Picking Up a Spoiled Young Lady to Farm and Survive the Famine (GL) - Chapter 1

Old Man Zhang’s family at the village head was slaughtering a pig again today. The villagers who knew about it had already lined up, waiting to weigh out the fattiest cuts of meat.

Country folk all did physical labor, and their food needed lard; they’d practically start a fight over two chunks of fat. Sure enough, Zhang’s Third Daughter was wielding her massive cleaver with fierce, roaring movements, keeping the villagers back lest anyone be accidentally harmed.

“Look at her, Auntie Liu. This Third Daughter is really capable, but being too capable might not be a good thing. Look at her height, she’s nearly as tall as your son, Gouzi. How is she ever going to get married? And her eyes! If she looks at me straight on, I get scared!” 

The old woman waiting to weigh her meat, with her sagging, triangular eyes, had nothing to do but gossip. She made sure to find fault so she could point and comment, her face so wrinkled a fly could get trapped in the creases, and her dark, rough skin so slick a mosquito would slide off.

“Who’s arguing with that? This Third Daughter is capable, yes, but she’s not as well-loved as the Second Daughter, who barely lifts a finger,” Auntie Liu chimed in, equally entertained. She leaned in, covering her mouth with her hand, making sure everyone knew she was gossiping. “That girl is delicate and fair-skinned, not like Third Daughter, who’s a total tomboy.”

KWA-DONG! The sound of a large pork bone being chopped was clean and sharp—the knife was fast and the hand was heavy. The edge of the bone was so neat it didn’t even have a shard of splintered bone.

“See what I told you, Auntie? This Third Daughter is even tougher than your Gouzi. If your son married her, after a day’s work, he’d go home and surely get disciplined by his wife! Hahahaha!” The old woman’s comments grew wilder, and she started laughing heartily to herself.

“Oh, Auntie Li, you shouldn’t say such things! My Gouzi is interested in her Second Daughter! He wouldn’t like hearing that!” Auntie Liu quickly waved her hands, afraid that Zhang’s Third Daughter might taint her son’s reputation.

“Aunties, my ears are perfectly good. Could you keep your idle chatter down a bit? Do you really like my Second Sister? Or is it because she’s soft-hearted and easy to manipulate, so you can trick her into giving you an extra two ounces of meat? I’m in charge today. You can talk all you want, but you won’t get a single extra bite of meat.” The girl, dressed in rough hemp cloth, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, and a tall stature, calmly struck at the two aunties’ weak spot without stopping her work for a moment.

“Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! What are you talking about? What’s this talk about Smallpox? Young people are so careless with their mouths! You shouldn’t invite that Plague God, you know!” The older woman shook her head, waved her hands, and drew circles on the ground with her foot, muttering incomprehensible things.

Zhang Muchun ignored them and continued weighing pork for the rest of the neighbors. Her Second Sister was the reason for this: whenever she sold the meat, she was sure to be cheated. Her gentle nature made her too easy to manipulate. Out of two hundred jin of pork, they’d lose ten jin. That’s why the meat stall work usually fell to her. Plus, she was so strong she could do the work of three people by herself.

Although she was only eighteen this year, she was the main labor force of the family. Her eldest brother and fourth brother were studying in town and rarely came home; even when they did, they were treated like precious treasures. Her Second Sister was too gentle and soft; she was fine doing needlework, but if she was left in charge of the meat stall without Third Sister watching her, she’d eventually lose everything the family owned. There was also a little one, three years old and still nursing, guarded like the apple of their eye by the grandparents.

After adding it all up, it was clear that Third Sister, Zhang Muchun, was the one who had all the work and none of the affection…!

Luckily, she had a broad mind and a steady, yet passionate, personality. She would actively fight for any deserved treatment in the family and refused to be a weak, easily bullied little cabbage.

When she closed the stall and got home, her old man was there, frowning, puffing on his pipe, and occasionally tapping it restlessly on the ground.

