Chapter 21 The Land Deal
"Su dear, tell Auntie Niu the truth. Did the Fu family refuse to give any land to you and your kids? If so, I'll stand up for you. No one deserves to be treated like that," Auntie Niu said sternly, her face filled with anger.
Now, she saw Su He in a whole new light—especially after the incident when Su He was bullied by Auntie Liu.
Though others said Su He was tough, Auntie Niu felt the villagers were taking advantage of her because she had no husband at home. It was just heartless.
Auntie Niu was that kind of person—loyal to a fault for those she liked.
"Auntie Niu, it's not like that. You've misunderstood. I did ask my in-laws for the plot bordering yours, but it's too small. I wanted to rent your land too to grow what I have in mind," Su He quickly explained.
"Ah? Really? What do you plan to grow that needs so much space?"
Together, they'd cover nearly half the hillside.
"I want to grow fire durian and sell the fruit in the city. You know my husband isn't home now, and we can't even reach him. The three of us still have to put food on the table."
Su He might have been playing the victim a bit, but everything she said was true.
She sighed. Even though she had over ten thousand points [from her system], she couldn't use them in the real world. If she didn't find a way to earn money, how could they survive?
She did consider exchanging system items to sell, but since they weren't from this world and she had no supply source, she was afraid of being dissected like a lab rat if caught.
She could sell a little, but not too much. She'd think about it after planting the durians.
Anyway, she absolutely wouldn't admit that she just really craved durians, so she insisted on growing them.
"Alright, I can't decide on that land alone. Let me go back and discuss it with my family," Auntie Niu hesitated for a while but didn't agree immediately.
"Auntie Niu, let me tell you the rent I'm offering. For that land, I'll pay eighty yuan [about $X] a year. Go discuss it with your family and see if that's acceptable," Su He stated directly.
"Eighty yuan?" Auntie Niu's eyes widened in shock.
Eighty yuan—a windfall for their family. Most people doing odd jobs only made a pittance—just one or two yuan a day. Labor was still cheap, and work wasn't always available.
Su He was offering eighty yuan just to rent that piece of land?
"Miss Su, that's too generous."
Though tempted, Auntie Niu's conscience wouldn't let her take so much.
Su He knew eighty yuan a year was more than enough for that land in this era.
But she genuinely liked Auntie Niu and wanted to build a friendship.
She didn't want Auntie Niu's family to lose out. On the contrary, she wanted them to make a profit from the rent.
She bet the durian venture would profit her and the Fu family, but she couldn't involve Auntie Niu in it. So, the only way was to let her earn through the rent.
"It's fine, I can afford it. So, go discuss it with your family and see if you can rent it to me. But there's one thing—I can only pay the rent in three months' time. You know I don't have that much money on hand right now," Su He said with a smile.
Auntie Niu had arrived at her leisure but left in a hurry.
Well, eighty yuan was such a windfall for their family. Even if it was for a whole year, it was still significant income.
Once Auntie Niu's back disappeared down the path, Zai Zai [her son] asked Su He, "Mom, can we afford that?"
Lately, things at home have felt a little off—Mom always has fresh food to spare.
Even though they're little, they're no fools.
"Yep, your dad left this for us," Su He said, squatting down to meet Zai Zai at eye level.
"Dad left us all this stuff?" Niu Niu chimed in.
"Duh! Your dad was awesome—how could you not know?" Su He replied with a smile.
"I know! I love Dad, but Mom's my favorite!" Niu Niu exclaimed excitedly.
Seeing she'd pulled it off, Su He couldn't help but sigh in relief.
She really had no clue how to explain this to kids.
After dinner, Su He took the kids eel hunting in the fields.
Back then, most villagers wouldn't touch the stuff, but Su He thought swamp eels were delicious and nutritious.
A few eels meant she could whip up dishes like swamp eel porridge, fried swamp eel, or stir-fried swamp eel—her mouth watered at the thought.
"Mom, over here!" Zai Zai shouted excitedly.
Su He moved fast, snatched the eel right out of the mud.
"Mom, this swamp eel looks like a snake," Niu Niu said, backing away warily.
"Ha! No need to freak out. Eels don't bite and they're harmless."
As she spoke, Su He tossed the eel into the bucket.
"Keep your eyes peeled. Tomorrow, I'll cook you some swamp eel porridge," Su He said, and the kids were all over it.
"Mom, here, here!" Zai Zai grabbed the tail of a swamp eel, but he couldn't hold on tight enough, and the eel struggled to burrow back into the mud.
Su He rushed over, dug into the dirt, and successfully pulled the eel out.
"Nice one, Zai Zai! You rock!" Su He praised generously.
Seeing this, Niu Niu got serious and started searching for swamp eels.
But perhaps she was just unlucky or too afraid—by the time they called it a day, she hadn't caught a single one.
Seeing Niu Niu's face fall, Su He immediately hugged her and said, "You did awesome too, Niu Niu. Next time we go up the mountain to look for things, I'll need to rely on you, okay?"
Hearing this, Niu Niu perked up instantly. "Mom, when are we going to the mountain again?"
"We need to plant the backyard first in the next couple of days. Do you like the vegetables from Granny Niu's house?" Su He asked.
"Yes!" Niu Niu answered without hesitation.
"Right, they're delicious. We'll grow some too, so whenever you two want to eat something, you can just pick it fresh from the backyard—whatever you like!"
Su He made it sound so good that the kids were totally sold.
In this era, what could be more important than food?
So the next morning, the two kids woke up even earlier than Su He.
Stepping outside, she saw they were already weeding in the backyard vegetable patch.
"Kids, you haven't even had breakfast yet," Su He said with a sigh.
"Mom, just let us know when breakfast is ready," Niu Niu replied immediately.
It was good that the kids were so diligent, so Su He didn't stop them and went to prepare breakfast.
After breakfast, Su He returned to the vegetable patch to turn the soil.
The plot wasn't very large, and she estimated that with a bit more work that afternoon, they could plant the seeds tomorrow.