Chapter 108 Riding on the Same Bike

It was not the first time that Lin Qi saw Xu Hexiao cry, but it was the first time that she saw him so aggrieved, helpless, and at a loss...it made her feel so distressed.

But she couldn't help him.

The entire Lin family is behind her, and she will not drag the entire Lin family into trouble for her own selfish reasons.

Xu Hexiao's crying only lasted for two or three minutes before he stopped. He wiped his tears and continued to pick up the bowl and chopsticks and eat quietly. After the two of them finished eating, he was also responsible for cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks, washing the bowls and chopsticks, pots and pans, etc. His movements were quick and he seemed to be unaffected.

It was not yet completely dark outside. Xu Hexiao packed up the fifty kilograms of rice, twenty kilograms of wine, and twenty kilograms of jujube honey that he was going to trade tonight, and said to Lin Qi, "I secretly put the bicycle I borrowed from Brother Tan at your house."

"Brother Tan, don't you want to use the car during the New Year?" Lin Qi was curious.

"He bought a new one." In recent months, relying on Lin Qi, Brother Tan has also made a lot of money. He is rich now, so he doesn't feel bad about buying a new bicycle.

"He bought a new one, why don't you just sell his old one?" Lin Qi asked puzzled.

"He won't sell it." Xu Hexiao's tone was filled with helplessness. "He said that this car is lent to us. As long as we keep doing business with him, this car will always belong to us."

Lin Qi's mouth twitched. "In order to tie us down, he is willing to spend a lot of money."

Xu Hexiao glanced at her dimly and said, "If you knew how popular your things are in the nearby counties and cities, you would understand his concerns."

When the two returned to Lin Qi's house, it was completely dark.

Because Xu Hexiao cleaned and ventilated the house every day, there was no dust on Lin Qi's house and it was still as clean as new. Xu Hexiao watered the vegetables in the yard, so they still grew well in this cold winter.

"Every day, people come to pick the vegetables outside the house, and now only the roots are left." Xu Hexiao said that the land nearby was uneven, with many potholes, many stones, and many weeds and trees. After Lin Qi came here to build a house, a lot of stones were cleared, and those weeds and trees suddenly disappeared overnight.

But even so, the land was extremely hard, and the broken stones mixed with the soil were like dumpling stuffing, and the soil and stones could not be separated unless they were sifted with a sieve. The people of Anliang Brigade gave up on such land and avoided it when reclaiming land.

Until a month ago, Lin Qi sowed vegetable seeds nearby. Within two days, the bare land here became green, and even the tiny cracks in the rocks grew vegetables. These vegetables were so tenacious that even snow could not melt them.

When the team leader announced that the vegetables here could be picked at will, the team members flocked to the scene. After a few days, all the vegetables were picked cleanly, leaving only the roots.

"Having roots is enough." Lin Qi said. As long as there are roots, she doesn't need to sow again.

"Take it easy. Don't let them grow too fast, or they'll scare people," Xu Hexiao reminded.

Lin Qi hummed twice, thinking to herself, does she look so stupid, how could she not know this common sense?

The backpack took up the back seat of the bicycle. Xu Hexiao tied a cushion to the front bar of the bicycle and said, "You sit here."

Lin Qi touched the soft cushion and said, "It's soft enough, but the area is a little small."

This cushion was made of rabbit fur and cotton, with more than ten layers stacked together. It was naturally soft, but the area was -

Xu Hexiao thought about it and said helplessly, "I can't find any other way to improve it at the moment."

"Okay. I don't mind. Shall we set off now?" Lin Qi raised her foot and was about to step on it.

"Wait, I'll go first." Xu Hexiao stopped her. He sat astride the bicycle, with his long and strong legs supporting the ground, and then said to her, "Come on."

In fact, he wanted to hold her up with both hands.

The small road was difficult to walk on, so Xu Hexiao took Lin Qi to take the main road.

It was a dark and windy night, and the countryside was deserted, with not a single soul in sight.

Xu Hexiao and Lin Qi didn't say anything. They covered their faces with cloth, leaving only their eyes exposed.

Riding for nearly three hours, and still carrying a load, requires a lot of physical strength. After Xu Hexiao rode for two hours, Lin Qi asked him, "Can you still hold on? Do you want me to ride?"

It's a 28-meter-long pole, and considering her height of nearly 1.7 meters, it shouldn't be a problem for her to ride it.

"I'll ride on the way there, and you ride on the way back." Xu Hexiao said. He was now 1.85 meters tall, and sitting in the front would block her view. On the way back, he could sit in the back seat with the backpack on his back.

Half an hour later, Xu Hexiao and Lin Qi arrived at a dense forest outside the county town.

"You wait for me outside, I'll go in." Xu Hexiao said.

Lin Qi often went to the town and occasionally to the county. He didn't want to be seen by Boss Mo and his people. The fewer people saw her face, the safer she would be.

Lin Qi knew his worries, got out of the car, and watched Xu Hexiao push the car into the forest. When Xu Hexiao walked more than ten meters away, she flashed and entered the dense forest first.

She could avoid meeting those people face to face, but she could hide in the dark and secretly memorize their appearance.

