Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Juhua finally spotted what she was looking for—someone selling saplings. She ran over and eagerly asked the farmer, "Uncle, what kind of saplings are these?"

The tan-faced man replied warmly, "These are all good things! This is a jujube tree. This one’s a wild peach tree—they taste amazing, or else I wouldn’t be selling them. I would’ve just pulled them up and tossed them. And this is a chestnut sapling. You’ve never seen a chestnut, have you? They’re much bigger than Chinese dwarf chestnuts, and the trees grow tall."

Juhua was delighted. Her face breaking into a smile, she squatted down to examine the saplings and asked, "Uncle, do you have an orchard? How do you have so many different kinds of trees? What village are you from?"

Liu Xiaomei and the others came over just then, all asking if the trees were the real deal. Mei said, "I recognize the peach tree, but I have no idea if wild peaches taste any good. Our village chief has a jujube tree, but I’ve never seen a chestnut tree before. Uncle, you’d better not be trying to trick us."

The man laughed. "I’m from Qingbei Village, which is right next to your Qingnan Village. If you buy these, take them home, and they don’t turn out well after they’ve grown, I’ll give you your money back. I can certainly afford to refund this small amount."

Zhang Huai and Zhou Xiaoman asked in surprise, "How did you know we were from Qingnan Village?"

The man seemed a bit awkward. He looked at Juhua with a silly grin and only spoke after a moment. "Your Qingnan Village is quite famous these days. I often go there to sell pork, acorns, wild chrysanthemums, and whatnot. I recognize a lot of faces, even if I don’t know the names."

The reason was that he had seen Juhua’s covered face. He remembered that old crone Matchmaker Wang gossiping about a "pockmarked girl" in Qingnan Village. She’d said the Zheng Family had struck it rich, and whoever married that girl would hit the jackpot. She’d even said the girl wasn’t so ugly with her face covered. That was why he guessed they were from Qingnan Village.

When Juhua heard he was from Qingbei Village, she asked if his family had a lot of fruit trees.

The man sighed. "I wish! Even if we had a lot, we wouldn’t have anywhere to plant them. We just have two of each kind. We’re a poor family and can’t afford snacks, but my wife is very thoughtful. She planted these fruit trees in front of and behind our house so the kids would have something to munch on. We also have apricot, plum, and persimmon trees, and a couple of mulberry trees. The mulberries are almost ripe. But most families have those kinds of trees, so they don’t sell. I usually just pull up any saplings and throw them out."

Juhua was ecstatic. She told him she’d buy all these saplings and asked him to bring her a few mulberry saplings from his home. If he had any more chestnut saplings, she wanted him to bring those too. "When the mulberries are ripe, come to our village and bring some to sell. I love them."

The man nodded happily. "Soon! They’ll be ready in about half a month. I’ll bring you some then. Lass, since you’re buying so many trees from me, you can rest assured Uncle won’t cheat you. If you go home and ask your pa, he might even know Liu Heizi from Qingbei Village. In any case, it’s not like I’m moving away. Once these trees grow up, you’ll know I was telling the truth. These wild peaches are even tastier than cultivated ones—perfectly sweet and tart."

Zhang Huai had already recognized the man and didn’t doubt his words. He smiled and asked, "How much are these saplings?"

The man hesitated for a moment. "Well, I’m not a professional seller. These just sprouted in my yard, and it felt like a waste to just pull them up and throw them out. Since you’re buying the whole lot... how about twenty cents for all ten trees?"

Juhua was taken aback. ’That’s incredibly cheap,’ she thought. ’It must be just like he said—they grew in his own yard and he’d just throw them away otherwise.’

She sighed to herself. ’The flow of goods is so poor around here.’ Then she said to the man, "I’ll take them all. But Uncle, if you have more next year, please pick out the sturdiest saplings, save them for me, and deliver them to Zheng Changhe’s house in Qingnan Village. I want to plant many more."

Zhang Huai nodded eagerly as well, telling the man to plant more seeds so he’d have more saplings. His family’s yard was still quite empty; he wanted to buy some too.

The man was grinning from ear to ear. He quickly assured them not to worry, that he would definitely have more next year.

And so, Zhang Huai and Zhou Xiaoman found their hands full of saplings. Liu Xiaomei and Juhua excitedly discussed their vision of a vast and beautiful orchard.

Further ahead, near the riverbank, stood two large willow trees. Their branches, sprouting new, light-green leaves, drooped like golden threads. Beneath the trees were two small tables, a few little stools, and a large, steaming barrel—it was a stall selling tofu pudding.

There was an empty plot here with no houses, where a winding stone staircase led down to the river. Women were in the water washing vegetables and clothes, their laughter and cheerful chatter filling the air. From time to-time, a small, black-canopied boat would drift by on the river. You could even see families on the opposite bank hanging laundry at their doors while elderly folk sat on chairs facing the water, chatting.

Juhua thought it was a lovely spot. You could watch the street on one side and the river on the other. She hurried over to take a seat and said to the others with a smile, "It’s not often we get to come out like this. My treat for tofu pudding! Eat as much as you want."

Zhou Xiaoman chuckled. "If anyone’s treating, it should be Huai Zi. We can’t let you pay."

Huai Zi smiled. "Me treating is the same as Juhua treating. Just enjoy yourselves." With that, he asked the woman running the stall to bring them their tofu pudding.

Liu Xiaomei grinned at Xiu. "We have to eat a lot and make Huai Zi feel the pinch. He’s earning wages at the workshop now, not like us with no income." Thinking about Juhua choosing Huai Zi, she still felt a little jealous on her brother’s behalf.

Juhua laughed. "What do you mean you have no income? You have a share in everything your family earns. You should have your dad and brother pay you wages!"

As they were talking, the woman brought over several large bowls. The whitish-yellow tofu pudding was sprinkled with chopped green onions and a small spoonful of pickled vegetables, looking incredibly appetizing. A spoonful revealed a delicate, silky texture and a fresh, clean taste that filled the mouth. As they were happily eating, a small boat drifted by on the river. A young woman in a headscarf stood at the bow and called out in a clear voice to the shore, "Huzi, you want some fish?"

A bare-chested young man with his trousers rolled up and wearing straw sandals hurried down the steps. He took two wooden buckets from the boat, paid for them, and carried them ashore. He poured their contents into his own wooden fish-selling tub before handing the empty buckets back.

Zhou Xiaoman remarked, "That’s a convenient way to sell fish. They don’t even have to come ashore."