Chapter 3: 3. Chapter 3: The Outbreak of the Flow Dispute

Chapter 3: The Dispute Over the Dried-up Stream

After Su Tai emerged from the transit station of the Space-Time Gate, the commotion outside was still ongoing. She couldn't go out and add to the chaos, so she lay back down to calculate how to earn virtual coins.

The Su family was destitute; there was absolutely nothing of value to sell.

The only things a farming family could offer were handicrafts, but in the original owner's memories, there was no mention of bamboo products. She guessed that this region didn't produce bamboo, and besides, most things made by the villagers were kept for household use and were too crude to fetch a good price.

With the severe drought outside, everyone was worried about water. Even if Su Chunlin doted on her, he wouldn't go to great lengths to do something so meaningless.

The path of selling handicrafts was a dead end.

Before she could come up with any ideas, the noise outside suddenly stopped.

Su Tai tilted her head and looked toward the bedroom door.

Madam Han entered the room, fuming. When she met Su Tai’s eyes, her expression instantly turned to one of heartache. "Xiao Tai, that Xiong family is trash. It’s better that this marriage is off. In the future, Mother will definitely find you a lad a hundred times better than Xiong Kai."

Su Tai nodded obediently, which only made Madam Han feel worse.

Su Chunlin said ingratiatingly, "Girl, just as you said, I made Xiong Kai compensate our family with a bag of grain and two jars of water, to be paid within three days. Are you satisfied?"

It wasn't that Su Chunlin was soft-hearted, but the Su family only had two large water jars; there was nowhere to store more.

Nowadays, every household had a quota for water collection. If they had more, other villagers would have complaints. Their own water storage couldn't even fill one jar, so if he could get two full jars, he could breathe a little easier for a few days. As for the grain...

Every village for miles around was short on food. Many families were even starving to the point of eating dirt and tree bark to survive. It was uncertain if the Xiong family could even produce a bag of grain.

Su Tai smiled at Su Chunlin, satisfied. "Father is still the best!"

Su Chunlin was so flattered he didn't know which way was up.

Su Zhan, not to be outdone, said, "Big Sister, I helped beat up Xiong Kai and his aunt just now, too."

"You're great, too," Su Tai praised him without hesitation.

The joy of the family dispelled the gloom brought by the Xiong family, but the news of Su Tai’s broken engagement still spread. There were many who sympathized with her, and even more who were just there to watch the spectacle.

For the past few days, Madam Han had been looking depressed, but Su Tai couldn't spare the energy to care. She was busy picking up stones from the dried-up creek near their home; this was the only cargo she could think of that she could sell to the Space-Time Automatic Trading Cabinet.

The creek contained not only creek stones but also many beautiful pebbles. Occasionally, she could find some low-quality jade or small pieces of jade with decent color. A basket of ordinary creek stones could only sell for 3 virtual coins, while a single piece of low-quality jade could fetch 2 virtual coins. Unfortunately, after working hard for several days, she had only found three or four pieces of low-quality jade. Currently, she had only accumulated thirty-some virtual coins, not enough to open the Space-Time Gate—Water.

The Su family didn't understand why Su Tai was obsessed with picking up stones. Seeing that she was staying obediently near the house, they didn't bother her.

Especially since the water level of the Little Pebble River had dropped significantly, Su Chunlin and his wife had even less time to worry about Su Tai.

That night, just as Su Tai lay down, she heard movement in the courtyard. She went out to see Su Chunlin and his wife sneaking out with all the wooden buckets in the house, feeling somewhat confused.

"Father, Mother, why aren't you sleeping?"

Su Chunlin waved his hand at Su Tai with a guilty conscience and coaxed, "Xiao Tai, be good and go back to sleep. Your mother and I will be back in a little while."

Since the couple wouldn't say, Su Tai didn't press them.

The next morning, she saw half a jar of mud in the kitchen water vat, along with three wooden buckets covered in thick river silt. She could roughly guess what her parents had been doing.

Just then, Su Zhan returned from outside.

Su Tai grabbed him and asked, "Is the Little Pebble River out of water?"

"Big Sister, how did you know?" Su Zhan looked shocked. Following Su Tai’s gaze to the water vat in the kitchen, he hurriedly pulled her inside and whispered, "Don't go shouting about this. The water in the Little Pebble River has hit rock bottom recently. Yesterday, the village chief discussed it with everyone, telling the villagers to go down to the river overnight to scoop up the water."

"The village chief said if we don't scoop it all up now, it will all be gone once the sun comes out. But this can't be spread around, or the Zhongmen Village and Ximen Village will cause a scene. Even if the township head steps in, he won't be able to suppress it."

Su Tai immediately swore to the heavens.

Su Zhan breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face. "I believe you, Big Sister."

Before he could finish his sentence, the sound of urgent gongs rang out through the village.

Su Zhan’s expression changed. "Oh no! Something happened!"

He dropped those words and ran off.

Su Tai instinctively followed him, arriving at the banks of the Little Pebble River, only to find it swarming with people.

There were three factions, the atmosphere tense and ready to snap; it looked like a fight could break out at any moment.

Her head injury had just healed, and she didn't want to get caught in the crossfire. She hurriedly found a shady spot with fewer people to stand, while searching for Su Chunlin and Su Zhan.

Just then, a girl popped up from behind her and pulled her further away. "Xiao Tai! You just recovered, why are you crowding into such a busy place!"

Su Yan was filled with worry, staring concernedly at Su Tai’s head.

Su Tai remembered her and gave Su Yan a shy smile. "I'm fine now."

Su Yan was astonished. "Xiao Tai, you can actually answer my questions! It seems the auntie wasn't lying; you really are better!"

Su Tai nodded slightly.

Su Yan let out a long sigh of relief. "Since you've finally recovered, you can't get hurt again. Let me tell you, if they start fighting in a moment, run away immediately."

"Why are they fighting?" Su Tai frowned.

Su Yan explained helplessly, "The Little Pebble River has stopped flowing. Not only is there no water here, but it's also gone in Ximen Village upstream. They tracked it all the way down, claiming that our water-grabbing caused the water to flow toward our side, and they are demanding an explanation. Every family is short on water; how can we give them an explanation? Looking at this posture, a fight is inevitable."

No sooner had Su Yan finished speaking than a roar erupted from the crowd. Both of them looked over simultaneously to see the villagers from the three villages already clashing. There were hot-tempered people everywhere, striking hard and fast. Before long, blood was being shed.

Su Yan’s face turned deathly pale, and she tried to drag Su Tai back.

Su Tai wanted to leave too, but she spotted Su Zhan being beaten by a group of older boys. She immediately broke free from Su Yan and ran in that direction.

Su Yan screamed in terror, "Xiao Tai!"

Su Tai couldn't spare a response. She dodged through the crowd, picked up a wooden stick along the way, and snuck up to Su Zhan’s side. She struck fast, accurately, and ruthlessly, catching the boys off guard and making them howl in pain.

"Beat that stinking woman to death!" Xiong Dao, who had taken a hit from Su Tai’s stick, shouted angrily.

Su Zhan was terrified and shielded Su Tai. "Big Sister, why did you come here? Hurry back!"

Hearing this, Xiong Dao became even more enraged. "So she’s that idiot fiancée of my cousin! If it weren't for this stinking woman, our Xiong family wouldn't have become the laughingstock of Ximen Village. Brothers, get her! Beat her to death!"

"Right!"

A group of people angrily raised their sticks and charged at Su Tai.