As soon as she entered the forest, Lin Qi discovered the various sentries hidden in the forest, in all directions. Lin Qi avoided these sentries and entered the central area. When she saw the fire, she immediately moved towards the fire.

“Slurp——”

"The food that Old Seven brought is delicious. It's strange. They are both wild animals, but why are the ones he brought bigger, more fragrant, and the meat is sweeter?"

“I think a lot of people want to know the answer to this question.”

"How about we arrest him and torture him?"

"Shut up. We are just speculators, not bandits. We can't hunt or farm. What can we do if we force you to tell us? Do you want to hunt or farm? It's better to make friends with him and let him trade only with us in the future."

Well--

"The eldest brother is far-sighted. If we make friends with the seventh brother, we can also eat delicious prey and rice, and make money. There is no need to offend him."

"But this Old Seven only wants gold, silver, jewelry, calligraphy and paintings, and various antiques. Yao County is so small, and those things are limited. Without those things, will Old Seven find someone else to trade with?"

"Are you stupid? If there's no Yao County, then there's no one in the next county? If there's no one in the next county, then there's no one in the city. We just need to spread the word and there will be plenty of people delivering goods to us."

"That's true. As long as Old Seven has enough stuff, we can get as much as he wants."

“........”

Lin Qi sat on the branch, listening to the conversation of these people, secretly memorizing their appearance and corresponding names. As far as it can be seen now, as long as Xu Hexiao is not arrested, the transaction with these people can continue.

Lin Qi waited on the branch for a while before Xu Hexiao came in with something. The moment they saw Xu Hexiao, Boss Mo, Datou and others were all excited and stood up to greet him.

The two sides exchanged a few simple greetings and began to inspect the goods.

"I won't come here for the next period of time." Xu Hexiao said.

Boss Mo's expression changed instantly, "Why?"

"The goods are almost sold out." Xu Hexiao said, "Whether it's rice or wine, we can only wait until this fall."

"Aren't there still prey?" asked Mo Laodao.

"Prey is not available every day." Xu Hexiao's tone was a little helpless. "The prey will eventually run out. If you want to hunt, you can only go deeper into the forest. Deeper forests mean more dangers."

This is the truth. Boss Mo did not refute, "If you don't come tomorrow, how about the day after tomorrow? The day after tomorrow I will get you a batch of high-quality goods."

Xu Hexiao looked embarrassed, "I can't guarantee that there will be prey the day after tomorrow."

Boss Mo's eyes lit up, "You mean you're going to go hunting in the mountains in the next two days?"

Xu Hexiao nodded, "I have this plan."

"Okay!" Boss Mo clapped his hands excitedly, "No matter how much prey you hunt these two days, I want it all."

"No problem. If I can't hunt any prey, I won't come the day after tomorrow." Xu Hexiao said.

"Okay. Come over when you have prey. Even if I'm not here, we will leave people here, so you don't have to worry about not being able to find anyone when you come." Boss Mo gave Xu Hexiao a reassurance.

Xu Hexiao agreed, took his things and said goodbye to Boss Mo and others.

When Xu Hexiao pushed the cart out, Lin Qi was already waiting outside.

The two of them didn't speak. Lin Qi rode the bike, and Xu Hexiao sat on the back seat. The bike flew out like a gust of wind. It wasn't until they were a few hundred meters away from the dense forest that Xu Hexiao said, "I got a complete set of imperial green jewelry tonight. I'll keep it for you to wear later."

Xu Hexiao thought that Qiqi was so fair that she would look good in any jewelry.

Lin Qi had never worn any jewelry in her previous life, nor in this life. When she heard Xu Hexiao's words, she neither agreed nor refused.

If that's what Xu Hexiao wants, she can give it a try.

It took Xu Hexiao two and a half hours to ride here, but it only took Lin Qi two hours to ride back. Xu Hexiao also found that Lin Qi rode more steadily than him, with rarely any bumps.

I can't even ride a bike better than myself!

The long-lost feeling of frustration came over me again.

Looking at the depressed person in front of her, Lin Qi curled her lips and said, "The darkness doesn't hinder my vision."

Xu Hexiao had already guessed that Lin Qi could see at night, so he was not surprised. "But I can't ride as well as you during the day."

"That's because you haven't found the rhythm. Next time you ride, pay attention to feeling it with your heart, especially when riding over bumpy roads. Pay attention to when to accelerate and when to decelerate. Compare carefully what speed makes the bike more stable and less strenuous to pedal, etc. There are calculations and rules for all of these." Lin Qi said.

Xu Hexiao seemed to be thinking about something.

"Okay, it's getting late, let's go back to bed." Lin Qi waved to Xu Hexiao and pushed the cart towards her home.

The next day, Lin Qi slept until noon. When she woke up, Xu Hexiao had already prepared dinner and boiled water for her.

"Do you want to eat first or take a shower first?" Xu Hexiao asked.

"Eat." Lin Qi said without thinking. She had survived without a bath for more than ten days in her previous life. Now it was only two days. She could bear it.

After Lin Qi had eaten and taken a shower, Xu Hexiao reminded her, "You are back at the Anliang Brigade. You have to go and cancel your leave with the brigade leader."