Chapter 49 Pulling Up Onions

Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou arrived at Meng Meng's house and found the door ajar. They could hear a heated argument coming from inside, or more precisely, it was Meng Meng's voice alone.

"Ke Tangshu, are you mute? You never say a word when I talk to you!"

Su Tangtang glanced at Huo Yizhou and asked in a low voice, "Shall we go in?"

Huo Yizhou nodded. "Go in."

"Okay," Su Tangtang replied, then politely knocked on the door and asked, "Are you arguing?"

Meng Meng was taken aback by the voice, turned around, and asked with some surprise, "Su Tangtang, what brings you here?"

Su Tangtang crossed her arms, raised an eyebrow at her, and said, "Of course we're here to collect a debt."

Meng Meng was speechless for a moment; she hadn't expected the other party to come directly to her door to collect the debt.

Her mind raced, and she finally managed to squeeze out, "The money isn't in my hand, it's in my card."

Su Tangtang said calmly, "Then I'll go with you to get it."

Meng Meng grew impatient. "It's not like I'm not going to return it to you. Why are you rushing me? I'll give it to you tomorrow."

Su Tangtang chuckled lightly, "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, how many tomorrows are there? You wouldn't happen to not want to pay it back, would you?"

Meng Meng really didn't want to pay it back, but she couldn't admit it, so she could only say, "You're overthinking it. I just don't have the money right now."

Su Tangtang insisted, "I already said we can go get it together."

Meng Meng pursed her lips and decided to act spoiled, "I don't want to go today. Besides, we didn't borrow that money in the first place."

Su Tangtang paused, then her tone became serious, "The director said that since you inherited their property and the vegetable garden, you naturally have to pay off the debts."

"I don't care, I don't have any money right now. I'll give it to you when I get it tomorrow," Meng Meng said, but in her heart she was planning to buy seeds later and spend all the money to see what they would want tomorrow.

Su Tangtang laughed, "Starting to cheat, huh?"

Meng Meng stubbornly insisted, "I didn't."

"Okay, then we'll stay here and not leave, shall we?" Su Tangtang looked at her, then simply found a stool to sit down and handed one to Huo Yizhou.

Meng Meng: "..."

Su Tangtang remembered something else and added, "Oh right, we haven't settled accounts with you for poaching our people yet."

Meng Meng curled her lip, her tone dismissive, "Whatever, leave if you want, what do you mean by poaching your people? It was clearly my side that offered higher prices, and they came voluntarily."

Su Tangtang waved her hand: "Okay, I won't argue with you about this anymore. Hurry up and pay back the money, we'll take it and leave."

Meng Meng plopped down and retorted, "I can't give it to you today, let's talk about it tomorrow."

Neither of them was willing to back down.

At this moment, Ke Tangshu suddenly spoke up, "I'll go get it for you."

Meng Meng suddenly stood up and stopped him, "Don't take it!"

Ke Tangshu frowned. "Paying back debts is a matter of course."

He gently pushed her away as he spoke.

Meng Meng grabbed his arm and stubbornly shouted, "I said no, and that's final!"

A hint of impatience flashed in Ke Tangshu's eyes as he shook off her hand.

Meng Meng staggered back a few steps after being thrown, gritting her teeth as she said, "Ke Tangshu, if you dare to give them money, I'll never forgive you!"

Ke Tangshu ignored her threat and went straight into the inner room to get the money, a move that even surprised Su Tangtang.

He handed over the money, saying, "Count it."

Su Tangtang took the money and, without any hesitation, began counting it one bill at a time in front of them. Meng Meng rushed forward to snatch it, but Ke Tangshu firmly stopped her, his voice icy, "Stop making trouble."

"What am I making a fuss about?" Meng Meng almost shouted. "We've already paid back the money, and we don't even have money left to buy seeds!"

Ke Tangshu said calmly, "We'll think of another way."

"What ideas can you come up with!" Meng Meng pushed him away forcefully.

While the two were arguing, Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou had already finished counting the money in half.

“The number is correct, then we’re leaving,” Su Tangtang said.

Ke Tangshu nodded silently.

