Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Free Labor Zhou Yunxue

"Xiao Lin, what's wrong with you?" Aunt Li looked at Lin Anran inquiringly, holding the cleaning tools.

Lin Anran was wiping the mirror with a rag. She inevitably saw her face in the mirror and couldn't help staring at it for several times. Unexpectedly, Aunt Li had such sharp eyes that she saw it, so she said jokingly, "I look in the mirror and feel that my face seems to be a little whiter." As she spoke, she continued to wipe the mirror, looking very hard-working.

Aunt Li: "You've been working indoors for the past two months, and especially in the last month, you've been paying attention to sun protection. You'll definitely be whiter."

"It seems my hard work has paid off, haha." Lin Anran stared at himself in the mirror again. The "Chuan" character on his forehead seemed to have faded a little bit, and he was happy.

Lin Anran and Aunt Li are now on the third floor tidying up the room that Zhou Yunxue will be staying in. Uncle Wang informed them all that Miss Zhou will arrive before noon, and Chef Zhao has to rack his brains to think of lunch arrangements. Their work is purely physical labor, and they just need to keep the room clean and tidy, because Mr. Zhou doesn't like others to make changes in his villa. No matter who moves in, they must follow his rules and obey his orders.

Lin Anran praised Mr. Zhou's domineering personality! Not having to consider the guests' room layout preferences meant that the villa's cleaning work wouldn't have to change significantly, saving her and Aunt Li a lot of effort!

Mr. Zhou is truly a god-like leader! Being overbearing is good, being overbearing is great.

"Hard work will definitely pay off." Aunt Li said with certainty.

Lin Anran laughed again. The two chatted for a while, then turned around and continued to work, quickly tidying up the room.

"Is this okay?" Lin Anran stood at the door, looking at the clean and tidy guest room, and asked Aunt Li who was standing next to her.

Aunt Li carefully checked it over before nodding, "Alright, although Miss Zhou has never been to Mr. Zhou's villa as a guest before, Mr. Zhou treats his relatives and friends as well as he does those he recognizes. We can just do as we did with Mr. Qian and Mr. Guo before."

Lin Anran was curious: "So, Mr. Zhou's relatives have never lived in his villa before?"

Aunt Li thought about it and shook her head. "Since I started working at Mr. Zhou's villa, no. Most of Mr. Zhou's relatives are in the capital, Beijing, and some are far away in the provinces. They are busy with work and have no free time. Mr. Zhou has an older brother and an older sister, and he is the youngest in his family. After all, there is a layer of separation between brothers and sisters in the next room, so it's hard to say what their relationship is like."

"The most important thing is that Mr. Zhou only lives in Shenzhen for work. In the past few years, he flew all over the place, always staying in the villa for a few days before leaving. Unlike this month, he can stay for a long time. Maybe one day Uncle Wang will inform us that Mr. Zhou is going on a business trip again."

Lin Anran said she understood. It was not surprising for a businessman to fly everywhere. However, it was only 1991 and Boss Zhou's preferred means of transportation was airplane. She probably couldn't even get a letter of introduction for flying. Of course, as a pauper, she had no need to fly.

Lin Anran is very optimistic. She doesn't have the chance now, but when she has money in the future, she must go and take a ride on a plane from the 1990s to have some fun.

After finishing work, Lin Anran twisted her waist, shook her hands and kicked her legs to relax. She and Aunt Li wanted to change into new clothes. The weather in Shenzhen was hot in May. The two of them were running up and down cleaning, busy all the time, and sweating.

Aunt Li came out of the bathroom, steaming. Seeing Lin Anran tending to the potted plants by the window, she pointed at the aloe vera and asked, "Xiao Lin, is the aloe vera you're growing ready to use? Why haven't you used it?"

Lin Anran touched the tip of the aloe vera leaf and said, "I was on vacation yesterday. I was planning to try it out, but... I'll try it when I have time. I'm not in a hurry."

