episode_0049

“… So, my husband was staring at that girl!”

After enjoying a delicious dinner prepared by her mother-in-law, Heeseon held Sarri in her arms, stroking her fur, and began recounting the story of their outing in the village with her mother-in-law.

The children of Saenara must be asleep. Well.

Me?

I have something to discuss with Gil-yong Ajae…

As the two women engrossed in conversation, they subtly signaled to Gil-yong Ajae and went outside to talk privately.

“Meow! Meow!”

Sarri, feeling bored in Heeseon’s arms, approached me.

Sarri scratched my legs with her short legs, asking to be held.

I lifted Sarri gently, petting her as I sat with Gil-yong Ajae on the porch.

“So, what happened with the lawsuit?”

“Well… That… It ended with a thirty-stick beating.”

Even Gil-yong Ajae seemed embarrassed and uneasy as he spoke.

“Well… Did he pay any money?”

“Not money, but… um… that old lady said she had a dead wild boar at her house and would offer it whole. And it turned out to be true. It caused quite a stir after the magistrate threw a feast…”

A wild boar? Where did they even get a wild boar?

“They say wild boars are not easy to catch, and there are none around here. Not only do they have nothing to eat in this area, but they haven’t been seen since they destroyed the fields and scared off the farmers with traps years ago.”

“That’s true. Maybe they set up traps deep in the mountains?”

“That old lady? Dragging a dead boar caught in a trap all the way home? How could she know where a wild boar lived, let alone set a trap for it, even if she had the strength?”

“Thinking about it, it does seem strange…”

We fell silent for a moment, pondering what had happened.

“Well… No matter how much we think about it, we won’t know. Anyway, he got a proper thirty-stick punishment, right?”

“Yes. He didn’t die, but he won’t be able to stand on two legs properly from now on.”

Despite receiving his punishment, the unsatisfactory ending left a lingering discomfort.

“Are you going to tell our daughter-in-law about this?”

“Well… No. Heeseon doesn’t want to think about that at all. Well, since the verdict was fair, there shouldn’t be any more trouble now.”

“Yeah, yeah. Both of them got married well, so they should just think about being happy together during their honeymoon. Oh, speaking of which!”

“Yes. We were originally going to talk about that. So, will you help with the in-law duties?”

“Of course! Even if you bring your daughter-in-law, I’ll do everything! Haha.”

“Haha, who said anything about a daughter-in-law. Anyway, since it’s a proper wedding, I’ll ask for your help.”

“Hahaha! Alright, alright!”

Yes, they are planning the wedding date.

Actually, for a proper wedding, the groom should go to the bride’s family, but it’s not like we can go to Heaven right away.

So, we plan to ask someone to stand in for the bride’s family and hold the wedding ceremony.

It feels a bit regrettable to pass over the wedding ceremony when we have the means, but…

Confessions of love tend to come out naturally when excited, so even if we skip over some things, we should properly propose this time, shouldn’t we?

Wagging its tail.

Our dog at home, not seeming bored at all, is quietly wagging its tail while I stroke it on my lap.

What’s the difference between now and when Heeseon was on my lap earlier?

Suddenly, Pat! Sarri jumped up and ran towards Heeseon.

Heeseon took Sarri in her arms, signaling that we should return to the room.

Is she sleepy? Why did she run back so quickly?

“Hey, Sang-ah, so about that…”

“… Yes! First, put Heeseon here…”

When I finished talking and entered the room, Sarri and Heeseon were already asleep, late into the night.

……

“Yeah, yeah, Sarri, so what did you hear? Write it down on the floor.”

Scratch scratch scratch

Heesun chuckled slightly at the cute sound of Sari’s nails scratching the floor.

“N..a…m..u..k.. Thirty-something? Oh, it’s about punishment, but wasn’t there something about me? I’m so curious about the way my husband keeps hiding things secretly! Neither my father-in-law nor my mother-in-law told me anything.”

“Meow!”

Scratch scratch scratch

Sari nodded her head and started scratching the floor to form letters again.

“H..o..n.. y..e.. Engagement? Is your brother preparing for an engagement? With your mother-in-law and father-in-law? Really?”

Nod nod

“Meow! Meow!”

“Hehehehe.”

At Sari’s affirmation, Heesun’s face relaxed into a silly smile.

“Oh dear… You don’t have to do that… Sari, what else? Right after the ceremony? So quickly? Then let’s have a baby right away…”

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“Uhaam! Where was this place again….”

I was a bit tired from staying up late yesterday sharing important secrets with Gil Yong-aje.

I am wandering around the village alone looking for Gae-tong.

After meeting Duseokjang in the morning to ask him to install a lock on the temple door, and sending someone to help, I was very busy helping my mother-in-law prepare food for the monks.

After a quick lunch, Heesun stayed home with Sari to play games with her mother-in-law, while I just visited Gae-tong’s house. He wasn’t there, but…

It was strange that the farmer was still at home at this hour.

When I asked Gae-tong’s siblings where he was, they said he went to the fields to trample barley, so I went all the way to Jeondap to find him.

