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

“Humans want to drink water, and so do wild animals.” Wutong pointed to the blurry marks on the muddy ground not far away and said, “Do you see those footprints? The claws are bigger than your hands. They must be wolves or tigers. They don’t dare to come out now that it’s light, but they’ll definitely come to drink water when night falls. If you’re still bathing here then, you’ll probably become meat in their mouths.”

"If they dare to eat me, they're doomed too."

Despite saying that, Shan still gave up his plan to camp there because of her words, and looked longingly at the clear water.

Ruolan squatted down next to them, munching on dry rations, and heard the conversation clearly.

After seeing Shan leave, she came over and praised, "Wutong, you're really amazing now, you know everything."

Wutong washed her hands and got into the car.

Ruolan was stunned by the neglect, then laughed self-deprecatingly and didn't take it to heart.

Duan Fufeng filled the water tank and continued on his way.

Before nightfall, they found a sheltered spot, a high, semi-circular earthen mound standing there, with no signs of animal activity around, perfect for setting up camp.

Duan Fufeng stopped the car, took the tent out of the trunk, and Wutong helped him set it up.

Even though he had no experience setting up a tent, he didn't sit idly by; he stood by and learned, occasionally handing someone a hammer or something.

Only Ruolan stood beside the car, looking at them with a lonely expression, as if she had been abandoned.

The tents were set up quickly; there were three in total, one large and two smaller ones.

Wutong and Shan slept together, while Duan Fufeng and Ruolan each slept together.

They lit a fire, placed an iron pot on it, boiled water, and then put the fried rice they had brought in to cook. In no time, it became a pot of fragrant porridge.

A bowl of porridge with dried meat makes for a fairly hearty dinner.

The four sat around the campfire. Shan and Wutong chatted, while Ruolan tried to join in, but failed several times.

Finally, Wutong finished the porridge in her bowl, and she stood up abruptly, saying, "Let me get you some more."

Wutong dodged her hand and put the bowl on the ground.

"I'm stuffed."

Ruolan's movements appeared awkward, and Shan, holding the bowl, chuckled:

"Why do people say that you should act according to your conscience? Because you will be punished if you don't have a conscience. You see him build a tall building, you see him entertain guests, and you see his building collapse. Glory is only temporary. You can't take advantage of your current abilities and not let others have a way to live."

She didn't name names, but Ruolan knew she was talking about herself. The neglect she had suffered over the past few days had froze in her heart, and Shan's words stirred up tears that flowed from her eyes.

She choked back a few sobs, covered her face, and sat on the ground, her body flickering in and out of the light of the swaying fire.

Unfortunately, she's gotten older, and her crying no longer has the delicate charm of her youth; instead, it evokes a surge of resentment, like a weaker version of Xianglin's Wife.

Shan had always remembered the incident where she killed the rat, and seized the opportunity to mock her.

"You still have the nerve to cry? You were ruthless when you hurt people, breaking their hearts. Now you have the nerve to ask for forgiveness? If I were Sister Wutong, you killed my son, I would stab you twice and that would be too lenient."

Wutong frowned, not wanting them to start arguing, since the mission was more important right now.

But before she could speak to stop her, Ruolan raised the volume of her sobs and asked in a hoarse voice:

"Was she the only one whose child died? I had three children, and none of them survived. Who have I blamed?"

"You, you brought this on yourself!"

Shan, unaware of the hidden story, could not refute it and could only utter this one sentence.

Her rebuke had already lost its effect on Ruolan.

Ruolan was immersed in her grief, oblivious to the chill of the night and the way they looked at her. She couldn't reveal her true self to Adan, having disguised herself all day. But now, finally in their presence, she felt liberated and poured out all her pent-up emotions.

"I never expected to ask for your forgiveness. I just felt... since we're all in such a terrible state, why cling to the past and refuse to let go? Wutong, I've experienced the same pain you went through, even more severely than you. Look at what I've become! Isn't that enough to appease you?"

She lifted her head from her arms, her eyes appearing even more swollen and sagging due to redness, her pupils having long since turned from clear black and white to cloudy, losing their once bright and captivating luster.

"Our grudges have been settled. How about we give each other a chance to start over?"

All three eyes were on Wutong, who was looking down in thought, her bangs falling down and obscuring her eyes.

Ruolan continued to sob, her voice so humble it sounded like she was pleading.

"If I had another chance, I would never do those things to you again. I've already learned my lesson."

So what? Should we be forgiven just because we've tasted the bitter fruit?

She trusted her so much, but in the end, she was the one who hurt her the most.

The wounds left in my heart have long since healed into scars, and scars can never be erased.

Wutong let out a sigh of relief, stood up, and without looking at her, went into the tent.

Her retreating figure was a silent rejection.

Ruolan stared at the fire, a bleak smile on her face.

Shan quickly finished the rice in his bowl and went into the tent.

Duan Fufeng glanced at her, told her not to let the fire go out, and then went to his tent to rest.

Ruolan looked up at the sky. In the night sky of the Central Plains, the stars and the moon were no longer the masters; instead, they were replaced by the dazzling firelight of Haoshan.

She stared at it for a while, then pulled a bamboo tube out of her clothes.

A fuse was hanging outside the tube. A piece of burning firewood was picked up from the fire and the fuse was lit. The silver-gray wire quickly caught fire and then exploded silently. A red light shot into the night sky and blended into the light of Haoshan Mountain. It was almost unnoticeable unless you looked closely.

Ruolan waited until the light disappeared before throwing the bamboo tube into the fire. After it burned to ashes, she added some firewood to the fire and went to sleep.

Because of her bad mood, Wutong fell asleep early after entering the tent.

She didn't know how long she had been asleep when she vaguely heard someone calling her name loudly, and the voice sounded very familiar.

She opened her eyes and saw Duan Fufeng squatting in front of her. The tent curtain was open, and red light shone in, illuminating his well-defined features.

"Why are you here?" Wutong asked, puzzled.

Duan Fufeng shushed him and pointed to the ground.

"listen."

Wutong lay down and pressed her ears to the ground.

This is a common method used in military campaigns, which allows one to detect the enemy's distance from their position by observing ground vibrations.

It wasn't a war day, but she could hear the chaotic footsteps of people moving around in the distance, as well as the sound of wheels rolling over the ground. It sounded like there were quite a few of them, more than enough to deal with them.

Could it be that we've encountered bodyguards? But Phoenix City has already banned people from entering or leaving, so the bodyguard agencies should all be closed down by now.

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