After dawn, Xiao An carried water in a wooden bucket to water her fields. She had been in too much of a hurry yesterday to soak the seeds in spring water, but watering them today would have the same effect.
At noon, she cooked some millet porridge and heated several steamed buns. She sat on the stone outside and ate.
Villagers working or gathering wild vegetables down the mountain would sometimes come up to get water. When they saw Xiao An eating steamed buns, they smiled and said:
“Girl, you’re doing pretty well! It’s a famine year, yet you’re still able to eat steamed buns. And look at that—you even have millet porridge. You’re living quite comfortably.”
Xiao An smiled.
“A few days ago, I went into the mountains to gather wild vegetables and found a ginseng root. I sold it for some silver. I bought rice and flour, so at least I don’t have to worry about going hungry.”
As soon as the villagers heard this, their eyes lit up with envy.
That was exactly the effect Xiao An wanted.
Three days later, her melon seedlings had sprouted.
Xiao An went down the mountain and headed straight for the village head’s house.
“Uncle, I need your help with something.”
“What do you need? Tell me.”
“Please announce this throughout the village. If anyone knows who pulled out my melon seedlings and provides me with truthful information, I’ll give them three taels of silver. I absolutely won’t go back on my word.”
Three taels of silver was enough for an ordinary family to survive for an entire year.
Xiao An said it so casually that the village head was genuinely startled.
“Xiao An, three taels of silver isn’t a small amount. Do you really have that much?”
Xiao An nodded.
“I have silver. A few days ago, I dug up a thirty-year-old ginseng root and sold it for quite a bit.”
“Xiao An, even if you find out who did it and report them to the authorities, your melon seedlings won’t come back. And you’ll still have to give the informant three taels of silver.”
“With three taels, you could buy food and live for a long time. When you’re trying to make a living, you can’t take every little thing so seriously. Sometimes you just have to swallow your anger.”
Xiao An shook her head.
“Uncle, if that person had only pulled out my seedlings once, I could swallow my anger. But now that my seedlings have grown back, what if they pull them out again? Can I keep swallowing my anger?”
“They dared to do this precisely because I’m alone. Once someone gets used to bullying others, they’ll keep doing it. I have to make them pay the price.”
The village head thought about it and realized she had a point.
“Alright. Leave this matter to me.”
After leaving the village head’s house, Xiao An went to Zhu Cui’s home and repeated what she had said.
Zhu Cui was furious.
“If we catch the bastard, we should report them immediately! They deserve to spend time in jail!”
Before sunset that very day, every household in Linshi Village knew about the three-tael reward.
Someone said, “If I find out who did it, I’ll definitely tell Su Xiao An. Three taels of silver! That’s a fortune.”
Another person said, “She replanted the field. I wonder if that bastard will go and pull them out again. No, I need to walk around the fields more often. If I catch them, I’ll earn three taels!”
Others remained skeptical.
“That Su Xiao An was so poor she even had to sell her house. Does she really have three taels of silver? Maybe she’s just trying to trick people into helping her watch her fields.”
“Didn’t you hear what the village head said? Xiao An found ginseng. She probably made quite a bit of money. Otherwise, would a young girl dare offer such a reward?”
“I heard people saying Xiao An was eating meat-filled steamed buns and drinking millet porridge a few days ago. Could she afford that if she didn’t have money?”
The villagers talked among themselves.
Day and night, more people began appearing around the fields and mountain paths, all hoping they would be the one to catch whoever was pulling out Xiao An’s melon seedlings.
Three taels of silver was simply too tempting.
In Linshi Village, one woman was struggling with a difficult decision.
Her name was Lin Fang.
She knew exactly who had pulled out Xiao An’s melon seedlings.
After struggling for two days, she finally steeled herself and asked her husband, Feng Youde:
“Should we go claim the three-tael reward?”
Feng Youde had wanted to go for a long time.
He was afraid Lin Fang would argue with him, and he was also worried that the villagers would criticize them, so he had only been thinking about it privately and hadn’t dared say anything.
Now that Lin Fang had brought it up first, he immediately nodded.