Meng Meng, standing to the side, was so angry that her eyes reddened. She stomped her foot angrily and said, "Ke Tangshu, I want to break up with you!"

Ke Tangshu turned to look at her, his tone calm, "Fine, let's break up then."

Meng Meng looked at him in disbelief. "What did you say?"

"Didn't you break up with me first?" Ke Tangshu's voice remained calm. "I agreed."

The two continued arguing, and even after Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou had walked onto the road, their argument could still be faintly heard.

"Finally got the money back," Su Tangtang said, shaking the banknotes in her hand and letting out a long sigh of relief.

Huo Yizhou nodded slightly, "Don't lend to people like that again next time."

“That’s right,” Su Tangtang agreed wholeheartedly. “Now, it’s actually the one borrowing money who’s become the boss.”

She suddenly remembered what had just happened and asked curiously, "But you said that Meng Meng broke up with him, and Ke Tangshu actually agreed? They didn't really break up, did they?"

Huo Yizhou shook his head, "Probably not, it's normal for couples to argue."

Su Tangtang chuckled softly and turned to look at him, "Will we argue in the future?"

Huo Yizhou paused slightly, meeting her gaze. "Yes."

"I really can't imagine what it would be like for us to argue," Su Tangtang tilted her head. "But what would we argue about?"

Huo Yizhou naturally took her hand and said, "It's hard to say. It could be a big deal or a small deal. When two people live together, there will always be bumps along the way."

Su Tangtang nodded and asked softly, "Then, will you be fierce to me?" She thought of Huo Yizhou's cold face, which was already intimidating. If he really got angry, she wondered how terrible he would be.

“No,” he answered without the slightest hesitation.

“But when we’re arguing, we often can’t control our emotions,” Su Tangtang muttered to herself.

Huo Yizhou gripped her hand tightly, his tone resolute, "Don't worry, I consider myself fairly emotionally stable, and I will never lose my temper with you."

Su Tangtang felt a warmth in her heart, and the corners of her lips unconsciously turned up. "Okay, I understand."

After resting at home for a while, Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou set off to find workers, as it was really difficult for the two of them to finish the work in the fields on their own.

Not long after they left, they met Lin Lang and his wife on the road. After exchanging greetings, they learned that the couple was also looking for workers, so the four of them decided to travel together.

They asked around in their own village and then went to neighboring villages to inquire. Finally, they found eight workers. Each of the two families hired four people, and after reaching an agreement, they took the workers directly to the fields to work.

Perhaps Meng Meng was short of money, or perhaps she was too preoccupied to do anything after arguing with Ke Tangshu, but she didn't try to poach anyone this time.

The workers worked continuously for five days and finally cleaned the land. Then they borrowed a plow to loosen the soil. The whole process was carried out in an orderly manner. During this time, Su Tangtang and the others also prepared the seeds. As soon as the land was loosened, they sowed the vegetable seeds in less than two days.

As for Meng Meng, she ran out of money after repaying Su Tangtang. They went to Gu Qingke and Shen Yingying to borrow money. Gu Qingke was reluctant to lend money, as her family's funds were already tight. If she lent it out, she would still have to pay for seeds and other expenses, and she was afraid that her funds would soon run out.

But in the end, he couldn't resist Shen Yingying's insistence.

After they finally finished planting the vegetables, they only had one thousand yuan left.

By the time the vegetables were planted, it was nearly late August.

When the corn in the field reached harvest time, Su Tangtang picked a lot of it, freezing some in the refrigerator and keeping the rest to eat as needed.

When I woke up that morning, it was raining lightly outside the window.

Su Tangtang doesn't like to go out on rainy days, but fortunately, the farm work is temporarily over, so she can stay at home and play with her dog.

Half a month later, the four puppies had all grown a bit and were walking steadily. Su Tangtang rubbed the puppies' heads while chatting with Huo Yizhou, "We've finished all the work in the fields. I wonder what tasks the director will assign next."

Huo Yizhou sat to the side reading a book, replying without looking up, "Wait for his notification."

Su Tangtang hummed in agreement, then turned to look out the window. The rain was intensifying, with large raindrops falling to the ground and splashing water.

