Chapter 39 You've Got guts! At the village chief's house, Lin Qing'an and Chen Geng…
Lin Qingan and Chen Gengnian went to the village chief's house to discuss the land issue.
"What? You're not renting it again?" The village chief's wife muttered unhappily, "Young man, what's going on? We just agreed on it this morning, why are you going back on your word all of a sudden?"
Chen Gengnian quickly explained, "I'm sorry, Auntie, Qing and I are planning to plant some other things, so we have to plant them ourselves."
Lin Qingan quickly added, "Auntie, you can still cultivate the rice paddies, but we'll cultivate the rest of the land ourselves."
The village chief's wife was about to say something when the village chief gave her a look that silenced her. "If the young man and Qing'er want to take it back, so be it. That's their land, and they have the right to do what they want with it."
The village chief waved to Aunt Lin, "Alright, I'll make the decision. You go ahead and get to work."
Aunt Lin stormed off, leaving Lin Qing'an and Chen Gengnian feeling rather embarrassed.
"Hehe... Don't take it to heart by your aunt's words, she's always been like this." The village chief poured a glass of water for each of them and asked, puzzled, "But you just said you only want to go back to the dry land, are you planning to plant some other crops?"
Lin Qing'an smiled and replied, "That's right. Qing-ge'er and I have no experience in farming. We also accidentally obtained a kind of seed called potato in town, so we wanted to try it out on dry land."
"Has anyone ever successfully planted it?" the village chief asked with some concern. "What if we end up losing everything?"
"Hehe, not yet, but we're willing to give it a try." Chen Gengnian knew the village chief meant well, so he didn't say much more.
Lin Qingan suddenly asked the village chief, "Village chief, why don't you take some and try it?"
The village chief shook his head. "No, there's been a lot of fighting this year, and we don't know what will happen next. I'll just stick to farming the same crops as before, so at least I won't have to worry about not having enough to eat."
Since the village chief had said that, Lin Qing'an's previous idea of asking the village chief's family to provide some dry land for planting was abandoned.
The main reason I came here today is to let the village chief know about this, so that there won't be any problems later.
The land issue was resolved. Although it wasn't much, it was enough. If the crops grew well, everyone could join in. If they didn't grow well, they could just be used as a shield. Lin Qing'an didn't care much about these things.
Just like the village chief said, in times of war, you never know when the enemy might suddenly strike the village, so he needs to make a lot of money so that he can openly and legitimately slack off.
On the way back, they passed by Lin Jing's house and heard that they were going to town the next day. Liu Yiyi asked them to bring some raw materials for making pastries and fruit wine. Lin Qing'an and Chen Gengnian both agreed that the two of them should go with them, and that she should choose the items they wanted to buy herself.
Liu Yiyi was still a little hesitant, but Lin Jing persuaded her from the side.
“Go ahead! Aren’t you worried about your mother? I’ll go with you to see her.”
Liu Yiyi looked at Lin Jing and immediately shook her head, saying, "I'll just go back and take a look myself."
Lin Jing didn't want to argue with her anymore; after all, her legs were long enough that no one could stop her.
After making the decision, Lin Qing'an went home and said he was going to pick Chinese toon leaves.
"Now?" Chen Gengnian asked.
Lin Qingan nodded and said, "Yes, let's pick some now. They'll be useful at Jinyun Hotel tomorrow."
Chen Gengnian glanced at the sky; it wasn't yet dusk, so there was plenty of time. He slung a basket over his shoulder, grabbed a sickle, said goodbye to Chen Yuetao, and then led Lin Qingan toward the foot of the mountain where the Chinese toon trees were most abundant.
After this period of growth, the Chinese toon trees are now at their most lush. The buds they had seen before have also blossomed, with brownish-red leaves hanging like flowers on the bare branches, making Lin Qing'an unable to hide his excitement.
The shorter ones used their hands directly, while the taller ones, like Chen Gengnian, used a long stick with a sickle hook attached, which Lin Qingan would pick up when it fell to the ground.
The two had a clear division of labor and quickly filled half a basket.
"That's enough, Brother Nian." Lin Qing'an clapped his hands and called to Chen Gengnian, who was perched on a tree branch.
Chen Gengnian said that all that's left is to finish the rest.
With the additions made later, the position line of the basket was raised a bit more.
Chen Gengnian carried a basket on his back and led Lin Qingan home.
Unseen by them, Zhou Caixia, hiding in the nearby bushes, witnessed the entire scene.
To avoid attracting attention, Lin Qing'an did not put the toon leaves into his treasure bag on the hillside, but only after returning home.
This action inadvertently evaded Zhou Caixia's peeping.
The next day, after breakfast, the group prepared to set off for the town. When they passed through the village, a group of people gathered together.
From afar, one could hear Wu Xiangmei's loud voice.
Lin Qing'an and his companions didn't want to join in the fun, but Wu Xiangmei called out to them like a madwoman as they passed by the crowd.
"Young man, Qing-ge, where are you two going?"
Wu Xiangmei's voice was very loud, making it difficult to pretend not to hear. They didn't want to pay attention, but she actually walked over and stopped in front of Lin Qing'an and the others.
Wu Xiangmei was holding a small winnowing basket, which was filled with all sorts of candies and cookies.
She stretched out her hand and placed the winnowing basket in front of Lin Qing'an, saying very generously, "Qing-ge'er, my Shu-ge is getting married tomorrow. Remember to come to the wedding banquet tomorrow. This is my Shu-ge's wedding candy. Have some."
Chen Gengnian frowned, pushed the things in Wu Xiangmei's hands away, and pulled Lin Qing'an back a step before coldly saying to Wu Xiangmei, "Thank you for your kindness, but my husband is not free tomorrow."
