Seeing the village chief speak so directly, Song Xia didn’t beat around the bush either. She said straight out to him, “At first, I honestly did want to take both plots back.”
Hearing Song Xia say this, Shen Hu immediately stood up and glared at her furiously.
The village chief coughed twice and shot Shen Hu a stern look, prompting him to slowly sit back down, though he still stared at Song Xia with ill intent.
Song Xia wasn’t afraid of him. Being right here in the village chief’s house, the chief certainly wouldn’t let his son play the ruffian—he had to keep up appearances at the very least.
“So what are your thoughts now?” The village chief simply felt that his son lacked brains; before the other party had even said anything, he was already working himself up into a fit of rage. He really didn’t look like the son of Shen Baoming! Utterly unsuited for greatness!
“My initial thought is still to take the land back,” Song Xia said in a deep voice.
“You know, don’t you, that this land has been farmed by Shen Hu for about ten years now,” the village chief said calmly, showing no sign of annoyance.
“I rented this land fair and square through proper channels!” Shen Hu chimed in angrily from the side.
The village chief glanced sideways at Shen Hu, but didn’t refute his words.
“Although he is my son, what I’m saying right now isn’t just about favoring him,” the chief said.
Hearing the village chief phrase it like that, Shen Hu anxiously cried out, “Dad!”
Ignoring Shen Hu, the chief continued, “Originally, this land was rented out by your family’s Grandfather Shen to two households in the village to farm. But later on, one of the families had an accident while hunting in the mountains, and a wolf bit off one of his legs. Losing such a strong laborer, and having to pay for medical treatments and medicine, they truly had no other choice and sublet this plot of land. That’s how it ended up in Shen Hu’s hands.”
Song Xia understood that the village chief was telling her they had acquired the land through legitimate channels and didn’t engage in bullying fellow villagers.
Song Xia answered honestly as well: “My initial desire to take the land back was mainly because its yield is simply too low. My family wouldn’t be able to survive relying on this little bit of rent.”
Shen Hu immediately retorted, “The rent was paid according to the agreed amount, and we never played any dirty tricks! The yield of this land is just this much, so it’s not like we could shortchange ourselves and hand everything over to you!”
Shen Hu felt that every word out of Song Xia’s mouth showed distrust in him and undermined his capability.
“What, do you think that just because you take hold of this land, the wheat harvest will magically double?” Shen Hu scoffed. “Forget about doubling it—if you can even successfully grow the wheat at all, I’ll count it as your win!”
“Shut up!” the village chief scolded Shen Hu, then turned back to Song Xia to say, “If you want to take the land back following the rules, I have no objection. But I cannot agree with your reasoning that Shen Hu is farming the land improperly.”
“Even though this son of mine isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, when it comes to farming, he’s one of the best hands in the village! Among the plots he has tended, which one isn’t praised? Young Mrs. Song, you need to speak with a clear conscience.”
At this point, the village chief’s expression also turned somewhat unpleased.
Song Xia could only offer a bitter laugh inwardly. Was she supposed to tell them, “I actually majored in wheat cultivation and once wrote tens of thousands of words of academic papers on it”?
Wouldn’t they just call her a lunatic if she said that?!
With a sincere tone, Song Xia said to the village chief, “Village Chief, that’s not what I meant. Brother Shen Hu is indeed an expert at farming, it’s just…”
Pausing for a moment, Song Xia continued, “It’s just that I once read in an ancient book about a different method of cultivating this kind of land, and I’d like to give it a try.”
With a sarcastic tone, Shen Hu jeered, “A different method of cultivation, my foot! With your skills, if that wheat manages to even grow ears, I’ll consider this year’s plowing free of charge!”
With disapproving tones, the village chief also chimed in, “Young Mrs. Song, if you told me you had found a better candidate to help you farm the land, we could handle it strictly by the rules. But if you’re talking about adopting some farming method from an ancient book, I cannot stand by and watch you ruin good grain!”
Seeing that neither of them trusted her, Song Xia could only manage a wry smile. Pretending not to see their expressions of utter disapproval, she pressed on.
