Staggered from being pulled, Huo Duan frowned instinctively, "What happened? Why the rush..."
"Yes, yes..." Ye Bao glanced at the two of them, then stole a look at Gu Fengyan. Gu Fengyan was completely confused.
Ye Bao was both anxious and flustered. "Oh dear! It's the second young master of the magistrate of Linchuan County! He's right at your doorstep!"
"What?!" Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan exclaimed in unison.
Nothing major ever happens in Heqing Village, but whenever something big does happen, the news spreads like wildfire throughout the entire village in the blink of an eye.
Just as lunch was being served, a sedan chair stopped at the entrance of the Huo family courtyard. Tassels hung from the four corners, from which sachets were hung, and even the curtains were made of the finest silk embroidered with orchids.
The villagers were packed so tightly that it was impossible to move. Some held bowls and occasionally shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice, while others cracked sunflower seeds and spat out the shells. They whispered among themselves, and the center of their conversation was the man on the bench next to the sedan chair.
"I don't think we can keep this young man, Yan. He's handsome, and this one looks rich..."
“Ah, that’s right. I advised Uncle Huo not to keep him. Erdan is good-looking, but he’s a fool and his family is poor… Yan’er is shrewd, how could he really want to stay in our poor mountain village?”
"I heard that Yan-ge'er and this person are engaged..."
Father Huo stood at the gate of the courtyard, leaning on his cane, with his sister and brother-in-law beside him, and his eldest nephew, Ye Shan. The four of them had a remarkably similar expression—feeling uneasy, fearful, and worried.
The man on the bench was fat and bloated, his face contorted with greasiness, creating a striking contrast with the delicate orchids on the sedan curtain, resembling a wild boar burrowing into the ground.
He stood up, unfolded the fan painted with ink bamboo, and spoke in a vulgar and crude manner, "Holy crap, anyone who didn't know better would think this place is some rich man's doghouse! So small and dilapidated..."
"You..." Ye Shan, hot-blooded and angry, took a step forward.
Father Huo quickly stopped him, shaking his head, "Xiao Shan!"
The man looked at Ye Shan with disdain, picked his teeth, and said, "Tsk tsk, that young master from the Gu family was raised with great care, how come he ended up with an idiot..."
"But even if he's a fool, it's fine," he said with a lewd grin. "Back then, the Gu family was so eager to arrange this marriage with me. If it weren't for that young man's flamboyant looks, which made people's hearts flutter, the Gu family wouldn't have been able to climb the social ladder..."
He waved his fan twice, ignoring the disapproving looks around him, "But it wouldn't be interesting if she wasn't a novice."
The words were so vulgar that even the most flirtatious widow in the village, Widow Li, frowned.
Father Huo's face visibly darkened, and his hand gripping his cane turned white.
"This is outrageous! It's not your place to run wild in Heqing Village!" Ye Bixian, Huo Adie's brother-in-law, couldn't stand it anymore, and his face turned bright red.
This time, Father Huo did not stop him.
The man scoffed, "Foolish commoner, do you know who I am? If you know what's good for you, hand over Gu Fengyan. Before you steal from others, take a piss and see if you're even qualified!"
Ye Bixian's temples bulged with veins. "You—"
"The village head is here!" someone shouted at that moment...
The crowd parted automatically to make way, and Gu Fengyan followed Ye Bao, Huo Duan, and Liu Zhengshan, the village head of Heqing Village, into the crowd.
The first thing I noticed was Wang Jin, who looked like a nouveau riche.
They even looked at me with lecherous eyes without any attempt to hide it, and I almost drooled.
Gu Fengyan felt goosebumps all over. Wang Jin was the second son of the magistrate of the neighboring county. He was engaged to the original owner of this body, but before the marriage could take place, a flood washed everything away. His home was gone, and he was lost.
The original owner had no choice but to move into the Huo family, but she still missed Wang Jin... Even though Huo Duan was better looking than Wang Jin, good looks don't put food on the table.
This was even the real reason why he disliked Huo Duan.
However, he wasn't the original owner of this body...
Huo Duan also saw Wang Jin early in the morning, but ignored him and walked towards the Huo family with concern, "Father, Aunt, are you alright?"
For him, it didn't matter whether Gu Fengyan existed or not.
Father Huo shook his head, his expression grave, "Village head..."
As soon as the incident occurred, Father Huo immediately sent his young nephew to find the village head, believing that only officials could deal with other officials.
Liu Zhengshan had attended school in his early years and had a somewhat scholarly air about him, but in reality, he was a formidable figure, and no one in the entire village dared to disobey him.
“Erdan’s father, I heard about it from Xiaobao,” he interrupted Huo’s father, taking a puff of his pipe. “When Yan’er’s parents were alive, they betrothed him to the Wang family. Although his parents are gone now, the marriage agreement still stands. If he wants to go back to the Wang family today, that’s perfectly reasonable.”
The village head spoke sincerely, outwardly siding with the Wang family, but secretly reminding Father Huo not to throw an egg against a rock and give it away for nothing.
Father Huo knew perfectly well what was going on. He was willing to let Yan Ge choose. If Yan Ge went with the Wang family, he wouldn't object. If Yan Ge stayed, he would treat him a hundred or a thousand times better... His own silly son also liked Yan Ge.
But looking at Wang Er's crude and thuggish appearance, how could he possibly treat Yan Ge'er well?
Father Huo's heart was twisted with worry.
"Father, don't be sad, I'm here for you." Huo Duan quickly comforted his father.
"Sigh," Father Huo looked at his foolish son and sighed heavily, "What do you know?"
Huo Duan's lips twitched... Why did he feel that this old man Huo seemed to prefer that two-faced guy to his own son?
