The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 12

Chapter 12: Yams Again

Jiang Huaizhen left after finishing her porridge.

After helping the old woman take her medicine, Lin Shuang told her she was going out and then headed to the back mountain with her basket.

She had been up the mountain yesterday, so today’s trip was familiar. However, she didn’t dare to use her spiritual energy to sense her surroundings at will, lest she not have the strength to even get down the mountain later.

After walking for nearly an hour, she stopped when she saw a large patch of fangfeng.

Fangfeng was a medicinal herb whose roots could be used in medicine for dispelling wind, relieving exterior syndromes, overcoming dampness, and stopping pain.

It was fortunate that the villagers of Whitewater Village didn’t know about medicinal herbs, and it was also fortunate that no one dared to come to this mountain. Otherwise, how could this large patch have been left for her?

Lin Shuang put down her basket and prepared to dig.

But before she started, she couldn’t resist placing her hand on the ground to probe. When six or seven yam plants appeared in her mind, her face lit up with joy.

It seemed she had a connection with yams, to have encountered them twice on her trips up the mountain.

The roots of fangfeng had to be dug, but they were very thin. Yams were different; their root systems were thick and long, making them much easier to dig.

Thinking that she urgently needed money these few days, Lin Shuang decided to leave the fangfeng for now and dig it up in a few days. Today, she would dig the yams and take the fresh produce to the city to sell. She would also take the opportunity to watch Jiang Huaizhen’s execution.

That person had to face five condemned prisoners today, and Lin Shuang was a little worried about her.

Having made up her mind, she began to work.

It took her half an hour to dig up all six yam plants.

The number of roots on a yam plant varied. Some could have five or six, while others had only one or two. They were also of different lengths and were not very straight, often crooked and twisted. In total, she dug up twenty-three roots.

The entire basket was filled to the brim, weighing over forty catties.

This fresh produce was not as valuable as the dried version, but one catty could still sell for six or seven copper coins. If she could sell it all, she wouldn’t have to worry about food for the next few days.

Unfortunately, her body was too frail. By the time she carried the large basket halfway down the mountain, her shoulders were already sore from the straps.

Halfway down the mountain, several streams converged to form a small brook. Lin Shuang washed the yams directly in the brook.

After washing off the mud, she scooped them up, put them back in the basket, and made her way down the mountain, steadying herself on the rocks.

When she got home, she rested for a while. After helping the old woman to the latrine, she said, “Grandma, I dug another basket of yams this morning. I’m going to the city for a bit. You stay in bed and don’t get up unless you have to.”

Old Madam Jiang had heard from Jiang Huaizhen the day before that Lin Shuang had paid for herself with her own money. Coupled with their interactions over the past two days, she could see that the girl before her was capable, so she didn’t say anything sarcastic to dampen her spirits.

But while she could hold back the sarcasm, she couldn’t hold back other words.

“Go if you want to. Before you came, when that stubborn girl wasn’t here, wasn’t I just fine?”

Lin Shuang pursed her lips and smiled lightly. “There’s still some porridge left from this morning. I’ll heat it up and leave it by the bed for you to eat when you’re hungry.”

It was normal for farming families to have two meals a day. Old Madam Jiang said grumpily, “It hasn’t been long since breakfast, and now another meal. Even pigs don’t eat this much.”

“Alright then, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Just as she was getting ready to leave, the old woman called her back in. She produced two copper coins from somewhere and placed them on the table by the bed. “Take this and ride the ox-cart.”

Lin Shuang looked at the two shiny copper coins on the table, and her eyes suddenly grew hot.

From here, it was another half-hour’s walk out of the village. The weight of the basket wouldn’t crush her small frame, but it would be exhausting. She also had to pay one copper coin to enter the city. She had originally planned to sell some yams outside the city to earn a coin before entering. She never expected the old woman to give her money.

She bit her lip and didn’t refuse. “When I sell the yams, I’ll contribute to the household.”

Old Madam Jiang snorted. “I’m not giving you money so you can contribute. We still have Zhen’er in the family. I’m not counting on you. I’m giving you this as a reward for your hard work on those dishes last night.”

Lin Shuang saw through her sharp tongue but didn’t argue. She put the copper coins in her pocket, shouldered the basket of yams, and left.

Jiang Huaizhen usually took a shortcut out of the village, which was a longer route. Now, carrying a heavy load, she didn’t want to take a detour.

The commotion at the Lin residence two days ago had already spread throughout the village. But Lin Shuang hadn’t been out, and the villagers didn’t dare to enter the valley, so they had been holding back their curiosity about the aftermath.

Now, seeing her come out of the valley with a basket, they couldn’t help but gather around.

But they stopped abruptly when they got close, afraid of being tainted by the baleful and unlucky aura of the West Mountain Valley.