“Gae-tong!”

I see Gae-tong in the distance eating bird food.

“Oh? Sang-i-seongnim!”

Gae-tong approaches waving his hand from afar.

From his body emanated the smell of sweat, alcohol, and earth mixed with the scent of a farmer.

Why did you come looking for Gae-tong?

Today, I plan to buy land at the rich Yeonggamne’s house.

Before buying the land, it’s proper to ask Gae-tong first.

If I buy the land and he refuses to take the sharecropping, I’ll end up wasting money on the expensive land.

“It’s been a while, Gae-tong. How have you been?”

“I’ve been well, Seongnim. Thanks to the money you gave me last time, I could breathe a bit easier.”

“Haha, that’s good to hear! So…”

“But why did you come all the way here?”

“Oh! I have a favor to ask you.”

“If it’s a request from you, of course, I should listen. What is it? Please tell me.”

“My brother recently came into some money, so he’s thinking of buying land at the rich Yeonggamne’s house.”

It seems that every farmer desires to own their land, as Gae-tong couldn’t hide his envy at my words.

“Oh… I envy you. When will I ever get to own my land? Will you give up hunting and learn farming? If that’s the case, don’t worry. I’ll teach you everything from A to Z.”

Even with such thoughts, his willingness to help me without hesitation must be due to his innocent nature.

“Hahaha, no, no, I have other tasks to do, so farming is difficult for me, and… the favor I want to ask is if you would consider taking the sharecropping for that land.”

“For me? But I’m currently doing sharecropping at Yeongnam’s field, so it’s a bit difficult now…”

Gae-tong looked troubled and spoke apologetically.

“How long did you agree to do the sharecropping for? Was there a duration written there?”

“Oh, no. Since my late father did the sharecropping from the past, I inherited it without any formal agreement.”

“Well, that’s great! How much is the sharecropping fee?”

“Uh… Eight… pieces…”

“What? Palhal? Are you talking about palhal?”

I doubted my ears.

Does this even make sense?

In response to that unbelievable statement, I unintentionally retorted the same thing to the dog without realizing it.

“Are you sure about palhal being separated? You’re not eating palhal, are you?”

“No.. If I eat palhal, will I live like this? Ugh.. Don’t say things like that for no reason. If the young master gets upset, even this might get cut off.”

Wow.. The rich young master is really over the top.

If it’s palhal, isn’t this almost like a ratio where a pro-Japanese collaborator during the Japanese occupation is separating it! This guy has only three siblings. It’s forgivable that they didn’t starve to death!

A yangban who talks big but has learned enough to learn.

“How big is the land you’re farming now?”

“It’ll be about four acres.”

“Hey, it’s hard to smear grass in your mouth after separating palhal there! What kind of…! Stop that and just let me take care of the farming. I’ll separate the sahal. Even though I’ll farm three or four acres, I won’t collect the farming rent so tightly after separating the sahal. Then if I farm under you, I’ll work less and bring back more than just the farming rent. Just stop that measly farming without any written agreement!”

“Really? Just by separating sahal, it’s okay? Then I’ll do it! You have to do what you’re told.”

It was fortunate that he accepted it based on the promise of fair farming rent.

If he had stubbornly insisted on keeping unnecessary loyalty… it would’ve been chaotic.

“Okay, okay, I’ll let you do it. Let’s go to the young master’s house first and talk about buying and selling land with the house servant. Do you want to come along? After all, you’re the one farming the land. Pick out good land.”

“Of course! But can you really just take the sahal?”

“Haha, we only have one dog and wife at home, and we have a lot of rice. Oh, I forgot to tell you. If you work hard for one to five years, I’ll give you the land. Write it down when you sign the contract.”

“Is that true? Oh, no.. Sir… What on earth…”

The big guy suddenly choked up and bowed his head.

Oh.. You could’ve become wealthier than this. I’m sorry I can’t give you more.

“Hey, don’t cry like a girl. Anyway, since it’ll be your land in the end, help out when we make the deal.”

“Yes! Yes! Don’t worry! I’ll take good care of the land! Trust me. Oh, but…”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“No, sir. But once you’ve taken on a task, you should finish it. I was wondering if it’s okay to just harvest the barley planted on the land now and start working from next year…”

Oh dear… this guy…

That’s why he got scolded. Where’s the loyalty to stand against the wicked young master who separates palhal? He’s like a truck full of sweet potatoes.

A sigh escaped involuntarily due to frustration.

“Phew… Alright. Do as you please.”

Leaving the place where the dog was working to the care of his younger brother, we headed towards the rich young master’s house.

Far away, a grand gate comes into view.

“Who goes there? Who’s there looking for someone here?”

It seems to be the servant who was harassing the old man at that time.

“Oh, I’m an unknown person living in the mountains over there. This is Dog. You know him? He’s a tenant farmer here. We came to do some land transactions.”

“Land? Hmm.. Come in for now.”

At the servant’s words, Dog and I exchanged glances, nodded, put on determined faces, and crossed the gate of the wealthy household.