“Mom, what’s wrong with Dad?” Zhang Muchun asked quietly, noticing something off about the old man.

“Nothing, it’s just the family your Second Sister is engaged to. They looked down on us for being butchers. They originally promised five liang of betrothal gifts, but now they say they can only give three, or they’ll break off the engagement.” While her mother, Muchun’s Mother, said it was nothing, her brow was involuntarily furrowed.

“Well, that’s rich, Old Man Wang’s family! The engagement has been set for ten years, and now they remember we’re butchers? Mom, don’t worry. I’ll go drag that bastard out right now and see if he’ll pay up those five liang of silver!” Hearing this, a fire immediately sparked in Zhang Muchun’s heart. She picked up her cleaver, ready to march out the door.

“That’s enough! Aren’t you embarrassing us enough already? If it weren’t for your infamous, fearless reputation scaring everyone off, would they look down on us for being butchers? Your Second Sister is suffering because of you! What do you intend to do now? If you go, they’ll surely call off the engagement!” Zhang Tiesheng’s face darkened. Looking at his tomboyish daughter, he immediately felt a surge of anger.

“Dad, what are you trying to say? If you think I’m redundant in this family, just say so directly! I, Zhang Muchun, can find a meal anywhere!” She knew her father had always favored her Second Sister, but there was no need to deliberately slander her. Her personality was a product of the environment she grew up in, wasn’t it? With five children in the family—the eldest son, the heir; the delicate Second Sister; the clever younger brother; and the youngest baby still nursing. She was stuck in the middle like a wooden stake. Good things never came her way, but the dirty and hard work was always abundant.

Only the old scholar next door, who found her pleasing to the eye and liked her passion for books, would teach her a few characters when he was free and talk to her about life principles. He was the rare benefactor in her otherwise ordinary life.

“Oh, your father is just stressed; he didn’t mean to single you out,” Liu Guihua said, offering a perfunctory comfort to Muchun.

Zhang Muchun lowered her eyes, saying nothing more. The clear, mirror-like quality of her gaze dimmed somewhat. No matter what, she was his own flesh and bl00d; how could she not care at all?

That night, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The thin wooden bed creaked loudly, but thankfully, her room was far from the main hall and wouldn’t disturb anyone else. Through the open window, she quietly looked at the sky. The night curtain was thick, with only occasional twinkling stars—tiny, but bright.

She secretly made a decision in her heart: she was going to leave the Zhang family and see the world outside…!

The next day, Liu Guihua went to check on Zhang Muchun, as she hadn’t woken up early to do chores as usual. To her surprise, the room was empty. Only a piece of letter paper, held down by a teacup, lay on the table.

Zhang Muchun had run away from home…!

Dressed in rough blue hemp clothing, her long hair was coiled securely on top of her head with a wooden hairpin. Her slung cloth bag held only a change of underwear, two cold steamed buns, and two hundred copper coins; her entire fortune.

Even though she had no destination, she felt freer than a bird escaping its cage. She hummed a little tune as she walked, occasionally chewing on a stalk of foxtail grass.

She felt no guilt about leaving. Zhang Tiesheng was just over forty, in the prime of his strength, and her mother, Liu Guihua, was also an efficient woman. She could completely dismiss the family chores from her mind.

Oh, and since this was her first long journey, she made sure to bring her cleaver for self-defense. Her large, dark cleaver was three or four times the size of a normal one. She had specially found good materials to make it herself; no one else could even lift it, let alone use it.

After eating one of the steamed buns, she walked aimlessly until she saw a crowd gathered on a boat up ahead.

“Uncle, where are you all going?” Curious, she went forward and examined the group of young men and women.

“To Willow Town across the river. Steward Liu is hiring temporary workers, men and women both. They said they need twenty people. I’ve only gathered twelve so far. Young lady, what do you do? Why don’t you come with us and earn some silver?” The old man could earn a hundred copper coins for every person he recruited. Seeing that he was short of people, he wanted to grab two more before the boat left.

