CHAPTER 55: 55 HUO QING

The little pigs were already starving and crying. After giving them goat milk, she went inside to start a fire and cook pig feed.

While the fire was going, she went to bring the goats back and gave them water.

By 2:30, except for herself, all the mouths to feed were full, and only then did she wash up and sit down to eat.

Before swallowing the last bite, she heard someone calling outside.

She hurriedly responded and went out to see a woman around fifty or sixty standing outside.

"Aunt."

"Girl, here are the chickens, ducks, and geese you wanted," said the woman, handing over a cage.

Yuanyuan accepted, "Aunt, how much in total?"

"Three yuan for the chickens and ducks altogether, and just one yuan for the goose."

"Okay, Aunt, I’ll go get the money for you."

Yuanyuan took the cage inside, moved the chicks and such into her own box, and then went back out with four yuan.

"Aunt, here’s the four yuan, and your cage."

After sending off the aunt, Yuanyuan went back inside, took out three cardboard boxes from the space, and laid some dry straw inside. She placed twenty chicks in one box.

Twenty ducklings went into another box. She found the disposable food containers she had washed clean after use, filled them with warm water, added a drop of Spiritual Spring Water, and fed each of them water.

Not one of them refused to drink. This was good; there would be no loss later on.

She placed the three cardboard boxes on the corner of the kang, so they wouldn’t be too hot.

Yuanyuan smiled with squinted eyes, ah, everything was complete. Time to start her work as a little farmer.

Everything was tidied up. Then she carried a hoe to the field. The corn plants were already a foot high. Not much wild grass was there; she decided to start clearing tomorrow because they’re not tall livestock. When the corn gets too high, it will be hard to work.

She turned back home. She thought she should clear the sorghum too, or else during the rainy season, strong winds might knock the stalks down, which would certainly reduce the harvest.

At night, after feeding all the mouths in the house full. She went to the reservoir in the wee hours of the morning.

This time, there weren’t too many fish and shrimp. She had no choice but to move the ground cage to a different spot.

By the time she got home, it was already past five. She hurriedly fed the mouths, then started sorting the green shrimp.

It wasn’t until 6:30 that she pushed the cart, with the ewe following by her side, and went to the fields.

There weren’t many people working in the fields, but it wasn’t empty either.

Yuanyuan put a collar on the sheep and quietly instructed, "You better not eat these corn shoots, got it? We’re relying on these to eat."

The ewe bleated in response to Yuanyuan.

And really, it must be said, her speed was still decent. By noon, she’d unexpectedly done half the work, even piling soil on both sides of the corn roots, so they wouldn’t fall even in strong winds. No need for weeding again. A win-win!

At noon, she pushed the set and the buckle, bringing the sheep home. She had to return since there were also little pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese waiting for her.

After feeding everything, she filled herself and took a break. Suddenly, she thought about her connections and found a rope to tie the sheep.

"Apologies, no choice—afraid of others looking for trouble with us."

In the afternoon, she didn’t work as fast as in the morning. Sensing that she wouldn’t finish by dark, Yuanyuan simply decided to go home early.

The next day, when she went to check the ground cage, surprisingly, she found quite a few more fish and shrimp—an unexpected boon. Now there were already over two hundred pounds of small fish in the space; the little pigs only needed a little. However, there was still a long way to go; the demand would be great in the future.

She returned from the field by ten o’clock today. She didn’t continue working afterward, though she could, but she was afraid of tiring out the sheep. It would have a lot more heavy work in the future.

Just as she’d finished lunch and lay down on the kang, she heard cursing from outside.

Yuanyuan frowned as she went out. She saw two women outside with dark faces, triangular eyes, and flat noses—not the kind of person you’d want to deal with.

"You unlucky one, you come out right when my family’s corn shoots got eaten by your sheep. Hurry up and compensate."

Yuanyuan frowned, quite uneasy but aware it was coming. She saw a few people coming from afar and stood her ground.

Until everyone arrived, Yuanyuan sneered coldly, realizing they indeed intended to bully her.

"You unlucky one, pay up quickly."

Yuanyuan shot a cold glance at the speaking woman.

"You claim my sheep ate your crops? I don’t admit that. Have you heard of catching adulterers in pairs, catching thieves with the loot?"

"Oh, you damned girl, you won’t admit it? If not, then beat her up."

The two women lunged at Yuanyuan, who turned and ran back into the yard.

Seeing Yuanyuan run inside, the two women exchanged a smile.

They followed her into the yard.

Yuanyuan didn’t enter the house but went directly to the woodshed. Grabbing the cleaver, she came back out. Seeing her expressionless face and the knife made the two women jump.

Before they could say anything, Yuanyuan swung the cleaver towards one of them. She was strong, and the cleaver swung toward the woman’s shoulder, though her height caused her to miss.

The woman was terrified, urgently sitting down onto the ground, dodging the cleaver that missed and stuck into the ground over an inch deep.

Both their faces turned pale with fear. How strong was she? Was she serious?

Yuanyuan pulled the cleaver out, swinging it towards the other standing woman.

This woman was prepared, retreating several steps and narrowly dodging.

By this time, several people outside had also rushed into the yard.

Hu Chunhua was startled, "Yuanyuan, put down the knife."

"Put it down? They come to my house to beat me? Trying to extort me? I’ll kill them both today; even if I die, it’s worth it."

With that, she pulled out the cleaver again. Yang Hongwen also came in.

"Girl, put down the knife."

Yuanyuan didn’t move, "Is it because I’m an orphan that they come to bully me? Fine, it’s like this today. But you wait. I, Su Yuanyuan, won’t let this go."

Those words scared the two women to death. The one on the ground couldn’t even get up.

"Girl, no one’s bullying you," Yang Hongwen said helplessly.

"What, then, is bullying? Only when I’m beaten does it count? Or should I pay them?"

He regretted it as soon as he spoke. Watching this girl step by step over the past six months, he knew what kind of person she was.

"No, I mean, with me here, no one can bully you."

"Uncle, I’ve come to terms. Relying on others doesn’t work. They picked on me, and I can’t just let it go. It’s not that I’m ignorant, but I want all those with ill intentions towards me or those who want to bully me to know, I can fight back at any moment."