“Village Chief, I originally wanted to take both plots back, but now I have an alternative solution. What do you think of this?”
“What solution?” the chief asked.
“I’d like to take just one plot back, and leave the other one for Brother Shen Hu to continue farming.”
Hearing that he still got to keep a plot of land, Shen Hu stopped grumbling. Putting on a show, he sat up a bit straighter and shifted closer to Song Xia, eager to hear what she had to propose.
“You’re right about this land—if I tried to farm it all by myself, it would truly be overestimating my own capabilities. However, I do have some unique ideas about farming, which is why I need one plot. Brother Shen Hu has farmed this land for so many years and has genuinely maintained it exceptionally well. Therefore, I was thinking: could we sign a brand-new contract, wipe the slate clean of all past grievances, and start fresh? That would be much better for both of us.”
Song Xia’s proposal caught the village chief somewhat off guard. He had assumed this young lady was dead-set on cutting Shen Hu off completely.
As for whether the rent Shen Hu paid actually matched the yield—if anyone else didn’t know, he certainly did!
Young Mrs. Song coming here today was actually within his expectations; the Shen family was bound to reclaim the land sooner or later.
He just hadn’t anticipated that this Young Mrs. Song would be so magnanimous. She not only pointed out that she was aware of the shortchanged accounts, but she also saved face for them and even offered to leave half the land unrecovered.
The village chief cast a meaningful, scrutinizing look at Song Xia.
Song Xia remained unbothered. Keeping just one plot was already her limit; any more, and she really would be ruining the crops, just as the village chief had said. Since that was the case, she might as well use it as a favor to let Shen Hu keep farming it!
“However, I cannot let Brother Shen Hu farm this land indefinitely. I propose that we renew the contract every three years.”
Hearing this condition, Shen Hu thought it over and raised no objections. The soil was very fertile and grew crops abundantly no matter what was planted, meaning every extra year of farming was pure profit.
“To ensure Brother Shen Hu doesn’t feel shortchanged, for the first two years, we won’t collect any rent.” A single sentence from Song Xia startled the two men sitting beside her.
“What?!” Shen Hu stared at Song Xia in sheer disbelief, wondering if she had lost her mind. Did she have any idea how much grain that amounted to?
“That’s right. For these next two years, Brother Shen Hu, whatever you plant is what you harvest—I won’t interfere with the taxes or anything else. You’ll only pay normal rent in the final year. After these three years are up, we can calculate everything else when we renegotiate.”
Song Xia had started planning this out on her way here. Although they had a tenant-landlord relationship, after all, he wasn’t their family’s regular hired tenant—especially since he genuinely worked the land without letting it go to waste or fall into disrepair, making it look even better-tended than the surrounding plots.
Furthermore, the autumn planting was about to begin, and the soil had already been thoroughly plowed, saving her a massive amount of physical labor. If she failed to successfully select high-quality wheat seeds, their existing savings would still be enough to sustain them for two years.
Having figured it all out, Song Xia presented this proposal to the two men.
The village chief and Shen Hu looked at Song Xia with lingering suspicion. Then, the chief stood up, pulled Shen Hu aside, and discussed the matter in low voices for a short while before returning to ask Song Xia:
“Does your word count at home? Does your husband agree?”
Song Xia nodded, and with that, the village chief gave the final verdict, cementing the arrangement.
Seeing the village chief agree, Song Xia let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Noticing Song Xia looking a bit more relaxed, the village chief chuckled and said, “You little girl, you’ve got quite a stubborn streak in you!”
He then called out to his youngest son’s wife in the courtyard to pour water for the guests.
“This blind fool! Someone’s been sitting here for so long, and she doesn’t even know to bring a bowl of water!”
Watching the village chief put on a hypocritical act of scolding his daughter-in-law, Song Xia offered a polite word of persuasion.
“Don’t trouble yourselves, I should head home now. I’ll come back a bit later so we can iron out all the details and write up the formal contract.”
As the group walked outside together, Sister-in-law Xing’er saw them emerging and realized Song Xia had successfully settled matters, instantly brightening up.
