Ruling the Historical Romance Novel as the Female Supporting Character-Chapter 67: Escaping into the Village
During the journey, Su Yijia felt so uncomfortable that she shed tears multiple times. However, she managed to endure until she finally got off the minibus. Without even thinking about the person who had been tailing her, she slumped to the muddy ground and gasped for air heavily.
While on the minibus, Su Yijia noticed the presence of donkey carts and ox carts, realizing that these were the characteristic modes of transportation in this era. However, she was concerned that her sudden change of direction towards the village where the old professor resided might raise suspicions. After all, why would she endure such discomfort and still insist on heading to the professor’s village? In the end, she decided to abandon this idea.
Upon disembarking, Su Yijia found herself among several passengers, and the unfamiliar man who had been following her was still quite noticeable. The villagers in this area were known for their strong sense of community and suspicion of outsiders. Instead of asking Su Yijia, they immediately surrounded the man and began questioning him.
"Who are you? Whom are you looking for in our village?"
"Yeah! We’ve never seen you here before. Why did you come to our village?"
They bombarded the man with questions, as if they were determined to get an explanation from him.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Su Yijia discreetly got up from the ground and quickly made her way into the village. It was still early, and most of the villagers were busy working in the fields. The early rice harvest was only about ten days away, and they were all working diligently, fearing any potential problems.
Su Yijia walked cautiously along the narrow path between the fields, avoiding the risk of slipping into the muddy puddles.
With great effort, Su Yijia finally reached the inhabited area of the village, but she was immediately surrounded by three women sitting under a big tree.
"Young lady, you’re from the city, right? It’s not yet time for you city folks to come to our village for labor training. Why did you arrive early?" They gave Su Yijia an impudent look, examining her up and down as if she were a piece of pork they were trying to appraise.
Feeling a bit uncomfortable under their scrutinizing gazes, Su Yijia cleared her throat and said, "I came to ask for help from my fellow villagers. I want to exchange for an old hen to take back and nourish my husband’s health."
As soon as the three women heard that she was married, they seemed a bit unhappy but still asked curiously, "What illness does your husband have?" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"My husband is in the army and got injured a bit. He’s bedridden now, so I want to make something special for him. I believe the hens raised by our fellow villagers are the best. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any in town, so I had to come to the village and seek help from you all." Su Yijia replied politely, yet maintained some distance.
In this era, urban areas were not allowed to keep poultry, and even getting some pork was a struggle. People had to line up at the supply and marketing cooperatives early in the morning, or they would miss out. Therefore, Su Yijia’s reason seemed quite reasonable.
However, in rural areas, where people were often short on money and ration coupons, they could usually only raise one chicken per family. They relied on these chickens to lay eggs and exchange them for some extra income at the supply and marketing cooperatives. That’s why the three women looked hesitant.
"What do you want to exchange?" one of the women asked, her eyes darting around as she calculated.
"I’ll need to take a look at the old hen first before we can discuss it, right?" Su Yijia smiled even more politely.
"In that case, come with me," the woman beckoned, leading the way into one of the mud-brick houses.
"Thank you, Auntie!" Su Yijia knew very well that this woman had ulterior motives, but for now, she needed a legitimate reason to move around the village.