Because her grandparents in her previous life used aloe vera in various wonderful ways, she thought aloe vera was a "panacea". Lin Anran and the original owner were not allergic to aloe vera, but she used aloe vera but did not plan to use it often. The aloe vera leaf pulp contained irritating ingredients such as emodin. It was okay to use it occasionally, but if she used it too much, even if her skin was not allergic, she was afraid that her dark face would turn yellow instead of white.

Aunt Li looked at the potted aloe vera with curiosity. "Xiao Lin, is this green leaf aloe vera you're growing really better than other aloe vera plants? This aloe vera plant does look thick and juicy, but I didn't expect it to be imported from abroad."

Lin Anran was lucky enough to buy this pot of green leaf aloe from the flower stall owner. The stall owner only had three pots. He also told Lin Anran all kinds of scientific knowledge about green leaf aloe, saying that it was just introduced from abroad for cultivation in China this year. He begged and pleaded with everyone before he bought three pots. All the tricks he used were to sell it at a high price, but Lin Anran was good at bargaining and got it at a reasonable price.

Lin Anran, who had never used other aloe vera and had always used Green Leaf Aloe, touched his nose and looked away: "That should be it? I don't understand either."

Aunt Li comforted her: "It should be available in a couple of days."

Lin Anran nodded. Something big happened in her boss's family, and she was not so unintelligent as to lock herself in the room and focus on her skin care. It would only be a few days late, and she could afford to wait.

"Aunt Li, are you sure Miss Zhou is okay?" Lin Anran asked in a low voice.

Aunt Li looked around, covered her mouth and whispered, "I think Uncle Wang is no different today than usual. Miss Zhou must be fine. And Mr. Zhou went home to rest last night, which proves that Miss Zhou is doing well."

This further proves that Zhou Yunxue is fine when Zhou Heyuan's schedule this morning did not change. Zhou Heyuan still got up early as usual to do morning exercises and have breakfast, and then went out to the company.

Before lunch, Zhou Heyuan brought Zhou Yunxue back to the villa. Lin Anran looked over curiously and found that Miss Zhou had a rosy complexion and lively eyes, not at all like a patient who had just come out of the hospital.

"Zhou Yunxue, she will stay in the villa for five days." Zhou Heyuan looked at everyone and spoke briefly and clearly.

Lin Anran smiled professionally at Zhou Heyuan's eyes when he looked at him.

Zhou Yunxue immediately became anxious when she heard this: "Fifth brother, I don't want to—"

Zhou Heyuan shifted his gaze to Zhou Yunxue. His eyes were calm and his temperament was gentle, yet a sharp edge could not be hidden. "I don't care why you secretly came to Shenzhen alone, but I can ask my bodyguards to take you back to Beijing now. Or did you not learn your lesson this time?"

Zhou Yunxue's eyes suddenly turned red, and she pursed her lips tightly, not daring to refute.

Zhou Heyuan is very strong.

Lin Anran held her breath and quietly served as the background for the Zhou brothers and sisters along with everyone else, until Zhou Heyuan spoke again: "Uncle Wang, you watch over her for the next five days."

Uncle Wang: "Okay, Mr. Zhou."

The Zhou siblings quietly ate the delicious lunch carefully prepared by Chef Zhao. Zhou Heyuan ate at the same speed as usual, chewing his food slowly. It was obvious that Zhou Yunxue's matter had not affected his appetite. On the contrary, Zhou Yunxue forced herself to eat even though she couldn't swallow.

After dinner, Zhou Heyuan did not stay in the villa for long, but went out to work. As soon as he left, Zhou Yunxue relaxed completely.

"Uncle Wang, I want to go and rest." Zhou Yunxue said weakly.

Uncle Wang immediately arranged: "Miss Zhou, let Aunt Li take you to the third floor."

Zhou Yunxue agreed, and Aunt Li diligently led the way for her.

Lin Anran secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes it would be better for her if her boss promoted other colleagues. She didn't know what Miss Zhou's temper was like. Although it was only five days, it was not a short time.

"Aunt Li, has Miss Zhou gone to bed?" As soon as Aunt Li came back, Lin Anran hurriedly asked her.

