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

After she climbed up the hillside under the scorching sun, drenched in sweat, she could see thick smoke billowing from the barn through the dense forest.

The black smoke rose straight up into the azure sky.

The clouds in the sky were thin and high, and the sunlight shone through from behind, illuminating the entire earth.

Once she crosses the mountain, she will become a completely new person and enter a completely new world.

A handsome face appeared in my mind.

Will I... meet him?

Wutong took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and gripped the branches to climb with all her might.

The road out was much more difficult than she had imagined.

Wutong had only ever lived in the city before, and when she occasionally traveled, it was always to scenic spots; she would never venture into undeveloped wilderness.

This time, she prepared enough dry food and water, and even had a dagger for self-defense, but she overlooked one thing.

She may not have enough physical strength.

After climbing the mountain for only half a day, Wutong was already panting heavily and her legs were weak.

Ahead lies a dense forest, and behind lies an even denser forest.

There is no turning back.

She rested for a while, then forced herself to keep walking. She walked and rested like this for several days, until her mind became somewhat foggy.

Fortunately, they hadn't lost their way, and there were no wild beasts on the mountain.

The branches kept getting caught on her braids, so she simply took a dagger and cut off most of her hair, wrapping the rest around her head with strips of cloth.

Her coarse cloth clothes, which were relatively neat when she came out, were torn by thorns, so she took off her outer garment and wrapped it around her blistered feet as shoes.

Her white, coarse cloth shirt was stained with mud, and combined with her attire, if someone were to look at her at that moment, they probably wouldn't even be able to tell her gender.

"How much longer do we have to walk...? That bastard wasn't lying to me, was he...?"

Wutong walked for most of the day without stopping, and finally couldn't go on any longer, so she leaned against the tree trunk to catch her breath.

Her water sac was empty, and her food supplies were running low. If she couldn't find a way out, she would likely starve to death in this deep forest.

No! Just hang in there a little longer!

Wutong cheered herself up, pinched her thigh to regain some feeling in her limbs, and stood up to continue walking.

Heaven seemed to have finally shown her mercy. After many hardships, Wutong finally saw a wide and flat road appear at the foot of the mountain.

The road was paved with dirt and gravel, and it was still muddy from the rain a couple of days ago. It couldn't compare to a modern asphalt road.

But for Wutong at this moment, where there is a road, there are people! Where there are people, there is hope!

opportunity finally arises!

She mustered all her strength and rushed down the mountain. With sharp eyes, she spotted a noodle stall by the roadside ahead, with several passersby sitting around resting and eating. She immediately used the last of her strength to run over there.

Snapped--

She slumped onto the table, exhausted, and said, "Boss, give me a bowl of noodles..."

The owner had been running his noodle stall here for years, catering to travelers on the go. He was used to her appearance and simply said, "Three coins."

Wutong immediately reached into the package to take out the silver.

Ruolan gave her a small portion of the money from selling the land as travel expenses. Wutong was worried about encountering robbers on the road, so she didn't dare to take too much, only a tael and a few coins, which came in handy now.

The owner quickly brought over the noodles.

It didn't taste very good, but it was much better than the thin porridge we drank every day in Zhoujia Village.

Wutong picked up her chopsticks and began to wolf down her food.

After eating about half a meal, she regained some strength and began to pay attention to the people around her.

The noodle stall owner was a rather old man who only cared about making noodles, serving noodles, and collecting money; he didn't care about anything else.

Besides herself, there were two middle-aged men who looked quite worldly-wise eating noodles there.

The men all had pointed mouths and monkey-like faces, and their bodies were filthy. Even from a meter or two away, Wutong could smell the stench of sweat emanating from them.

The two chatted while eating noodles. Wutong lowered her head, picked up noodles, and listened attentively, holding her breath.

One person said, "Hey, did you hear about this when you went to southern Xinjiang last time?"

"What did you hear?"

"His Majesty has now appointed the King of Southern Xinjiang to govern the Dingjiang River, and they are currently recruiting laborers there."

"That's great! More workers mean more money, and more workers mean more money for us."

……

As expected, they came from outside, and seem to be in business; they must be very knowledgeable.

The King of Southern Xinjiang—when those people passed by last time, the villagers said that person was the King of Southern Xinjiang. Could it be the same person?

Wutong wanted to listen more, but the two had already finished their noodles and were getting up to leave.

She quickly wiped her mouth and followed.

The two walked very fast, and after chasing them for several hundred meters, they rounded a mountain pass before Wutong finally caught up with them.

"Um... gentlemen, can I ask for directions?"

The two stopped, glanced back at her a few times, and smiled at each other: "Okay, come and ask."

Unaware of what was happening, Wutong walked over and said, "I came from over there in the mountains. May I ask which way to go to get to the city?"

"In the city..."

A man stroked his chin and pointed behind him: "Look over there."

Wutong turned her head to look, but couldn't figure it out. Just as she was about to ask, she felt a sudden pain in the back of her head and fainted.

"Haha, it's a delicate little thing, a bit dirty, but it has all its limbs intact, so it can fetch a good price."

A man threw away the stone in his hand, clapped his hands, and said triumphantly.

Another person said, "He's so skinny, can he carry sandbags? Won't people refuse them?"

"Don't worry about that. I've already made arrangements with them. Southern Xinjiang is short-handed, and they'll take anyone who can be found!"

"That's good..."

One person took a burlap sack from the bundle on his shoulder, put the sycamore tree over his head, and carried it on his shoulder.

After an unknown amount of time, Wutong finally woke up.

The back of her head hurt terribly, as if it were splitting open. When she touched it, it felt sticky, and the pain made her grimace and gasp for breath.

This is where?

She tried to see her surroundings clearly, but it was pitch black everywhere, and she could only vaguely make out the dark silhouettes of many people.

She was sitting on a wet wooden board that swayed from side to side, just like the pirate ship she used to ride at the amusement park.

Wutong's heart stirred, and he pressed his ear to the wooden board to listen. Sure enough, he heard the sound of waves crashing.

She's been... kidnapped and taken to a ship?

The faces of the two men before I fainted, the black figures groaning from time to time around me, and the foul smell of vomit in the air.

All of these things together form a terrifying yet undeniable truth.

She was trafficked by human traffickers.

Wutong: "..."

I feel so ashamed.

In modern times, she roamed freely throughout the city and her kidneys were perfectly preserved. Now, after time-traveling, she had just crawled out of a mountain village when she fell into someone's trap.

Where are they going to take her and these people?

"Excuse me, could you please make way... please let me through..."

Wutong lowered his voice, groped his way through the people blocking his way, and moved toward the bulkhead of the ship's cabin.

The bulkhead was made of moldy old wood, emitting a strong, fishy stench.

The thought that this ship might have carried fish, and that the spot where he was sitting had once been where the fish had been, made Wutong feel nauseous.

She pressed her hand to her chest, held her breath, and leaned against the wood, hearing a few words of conversation coming from outside.