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

"Madam Lin, what did you say that garden cost?"

The old lady with the basket hadn't left after buying the pancakes; she was still gossiping nearby.

"Three taels, plus the deed tax and such, a total of four taels."

Lin Xiuer's hands moved with their usual efficiency, brushing on sauce, flipping meat, and rolling pancakes all in one smooth motion.

While making pancakes, he also had the leisure to answer the old lady's questions.

The neighbors' words calmed Lin Xiuer down considerably.

Since no one is bothered by her moving in, what is there to hesitate about?

After selling the last pancake, she packed up her stall and said to Ping An, "Husband, since it's still early, why don't we go take a look at that garden?"

"I used to go there at night, and it was pitch black, so I couldn't see how badly it was broken inside."

Ping An nodded and helped her put her things away.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mingxuan, who was chatting with Lao Hu nearby, immediately brightened up: "Looking at the garden? The one in the west of town? I want to go too!"

Wu Liangcai chimed in, "Sister, take us with you! We want to see what the garden looks like during the day!"

"That garden will be yours from now on. If it needs tidying up or repairing, we can help you come up with ideas, right?"

Hu Yidao stuffed a large piece of pork belly and some offal into Lin Xiuer's basket, clapped his hands, and said, "Count me in! We did our part, so we should go see what we got, right?"

Lin Xiuer looked at these enthusiastic guys and smiled helplessly.

"Alright, alright, everyone go. But don't get your hopes up too high. That garden has been abandoned for so many years, it's probably in a terrible state."

"I'm not afraid of it breaking!" Chen Mingxuan waved his hand. "It's the breaking that makes it interesting! It's the cleaning up that gives you a sense of accomplishment!"

"Those bastards from the Blackfish Gang have been living there for so long, who knows what they've done to it? We could lend a hand if we go!"

Wu Liangcai nodded repeatedly, with an expression that said, "You're right."

Looking at their excited expressions, Lin Xiuer knew that these two young masters were just bored and wanted to join in the fun.

But then again, it's good to have someone with you. The park is big, and it would be strange to wander around without many people.

She shook her head, too lazy to pay attention to them. But there was one thing she needed to do first.

"Okay, wait for me a moment. I need to buy some things before we go."

She turned and walked towards the general store on the street corner. Chen Mingxuan and Wu Liangcai looked at each other, wondering what she wanted to buy.

A short while later, Lin Xiuer returned, carrying a bulging bundle in her hand.

"What did you buy?" Hu Yidao asked curiously.

Lin Xiuer opened a corner of the bundle to show them—paper money, gold ingots, incense, and candles, a whole pile of them.

"Although we are not afraid of gods and ghosts, we should still have basic respect for them."

"That garden has been abandoned for so many years. If there is anything inside, our visit would be disturbing their peace. We should at least give them a heads-up and pay our respects to our ancestors."

Hu Yidao nodded, his expression becoming more serious: "Sister, you've thought this through perfectly. Regardless of whether we have that thing or not, we can't neglect the proper etiquette."

Chen Mingxuan and Wu Liangcai exchanged a glance, their playful smiles vanishing.

Chen Mingxuan nodded: "Xiuer is right. After all, it's someone else's old house. If we go there, burn some paper money, and pay our respects, it will be a token of our respect."

After the group finished packing and bought some fruits and pastries as offerings, they pushed their cart through the bustling streets of Peach Blossom Town and headed west.

If you walk past the school on the street and then another hundred steps or so, you'll see the crooked gate of the abandoned garden.

The closer you get to the abandoned garden, the sparser and more dilapidated the houses become, with weeds and wildflowers sprouting from the cracks in the walls and growing wildly and unrestrainedly.

The vines on the abandoned garden wall were growing densely, and in some places the top of the wall had collapsed halfway, revealing the wildly growing weeds and the crooked flowers and trees inside.

After Ma Liu died of tetanus and Jia Heiyu ran away, the other members of the Heiyu Gang didn't fare any better. They were said to have been taken away by their respective clansmen from their hometowns.

They said they brought them back, but in reality, they just threw them back into the village to die.

Monkey Three coughed so hard his lungs were almost rotting, Dog Five was so stupid he couldn't even recognize people, Lai Seven's back was ruined and he could only lie down, and Zhao Four was so scared he trembled whenever he saw someone.

When they commit their own evil deeds, they act arrogantly and are hated by everyone.

Now that they're in trouble, relatives and neighbors are avoiding them like the plague, and who would be willing to spend money to treat them? Their fate is predictable.

The closer they got, the slower they slowed down. It wasn't fear, but rather a complex and strange feeling that they couldn't quite put their finger on.

The garden had been abandoned for so many years, and the Black Fish Gang had just caused trouble here. Although it was their own doing, it still made people feel uneasy.

Lin Xiuer, on the other hand, looked calm. She walked to the front door, stopped, looked up at the two crooked wooden doors, and couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart.

Why would this door need a key? The lock was clearly broken, and the door was hanging crookedly.

It's obvious that those bastards from the Blackfish Gang never used keys to open doors; they just smashed them open.

The paint on the lintel had peeled off so much that its original color was no longer visible, revealing grayish-white wood with remnants of a seal that had been affixed sometime in the past.

Through the crack in the door, one could see that the weeds and bushes inside were taller than a person, rustling in the wind and exuding a desolate atmosphere.

They stood at the door, not in a hurry to go in.

Lin Xiuer found a flat spot, took out incense and candles from her bundle and lit them, then arranged the fruits and pastries one by one.

He lit a few more incense sticks and distributed them to the others.

"Take them all. Since we're here, let's all offer our prayers together. Regardless of what's inside or not, we should show our sincerity."

Wu Liangcai took the incense, somewhat bewildered.

As she spoke, she lit a stack of paper money in her hand, watching the flames lick the yellow paper and turn it into ashes that drifted in the wind.

As Lin Xiuer burned the incense, she muttered, "No matter which ancestor lives inside, we have taken the liberty of disturbing you today."

"I have now bought this garden, and it will be my home from now on. Please forgive me if this has caused any disturbance."

The firelight shone on her face, flickering intermittently.

Her tone was casual, as if she were greeting a neighbor, without the slightest timidity or feigned piety.

Chen Mingxuan and Wu Liangcai stood at the back, looking at each other without saying a word.

Hu Yidao touched his nose, thinking that this young woman really had some courage.

Ping An stood beside Lin Xiuer, his gaze fixed on her burning paper offerings. Something flashed in his eyes for a moment before he quickly regained his composure.

"I, Lin Xiuer, am just a country woman from Qingshan Village. I don't have any special skills; all I know is how to cook."

"I don't care if those inside are wandering ghosts or those with unresolved grievances. Today I brought a lot of paper money and ingots. Take them, those who are meant to go on their way, go on their way, and those who are meant to be reincarnated, reincarnate."