Chapter 56: Someone Breaks In
Upon hearing this, Wang Cuihua's face showed a hint of pride as she said, "Of course, this is our sister."
Shen Zhiyi was already used to being with Wang Cuihua, and said as she opened the door, "Yes, we're all family."
As soon as she pushed open the door, she caught a glimpse of the cabbages in the vegetable garden that had been inexplicably trampled, and realized that someone had sneaked into her house.
Just as Wang Cuihua was about to go inside, Shen Zhiyi stopped her and whispered, "Sister Cuihua, someone has sneaked into my yard. I don't know if that person is still here."
Wang Cuihua swallowed hard upon hearing this. She first placed the heavy basket in the corner of the yard. It was too late to turn around and leave now, so she picked up the hoe in the corner and whispered, "Follow me."
She wouldn't listen to any rebuttal as she spoke. Wang Cuihua picked up her hoe and went inside first. Shen Zhiyi watched her back as her heart was filled with emotion.
Zheng Lanhua held Shen Zhiyi's hand tightly, as if she were about to run away if things went wrong.
At this moment, the lock on the door had been pried open at some point and was hanging there awkwardly. Wang Cuihua's expression became increasingly solemn. She suddenly slammed the door open, gripped the hoe handle tightly, and stared intently into the room, able to see everything at a glance.
Apart from the ransacked trunks and beds, there was no one else.
Fortunately, it was a false alarm.
"Girl, why don't you move in with me? It's too unsafe for you to live here alone," Wang Cuihua said, still feeling uneasy.
"Luckily, I brought all my money with me today," Shen Zhiyi said thankfully. Thinking about how a villain might sneak in under the cover of darkness and kill her, who could she complain to? She had to think about her own life. "If I went to Sister Cuihua's house, wouldn't Brother Ashun have to sleep alone?"
"Then let him sleep alone," Wang Cuihua said calmly. She only realized what was happening when she heard Zheng Lanhua's light laughter. Then she looked at Shen Zhiyi and said, "Oh, you little brat, you dare to tease me."
Seeing that she was about to be beaten, Shen Zhiyi quickly begged for mercy: "Sister Cuihua, spare me! I just asked casually and didn't think much of it at the time."
Shen Zhiyi tidied up the messed-up things, mainly checking if the seedlings had been damaged.
Seeing that she was looking closely, Wang Cuihua stopped arguing about the teasing and instead asked worriedly, "Is Miaomiao alright?"
"Luckily, the people who came in weren't interested in these things, so they're all fine," Shen Zhiyi said thankfully.
"That's alright! That's alright!" Wang Cuihua said slowly.
Shen Zhiyi turned to Zheng Lanhua and got down to business: "Sister Lanhua, the rule here is that we have to charge 10% of the selling price as seed money when we supply seedlings. So how much do you charge over there?"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Lanhua fell silent.
On the other hand, Wang Cuihua, who was standing to the side, looked anxious and whispered, "Since Sister Shen said she wants money for the seeds, it means she has already thought about how to buy and sell them for you. What are you still hesitating about!"
"I was just thinking about how many trips I'd have to make today since one cart couldn't hold everything, but you've been making so much noise that I don't even know where I left off with the calculations," Zheng Lanhua said, disgruntled.
“According to my method of composting, only a few of the wastelands in your village are suitable for planting now, right?” Shen Zhiyi estimated.
“Yes, we have to avoid those people over there. The wasteland is being cleared more slowly and at different paces. But we’re doing it all according to the composting method that Sister Shen taught us, and the compost there is really good,” Zheng Lanhua said with a smile. “There are a total of five acres that can be planted.”
"Five mu? Are the people in your village working day and night to clear the land? It's only been a short time, and you've already accumulated so much!" Wang Cuihua exclaimed in surprise.
“There’s no other way. Our village already has nothing left. If we don’t work harder, our descendants will starve to death…” Zheng Lanhua said, her voice tinged with sadness, before she stopped herself. “Sister, whatever you say, we’ll do it.”
When Shen Zhiyi went to Yugou Village, she compared the temperature changes between the two villages in her mind. They were relatively close, so based on the recent warming of the temperature, it was indeed a suitable temperature for transplantation.
Although a large temperature difference can ensure the sweetness of the cold melon, we can't worry about that at this time. We need to plant it first, increase the number of seeds, and then we can think about other things.
“One cart isn’t enough,” Shen Zhiyi said, starting to move the seedlings and then arranging them according to the spacing used when planting them. “This distance is the shortest interval for intercropping chili peppers and cucumbers. If they are too close together, neither will grow well.”
Upon hearing this, Zheng Lanhua weighed the options in her own way. At the same time, Shen Zhiyi also spoke about how to take care of them. She nodded repeatedly and then slowly said, "It seems that my cart is still not full."
“What are you afraid of? My family has carts too! If that’s not enough, we can bring Ah Shun along. Three carts should be enough,” Wang Cuihua said generously, prompting Zheng Lanhua to wipe her eyes. “Our lives will get better!”
“Yes, it will definitely get better,” Zheng Lanhua said confidently. “I’ll push the cart over first. I’m determined to take these seedlings back today.”
“I’ll go with you,” Wang Cuihua said as she followed him out.
