Chapter 18 Framed? Maybe there's a mole on our farm...
Chen Mian silently shook her head. She didn't explain much, only saying that she had found a new job and it was inconvenient to continue living here.
Ji Yu was completely bewildered, not understanding why the young girl, who was living comfortably at home, would suddenly want to move out.
After a while, he raised his hand and touched his head, looking somewhat helpless. Then he rubbed the corner of his clothes and finally turned his hopeful eyes to his own mother.
Yu Xiaoyue observed Chen Mian for a while and finally guessed that she was probably just afraid of troubling others and felt embarrassed to stay for free.
So he tentatively said, "Mian, if you find it inconvenient to live here and go to work, I can pick you up and drop you off in the morning and evening. I happen to be free recently."
"Of course, I won't give it away for nothing; I'll still charge you for the travel expenses," Yu Xiaoyue said with a smile.
She quite liked the girl and was used to the two of them keeping each other company. The talk about travel expenses was just a joke; her family wasn't short of money.
Upon hearing this, Chen Mian pursed her lips and declined, saying, "Thank you, Aunt Yu, but I've already made arrangements with my fellow villager. We're going to stay together, and after we finish our work, we'll go home together for the New Year."
Chen Mian: "Thank you, Auntie and Officer Ji, for taking care of me during this time. I will repay you when I have the chance."
Ji Yu opened her mouth as if to say something, but was stopped by Yu Xiaoyue beside her. She was also a woman and had been young before, so she knew what Chen Mianmian was being stubborn about.
Compared to the dodder flower, which can only depend on people, she admires the heroic spirit and indomitable spirit of the kapok flower more. She believes that this still young girl will definitely have her own career in the future.
Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Chen Mian carried her luggage and left Yu Xiaoyue's house.
The road was bathed in the soft glow of dawn, and the low shrubs in the goji berry fields stretched their branches in the dim light, while the cotton fields in the distance were receiving the first rays of sunlight.
Chen Mian tightened the shoulder straps on her body, the rough texture rubbing against her palms. The gravel path under her feet meandered towards the snow-covered fields, beginning a new journey.
A gentle breeze brushed her face, carrying the tinkling sound of cotton bolls from afar. She hurried toward the cotton farm.
Inside the farm, Chen Mian spread her bedding next to Liu Juan, looking at the simple living conditions inside the tent, and comforted herself that making money is never easy.
The cotton pickers on the farm kept bending over to pick the cotton, sweat dripping down Chen Mian's face as she gradually grew tired.
But at this moment she felt relaxed, finally having a sense of groundedness.
At lunchtime, Liu Juan dragged Chen Mian away and ran as fast as they could, grabbing a few pieces of stewed meat from an enamel mug.
Chen Mian was still holding the naan bread in her hand, and she couldn't help but exchange a smile with Liu Juan, "Hahahaha..."
She remembered when she and Li Cuiping used to go to school together. As soon as the last class ended, they would rush to the cafeteria with their enamel mugs, afraid that they would miss out on the good food if they were late.
During the meal, Liu Juan talked to Chen Mian about her son who was studying in their hometown. She said he was doing very well in his studies, and that she would work hard for a few more years so that when her son became successful, she could enjoy a comfortable life with him.
Chen Mian also said with a smile, "I just want to make a lot of money in Xinjiang and then bring my parents here."
Upon hearing this, Liu Juan said with a hint of sarcasm, "Then you'll probably have to go into business. If you could make a fortune picking cotton every day, I would have been rich long ago."
Chen Mian didn't explain further to her. It was unrealistic to make big money by working for someone else, but she hadn't decided what kind of business to start yet.
After staying in Xinjiang for a while longer, she will definitely start her own business, as she is very optimistic about the future development of this region.
After lunch and a short rest, the group got busy again. The October sun wasn't as scorching as usual, so their lunch break was correspondingly shorter.
In addition, cotton is flammable, which makes the requirements for the harvesting period even higher. This is also why the farm provides meals, in order to prevent the harvesters from starting fires in the fields and causing fires. Every day, Ayili's family prepares and delivers the two meals.
Feeding hundreds of people is a considerable burden for Ayili and her team.
At night, Chen Mian lay in the tent, listening to the snoring of Liu Juan and the others, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
After a while, she got up and put on her clothes. The bed creaked as she carefully got out of bed, ready to go for a walk.
The farm was quiet at this moment, with a bright moon hanging in the night sky, its gentle light softly sprinkling on the snow-white cotton.
Unbeknownst to her, Chen Mian had arrived near the warehouse where cotton was temporarily stored, containing all the fruits of the workers' labor over the past few days.
We'll just wait a few days until the second round of screening is over, then we'll sell this batch of cotton to buyers to recoup our costs.
It was getting chilly at night, so Chen Mian pulled her coat tighter around her neck and prepared to go back to sleep.
"Swish..." Chen Mian's leg, which she had just lifted, froze for two seconds. She turned around quietly, somewhat frightened, and looked around, but found nothing wrong.
I guessed that a stray cat had run past, causing the cotton plants to rustle, but I didn't dare linger any longer and quickly returned to my tent to rest.
The next morning, the workers were busy picking when they noticed that the warehouse area had suddenly become crowded and noisy.
"The cotton in the warehouse is gone!"
"What? Who would be so bored as to steal this stuff? A whole bag of it wouldn't even be enough to sew a quilt."
"No, all the cotton is gone!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Mian stopped what she was doing and looked up in shock. That was two thousand catties of cotton! Who could steal so much cotton overnight?
Liu Juan, standing to the side, curled her lip and said, "Maybe there's a mole inside our farm..."