So they asked from a distance, “Shuang’er, are you really living in the valley now?”

“Yes, my master paid for me, so I’ll live wherever she lives,” Lin Shuang replied.

“Sigh, what is this all about? A perfectly fine girl, how can she live with a jinx like that…”

Hearing this, Lin Shuang’s face immediately darkened. “She’s a jinx, and so am I. Third Aunt, you’re so close. Aren’t you afraid of being tainted by the bad luck?”

Hearing this, Third Aunt Lin instantly took several large steps back.

Lin Shuang sneered and ignored them, hoisting the basket on her back and heading for the village entrance.

“What’s that girl carrying?”

“Looks like yams.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, so lucky to be able to dig up so many yams at once. She can sell them for a lot of money.”

“Just a basket of yams doesn’t count as good luck. Even if she sells them, the money will still have to go to that grandmother and granddaughter from the Jiang family. In my opinion, once she’s sold, she’ll be a slave for life, never able to turn her life around.”

“She would have been better off marrying into the Qin family for the chongxi marriage. I heard the Qin family has found another family, and they’ll be welcoming the bride in a few days. She’ll have good food and drink and nothing to worry about. How nice.”

The women chattered on, their voices deliberately raised as if afraid she couldn’t hear.

Lin Shuang couldn’t be bothered with them.

Good food and drink and no worries? Once she stepped into the Qin residence, it would be a road of no return. As soon as Qin Chong died, her month of good days would be over.

She hadn’t believed such nonsense in her past life either, but she had been forced to enter that household at the time.

Having lived through it and lost her life, how could she not find such words ironic?

Seeing that she was ignoring them, the women found it boring after a while and slowly dispersed.

Lin Shuang shook her head and continued on her way.

As she passed by the Lin residence, she saw a small figure under the large tree on the way to the village entrance, as expected.

The little girl heard her footsteps and turned her head.

Seeing that it was Lin Shuang, her eyes lit up, and she called out, “Aunt Shuang…”

The girl was Lin Ping’er, the granddaughter of Lin Mancang’s next-door neighbor, Lin Danian. She was just over three years old. Her father had broken his leg a year ago while cutting firewood on the mountain, and her mother had run off with someone else. Others had lied to her, saying her mother had gone to work outside, so she would go to the village entrance every day to wait for her. The Lin Danian family was afraid that child traffickers would come to the village and kidnap her, so they forbade her from going to the entrance. So, she would wait under this large tree every day, looking toward the village entrance, hoping that one day her mother would appear at the end of the road.

Lin Danian and Lin Mancang were not closely related, but they were from the same village and might have shared a common ancestor several generations ago. The relationship between the two families was neither good nor bad, but Ma Guihua and Lin Danian’s wife would argue every few days.

That old woman had a bad temper. On top of that, her family was poor, her son was crippled, and her daughter-in-law had run off with someone else. She was unhappy and would often take her anger out on Lin Ping’er.

The little girl would get a beating every few days, crying her heart out.

The two families lived close to each other, and Lin Shuang could hear everything from the next house.

She herself had been disliked by Ma Guihua since she was young. Seeing Lin Ping’er’s situation, she couldn’t help but be reminded of her own past and felt a little more concern for the little girl.

Sometimes, when she picked some wild fruits on the mountain, she wouldn’t eat them herself but would give some to the little girl.

Over time, the two of them had developed a good relationship in private.

Lin Shuang had been in the West Mountain Valley for a few days, and they hadn’t seen each other. Now, seeing her appear, Lin Ping’er was clearly happy. She ran up to her and looked up, asking, “They said you were sold to the West Mountain Valley… Are you… are you doing well there?”

Lin Shuang patted her head. “I’m doing very well. I just left in a hurry that day and forgot to tell you. I’ll come and play with you when I have time in the future.”

Hearing this, Lin Ping’er instantly brightened up. “Then it’s a promise. You have to come and play with me.”

Lin Shuang looked at the bruises on the back of her hand and sighed inwardly. “I will. But I have to go to the city now, so I can’t talk for long. I’ll stay with you longer next time, okay?”

Lin Ping’er nodded eagerly.

Only then did Lin Shuang shoulder her basket and head for the village entrance.

After a few steps, she suddenly turned and looked back.

She saw the child standing under the tree, looking at her with longing eyes.

A sour feeling instantly welled up in her heart.

Ping’er usually waited for her mother like this, and now she was watching her leave in the same way. Such a small child, who could she rely on? How would she live in the future?

Thinking of her own past life, she was also like a floating duckweed, drifting in the sea of the human world, with nothing to rely on, and in the end, she had ended up crippled.

Holding back the tears that suddenly welled up, she waved at the little girl. “It’s windy outside. Go back inside.”

Ping’er said “oh” but didn’t move, watching her walk away.