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  • The Landowner And His Wife

    Chapter 151: Shameless

    Disclaimer: 

    1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests. 

    2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author. 

    3. No permission has been granted to use, publish, upload and/or copy this translation to any other site except for Second Life Translations.


    When everyone returned to the Shao residence, Shao Gui was anxiously waiting for them. It was only when she saw everyone safely returned that she could relax. Shao Rong told her sister to quickly boil some water. Then she ran off to her brother’s closet and chose a clean, fairly new outfit  for Liu Shu to change into. 

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    Shao Huai had gone to his own room to change, so Shao Rong could only bring Liu Shu to her and her sister’s room. She placed the clothes on the side of the kang and said, “Wait a moment. I will check and see if the water has boiled. You can clean up before changing.”

    Liu Shu nodded. He was usually very attentive, so he could immediately hear that Shao Rong had started to treat him more formally. It was obvious that the situation earlier had caused her to try and put some distance between them. Before, he was just one of the owners of a small store, but now, she had realised that he was actually from such a wealthy household. He not only had a workshop, he was also going to be related to a restaurant owner’s family by marriage. 

    Liu Shu saw that Shao Rong hadn’t dared to look at him the entire time she was in the room. Her head was lowered, and she was biting her lip. The instant she finished, she turned and wanted to leave, so Liu Shu quickly smiled and said, “Shao Rong mei, can you please… Could you please call me Liu Shu ge? We are also villagers, just like you. Please don’t treat me so formally – I am not comfortable with that.”

    The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

    Fbys Ssdt bye clld qllzkdt yojoyae qsa y obkzl dso. Tlyakdt bkp osaep, pbl zsolale bla blye kd vbswtbv. Mbld pbl zssjle wr yv bkx yde pyke, “Nkw Fbw tl, tltl yde R bye dlhla vbswtbv… Rd ydu nypl, ol alyzzu dlle vs vbydj csvb usw yde Dw’la vseyu. El… alyzzu esd’v jdso bso vs vbydj usw.”

    “Nssj yv usw. R fwpv pyke vbyv usw esd’v byhl vs cl ps qsaxyz okvb xl, ps obu yal usw pvkzz pyukdt yzz vbkp?” Nkw Fbw pxkzle yde pyke, “Zsw alyzzu esd’v byhl vs es vbkp – valyv xl vbl pyxl oyu yp clqsal.”

    Rv oyp sdzu vbld vbyv Fbys Ssdt pxkzle, dseele bla blye yde zlqv vbl assx. Rd y obkzl, pbl alvwadle okvb psxl oyvla qsa Nkw Fbw, clqsal nzspkdt vbl essa clbkde bla.&dcpr;

    Nkw Fbw oyp yzps qllzkdt y ckv twkzvu ycswv wpkdt vbl tkaz’p cleassx vs oypb wr. Tl vssj sqq bkp xweeu nzsvblp yde oypble bkp qynl yde yaxp. Mbld bl aszzle bkp rydv zltp wr yde oypble bkp qllv clqsal wdaszzkdt vblx cynj yde rwvvkdt sd Fbys Twyk’p nzsvblp.&dcpr;

    Fbys Twyk oyp y zkvvzl ckv pbsavla vbyd Nkw Fbw. Tl nswze pvkzz qkv kdvs vbl swvqkv, kv oyp fwpv vbyv vbl pzllhlp olal y zkvvzl pbsav. Mbydjqwzzu, kv oyp y nzspl qkvvkdt swvqkv. Nkw Fbw fwpv aszzle vbl pzllhlp yzz vbl oyu wr, yde nyaakle vbl oyvla swv.&dcpr;

    Fbys Ssdt oyp oykvkdt yv vbl essa. Fllkdt bkx cakdt vbl oyvla swv, pbl bwaakle shla vs vyjl kv qasx bkx. Nkw Fbw pxkzle yde pyke, “Nlv xl rswa kv swv. R’hl pyke kv clqsal – vblal’p ds dlle vs cl ps qsaxyz okvb xl.” Mbld bl rswale vbl oyvla yv vbl cypl sq y zyatl vall kd vbl nswavuyae yde alvwadle vbl cypkd cynj vs bla.&dcpr;

    Nkw Dw’la oyp pvydekdt kd vbl nswavuyae, oykvkdt qsa vblx. Jsvb sq vbl assxp bye rlsrzl nbydtkdt vblka swvqkvp, ps pbl nswze sdzu oykv swvpkel. Fbys Qwk caswtbv y vyzz pvssz kdvs vbl nswavuyae yde kdhkvle bla vs byhl y plyv. Mbld pbl ypjle obyv bye byrrldle.&dcpr;