Seeing Chen Gengnian's expression, Wu Xiangmei was not annoyed. She still smiled and said, "Oh, that's a pity... I originally wanted you two to share in the happiness of my son and son-in-law's love, but I didn't expect you two wouldn't have that blessing."
"Isn't your husband a celestial being, and you want us to go and share in his good fortune?"
Lin Jing couldn't take it anymore and stepped forward to confront Wu Xiangmei, saying, "I advise you, Auntie, to stop with that attitude. Don't scare away the husband you finally managed to win back!"
"What nonsense are you spouting, you brat! I'll tear your mouth apart!" Wu Xiangmei was so angry that she was about to tear Lin Jing apart when Lin Qing'an, who had been unwilling to say another word to this person, finally stepped forward.
He pulled Lin Jing away, and Wu Xiangmei missed her target, scattering the candy and cookies she was holding all over the ground.
"Alright, stop showing off. You just want to tell me, Brother Nian, that your son's husband is the guy who broke off his engagement with him, right?"
Upon hearing Lin Qing'an's words, Wu Xiangmei stopped pretending and grumbled, "That's right, it's because my Shu-ge is so handsome that people only have eyes for him."
Chen Gengnian was also somewhat surprised; he truly hadn't expected that the young man would marry Wang Shu.
He was about to speak when Lin Qing'an interrupted him, saying to Wu Xiangmei with extreme impatience, "You're really carefree. Luckily we're not going. If we were, you'd be in big trouble. With my brother Nian there, who knows who that guy might take a fancy to!"
Lin Qing'an pulled Chen Gengnian forward, his hand sliding down Chen's shoulder to his knee, and said proudly, "My brother Nian has everything he could want. Now his leg isn't lame anymore. I don't even dare to think that if he hadn't gotten married, the line of young men and women would probably stretch all the way to the town. So you don't need to be so annoying. What happened back then is in the past. Brother Nian has me now, and I, Lin Qing'an, am no worse than anyone else!"
Lin Qing'an took Chen Gengnian's hand and turned to leave, leaving Wu Xiangmei with a final warning: "Also, your son is cowardly, incompetent, and irresponsible. Only you treat him like a treasure. Stop thinking I want to go find your son and all that. From now on, we'll live our own lives. You don't need to bother me, and I'll automatically stay away from you. Let's keep to ourselves and live peacefully. If you try to cause trouble, don't blame me, Lin Qing'an, for being ruthless!"
"Let's go!"
Lin Qing'an really left this time, leaving Wu Xiangmei and a few other women still stunned by his rambling voice.
Chen Gengnian's hand was held tightly by him, and his heart was held tightly as well. His thoughts had been focused on his rapidly moving lips, and he hadn't listened to anything he was saying. He only had one thought in his mind.
I really want to kiss you.
Lin Jing gave him a thumbs-up and praised, "You've got guts!"
Lin Qing'an was in a good mood, chatting and laughing with Lin Jing with a beaming smile.
Chen Gengnian's gaze followed him intently, carefully recording every smile and frown on his face. At this moment, Lin Qingan appeared both adorable and powerful in his eyes, and he truly enjoyed seeing his smug expression.
When they reached the village entrance, the group boarded the oxcart, leaving Wu Xiangmei's angry outburst far behind.
The busy farming season has begun. Along the way, they saw many villagers working in the fields, and Lin Qing'an and his group greeted them as they went.
After a long and bumpy ride, the oxcart finally arrived in town. Due to the time constraints, Lin Jing and Liu Yiyi got off the cart to buy what they needed before meeting up with Lin Qing'an and the others at the agreed location.
As before, Chen Gengnian tied the cow to the village head's house. The village head wasn't home today, and Wang Tingting had gone to her uncle's house, so the two of them simply greeted Aunt Wang and then went to town.
Lin Qing'an had kept the Chinese toon in his treasure bag, and Lin Jing and the others were unaware of it, so when no one was around, Lin Qing'an took it out.
Looking at the bears in the bag, he said to Chen Gengnian with some regret, "Brother Nian, if we hadn't only been home for two days, we could have taken the bears out to sell."
Chen Gengnian was also a little troubled, but he still comforted Lin Qingan, "Let's wait a few days. If there's any progress on the shop today, we'll just need to do some simple renovations. We'll have plenty of time to do it then."
Lin Qing'an thought so too. He would have more time to go to town afterward, and he could take out his Ganoderma lucidum.
The two chatted casually all the way and soon arrived at the back entrance of Jinyun Hotel.
As soon as he arrived at the door, someone opened it to greet him, a speed Lin Qingan hadn't expected.
The newcomer was an unfamiliar face, but his clothes were exactly the same as the servant's from last time.
The servant bowed to the two men and stepped aside, gesturing for them to come inside. He said respectfully, "Please come in, gentlemen. Uncle Hu instructed us that if you come again, please come inside to talk."
Lin Qingan and Chen Gengnian did not refuse and followed the people into the door.
The backyard of Jinyun Hotel is very spacious and simple, and it is kept very clean. Three rooms are built around the courtyard, just like a courtyard house in Beijing.
Lin Qing'an followed the person while looking around. Suddenly, the person stopped talking, and Lin Qing'an bumped into Chen Gengnian's back unexpectedly.
He covered his nose and cried out in pain. Chen Gengnian quickly turned around and bent down to ask him what was wrong.
"Ha ha ha ha..."
A hearty laugh interrupted their actions.
Immediately afterwards, a middle-aged man with a long beard walked out of the house. The man walked over slowly, his smile still lingering, and began to joke.
"I never expected that the tough and unyielding Hunter Chen would be so gentle and considerate in private. He is truly a paragon of men!"
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Author's note: Our Comrade Chen Gengnian also has his own social circle, haha.
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