepped in to mediate and only returned 5 taels.

It was also said that the person from the Ma family who came to discuss the marriage had a very unhappy look on his face and went back without even eating. It was unknown whether this marriage could be successful.

After lunch, Daya packed up, avoided the three Li family members, picked up two backpacks, and went to Songlinpo early.

After meeting up with Lai Di and Xiao Xiang, she said, "I can't wait any longer. I decided to go to the county soon and sell the herbs I picked these two days."

Lai Di nodded. "That's fine. Tomorrow the government will come to collect the autumn crops. The whole village will be watching. There's no chance to run away. We've already collected a lot. You won't be able to carry more."