Chapter 57 Returning Home to Harvest Potatoes... (The speaker was feeling listless...)
The listless shopkeeper Wu lifted his eyelids and looked around; he was starting to sway precariously.
Lin Qingan approached step by step, provocatively saying, "Surprised? Excited? Do you believe it's just such a coincidence?"
Manager Wu looked dejected and had nothing to say.
"Was this the person you sent to Baiweifang to steal the secret recipe?" the village headman demanded loudly.
Manager Wu remained silent. Officer Qiu understood the situation and, after discussing it with his colleagues, decided to stay and wait for the main force to arrive.
Things were handled faster than expected. The next morning, Manager Wu and all those involved were taken to the entrance of Yipinzhai. There were so many people who had bought pastries from his shop, and so many people were involved. Before long, the shop was surrounded by people.
Rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves were all served to Manager Wu and his men.
Liu Xing's mother and wife also rushed over upon hearing the news. They repeatedly pressed Manager Wu to tell him whether Liu Xing had been wronged. Manager Wu was unable to refute them, and his silence proved everything.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were hitting and tearing at Manager Wu, crying and begging for his life. The village head and the people he brought helped to pull them apart, thus preventing further injury.
It's not that I'm afraid he'll die, it's that I'm afraid he'll die too soon and I won't be able to give an account of what happened.
No one in charge at Yipinzhai appeared at the last moment when Manager Wu was taken away. No one knew who it was, and none of the victims could find anyone to compensate them. So they rushed into the shop and grabbed the valuables.
Whether they had bought before or not, everyone went in, and the sounds of scrambling were deafening. The village head and the person in charge of the town also came out with their men to resolve the situation.
Lin Qing'an didn't want to get involved in what happened next, and he and Chen Gengnian were about to return to Baiweifang when they were stopped.
It was Liu Xing's mother, wife, and children.
The old man and woman, their faces etched with hardship, bowed their heads and apologized to Lin Qing'an and Chen Gengnian.
“Young man, my daughter and I are so sorry. We were blinded by that bastard and that’s why we did such a thing to hurt you. I’m willing to be your slave, I just hope you can forgive us... and spare my daughter-in-law and grandson.”
The old woman was about to kneel down when Chen Gengnian quickly stepped forward and pulled her back, saying, "You don't need to do this, we can't accept it."
Lin Qing'an didn't say anything more, but took out some candy from his pocket and handed it to the child Liu was holding. The child didn't dare to take it and looked at Lin Qing'an timidly.
Lin Qing'an stuffed the candy into the boy's arms and smiled gently at him, saying, "Here you go! If you want candy in the future, come to my shop and I'll get it for you."
After finishing speaking, Lin Qingan didn't care whether the other party wanted it or not, grabbed Chen Gengnian's sleeve and strode away towards home.
The noise continued when a childish yet timid shout reached their ears from behind.
"Brother~"
Lin Qingan and Chen Gengnian stopped at the same time, then turned to look at the little boy. It was the first time Lin Qingan and Chen Gengnian had seen a smile on his face since they met him.
The little guy had two deep dimples, and his smile was especially sweet. He held up the candy in his hand and waved it in the direction of Lin Qing'an and the others, saying loudly, "Thank you, brothers."
Lin Qing'an's lip line, which had been taut for so long, finally relaxed and unconsciously began to curve.
After the dust settled and a series of events occurred, the shop's business returned to normal.
However, when Lin Jing came to deliver the goods, she mentioned that the potatoes at home were ready for harvest, so Lin Qing'an arranged for Chen Gengnian to go back and harvest them with them. Even if they hired someone, there had to be a man at home.
Chen Gengnian couldn't refuse, so he had to ask Lin Jing to come up and help Lin Qing'an. But Lin Jing's arrival meant that no one would be delivering goods anymore, so everyone hesitated again.
When Lin Jing got home, she told Liu Yiyi about it. Liu Yiyi said that she also missed her mother, so she could come too.
After weighing the options, Lin Qing'an rented a room for Liu Yiyi and Lin Jing not far away, which would also make it convenient for her to make pastries and the like. If the shop business was good, they would continue to rent it. When the time was right and the war had subsided, they would rent a larger place here and bring Chen Yuetao up to enjoy a few years of happiness.
Lin Qingan had thought about this before, but he couldn't make up his mind. Now it seems that this is the first step for him.
As a result, the plan was approved by everyone.
Chen Gengnian went home to help farmers, Lin Qingan was busy at the shop, Lin Yanfeng and Abao went to school, and Lin Jing ran back and forth between the shop where they lived.
Chen Gengnian started cooking dinner in the kitchen again, while Lin Yanfeng and Abao wiped the shelves clean. Hearing footsteps, Abao sweetly called out, "Brother, you're awake."
Lin Qing'an raised his eyebrows and praised, "Why are you two so diligent today?"
Lin Yanfeng quickly replied, "We were too busy with schoolwork the past few days to help our brother and brother-in-law, but now that we have time, we should do something."
“
It was hot, so Lin Qingan took out a can of cola.
To avoid revealing the source of the ice, Lin Qing'an placed the cola in an area without air conditioning in his magic bag. The next day, when he poured it into the water tank, the temperature was just right, but there wasn't as much carbon dioxide, and it didn't taste as spicy.
This was exactly the effect he wanted. Lin Qing'an thought for a long time before coming up with a name—Dancing Water.
Because it will dance in your mouth after you drink it.
The cola sold out on the very first day it was put out to the market. Since there was no profit margin, the main strategy was to sell in large quantities at low profit margins, and passersby flocked to the store to buy it.