    Nkw Dw’la tyhl bla y hlau iwknj lmrzydyvksd. Fbl oyp fwpv pbyakdt obyv bye byrrldle obld Fbys Twyk lxlatle. Tl vsze Fbys Qwk vs iwknjzu vkeu bkp assx, ps vbyv vbl twlpvp nswze ts kd. Nkw Dw’la oyhle bla yaxp, “Ls dlle. Rv’p pwnb y bsv eyu, kv’p clvvla vs pvyu swv blal oblal vblal kp psxl callgl.”

    Shao Huai then quickly went to grab a table, and told Shao Gui to carry some water out for her. 

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    Liu Xu’er saw that Liu Shu had come over. Right at that moment, Shao Rong had also gone to return the basin to the kitchen, so they were all alone. She whispered, “Dage, should we ask about what happened between their family and the Village Head? It is their personal matters…. Would it be appropriate for us to ask?” Everyone had their dirty laundry; they might not want to share what had happened. 

    Liu Shu also sat down and said, “The problem is that we can’t not ask now right? It’s clearly something they cannot resolve on their own. Their Village Head is such a bully….”

    Just as that sentence was said, Shao Huai came out with a table and placed it in front of them. He still wanted to hurry off and do some more, but Liu Shu caught hold of him. “It’s alright, just have a seat…. Today’s matter – if you trust us, we will do our best to help. What do you think?”

    Shao Huai stood still. He bowed his head for a long time before finally looking up and saying, “You’ve already helped us a lot today, otherwise, we would have to go to the government office….” He took a seat and sighed, “I knew that today would come, but just kept thinking that being able to use the pond for another day was another day…”

    Shao Gui brought some water out and sat at the opposite side, but Shao Rong was still missing. Shao Huai turned to look around but didn’t see her. It was only then that he told Liu Shu and Liu Xu’er, “My family and the Village Head…. There was really no other way. The Village Head knows that I only have this small ability. Even if he ruins all my flowers, I have no other route.”

    Liu Shu then said, “What happened between your family and the Village Head? Are you willing to share that with us….”

    Shao Huai said, “What’s not to share? You’ve helped us so much today….” Then he turned and looked at Shao Gui. Shao Gui also stood up and muttered a sentence, “I…. Will go and make the meal.” Then she left. 

    Liu Shu was a bit puzzled, but Liu Xu’er started to have an inkling of what happened. 

    When Shao Huai saw that both of his sisters were not around, he finally said, “Our Village Head is a beast! When I went to ask him for the pond the year before, I honestly didn’t think it would work. He definitely wouldn’t agree. Surprisingly, he was only too happy to bend over backwards for me. He told me to just use it; he even said that my family is now having some difficulty, and this was a small thing to help with…. At the time, I found it strange.”

    Then he stopped and sighed, “At that time, I was just completely focussed on growing my flowers, so I didn’t think too much about it and just went ahead. Last year, the Village Head didn’t say anything at all to me about it – he didn’t mention rent and even asked about how the flowers were growing. Again I didn’t think too much about it. Then around the New Year, his son came to my home. That was when I understood why he was so accommodating.”

    “Why?” Liu Shu couldn’t resist asking. 

    Shao Huai angrily replied, “His youngest son fancied my sister Shao Rong….” When he said that, his fury was palpable. Face red, he said, “His youngest son is already 25! His wife only just died last year, she bore him two children… At the time, I didn’t really think about it. I assumed it was because his wife had died that he thought of this, but I still wasn’t willing to consider it! Shao Rong is only 15! I just refused bluntly. The Village Head’s son told me to think about it carefully – I still needed to stay in the village in the future! Etc, etc. I ignored him….”

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    Because of his anger, some of what he said was disjointed. Liu Shu and Liu Xu’er were both attentive people, so they didn’t interrupt him. They waited for him to finish.

    “Who knew that after that, I heard one of the elders in the village say that the Village Head’s family already had this in mind when they first let me use the pond! At the time, his son’s wife was badly sick, but she wasn’t dead! Yet his youngest son still started to look around for suitable women in the village, and took a fancy to Shao Rong…. I was enraged…”

    Liu Shu and Liu Xu’er gave each other shocked looks. Liu Xu’er thought that at the time, Shao Rong was only 12, while the man in question was…. What a f*cking monster. Wasn’t he just a pedophile!

