Chapter 28: It’s Not That No One Wants to Cultivate, but That No One Dares to Cultivate

The Su family, after much stumbling and struggling, had finally settled in Mount Tubei.

More than ten days slipped by in the blink of an eye. During this time, the Su family had begun to get a sense of Tubei Village. Everyone living here was an exile sent from various regions to reclaim the wasteland. The sharp-tongued woman they had first encountered lived with her husband; they were the only ones in the household. Her husband’s surname was Huo, and he was in poor health, staying indoors all day. The couple did not farm; instead, they traveled back and forth to Fengyun City to trade small goods, making them relatively well-off among the dozen households in Tubei Village. As for the others, they lived on the brink of death every day, existing in a state of decadent numbness.

In this place, there was not a glimmer of hope to be found.

With spring approaching, the Su family looked at the barren, desolate slopes of Mount Tubei behind their house and worried. Reclaiming land and farming to support a family was not something one could just decide to do. They currently lacked both farm tools and seeds; even a clever housewife could not cook a meal without rice.

Old Man Su squatted under the eaves of the main room, his brow furrowed. "The snow on the mountain has almost melted. If we miss the prime time for spring plowing, we won't be able to catch up."

Old Woman Su was equally helpless in the face of this situation. The family had survived this long only because of the things their little granddaughter had produced. If they couldn't plant the fields this spring, they would have no food for the coming year. Were they to rely on their granddaughter to support them for another year, two years, or perhaps a lifetime? What kind of situation would that be? She had long ago made up her mind: once they found a way to support themselves, she would forbid the family from taking anything from their granddaughter. She truly feared depleting the child’s good fortune. Even if Sweetie had plenty, they couldn't keep taking from her and acting as if it were only natural. Providing for the family and the children was, after all, the duty of the elders.

"Old man, keep an eye on the children. I’m going to pay a visit to the neighbors." Old Woman Su straightened her clothes and prepared to leave. Before stepping out, she hesitated for a moment, then returned to the kitchen and took a handful of dried fish from a bag hanging in the corner.

Ever since they had built their house and yard, their granddaughter had begun her "tossing and throwing" game again. Every day, they would pull wriggling, large and small fish from every corner of the house, along with wild rabbits and pheasants stuffed into bags... There was so much that the family couldn't eat it all, so they had to secretly air-dry and roast these treasures to preserve them longer. Since she was going to ask for a favor, Old Woman Su weighed her options and decided to bring some along; it would make it easier to open the conversation.

With the dried fish tucked into a small cloth bag, Old Woman Su went straight to the Huo household, the closest to theirs. Standing outside the courtyard gate, she called out, "Is Mistress Huo at home?"

Footsteps sounded from within, and the tightly shut gate creaked open just a crack. Mistress Huo leaned against the door, her eyebrows arched. "What is it?"

Old Woman Su did not mind the woman’s attitude. She glanced around, and seeing that no one was paying attention, she quickly shoved the package from her bosom into Mistress Huo’s hands, adding with a forced smile, "Mistress Huo, sorry to bother you. I came to ask you about something."

The bundle had some weight, and the scent of fish wafted through the cloth. Mistress Huo’s eyes flickered, and her expression softened considerably. "Oh my! Neighbors are like kin, why so formal? Whatever you want to ask, Auntie, just ask! I’ll tell you everything I know!"

"You see, spring is almost here, and our family is worried about reclaiming land. Mistress Huo, I wanted to ask, for those who come here to reclaim land, where can we get farm tools and crop seeds?"

"Tsk! That’s a bit tricky." Mistress Huo glanced at the item in her hand, hesitated for a moment, then pulled Old Woman Su inside and shut the gate before speaking openly. "Auntie, I’ll tell you the truth. If you want farm tools, I could probably scrounge up a set for you by making a few rounds, but crop seeds have to be bought in the city, and the price isn't low."

"Goodness, why is it so hard just to farm a piece of land?"

"Mount Tubei is divided into territories. Those with power own countless estates and fields; what they lack is labor, so they hoard all the crop seeds. You can’t buy them outside. People who come to reclaim land have no seeds, can't farm, and can't earn a living. To survive, they eventually have no choice but to become tenant farmers for those families. Do you understand?"

Old Woman Su was struck dumb. With Mistress Huo putting it so clearly, how could she not understand? It was simply a case of the rich being heartless and treating people like livestock! Becoming a tenant farmer meant working yourself to the bone all year, and not only would you fail to earn enough for food and clothing, but you might even end up owing the landlord rent! Such things were everywhere. In the eyes of the wealthy, tenant farmers were lower than dogs.

Out of consideration for the fish, Mistress Huo’s words became a bit more sincere. "Besides, even if you manage to get seeds, what you harvest might not end up in your own hands. Mount Tubei is a rough place; it’s filled with jackals and wolves everywhere. Why do you think such a large area is left barren? It’s not that no one wants to farm it; it’s that no one dares to. Whatever you grow will just be snatched away. Those without power or status can cry to heaven, but no one will listen. You’ll just be slaughtered at will."

Old Woman Su turned pale, her lips trembling. "...Does the imperial court not care?"

"The court? Hah! The court abandoned this place long ago. They can’t manage it. This place is not as simple as you imagine."

The gate of the Huo house opened and closed. Mistress Huo opened the small cloth bag and saw the dried fish—each one uniform in size and beautiful in color—and her mouth spread into a wide grin. "Dear, I’ll make you something good tonight!"

A suppressed cough came from inside the house. "Cough, cough, cough! What good thing is it?"

Mistress Huo hurried inside and showed the goods to her husband. "Fish! Dried fish! When the Su family arrived, they looked like beggars. I don't know where they hid such good things; I never noticed!"

"They are indeed fine goods. The fact that the Su family could bring them over shows both gratitude and trust." The man coughed twice and sighed softly. "You scared them just now."

"I was just telling the truth. Should I have used sweet words to fool them?" The woman disagreed. It wasn't that she didn't know how to speak nicely, but what was the point? Reality couldn't be sugarcoated with sweet words. Still, that Su family was truly in a difficult spot. They had several children to raise, tsk.

"I can see that family knows how to be grateful. If we can help, let's help them a little."

"Alright, alright, I know! You talk too much! Are you going to eat the dried fish or not?"

"I am, I'll cook it for you."

"Stay put! I'll do it!"

The woman rolled her eyes at her husband. If she let him cook, the smoke from the stove would be enough to make him cough his lungs out; wouldn't that break her heart?

The man’s lips moved, and a low chuckle escaped his throat.

On the other side, Old Woman Su returned home, feeling lost. When she entered the courtyard and saw her husband sitting under the eaves watching the children, and saw the four little ones laughing, unaware of any worries, the emotions pent up in her heart finally collapsed. She squatted down and burst into tears.

Old Man Su was startled and jumped up, rushing over in a few strides to help her up, his voice trembling with anxiety. "What’s wrong? Were you bullied?!"

The three Su children were also frightened by their grandmother and rushed over, clutching her legs, calling out "Grandma, Grandma" incessantly.

"Old man, what are we going to do? We can't get seeds, and even if we do, it's useless. We can't farm it, we can't farm it! Boo-hoo-hoo!"