Chapter 15: Looking for Trouble

Chapter 15: Looking for Trouble

Su Chunlin was left speechless, unable to refute.

Shen Yi stepped forward to mediate, "Auntie, Uncle only wanted to earn some extra money to buy grain. Please don't blame him."

Su Tai asked, "Is this the grain you bought with the money you earned from digging wells?"

Shen Yi nodded. "Grain prices have risen again; it’s thirty-five wen for a jin of wheat. With the autumn harvest approaching, this year is even harder than the last. I fear it will rise to sixty or seventy wen once winter sets in. Who can afford that? We have to save what we can while we still can."

Su Tai hadn't realized the situation was so dire. While they were talking, Madam Han had already taken the grain inside and locked it away.

She could only turn her gaze to the bag of grain Shen Yi had brought.

Seeing her hesitate, Shen Yi, being a perceptive man, waited until no one was around before asking, "What is it you want to say?"

Su Tai gave him an embarrassed, silly smile and asked, bracing herself, "Could I borrow some grain from you?"

Afraid that Shen Yi might refuse, she immediately promised, "Don't worry, I will pay you back double."

A flicker of confusion crossed Shen Yi's eyes, but seeing that Su Tai didn't intend to elaborate, he gave a slight nod. "How much do you need?"

The bag Shen Yi brought back contained about ten jin. She wanted it all, but felt too embarrassed to ask.

Seeing her expression, Shen Yi simply handed her the entire bag and said, "I’ll be away for a while, and I still have grain stored at home. Take this for now."

Su Tai looked up in surprise, only to find that Shen Yi had already looked away and was getting up to leave.

She hurriedly hugged the bag of grain to her chest and whispered to him, "I will pay you back as soon as I can, though it will take a few months. Also, I wanted to ask—how do you plant wheat?"

Shen Yi: "..."

It took a great deal of explanation for Shen Yi to make Su Tai understand the theory. Guessing the purpose behind her borrowing the grain, he warned, "This isn't the sowing season. Wheat planted now won't yield a harvest, and without enough water for irrigation, even if it sprouts, it will all be in vain."

"I know. Don't worry, Brother Shen, I won't do anything reckless," Su Tai replied earnestly.

Seeing this, Shen Yi could only choose to trust her.

After Su Tai carried the seeds back to her room, she immediately went to the Space-Time Portal transit station. She spent one virtual coin to purchase a large, shallow medium tray, then took some water from the Water Space to soak the wheat. This process would screen the seeds and accelerate germination. Once they sprouted, she would transfer them to the soil in the Earth Space. The environmental conditions there were optimal, so she didn't have to worry about soil moisture, pests, or diseases; the land would adjust itself according to the plant's needs, ensuring it grew robustly.

However, there was one catch: she had to do all this work herself. The vending machine did offer an auxiliary planting creature called a "ground rat." One mu of land required hiring two ground rats to work, and hiring one ground rat cost one thousand virtual coins per year. At the moment, she couldn't afford that many virtual coins even if she sold herself, so she could only look on with envy.

It took two days for Su Tai to plant all the wheat seeds.

Having learned his lesson from the incident in Panlong Township, Su Chunlin didn't dare take on any more well-digging jobs, making excuses to turn everyone away. As for Shen Yi, he had been invited by the town official, Liu Tiechui, to help out and was no longer in Dongmen Village.

Su Tai hadn't stepped out for two days, so she decided to go into the village to see how things were. Just as she reached the courtyard, she saw Madam Han rushing back in a flurry, shouting, "Quick! Grab the brooms and sticks from the house and get to the well! That god-forsaken Master Ma from town is here to cause trouble!"

"Master Ma?" Su Tai looked puzzled; there was no such person in the original owner's memories.

Madam Han didn't have time to explain. As she grabbed things, she said, "He’s the big landlord of Moshitown, famous for being a stingy miser."

"Why is he coming to our village to cause trouble?" Su Tai didn't understand.

Madam Han urged her to run outside. "Master Ma owns several wells and has been selling water to all the surrounding villages for a long time. He had a monopoly, but he didn't expect our village to dig our own wells—and two of them at that! We sell two buckets for one wen, while Master Ma charges two wen for one bucket. People who know the situation would rather walk further to buy water from us than buy his. Of course he’s anxious."

Hearing this, Su Tai felt a sense of foreboding. Since ancient times, the common people have been no match for the powerful. While Master Ma wasn't an official, he was wealthy and influential—a local tyrant who couldn't be offended.

"Mother, do we really have to fight him?"

Madam Han nodded firmly. "The well belongs to our village. He’s in the wrong for causing trouble. If we don't fight back, everyone will walk all over Dongmen Village from now on."

By the time they finished speaking, mother and daughter had reached the well.

Master Ma had only brought six men with him, but his attitude was arrogant. He blocked those queuing to buy water and shouted a warning, "If I find out any of you dare to buy water from Dongmen Village, don't even think about renting my fields in the future, and the Ma family won't accept your grain either!"

Most of the people in line were from Ximen Village.

Upon hearing this, Xiong Kai couldn't stay calm. "Master Ma, we are buying water from Dongmen Village at the Township Head's suggestion. If you disagree, you should go talk to the Township Head."

Su Tai followed the voice and finally saw Xiong Kai's true face.

Madam Han was a bit worried on the side. "Why don't you go back?"

She was afraid her daughter would feel hurt seeing Xiong Kai.

Su Tai shook her head. "Why go back? Mother, this Xiong Kai looks much worse than Brother Shen, and he doesn't look like a good person at all."

Seeing that she could still critique Xiong Kai, Madam Han's worries vanished, and she stood by to watch.

Master Ma hadn't expected anyone to dare bargain with him. He glared unpleasantly. "What's your name?"

Xiong Kai wasn't that stupid; he immediately changed the subject and said to the other villagers of Ximen Village, "Everyone, am I right or not?"

"That's right! Why should we spend money to buy your water when we could just pay to dig our own wells!"

"Making such black-hearted money, aren't you afraid of retribution!" an old woman cursed fiercely.

One led to another, and soon everyone from Ximen Village began to denounce Master Ma.

Su Changfu had arrived a while ago. Seeing that the situation was ripe, he pushed through the crowd and stepped forward. "Ma Rencai, this is Qingsha Township, not Moshitown. Since when is it your place to point fingers at matters in our township?"

Others might fear Master Ma, but he certainly didn't.

Seeing Su Changfu, Ma Rencai immediately changed his expression. "Oh! Township Head Su! You arrived quite quickly, didn't you? What? Did my son-in-law finish talking to you?"

Ma Rencai's son-in-law was the Moshitown official, Liu Tiechui. He said this as a warning to Su Changfu.

Su Changfu nodded with a faint smile, showing no sign of panic. "We have indeed finished our discussion, and it has nothing to do with you. If you aren't here to buy water, please leave and don't hinder everyone from their work."

Ma Rencai gritted his teeth in anger and laughed. "Su Changfu! You really have guts! You're just a small Township Head, yet you really think you're something! I'll see how long you can remain so arrogant!"

Master Ma left empty-handed, his face dark as he walked away.

The villagers looked at each other, all waiting for Su Changfu to make a move.

He waved his hand impatiently. "What are you all standing there for?"

The crowd seemed to wake from a dream, and they returned to queuing and drawing water.