Farming Family's Pocket Dimension: A Charmed Little Lady Comes to Farm

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Selling You a Wife

Without water, no one could cook. Every household had little water left, and everyone only dared to take a small, precious sip. The village chief’s family gave their mule a little water, but the others’ mules had to go thirsty.

The children, without a care in the world, were all playing hide-and-seek around the carriages.

Ju Hua and Zhang Laojia’s daughter, Xiang’er, were sitting on the earthen wall playing cat’s cradle when Ju Hua suddenly shouted, "Someone’s here!"

Gu Fei looked over and saw a woman with a dust-covered face standing outside the low earthen wall. She was holding the hand of an eight or nine-year-old boy, and a girl of about fifteen or sixteen stood beside them.

Seeing everyone staring at her, the woman smiled nervously. "We’re refugees... could you folks let me and my children rest here for the night?"

No one spoke; they all looked to Gu Zhang.

Gu Zhang considered for a moment. ’Two women and a child... they shouldn’t be any trouble. Besides, it’s not like we own this place.’ He nodded. "Alright."

The woman thanked him, then led her children around the wall and into the enclosure.

Dusk was falling when Uncle Ma called out, "Get the fire going."

Gu Sanlang used a flint to light some dry leaves, then added kindling. The fire was soon blazing.

Everyone gathered around the campfire and sat down.

The mother and her two children sat leaning against the wall, keeping their distance.

It was dinnertime, and the families all took out their dry rations to eat.

Gu Fei was gnawing on a flatbread when she suddenly heard the little boy’s voice from near the wall behind her. "Ma, I’m so hungry."

The woman kept her head down, not saying a word.

The child spoke again. "Ma, I want a cornbread bun."

After a long silence, the woman seemed to make up her mind. She pulled her two children over to the fire and dropped to her knees with a THUD. "Good sirs, good ladies, please, be merciful and give us something to eat. Honestly... yesterday all we had were some grass roots, and we haven’t found a single thing to eat all day."

"Thank you, kind sirs and madams." The woman made her children kowtow frantically alongside her.

The crowd, all in the middle of eating their dry rations, fell silent. No one spoke.

Gu Fei couldn’t bear to watch. But she also understood there would be many more people like this on their journey. ’I can’t save them all,’ she thought. ’I *mustn’t*.’

She lowered her gaze and silently chewed on her flatbread.

After the woman and her children had kowtowed a dozen times, the village chief sighed, unable to hold back. "Stop. Save what little strength you have for the road."

"We’re refugees, too. We don’t have any grain to spare."

The woman lifted her dust-caked face and suddenly spotted the white-flour flatbread in Gu Sanlang’s hand. She lunged forward and knelt before him. "Young man, my Lian’er will be your wife. All we ask is a bag of coarse grain."

Gu Sanlang’s face darkened. ’Who would want a filthy girl for a wife?’

He waved his hand impatiently. "Go on, get out of here! I don’t need a wife!"

Nearby, Boss Zhang started laughing. "Sanlang, the girl’s tall, and her features aren’t half bad. She’d probably clean up nicely. A wife for a bag of coarse grain? That’s a steal!"

Gu Sanlang grew angry. "Uncle Zhang, your son Donglai is ten years old. She’d be a perfect child bride for him."

Everyone burst out laughing.

Gu Fei watched the mother and her two children, her heart aching with a sorrow she couldn’t put into words.

Just then, Ms. Qian spoke up. "You’re from West Mountain County, aren’t you? Your girl is that skinny, yet you’re asking for a whole bag of grain? I heard someone say yesterday that over in West Mountain County, you can buy a girl for a single peck of coarse grain."