The Farm Girl’s Charismatic Fortune
Chapter 110 - 107: It’s the Thought That Counts

Chapter 110: Chapter 107: It’s the Thought That Counts

Ruo Xuan, with her keen ears, heard the sound of horse hooves and looked up towards the official road, where she saw a row of horse-drawn carriage silhouettes.

Her eyes could also see far, and she vaguely recognized some of the carriages as the ones from yesterday that went to pick up the children.

Ruo Xuan then said to Granny Lei and her brothers, "Granny, brothers, we have guests at home! It must be from the family that Brother Xuanyuan and I helped save yesterday. Let’s head down the mountain first!"

Upon hearing this, Granny Lei looked towards the official road and saw several carriages, then nodded her head, "Let’s go, hurry back to welcome the guests. Covered in mud like this, we need to change our clothes too."

Granny Lei quickly led the children down the mountain.

When the villagers casually asked, Granny Lei replied, "We have guests at home."

Only then did the villagers notice the line of more than a dozen carriages on the village road.

Zhen Yi was also there to clear the wilderness today, along with Old Man Zhen and Granny Tan, though neither was the working type; they just wanted to scrounge for silver.

After Granny Lei had gone far, Old Man Zhen, craving a smoke, stuck a blade of grass in his mouth and mumbled, "So many carriages, what kind of distinguished guests has the Ruo Family got this time?"

The homes with carriages were all rich and noble families, and now that they had come calling, the gifts they brought couldn’t be insignificant, right?

Rich and noble families would bring exquisite delicacies from the mountains and the seas, fine silks and satins, wouldn’t they?

Old Man Zhen was itching with curiosity!

Sadly, those Ruo brothers were too formidable.

Old Man Zhen, recalling how effortlessly Ruo Shui had picked him up, felt apprehensive in his heart.

He feared that if he married off his daughter, he wouldn’t get any benefits at all!

After all, with Ruo Shui tossing people out so easily, who would dare to ask the Ruo Family for silver?

What’s more, his deadbeat daughter Zhen Yi didn’t bother pursuing Ruo He; even when he approached Ruo He, Ruo He simply ignored him.

Even a fool like Old Man Zhen knew that a man would only be willing to spend money on a woman he cherished; otherwise, after marriage, a woman was treated no better than livestock, there to serve the whole family.

The recent cold reactions from Ruo He made Old Man Zhen feel there was no advantage to gain.

Granny Tan said, "Could it be another gift from the Emperor?"

Indeed, it’s maddening to compare oneself with others. Granny Lei had a brood of sons, each with their own skills. It’s said that the Ruo Family had only one granddaughter in three generations, yet she’s such a lucky charm that even The Emperor’s gifts could be obtained!

She herself had borne a brood of daughters; the dowries they brought back paled in comparison to the value of just one chest of The Emperor’s rewards.

How could Granny Lei be so blessed?

"What’s the curiosity about other people’s affairs? You two better start working quickly. The village chief asked me to keep an eye on you—you won’t get paid if you don’t work. You’re already nearly an hour late compared to everyone else!" Guang Cai and Yong Fu, whom Ruo Shui had hired as foremen, were responsible for directing everyone in clearing the land and also for the payment of wages.

"Who says I’m not working? I’ll just take a puff and then I’ll get to weeding. You can’t expect me not to have a smoke first!" Old Man Zhen took his pipe and walked to the side.

He dug out a pinch of tobacco from his pouch, stuffed it into his pipe, then used a fire-starter to light the tobacco. Taking a puff, he sat on a rock, watching everyone clear the withered grass, and had an idea. Wasn’t the payment for clearing the land calculated per acre?

If he set fire to burn away all the underbrush on the mountain, wouldn’t that easily earn him several taels of silver?

The Ruo Family had two mountains, and everyone agreed to clear one before moving on to the other.

Old Man Zhen took a glance at the villagers spread across the mountain and thought that if he took the initiative to burn the grass on the other mountain, he could make a tidy sum first!

Old Man Zhen hurriedly ran down the mountain.

~

Ruo Xuan had just arrived home when the carriages reached the entrance of the courtyard.

The County Magistrate’s carriage was at the front, and Zhang Jie was the first to leap off, stunned to see someone dressed in old clothes with a head full of assorted weeds.

