The Formidable Lady of the Poor Scholar’s Household

Chapter 19: Having Qian Sishui Is Shi Jinhua’s Blessing

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Because Li Yuanbao knew that Qian Sishui did not want to claim the reward that ought to be hers, he thought that she was a righteous person. Even the village chief’s didn’t hold as high a position in his heart as Qian Sishui.

If Qian Sishui knew about this, she would probably smirk.

She had wanted the money, but she also wanted to live a peaceful life. With 1,000 taels in her hands, she naturally let go of the 300 taels. Although she had “lost” 300 taels this way, nothing could beat living a peaceful life.

Of course, Shi Jinhua did not know about how his wife had earned 1,000 taels while he was asleep. During the few days he was recuperating at home, he watched the corn seedlings turn green again. He was so happy that he limped over to the fields every day just to see them.

When Auntie Wan’s family saw this, they also started to burn the soil. The entire family was mobilized. The wasteland that they had cleared out could be used to plant soybeans. After three years, they would have to register for taxation.

The Li Family had also seen it, especially Li Jin, who had helped fertilize the land. Seeing that the Shi family’s land was filled with healthy saplings, he was extremely excited. He had told his father the news once he got home.

The entire family was activated, and for a moment, the two families worked hard to weed the wasteland, confusing the other villagers. There was much discussion in private about what the two families were up to. When the village chief found out about this, he took the opportunity after lunch to saunter to Li Yuanbao’s house.

“Old Li, are you home?” the village chief shouted at the door with his hands behind his back. A few large roosters were fighting for food at the door.

“Uncle Liu? Why are you here? Come in and take a seat.” He was already so old, yet he still came over at noon!

Village Chief Liu was in his early seventies. As he had been the village chief for his entire life, the young people in the village were unwilling to take over the position of the village chief. At his age, he was still worried about the matters in the village.

“I’m not going in. It’s hot at home. Come with me to the tree at the door to rest and chat.” The weather was hot and stuffy. It was probably going to rain soon

Li Yuan Bao followed behind with a stool. Why was Uncle Liu looking for him? Could it be that someone in his family had caused trouble?

“Sit down, don’t stand,” Village Chief Liu instructed Li Yuanbao after sitting down.

Li Yuanbao’s brain was still trying to filter out who in his family had caused trouble. He sighed as he sat down obediently.

“I heard from the village that you followed your family to burn some soil?” Village Chief Liu looked at the crops in the distance and asked.

So it was because of this. He heaved a sigh of relief. “That’s right. We learned it from the Shi family. I asked my eldest to help Hua’s family. It rained the other day, and Hua’s family’s land is starting to turn green again. You know how much we fertilize our family’s land, yet the harvest every year is not ideal.” As he spoke, he glanced at Village Chief Liu’s expression.

“Yes, why are you looking at me? Continue,” Village Chief Liu urged.

Li Yuanbao thought for a while. “That’s why we followed suit. I hope there will be a good harvest this year. It’s not difficult to burn the soil. Our family has been busy with this for the past few days. I just hope that it won’t rain so soon.”

“That woman from the Shi family is capable, and she was willing to teach you too?” No matter what, it was someone else who thought of it.

As soon as Li Yuanbao mentioned Qian Sishui, he became lively. “Hey! What are you thinking about? That girl, Sishui, said that I could do whatever I wanted. Her heart ached when she saw crops that were not fertilized.” Of course, she had not said that last sentence, but a white lie wouldn’t hurt.

All Sishui had said was “Ok.”

“Yes, I’ll go take a look in the fields.”

Village Chief Liu was excited and did not have time to listen to Li Yuanbao anymore. He went straight to the Shi family’s land to see it with his own eyes. On the way home, he thought about it. If the entire village did this, not only could they use the wastelands, but they could also have fertilizer. In the future, they could burn the soil on the spot before planting. For this year, they would have to find somewhere to burn the soil.

He headed straight to Shi Jinhua’s house.

“Grandpa Liu, why are you here?”

Shi Jinhua was reading a book in the courtyard. When he turned around, he saw Village Chief Liu standing at the door.

