Li Daniu was probably worried they might change their minds. That evening, she came knocking on their door.
She brought along her family's land deeds. Qin Ke glanced at the characters on them—he could recognize maybe seventy or eighty percent at best. Who would've thought that after studying for twenty years, he'd become semi-illiterate again overnight? After a quick look, he handed the documents to Lu Youqing.
Lu Youqing read through them word by word. After confirming there were no issues, she nodded to Qin Ke.
Watching Lu Youqing sit back down at the table to draft the contract, Li Daniu blinked and exclaimed sincerely, "I didn't expect Lady Lu to know how to write. Your handwriting is really beautiful."
She was illiterate herself and had always admired educated people. Though she couldn't actually tell what was written or how well it was written, Lu Youqing's smooth movements and refined bearing alone inspired genuine admiration.
The contract was prepared in duplicate. Knowing that Li Daniu couldn't read, Lu Youqing deliberately read it aloud to her: "…If there are no issues, please sign and affix your fingerprint here."
Qin Ke picked up the brush. He had taken calligraphy classes back in middle school, but only learned the bare basics. At this point, all he remembered was how to hold the brush properly.
Lu Youqing raised an eyebrow slightly when she saw his posture.
As for the characters he wrote—well, they were far from presentable. Looking at the scrawl that resembled something a dog had clawed out, Qin Ke laughed awkwardly and then pressed his fingerprint below it.
Li Daniu, unable to write, simply left her fingerprint as well.
Qin Ke took one copy of the contract, blew gently on the ink to dry it, then handed it to her along with ten taels of silver. He added, "If you're free tomorrow, come help out in the morning. Otherwise, we'll miss the spring planting."
"Alright."
Qin Ke then took Li Daniu along to plant watermelons on the remaining four mu of his land. Although Li Daniu didn't know what he was planting—she had seen all common crop seeds before, but never this—she asked no questions. She simply did whatever Qin Ke told her to do, which pleased him greatly.
He also discovered, to his surprise, that not only was she unusually tall, she was also incredibly strong—no weaker than most men.
What had started as a simple act of kindness turned out to be an unexpected windfall. When Qin Ke mentioned hiring Li Daniu to help in the fields, Lu Youqing voiced no objections.
Later that evening, however, Lu Youqing suddenly said, "You can observe her during the spring planting. If she performs well, you could consider hiring her long-term."
Her thoughts aligned perfectly with Qin Ke's. The fields wouldn't be idle after spring planting—during dry periods they'd need irrigation, and regular inspections and weeding would still be required.
Seeing Qin Ke buy so much land—especially to grow fruits that had never existed in the Great Yan Dynasty—Lu Youqing knew he had no intention of remaining a simple farmer forever. Since that was the case, it would be wise to cultivate trustworthy help from now on.
With ten more mu to clear and time running tight, Qin Ke had Li Daniu rent an ox from the village head's household for a few days to plow the land.
The ox yoke—a curved wooden frame placed around the ox's neck—was primitive, but better than nothing. With its help, Qin Ke saved himself a great deal of labor.
While Qin Ke and Li Daniu were hard at work with the spring planting, they had no idea that rumors were already spreading through the village.
"I think there's definitely something going on between them. I heard Qin Ke bought those unwanted plots from the Li family. Why would he buy that land if there wasn't something between them?"
"And lately Li Daniu's been going to Qin Ke's place every day to help farm. Who would've thought—when Qin Ke's useless, he's really useless, but when he's capable, he grabs two at once. It's just his taste…"
The speaker trailed off, but everyone knew exactly what she meant, and the group burst into laughter.
Standing quietly behind them was Lu Youqing. Her expression was cool and unreadable, but her fingers clenched tightly around the edge of the wooden basin she was holding. The pressure caused a faint flush to bloom against her pale skin.
It wasn't until a woman in her twenties, dressed like a married villager, turned sideways to grab some clothes that she noticed Lu Youqing standing there—and froze in embarrassment.
"L-Lady Lu…"
In an instant, the chatter and laughter vanished, replaced by a heavy, suffocating silence. Shock and panic spread across their faces—especially those who had been speaking most animatedly.
There was nothing more awkward than being caught red-handed gossiping about someone.
Lu Youqing glanced at them coldly, her gaze devoid of emotion—no hurt, no anger. Without a word, she moved to a spot farther away and resumed her task.
Ever since deciding to abandon the veil, Lu Youqing no longer resisted going out. When Qin Ke wasn't busy, he usually washed his own clothes, but lately he'd been leaving early and returning late, so she took the initiative to handle the laundry.
She generally avoided interacting with villagers and usually chose different times from others. Today, however, she had lost track of time while copying texts—and ended up overhearing those words.
The villagers, who had initially felt guilty, now found Lu Youqing's aloof demeanor irritating, interpreting it as disdain. Someone coughed and rolled her eyes at her, deliberately raising her voice. "Some people really don't know what they're acting so proud about. A disfigured woman who was bought—who knows how many men have touched her."
"Exactly. She was probably from that kind of place."
They didn't even notice the faint trace of jealousy laced into their words.
Though Qin Ke's household rarely interacted with others, anyone paying attention would notice that Lu Youqing never worked in the fields. She stayed home doing household chores.
Especially during spring planting and autumn harvest, everyone in the village worked the fields. Why should a bought, disfigured woman get to live so leisurely? And the clothes she wore weren't rough hemp garments worn by ordinary villagers, but silk fabrics typically worn by townspeople—smooth, dense, and crisp to the touch.
Lu Youqing stood up and said coldly, "First, where I come from and what kind of person I am has nothing to do with you. Second, Li Daniu works in our fields because my husband hired her. The benevolent see benevolence, the wise see wisdom—but those with filthy hearts see filth everywhere."
With that, she ignored their darkened expressions, picked up the laundry, and walked to a spot even farther away.
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Currently at chapter 118 for advance chapters
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