"Xuanbao, what have you been doing?"

If Xuanbao’s looks hadn’t been so striking, if the mass of tangled weeds hadn’t overshadowed her beauty, she would hardly have recognized her!

Xue Jiajie also jumped down from the carriage at that moment, and seeing Ruo Xuan in this state, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter, "Xuanbao, you look just like a little chick that’s crawled out of a messy hen’s nest."

Ruo Xuan: "..."

Zhang Jie rolled her eyes, "Are you saying Xuanbao is a little chicken? Xuanbao, he’s too mean! Don’t play with him!"

Xue Jiajie became anxious, "No, Xuanbao, I meant that you’re cute like this! As cute as a little chicken!"

Ruo Xuan couldn’t understand!

Was a little chicken as pretty as her flower? Where was it cute?

With a sharp beak, pecking people hurts a lot!

She was like a flower that grew out of the weeds, possessing a unique beauty of solitude, right?

"Next time you praise me, say I’m like a flower!"

Xue Jiajie hurriedly said, "Right, Xuanbao is as pretty as a flower!"

Ruo Xuan was very happy then.

Granny Lei couldn’t help but chuckle.

Xue Hai and his wife, Madam Li, both got off the carriage and greeted Granny Lei with a laugh, "We’ve made the old madam laugh. My son is not good with words. I am Xue Hai, this is my wife, and today we’ve specifically come to thank Xuanbao for saving our son."

Granny Lei said busily, "You are too polite, Mr. Xue, please come in!"

The County Magistrate’s wife, Madam Yao, and the brothers Zhang Qian and Zhang Lian also got down from their carriage, and the three of them walked over, pulling Zhang Jie to give Granny Lei a formal bow. After introducing themselves, they said, "Today, we’ve also come specifically to thank Xuanbao! Jiejie has been wanting to come over since the morning and might have caused some trouble!"

At this point, the people from the carriages behind also came forward, introducing themselves and stating their intentions.

Granny Lei, with a smile that was neither servile nor overbearing, invited everyone to sit inside the house.

Before entering the house, everyone instructed that the thank-you gifts be brought inside.

Granny Lei said busily, "Xuanbao saved someone with just a word, but it was really the soldiers and government officers who saved the children. We cannot accept these gifts! Besides, you’ve already given Xuanbao a reward."

Xue Hai laughed, "What we’ve brought are products from our own family’s production, they don’t cost silver. These are just small tokens, not worth mentioning, so please don’t be polite, old madam."

Others also said one after another, "Right! They are all made in our family workshops, not worth any silver,"

They weren’t lying; the gifts they brought were indeed produced in their family workshops.

They all planned to form connections with the Ruo Family and maintain regular interactions. The gifts didn’t need to be too lavish; it was important for the Ruo Family to see that they were sincere. There would be plenty more days ahead!

After all, the items they brought were the best ones from their workshops and would not be cheap if sold outside.

The Ruo Shui brothers came out when they heard the noise, and after greeting each other...

Ruo Shui’s brothers were in charge of receiving the male guests, while Madam Liu and Madam Jiang took care of the female guests.

Then they discovered that the Ruo Family’s people, including Madam Liu and Madam Jiang, were not unworldly village women but quite knowledgeable, which made them feel even more that the Ruo Family was worth forming a connection with.

Ruo Xuan was responsible for entertaining the children; she took them to see the game she had hunted.

"Xuanbao, I want a rabbit! The white one!" Zhang Jie excitedly pointed out a pure white rabbit.

Ruo Xuan generously said, "Alright, I’ll give it to you! You can all pick a rabbit! And when I’ve trained those wild pigeons to become carrier pigeons, I’ll give you one each, too."

Wild rabbits and wild chickens were one thing, but the children were astounded to see wild pigeons and sika deer!

Xue Hai: "Xuanbao, did you hunt all these? You’re too incredible!"

Zhang Jie was also full of admiration, "Xuanbao, you’re really amazing!"

Ruo Xuan nodded her little head, "Right, I hunted all these!"

Zhang Lian, who had recently heard his father and elder brother singing praises of Ruo Xuan, could not hold back when even his sister was won over by Ruo Xuan. He blurted out, "You’re lying!"

He could tell right away that Ruo Xuan was fibbing!