At this moment, Gu Fengyan, who had been silent all along, spoke up: "Father, Village Head Uncle, and..." He looked at Huo Duan, unsure of how to address him.
After thinking for a moment, he continued, "Brother Duan, don't worry, I won't leave."
All three of them stared at Gu Fengyan, somewhat surprised.
"Yan-ge'er, is what you're saying true?" Father Huo asked excitedly.
Gu Fengyan nodded, "I am engaged to the Wang family, but now that my parents are gone, I dare not aspire to such a high position. I want to stay with the Huo family. However..."
He glanced at the villagers watching the commotion around him. "This matter has spread throughout the village, and my reputation is ruined. I beg the Huo family not to mind."
The business world is like a battlefield. You'll learn to recognize people after a while. The original owner was obsessed with money and couldn't see things clearly, but he was very clear-headed... That Wang Er was obviously no good.
Yeah. Mainly, she's too ugly.
"Good, good..." Father Huo was moved to tears. "Good child, don't worry, as long as your father is here, no one in the Huo family will dare to disrespect you!"
Wang Jin crossed his legs and snapped his fan shut. "Heh, what's with the theatrical performance?" He picked his teeth with his little finger. "Come on, whether he leaves or not isn't up to him! He gave ten strings of cash as a betrothal gift when he got engaged to the Gu family. If they want him to stay... just return the betrothal gift."
"Otherwise, you'll have to leave today whether you want to or not!"
Gu Fengyan was speechless for a moment... He didn't have a single copper coin on him, let alone the Huo family.
All around were the gasps of the villagers... The Huo family's eldest branch probably couldn't even come up with ten coins, let alone ten strings of cash.
It seems that this time, Yan Ge'er will have no choice but to go with him.
Wang Jin gave a lewd smile. "Looks like you don't have any. You can't even come up with ten strings of cash, how can you get married... Don't you even know your own worth?"
The sedan chair carriers around burst into laughter.
The Huo family members looked grim.
Heqing Village was not poor; at the very least, everyone could eat their fill and stay warm, but they didn't have much spare money.
The Huo family's eldest branch only had a sickly old widower and a mentally challenged son, making their situation even worse.
At this moment, Huo's brother-in-law, Ye Bixian, gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "My wife! Take out all the money we have left. We can't let people look down on us for nothing!"
Huo Xiuling hurried home to get it, but only managed to take out two strings of cash, leaving her with a problem with the rest.
"I'll cover the rest! Erdan can pay me back when he has the money." The village head had anticipated that he wouldn't have enough money and had already sent his family back to get it, which came just in time.
Looking at the Huo family and the village head, Gu Fengyan was suddenly moved. "Uncle Village Head, I will definitely pay back this money!"
Thank goodness, he almost thought he was going to have to sell himself into servitude.
Liu Zhengshan also developed some affection for the child, saying, "No rush, we'll live well together from now on."
The ten strings of cash were given to Wang Jin, who weighed them in his hand and chuckled, "This silver doesn't weigh right. Are you trying to cheat me?"
He looked like he was being unreasonable.
Liu Zhengshan took a puff of his pipe and slowly exhaled. "I heard that the county magistrate is under investigation by higher authorities because of the floods. I wonder if he's still in good health... I hope the second young master doesn't want anything to go wrong at this time?"
Wang Jin's face visibly darkened... This small village head in the mountain valley seems to know quite a lot.
"We'll see!" He glared at Gu Fengyan fiercely, somewhat unwilling, then got into the sedan chair and left with his entourage.
The farce came to an end, and the surrounding villagers gradually dispersed. The village head gave the Huo family some instructions and then leisurely returned home.
Huo Duan, who had been observing from the sidelines, then began to subtly scrutinize Gu Fengyan... sensing that something was amiss with him.
It's like she's changed her personality.
Based on Gu Fengyan's past behavior, even if Wang Er was a piece of shit, he was a rich piece of shit, and people would always have to lick it a couple of times.
Today, when he arrived at my doorstep, his attitude changed.
That's strange!
Something's really wrong!
A note from the author:
Thank you for adding this to your favorites and reading it. (The author gives you a big hug and a kiss -)
Chapter Three
In March, when spring planting was in full swing, Ye Bixian and his wife did not stay at the Huo family's house for long. They told them not to rush to repay the money and then left.
“Father, the ten taels of silver is on me.” A farmer’s annual income, including extra income, is only a dozen or twenty taels of silver. Gu Fengyan felt a little guilty for owing ten taels. “I will pay back my aunt and the village head as soon as I earn the money.”
Father Huo stopped picking wild vegetables. "We're all family. What are you saying, child?"
He looked at Gu Fengyan and said, "Although our family is poor, we all have hands and feet, so we'll always find a way to make money. Your priority is to get well soon; Erdan and I will take care of paying back the money..."
For a family of the elderly, the weak, the sick, the disabled, and the mentally challenged, ten taels of silver would be more than enough to support them.
Although Gu Fengyan was touched, he knew that these were just words of comfort from Father Huo.
I need to find a way to make some money.
At the very least, one should be able to have enough to eat and wear...
"Father, let me help you pick them." Gu Fengyan sat on a small stool and helped pick the vegetables.
When he was young, he suffered from various ailments, and his legs would ache on rainy days, and he would be out of breath after walking just a few steps... He could only do light work.
The land has always relied on Erdan and his brother-in-law for help.
“Although the old man is useless, he can still do this kind of work,” he coughed twice and smiled kindly. “Go and rest. Erdan will call you when the food is ready.”
"There's no reason for young people to rest while older people are busy," Gu Fengyan thought to himself.