"Sister-in-law! What do you mean by that?!" Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Xuerui, who was bringing in water from outside, overheard the whole thing and immediately became furious.
My hand slipped, and the water with a little sugar added spilled all over the ground.
Yu was startled and felt a little guilty. "Why are you yelling at me? If you hadn't gone astray instead of learning good things, would this have happened?! And you still have the nerve to say that!"
Tears welled up in Jiang Xuerui's eyes, and she smashed the cup on the ground. "How could my sister-in-law say such a thing..."
“Arui.” At this moment, Shen Zhuo stood up and pulled Jiang Xuerui over. “Don’t cry. I’ll tell her to go wash your face… Don’t worry.”
Jiang Xuerui bit her lip, but ultimately still believed in Shen Zhuo.
Only after he left did Madam Yu dare to mutter curses, "You dare to throw a tantrum at your old woman, you little vixen..."
"Sister-in-law!" Shen Zhuo interrupted her, "I'm going to make things clear to you today! I can tolerate all the way you used to torment me and Rui-ge'er, and all the bad things you said about me behind my back... but as for Liu Laosan's matter, I want you to understand! Rui-ge'er and Yan-ge'er did absolutely nothing wrong in this matter!"
Yu was startled. Shen Zhuo continued, "Don't you know who that Liu Laosan is? He got malicious thoughts when I wasn't home. And you, sister-in-law, didn't dare to say a word in front of that scumbag. Instead, you came back and spoke ill of Rui-ge! What kind of logic is this?!"
Yu's face flushed red from the rebuke, and she was about to unleash a torrent of abuse when Shen Zhuo slammed the door open and pointed outside, saying:
"Sister-in-law, there's no need to make a scene here! I'm only greeting you now because of my brother, but that might not be the case if we meet again... My Shen family doesn't welcome you here, sister-in-law, please go back!"
This was the first time Madam Yu had seen Shen Zhuo like this, and she was momentarily taken aback. But she quickly regained her composure and said, "Fine! Fine! You've taken my kindness for granted, you think you're all grown up now... Don't forget who raised you!"
She thought that mentioning this would make Shen Zhuo back down as usual, but to her surprise, he was completely unmoved and didn't even glance at her.
Yu's best efforts were futile; they were like punches landing on cotton. In the end, all she could do was cry out:
"Excellent, excellent! I'll go and call that coward Shen Dingshan right now to see how his good brother and sister-in-law are bullying his wife!"
Yu looked at Shen Zhuo while crying, and when she saw that he didn't react, she was completely at a loss. She suddenly jumped up and rushed out of the courtyard, determined to have a big fight with Shen Dingshan...
Jiang Xuerui washed her face in the courtyard, stunned... So Shen Zhuo can lose his temper too?
"Arui, come here, don't just stand there in the sun." Shen Zhuo waved to him from inside the house.
Jiang Xuerui nodded, went inside and asked Shen Zhuo to wipe his hands, "I'm afraid my sister-in-law will make a scene when she gets back..."
"Let her do whatever she wants, let her make a scene!" Shen Zhuo cupped his face and said seriously, "Don't take that crazy woman's words to heart. Liu Laosan's matter has nothing to do with you and Yan Ge'er. From now on, you can play with whoever you want... understand?"
Jiang Xuerui nodded, "Don't worry. But this time we have to thank Yan Ge'er and Er Dan."
Shen Zhuo smiled and rubbed his red eyes. "I know that, you don't need to worry about it."
On the Huo family's side, Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan had just returned home.
The entire Ye family went to the county to take turns caring for Ye Bao, but the chickens and ducks at home needed food, so Huo Xiuling asked her father-in-law to take care of them before she left.
So the Huo family consisted of only the husband and wife. They were busy going to the village entrance to act as witnesses early in the morning and didn't even have time to eat. It was already noon before they started preparing the meal.
Huo sat under the stove, tending the fire, with a pot of water in it. Huo's father had eaten before leaving, and Gu Fengyan planned to simply cook some plain noodles for the two of them.
"No scallions or garlic?" Gu Fengyan asked, adjusting the soup base. Remembering how Huo Duan would always pick out the scallions and garlic when they ate together, he confirmed it again.
Huo Duan nodded, lost in thought. "Less salt, no scallions or garlic, no egg whites..."
"Hey, are you being picky? How come they're so big?" Gu Fengyan carefully filtered out the egg whites before putting the eggs into the pot.
Huo Duan smiled and did not refute, "Thank you, Young Master Gu."
He added, "By the way, I've been thinking about something and I'd like to discuss it with you."
"Go ahead," Gu Fengyan said, putting the noodles into the pot and glancing at him.