“I told you so! The village chief is a good man!”
Sister-in-law Xing’er linked her arm with Song Xia’s, heaping praises on the village chief.
With a laugh, the village chief scolded Sister-in-law Xing’er, “You silver-tongued thing!”
Just as Song Xia and Sister-in-law Xing’er were preparing to leave, a woman suddenly strode toward them from outside the entrance.
The woman was pleasant-featured, plump in build, dressed in a jujube-red jacket, and wore a gold hairpin stuck in her hair—she clearly looked like someone accustomed to living a comfortable life.
“Well, look at you, little hussy! The moment you get back, you start stirring up trouble!” As soon as the woman stepped into the courtyard, her gaze locked onto Song Xia.
Song Xia looked at her with a completely bewildered expression; she didn’t even know this person!
“How on earth is this your family’s land?! Our family has been farming it for over a decade! There’s no such logic!” The woman shrieked in a sharp voice. “Dad, judge this fairly for us! Their family hasn’t cared about this land for over ten years! Now the moment they return, they want the land back! Isn’t this sheer bullying?!”
Song Xia finally understood—this must be Shen Hu’s wife.
Before Sister-in-law Xing’er could open her mouth, the village chief nearby was already filled with utter displeasure. Furious, the chief snapped at Shen Hu, “Why don’t you hurry up and get your wife out of here! Coming to my yard to throw a tantrum—have you no shame?!”
Shen Hu’s face darkened as well, a flush of embarrassment rising up his dark cheeks.
“Why did you come over here, woman?! Hurry up and get back home!” Shen Hu stepped forward, grabbed his wife by the arm, and tried to pull her toward the courtyard exit, but she refused to cooperate.
Wriggling herself free from Shen Hu’s grip, she continued wailing, “Dad, how can you talk to me and Shen Hu like this? It’s one thing that you’ve never cared much for Shen Hu since he was a kid, but just two days after we got married, you chased us out to split the household, and I endured that too! But today, I, Wang Xiuli, simply cannot let this land go! Why should everything good go to your youngest son’s family while my husband’s family is left drinking northwest wind?! When I married into your family, I factored this land in!”
“I’m telling you, if this land is gone, I won’t live either!” With that, she plopped right down onto the ground, slapping her thighs as she wailed and cursed—accusing them of crossing a river and burning the bridge, cursing the village chief for playing favorites, and cursing Shen Hu for being a fool who didn’t know who was truly looking out for him.
Meanwhile, the village chief’s youngest daughter-in-law stood off in the distance, watching the spectacle unfold as if it were a good show.
Song Xia felt like she was watching a prime ethics melodrama. It wasn’t like she had never seen village crones arguing before, but having someone point fingers and curse right in front of her face was a first.
Restraining Sister-in-law Xing’er, who looked ready to retort on her behalf, Song Xia spoke in an even, steady tone to the village chief: “Village Chief, it’s not my place to interfere in your family matters, but regarding this farmland—may I ask if what we discussed earlier still stands?”
The village chief felt a splitting headache coming on from Wang Xiuli’s screeching. Why had he been so blind as to pick such a wife for his eldest son?!
Pointing at Shen Hu, the chief yelled, “Why haven’t you dragged your wife away yet?! Do you still want your land or not?!”
Hearing the village chief’s words, Wang Xiuli stopped crying and sat on the ground, staring at Shen Hu.
Utterly humiliated, Shen Hu grabbed Wang Xiuli by the hand, hauled her up, and hurried out. Yet he didn’t show any anger toward her; even as they walked, he was helping her brush the dirt off her clothes and murmuring low words to soothe her.
At that moment, Song Xia spotted the little boy who had carried the hoe home poking his head in from outside the courtyard. Grinning, he shouted “Grandpa!” at the village chief, and then darted away like a wisp of smoke.
So it was this little rascal who had run home to report the news! Song Xia couldn’t help but laugh; the kid was certainly clever.
Not wanting to linger any longer, Song Xia bid farewell to the furious village chief, and in high spirits, she and Sister-in-law Xing’er chatted all the way home about the gossip surrounding the village chief’s family.