"It's raining so hard."

Huo Yizhou put down his book, walked over, and squatted down beside her. "It is indeed very big. Are you cold?"

One autumn rain brings a chill, and the air is filled with a coolness.

Su Tangtang shook her head, "It's not cold, the temperature is just right."

Huo Yizhou gave a soft "hmm," his slender fingers stroking the head of the black and white puppy. Su Tangtang noticed his particular fondness for this one and couldn't help but tease, "You like the little mistress so much, huh?"

Huo Yizhou paused, then said, "..."

This sounds so awkward.

“I think it’s the cutest,” he explained helplessly.

Su Tangtang sighed deliberately, "Then Xiao Yi, Xiao Er, and Xiao Si must be heartbroken."

"Don't you still have them to care for?"

"But they also need fatherly love."

Huo Yizhou chuckled, "Alright, then I'll treat everyone equally."

As he spoke, he reached out and patted each of the other three puppies.

The two looked at each other and smiled, chatting idly amidst the sound of rain, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

By the afternoon, the rain had subsided.

The production team sent a notification asking everyone to assemble.

Sure enough, nothing good ever comes out of the first episode; the director will never let them sit idle.

"The production team has leased ten acres of onions," the director announced. "You have five days to harvest them. The group that harvests the most will receive a reward, this time it's the Golden Vegetable."

After hearing this, everyone's faces no longer showed any desire for the golden vegetables, but rather a sense of "tiredness and disinterest." Seeing that everyone was not very enthusiastic, the director added, "Everyone, cheer up, we can't let the schedule be delayed."

Everyone: "..."

What an evil director.

The production team arranged a dinner party that evening, where everyone ate together and watched the latest episode.

After reading it, Su Tangtang casually browsed Weibo.

She noticed that the negative comments about her had decreased significantly, replaced by a flood of positive feedback.

"I'm finding myself liking Su Tangtang more and more!"

"Add one! She's so genuine."

"Doesn't anyone think she and Huo Yizhou are super sweet? And she's efficient at work, not afraid of hardship or fatigue."

"This show is so good to watch while eating!"

In the comments, some people even edited together video clips of her working hard. Looking at these, Su Tangtang couldn't help but smile. She recalled the barrage of criticism that filled the screen when the first episode aired. It would be a lie to say that she didn't care at all. Now, seeing such overwhelmingly positive reviews, she felt as if she were being warmed by the sun, and she felt exceptionally comfortable.

-

The rain was still falling the next day.

The rain wasn't heavy. Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou arrived at the meeting point with umbrellas, and everyone else had arrived as well.

Qu Xian looked outside and couldn't help but ask, "Director, are we going to dig onions even in the rain?"

The director glanced outside and said, "The rain isn't heavy. The production team has prepared raincoats and rain boots for everyone."

After a moment of silence, everyone had no choice but to put on their rain gear and head into the field together.

When we got to the field, we found that after a day and a night of rain, the soil was already soaked and sticky. When we stepped on it, the mud instantly covered our shoes.

"The ground is so wet, how can we work like this?" Meng Meng frowned, her face full of reluctance.

The director explained, "We can't let rainy days delay the harvest, especially during the harvest season. We're most afraid of delays, and we need to hurry up and harvest the crops, especially during such times."

Hearing him say that, everyone had no choice but to go down into the field one after another.

This time, the land wasn't divided among families; instead, everyone worked together. This way, chatting while working made the tedious farm work seem less unbearable.

"Tangtang, Linlang, look at my shoes!" Zhou Yan shouted, both amused and exasperated. She tried to lift her foot, but the shoe was stuck firmly in the mud. She managed to pull her bare foot out, but the shoe was still stuck in the mud.

Su Tangtang couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Sister Yan, slow down."

Lin Lang also smiled and reminded him, "Be careful not to fall."

Zhou Yan nodded repeatedly.

Su Tangtang squatted down, grasped the onion, and gently pulled it out of the soil. "It's pretty easy to pull out."

Huo Yizhou looked at the muddy ground and explained, "It rained heavily last night, and there was a lot of water on the road. The ground was already soaked, so it wasn't difficult to pull it up."