The White-Bone Demon of the Farm is as rich as a country

If you want to get rich, you must first build roads. As Meng Ruyue walked back to the village, she suddenly thought of the slogans she'd often seen on rural walls in her past life. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Looking at this dusty road was truly a struggle. It was fine now, on a sunny day, at most it would just be dusty, and eating some dirt would provide calcium. But if it rained heavily, wouldn't she be stuck in the mud, unable to move at all?

As she thought about it, she couldn't help laughing out loud.

"You're running? Keep running! I'll see where you can go!" A loud, gruff voice interrupted Ru Yue's laughter. "You dare to run right under my nose? Why don't you even ask what I, Zhou Dahu, do for a living?"

On the dirt slope diagonally in front, a group of big men were surrounding a ragged young man and beating and kicking him. The man protected his head with his hands, trying hard to endure it without shouting or screaming, only letting out a light groan occasionally.

Well, quite tough! Ru Yue secretly praised him in her heart.

Her gaze turned to the man named Zhou Dahu. This man was tall and strong like an iron tower with a broad back and broad waist. Just one look at him made people feel intimidated. He had thick eyebrows, big eyes, a straight nose and a wide mouth, and a face full of ruthlessness. However, Ru Yue did not see any viciousness on his face. He was a ruthless man, but definitely not a bad person, Ru Yue concluded in her heart.

"Just run away. Do you believe I will break your dog legs? Let's see if you still run away?" The man named Zhou Dahu spoke fiercely and increased the strength of his hands and feet.

"Brother Hu, please show some mercy! This sickly fellow wouldn't be sold even if he had good hands and feet. If he had a broken leg, we wouldn't be able to sell him in our shop." A muffled male voice interrupted Zhou Dahu and said, "Just beat him up to vent your anger. If you really cripple him, we'll lose business."

"Hmph, I'll spare your dog life. If you dare to run again, I will really kill you. Even if I kill you, you will be nothing more than a broken straw mat thrown into the rotten cemetery to feed the dogs." Zhou Dahu said viciously, and did not forget to kick the man.

Living in the 21st century, Ru Yue had seen so many "poor people" trying to scam people and beg for money that she had long since developed a habit of staying out of it. And now that she was new here, how could she have the time to meddle in other people's business? She decided to take a detour and avoid them.

"Then beat me to death and throw me into the cemetery. I will escape if I get a chance." His voice was weak, but it revealed a firmness that could not be ignored, as if he was making a vow rather than a word of anger.

"You kid are looking for death, so I'll grant your wish." Zhou Dahu kicked and hit him fiercely.

After saying this, the man once again waited for death in silence.

"Ah!" A scream was heard, scaring the men who were beating people so much that they trembled.

"You little bitch, what are you yelling about?" a duck-voice yelled.

"I, I, I'm scared." Meng Ruyue answered timidly.

"Get out of here! You have nothing to do here. Get out of here now." The duck-voice man cursed again.

"Oh, you are Brother Dahu from the dental clinic in town." Meng Ruyue seemed to have seen an acquaintance and immediately became cheerful from being timid.

"Do you know me?" Zhou Dahu asked in confusion.

"Who in this area doesn't know you, Brother Dahu? We all know that you are kind-hearted, helping the people of your hometown and doing good deeds."

These two sentences confused the group of bullies and made them not know what to do.

"Brother Dahu, I'm from Mengjia Village up ahead. You and the other brothers are already at my doorstep. Come over for a cup of tea," Meng Ruyue invited familiarly, handing out "Good Samaritan Cards" like they were free. "My dad said that good people are hard to find these days, and good people like you should be respected."

"Well, we brothers won't go. Sister, go home quickly. There are a lot of bad guys outside." Zhou Dahu had never been praised in his life. Ru Yue's praise made him feel embarrassed to do anything bad, especially since Ru Yue was just a little girl from the country. It was probably because someone really said that he was kind-hearted and a good person, otherwise how could this girl praise him and invite them for tea so smoothly?

"Brother Dahu, is this someone from our pawnshop? Do you want to sell him?" Ru Yue asked innocently, pointing at the person lying on the ground.

"What? Girl wants to buy it?" Zhou Dahu suddenly became alert.

"Brother Dahu, you don't know, my father has been bedridden all year round, and there is no one at home who can do the hard work. Although this man looks sick, he should be able to pull the plow and farm the fields." Meng Ruyue looked at the man again, as if she was really looking at whether he could do heavy work.

"Sister, you know how to talk. I won't cheat you. This pretty boy is a writer. If he were to pull the plow and farm, he would probably be no better than you. If you really want to buy someone who can work, go to the brokerage firm and I'll pick out a strong one for you." Zhou Dahu has been in the business of buying and selling people all his life, and he was only kind to Meng Ruyue for once.

"It would be even better if he could read and write. He could help my father farm and teach my brother to read. That's good, brother. Can you sell him to me at a lower price? Is that okay with you?" Meng Ruyue sounded more and more serious as she spoke.

"Girl, think carefully. This human trafficking is a one-way street. I can't cheat you."

"Brother, if you give me a lower price, I'll buy him. He's very strong and capable, and our family can't afford him. If the price is too high, we can't afford him. Don't you think this is reasonable?"

"That's the logic." Zhou Dahu followed Ru Yue's thoughts and said, "Okay, since you said so, I won't try to persuade you. I spent one or two taels of silver to buy him, and I won't make any money from you. Just give me one or two taels of silver. What do you think?"

