Chapter 18: The Village Chief’s Secret

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Jiang Cha’s eyes instantly brightened. She eagerly tugged on Song Bo’s arm and whispered, “Then, can I rent this land?”

Song Bo frowned thoughtfully. Currently, buying and selling land was prohibited, and renting it out was also not allowed. He couldn’t afford to make such a mistake.

But then he reconsidered. Jiang Cha was clever and resourceful; perhaps she had a way to make money from the land. After all, the land on their family’s mainland was lying fallow anyway. It might as well be given to Jiang Cha to cultivate.

Recalling how Jiang Cha had resolutely refused Dong Zhengyu’s suggestion to return to Beicheng with him, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Alright then,” he said. “You don’t need to pay rent—that’s not compliant anyway. Just take the land and use it. Consider it as helping my family to reclaim the wasteland.”

Jiang Cha felt a little embarrassed. “Isn’t this improper? Shouldn’t we ask Uncle Song first?”

Song Bo waved his hand, looking in good spirits. “No need. That piece of land is registered under my name, and I have the right to dispose of it. You can use it.”

Jiang Cha shook her head. “No, even among brothers, accounts need to be clear.”

She puffed up her cheeks in a playful pout. Song Bo had no way to resist her; he absolutely would not ask for rent money—he wasn’t short on money anyway.

To put Jiang Cha’s mind at ease, he came up with a plan.

“How about this: you can pay me 5% of the profits from the crops as rent. If you don’t get any harvest or the yield is poor, then you don’t have to pay anything. Just consider it as helping my family reclaim the land. How does that sound?”

Jiang Cha thought it over and found the proposal quite reasonable. It was the best solution for now.

Having resolved the biggest issue of the land, Jiang Cha then turned her attention to planting.

Looking at the patch of wasteland about the size of half a soccer ball before her, she felt a headache coming on.

She was only one person—how could she possibly finish planting such a sizeable plot alone?

Besides, it was the 1970s, far from the technologically advanced era of the 21st century.

Although agricultural mechanization was gradually being promoted, the overall level of mechanization remained quite low.

In their village, traditional manual labor with human and animal power was still predominant.

Jiang Cha’s mind suddenly clicked—last year, the village chief’s family had bought a tractor that could be used for farming.

And as far as she knew, their family was the only one in the whole village to own such a tractor.

Could she really go and ask the village chief to borrow the tractor?

Or should she buy one herself?

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Jiang Cha recalled that back in Beicheng, her foster parents had also bought a tractor before. She had heard that even then, the cheapest tractor cost at least 1,000 yuan per unit.

In this era, being able to afford a tractor was truly a luxury.

She looked at the little over ten yuan in her pocket and sighed involuntarily.

Then she thought of the village chief, that old fellow—she remembered clearly what he had done with Jiang Dazhu.

But if she were to buy one now, her money was nowhere near enough… Was there really no other way?

After much thought, Jiang Cha finally decided to go ask the village chief to borrow the tractor.

At worst, she could pay rent daily. With the little money she had, she could afford to rent it for a few days, and that should be enough to finish sowing.

On the way to the village chief’s house, she ran into Zhong Jialin, who was heading to the river to do laundry.

When Zhong Jialin heard she was going to the village chief’s house, she quickly put down her work and tagged along with Jiang Cha.

Throughout the journey, Jiang Cha felt it was rather strange—she had never imagined that one day she and Zhong Jialin would get along so harmoniously.

The current Zhong Jialin was completely different from the person she had been before; Jiang Cha had not forgotten how, on their first day of school, Zhong Jialin had glared at her with a scowl.

Within minutes, the two arrived at the village chief’s house. Although Jiang Cha had been in the village for over a year, she had never had any interaction with the village chief and had never visited his home.

Stepping inside for the first time, she was stunned by the opulent decor.

A three-story bamboo house with an antique charm, a quaint front courtyard, and a sizable pond filled with colorful koi fish. Next to the pond stood an open-air tea room.

This was no countryside—it looked like a palace!

While Jiang Cha admired the scene, Zhong Jialin stood nearby, hands on her hips, wearing a look of disdain.

“Don’t be fooled by the village chief’s wealth. Nobody knows how she got that money.”

Jiang Cha was surprised. “You suspect the village chief’s money comes from dubious sources?”

Zhong Jialin shrugged indifferently. “That’s what everyone thinks, but there’s no proof. Besides, the village chief’s eldest son works as an official in the provincial capital, so having money isn’t that strange, right?”

It wasn’t strange, but being this wealthy—well, that was quite peculiar.

Suppressing her doubts, Jiang Cha knocked on the bamboo door.

Since it was the weekend, most villagers were either out in the fields or at home. Jiang Cha hadn’t seen the village chief’s family in the fields, so they must be home.

Sure enough, after a few knocks, the door opened, and a head peeked out.

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A pair of not-so-bright eyes stared fixedly at Jiang Cha.

“Pretty sister... pretty sister...”

Jiang Cha and Zhong Jialin were startled, both hugging their arms tightly.

Zhong Jialin whispered into Jiang Cha’s ear, “This is Feng Jiayou, the village chief’s mentally challenged youngest son.”

“Who’s there?” A strong yet aged voice came from inside the house.

The bamboo door swung open to reveal an elderly face creased with wrinkles. Upon seeing Jiang Cha, he was momentarily stunned.

“Is that you? Come in and sit,” the village chief said, his eyes filled with surprise before quickly returning to normal.

Hand in hand, Jiang Cha and Zhong Jialin mustered their courage and stepped inside.

“Jiayou, go play over there.”

“Pretty sister... I want to see pretty sister...” Feng Jiayou spun in place, shaking a rattle drum in his hand. Jiang Cha and Zhong Jialin silently put some distance between themselves and him.

The village chief’s small, sharp eyes looked at Jiang Cha with a cheerful smile.

“Jiang Cha, little girl, what brings you here?”

Jiang Cha composed herself and said, “Village chief, I’d like to borrow your tractor.”

She got straight to the point, explaining her purpose. She wanted to borrow it quickly and leave—the boy was unsettling.

The village chief’s eyes darted slyly around the room before a smile spread across his lips.

“Borrow the tractor? Sure, but I can’t lend it out for free.”

An old fox, Jiang Cha thought to herself. This man was shrewd.

Jiang Cha’s clear voice rang out, “I can pay rent. I won’t borrow it for free. One yuan per day. I want to borrow it for five days, so here’s five yuan. Is that okay?”

One yuan a day to rent a tractor was already a high price. In this era when people struggled to have enough to eat, one yuan could buy a lot. Jiang Cha spoke confidently about the business.

The village chief’s gaze swept over Feng Jiayou and then appraised Jiang Cha up and down.

He stroked his beard leisurely and said, “If you were my daughter-in-law, you could use this tractor anytime you wanted. Family doesn’t discuss business with outsiders.”