009
The next day, after the rain stopped, Xie Sui'an was awakened by the chirping of birds outside the window. He was still dazed when he opened his eyes, but he could already smell the aroma of rice coming from the main room.
His clothes from yesterday had dried. He looked around but didn't see anyone from Jinyun, so he coughed heavily and called out, "Jinyun."
Jinyun was roasting taro outside when he heard this and ran in: "Young master, you're awake. Young master, please wait for me to wash my hands before I help you change your clothes."
Seeing that his hands were covered in black soot, Xie Sui'an knew he was roasting taro again. He said with a stern face, "Never eaten taro before? Hasn't the young master given you your monthly allowance? Are Sangsang and the others outside?"
The first two sentences were still cursing, but the last sentence was too abrupt. Jinyun was stunned for a moment and said, "Miss Sangsang and the others went out early this morning."
"You're out so early?"
Jinyun said, "The sun has already risen, young master, look at the ground!"
Xie Sui'an looked down and, sure enough, saw a ray of sunlight sneaking in through the window crack. He then realized that it was indeed a bit dazzling and lazily said, "Oh. Then help this young master change his clothes."
After Jinyun helped the young master dress, put on stockings, and wash up, she said, "There's rice porridge and freshly roasted taro outside. Would you like some, young master?"
Xie Sui'an asked, "Where did Sangsang and the others go? Isn't the road wet so early in the morning?"
Jinyun looked somewhat reluctant.
Xie Sui'an: "Hmm?"
“Young Master,” Jinyun said with difficulty, “her name is Qin Sang. You’ve only met her a few times, isn’t it inappropriate to call her by her nickname?”
Xie Sui'an was taken aback and raised his hand to hit him, but Jinyun quickly dodged to the door and pointed outside: "They're picking tea over there!"
Xie Sui'an looked in the direction he was pointing and indeed saw several small figures in a patch of lush green tea fields in the distance. He immediately straightened his clothes, put on his shoes, and was about to leave when Jinyun said, "Young master, aren't you going to eat breakfast? It's all ready."
Xie Sui'an glanced back at the few dark taro roots and said disdainfully, "What ugly things, I won't eat them."
Jinyun said, "Alright, then Miss Qin Sang's rice porridge was cooked for nothing..."
"..." Xie Sui'an reached out: "Do you have any that's been cooled down? Give me a bowl."
Jinyun then gave him a bowl, and Young Master Xie frowned as he drank it down in one gulp. He wiped his mouth and said, "Let's go, let's go for a stroll."
Jinyun glanced at the taro she had just roasted, bit her lip, and silently followed her master out the door.
Recently, Qin Sang has been frequently visiting the tea mountains because her tea garden has reached the harvest season. She enjoys making tea herself and developing tea cakes with different aromas, which is a refined hobby for her when she has nothing else to do.
While picking tea, I suddenly spotted a familiar face and called out across the tea field, "Aunt Yun, Aunt Yun!"
The person looking up was a young woman, wearing a straw hat, with freckles all over her face, and looking somewhat lost and haggard.
This young woman was the daughter-in-law of the old man Qian, whom her grandmother had mentioned before. He had sold the tea plantation at a low price and then suddenly died. She often went up the mountain to help her family pick tea. At this moment, she was carrying a baby who was biting its nails on her back. She was quite familiar with Qin Sang.
"Didn't I hear that your family's tea fields were all sold?" Qin Sang laughed. "Or perhaps I misheard?"
Yun Gu stared at her for a long time, but didn't say anything, and lowered her head with a gloomy expression.
Qin Sang's heart sank. She realized that her grandmother's words were indeed true. Judging from Yun Gu's expression, something must have happened at home.
At the same time, she noticed that several old tea-picking farmers around Yun Gu were looking in her direction, all with strange expressions.
Qin Sang then picked up the basket and led Ying'er over.
The baby on Yun Gu's back looked at her babbling. She took a piece of mung bean cake out of the basket, and the baby reached out and took it with outstretched arms.
"Tiger Girl is getting prettier and prettier, her eyes are so big," Qin Sang said casually.
At this moment, Yun Gu finally couldn't help but sob softly. Qin Sang asked gently, "What's wrong?"
Yun Gu choked back tears and said in a low voice, "Sang Sang, you have to be careful. Those families who come to buy the tea gardens are powerful and influential. We can't afford to offend them."
Qin Sang asked again, "What's wrong?"
Yun Gu wiped away her tears with her sleeve: "My father-in-law refused to sell the land, and they... they beat him to death..."
