Chapter 24
twenty four,
Guan Yue asked, "What did the village chief say?"
Cheng Lingjun said seriously, "It's the same as what I tried. It seems that sweet potato noodles are indeed useful."
"I knew it!" Guan Yue clenched her right fist and slammed it into her left palm. "I wasn't lying to you, was I?"
Cheng Lingjun nodded. "No, so you're planning to sell the sweet potato noodles?"
Now that we know this sweet potato is useful, it's not worthless. If Guan Yue takes it to sell, she should be able to.
Guan Yue thought for a moment and hesitated, saying, "I do want to sell it, but I'm afraid people won't be interested if they see sweet potato noodles. If I sell sweet potato flour, it will take a lot of effort. I'm still thinking about what to do."
Guan Yue wasn't particularly interested in selling sweet potatoes, otherwise she would have dealt with the sweet potato issue long ago. Anyway, they wouldn't spoil if left out. If she had only dug up a few, Guan Yue would have eaten them herself. But she dug up quite a lot. Even if she ground them into powder, it would weigh several pounds. It would be a pity to throw them away, and it wouldn't be easy to give them away to others. So Guan Yue kept hesitating.
Cheng Lingjun was silent for a while, then said, "Why don't you take the sweet potatoes to Guping Town and have the shops there grind them for you, then sell them to them? That would save you a lot of trouble."
“But asking someone to help me get money”, Guan Yue was penniless at the moment and was reluctant to do anything involving money. “How about I wait until I’m done with this batch of work, then make the sweet potato flour myself and sell it in town?”
Cheng Lingjun sighed and asked, "Can you?"
"Uh...it's difficult, but I'll do my best," Guan Yue scratched her head and gave an awkward laugh.
She was fine doing other things, being a little tired and busy was no big deal, but she wasn't good at this kind of meticulous work. Guan Yue could tell from her own words that she was feeling guilty.
“I’ll be going to town in a few days to take care of some things. I can help you deliver the noodles and sweet potatoes,” Cheng Lingjun interrupted Guan Yue. “I know some merchants in Guping Town. They should be willing to help me out of respect for me. Even if they want money, they can give me a discount.”
"You're going to Guping Town?" Guan Yue's first reaction wasn't that he had brought her noodles and sweet potatoes, but that Cheng Lingjun was actually going back to Guping Town. Wasn't he supposed to be not going back?
"That would be too much trouble for you," Guan Yue said without asking what he was going to do. After all, Cheng Lingjun hadn't said, and it would be impolite for her to keep asking about his whereabouts. She simply said, "I can really do it myself. You don't need to help me."
Cheng Lingjun shook her head: "I do have some things to do in town, helping you is just something I did on the side."
"Really?" Guan Yue carefully observed his expression. He didn't seem to be forcing her at all, so she didn't refuse any further. She said, "Then if you really want to pay, you must tell me. My family still has quite a lot of rice, and we can exchange it for some money."
“Of course,” Cheng Lingjun smiled, “I certainly won’t pay for you, so don’t worry.”
Seeing his relaxed expression, Guan Yue smiled and said, "If I make any money, I'll definitely share some with you."
"Oh? Then I'll have to work even harder," Cheng Lingjun blinked, making a look of longing on her face.
Guan Yue laughed out loud. She rarely saw Cheng Lingjun with such a relaxed and humorous expression. He was usually so proper and polite, but now he was joking around, which made people feel close to him.
Two days later, Cheng Lingjun indeed told her that he was going to Guping Town.
Guan Yue packed the sweet potatoes and delivered them to the village entrance, asking, "What will happen to Li Guang now that you're gone?"
“It’s alright. I’ve already spoken with Lady Liu. Xiao Guang will stay at her house for a while, and I’ll pick him up when I get back,” Cheng Lingjun said.
How long are you going to be gone?
“We should be back within two hours,” Cheng Lingjun said. “It won’t take too long.”
Guan Yue nodded and watched him leave. She felt a strange feeling in her heart. Even though she knew Cheng Lingjun was only gone for a few hours, she still felt a sense of emptiness. Guan Yue comforted herself, saying that it was because the person she knew best was gone that she felt uneasy.
"I wish she could go with us," Guan Yue suddenly thought.
On the other side, Cheng Lingjun had also ridden away in the carriage. When the big locust tree at the entrance of Dahuai Village became blurry, Sister Wang, who was in the carriage with him, couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Little Cheng, was the person who saw you off Guan Yue?"
Cheng Lingjun noticed that when Sister Wang asked the question, Uncle Niu, who was driving the cart, also pricked up his ears, and their gossipy nature was obvious. He chuckled and said, "Yes."
"Ah!" Sister Wang exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Guan Yue gave it to you? This...this..."
It was obvious what Sister Wang wanted to say, but she couldn't say it because of Cheng Lingjun. However, her eyes were fixed on Cheng Lingjun, as if she wanted to scratch an itch.
Uncle Niu also said, "It really is Guan Yue. I heard she has recently turned over a new leaf. When she came out of the village, Uncle Niu almost didn't recognize her. She has changed so much."
"Yes, yes," Sister Wang said, "I've heard about it too. They've broken ties with Jinlan and the others, and he almost got beaten to death because of it. Sigh, what a story."
The two chatted back and forth, but Cheng Lingjun could clearly sense that their thoughts weren't entirely focused on Guan Yue's recent changes, but rather on him. However, since he didn't say anything, neither of them felt comfortable discussing it.