Shen Zhiyi took out some dried straw from the room next door and quickly bundled the seedlings into neat bundles.
The three of them were busy with their own tasks. These seedlings couldn't be pressed down, so they had to be placed upright on the carts, filling all the gaps. It would take two carts to finish.
“How about we split into three cars and let Ashun go with us? That way he won’t be worried and unable to sleep at night if he can’t see me,” Wang Cuihua said frankly, without realizing she was exposing Deng Ashun’s weakness. “It’ll be safer for us to go back together.”
"It's just that you're here, little sister. Go home first. Your mother, that is, your Aunt Deng, will be home," Wang Cuihua thoughtfully instructed.
“I’ll be sharing a room with Ge Niu tonight,” Shen Zhiyi said. “Don’t worry about me, Sister Cuihua. I’ll talk to Grandpa Village Chief about this later. I don’t know if it’s just my family or if other people in the village are in the same situation.”
"Okay, as long as you know what I mean," Wang Cuihua said. "Your sister Lanhua and I will take the cart out first. You should go to Ge Niu's place soon."
"I know," Shen Zhiyi replied, seeing them off from the courtyard.
Seeing that more than half of the seedlings inside the house were gone, Shen Zhiyi felt relieved. She wasn't afraid of being robbed of money, but rather of the seedlings being ruined. Fortunately, they were alright.
The remaining portion can only be temporarily stored at the village chief's house.
Fortunately, we can take most of them away tomorrow. The rest are the seeds we cultivate daily, but we haven't found suitable soil to plant them yet.
When Shen Zhiyi saw the fence in her backyard that was missing half a piece, she guessed that the person must have climbed over from there.
She went over to check, and found that she could easily turn over even with a slightly larger stone under her feet. It seemed that building a house had to be made a top priority.
Just in case, Shen Zhiyi checked the chili field. Before she knew it, the sun was setting. She hurried out and ran into the village chief and his men who were returning with hoes.
"Girl, what's wrong?" The village chief knew something was wrong as soon as he saw Shen Zhiyi's expression, and quickly asked.
Shen Zhiyi briefly recounted what had happened, which made the village chief even more nervous. He turned to the others and said, "You all go back and check if you've lost anything. If you have, report it to me. Let's make this clear beforehand: don't report things you've broken and can't find. If a lot of things are lost, we'll have to report it to the authorities."
Those who hadn't dispersed immediately became serious upon hearing this, and the crowd gradually dispersed as they hurried home.
Only Ge Sanquan remained in place, his hesitant expression making the village chief frown.
"Sanquan, what's wrong? Is there something wrong at home? Just say it, don't dawdle here," the village chief said hurriedly.
Ge Sanquan nervously rubbed his hands, his voice hoarse as he said, "It's not safe for Chen Yatou here. Why don't you come to my...my house? Niu Niu's kang can sleep two people, and the quilts are new."
Hearing such simple and unpretentious words, Shen Zhiyi smiled gently and said, "Alright, I was thinking of staying at Uncle Sanquan's house before, but I didn't expect you to speak first. I'll go later then. You don't need to prepare my dinner. I'll eat at home first! Even if you prepare it, I won't be able to eat it."
"Okay, I'll go back and tell Niu Niu right away," Ge Sanquan said with a simple smile, and ran back immediately.
The village chief looked at Ge Sanquan like a child, not at all like an uncle, and couldn't bear to look at him!
"What about the seedlings in your house? If a thief can come once, he can come again, and he might even target the seedlings," the village chief quickly asked.
"I was thinking of sending the seedlings to the village chief's house first, and tomorrow I'll hire the old man's oxcart to transport most of them to Shunshui Village for trial planting," Shen Zhiyi said earnestly.
"Well, it's good that you have a plan in mind," the village chief said, looking at his son who was standing there blankly. "Shitou, you heard that too. Go back and pull the cart to get the seedlings back and put them away properly."
"Dad, I know," Li Shitou replied, hoisting the hoe onto his shoulder and running forward at top speed.
"Slow down!" the village chief called out to the retreating figure, muttering under his breath, "He's almost a father, yet he's still like a child."
"Oh, by the way, girl," the village chief turned to look at Shen Zhiyi, feeling somewhat embarrassed to bring this up himself, but with the matter so close, he couldn't leave without giving her a heads-up. He could only say, "Your Grandma Qin recently went home to visit relatives, and she has a nephew and grandnephew who she says is very studious, handsome, and intelligent. I've met him before; he's a good young man, he..."
"Oh dear, I almost forgot, there are still pancakes baking on the stove, I have to go back first." Shen Zhiyi interrupted, turned around and pushed open the courtyard gate, "Grandpa Village Chief, I won't keep you, go back and rest early."
"Hey? Girl, what a fine young man! He won't wait for anyone." The village chief called out through the crack in the door, "Once this person is gone, he's gone! Anyway, he'll be back with your Grandma Qin the day after tomorrow. You should meet him then, just in case you hit it off."
Shen Zhiyi, listening from inside the door, felt a headache coming on and didn't know what to say in rebuttal. She could only walk towards the stove; she couldn't very well say that they were making pancakes without even lighting a cigarette.
Fortunately, the village chief left after speaking, and Shen Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief.
The pressure to get married is really getting more and more intense.
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