Upon receiving the news, Ayili rushed over from home. Seeing the empty warehouse, she stomped her feet in anger, yelling, "Which bastard dared to steal my things? Does he have a death wish?!"
She has been growing cotton for so many years, and she has never said anything about the cotton pickers secretly keeping some cotton for themselves.
Unexpectedly, someone dared to steal all the cotton in the entire warehouse, not even afraid of breaking their leg in the middle of the night!
Batur, who was a step too slow, quickly comforted his mother, "Don't worry, I've already called the police, they'll be here soon."
Batur: "They can't have gone far with so much cotton..."
Half an hour later, Ji Yu and her colleagues arrived at the cotton farm in a police car.
They first observed the location of the warehouse, and then had Ayili and Batur call all the cotton pickers over.
Ji Yu, dressed in a police uniform, stood ramrod straight, hands clasped behind his back, and with a serious expression, surveyed the crowd before asking in a deep voice:
"Did anyone pass by the warehouse last night? Did they notice anything unusual?"
Chen Mian hesitated in the crowd, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes. She thought of the rustling sound from last night and wondered if it was unusual. She was also afraid that she had provided the wrong information and misled the police.
While hesitating, Ayili, who was also standing in front of the crowd, became impatient and suddenly shouted:
"Whoever can provide a useful clue to help me find the cotton, I will give them a reward of one hundred yuan!"
The cotton pickers, who had been keeping silent, erupted into a commotion upon hearing this, like oil being poured into hot water.
Someone exclaimed, "I dreamt I heard the sound of machines in the middle of the night last night; maybe they were people coming to steal cotton."
The other person said, "Don't talk nonsense! With your snoring so loud it's deafening, what can you possibly hear!"
Chen Mian was still observing the others when she saw Liu Juan suddenly walk out. "Police officer, I have a lead!"
Ji Yu gestured for the others to be quiet and let Liu Juan continue.
Liu Juan: "I woke up in the middle of the night yesterday to go to the toilet and found that Chen Mian was gone. When I went out to look for her, I found her standing in the warehouse looking around at something."
"I was half asleep and thought I was dreaming, so I quickly went back to sleep, but she didn't come back for quite a while."
Liu Juan added, "Now that I think about it, she must have been keeping watch for those people!"
Ji Yu frowned more and more as she listened, and Ayili beside her also looked stiff. How did this matter involve Chen Mian?
Ji Yu: "What's your name? Do you know that police work is a very serious matter? Talking nonsense can lead to legal consequences."
Upon hearing this, Liu Juan panicked slightly, her eyes flickered, and she pointed at Chen Mian to defend herself, saying, "Officer, I wouldn't dare lie about this. I really saw her last night. You can ask her if you don't believe me."
Liu Juan's heart was beating a little fast, but she reassured herself that she wasn't lying; she had indeed seen Chen Mian peering out from the warehouse last night.
If she helps the farmer, she'll get a whole hundred yuan; if she doesn't, Chen Mian knows Ayili and the others, so she won't lose anything.
Chen Mian pushed through the crowd blocking her way and rushed out to question Liu Juan: "What do you mean by saying these things? Do you think I stole Ayili's cotton with the others?"
Liu Juan's eyes darted around as she evaded the question, saying, "I didn't say that. I was just providing the police with a little clue."
Chen Mian was so angry at Liu Juan's attitude that she trembled. She regarded Liu Juan as an older sister, but she never expected that Liu Juan would frame her for a hundred yuan.
Chen Mian was speechless: "You!"
She hurried forward to explain herself, but accidentally tripped over a stone and fell to the ground.
"Hiss..." My hand is scraped.
Ji Yu strode over to help her up, but she shook her head and refused, saying, "I'm fine, I can get up by myself."
Chen Mian struggled to get up, but found that her right foot hurt and she couldn't put any strength into it.
Seeing this, Ji Yu went around behind her, grabbed Chen Mian's thighs with his big hands, and lifted her up from the ground like a child.
He walked a few steps, put down on a chair, squatted down, and looked down to examine her ankle.
Chen Mian was still eager to explain herself, but when she saw Ji Yu's calm yet slightly concerned gaze, she suddenly felt a little wronged...
A note from the author:
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The next chapter will be available for purchase, so I hope you all will support me! *bows*
Also, let me recommend some of my other works~
Reborn in the 1970s: Not a Do-Good Guy
Before her death, Li Shuyue's biggest regret was that when the county was recruiting soldiers, the eldest son of the Fu family wanted to give his spot to his cousin, but she was too soft-hearted to stop him.
Later, she became seriously ill, and her daughter had to drop out of school to take care of her. They spent their entire lives farming in the village, while her cousin became an official in the capital, enjoying immense prestige...
*
Unexpectedly, when she woke up, she had actually returned to the time right after her wedding.
Conscription hasn't started yet, so she still has a chance.
Having been given a second chance at life, she was determined to make a good plan for their little family...
*
Li Shuyue is an elderly woman who has embraced new things.
Although I am not very literate, I can watch short videos and watch other people argue on live stream.
When she was first reborn, she wasn't used to life without a cell phone and felt very uncomfortable.
But soon, she began to seriously live her own little life.
She sent her husband to join the army, attended literacy classes, and learned to sew.
The sister-in-law, who was crippled by a domestic abuser in her past life, was rescued by her in this life ahead of time;
She brought the new ideas she learned in modern times back to the traditional 1970s...
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead is a very cute old lady who gradually becomes younger in mindset after being reborn.
2. The female protagonist's main obsession after her rebirth is to change the fate of her family.
3. Life always gets better and better; overall, it's a very heartwarming story.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com