Huo Duan drew on the ground with a small stick, "Our medicinal herb business has a large demand from the Apricot Grove Hospital, but it takes a long time for just the two of us, not even counting the processing of the herbs..."
He looked up and smiled, "Besides, I'm fine with it, but I'm worried about you, Young Master Gu. You're exposed to the sun and rain, and I'm afraid you can't handle it. I was thinking that apart from the men in the village who have to work in the fields or go to the county to do other jobs, the remaining wives can only do embroidery and may not even be able to earn money... It's a bit of a waste of labor."
Hearing him say he felt sorry for me, Gu Fengyan smiled and said, "You feel sorry for me?"
Huo Duan's face flushed slightly, and he quickly steered the conversation back on track, "Ahem... I was thinking that we could wait until this batch of medicinal herbs is sold and then hire villagers to help harvest them... What do you think, Young Master Gu?"
“President Huo and I are thinking the same thing. Back in the mountains, I heard from Sister Zhang that most people in the village know about medicinal herbs, but they don’t know how to process them… This is an opportunity.” Gu Fengyan scooped up the noodles and placed an egg on top.
He handed Huo Duan a bowl containing only egg yolks and said, "Not eating vegetables is bad for your health, so I added some for you... But you have to be careful when hiring someone."
He didn't want to hire those busybodies like Zhao and Yu, who were all talk and no action.
Huo Duan nodded. "Let's discuss it again tomorrow after we sell the medicinal herbs in the county... Let's eat first."
Gu Fengyan also put the egg yolk in the bowl to Huo Duan, "This batch of medicinal herbs is quite large... Ye Bao will be back tonight, and I'm afraid we'll have to ask my uncle and brother for help tomorrow."
"I'll go tell them, you just need to put the herbs away safely." Huo Duan took a bite of the egg yolk... it was his favorite soft-boiled egg.
Just then, someone called from outside the door.
The two men carrying bowls went out; it was Shen Zhuo. He also had a brand-new, freshly made octagonal table slung over his shoulder.
Huo Duan hurriedly put down his bowl and helped him put it down, "Second Brother Shen, have you eaten? What are you doing...?"
"I've already eaten." Shen Zhuo took a couple of breaths and patted the table. "This table is made of walnut wood, it's sturdy. It was originally ordered from the Xue family at the village entrance, but I saw that your table was a bit damaged, so I brought it to you first... Thank you for helping Arui."
Gu Fengyan suddenly remembered that the last time he ate with Shen Zhuo and his wife, they used the same old broken table... He didn't expect that Shen Zhuo would remember it.
"Brother Shen, you're too kind. This table is worth a lot of money. How can we explain it to the Xue family if we give it to you? Please take it back!" The items looked like they had taken a long time to prepare, so Gu Fengyan dared not accept them.
Shen Zhuo waved his hand, "I said I'd accept it, so I'll accept it. It's just a table, I still have wood, I can make another one... If you don't accept it, don't even think about getting me to do work again next time."
After saying that, he strode away as if there were wolves behind him.
Helpless, Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan could only leave their things behind and stand in the courtyard shouting, "Then thank you, Brother Shen. We'll bring Rui'er over for a visit another day."
Although the villagers are gossipy, they are all very sincere. They will remember if you treat them well. In return, if you pick a handful of vegetables from the field that you can't eat all of, they will bring you a bowl of their own cooking.
Unlike the cutthroat world of business, the two presidents sighed in unison, their minds suddenly becoming like those of an eighty-year-old holding a cup of tea, feeling only the tranquility of life.
Chapter Seventeen
Early in the morning, Huo Duan went to Ye Jia Yang Ye Shan to help. Huo's father was cooking breakfast on the stove, while Gu Fengyan used a bag to collect the dried medicinal herbs.
When Ye Shan and Huo Duan arrived at the Huo family's house, the meal was already laid out. Since the family had some income, they had always eaten white rice.
Although Ye Shan had eaten Huo family's white rice before and was helping with spring planting, he was still somewhat surprised to see a full bowl of white porridge in front of him.
Most villagers live on millet and wheat porridge, with white rice and white flour being the only slightly better option.
His visit will cost the Huo family a fortune.
“Uncle, I’m used to eating wheat porridge. We’re all family, there’s no need to spend so much money. I won’t dare to come again next time,” he said, scratching his head.
Seeing his nephew hesitate to eat, Father Huo couldn't help but chuckle. "Just eat, why make such a fuss?"
“Father is right, Brother Dashan, just eat. We usually eat this much at home, and there’s more in the pot if you need more.” Gu Fengyan smiled and pushed a plate of pickled vegetables in front of him.
