Chapter 211 - 155: The Journey
The straight-line distance from Xiahe City to Wenxi County was about fifteen hundred li.
From his home in Da Liushu Village, however, it was only a few hundred li.
Therefore, Fang Yue planned to depart from Da Liushu Village, which would also give him a chance to check in on things there.
These days, the entire Fang Family lived in Xiahe County Town.
Only his older brother, Fang Cheng, returned once a quarter. Father Fang used to go back often, but over the past year, he had stopped making the trip.
He was getting older, and the long journey was too grueling for the old farmer. He simply couldn’t take the strain anymore.
Walking along the familiar yet strange main road, a wave of emotion washed over Fang Yue.
He remembered his first time on this road, traveling with Fang Hu and Ergou. It had been his first time traveling far from home, and everything had seemed new and strange.
But now, the journey was completely different. The scenery along the way was stunning, alive with the songs of birds and the fragrance of flowers. Fang Yue found himself unwilling to miss a single moment of the gorgeous landscape.
He couldn’t help but marvel at the change.
In just a day, Fang Yue was back in Da Liushu Village. He inspected his family’s residence and found the servants left to watch over it were quite diligent. The entire place, inside and out, was spotless.
Fang Yue spent the night at the residence. After inspecting the Tea Garden early the next morning, he was about to leave.
But just then, he ran into one of the Fang clan elders.
After a brief chat, he learned that a young couple in the village was holding their wedding that day.
Given their enthusiastic invitation, Fang Yue had no choice but to postpone his departure for another day.
It wasn’t until the third day that Fang Yue finally set out on the road.
The straight-line distance from Da Liushu Village to Wenxi County was only six or seven hundred li—not too far.
However, Fang Yue didn’t head directly for Wenxi County. Instead, he planned to first make a trip to the nearby Chen Family Village.
When Ms. Chen learned he was planning to take this route to Wenxi County, she hadn’t said anything at the time. But Fang Yue knew she surely hoped he would go visit his uncle’s family.
Fang Yue didn’t play dumb; he had readily agreed to make the visit.
Although what his uncle’s family had done in the past was disgraceful, they had already learned their lesson. He’d heard that in recent years, their circumstances had become even more difficult than they were a few years ago.
It was no big deal to drop by, as it was on his way.
Of course, it was impossible to expect Fang Yue to change his attitude toward them.
Repaying injustice with kindness was something he just couldn’t do.
He traveled at a good pace, and the two villages were not far from each other. In just half an hour, Fang Yue could see the silhouette of a village on the horizon.
Unlike Da Liushu Village, Chen Family Village more closely resembled the other villages in the area.
Over the past two years, the standard of living in Da Liushu Village had seen a visible improvement. This was because everyone had started growing tea trees, and Fang Yue was able to sell the tea for a high price.
As a result, several neighboring villages, and even some farther away, considered it an honor to marry their daughters into Da Liushu Village.
Some families would even waive the bride price and provide a dowry, just to marry their daughters into the village.
After all, they had done the math.
Marrying a daughter off to the village meant one less mouth to feed at home, and the daughter herself would lead a comfortable life.
Besides, even without a bride price, it’s not like the son-in-law would let his wife’s family get the short end of the stick.
Every time he visited her family, he’d arrive with his arms full of gifts. If you really thought about it, they were coming out ahead.
Who wouldn’t be willing to make a deal like that?
"You’re a new face, son."
Just as he reached the entrance of Chen Family Village, he ran into an old man sunning himself.
In truth, every village had such people. Too old for farm work, they would gather at the village entrance to chat and bask in the sun, taking on the informal duty of "keeping an eye out" for strangers.
If anything seemed amiss, they would alert the other villagers. It was a form of "defense," in a way.
"Hello there, sir. I’m from next door in Da Liushu Village. I’m here looking for someone," Fang Yue replied with a smile.
"Oh, from Da Liushu Village, eh? Heh heh, you must be Fang Fu, right? Here to see Chen Shitou’s third girl, are you?"
The old man, muttering to himself, was a man of swift action. He didn’t even give Fang Yue a chance to clarify.
He immediately bellowed, "Hey, Shitou’s family! Fang Fu from the next village is here! Come on out!"
The old man had seemed drowsy and listless while basking in the sun, but his voice was unexpectedly booming. That shout was surprisingly powerful.
This left Fang Yue quite embarrassed. With a wry smile, he quickly tried to explain the situation to the old man.
But by then, a few villagers from Chen Family Village were already heading their way, obviously drawn by the old man’s shout.
"Well, well, so this is the famous Fang Fu! Chen Shitou’s family sure is lucky. The young man is so handsome!"
"I know, right! Ai, my daughter’s still too young, otherwise I’d swallow my pride and try to snatch him up before the Shitous do."
"Hehe, I think you’re the one with eyes for the young man."
Of course, the first to arrive weren’t from Chen Shitou’s household, but rather other Chen Family villagers who lived closer and had also heard the old man’s shout.
They came out and began sizing Fang Yue up and down, each of them looking like a mother-in-law inspecting a potential son-in-law.
"Whoops, my mistake, my mistake!" the old man shouted, finally understanding after Fang Yue’s frantic explanation. "He’s not here for the Shitous, he’s looking for Chen San! He’s his nephew!"
It would have been better if he’d said nothing. The moment he clarified, the small group of women who had been watching from a distance immediately swarmed forward.