She Only Cares About Cultivation

Originally, she planned to give them some time to think, but as soon as she turned around, the two shivering sisters looked up at her with determined eyes.

"All these years at home, we’ve worked like oxen and horses, we’ve paid our dues. If there was any hope of survival, we wouldn’t be at this point. Now Sister An saved us, if we seek death again, we’d be worthless. Honestly, we envy you, living your own life behind closed doors, not caring about others’ sneers, so nice. We want to live that way too. Sister An, we beg you, give us a way out. Rest assured, we’ll do whatever you ask of us. We have strength, we can work, we can support ourselves."

"Now it’s a new society, don’t talk about being oxen and horses. You are still young, there’s plenty of life ahead. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet men who don’t despise you, no one can say for sure, so don’t be too harsh on yourselves. However, severing ties with family and opening an independent account is indeed necessary, but I am ultimately an outsider and it’s inappropriate for me to directly participate, especially since my reputation is not good. Here’s what I’ll do, I’ll point out a path for you to explore. If you can make it, great. If you manage to break out, then you’ll really be independent; if negotiations fall through, you can continue being oxen and horses, or jump into the river, that’s beyond my concern."

Having said this, Yishui told them what to do next, and the two suddenly felt enlightened.

Yishui looked at them: "Your family can push you to this point; honestly, without seeing it, I know what they’re like. Remember, you must sever ties because if this relationship isn’t cut, you’ll face many troubles in the future; even if you move out, you’ll still be used. Your hard-earned grain may have to be given back; you must stand up for yourselves. If you live cowardly like before, don’t come to me, I don’t take in failures!"

Yishui explained nearly all associated consequences to them, and then sent them off to find the village chief. Although it wasn’t particularly cold at that moment, they showed up at the village chief’s house, soaked and with water plants in their hair, which was bound to shock him.

She couldn’t care less about what would happen there that night, and went home, shut the door, washed up, and slept soundly, ears closed to any outside noise.

The following morning, she got up at five o’clock to go for a run. Just as she opened the door, she saw Qiuxia and Caihua sitting on her doorstep with small bundles on their backs. When she opened the door, both fell backward, clearly so exhausted they’d not heard her footsteps.

She looked at them in surprise: "This is...? Solved?"

Both lowered their heads: "We’re going to talk today. We fought through half the night yesterday, got chased out by the family, have no place to go, so we had to..."

Yishui frowned: "Why didn’t you call me to get up? How many mosquitoes were there at night? You’re too polite! You didn’t even change your wet clothes? Aren’t you afraid of catching cold?"

This sudden concern made the sisters’ eyes red simultaneously, and Yishui sighed: "Come inside, look at how you’ve been tormented."

What more could she say? From ancient times to now, a woman’s reputation once ruined, basically ruins half her life. Including her, even without factual evidence, she could be branded anyway. If she had nothing, if she weren’t here by chance, she’d face the same tragic fate, no need to even consider it.

Considering they probably hadn’t eaten anything all night, she made two poached eggs each for them, and steamed a pot of potatoes and sweet potatoes.

"Eat to your fill, eat as much as you like. You need energy for confronting them, follow what I taught you, make everything clear, find the village chief to uphold justice, write documents to separate households, and let the village chief help settle you, there are several empty houses in the village, they’re uninhabited households, pick one and see if the village chief gives it to you. If he does, great. If not, ask for the price. Whatever money is needed, I’ll front it first, and later when you have money, you can pay me back. Just get that household settled first."

"But...the village chief, will he really listen to us? Will he care about us as two women?"

"You haven’t married, you’re still people of this village, just pulling out the household to be heads on your own. If he doesn’t help, you can go to the county to file complaints, say life isn’t manageable, everyone looks down on you, howl as miserable as possible. Watch the village chief’s reactions then; if he frowns, don’t be impatient, soften your tone, explain your situation, express you can’t get married later, pulling out the household isn’t to cause trouble, just means well for survival, won’t cause trouble for the village."

"Actually, a document was issued in spring this year, that the government wants to initiate the development of rural cooperatives. So what do you think the earlier campaigns to fight landlords and land reform were for? Wasn’t it paving the way for this document? Though our village hasn’t had landlords, surrounding villages have. The abolition of feudal exploitation has started, soon it’ll be land distribution by population."

"I learned about this long before coming to your village, that’s why my land is directly assigned to me. The reforms haven’t started because regions vary; policy times differ. The distribution is expected to finish by year-end, so you two need to hurry, seize this opportunity, bring out your household accounts independently, then you’ll have your land, cut the ties, and you won’t worry about food and clothing."

"But remember, don’t share this outside, keep it in your mind. Be resolute, definitely get the household sorted out, the sooner the better."

Yishui thought for a moment, took two bottles of alcohol and two packs of cigarettes from her room, and handed them to the two.

"Take these to find the village chief, he’ll definitely help."

Li Qiuxia and Liu Caixia looked at what Yishui brought, moved to tears, promised to remember this kindness, and vowed to repay it someday. Yishui nonchalantly waved them off: "Go early, so nobody sees, remember to hide your bundles."

After sending them off, she sighed, untied Nut’s leash, and led him to start her morning run. No matter what happened, she couldn’t let it delay her exercise.