Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Juhua listened and nodded. "Brother Huai Zi is right. We should buy one mu."

’I could actually afford to buy a bit more,’ she calculated, ’but I don’t want to. As long as we buy this one mu, no one else can interfere. Later, when things get better, we can develop it slowly.’

Zheng Changhe and Mrs. Yang also came over to discuss it, and the group mulled it over for a long while.

Juhua said, "Dad! Brother! Buying this land won’t be a waste. There are so many things we can plant. We can grow fruit trees, or bamboo, or some vegetables. Didn’t Manager Mao come by last time and say he wanted more spicy pickled cabbage next year? That’s why I’ve already planted a lot of chili peppers. Brother Huai Zi, you should also plant more cabbage this fall."

Zhang Huai asked hesitantly, "But that stuff is everywhere. Would people really buy it specifically from us? It’s so far—it wouldn’t even be cost-effective for him to ship it to Qinghui by boat!"

Juhua replied seriously, "That’s only if he can make it himself. The batch I made last year wasn’t quite flavorful enough, but I’ll improve the recipe this year. I guarantee no one else will be able to copy it. Besides, it doesn’t cost much to grow cabbage. If you plant it and can’t sell it, we can just pickle it and eat it ourselves. But if we can sell it, won’t we earn a little extra money?"

Zhang Huai quickly agreed, "Alright, I’ll plant more. Your brother and I are also going to plant carrots, so we won’t be idle this winter. That’s good, though. We’ll have some income after the autumn harvest."

He was filled with joy seeing Juhua include him in her plans. ’Even if it doesn’t make money, I’ll still listen to Juhua and plant more cabbage,’ he thought. ’So what if it doesn’t sell? We have to eat vegetables all year round anyway, don’t we? It’s not like we’d throw it away.’

Zheng Changhe chuckled. "We farmers are destined for a life of hard work. It’s good to have something to do in the winter. Usually, we’re just cooped up at home sunning ourselves, dirt poor with no way to earn an income."

Qingmu and Zhang Huai exchanged a smile and, grabbing his arm, said they wanted to go see the new plot of uncultivated land he’d bought.

Huai Zi then said to Juhua, "Sister Juhua, you should come take a look too. See if you have any good ideas. I’m not building a house on this land just yet; I’m going to farm it for a year."

Juhua thought for a moment, nodded, and followed them.

Zhang Huai’s family had already cleared the land. The overturned soil was mixed with fresh grass, green artemisia, and other wild greens.

Zhang Huai explained, "I figure if I let all this stuff rot, it’ll make the soil very fertile. I’m not planting anything right now, so by the time I plant in the fall, I’ll have plenty of compost."

Qingmu nodded repeatedly and smiled. "You’ll definitely need to make more compost. This land is quite poor."

Zhang Huai glanced at Juhua and thought, ’If I didn’t want to be neighbors with the Zheng Family, I wouldn’t have picked this plot. There were many other plots with richer soil. But it doesn’t matter. I won’t be farming this land forever. Eventually, I’ll build a house on it.’

He smiled and asked Juhua, "Juhua, do you have any good ideas? I was originally planning to grow carrots to feed the pigs."

Juhua laughed. "What ideas could I have? I don’t know as much about farming as you all do. Your plan is quite good. Carrots are a great crop. But all the farmers grow them, so they aren’t considered anything special. You can’t rely on them for money, so you can only use them as pig feed—but turning pigs into money is the same thing in the end."

Qingmu nodded and said to Juhua, "I asked Changfeng. They grow a lot of it over in Qinghui County, so the city has no shortage of them either."

Gazing at the plot of land, Zhang Huai then fixed his eyes on Juhua for a long moment. ’I’ll rely on this land to make money,’ he thought, ’and I’ll rely on it to be close to Juhua. In the future, I’ll marry her on this very land.’ As he thought this, the plot before him suddenly felt incredibly important, as if it held all his hopes for the future.

That evening, Mrs. Yang invited Zhang Huai to stay for dinner, and he didn’t refuse.

Ever since he started his studies, he had to help with chores at home after school, so he visited the Zheng Family less often. He hardly ever got to see Juhua. So today, he took the opportunity to spend a little more time with her.

The summer sun set late. After dinner, the sky was still bright. He and Qingmu sat on the cooling bed in the courtyard, once again deep in discussion and planning.

Though it was the height of summer, the evenings by Little Qing Mountain were cool. A gentle breeze brushed against their faces, carrying the sound of frogs croaking—not yet a cacophony. In the distance, the rice paddies glowed a sea of gold, while nearby, the mujin flowers along the wicker fence bloomed in brilliant splendor. The oppressive heat of the day receded, leaving a feeling of extraordinary comfort.

He thought with a sense of longing, ’After I move here next year, our families will be able to talk to each other right across the courtyards after dinner. I won’t have to put in so much effort just to see Juhua. On days like this, sitting in the courtyard and talking with Qingmu and Juhua... what a wonderful thing that would be!’

After finishing up in the kitchen and washing her face, Juhua, as was her routine, sliced a tender cucumber. She brought it out, ready to ask Qingmu to help her apply the slices to her face.

When she got to the courtyard and saw Zhang Huai was still there, she froze—she had completely forgotten a guest was present.

Zhang Huai looked curiously at the bowl in Juhua’s hands and asked, "Why slice the cucumber so thin? Isn’t it better to just eat it whole?"

Qingmu was at a loss for words. He and Juhua just stared at each other, trying to stifle their laughter.

Juhua was usually exhausted after a long day, so she was inconsistent with her facial masks, often skipping them. But after Mrs. Yang had carefully examined her face and declared that the red scar seemed to have faded a little, she became relentless, nagging Juhua every single night to apply a cucumber and egg white mask.

Before, when there was no hope, there was nothing to be done. But now that the scabby skin had peeled away, why wouldn’t they try to get rid of the scar?

She had shed so many tears over her daughter’s face last year, just hoping that one day Juhua could stand before others with clear skin.

Although Juhua thought her mother was just seeing things—’how could the scar have faded in such a short time?’—she couldn’t bring herself to slack off when her family was taking it so seriously. So, she obediently applied the cucumber mask every night.

Now, seeing Zhang Huai’s confused expression, she thought on her feet and said, "I’m making a cold cucumber salad for you two. Would you like to try it?"

With that, she turned back to the kitchen, sliced another cucumber, smashed a clove of garlic, added some chili sauce, and tossed the cucumber slices together. She brought the dish out, then watched resignedly as it disappeared into Qingmu’s and Zhang Huai’s stomachs.

After finishing, Zhang Huai even praised it. "Not bad. This tastes just as good as a stir-fry. It’s just sliced a little too thin. If it were thicker, it would be crispier. Honestly, it’s fine to just eat it raw. Preparing it like this is a hassle."

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian.com to leave recommendation votes and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)