Chapter 5: The Farm Has Been Mortgaged

Bai Wei paused in her tracks.

One piece for two hundred thousand, two pieces for six hundred thousand!

... She took back what she just said!

At this moment, Chen Yeye called out to stop her.

The old vegetable farmer's face was flushed red, and he rubbed his hands together in embarrassment.

"Xiao Wei, do you... still need vegetables?"

"I haven't found a way to pay for my medicine this month, and the vegetables won't sell."

"My grandson can't find work, and the savings at home are all spent; I really have no other way."

Bai Wei looked him over in surprise, "Chen Yeye, what is wrong?"

Chen Yeye's face was full of sorrow.

"I have chronic heart disease and must take medicine every day, or I will have an attack. But now that no one is buying vegetables, I can't even afford my medicine."

"A vegetable merchant came yesterday and would only offer five cents per jin of radishes; that money isn't even enough to buy fertilizer."

Bai Wei felt a wave of distress listening to this.

Cheap grain hurts the farmers.

This year was a harvest year, and the vegetable farmers had fully expected to make a lot of money, but they didn't expect the vegetable merchants to desperately drive down prices; many farmers worked hard to grow vegetables, only to end up losing money.

Chen Yeye's son and daughter-in-law passed away in a car accident a few years ago; he dragged his elderly body to grow vegetables to raise his intellectually disabled grandson and even provided for his schooling—it was truly not easy.

If the vegetables couldn't be sold, what would this old man and young boy do?

Chen Yeye smiled bitterly, "I don't know how many more years these old bones of mine can live. The doctor told me to have surgery, but with a surgery fee of over a hundred thousand, how could a farmer like me afford it? If I die one day, it's just the fate of us farmers, but I feel sorry for A Ming."

Bai Wei felt a sour ache in her heart; she wanted to help Chen Yeye survive, but she couldn't even pay her own land rent.

"Chen Yeye, don't worry yet; I will help you ask around to see who is buying vegetables."

Chen Yeye had always been very kind to her and often gave her vegetables for free; they were all fellow villagers, so she would help where she could.

After leaving the Chen household, Bai Wei returned to the farmhouse.

Forget it!

She was going to sell the Phoenix Pendant.

To hell with ghosts or ghost brides; she would get the money first and worry about the rest later.

Just as she was about to go out, a "bang-bang" sound of someone pounding on the door suddenly came from the courtyard.

Bai Wei chuckled.

It was fortunate she was clever and had installed a security door yesterday; it was even solid and bulletproof.

Even if the Aunt brought five people, they wouldn't be able to smash it open!

Bai Wei picked a peach from a tree, wiped it casually on her clothes, and walked out while munching on it, "Aunt, why are you here again? Even the village dogs aren't as diligent as you..."

Before she finished speaking, she froze.

"Mom?"

Outside the security door stood a thin, middle-aged woman wearing a straw hat, her face tanned bright red by the sun.

Her mother worked as a stock clerk at Donglai Supermarket in town and had very little time off; Bai Wei didn't expect her to come over and hurriedly opened the door.

"Mom, why did you come?"

Her mother didn't have time for pleasantries; she grabbed her and asked anxiously, "Xiao Wei, did the Aunt come to find you yesterday?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"This matter... it's all my fault." Her mother's face was full of guilt, "Mom mortgaged the Farm to the Uncle; it's Mom who let you down."

Bai Wei was dumbfounded.

The Farm was mortgaged away?

What was this situation?

Ten minutes later, she finally figured out the reason.

It turned out that when her father was sick and hospitalized in the past, the family had spent all their money, and her mother had no choice but to ask the grandmother for help; she didn't expect to be met with ridicule—the grandmother refused to pay a single cent and even accused her of trying to swindle money.

Later, the Uncle stepped in, saying he had a friend who ran an online lending company, and led her mother to take out an online loan.

Her mother, desperate in her illness, borrowed one hundred and fifty thousand from the online lending company, and the Uncle also took a considerable commission.

Unexpectedly, the interest on this online loan was frighteningly high; by now, including principal and interest, it had actually reached over two hundred thousand.

Her mother couldn't pay the money back, and at this time, the Uncle jumped out again, saying he could get his friend to waive the interest on the condition that she mortgage the Farm to him; her mother panicked and gave a verbal agreement.

After hearing her mother's words, a surge of anger rushed to the top of Bai Wei's head!

This was truly bullying people too much!

When her father had no money for treatment, the grandmother's family didn't help or put in any effort, and they didn't even come to visit.

The Uncle was her father's own brother; not visiting was one thing, but he actually ate human blood buns, tricked her mother into taking out a high-interest online loan, and made money for himself by taking commissions!

In the face of money, did they even have any family affection left?

Her mother wiped away tears, "Xiao Wei, yesterday the Aunt brought people to make a scene, asking me to give her the three thousand yuan in land rent. I borrowed money from a colleague and gave it to her. This matter is Mom's fault; Mom will go find a part-time job as a dishwasher to earn money to pay back the online loan."

Bai Wei looked at her mother's thin body and her rough hands full of cracks, and her heart ached so much her nose felt sore.

Her mother was a rural woman with no education; in order to treat her father, she had run around everywhere and knelt down many times to borrow money, and her hair had even turned white.

The grandmother's family were her father's blood relatives, and they ran businesses and farms, making them one of the wealthiest households in the neighboring village, yet they not only bullied a widow and orphan but also wanted to seize the Farm!

It was simply shameless!

Wasn't it just because they saw that her family had no males?

Bai Wei clenched her fists, clutching the Phoenix Pendant in her palm.

"Mom, I will find a way to handle the money."

The Farm has land and an orchard, and even a house; Aunt just has to move her lips and she wants to take it all away.

This bunch of people is insatiably greedy; they want to seize the property of a family with no male heirs!

No way!

Bai Wei got on her bicycle, "Mom, I'm going to town."

She was going to sell the Jade Pendant!

Behind her, her mother's voice called out.

"The peaches in the peach grove are all ripe; if we don't pick them now, they'll go bad! Mom is off today, I'll help you pick the peaches and sell them, it'll bring in a little money."

Bai Wei felt a sour ache in her nose.

Her mother had worked hard her whole life, and even on the rare day she had off, she still wanted to help her pick peaches.

Parents are the same the world over, toiling for their children their entire lives.

"Swish!"

A flash of the Long Sword, and a head fell to the ground!

Two headless corpses crashed to the floor!

Deep in the night at the Taishou Mansion.

Candlelight flickered, the Long Sword gleamed coldly, and blood flowed across the floor!

"I beg the Fourth Prince for mercy!" Xuancheng Prefect Jia Shun knelt on the ground, trembling all over!

Xiao Moting was dressed in silver armor, his handsome face stained with a few drops of fresh blood; he lifted his blood-stained Long Sword and calmly wiped it on the clothes of the corpses.

"I am merely disposing of spies within the army, Prefect Jia, there is no need to panic."

Jia Shun's face turned pale.

No need to panic?

It would be strange if he weren't panicked!

The Northern Frontier War God Xiao Moting had snuck into the city in the middle of the night with a dozen personal guards, run to his mansion, and chopped off two heads with one strike each!

This is disposing of spies?

It is clearly killing the chicken to scare the monkey!