Transmigrated as a Peasant Girl with Prophetic Dreams: Using My Space to Become the Richest Person - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: If There’s No Grain, Go Borrow Some

When Yang Shuang returned to the small cave, Yang the Third and Qian Yue’e were indeed absent; they had gone to cut trees. They couldn’t keep cooking inside the cave forever, so they planned to set up a simple kitchen area just outside the entrance.

When Yang Shuang entered the cave, Yang Xue was also away somewhere. Only Yang Yu and Yang Tian were inside, busy clearing pebbles out of the cave to level the ground so they could sleep more comfortably at night.

The moment Yang Shuang arrived, they noticed the dark look on her face and asked concernedly, “Big Sister, what’s wrong? Why are you angry?”

“Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle have come up the mountain.”

Yang Yu and Yang Tian immediately became alert. “What are they doing here?”

“Grandpa sent them to demand grain from Mom and Dad.”

The two younger siblings reflexively looked toward the corner where their remaining half-bag of grain was hidden. “How do they know we have grain? Do they know the Second Sister stole the grain from the house?”

Yang Shuang shook her head. “No. They want Mom and Dad to go to the Village Head to borrow grain for them. That way, our family will be the ones responsible for paying it back later.”

Yang Yu and Yang Tian were furious. “How despicable! We’ve already split from the family. Why should we borrow grain for them?”

“Can’t they go borrow it themselves?”

Yang Shuang sneered. “Obviously because they have no intention of paying it back.”

The siblings fumed. “How can they be like this? Later on, they’ll have fields to grow crops and repay others. We don’t have any farmland; where are we supposed to get grain to pay people back?”

The single acre of land their family had been allotted was completely unsuitable for growing crops.

Just then, Yang Xue returned and saw the angry expressions on Yang Yu and Yang Tian’s faces, while Yang Shuang looked solemn.

“What’s going on? I was only gone for a bit. Did something big happen?”

Seeing Yang Xue, Yang Yu pouted and quickly explained the situation.

After listening, Yang Xue gave a cold laugh. “That Old Man Yang… his calculations are certainly clever.”

“Second Sister, what do we do?” Yang Yu and Yang Tian instinctively looked to Yang Xue for a solution.

Yang Xue shrugged and said nonchalantly, “If they want us to borrow grain, we’ll just go borrow it.”

Hearing this, the two younger siblings’ faces crumpled in dissatisfaction. “Why? Second Sister, we aren’t going!”

Yang Shuang also looked at Yang Xue disapprovingly. “Xue’er, we shouldn’t borrow that grain. They have hands and feet; if they want to eat, they can borrow it themselves.”

Yang Xue smiled and quickly comforted them. “Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. I said we’d go ‘help’ them borrow it, but I never said we’d borrow it in our name.”

The others didn’t understand what she meant, so Yang Xue explained further: “When the time comes, Dad can go borrow the grain, but we’ll write their names directly on the promissory note. That’ll stop them from pestering us constantly.”

Yang Shuang hesitated. “But… These notes require thumbprints, and Dad doesn’t know how to write.”

Yang Xue: …I miscalculated.

Feeling a bit awkward, Yang Xue let out a dry laugh. “Well, don’t worry. I’ll go back to the village with Dad in a while. I won’t let our family get the short end of the stick.”

“Second Sister, have you thought of another way?”

Yang Xue hadn’t actually thought of one yet, but to put them at ease, she nodded. “Mhm, I have a way to deal with them. You guys don’t need to worry about this.”

While Yang Yu and Yang Tian relaxed, Yang Shuang remained worried. At that moment, the voices of Yang the Eldest and Yang the Second echoed from outside the cave.

Yang Xue quickly signaled the younger two to hide their grain. They moved fast, covering the bag with dry straw just in case the uncles burst in.

Yang Xue and Yang Shuang exchanged a glance and stepped out of the cave.

“Oh, it’s the Xue girl. Looks like your health has recovered.”

“Why are Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle here? Shouldn’t you be at home clearing things up or repairing the house?”

Hearing her mention the house, the two men felt a pang of bitterness as they thought of their flood-damaged, teetering home.

Yang the Eldest gave a fake smile. “The house can wait. We’ve come on an important matter to see your parents. Where are they?”

“They aren’t here.”

The two men peered into the cave. Seeing that their brother and sister-in-law really weren’t there, they smiled again. “Then where did they go? Go call them back, quickly.”

Yang Xue: “I don’t know.”

Yang the Eldest suppressed his temper. “Then when will they be back?”

Yang Xue: “I don’t know.”

Finally losing his patience, Yang the Eldest raised his voice. “Then what do you know?”

Yang Xue replied, “I know you’re here to ask for grain. But we have none. We’ve mostly been eating wild vegetables these past few days. We still have a few left; do you want to take some back with you?”

Yang the Eldest snapped, “If you don’t have grain, tell your parents to go borrow some!”

Yang Xue looked at his feet and asked with a smile, “Eldest Uncle, is your leg broken? Or are your hands paralyzed?”

Not understanding why she was asking, he grumbled, “My hands and feet are perfectly fine. Why are you asking?”

Yang Xue laughed. “Oh, so you do have hands and feet. Yet you want my father to borrow grain for you? I thought you were a cripple.”

Yang the Second couldn’t help but let out a snicker. After a fierce glare from Yang the Eldest, he quickly wiped the smile off his face and feigned a reprimand: “Xue girl, how can you speak to your Eldest Uncle like that? It’s disrespectful.”

Yang Xue looked at him with a half-smile. “Same goes for you, Second Uncle.”

Yang the Second choked. “You girl… your tongue is far too sharp.”

“Only if you’re actually human.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Yang the Eldest swung his palm down toward her.

Yang Shuang’s eyes widened in horror. “Xue’er, look out!”

Unfazed, Yang Xue’s eyes narrowed dangerously. She reached up, gripped Yang the Eldest’s wrist firmly, and gave him a powerful shove. He tumbled backward immediately.

Yang the Second was stunned, pointing at her with a trembling finger. “You… you you you…”

Yang Xue bared her teeth in a grin. “Second Uncle, do you want to hit me too?”

Yang the Second was in shock. When did Yang Xue get so strong that she could push down a man of his size so easily? Moreover, she had become far too “crazy”—she actually dared to lay hands on her elders without a second thought.

Yang the Eldest, who had only had a bit of vegetable soup and was already weak and dizzy, was sent sprawling by the push. He hit the ground spread-eagled, nearly blacking out from the impact.