Chapter 48 High-Price Poaching
In the afternoon, Su Tangtang went to find the villagers who had helped them with the work before. She was worried that they would not be willing to take on the work because of the hot weather, but she did not expect that as soon as she asked, the elderly women readily agreed.
Considering the hot weather, Su Tangtang raised the wages to 120 yuan a day this time. When she led her people to the field, she ran into Meng Meng and her group. However, this time, as soon as Meng Meng saw her, she quickly walked away.
Su Tangtang snorted softly, thinking to herself that this person was probably determined not to pay back the money, which was why he avoided her whenever he saw her.
Shen Yingying, who was standing to the side, took the initiative to speak, "Tangtang, where did you find the workers? We went to find workers, but they didn't want to do it."
Su Tangtang was a little surprised, but still replied, "We found them in the village. Didn't you look for them before? Why don't you go and ask them again?"
Shen Yingying sighed, "I asked them, and they said it's too hot and they're not willing to do it."
Su Tangtang nodded. "There's really no other way. Why don't you go ask the next village? We need to plant the vegetables before mid-August. With just the two of us, and in this heat, we definitely can't keep up."
Shen Yingying replied, "Yes, let's think of another way."
At this moment, Gu Qingke, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, "In this hot weather, if it's really not working, then don't do it."
Su Tangtang couldn't help but roll her eyes at him, "If we're not going to do it, why don't you come and do it for us?"
Gu Qingke actually nodded, "Okay."
He even wanted to switch places with Huo Yizhou, so that he could work in the fields with Su Tangtang, while Huo Yizhou could work in the fields with Shen Yingying.
Su Tangtang was speechless for a moment, and subconsciously looked at Shen Yingying. She noticed that the smile on Shen Yingying's face had faded a bit, so Su Tangtang did not continue the topic.
Before long, the group arrived at the field. Su Tangtang thought they could finally separate, but unexpectedly, Shen Yingying and Gu Qingke also followed them into her field.
Before she could speak, Shen Yingying interrupted, "We just want to see how your progress is."
Su Tangtang pursed her lips and didn't reply.
At this moment, Huo Yizhou saw Su Tangtang leading the workers over from afar and walked over quickly. When he got closer, he noticed that Gu Qingke was also there, and looked at Su Tangtang with a slightly questioning gaze.
Su Tangtang explained, "They said they wanted to see how much we'd done."
Then she turned to Aunt Zhang and the others and said, "Auntie, you can go and get busy in the field over there."
Aunt Zhang smiled and agreed, "Okay!"
Su Tangtang added, "It's hot, so don't rush to finish. Take a break when you're tired and drink plenty of water."
Aunt Ma replied cheerfully, "I know, I know!"
These elderly women had helped Su Tangtang's family with chores several times before and were very familiar with the vegetable garden. After hearing the instructions, they went to get busy on their own.
After they left, Su Tangtang saw Gu Qingke and Shen Yingying still standing there and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you going to do your own work?"
Gu Qingke looked at her silently, and Shen Yingying slowly replied, "No rush."
She turned to look at Huo Yizhou, her tone concerned, "Yizhou, you're all sweaty," and handed him a tissue.
Huo Yizhou did not answer.
Shen Yingying withdrew her hand somewhat awkwardly.
Su Tangtang watched from the side, her mind filled with questions.
What's going on? Shen Yingying is actually showing concern for her boyfriend right in front of her?
She frowned slightly and looked at Shen Yingying.
Shen Yingying wore a polite smile. "Tangtang, don't mind him. I just saw that he was sweating a lot."
Su Tangtang pursed her lips and said calmly, "It's nothing."
As she spoke, she calmly took out a tissue from her pocket and, under their watchful eyes, gently wiped the sweat from Huo Yizhou's forehead.
Huo Yizhou readily bent down, letting her do as she pleased. The natural intimacy between the two caused Gu Qingke and Shen Yingying, who were standing to the side, to change their expressions.
Shen Yingying forced a smile and said, "Then we'll be going now, so we won't bother you any longer."
Su Tangtang looked up and smiled brightly, "Okay."
After the two walked away, Su Tangtang pouted slightly, "My boyfriend is being targeted by someone."
Huo Yizhou put his arm around her shoulder, his voice tinged with amusement, "Jealous?"
Su Tangtang snorted and turned her face away, "I didn't."
"Don't worry," Huo Yizhou pulled her closer to him, "You're the only one in my heart."
Su Tangtang then looked up at him, her eyes and brows filled with a smile, "That's more like it."
-
As soon as Shen Yingying and Gu Qingke reached the edge of the field, Meng Meng rushed over.
"What's wrong?" Shen Yingying asked.
Meng Meng tugged at her sleeve and lowered her voice, "I want to whisper something to you."
Shen Yingying nodded and was about to follow Meng Meng when Gu Qingke grabbed her arm. She frowned in confusion, "What are you doing?"
Gu Qingke leaned close to her ear, her voice low but clear, "You'd better not cause trouble for Su Tangtang, otherwise, I will never let you off the hook."
Shen Yingying chuckled upon hearing this, meeting his gaze without flinching. She didn't even bother to notice the cameraman beside her, knowing the director would cut it anyway. She said, "You care about her so much? Then I'll give it a try."
A thin layer of anger surfaced in Gu Qingke's eyes. "Then you won't get a single penny of the compensation we agreed on before."
