A Farm Girl: Three Acres of Fertile Land Can Be Exchanged for a Country

The village chief saw Duan Yanxi standing motionless in front of the bed, his back exuding a cold yet lonely aura.

He walked over, puzzled, and asked, "Why don't you open it?"

Duan Yanxi closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly. He took a deep breath and then suddenly threw off the covers.

A pillow lay quietly inside.

The villagers gasped at the sight and began whispering among themselves.

Duan Yanxi stared blankly at the pillow, his face expressionless.

“Um… Brother Zhou, don’t be sad…” The village chief raised his hand and patted his shoulder to comfort him, preparing his words in his mind.

Duan Yanxi, however, had calmed down and turned to ask him, "The reason you came to find me is because you discovered something, right?"

Since he himself had asked, the village chief felt less embarrassed to speak and told the truth: "Just now, someone saw your daughter Pearl outside the village. She was carrying a basin and said she was going up the mountain to pick wild vegetables, but there are no wild vegetables on the mountain at this time of year. We also heard a child crying, so we became suspicious and came to ask you..."

After a pause, the village chief asked thoughtfully, "Did you two have a fight, and she got so angry that she wanted to leave?"

Duan Yanxi shook his head and said seriously, "We didn't quarrel."

"What happened? She even took the child away, there must be a reason..."

Their origins were already unclear, and even after being accepted, the village chief remained somewhat wary of them. Now, seeing their strange behavior, he was determined to find out the real reason.

Duan Yanxi was unsure whether Ruolan had revealed her identity to anyone before leaving. After all, she was so cunning that she might have left behind a fatal trick to prevent him from having another chance to catch up.

Thinking of this possibility, he asked, "Did she say anything to you?"

Their gazes swept over Niu Laosan, Bao'er's mother, and several other people they were close to on ordinary days, and the villagers all shook their heads.

Seeing that they didn't seem to be lying, Duan Yanxi walked to a chair, sat down, lowered his head, and said with a pained expression:

"Actually...we lied to you..."

The village chief's heart sank, and he walked over to him, asking, "What do you mean? Brother Zhou, your words are hard to understand."

The villagers gathered around him, waiting for his explanation.

Duan Yanxi's deep voice had a slight hoarseness that made people feel an irresistible tenderness towards him.

He whispered, "Actually... Pearl didn't marry me; I bought her."

The village chief asked in surprise, "Bought it?"

"Yes, my father used to be a county magistrate, and our family was quite wealthy. But before I got married, he accidentally offended a high-ranking official and was beheaded. After that, no one in the area dared to marry into our family. My mother was eager to have a grandson, and in her confusion, she bought a girl from a slave trader, named Pearl, and made her our wife. That's how we ended the problem of having no heir."

The village chief pressed, "How did that human trafficker get the pearls? Did she steal them? Isn't she from Chengjia Village?"

"I don't know where she's from, she's never told me any of these things, but I do know that she was sold to a human trafficker by her parents. The trafficker saw that she was pretty and paid a high price for her. My mother also spent a lot of money to buy her."

"How much did it cost?" a villager asked curiously.

Duan Yanxi said, "At that time, all my family's savings were... one hundred taels."

Everyone gasped in unison, including the village chief.

That's a full one hundred taels! In all the years of Niutou Village, no family has ever been able to produce so much silver! No wonder even a hairpin they took out was made of pure gold; they must be a wealthy family!

But considering his father had been a county magistrate, it's not surprising; officials are definitely wealthier than ordinary people.

After calming down, the village chief asked Duan Yanxi, "So how did your family treat her?"

Duan Yanxi said, "My mother's only wish before she died was to hold her grandson. After she entered the family, she didn't have to do any housework. She just had to lie in bed and take care of her pregnancy."

"Oh? Your mother has passed away?"

Duan Yanxi covered his face with his hands and nodded sadly.

“Just a month before we set off, after burying my mother, she said she missed her parents too, so I sold all our ancestral property to come here with her. I never expected we would encounter bandits on the way, and she even abandoned me…”

Duan Yanxi paused at this point, just in time. He could have shed a few tears, but he couldn't, so he pretended to wipe the corner of his eye.

The villagers were indeed moved by his tragic experience and felt indignant on his behalf.

Bao'er's mother added, "This Pearl is so unreasonable. Even though your family bought her with money, there was a give and take, and her family didn't lose out. Isn't that a proper marriage? Now she's using these tricks to deceive you, causing you to lose both your money and your money. She's such a scoundrel."

Duan Yanxi shook his head: "It's not her fault. She always says that she's suffered since marrying into my family and has never enjoyed any happiness. She probably wanted to leave a long time ago..."

These words undoubtedly added fuel to the fire in everyone's hearts, and they all became indignant, vowing to bring the pearl back.

The village chief was more rational and specifically asked Duan Yanxi, "Brother Zhou, do you still want this wife? We've known each other for a while, and we consider you a brother. We can't just watch you being bullied by a woman like this. If you still want her, we'll help you bring her back. You're injured, so just wait here."

Duan Yanxi asked incredulously, "Are you really willing to help me? I'm penniless right now..."

Before the village chief could speak, Bao'er's mother pushed him aside, squeezed in front of Duan Yanxi, patted her chest, and said, "Brother Zhou, don't worry, money is nothing. The people of Niutou Village don't care about money! We'll take care of this. We'll bring your wife back to you."

Seeing that the matter was settled, the village chief said to everyone, "Then everyone get ready, we're going out to find pearls now."

"and many more."

Duan Yanxi called out to them.

The village chief turned around: "Is there anything else, brother?"

Duan Yanxi walked over and stood by the threshold, saying, "Actually, this isn't the first time she's run away. When she ran away before, she lied and said that I was the emperor of the Great Western Dynasty who escaped from Sichuan, which caused me to be arrested and imprisoned by the government for several days. If she says that again this time, you must not believe her."

The villagers said, "Don't worry, we will not be deceived by that woman."

Duan Yanxi looked at them and smiled for the first time in many days, like the spring sunshine melting ice and snow, which touched everyone.

"Then I'll have to trouble everyone."

He coughed twice, clutching his wound, and retreated back into the house.

The group was full of fighting spirit, and some even picked up sticks, hoes, or machetes to use as weapons. They marched out of the village in a grand procession to capture Ruolan.

1 = Lao Qu said