Qin Sang frowned: "Killed him? Didn't you report it to the authorities?"
“I reported it,” Yun Gu cried. “The officials arrested a nobody and said they would interrogate him slowly. But the mastermind behind it all was not that nobody. Our tea plantation was still taken away. Fifty or sixty acres of land were given for only fifty strings of cash. My mother-in-law cried until she fainted, and my husband was seriously injured in a fight with those thugs.”
Qin Sang noticed that there were also some scratches on her rolled-up sleeves, and it wasn't hard to imagine the chaos at the time.
The baby on her back was eating cake, and his nose and saliva were stuck together. She took a handkerchief to help wipe them away. She hesitated for a moment, but couldn't think of anything else to do.
There are countless examples of power struggles in the world, even immortals are too busy to deal with them all... She patted Yun Gu on the back and walked out of this heartbreaking place, bumping into Xie Sui'an who had just come out.
Young Master Xie exclaimed, "Wow, what a beautiful day! The wind is gentle, the clouds are light, and the spring breeze carries the fragrance of flowers and grass. Ah, what a lovely scene!"
Qin Sang glanced at him disdainfully. Xie Sui'an was taken aback, then crossed his hands and said, "Miss Qin Sang, why are you giving me this look again this morning? I saved you yesterday, after all."
On one side lies the abyss of suffering, and on the other, boundless wealth and leisurely ease. How could one not be angry? However, before Qin Sang could speak, she caught a glimpse of a group of carefree hooligans coming down the mountain path.
The men who came were all dressed in black, carrying wooden sticks, and walked arrogantly, as if they wanted everyone to know they were thugs.
Xie Sui'an followed Qin Sang's gaze and was also taken aback. Jin Yun had already stepped to his young master's side. However, perhaps feeling that the newcomer was not particularly threatening, he was only slightly wary and did not take much precautions.
Xie Sui'an squinted and said, "Oh my, where did this thug come from? He looks a bit fierce."
Jinyun said, "It seems they're here for Miss Qin Sang, young master..." He couldn't finish his sentence. Last night, Qin Sang had at least taken them in, given them food, clothes, and a place to sleep. Now that she was in trouble, there was no reason for him to stand idly by.
But he was the young master's personal guard, and he was already going to be punished for sneaking out. If something else went wrong, he would lose his life.
Fortunately, those people did not walk this way, but instead went towards a few tea farmers picking tea in the distant tea field.
"Pick properly! Hurry up and don't slack off. If you ruin my master's tea leaves, you'll be sorry!" The young man in the lead, carrying a stick and chewing betel nut, grinned and showed a mouthful of red teeth as he urged the tea farmers in the tea field that originally belonged to Old Man Qian to work.
Then, taking advantage of his master's power, he put on airs and said, "Our Master Li is kind-hearted and willing to give you this opportunity to make money. You should be grateful and burn incense in gratitude. Don't be so gloomy all day long. What if the tea leaves you pick get moldy and don't smell good?! Cheer up and smile!"
Qin Sang looked at the old farmers with their wrinkled faces, forcing smiles, and felt a surge of anger rising within her. She clicked her tongue and said, "Where did you all come from, you hooligans and petty criminals? If I remember correctly, isn't this tea field the Qian family's? How did it become your master's? What's your master's name? How dare you seize farmland in broad daylight?!"
Upon hearing this, the young man chewing betel nut immediately craned his neck to look over, squinting at Qin Sang for a while before exclaiming, "Oh, isn't this the third daughter of the Qin family? Hehe, it's me! San Yang! Don't you remember me? Ah, important people have bad memories, I really don't remember. I delivered flowers to you on behalf of the second young master of the Yang family!"
Qin Sang remembered this face. There was an inconspicuous scar on his left cheek. He was tall, but his appearance was sleazy. He had been following Yang Wenhao around as a lackey for years, making a living off him.
What's he doing here? Could this be related to Yang Wenhao?
Just as he was about to speak, San Yang straightened his back with a grin: "Hey, what are you doing here, Third Sister? Something happened at Renxintang. Aren't you going back to take a look? Tsk tsk tsk, Old Master Tang's medical skills are so bad that he killed someone, resulting in the death of both mother and child. People came knocking on his door, and he was so angry that he vomited blood!"
Qin Sang didn't react for a moment: "What?"
Master went to Quzhou Prefecture to treat patients and hasn't returned yet. How come he vomited blood again overnight?
Seeing the other thugs watching and laughing at her, Qin Sang realized it was real. Panicked, she turned and left.
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