These words instantly froze the smile on Shen Yingying's face. She remained silent for a moment, then calmed down and said, "Don't worry."
Who would turn down money? She naturally wouldn't touch Su Tangtang until she received the compensation Gu Qingke promised. Anyway, as long as she didn't do it herself, it was fine.
She glanced down at Gu Qingke's hand, which was still clutching her sleeve.
Gu Qingke then released her.
Shen Yingying scoffed coldly, then turned and left with Meng Meng.
Meng Meng looked at the photographer and said, "You guys don't need to follow us. We're going back to use the restroom and will be right back."
Upon hearing this, the photographer decided it was inappropriate to follow.
After walking for a while, Meng Meng said, "I've thought of a way to deal with Su Tangtang."
Although there was no one with them, Meng Meng still spoke very softly.
Shen Yingying asked, "What method?"
Meng Meng whispered a few words in her ear, then asked, "How was it?"
Shen Yingying replied, "That's right."
"It's just a bit expensive."
Meng Meng said, "It's okay, I'll pay for it."
Shen Yingying said, "Don't you have a lot of money? And you still have to pay back Su Tangtang and the others."
Meng Meng smiled slyly, "Who said I'm paying her back now? I'll just agree to it for now, and in a couple of days I'll buy the vegetable seeds and fertilizer. When she asks me for money again, I'll just say I don't have any."
Shen Yingying pursed her lips, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Well done."
I won't let her have an easy time.
Meng Meng smiled.
Shen Yingying said, "I'll pay for it; you can keep your money for yourselves."
Meng Meng hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."
-
The next morning, Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou arrived at the field on time to work, only to find that Aunt Zhang and the others they had hired the day before were nowhere to be found, even though they had agreed to come to work at the field at six o'clock in the morning.
Huo Yizhou reassured him, "It might be a little later, let's wait and see."
Su Tangtang nodded, but couldn't help muttering, "They were always pretty punctual before..."
Huo Yizhou's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not respond.
The two of them then buried themselves in their work.
Aunt Zhang and her three companions were indeed efficient workers; they completed two mu of land in just one day yesterday. In comparison, the two of them were much slower.
An hour passed, and Zhang Da Niang and the others still hadn't arrived.
Su Tangtang straightened up, looking at the empty road, her voice filled with worry, "They're not coming, are they?"
Huo Yizhou pondered for a moment and said, "I guess so, but it's also possible that something came up and delayed them."
Su Tangtang felt increasingly uneasy. "I always felt that they weren't the type to come without saying hello."
A vague unease rose in her heart, but she didn't think about it any further and just kept her head down and continued working.
After hoeing two rows of land, Su Tangtang remembered another matter on her mind, "Meng Meng and the others still haven't paid back the money. I think she's determined to renege on the debt."
Huo Yizhou straightened up and patted the dirt off his hands. "After lunch, we'll go straight to her house and ask for it."
“Okay,” Su Tangtang nodded. “Paying back debts is a matter of course.”
The two chatted as they worked without stopping.
After a while, Su Tangtang suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, why don't we stop by Aunt Zhang's house at noon to ask about the situation?"
Huo Yizhou softly agreed, "Okay."
Before we knew it, the sun had risen directly overhead.
Originally planned to finish work at 11 o'clock, we ended up working until midnight.
"I'm so hungry, let's go back quickly," Su Tangtang said, rubbing her aching back.
Huo Yizhou neatly packed up the farm tools, and the two of them walked out of the greenhouse one after the other.
As soon as they stepped onto the road, Su Tangtang suddenly grabbed Huo Yizhou's sleeve and pointed to a spot not far away. "Look! Aren't those Aunt Zhang and the others?" She squinted to examine them closely. "And that one next to her... isn't that Meng Meng?"
Huo Yizhou looked in the direction she pointed and said in a deep voice, "It's her."
Su Tangtang immediately understood what was going on, and stomped her foot in anger, "This is too much!"
Huo Yizhou also realized that Aunt Zhang and the others had clearly been temporarily hired by Meng Meng with higher wages.
Su Tangtang felt a tightness in her chest, but for a moment she didn't know who to blame.
Huo Yizhou gently put his arm around her shoulder. "Don't rush, we'll find someone else."
"It's so hot, how easy is it to find someone..." Su Tangtang pouted and sighed helplessly, "Actually, I can't blame Aunt Zhang and the others, after all, Meng Meng offered a higher price."
Huo Yizhou gently patted her shoulder and comforted her softly, "Let's raise the wages a bit, and someone will eventually be willing to do it."
Su Tangtang breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "That's the only way."
In the end, the two did not go to argue with Aunt Zhang and the others. After all, they couldn't be blamed; they were out working to earn money.
"Let's not cook today, let's go to town to eat," Huo Yizhou suggested when he saw that she was still a little sullen.
Su Tangtang replied, "Okay."
Back home, the two rode their electric bikes to town. By the time they finished eating and returned, it was already past 1 p.m. Su Tangtang looked in the direction of Meng Meng's house and said firmly, "We're going to Meng Meng's house now to ask for the money."
Huo Yizhou nodded. "I was just about to bring this up. I thought you'd forgotten since you hadn't said anything."
"How could I forget?" Su Tangtang bit her lip. "I was going to give her a few more days, but after what she did today, I have to get this money back today!"
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