Chapter 13: Hai Tian

Because of this final clause, sea fields became a "chicken rib"—something of little value but too good to discard—in the eyes of some people. Many merchants looked at the sea fields but did not dare to make a move; on one hand, they could not be purchased on a large scale, and on the other, if a "Cheng Yaojin" (an unexpected interloper) were to appear halfway through, the money previously invested would likely go down the drain.

Sea fields were rare, and Chen Ningya had never dreamed that the Deng family would possess one. "If I remember correctly, Deng Village isn't near the sea. What's the deal with this sea field?"

In her past life, Shen Bian had simply given her the twenty taels of silver without explaining much. Could there be something more to this?

"The bailiff said that Deng Lao San's wife is a fisherwoman. As you know, few men marry fisherwomen. Setting aside whether it's poor or not, fisherwomen are born on fishing boats; they aren't as reserved about matters between men and women, nor have they done farm work. If you marry one, you have to train her from scratch. Back then, the fact that Deng Lao San married a fisherwoman was known by everyone. Although his in-laws had no money, they doted on their daughter. They couldn't provide a dowry, fearing their daughter would be mistreated after marriage, so her father simply divided the family property among his sons and gave his own piece of sea field to Deng Lao San's wife as her dowry. With the sea field, Deng Lao San's wife had leverage within her husband's family.

At that time, Deng Lao San was a loafer. His wife even gave him ideas to go fishing so he would at least have a livelihood. Deng Lao San did go, but he found it too hard and didn't behave like a decent man; he would flirt and roll around in the cabins with women on other fishing boats. He only stopped after being discovered and severely beaten by his brother-in-law. Since then, that piece of sea field has been managed by Deng Lao San's brother-in-law, and the profits go to Deng Lao San's wife. Over the years, Deng Lao San's brother-in-law passed away one after another, and his wife felt too embarrassed to ask her nephew to help, so she leased it to others to earn some money throughout the year. I estimate it shouldn't be a small amount; otherwise, why would the bailiff say we made a profit?

Now, most of the land by the sea has been developed, and the government is strictly controlling it. Originally, we wouldn't have been qualified to own sea fields, but since this incident occurred, the yamen cannot possibly drive the Deng family's elderly, weak, women, and children to their deaths by forcing them to sell their land. They could only use the sea field to settle the debt. Don't worry, this has been recorded with the yamen. In the future, even if sea fields are in short supply, the government won't forcibly take it back unless we do so voluntarily." Wen Youshan whispered excitedly. Although he had been able to view the matter calmly after a full day, he still couldn't control his emotions in front of Chen Ningya.

Chen Ningya beamed a large smile, quickly took the document, and read the words on it carefully twice before letting out a long sigh of relief. Her eyes brightened as she looked at Wen Youshan. "This is finally some good news for this period of time."

"Hehe..." Wen Youshan giggled along with her. "Wife, how much silver do you think we can get for the sea field?"

"Sell it?" Chen Ningya's smile froze. "Why would we sell it?"

"Not sell it?" Wen Youshan was confused. "We aren't fishermen, and Wanshui Village isn't close to us; even if we managed it, it wouldn't be easy. If we don't sell it to the yamen, does my wife want to lease it out like the Deng family?"

Only then did Chen Ningya remember they were in Fushan Village. Her brow furrowed instantly as she pondered, "Did you tell the bailiff about our situation?"

Wen Youshan shook his head honestly. He had been in a daze at the time; being able to handle the paperwork clearly was already good enough, how could he have thought of so much?

Chen Ningya focused her mind, rubbed her brow, and sighed, "Forget it, let me think it through. It's not urgent anyway."

Wen Youshan nodded vigorously. To please Chen Ningya, he placed a pile of copper coins in front of her like a treasure and rambled, "I went to the county town today and sold the hides and eggs on the way. It totaled five hundred and forty-one wen. I followed your advice and took the donkey cart, which cost six wen for the round trip. I spent fifty wen on pastries and malt candy, leaving four hundred and eighty-five wen. Keep it safe. Another day, I'll save up more hides to take to the county town. I didn't know the county town paid so much more before; otherwise, I wouldn't have let the town cloth shop take them so easily."

As he spoke, Wen Youshan lay down. By the time Chen Ningya finished tidying the money, she found the man on the bed was already snoring. Her gaze fell upon the stubble on Wen Youshan's face, and she suddenly felt a pang of heartache. In her past life, she had seen all kinds of men, but the one who was best to her was the man before her. Regrettably, she hadn't known how to cherish him then. Fortunately, Heaven had given her a chance; in this life, she would surely ensure he lived a life of wealth and honor. Lost in thought, Chen Ningya slowly closed her eyes.

Early the next morning, when Chen Ningya woke up, she found that Wen Youshan had already gone out at some unknown time. Only Wen Yuanliang was working in the courtyard. This was quite unusual. She walked over curiously and asked softly, "Big Brother, aren't you going out to play?"

Wen Yuanliang, who was carrying Chen Ningya's back, shuddered. He shook his head stiffly and said with his head lowered, "I can help earn money too."

Chen Ningya: "???"

What was going on? Had the sun risen from the west? Or had this child changed his nature?

Before Chen Ningya could figure it out, Wen Youshan returned, drenched in sweat. He handed the basket to Chen Ningya and said, "I went up the mountain this morning and had some harvest. Oh, I specifically asked the Village Chief. He said Wanshui Village is very far away, in the neighboring town; it's even further from here than the county town is. I reckon we really can't manage it. I'll go to the county town again another day to ask the bailiff what to do."

Chen Ningya thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. "I'll go with you."

This time, Wen Youshan did not refuse. He knew Chen Ningya was smarter and more knowledgeable than him; if she handled it, the matter should be easier to resolve.

The couple did not hide these matters from the children. At some point, even Wen Yuanzhen had sat on a small stool nearby, blatantly eavesdropping. However, both children were listening in a daze, feeling that ever since their mother had changed, there seemed to be many things in the house they didn't know about. This feeling made Wen Yuanliang somewhat anxious, and he couldn't help but ask, "Father, Mother, what are you talking about?"

"Yeah, Father, Mother, what kind of place is Wanshui Village?" Wen Yuanzhen asked somewhat blankly.

Wen Youshan was in a good mood and explained, "The County Magistrate ruled that the Deng family, who injured your mother, must compensate her with twenty taels of silver. But the Deng family cannot produce that much silver, so they plan to use part of it to offset the debt with the sea field in Wanshui Village."

"Sea field?" The two children said in unison, their eyes full of confusion and excitement. Although they didn't understand what a sea field was, it didn't stop them from knowing the family had gained property.

Chen Ningya amusedly explained to them what a sea field was. Finally, she said to Wen Yuanliang, "Tomorrow, your father and I will go to the county. It will likely take a day; if we can make it, we'll return the same day, otherwise, we'll return the day after tomorrow. I'm leaving the house to you two. Do not play around; take good care of your younger siblings."

"Yes," Wen Yuanliang responded solemnly. He had a deep impression of the time his younger siblings were sick and did not dare to be disobedient again. However, he still hesitated. Thinking that this was a rare opportunity, he finally couldn't help but ask, "So, Mother, is that Deng family really not our maternal family?"

(End of Chapter)