It was already 10 p.m. after the banquet ended and everything was cleaned up.
Su Yan's family will be spending the night in the new house tonight and will return to town the next day.
After taking a shower, Su Yan took the money and planned to go to the brigade leader's house. Everyone else was asleep at this time. She opened the door and tiptoed out.
In another room, Su Yu, who was about to go to sleep, heard the noise and immediately got out of bed. As soon as he stepped out the door, he saw his sister's furtive figure and followed her, asking, "Where are you going so late? I'll go with you."
Su Yan was startled by the sudden voice. She turned around and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who it was. "Brother! Do you know how scary it is when you suddenly appear behind me in the middle of the night!"
Su Yu raised an eyebrow, squinting as he sized her up. "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. Are you planning something bad?"
Su Yan rolled her eyes at him and said irritably, "I'm going to the brigade leader's house. You aggravated your internal injuries by carrying that wild boar today. You should go back and lie down. I don't want you to be unable to recover properly at home after taking a leave of absence. When you go back to the unit, people there will think that our family is mistreating you."
After Su Yu finished showering, she took his pulse. Not only was he malnourished, but he also had many internal injuries that wouldn't heal quickly enough. Once they returned to town, she would start cooking him medicinal meals to help him recover as much as possible.
"I'm fine. It's not safe to go so late at night. I'll go with you," Su Yu insisted.
He felt that the village was even less safe than the town. Whether in Lijiapin or Sujiacun, apart from the brigade leader and a few others, he did not feel much kindness from the villagers towards his family. Instead, they were mostly envious and jealous, hoping that something would happen to his family.
What if Ah Yan, a young girl, goes out alone at night and gets targeted by someone with malicious intent?
Su Yan stared at him for a few seconds, but finally gave in, "Alright, let's go then."
The village was very quiet at this moment, and the brother and sister walked along the road in solitude and silence.
When they arrived at the captain's house, Su Yan went up and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Lin Xiuli's puzzled voice came from outside.
“It’s my aunt, Su Yan.”
"Clang—!"
The iron gate was opened.
Lin Xiuli, dressed in her pajamas with a casually draped jacket over her shoulders, hurriedly welcomed them in, saying, "Why are you coming over so late at night? You should get some rest after a busy night."
"We're going back to town tomorrow, so we wanted to finalize things with the team leader about the orchard first, so we don't forget anything in the rush tomorrow. Did we disturb your rest?" Su Yan looked at Lin Xiuli a little embarrassed.
Lin Xiuli said irritably, "What do you mean by disturbing me? Your auntie also has something she wanted to ask you, but she couldn't find a chance to say it earlier."
"What's up?"
"I'll tell you after we've finished talking."
At this moment, the captain also came out of the house. He was stunned when he saw the brother and sister, and then said, "Ayu and Yan haven't rested yet?"
"Ayan wanted to talk to you about something, and I was worried about her safety alone, so I came with her," Su Yu said.
The captain said "Oh," and probably guessed Su Yan's purpose, so he said, "It's chilly outside at night, come inside and we'll talk."
After entering, Lin Xiuli made a cup of sugar water for each of the brother and sister before sitting down next to the brigade leader to listen.
Before speaking, Su Yan took out a stack of brand-new banknotes from her pocket and placed them in the middle of the table, saying, "Uncle Li, there are three thousand yuan in here. Please take it first. Use half to pay wages and the other half for the orchard. How long do you think it will last?"
She definitely didn't have that much cash on her; she asked her mother for it after the banquet.
The captain was stunned. He subconsciously glanced at his wife, then looked away, swallowed hard, and said, "Ayan, you really trust me with so much money? Aren't you afraid I'll embezzle it?"
Hearing this, Su Yan smiled indifferently, "If you were that kind of person, why did you help me, an outsider, so much before? Uncle Li, although I am young, I am always good at judging people. I believe you if you say that other people in the village would be greedy for my money, but I don't believe it if it's you yourself."
You can take this money without worry. Call me when you've used it up and I'll transfer it to you. If you're really concerned, keep a ledger and write down every expense; I'll review it next time I come back.
After all, it involved money, and a considerable amount at that. She didn't want the brigade leader to be hesitant when spending money, so she simply made an account book to record what was spent, so that neither party would have to worry.
After careful consideration, the captain felt that the suggestion of keeping accounts was feasible, which put him at ease.
"Okay, then let's do it your way. Three thousand yuan, if we calculate the short term, it will last about half a year, and if we calculate the long term, it will last eight or nine months."
The main expense now is wages; fertilizer and other similar items are cheap.
Su Yan nodded and continued, "There's another thing. There's half a hill left, and I want to use it to grow medicinal herbs. Actually, I'm thinking of planting fruit trees on one hill and medicinal herbs on the other. Could the fruit seedlings on the remaining half of the hill be combined with the hill full of fruit trees?"
The team leader considered for a moment before replying, "When we planted the saplings, we reserved a lot of space. If we move the saplings from that half-hillside over, there will be enough space, but the trees might grow quite densely once they get bigger. What kind of medicinal herbs do you want to plant? I'll go ask the sapling seller if they have any."
"The medicinal herbs I want to plant can't be bought on the market," Su Yan said slowly. "I'll go to the mountain to find them myself. I'll go back to town a little later tomorrow and find all the seedlings I need before I go back."
"You're going up the mountain again? If it weren't for A-Yu, how could a young girl like you have handled that wild boar? Don't risk your life. It's better to spend more money and find a way to buy it back," Lin Xiuli said worriedly.
After Su Yan's family moved to the town, young people in the village went into the mountains one after another in search of meat. Seven or eight strong young men were killed in the process.
Some encountered wild boars, but couldn't defeat them and ended up with broken bones. Others fell into traps set by the previous generation and couldn't get out, starving for two days before being discovered.
It's unclear whether Su Yan is truly lucky or not, but every time she goes into the mountains, she not only avoids trouble but also manages to bring back meat. The villagers all say she's extraordinary. If her husband hadn't given her a stern lecture, such words would have reached Su Yan's family's ears today.
Su Yan was naturally unaware of these matters, and upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "It's alright, Auntie. My older brother will accompany me into the mountains tomorrow, so you can rest assured."
If it weren't for the fact that she couldn't be discovered, she would have liked to bring the team leader into the mountains to help. With one more person, they could get more medicinal seedlings. What a pity.
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