Aunt Li: "Miss Zhou said she barely slept in the hospital last night. She washed up and quickly fell asleep."

"Aunt Li, please have lunch quickly." Lin Anran did not continue to ask. She allocated more time for studying every day, and the world outside the villa was indeed very exciting. Half of her focus was on work, and the other half was on the outside world.

Seeing Lin Anran looking at his English vocabulary book again, Aunt Li said with emotion as she opened her lunch box, "Xiao Lin, you young people have so much energy. You work all morning and still have the energy to study English. If you study so hard like this, you will definitely have a bright future."

"Xiao Lin is working hard to learn. Well done." Chef Zhao admired Lin Anran's efforts.

Lin Anran accepted all the compliments calmly. She was used to being praised by everyone. She couldn't hide her studies, could she? She studied hard in front of everyone, so that she would have an excuse to do well in the future.

Uncle Ding was concerned about another issue: "Xiao Lin, when you go out to study at night at night, be careful and be safe. It's best to go with your classmates."

"Don't worry, Uncle Ding. I have classmates going the same way as me. There are a lot of people on those streets every night." Lin Anran explained that there is a police station nearby and safety is guaranteed.

In the afternoon, after finishing work, Lin Anran welcomed her daily relaxation time of growing flowers. Because she had cleared the matter of growing orchids with her boss Zhou Heyuan, she could now openly move the potted plants to the garden to bask in the sun and water them. However, the sunlight was strong now, so she would not let the orchids be exposed to the sun.

"Huh? What are you doing?"

Lin Anran and Uncle Ding turned around and saw Zhou Yunxue with a curious look on her face.

After Uncle Ding's explanation, Zhou Yunxue's curiosity grew even more intense. "Is this the Clivia that Brother Shuyan gave to my fifth brother?" She turned and looked at Lin Anran. "You're the Xiaolin that Uncle Wang mentioned, right? Are you the one who took care of these four potted plants? You're taking great care of them. I almost killed the Clivia that Brother Shuyan gave me."

Lin Anran smiled and nodded: "Yes, Miss Zhou."

Zhou Yunxue was obviously more interested in Lin Anran than Uncle Ding. She talked a lot about orchid cultivation and then pointed at the aloe vera and asked, "Xiao Lin, how do you grow aloe vera?"

Lin Anran explained the good man Qian Jiaming's story, and Zhou Yunxue laughed out loud: "I know those methods. Brother Jiaming has helped many people."

"Mr. Qian is a good man." Lin Anran once again gave the universal answer.

Zhou Yunxue laughed even more heartily when she heard this. She rubbed her tears and said, "Xiao Lin, you are so funny."

Lin Anran blinked and smiled: "I think so too."

Zhou Yunxue: "Hahaha!"

Suddenly, Zhou Yunxue clapped her hands and said, "Xiao Lin, don't you want to use aloe vera on your face? Come on now!"

"Ah?" Lin Anran was caught off guard by Zhou Yunxue's sudden words.

Zhou Yunxue stretched out her hands and said excitedly, "I can help you. I have nothing to do anyway and I can't go out."

Lin Anran wanted to refuse, but Zhou Yunxue stared at him eagerly, so he couldn't say anything. He could only say politely, "Are you allergic to aloe vera? If so, it's best not to touch aloe vera."

Zhou Yunxue shook her head: "I'm not allergic. I've used aloe vera before. I've tried Brother Jiaming's methods with my friends. I know how to make aloe vera gel."

The last sentence made Lin Anran's heart beat faster. Besides, Zhou Yunxue was so eager to help, so of course she couldn't refuse. Free help was great!

"Can it be made and used immediately?" Zhou Yunxue asked.

Lin Anran: "I plan to take care of my skin every once in a while. I don't plan to use aloe vera often. One piece at a time is enough."

Zhou Yunxue thought of Lin Anran's situation and knew it would be difficult for her to preserve the aloe vera gel. She asked curiously, "Xiao Lin, how old are you? Is it inappropriate for me to call you Xiao Lin?"

