Stepmother

Farmer Hu

According to the village talk, this summer was one of the hottest summers so far. People were coming down with heatstroke, and some were even dying, so he was scared for him and the kids. He wanted to buy ice, but if he were to do that then he would just go broke. So today he went out to buy some fruits and also ingredients to make cheng tng. Though they were expensive they were worth it.

After he finished buying the needed ingredients, he went to find farmer Hu. Farmer Hu was from Shaojia village which was not that far from his own village. What separates Farmer Hu from the other villages is that he is a young single man who succeeded in having a steady income at such an age. 

While other farmers were busy planting rice, he dedicated his time to growing food such as chili, potatoes, green onions, carrots, and more. He grew them on a large scale while his grains were grown on a small scale. People mocked him, calling him stupid, but he was now a provider for three restaurants in town and his vegetables were well known for being fresh and savory. 

He had asked Madam Li, and she recommended Farmer Hu and personally testified for the freshness of his veggies since she gets them from him too. So he had decided to strike a deal with for the chilies. He was planning to introduce a new product to his shop which was chilli oil, so he would need a decent amount of chilli. 

Shajia village wasn't that far from the village so he arrived in less than thirty minutes. The village was surprised to see such a pretty ger and was even more surprised when he asked for farmer Hu. Who didn't know farmer Hu was the golden bachelor in their village? Not only was he good-looking, he made a very decent amount of money, plus there were no in-laws to serve. The girls and ger of Shaojia went crazy and would send their parents or matchmakers to ask for marriage but they were all rejected. Even neighboring villages came to ask for marriages but they were also rejected. Even the girls and ger from town were rejected.

Only one girl who was bold enough to chase Farmer Hu shamelessly, and even came to his house almost every day but all the village knew that she was always ruthlessly rejected. But now another ger came, and he was so pretty too. The young men in the village couldn't help but envy farmer Hu. Especially the village head's son.

"Are you here to ask Hu Ping for marriage too?" The village's head's son said sourly as he looked at the pretty ger who was asking where farmer Hu lived.

"No of course not! I am married with kids," Sun Baohai hurriedly denied. In this era reputation was very important, he had business in town he couldn't risk anything.

"Married with kids? Really?" A nosy auntie asked. Such a young ger really was married with kids, or was this just said so he could shake off suspicions?

"Yes, I am married to Zhang Jinhai from Linjia village," Sun Baohai clarified. The look of some of the villagers around change. The villages weren't too far from each other, so they knew who Jinhai was. When Old Lady Zhang personally ruined her two stepchildren, the scandal made a lot of noise. Not only because what she did was basically palace-level scheming but also because Zhang Jinhai's mom was known for her kindness, and was very well known in other villages as well, so the matter was publicized even more. So hearing the ger in from of them mention the name surprised them a little bit.

"And you have kids?" The Auntie couldn't help but ask once again.

"Four to be exact," Sun Baohai beamed, shutting the auntie up.

"Well, I can take you to Farmer Hu's house," A middle-aged man said.

"I would appreciate that very much uncle," Sun Baohai answered politely. Before following the uncle.

When he arrived, he saw a decent-sized house in the midst of acres of land, most of them with growing vegetables. As he walked in the door he heard a high-pitched laughter. He looked at the uncle who brought him here and saw the uncomfortable look on his face.

"Ping'er! Somebody's here for you!" The uncle shouted out familiarly.

"Coming Uncle Shen!" A mellow voice answered from the inside. A few moments later a tall and good-looking young man walked out of the gate. Sun Baohai had to admit that this man was very good-looking, when the other women described him as decent it was really a downplay of his looks. If he was in modern times, he could be a top star. 

Farmer Hu was also surprised by the pretty ger that stood in from of him. Though it couldn't be considered a calamitous beauty it was still a pretty rare beauty. And his looks could rival some of the young gers in the capital.

"Hello, Farmer Hu," Sun Baohai greeted politely.

"How can I help you?" Farmer Hu asked, his tone also polite.

"I'm here to make a deal," Sun Baohai said straightforwardly.

"Please come in, and thank you Uncle Shen for guiding him here," Farmer Hu said before taking Sun Baohai into his yard. When Sun Baohai got there he saw a young pretty girl sitting on a chair while eating.

"Move," Farner Hu told the girl impolitely, from his tone one could see that he was not very fond of this girl.

"Hu Ping!" The girl stood up in anger, as she sized Sun Baohai down.

"Seat down, I'll go get you some tea," Hu Ping said to Sun Baohai completely ignoring the girl who was on the verge of tears.

"Who are you?" The girl asked Sun Baohai hastily as soon as Farmer Hu was out of sight.

"Does it concern you?" Sun Baohai asked.

"You're here to ask him to marry you right? Well, give up, or else it won't end well for you!" The girl threatened.

"Ma'am I am married with kids, please watch your mouth," Sun Baohai warned. He was surprised that such a young girl was this obsessed with someone. From what he could see, she was the one it wouldn't end well for. His sentence was effective in shutting the girl up but she still stayed in the yard, it wasn't until Farmer Hu threatened to go to the Yamen that she left.

"Sorry about the scene. What kind of deal did you want?" Farmer Hu asked.

"I heard you plant chilies, but barely sell them, I am here to talk about buying them," Sun Baohai said. Farmer Hu was of course a little surprised by this offer. Chilli was used here in the empire but because the empire was situated in the south it was hotter here than the rest of kingdoms, so chili was less popular, especially in this heat. Chilli was more popular in the cold North.

"How much?" Farmer Hu asked.

"Thirty Jin every three months. As for the price, I'll pay you one hundred wen for it," Sun Baohai stated.

"Sure, do you want to start this month?" Farmer Hu readily agreed. For chilies this was already an above-average price so who was he to reject it?

"Yes," Sun Baohai responded a little absentmindedly he didn't expect for this to go so well.

"Then I will deliver it to your house tomorrow, please leave your address," Farmer Hu said before giving him a piece of paper, on which he wrote down his address.

"Nice cooperation," Sun Baohai said, extending his hand.

"Nice cooperation," Farmer Hu echoed before firmly shaking the hands of Sun Baohai.