Chapter 57: Hold You When We’re Home

Just then, Jiang Chengyan walked over, drawing everyone’s attention. Even the village chief, Jiang Lizheng, looked at him differently now.

“Ah Yan, money is not meant to be squandered like this,” Jiang Lizheng said earnestly.

Jiang Chengyan just smiled and walked toward Bai Yan and Madam Zhao.

The moment Bai Yan saw Jiang Chengyan, she immediately reached out her arms to him, clearly wanting to be carried.

“I’m all sweaty—let’s wait until we get home,” Jiang Chengyan replied without missing a beat. The casual exchange between this young couple sent the crowd of watching aunties into a flurry of excited whispers.

“We’ll pay for this ourselves, you don’t need to interfere,” Madam Zhao said. She had always been indulgent with Bai Yan; as long as Bai Yan acted coquettishly, Madam Zhao could never refuse her.

But Jiang Chengyan’s attitude toward his own mother had changed completely: “You’re living under my roof, eating my food, and you still have the nerve to say that?”

Jiang Father’s family of three was indeed staying at Jiang Chengyan’s house now—the only one in the village left unscathed by the earthquake.

“Get lost, stop being an eyesore,” Madam Zhao snapped, dragging Bai Yan away to sign the land contract.

“Third Madam, don’t be reckless, that’s thirty taels of silver!” the villagers urged anxiously. Thirty taels was more than enough for a family to live frugally for a year.

Zhao Jiu, a grown man, rolled his eyes from the sidelines. Thirty taels? Don’t even mention it—his little sister-in-law’s dress alone was worth more than that.

Jiang Chengyan was a sly old fox indeed, tricking a young woman into supporting him.

…

Clutching the land contract, Madam Zhao sighed repeatedly on the way home.

“Third Madam, money can always be earned again,” Jiang Father said to her.

She nodded, holding Bai Yan’s hand as they walked home.

Bai Yan was elated. She darted inside, grabbed a brush and some paper, and began sketching with clumsy strokes.

She drew a neat square of land—one plot for beans, one for radishes, one for wild strawberries…

Madam Zhao leaned over to watch, and though Bai Yan drew with great enthusiasm, the only plant she recognized was a little radish.

“Mother, we should plant beans—the ugly, shriveled ones. It’s time to put them in the ground,” Bai Yan suddenly turned and said.

Madam Zhao remained skeptical about those ugly beans; they were simply too withered and unsightly. Because of the earthquake, everyone was busy repairing their homes, and she’d suspended her tofu business for now. As a result, she hadn’t had a chance to see whether those ugly beans would be any good.

“If the child says it’ll work, then it will. Don’t forget—it was she who saved us,” Jiang Father said seriously.

Madam Zhao pondered for a while before finally relenting. “Fine. I’ll stay here with Cheng’an and the girl. You go fetch a sack of those ugly beans.”

Some things that were difficult to move had been left in the old house, guarded by their little gray dog. The dog was always eager to chase after Bai Yan whenever it was let out.

…

Jiang Chengyan had thought Bai Yan was only playing around and hadn’t expected her to take it seriously. When he returned home and found no one there, he went out to the fields—sure enough, he saw her barefoot, trampling the soil, with Madam Zhao following behind.

“Little Darling,” he called out, unable to bear seeing her little feet in the dirt; after all, she would inevitably kick him with those feet at night. Being a clean freak, he found it hard to tolerate.

He called several times, loud enough for Madam Zhao to hear, but Bai Yan gave no response.

Seeing her completely absorbed in her work, Jiang Chengyan suddenly fished two silver ingots from his sleeve and began rubbing them together, making the distinctive sound of money…

The moment the sound rang out, the woman who had been so engrossed in farming immediately turned and shot toward him like an arrow…