“Uncle, what kind of temporary work is this? Your niece just left home to make a living and has no experience.” Zhang Muchun gave an embarrassed smile, asking about the job so she could get an idea of what it was. Her face was calm, but inside, she was already eager to try it out.

Talk about perfect timing just when she was wondering where to go next, an opportunity practically fell into her lap.

“The Liu family estate,” the old man explained, “I heard they’re planning both a marriage and an engagement at the same time. They’re short on servants, maids, errand boys, the like, so they’re looking to hire some temporary workers for six months to a year, just to have enough hands for the busy days ahead.”

“Then please count me in, Uncle. I can do anything, I’m not picky.”

“Good, good! The more, the merrier.” The old man grinned, clearly pleased to have found another willing helper.

After a long, bumpy journey, thirteen young workers finally arrived at Wuliu Town at the gates of the grand Liu Estate.

The courtyard walls stretched out of sight, the massive vermilion gates gleamed in the sunlight, stone lions stood proudly on either side, and a stern-looking butler waited before them with his chin held high.

Everything about the place screamed wealth and status.

The old man bowed repeatedly as he spoke to the butler. The man, with neatly groomed moustache and arrogance practically radiating from his posture, glanced at the group, his eyes pausing on Muchun.

“Well now,” he drawled, “is this one a girl or a boy? If she’s a girl, that presence of hers is far too bold. But if she’s a boy, he’s far too pretty.” The butler’s gaze lingered, as if he couldn’t decide or perhaps he was just trying to make things difficult.

“Steward Sun, surely you jest!” the old man said quickly, fearful his pay might slip away. “Look at her, straight-backed, full of spirit, strong and handsome. There’s nothing to complain about!” His words were full of praise, but still grounded in truth.

“Well,” the steward said at last, “since Uncle Yuan recommends her so highly, they can all stay. But one thing must be clear, once you enter this house, you follow orders. Whatever tempers or habits you had before, leave them outside.” His eyes flicked toward Muchun as he spoke.

Muchun nodded obediently.

And just like that, the group signed one-year indenture contracts with the Liu household: half a tael of silver each month, with an additional three taels given upon completion of the year; ten taels total when they returned home.

Room and board were included, and every three months they’d receive two new sets of clothing.

When they heard the conditions, the group could hardly contain their excitement. Not only were they getting paid, but they’d be fed, housed, and clothed for eight full sets of garments a year! The Liu family truly lived up to their reputation as the wealthiest household for miles around.

Smiling broadly, everyone followed the steward through the gates and into the inner courtyard.

White walls, grey tiles, and drooping green willows framed the walkways. Delicate archways and painted corridors connected one courtyard to another—scenery at every turn, beauty in every corner.

“As long as you work diligently here in the Liu residence,” the steward said as they walked, “you won’t be mistreated. Our master is known for his kindness; he treats the servants well. So long as you don’t commit any grave mistakes, there’s room for everyone here. But there’s one thing I must warn you about.”

He paused for effect.

“What is it?” one curious young man asked.

The steward shot him a glare.

“There are two young ladies in the estate,” he said slowly. “One is the cousin, Miss Jiang Xirou. Her father is an official in another province and has entrusted her to the care of Madam Liu, her aunt. The young lady is a true daughter of a scholarly family; gentle, refined, and well-bred. Not the kind of person you common folk should even think of offending. Keep that in mind.”

As he swept his gaze over the group, Muchun noted silently that with how protective he sounded, one might think he was the one yearning after the lady.

“And the other one?” the same reckless young man piped up again, apparently having learned nothing.

“The other?” Steward Sun paused, then gave a cold, mirthless laugh.

“The other is our master’s youngest daughter, Miss Liu Yunhe. People call her ‘the Untouchable.’ You’ll understand why soon enough.”

The tone of his voice was hard to read, leaving everyone brimming with curiosity about this so-called “Untouchable Miss.”