Transmigrated into a fat wife, farming, raising children, and picking up husbands

"Brother Hu, you didn't see the way the yamen was acting back then. It was like they wouldn't let us leave if we didn't buy it."

Lin Xiuer's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke. In truth, the price was just too tempting, and she herself was reluctant to leave.

"You mean that garden in the west of town? The haunted garden?"

The crowd erupted in chaos.

"I heard from my mother-in-law that this happened years ago; she could hear a woman crying in the middle of the night!"

"Lady Lin, please don't do anything rash! Making money is important, but your life is even more important!"

"Heavens! Madam Lin, have you gone mad?!" An old woman carrying a basket next to her looked on incredulously.

Lin Xiuer was prepared, and after they made a few noises, she raised her hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

"Yes, that's the garden. I bought it for three taels of silver, and with the deed tax and handling fees, it only cost four taels," she said.

"I know there are all sorts of rumors about that place, but I've been there. It's just been abandoned for a long time, and it's a bit dilapidated, but there's nothing special about it."

"I just paid off the gambling den's high-interest loan yesterday, and I'm really broke right now. Otherwise, I wouldn't have tried to get a bargain by buying a haunted house."

"Aren't you scared to move in there?" the plump aunt asked, her eyes wide. "That's a haunted place! You forgot how badly those Black Fish Gang members were dealt with—some died, some went insane."

Lin Xiuer smiled and said, "What am I afraid of? We run our business honestly and have never done anything wrong. As the saying goes, 'If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.' Don't you agree, my husband?"

As she spoke, she glanced at Ping An. Ping An happened to look up, met her gaze, smiled slightly, and nodded.

Those around looked at Lin Xiuer, then at Ping An's handsome face and physique, but no one objected.

Although Lin Xiuer still retains some of her former features, she has lost a lot of weight, her features are more defined, and her eyes exude a righteous and peaceful aura. She is clearly not a villain like those in the Black Fish Gang.

She said she wasn't afraid of ghosts, which actually made her somewhat believable.

"So what are you worried about today?" the sharp-tongued woman asked, her tone tinged with curiosity. "Since you're not afraid, just move in, okay?"

"That garden is big; if you tidy it up, wouldn't it be much better than running back and forth between the village and town like you are now?"

Lin Xiuer had been waiting for them to say those words.

She sighed, a hint of helplessness in her eyes: "I want to move in, but I'm afraid... afraid that if I move in, people won't dare to buy my cakes anymore."

There was a moment of silence around them; they didn't understand what this had to do with them.

Lin Xiuer continued, "My stall relies entirely on the support of my neighbors. If I moved into that garden, they would feel it would bring bad luck and wouldn't dare to come and eat here."

"If my business goes out of business, I won't feel at ease living anywhere."

"But that garden is such a large area, and so cheap. It would be a real shame not to buy it and let it go to waste... Sigh, that's what's troubling me today."

After she finished speaking, she looked at everyone expectantly.

These words were sincere and heartwarming; it turned out they were saying this so that the people could eat the pancakes without worry.

Lin Xiuer used to be a woman addicted to gambling. She had just reformed and would not have taken the risk of buying that abandoned garden if she hadn't really been short of money to buy a shop.

The crowd was silent for a few seconds, and then—

"Hey! I thought it was something serious!" the plump auntie was the first to speak. "Mrs. Lin, you're overthinking it! Your pancakes are so delicious, what does it matter where you live whether we buy them or not?"

"Exactly!" the uncle chimed in. "We don't know if it's ghostly or not, but this pancake is really delicious! I live on this every day!"

"Who says otherwise? We're eating your bread, not your house."

The people around nodded in agreement, and the old woman carrying the basket echoed her sentiments.

"We're here for your skill! Whether you live in town or in the village, as long as the pancakes still taste the same, we'll still line up!"

"Exactly! This pancake is not only delicious, but it's also very filling. One pancake is more filling than five steamed buns. I even have more strength to carry bags at the dock than before."

"Besides, we've all seen what kind of people those Black Fish Gang members are. They bully men and women, extort protection money, what kind of bad things won't they do?"

An old man tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe. "They deserved their retribution! If you ask me, the ghosts in that garden were acting on behalf of Heaven, ridding our Peach Blossom Town of a great scourge."

"We are worried about your safety if you move in, since the garden has been abandoned for so many years, and we don't even know what the houses look like."

"Yes, yes, yes," the plump auntie chimed in.

"We've lived in Peach Blossom Town for decades, and the rumors about that garden being haunted have been around for ages. But to say that anything in there has ever harmed anyone? No, right? It's all just hearsay."

A young woman nodded: "That's right, that's right, didn't the storyteller Mr. Liu also say that?"

"Don't harbor malicious intentions. Just be a good person, and you won't need to be too afraid of those things. If you're not afraid, Madam Lin, then we're not afraid either."

As Lin Xiuer listened to these words, the weight in her heart gradually lifted.

She had initially thought that the townspeople's fear of the garden had reached an unreasonable level.

But after hearing what they said, she realized that although everyone was scared, they hadn't lost their minds yet.

What he said was more of a sense of satisfaction at the Black Fish Gang getting their just desserts than a sense of fear towards the garden.

"If you ask me, that garden has been abandoned for so many years, it's time for someone to clean it up," Old Hu said, standing next to Lin Xiuer, going along with the suggestion.

"If you move in and clean and tidy up the garden, it will come alive, and maybe people won't be so afraid to go there anymore."

"That place is close to the school, and the road is wide, making it very convenient for Xiaobao to go to school. And most importantly, it will be even more convenient for us to come to your house for meals in the future, hahaha."

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Chen Mingxuan and Wu Liangcai had arrived long ago and were standing outside the crowd listening to them talk about it.

Wu Liangcai's eyes lit up immediately when he heard about getting a free meal.

Lin Xiuer looked at them and couldn't help but laugh.

That smile completely dispelled the gloom in my heart.

She glanced back at Ping An, who was standing beside her with a slight smile on his lips.

"Okay, with everyone saying that, I feel much more at ease." Lin Xiuer turned around, her voice much more relaxed than before.

"This pancake is on me today! No, it's half price, half price! Everyone in line today gets half price!"

"Wow! Madam Lin is so generous!"

"Then I'll have to buy two more!"

"Line up, line up, don't push!"

The atmosphere in front of the cart became lively again, with laughter, shouts, and the crisp sound of shovels hitting the edge of pots blending together.

The sun was shining brightly, warming everyone's faces.