Baiweifang has recently become famous for its delicious, inexpensive, and fresh products. Everything it sells is a bestseller, and the dried goods in the store are also selling out quickly. Liu Yiyi's pastries are in short supply.
Lin Qing'an didn't want Liu Yiyi to be so tired, so he decided to sell a limited quantity each day, which would make things much easier for Liu Yiyi.
Lin Qing'an's life proceeded smoothly, and Chen Gengnian's potato business was also mostly settled.
This time, in addition to the people from last time, a few more were hired to work. On the first day, they were a bit too busy to handle everything, so on the second day, Chen Gengnian asked them to bring two more people. However, when the people they brought were in front of him during the meal, Chen Gengnian chased them out.
Because the visitors were Zhang Cuiping and Zhou Caixia, the two sisters-in-law.
"Why are you kicking us out? What they can do, I can do too. We're all from the same village, and according to Aqing, you're family to us. Why are you trying to push this family away?"
Zhang Cuiping confronted Chen Gengnian with a sense of righteous indignation, completely forgetting the despicable things she had done before.
Zhou Caixia was about to speak up when Chen Gengnian shut her down.
“Family? You’ve probably forgotten that A-Qing has severed ties with you. We’re not family anymore, we’re strangers in the same village.” Chen Gengnian whistled at Baifu and said, “Baifu, chase away all the irrelevant people. A-Qing will feel uncomfortable when she comes back and smells this.”
Upon receiving the order, Baifu barked and rushed towards the two of them. Zhang Cuiping and Zhou Caixia were terrified and ran down the slope.
Chen Gengnian's dog often followed him into the mountains to hunt, so they naturally knew it was no ordinary dog. Therefore, they didn't dare to resist at all and reluctantly slunk away.
Chen Gengnian looked at the person who had been introduced and said somewhat unhappily, "Aunt Zhang, I'll let it go this time, but if there's a next time, don't blame me, Chen Gengnian, for being heartless."
Aunt Zhang quickly smiled apologetically and agreed, "Oh, okay, okay, it was my fault. I won't do it again next time."
Chen Gengnian didn't dwell on it too much. After all, most of the people who came to help today had assisted his mother when she fought with Wu Xiangmei last time, so he wouldn't make things difficult for them.
The potatoes that Lin Qingan arranged to plant grew exceptionally well without any fertilizer. The potatoes were all the size of a bowl, and each one was fresh without a single wormhole. Everyone was incredibly envious of the yield and freshness.
Upon hearing the news, the village chief rushed over and was filled with regret when he saw the piles of potatoes laid out on the ground.
The two men had asked him if he wanted to plant the crops, but he had dismissed them, fearing it would be a waste of land. Now he deeply regrets it.
So the village chief picked up a potato bigger than a bowl and asked Chen Gengnian, "Young man, can you really eat this?"
Chen Gengnian nodded firmly: "Of course, this can not only be eaten, but also used as a staple food like sweet potatoes."
The village chief looked at the potatoes covered in mud in his hand, and an idea suddenly popped into his head. He asked Chen Gengnian again, "If our village uses all the surplus potatoes to grow these potatoes, then we won't have to worry about going hungry or about increased taxes!"
When the village chief came and spoke to Chen Gengnian, everyone was listening attentively while they were working. But when the village chief said those words, they all stopped what they were doing and looked in their direction.
Chen Gengnian instantly understood the village chief's meaning. He nodded but did not immediately agree. "Indeed, but these seeds were obtained by A-Qing, so I still need to ask his opinion on this matter."
The village chief's face darkened slightly, but thinking Chen Gengnian hadn't noticed, he forced a smile and said, "Indeed, we really need to talk to him about this."
The cunning village chief, who had seen more of life than Chen Gengnian and Lin Qingan, said indirectly, "If you can solve the village's food and clothing problem, that will be a great achievement. I will have someone make a plaque to hang at your door, and everyone will remember your kindness in the future."
Chen Gengnian just smiled and didn't fall for the village chief's trick. He said the same thing again, "Let me talk to Aqing first."
There was no need to dwell on the matter any longer, so the village chief readily helped with the work.
Although none of them had ever dug potatoes before, Lin Qing'an's farming method worked. Each row of potatoes was on the slope between two ditches, and all they had to do was dig up the soil on both sides with a hoe to get the whole potatoes. The villagers were amazed by this.
Having farmed all their lives, they had never imagined such a novel method. Unexpectedly, a guy who hadn't worked in the fields for years taught them a new technique, leaving everyone with a complex mix of emotions.
The potato harvesting season coincides with the corn harvest weeding season, and the mountain is almost full of people. Many people came to see the bountiful harvest on the first day, but left out of envy and disdain after witnessing the great harvest.
At the foot of the mountain not far away, Wang Shu's family was weeding their cornfield. The family of four, three of whom were working diligently, were doing everything except for Wang Shu's new husband, who was lazy and doting on his wife. He, who almost never went to the fields, had been rushing to work like crazy these past two days.
He had a sweet tongue, and Wang Shu was easily charmed by his words. When Wang Shu saw that he had been sitting on the stone stool for a long time without moving, she called out to him to get some water, but he didn't respond even after she called him several times, as if he had lost his soul.
"Su Yu!" Wang Shu's voice was loud, and Su Yu hurriedly turned his gaze from the distance to ask, "What's wrong?"
A fleeting hint of impatience crossed his face, but Wang Shu didn't notice it.
"Get me some water," Wang Shu said.
Su Yu obediently took the kettle over, and Wang Shu asked him, "What are you daydreaming about?"
"No, I'm just a little tired." Su Yu put on a sweet smile. He was already handsome, which made Wang Shu's heart flutter.
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Author's note: The potatoes are ripe, how about we fry some potato cakes? [Eating popcorn]
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