“It’s been a while. I saw that you were reading, so I stood there and listened for a while. Although I don’t understand anything, I think it sounds good.” It was rare for there to be a scholar in the village.

“Please take a seat. I’ll get you some water.”

“Don’t go. Where’s that girl, Sishui?” Village Chief Liu asked with a smile.

What had happened to Qian Sishui recently? Why had people started calling her by her name?

“She went up to the mountains. Grandpa Liu, why are you looking for her?”

“It’s fine. I just want to ask her about burning of the soil that she thought of. I want everyone in the village to do this. I want to ask her if it’s okay.”

When Shi Jinhua heard this, he said, “Don’t worry. She doesn’t care about these things. But you have to be the one to explain it to others. Whoever is willing can burn it. She won’t take this matter to heart.” Perhaps this woman didn’t care about this at all.

Village Chief Liu glared at Shi Jinhua. “Hey, have you gone crazy from studying? You don’t have any help in the village, and your family is small. Do you know the value of this method that Sishui came up with to the farmers?”

“It’ll increase production,” Shi Jinhua answered in confusion.

“That’s right. If we increase our production, no one will starve to death. Look at how many families in the village can eat rice now? Every year, there’s a small harvest of corn and other things in the fields. They’re all pitifully small. It’ll be different when they get fertilized.” Village Chief Liu recalled the famine. If there had been surplus food at home, his younger siblings wouldn’t have starved to death.

“This is great—not just good. Everyone in the village has to remember the good deeds of that girl SIshui. It’s as good as saving their lives,” Village Chief Liu said as he tapped the cigarette in his hand.

“Alright, go study. I’ll have a meeting in the evening. I’ll announce it then. Don’t bother sending me off.” As he spoke, he stepped out of the door.

“Thank you, Grandpa Liu.”

“Don’t thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank Sishui. She’s your blessing.”

Otherwise, even if Shi Jinhua wanted to help, he wouldn’t be able to find an opportunity.

The girl who had been mentioned was currently in the mountains. She looked at the wild boar in front of her, and the wild boar looked at her too. Each was thinking about how to kill the other.

But neither made a move. They simply looked at each other. Whoever moved would lose. Humans were so weak that they could be smashed into pieces with a single collision.

Qian Sishui looked at the 200-pound wild boar in front of her and thought that if she accidentally bumped into it, it would definitely be smashed into pieces!

Looking at the shiny wild boar skin and the long tusks, the meat was probably fragrant, sweet, and crispy. It had to be delicious. Just thinking about it made her drool!

With a scream, countless birds flew out of the forest and scattered in all directions. “Run! This human is too ferocious. Such a big wild boar was killed with a few kitchen knives,” the birds chirped to each other as they escaped.

“That’s right. No wonder our ancestors said to stay away from humans. Humans even like to eat the meat of animals like us. That human’s terrifying. Run!”

The hand holding the kitchen knife was still trembling. The wild boar’s skin was really thick and hard. Seeing the pig’s blood flowing everywhere, she did not have time to rest. Carrying the basket on her back, she picked the wild boar up and quickly left the scene.

Otherwise, it would be troublesome if she attracted other large animals later. She walked as if she was flying. It wasn’t just the birds that had been scared off. Even the little rabbits hid in the grass and trembled in fear as the woman walked past them.

That terrifying female human…

When Qian Sishui reached the foot of the mountain, the villagers had already finished eating and were gathered under the banyan tree at the entrance of the village for a meeting. They were talking about the method that Qian Sishui had thought of to burn the soil.

The villagers listened attentively, especially those who had experienced the famine with Village Chief Liu. They were so excited that they looked at the village chief with tears in their eyes.

The young people did not feel much, but the farmers were not afraid of hardship if it could increase the harvest. All of them responded to the village chief’s call.

“Don’t thank me. This is the idea of that girl, Sishui. If she needs help in the future, you guys had better help the Shi family. Don’t talk nonsense about that woman in private.” Village Chief Liu had heard a lot about Qian Sishui recently.

“Chief, don’t worry. From now on, if anyone dares to badmouth Sishui again, I’ll be the first to rebut them!” Liu Hua patted her chest and replied loudly.