    Liu Shu was also thinking. Actually Shao Rong was rather pretty. She was fairer than her sister and had a good figure. Otherwise, even if the Village Head’s son were to choose someone from the Shao family, it would still be more appropriate to choose someone Shao Gui’s age….. But this person was just a beast!

    Both siblings were mentally scolding this shameless person. Both of them understood – no wonder Shao Rong had hidden away. 

    “Because of this, the Village Head has given me no end of trouble this year. I kept tolerating it, and decided that in the winter, I will tidy up the pond and return it to him. I won’t use it in future.”

    Liu Shu however, thought of another matter, “What about the piece of land at the hill? It’s also not yours right? It was actually unclaimed, uncultivated land?”

    Shao Huai’s face paled at the reminder. He nodded and said, “It’s unclaimed land. After I started to plow it, I planned to go and register it with the Village Head, it was just…. I didn’t have enough money. I planned to save up first before doing that.” He started to fret and stood up. “What should I do? If he refuses to give the land to me….”

    Liu Xu’er coldly smiled, “Not giving the land to you is the least of your worries. If he really wanted to, he could do what he did with the pond and give it to someone else! Or even worse, he might decide to steal your idea of growing flowers and take over the land for himself without telling you. Then he would outrightly own that entire plot with the flowers, and you would have no say!”

    When Liu Xu’er said that, Shao Huai completely panicked and started to pace around, “I need to think of a plan… but what can I do!”

    Liu Shu then said, “First, don’t panic. Even if he wanted to do that, he wouldn’t dare to make a move immediately. Right now, he’s probably trying to figure out a way to deal with the pond….” Then he paused and looked at Shao Huai. “Shao Huai, about the pond – if you really were to try and fight, you are probably not completely in the right. Because that pond was also not yours – you were using it for free.”

    Shao Huai nodded his head, “I know that, but they…. They shouldn’t have just destroyed all my flowers. If they told me, I would have cleared it out for them!”

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    Liu Shu told him to sit down. He was getting dizzy watching him spin around the room. “That’s right, he should have told you. But, if you were to place yourself in Manager Wei’s shoes, he had given the Village Head rent, and told him that he wanted the pond. Planting in the pond was never your right. It would have been the decent thing for him to tell you their plans and allow you to clear them out, but it was not something he was obliged to do…. Or should I say, he never considered the villagers at all, and didn’t care how you scolded him…. You can only say that he’s not a good person, but you can’t accuse him of breaking the law…. In the eyes of the law, you probably are the one in the wrong. The law would probably stand on his side!”

    When he was speaking, Shao Rong and Shao Gui had come over. The two of them had seen that the sensitive topic had already been covered, and they didn’t need to absent themselves discreetly any longer. Both sisters were also worried about today’s matter, so they wanted to listen to the discussion. 

    When she heard Liu Shu’s words, Shao Rong nodded. Shao Huai paused for a moment and said, “Then I will go to the Village Head! This matter is really the Village Head’s fault. He said I could use the pond…. That pond is not solely his! How dare he secretly accept Manager Wei’s money? He’s treating the pond as his own property. Not only did he profit from it, he even used it to get revenge!”

    Liu Shu waved his hands, “That’s even worse…. Today, did Manager Wei mention paying rent? It’s clear that he knows that the pond doesn’t belong to the Village Head, and yet the Village Head was still able to profit off it and take his revenge. Manager Wei would never say anything to the officials – why should he help you? Let alone the Village Head – he would most definitely not say anything that would get himself into trouble! And although it isn’t the Village Head’s property, it’s also not yours. So what leg do you have to stand on?”

    Xu’er nodded, “That’s right. Furthermore, the pond can be considered village property. The Village Head could demand that you pay him rent for the three years before that and divide up the proceeds amongst the villagers. Think – doesn’t that sound reasonable? In fact, the villagers might stand on his side in that! Then not only would you be unable to get him to compensate you for your flowers, you might have to give him money!”

    Liu Xu’er’s words rattled Shao Huai. Panicked, angry and helpless, he sat down. In a choked voice, he said, “I am really useless….”

    Shao Gui lowered her head and wiped her eyes. Only Shao Rong still held out, biting firmly down on her lip. 

    Liu Shu and Liu Xu’er were both very good-hearted people. Seeing the family in such distress, they started to consider the ways they could help. 


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    pawdles [Translator]

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