Hayama's eyes widened... This is what they usually eat?!
Did Erdan suddenly strike it rich?
Huo Duan saw through his thoughts and explained, "Yan Ge'er and I made some money selling medicinal herbs, and we called you here today to help us with this."
"How can you make money selling medicinal herbs?" Ye Shan knew that some people in the village would collect medicinal herbs to sell, but he had never heard of anyone getting rich from it.
Huo Duan laughed and said, "Yan Ge'er knows how to prepare it and has even signed a contract with the county pharmacy. We have to thank him for this."
"So that's how it is." Ye Shan suddenly understood, and his opinion of Gu Fengyan improved even more.
He said that this boy was definitely a lucky star for the Huo family.
Gu Fengyan remembered the matter of recruiting workers in the village and said, "Speaking of which, there is something I want to discuss with Brother Dashan."
Ye Shan just kept his head down and ate his rice, saying, "We're family, so whatever you say goes."
“The county pharmacy needs a lot of medicinal herbs, and Duan Ge and I are too busy to handle them all at once. So we thought we’d ask Auntie to help us harvest some herbs. I’ll pay her for her work…” Gu Fengyan continued, “Dashan Ge, go back and talk to Auntie and see if she agrees.”
He and his father usually go to work in the county or are busy in the fields. Only his mother and younger brother are at home, and they don't have much to do anyway, so they can ask around.
Besides, Ye Bao is usually quite mischievous and loves to run around in the fields and ditches, so it would be better to take him up the mountain. It would be reassuring to have someone look after him.
Ye Shan thought for a moment, "I'll go back and tell my mother, and I'll give you an answer tomorrow."
Gu Fengyan smiled and thanked Ye Shan. After they finished eating, they took the large and small bags of medicinal herbs to the village entrance and boarded an oxcart to go to the county.
There aren't many people in the county today since it's not market day.
Once Gu Fengyan and his group entered the city, they headed straight for Xinglin Academy.
It wasn't Lin Ru sitting in the courtyard; it was a doctor surnamed Zhang. But he knew that Lin Ru was discussing business with the Huo couple, so he asked the shop assistant to invite the man in.
Over the past few days, Dr. Zhang had collected four large bags of medicinal herbs, weighing more than thirty kilograms. In addition, there were some rare and precious herbs. Dr. Zhang paid Gu Fengyan three strings of cash according to the price agreed in the contract.
Ye Shan had thought these medicinal herbs wouldn't fetch much money, but when he saw the three strings of cash, his eyes widened. "This... this is all from buying medicinal herbs?"
Huo Duan smiled and said, "There are plenty of medicinal herbs on the back mountain of the village, this is nothing."
Ye Shan was so shocked his jaw dropped... It seems that Er Dan and his wife are really going to make it big.
But he wasn't jealous or resentful; they were family, and he was happy for the couple.
"Erdan, Yange, you mustn't tell anyone about this. If those scheming people in the village hear about it, it might cause trouble," Ye Shan whispered to the two of them.
“Brother Dashan, don’t worry. No one else could do this. First of all, they don’t know how to process medicinal herbs. If they are not up to standard, which pharmacy would dare to accept them…” Gu Fengyan understood what he meant and smiled without caring. “When we signed this contract, Brother Duan had already made it clear to Xinglin Academy that they would only accept medicinal herbs from our family within the village.”
With these two things, Gu Fengyan didn't think anyone could steal their business, but Ye Shan's words reminded Gu Fengyan that he wasn't the only one in Heqing Village who knew how to process medicinal herbs.
There was also a Doctor Liang...
Huo Duan also said, "Yan Ge'er is right, elder brother, you can rest assured."
Ye Shan gave the two some more instructions on how to do business well, and then the three of them took the empty sacks and money and headed out of the city to wait for the oxcart.
Ye Shan walked ahead, while Gu Fengyan whispered to Huo Duan from behind, "Mr. Huo, has there been any change in the mission's progress?"
If he hadn't brought it up, Huo Duan would have forgotten about it long ago.
He paused for a moment before checking the dusty system—the progress was 0.03%.
It actually rose by two points; that's quite fast.
“Three ten-thousandths,” Huo Duan replied sullenly.
Seeing his displeasure, Gu Fengyan patted Huo Duan on the shoulder, "It's alright, Mr. Huo. It's just nine thousand strings of cash. I guarantee you'll be able to go back smoothly in less than two years!"
"Two years?" Huo Duan was taken aback.
Indeed, according to his and Gu Fengyan's established plan, he might only need one or two years to meet the system's requirements.