"I'm only 22 years old this year." Lin Anran, who has rich experience, is now in a state of enlightenment.

Zhou Yunxue's eyes widened in disbelief: "No wonder..." She quickly reacted and laughed dryly, "Sister Xiaolin, I will help you."

Lin Anran was very serious: "Thank you, Miss Zhou." Free labor cannot be let go!

"Leave it to me." Zhou Yunxue patted her chest and promised.

After some tinkering, Lin Anran and her partner successfully obtained a small bowl of aloe vera honey gel. The honey was also obtained for free. Lin Anran applied the aloe vera honey gel beautifully on her face, neck, hands and feet. She felt that the skin covered with the aloe vera honey gel seemed to have received long-lost nourishment, and it was indescribably comfortable and moisturized.

Zhou Yunxue was also using aloe vera and honey gel, but she only applied some on the back of her hand. "Sister Xiaolin, I think your aloe vera is better than the ones I've used. It feels more delicate and easier to absorb. It's strange. I've used this green leaf aloe vera before, why does it feel different?"

Lin Anran's heart skipped a beat, his eyebrows didn't move, and his voice was normal: "Really? It's my first time using it, and I just feel it's quite comfortable."

She wondered if her aloe vera would be more effective after using it. If the golden finger made the aloe vera grow better, would it also cause some changes in the aloe vera? For example, would it be more effective?

Zhou Yunxue couldn't figure it out, so she could only say, "Maybe it's an illusion. Aloe vera is indeed more suitable for skin care."

Maybe it was because Lin Anran was the same age as Zhou Yunxue, or maybe it was because they had developed a rapport while making aloe vera honey gel together.

Zhou Yunxue suddenly told her about the kidnapping incident on the train yesterday: "...I was really scared yesterday. I met an old lady on the train with a child. She was frantic and the child kept crying. She asked me for help. I didn't think much of it. Seeing someone in trouble, I had to lend a hand. When the train arrived, the old lady insisted on treating me to a meal to thank me. I couldn't refuse. I thought it was just a noodle shop outside the train station, with people coming and going, so it wouldn't be dangerous. But as soon as I entered the noodle shop, I was covered with a handkerchief."

Only after hearing this did Lin Anran understand the truth behind Zhou Yunxue's abduction. It wasn't that Zhou Yunxue wasn't wary, but the traffickers were too vicious and rampant! Even Zhou Yunxue's vigilance couldn't prevent the traffickers' tactics. The combination of elderly and children easily put people off their guard. Who could have imagined that a human trafficking den would be located right next to a noodle restaurant next to the train station? The Public Security Bureau was even across the street from the station.

Lin Anran wanted to reach out and pat her to comfort her, but his hands were covered in aloe vera and honey gel. He could only slowly open his mouth and say, "I was also scared to take the train alone before."

Zhou Yunxue sighed, "I knew the Shenzhen Stock Exchange was in chaos before I came here, but I was completely convinced that nothing would happen to me. I do have some martial arts skills, but I almost..."

"Women traveling alone may be in danger. With your appearance, you will be more conspicuous when you are alone." Seeing Zhou Yunxue speak so frankly, Lin Anran also responded directly, mainly because Zhou Yunxue was a straightforward and enthusiastic girl.

Zhou Yunxue's eyebrows drooped. "I know I was impulsive, but, but I don't want to stay at home."

Lin Anran was silent, thought for a moment, and said, "Or you could try to be honest with Mr. Zhou and tell him what you're thinking."

Zhou Yunxue's eyes darted around, and when she saw Lin Anran's small desk, she asked, "Sister Lin, are you studying? English?"

Seeing that she didn't want to mention it anymore, Lin Anran changed the subject and chatted about night college, but she never expected that this mention would actually backfire on her.

"Fifth brother, I'm going to night college with Sister Xiaolin." Zhou Yunxue said in front of everyone before dinner started.

Zhou Heyuan's gaze suddenly fell on Lin Anran.