Since Jiang Bai had agreed to open a shop for the Zhao family, he made several more trips to the village afterward.
Therefore, she encountered the group of outsiders who wanted to contract the mountain forest on several occasions.
These people, whose activities were unknown, frequently came and went from the mountains, appearing quite mysterious. On one occasion, Jiang Bai even saw Jiang Cheng mingling with them.
Alarm bells rang in Jiang Bai's mind. He disregarded the milk tea shop and waited for Jiang Cheng to be alone before cornering him.
Upon seeing Jiang Bai's face, Jiang Cheng immediately cowered and asked, "You... what are you doing here?"
Jiang Bai asked with a serious expression, "Who are those people, and how did you get involved with them?"
Jiang Cheng turned his head, and seeing that no one was behind him, he whispered, "They have a way to make money, and they want to take me with them."
"What method?" Jiang Bai asked.
"It's just a method, as long as it can make you rich," Jiang Cheng said, somewhat irritated. "What's the point if everyone asks about the method and we tell them all?"
"You don't know what they're doing, yet you dare to follow along and mess around?" Jiang Bai was exasperated. "Have you thought about your mother, your wife, or your son?"
Jiang Cheng said, "They were very generous, and besides, they didn't restrict my freedom."
Jiang Bai knew this man only cared about money, so he asked, "Does Tian Rou know you're here to do work?"
"I don't know," Jiang Cheng shook his head.
With his son still young and his mother-in-law taking care of him, he was actually quite leisurely at home and didn't need much help, so the idea of going out to do some work came to him.
He happened to meet some strangers who asked him for directions. He answered them all without reservation, and his kindness was rewarded – they said they would take him along to make a fortune.
Although he doesn't yet know how they'll make their fortune, their lavish spending suggests they're not short of money.
Jiang Bai couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. She rubbed her temples and said, "If Tian Rou knew about this, she would definitely divorce you."
These people clearly have ill intentions; they can only fool a fool like Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng and Tian Rou have been on very good terms lately. Hearing this, he looked at Jiang Bai warily: "I knew you, a scoundrel, would talk bad about me behind my back. You're just hoping I'll lose my wife and children."
"Is that what I was hoping for? You're the one who's brainless. Don't you think about why they don't help others make money, but only you?" Jiang Bai was speechless.
"That's because I'm a good person," Jiang Cheng stubbornly refused to admit.
Jiang Bai knew there was no point in arguing with him, so he waved his hand, telling him to get out of his sight quickly.
After thinking about it, she went to find the village chief to inquire about the purpose of these people's visit.
She said, "There are so many women in the village, it's bound to be a bit worrying, especially since they are all strong and healthy men..."
The village chief, with a worried expression, said in a relaxed tone, "I've inquired. These outsiders owe the villagers a debt of gratitude, and they've come back to help develop the village, so they've been investigating the environment."
"Cheng En? Whose favor have you received? Have you asked?" Jiang Bai pressed.
The village chief hesitated for a moment: "I haven't asked about those things."
“There haven’t been any major disasters in recent years, and the villagers live a secluded life, so I can’t think of anyone I could have helped,” Jiang Bai sighed. “Village chief, have you been able to find out their backgrounds?”
Judging from the village chief's expression, this was definitely not the case.
The village chief opened his mouth, about to speak, when Aunt Wang suddenly rushed over in a hurry.
Upon seeing Jiang Bai, she breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that you're still here. Come quick, your old house suddenly collapsed."
It collapsed?
Jiang Bai paused for a moment, then quickly ran towards the Zhao family's old house.
Upon reaching the direction of home, I could see from afar that the tall roof had disappeared. As I got closer, I saw that it had indeed collapsed. The house had been in disrepair for many years, and more than half of the three main rooms had collapsed. Fortunately, no one lived there, otherwise they would have been either dead or injured.
Jiang Bai had no mind to care about anything else, and just asked the person next to him, "This house was fine, how could it suddenly collapse?"
Aunt Wang was panting heavily behind her. This person was old and her legs were not as fast as Jiang Bai's, so it was really not easy for her to keep up.
Once she caught her breath, she said, "I don't know why, but when I heard a crash, and when I ran out to look, the house had already collapsed."
Jiang Bai went up and took a quick look. There were no signs of external interference, so it must really be a coincidence.
She nodded, sighed, and took on another big task—building a house.
Aunt Wang invited Jiang Bai to come in and rest. After thinking for a moment, Jiang Bai entered the Wang family home and bumped into Madam Wang as soon as he entered.
Unlike her usual refined self, Madam Wang was dressed in coarse linen clothes and had removed all her jewelry. She was holding a chicken feeder, her fingers filled with mud. When she saw Jiang Bai, she awkwardly hid her hand behind the feeder.
Jiang Bai asked in surprise, "Madam Wang, what are you doing here?"
Before Madam Wang could answer, Wang Zhongyi also came out of the room, greeted Jiang Bai with a simple bow.
Jiang Bai quickly returned the greeting.
Several people sat on chairs in the side room, and Wang Zhongyi recounted the events of the past to Jiang Bai with deep emotion.
He said, "The restaurant was mortgaged to pay off debts, and we had no ties in the county town. Fortunately, we sold the courtyard we lived in, kept the money to pay for the children's tuition, and the adults moved back to the village."
Jiang Bai hadn't been back to the old house in a long time and didn't even know, so he just asked, "How long have you been back?"
"It's been more than half a year," Madam Wang replied calmly.
That is, not long after Jiang Bai bought the medicinal cuisine restaurant, the Hongding Restaurant closed down, leaving the family with nowhere to go but to return to the countryside.
Madam Wang was no longer as agitated as before. She felt that the last time she saw Jiang Bai was half a lifetime ago, when she took away Jiang Bai's medicinal cuisine restaurant. She was in a high position and could easily defeat Jiang Bai with a few tricks.
In just one year, Jiang Bai's medicinal cuisine restaurant and milk tea shop were thriving, and Zhao Yi returned to her side, clinging to her devotedly. On the contrary, her own family had fallen into such a state of destitution.
After hearing her reply, Jiang Bai took a breath and said, "It's always right for the child to go to school."
Back then, Wang Da Niang was a widow who suffered subtle bullying from the whole village, yet she still managed to send Wang Zhongyi away. Now, his family's situation is more than a hundred times better than it was then.
Looking at Granny Wang, who looked much older than before, Jiang Bai couldn't bear it and said, "If there's anything I can help you with, just let me know."
Wang Zhongyi quickly declined, saying, "It's nothing, everything is fine at home now."
As he spoke, he grasped Madam Wang's hand, and their relationship improved considerably.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Bai put down a silver ingot and said, "I haven't even congratulated you on your housewarming yet, and you've already helped me a lot today."
“Take it back quickly…” Aunt Wang refused to accept it.
Jiang Bai stuffed the silver into Granny Wang's hand: "I'll need your help to keep an eye on things as we build the house."
Only then did Aunt Wang accept it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