After a few rounds of small talk, Sister Wang, who was the most impatient, leaned forward slightly, lowered her voice, and said, "Xiao Cheng, well, it's not that Sister Wang likes gossip, I'm just curious, how did Guan Yue change for the better?"
"Perhaps he's figured it out," Cheng Lingjun said casually.
Most of the villagers didn't know about Guan Yue's amnesia, and he couldn't casually reveal Guan Yue's secret. Although these villagers liked to gossip, they were kind-hearted. Cheng Lingjun had asked them to help him buy things in Guping Town several times, but sometimes they liked to pry, which was a bit overwhelming.
After scratching her head for a while, Sister Wang asked again, "What about Guan Yue and you..."
“She asked me to do something for her in town,” Cheng Lingjun said, tapping the bag at her feet. “Didn’t you see it, sister?”
"Yes, I saw her, I saw her," Sister Wang sat up straight for a moment, then asked, "She seemed to treat you quite well?"
"Huh? Really? No, I don't think so," Cheng Lingjun dodged the question, looking completely unaware.
Seeing his reaction, Sister Wang and Uncle Niu didn't dare to press him further. Although they were curious, it was a private matter between men and women, so it was fine to ask, but they couldn't just say anything. Especially Cheng Lingjun, many villagers were interested in Cheng Lingjun's affairs, but no one dared to ask. At most, they would just hint at it or sniff out the details.
Cheng Lingjun knew what they wanted to ask, and he also knew they wouldn't ask too many questions. They wouldn't dare to ask after being rebuffed by him. He was like this most of the time in the village, especially when he first moved here. He could sense that everyone was curious about why he had left home alone with a child, but they didn't dare to ask openly. They looked at him with the same kind of gaze.
At that time, he was very weak and sensitive, and he could hardly bear even the strange looks from outsiders. So he spent most of his time at home with Li Guang. Fortunately, he gradually recovered, and Village Chief Rui took the initiative to approach him and provide him with some help. He got through the most difficult period.
Now, when Cheng Lingjun faces such gazes and veiled words, he naturally doesn't feel as uncomfortable as before, and he can deal with them more easily. He still doesn't want others to delve too much into his past unpleasantness, not because he's afraid of gossip, but because he doesn't want to touch that buried pain again.
So why has he reappeared here now?
Cheng Lingjun got off the car. Guping Town has two main streets, East Street and West Street. East Street is mostly lined with neat shops and restaurants, while West Street is mainly filled with mobile and messy stalls. The two streets are right next to each other. You can often hear the hawking of West Street from East Street and see guests coming and going from West Street.
Cheng Lingjun got off the carriage on East Street. Sister Wang and Uncle Niu were going to West Street. They said goodbye to him and told him to come find them on West Street after he finished his business. Then they drove the carriage away.
Cheng Lingjun stood still, not moving for a long time.
Actually, he hadn't been away for very long, and the familiar atmosphere here immediately reminded him of the time he lived here.
But the illusion soon vanished, and he found himself unable to immerse himself in it. Even simply recalling some ordinary scenes would cause a brief pang in his heart.
He decided to stop thinking about it. He came here to solve Guan Yue's problem with the sweet potatoes. That bag of sweet potatoes was quite heavy. Uncle Niu helped drive the car to the vicinity of the destination, and Cheng Lingjun only needed to walk a short distance to get there.
He knew this road very well; he could walk it with his eyes closed. Soon, he arrived at a shop.
Cheng Lingjun looked up and saw the plaque that read: Qu's Grain Shop, four simple characters. The shop was not in the very center of East Street. It was not a big shop, but it was full of goods, piled up in a mess. There was a thin layer of dust on the ground, and a man was sweeping the floor.
Seeing Cheng Lingjun stop in front of his shop, the man immediately looked up, his face full of smiles, "What can I do for you... Ling, Lingjun!"
The man's voice cracked slightly the moment he called out her name. Cheng Lingjun quickly gestured for him to be quiet. The man put down the broom, took a few steps forward, and said, suppressing his excitement, "You, you're back?!"
The man's actions caught the attention of the women in the store. One of them put down the goods she was carrying and wiped her hands. Because the man was blocking Cheng Lingjun's face, she couldn't see him clearly for a moment and called out, "Old He, is... is a customer here... yes!"
Old He immediately covered the woman's mouth and whispered, "Alright, alright, don't be so loud. Look who's here."
Cheng Lingjun smiled and said, "Miss Qu, it's me."
Qu Niang's eyes widened suddenly, her mouth agape, and she stammered, "Little...Little Cheng, you're back? Where's...Li Guang?"
Qu Niang has a stutter. It's fine if she speaks slowly, but she stutters when she speaks quickly or gets excited. Cheng Lingjun took their hands and led them inside, saying as they walked, "It's me. Don't make a fuss. Xiao Guang isn't here. I came alone."
Old He was lame, and Cheng Lingjun helped him slowly forward. Upon seeing Cheng Lingjun, he was so excited that before even entering the shop, he immediately asked, "Where did Xiao Guang go? And where did you go? My wife and I thought something had happened to you. Oh, thank God, it's so good that you're alright. Are you... coming back?"
They had all heard about what had happened to Cheng Lingjun, but they didn't know the actual situation. Cheng Lingjun knew they were worried, so she comforted them, "Xiao Guang is fine too. I just came to see you this time, so don't worry."
"You...aren't you going home?"
“I’m not going back,” Cheng Lingjun laughed. “My home isn’t here.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