“We’ve already had two consecutive years of disaster. We don’t even know what this year’s harvest will be like. Three taels of silver is enough to support our family for an entire year.”
“And besides, your cousin has harmed people herself. She’s hardly a kind person. We don’t have to cover for her.”
“If we don’t get the three taels, she won’t thank us anyway.”
“Alright. I’ll go tell Xiao An.”
“Wait!”
Feng Youde stopped her.
“If you go straight to Xiao An with nothing but your word, what if she doesn’t believe you? Or what if she believes you but refuses to pay? We won’t have any way to prove anything.”
Lin Fang had been worried about that too.
“Then what do you suggest?”
Feng Youde’s mind was working quickly.
“In a while, go to your cousin’s house. While you’re chatting, casually mention that Xiao An’s newly planted melon seedlings have sprouted again.”
“But don’t mention the three-tael reward. Since she lives in the mountains, she probably hasn’t heard about it.”
“She hates Xiao An so much. What do you think she’ll do when she hears that the seedlings have grown back?”
“If she goes and pulls them out again and gets caught…”
Lin Fang immediately understood.
She smiled.
“You really do think of everything. I’ll go right now.”
She grabbed a basket and left the house, heading toward the northern mountain.
To make her visit look natural, she reluctantly gathered a handful of wild vegetables and put them in the basket.
Around midday, she arrived at Lin Feng’s house.
Lin Feng greeted her with a smile.
“Cousin, it’s hot outside. Come in and rest for a while. It’s much cooler inside.”
Lin Fang smiled and asked, “Where’s your husband?”
“Together with my father-in-law, he went into the mountains to hunt. They’ve been gone for three days. I don’t know how many more days they’ll be gone.”
Lin Feng had married Kang Rong, her younger brother-in-law. She and her three children finally had someone to rely on, which should have been something to celebrate.
But after Xiao An broke off the engagement, Kang Rong had been deeply affected.
Apart from when they were in bed, where he could still act domineering, most of the time he seemed listless, as if he had lost his soul.
Lin Feng knew exactly why.
Jealousy and resentment had twisted her mind, making her desperate to take revenge on Xiao An.
A while back, she had gone to Lin Fang’s house. During their conversation, Xiao An’s name had happened to come up.
Lin Fang had casually said:
“After the rain, everyone in the village planted corn. Only Su Xiao An planted melons.”
“Still, she really is unique. Maybe she can actually make some money from them.”
The speaker had meant nothing by it.
But the listener had taken it to heart.
Lin Feng stayed at Lin Fang’s house for a long time.
Lin Fang even assumed that Lin Feng wanted to borrow money but was too embarrassed to ask, which was why she kept lingering.
She had no idea what Lin Feng was actually thinking.
After leaving Lin Fang’s house, Lin Feng didn’t return to the mountains.
Instead, she sat in the woods.
After night had completely fallen, she headed straight for Xiao An’s fields and pulled out every single melon seedling in the two-acre plot.
The next day, the news spread throughout Linshi Village.
Lin Fang suddenly realized what had happened.
The previous day, Lin Feng had deliberately asked her questions:
“It’s rained heavily every autumn these past two years. If Xiao An’s land is low-lying, wouldn’t the heavy rain make it difficult for her melons to produce a good harvest?”
Lin Fang had casually replied:
“That girl’s field is at the foot of East Mountain. The ground isn’t low. Besides, she lives halfway up the mountain, so she can see the field whenever she steps outside. It’ll be convenient for her to keep an eye on the melons.”
Based on that conversation, Lin Fang and Feng Youde were certain that Lin Feng was the one who had pulled out Xiao An’s seedlings.
But blood was thicker than water.
Lin Fang and Feng Youde could never bring themselves to report Lin Feng to Xiao An.
Then Xiao An suddenly announced that anyone who provided accurate information would receive three taels of silver.
Lin Fang could no longer keep her conscience quiet.
After struggling for several days, she finally broke down and told her husband everything.
And as it turned out, her idea was exactly the same as Feng Youde’s.