Chapter 180 Let's Start Planting Peonies

What Yunxia didn't know was that Jiang Chao's university life wasn't smooth sailing. This was because a classmate and roommate named Gong Yang kept nagging about wanting to see pretty girls. After being beaten up a few times, he learned his lesson, but unexpectedly, a few days later, he started flirting with girls everywhere under Jiang Chao's name, causing Poison Tongue to suffer an undeserved disaster and be ranked number one on Jiang University's list of scumbags.

Jiang Chao was no pushover either. He went straight to the broadcasting station, locked the staff member outside, and loudly clarified that it wasn't him, Jiang Chao, who was flirting with people, but Gong Yang, who had returned from studying abroad. He then described Gong Yang's characteristics and warned all the female students in the school to be wary of him.

Although the rumors were clarified, his actions were tantamount to violating school rules and he was punished. He could forget about getting his scholarship this year. Therefore, the reason he was so angry was that... he lost his scholarship. From then on, he never gave Gong Yang a kind look again.

After lunch, Yunxia put the leftovers in the refrigerator, Jiang Chao went to wash the dishes, and Feng Jingling, after applying the ointment, lay on the rocking chair, petting Xiaobai, feeling extremely comfortable.

Before they knew it, it was October 4th. Jiang Chao called a small truck and went to the warehouse in the suburbs. Yun Xia was already waiting there. After loading all the peony seedlings onto the truck, they followed the truck to the foot of Wuyun Mountain.

"Xiaxia, you're here! Everything's ready, except for your peony seedlings!"

"Hehe, it's all ready. Come on, help me lift the cloth!"

The lush, vibrant seedlings were all exposed to the crowd. The hired farmers helped unload them and carried them up the mountain on shoulder poles.

Walking on the dirt road in the mountains, the girl exclaimed, "If you want to get rich, build roads first. That's really true!"

"Road construction is a huge project. Let's wait until the peonies are mature and fetch a good price before we talk about it!"

The stinging pain in his shoulder made the boy frown, and his forehead was covered in sweat, clearly indicating that he had never used a carrying pole before.

Yunxia put down the carrying pole and stepped forward to stop him. "Bai Ye, your posture is wrong, and your point of leverage is wrong. You're putting in a lot of effort for no good. Let me teach you. Look, you need to turn your body slightly to the side, hold both ends of the carrying pole with both hands, and walk with a bouncy gait. That way, the bamboo basket will also bouncy, and when it bounces upwards, you won't feel the strain. The principle is the same as the human heart; the beating and resting are interspersed. Here, let me put a handkerchief under your shoulder so your shoulder won't hurt so much!"

Bai Ye was very clever. After trying it a few times, he learned it pretty well, and his shoulder really didn't hurt as much. "It really works, Xiaxia, thank you!" After saying that, he carried the carrying pole and walked forward with a wobbly gait.

"Heh, you only care about outsiders, and you don't even know how to help your own brother!" A certain sharp-tongued person said expressionlessly.

Yunxia, ​​feeling a chill run down her spine, gave an awkward laugh. "I think you're doing a great job, you don't look like you need any help at all. Hurry up, we still have to plant peony seedlings later!"

Jiang Chao snorted coldly, and following the tips he had just learned, he quietly adjusted the position of the carrying pole, and then... walked forward with a wobbly gait.

Forty minutes later, the large group finally arrived at the edge of the field. Yunxia, ​​holding a megaphone, explained the key points of peony planting: "The plants should be spaced 50 centimeters apart, about half an arm's length apart. Plant 2-3 plants in each hole, and the hole should be deep..."

After the explanation, a few seedlings were planted as a demonstration. Then, at a command, everyone got busy, dividing the seedlings, digging holes, planting the seedlings, covering them with soil, compacting the soil, and watering. The division of labor was clear, and the planting efficiency was extremely high.

After a whole day of work, everyone finally planted all the peonies. People from several nearby villages lined up to receive their money: 2 yuan for adults and 1 yuan for teenagers and children.

"Old Li, your whole family of seven has come to help. Goodness, 11 yuan! Why don't you cut some meat for the kids to eat!"

