Chapter 36

In the run-down little courtyard, Du Ruo was also making plans.

She called over Jiang Cheng, who was washing dishes, and asked him to inquire about buying land.

Jiang Cheng jumped up three feet high, exclaiming, 'Sister-in-law, are we really going to buy land?'

You see, Jiang Cheng's greatest joy wasn't studying medicine but farming; his teacher, Doctor Gu, owned several mu of land, which Jiang Cheng tended to daily, and it grew splendidly.

Owning a piece of land for his own family had always been Jiang Cheng's dream.

Du Ruo nodded and said, 'However, I don't have much silver on hand—probably only enough for about two mu. See if you can find something cheaper; a less desirable location is fine.'

Anyway, the most important thing right now is to complete the system task; good land would be ideal, but if it's not, it's still okay—we'll at least get some harvest.

'Okay, got it, sister-in-law!' Jiang Cheng chirped as he rushed out the door.

Du Ruo tidied up the house, settled her sister-in-law, then took the dirty clothes Jiang Li and Wang Bujiu had taken off, put them in a wooden basin, and carried them to the pond.

Seeing her arrive, the women washing clothes were very enthusiastic, scrambling to offer her a good spot.

A woman deliberately edged up beside Du Ruo, lowered her voice, and mysteriously said, 'You need to keep an eye on the men in Jiang Li's family; don't let those little fox spirits lure them away.'

Du Ruo blinked in confusion, 'Who?'

'Who else could it be?' the woman jerked her chin toward the nearby blue-brick, black-tile house, scoffing, 'It's the village chief's daughter, Lin Qing Shuang. Let me tell you, Lin Qing Shuang has been eyeing Jiang Li for a while—just now, as he passed by, she even deliberately bumped into him.'

Really? Du Ruo furrowed her brows.

Du Ruo certainly knew Lin Qing Shuang liked Jiang Li, but since Jiang Li was already her husband, Lin Qing Shuang should avoid any suspicion if she had even a shred of propriety—so why is she still throwing herself at him?

Seeing Du Ruo's displeased expression, the woman spoke with even more gusto.

'That Lin Qing Shuang looks like a wanton fox; any man who sees her can't walk away. If she weren't the village chief's daughter and putting on airs as a prospective bride, her family's threshold would probably be worn out. You'd better watch out—don't let Jiang Li fall for her wiles.'

Du Ruo gave her a smile, 'Thanks for the warning, but I trust my man—if Jiang Li had any designs on her, he'd have acted ages ago; there's no need to wait until now.'

The woman chuckled nervously, 'Yes, yes, of course Jiang Li wouldn't.'

After a moment of silence, Du Ruo suddenly asked, 'Hey, have you found work in the county?'

Earlier, when Yao Yulan was teaching Du Ruo how to make dumplings, she shared all sorts of gossip—whose chickens pecked whose dogs, whose cats stole whose fish—holding nothing back, so Du Ruo also knew a bit about the situation.

The woman's face lit up, and she quickly said, 'Indeed! I found a job carrying rice, right near the Ya Men gate. From now on, I'll have to rely on Jiang Li and his brothers to look out for me.'

Du Ruo then understood—no wonder the woman was willing to offend the Lin family to curry favor with her; it was because Jiang Li held the position of head constable.

'We're all from the same village; looking out for each other when we're out is only natural. As long as we don't do anything illegal, nobody should be able to bully him.'

In other words, don't think you can get away with mischief just because you have Jiang Li's name to hide behind.

Of course, if someone were to bully him, Jiang Li would certainly not stand by and do nothing.

The woman nodded repeatedly in agreement.

After finishing the laundry and heading home, it was already late morning. Du Ruo had just hung up the clothes when Jiang Cheng returned, his face looking unpleasant.

'What's wrong? Is there no land for sale in the village?' Du Ruo asked.

Jiang Cheng gulped down a big bowl of water, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, then said glumly, 'The village chief said that nowadays times are peaceful, and nobody easily wants to sell their land. If we really want to buy, there are a few vacant plots at the foot of the back hill that are ownerless; he could sell them to us cheaply—four mu in total for just ten taels of silver.'

That price isn't high at all—it's at least half cheaper than the market rate.

Du Ruo doubted, 'Isn't that pretty good?'

'What's good about it?' Jiang Cheng retorted unhappily, 'It's all mountain land cleared by refugees who fled famine; we've tried planting on it, but no matter how good the seeds or how carefully we tend them, the land simply won't produce grain.'

In other words, that land is basically worthless.

Lin You Tian pretended to have their best interests at heart, but in reality he was just trying to swindle their silver.

Du Ruo's thoughts shifted, and she called out to the system in her mind: 'Little System, can you test the land's fertility?'

The system scoffed, 'Please drop the "ma" for thanks—aside from testing the land's fertility, if you just touch a person, I can instantly tell whether they'll be able to bear children in the future.'

If that's the case, then the matter is easily settled.

She suggested, 'Anyway, we have nothing else to do today; idling is idling, so why don't we go inspect the land in person before deciding?'

Jiang Cheng sighed, 'Sister-in-law, you can't tell whether land is good just by looking at it, and besides, we have no experience in this—looking would be pointless.'

They don't have it, but the system does.

'Listen to me—we won't know if something is good until we see it; plus, it's a good chance to take Wan'er out for a stroll so she doesn't get bored at home.'

The money is Du Ruo's earnings, so whether to buy is naturally her call.

Jiang Cheng stopped arguing and led the two sisters-in-law to that patch of hillland. Jiang Wan, who rarely went out due to her health, was excited the whole way, chattering like a bird just released from its cage.

Du Ruo observed this and had an idea, but she first needed to get Jiang Li's consent.

Those few plots lie right at the foot of the mountain, only a fifteen-minute walk from their ramshackle courtyard; the land yields no crops, but is overgrown with thorns and brambles.

Seeing this, Jiang Cheng grew even more vexed and snapped, 'The village chief must be holding a grudge because my older brother refused to be his son-in-law, so he's deliberately trying to screw us over! To think he'd dare sell us this worthless land for ten taels—I doubt anyone would take it even for ten copper coins.'

Du Ruo deeply agreed.

She had realized this the previous night: Lin You Tian clearly bore a grudge against the Jiang family's second branch, as evidenced by his backhanded tone when pleading for Jiang Zongbao's mercy.

But it doesn't matter; if they want to scheme against us, they'll have to see whether Lin You Tian actually has the ability to do so.

'Little System, have you got the results?' Du Ruo pinched a handful of soil, rubbed it between her fingers, and asked in her mind.

The system quickly replied, 'Sandy loam—unsuitable for any crops; plant anything and it will die. Hoping for a harvest is just daydreaming.'

It was that poor; Du Ruo felt a bit disheartened.

If it really won't work, we could ask in the neighboring village; it's a bit farther and less convenient to manage, but for the sake of completing the task, we can't be picky.

Just as she was about to tell Jiang Cheng to give up, the system suddenly let out an intrigued 'eh' and said, 'Hold on, the test isn't finished yet.'

After a while, it burst out laughing loudly, "I never expected that this place would actually be a treasure spot!"