Chapter Twenty-Three: You Must Pay

Sheng Wanqiu was absolutely delighted; only nine taels! It was surprisingly cheap.

The village chief finished writing the receipt and signed the land deed. Tomorrow, all that remained was to go to the magistrate’s office to have it stamped.

"Wanqiu, whose name should be written on this deed?" the village chief asked, hesitating for a moment, unsure of how to proceed. Normally, the names of the men in the household were used, but since Wanqiu’s father was gone and her grandfather had long since turned to dust, should he write the names of her younger brothers?

"Write my name. Whoever pays for it, their name goes on it!" Sheng Wanqiu decided decisively. "If my brothers lack the ability, having their names on it won't help; they would just squander it sooner or later."

Sheng Wanqiu looked at the warm land deed in her hands. Once it was stamped at the town office tomorrow, she would officially be a landowner in this era. She had already decided what to plant on the field near the back mountain—medicinal herbs were only part of the plan; watermelons were her ultimate goal.

Roaming around Sishui Town over the past few days, she had discovered that while the market was filled with all sorts of goods, there were almost no fruits available, save for the occasional melon. With her magical spring water, she was confident that planting fruit would lead to wealth in no time. She didn't have other fruit seeds yet, so she would start with watermelons and carrots. When she went to the town to get the seal tomorrow, she would stop by the old man with the white beard’s pharmacy to see if he had any other varieties.

What she didn't know was that as soon as she had left the pharmacy with the silver notes, Ding Dali had immediately sent a carrier pigeon away. He wrote of how difficult his task had been, claiming he had spent twenty thousand taels to find a thousand-year-old ginseng, even shedding "tears of emotion" at the most moving parts of his letter.

Of course, shedding real tears was impossible; those salt-water stains were deliberately applied to show just how hard he had worked to find the root. Perhaps that noble master would be pleased and grant him even more silver! Trading four thousand taels for twenty thousand was sheer bliss; the only thing flowing from his mouth was the drool of greed.

At dusk, the second and youngest daughters of the Sheng Dashan family from Qingshan Village returned, dragging their eldest sister home. Sheng Zhaodi’s leg had been mauled by a wild boar. The other two were also injured, and it was only when the boar heard the howl of a wolf that it had been scared off, allowing Zhaodi to keep her life.

The villagers were startled to suddenly see three blood-soaked figures. When they realized they were the three daughters of the Sheng Dashan family, they rushed over to spread the news.

"Heavens! How did they get bitten like this? Can she even survive this?" an auntie exclaimed, covering her mouth.

"Liu Juan must have been green with envy after hearing that the girl Wanqiu found ginseng in the back mountain, so she sent her own daughters to dig for it. And she sent all three of them at once! Bah! Her heart is completely consumed by greed!" an old woman remarked, hitting the nail on the head.

"Don't you forget, Wanqiu learned skills from the one-eyed hunter, and he came from the battlefield!" another added. "Wanqiu surely learned some real techniques from him. How can ordinary girls compare to that?"

"They really chose money over their lives. Now that her leg is mangled, she'll never find a husband!"

As the villagers chattered, the village chief arrived, his lips trembling at the sight. It was truly tragic; the bone in the eldest Sheng girl’s leg was exposed. The leg was surely beyond saving. Why did they have to go up that mountain? Now look at them! It was a lesson for everyone. Those who envied others' success but lacked the skill only thought they had good luck, but now they knew the price.

"Ah! My Zhaodi! What has happened to you!" Liu Juan nearly fainted at the sight of her three daughters. She bit her tongue hard to keep herself conscious and threw herself onto her eldest daughter, wailing.

Sheng Dashan stood behind her, his face pale with terror. It was over—his eldest daughter’s leg was ruined, and she would never be able to marry.

"Stop your wailing! Hurry up and hitch the cart to take her to the medical clinic in town!" the village chief roared, his voice cracking. "All this family knows is how to howl! Can't you see your daughter is still bleeding? You're all just standing there like stumps—do you want the child to die before you're satisfied?"

Sheng Dashan finally snapped to his senses and rushed with the village chief to the home of Chen Erzhuzi, who owned the only ox cart in the village. Soon, the cart was borrowed, Chen Erzhuzi took the reins, and the onlookers helped lift the unconscious Sheng Zhaodi onto it. Sheng Dashan and the village chief followed the cart toward Sishui Town.

"Laidi, tell Mother, what on earth happened?" Liu Juan finally thought to ask her daughter.

"Mother, we ran into a wild boar. The youngest sister spotted it first. When it charged, the eldest sister was crouching on the ground looking for ginseng. We were too far away to even call out to her before the boar knocked her down!" Sobbing, she continued, "We were so far away that we scrambled up a tree, which is how we escaped. Then, when the wolf howled, the boar ran off, and we dared to come down to find the eldest sister. I was so scared!"

Sheng Laidi cried as she recounted the ordeal, while Sheng Pandi stood by shaking; she was younger and had been terrified out of her wits. The villagers listening realized that while they had initially been eager to search the back mountain for ginseng like Wanqiu, the threat of wild boars and wolves made them lose interest. Who had a life to spare? Compared to silver, their lives were more important. When they heard that Liu Juan had forced her daughters up the mountain, they looked at her with utter contempt. What kind of person was she?

"It’s all that little wench Sheng Wanqiu’s fault! If she hadn't found that ginseng, I wouldn't have been so anxious to rush you up the mountain!" Liu Juan shouted, pounding her chest. "I’m going to find her; she must pay!"

She turned and ran, her two daughters following close behind, joined by curious villagers who didn't want to miss the spectacle. After all, there was little entertainment in the ancient world; they wouldn't miss a good show for anything.

"Mother Song, aren't you going to take a look? Your man isn't here, and your word carries the most weight around here," someone asked.

"Not me! That girl Wanqiu is not one to be bullied. I have to go home and bathe my grandson, so I’m leaving!"

She reaped what she sowed, yet she dared to blame Wanqiu. A good beating would surely settle her down. As it turned out, the bad luck was indeed contagious; by the time Liu Juan was kicked to the ground by Sheng Wanqiu, Mother Song was already at home, sharing the pastries that Wanqiu had sent over that afternoon with her grandson.