Eleven yuan, if you live frugally, it won't last you half a year. The old man named Lao Li took a puff of his water pipe and said, "I'll just kill a chicken to satisfy my craving. I'll save this money for my child's schooling. Look at those city kids, they dress nicely, speak nicely, and do things nicely. I hope my little genius can be like them in the future!"

The same thing happened everywhere halfway up the mountain. After the wages were paid, it was already dark. He instructed a few farmhands, and led by the village chief, the group quickly headed down the mountain.

Going up the mountain is easy, but coming down is hard, especially at night. It took more than an hour to reach the foot of the mountain.

"Village Chief, I feel really bad for bothering you these past few days. Please accept this small token of my appreciation."

The thin red envelope felt like a fortune in the village chief's hands. His daughter-in-law was newly pregnant, and there would be many places where money would be needed in the future. After a few polite refusals, he put it into his sleeve, and his words of gratitude bounced out like they were free.

"Are you coming or not? We're waiting to go home and eat braised pork!"

Jiang Chao's spoilsport skill arrived just in time. Bai Ye went down the steps, told the village chief to take good care of Shaoyao, and led Jiang Chao and Yun Xia away in a car.

"Goodness, if I could buy a car in this lifetime, it would be a life well-lived!" After saying that, he chuckled self-deprecatingly, turned around, and walked towards the mountain with his flashlight.

Forty minutes later, at the entrance of Huaimin Street, Yunxia and Jiang Chao were saying goodbye to someone.

"Xiaxia, I've been too busy today. I just had a quick lunch. We haven't even discussed the peony planting cooperation. Do you have time tomorrow? Let's meet at a place and talk it over properly."

“Alright, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Come to my house. Tomorrow it will just be Jiang Chao and me.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Ye looked up and glanced at the man. He saw that the man stood like a pine tree and had a face like... Guan Yu. Bai Ye sighed, nodded, and then got into his car and left.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a slight upturn at the corner of someone's mouth, and the girl teased with a smile, "Oh, what happened that made Young Master Jiang smile?"

"Hmph, guess!"

After saying that, his smile deepened, and he turned and walked into the alley. As he grew older, he became more and more afraid that his sister would leave the Jiang family and be taken away by her biological father. But she had just referred to the Jiang family as "my family," which made him feel very comfortable.

When I got home, I found Aunt Wu, Feng Jingling, and Jiang An sitting around the table, their expressions very serious!

"You haven't been home all day. Do you know how worried we were? Ah Chao, you're the older brother. You should set a good example. How could you take Xia Xia out like that?"

"Aunt Wu, you've misunderstood... Waaah!"

Jiang Chao, who was covering someone's mouth, gestured with his eyes for her to speak less. "Mom, it was my fault. I took Xiaxia to the mountain and got distracted and forgot the time. If you have to punish someone, punish me!"

"Did you really think I wouldn't dare hit you?" When he returned home that evening, he learned that the two of them hadn't come back all day. He waited for an hour but couldn't find them. He was so anxious that he asked around. Those gossipy women had made up a lot of rumors about them, even coming up with stupid things like eloping.

"If you make a mistake, you should naturally be punished!"

After saying that, Wu Lifang turned her back, took off her coat, and held the ruler in her hand, caught in a dilemma. Seeing this, Feng Jingling quickly stepped forward to persuade her, "Godmother, considering that this is their first offense, let them off this time. If they do it again in the future, you don't need to lift a finger, I will just step in and beat them up!"

Upon receiving his master's signal, Jiang An leaned forward and grabbed his mother's clothes, saying softly, "Mom, An'an is so hungry and sleepy. My brother and sister are back safely, can we eat quickly?"

Sighing, Wu Lifang lost her temper and threw down the ruler, saying, "Hurry up and go to the kitchen to get your food. Do you want your whole family to coax you to eat?"

Upon hearing this, Yunxia quickly pulled Jiang Chao to the kitchen. The meal was unusually quiet, with no one daring to utter a sound, but everyone had a good appetite.