"Okay, I believe Brother Dahu." As he said that, he reached into his sleeve pocket and actually took out a tael of silver from the space and handed it to Zhou Dahu.

Zhou Dahu was also vague. He took the silver and took out the indenture contract from his sleeve pocket and gave it to Ru Yue.

"Thank you, Brother Dahu. My name is Meng Ruyue and I live in Mengjia Village. When I have more money in the future, I will go to our pawnshop and you can pick out capable and cheap ones for me." Meng Ruyue's words were just a bluffing joke, but who would have thought that these words would really come true in the near future!

"Okay, sister Ruyue, next time you go to the pawnshop to buy someone from me, I will definitely pick the best for you."

Meng Ruyue and Zhou Dahu really met by chance, but they really became close siblings in the future.

"Brother Dahu, I'm going to take this person away first. My father will be worried if I go back too late."

"Okay, let's go."

"Let's go home." Meng Ruyue stood in front of the man with her back to the sun.

On the dusty country road, Chu Ning'an squinted his eyes in the sunlight and saw the skinny Meng Ruyue. The words "go home" completely sank into his ears.

Dragging his injured body, he stood up weakly and followed Meng Ruyue without saying a word.

"Brother Dahu, go back. I'm leaving." Meng Ruyue waved goodbye to Zhou Dahu and his group in a formal manner, and returned to the village with this injured man.

After climbing over a slope, Zhou Dahu and his group could no longer be seen. Meng Ruyue stopped under a crooked tree. Seeing this, the man also stopped.

Ru Yue stared at him for a long time. He was no more than seventeen or eighteen, but his head looked at least seventeen or eighteen. Although his face was bruised and swollen, and his features were hard to discern, he looked handsome and refined. She had miscalculated. She had thought he was at least twenty-something, but he looked only four or five years older than herself. What would she do with him if she took him home? How would she explain it to others if they asked her about him?

"What's your name? How old are you?" Ru Yue began to interrogate her. "Where are you from?"

Chu Ning'an was obviously stunned when he heard Ru Yue's tone, which was completely different from before. It seemed that not only he but also Zhou Dahu had been deceived by this little country girl.

"Chu Ning'an, seventeen years old." The words were concise and to the point, without a single redundant word.

He is really only three years older than me, it’s difficult to deal with!

"Your accent doesn't sound local. Where are you from? Do you have any relatives back home?"

After a long while, just when Ru Yue thought he would stop talking, he said leisurely, "Miss Ru Yue, if you trust me, please don't ask for now. I will tell you in detail later."

Ru Yue stared at him for a long time but didn't ask anything in the end. This must be a man with a story!

"If you don't want to talk, I won't force you. My family is simple, and I live with my younger siblings. I have no interest in your past. Since I've taken your indenture, I won't talk about saving you, nor will I consider myself your savior. Now that you've come to my house, just live there peacefully. If you do anything to hurt my family..." Meng Ruyi paused, staring at Chu Ning'an for a long moment without blinking. Just when Chu Ning'an thought she was going to stop, she said the most bone-chilling words in the calmest tone, "Zhou Dahu is really kind. I'm not as good as him."

Chu Ning'an didn't reply, simply staring at Meng Ruyue before him. She was dressed in ragged clothes, patched upon patched, small and frail, with slightly disheveled hair that had dulled and withered in the glaring sunlight. Her pointed face had the sallow hue of chronic hunger. But her large eyes, like peach blossoms in full bloom in March, shimmered and lively. Was she really just some ignorant peasant girl living in a mountain village? Chu Ning'an, who considered himself somewhat knowledgeable, was lost in thought, but he nodded firmly, without a single oath or vow of loyalty.

"There are no adults in my family, so it's really inconvenient to take you in like this." Meng Ruyue hesitated for a long time, and finally made up her mind. "So if others ask, just say you are from the capital city, and you are alone. You helped my father in the capital city before, and my father betrothed me to you before he died. You came to Mengjia Village this time to find your relatives. That way, if you stay in my house, others won't spread gossip."

Chu Ning'an was amazed to see Ru Yue openly discussing her lifelong affairs without any shyness. However, he had no idea that this was normal for Ru Yue. He stared at her for a long time before nodding in agreement.

"If someone asks you if you have a keepsake, just say you have a herring bone pendant that was lost in a robbery. No one would doubt you even if you're covered in injuries."

"Okay, I'll listen to Miss Ruyue."

"Since you've sold yourself to me, you need work. My family is poor and we don't have any land, so we don't need you to actually pull the plow and farm. When you're healed, you can teach my younger siblings to read and write."

"it is good."

"I'll be frank with you. You're a scholar, and I'm sure you'll take the imperial examinations someday. I won't make things difficult for you. If you have the money, you can redeem yourself with ten times the amount of silver. If you don't have enough, you can redeem yourself with a hundred times the amount of silver. You can pay me back after you pass the exams. Do you have any objections?"

"I won't redeem myself, nor will I take the imperial examination."

"Alright, I've already marked the path. You can figure out how to get there." Ru Yue made the final decision. Seeing that it was almost noon, she called out to Chu Ning'an, "Let's go home."

The word "go home" made Chu Ning'an's swollen face reveal a smile that was uglier than crying. Home, what a distant name! An extremely bitter thought flashed through his heart.