HLnovel Chapter 288 A Bad Mouth!
Chapter 288 A Bad Mouth!
The two drove the horse-drawn carriage, which swayed and bumped along the way, until they arrived at Guihua Village. On both sides of the road, many villagers were harvesting crops in the fields. Some were harvesting rice, while others were harvesting turmeric. The villagers were busy and the scene looked quite lively.
Bundles of rice were stacked in the field. The adults were harvesting the rice with sickles, their backs bent and buttocks sticking out. The children followed behind, picking up the rice. The older boys and girls were bundling the rice. Some of the pampered children were running around playing and doing nothing.
Shui Sheng saw that in the fields where people were planting turmeric, the villagers were pulling out the turmeric leaves and stems with great effort. The turmeric fruits that had grown on them were large and bright orange, which was very pleasing to the eye.
He exclaimed, “Wow, this year has been blessed with favorable weather and a bumper harvest. It’s a pity we didn’t plant any this year. If we had planted a whole field of turmeric, we would have made a lot of money.”
Lin Xiaotang explained, "Uncle Shuisheng, we work ourselves to the bone for a whole season and only earn that little bit of money. Even if turmeric is more valuable than rice, the yield from the fields is limited. If we move to the county to do business, we'll not only get paid every month, but we'll also share some of the profits from the restaurant. When the harvest season comes, we can come back and buy more and resell it, making even more money. Isn't that much more profitable than selling from the fields? Uncle Shuisheng, which do you think is more worthwhile?"
After Lin Xiaotang's calculations, Shui Sheng suddenly felt enlightened.
He chuckled awkwardly and said, "Uncle Shuisheng is short-sighted. He got envious when he saw other people's turmeric harvest. Actually, you're right. They only have two harvests a year. We're different. We make money every month, and we can make another profit when we harvest in the fields. No matter how you compare, we're still the better off!"
"Right? Uncle Shuisheng is a smart man. He can figure it out with just a little thought."
The two drove the horse-drawn carriage into the village. There were many villagers coming and going on the road at the village entrance. Some were carrying a bundle of rice on their backs and hurrying home, some were carrying a sickle and a bundle of rope and walking towards the fields, and some children were carrying bamboo water bottles and heading towards the fields.
Shuanzhu saw Shuisheng driving a carriage back to the village with Xiaotang. He noticed that the carriage was very well made and the horses were tall and strong.
Others have horse-drawn carriages to go out, but he has to rely on his two legs and carry bundles of rice home. He secretly envied him.
"Hey, isn't this Shuisheng? Didn't you go out to do business with Qingchuan's family? What brings you back now? What brings you back?"
That sounds so sour!
Shui Sheng's faint smile vanished instantly, and he said with a stern face, "This Osmanthus Village is everyone's home. Why would we need the wind to blow us home?"
Shuanzhu was surprised that Shuisheng had become so eloquent after being away for a few months, and he was speechless for a moment.
So he glanced at Lin Xiaotang and said, "Where's your father? Why didn't he come back? How can your father be at ease letting a little girl like you come back with another grown man?"
After he finished speaking, his eyes became intriguing, clearly showing some ill intent.
After all, Lin Xiaotang wasn't a real child, and she immediately understood the hidden meaning in Shuanzhu's sarcastic remarks.
She rolled her eyes and said, "My dad came back after lunch, and I came back with Uncle Shuisheng to take care of some things. What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Shuanzhu curled his lip and said, "What does a little girl like you know? I'm doing this for your own good. If you're not careful, you'll regret it and end up crying out to heaven and earth in vain."
Lin Xiaotang spat inwardly: Ugh, what a nasty mouth!
People's hearts are dark; they see everything as dark!
A mocking smile appeared on her lips as she said, "Don't worry, my Uncle Shuisheng is a kind and honest man. He and my father do business together, and he is very honest, unlike some people who are all smiles and words."
Shuanzhu was stunned for a moment, then pointed at Xiaotang and said, somewhat at a loss for words, "You, you, you...you little girl, how can you be so ungrateful?"
Don't know what's good for you?
She may be small in stature, but she's not stupid; she's very perceptive!
"Uncle Shuisheng, let's not waste any more time here. Let's go to the village head's house first."
"Alright, let's go to the village head's house now." With that, Shuisheng cracked his whip and drove the carriage toward the village head's house, leaving the dumbfounded Shuanzhu standing there.
The village head's family buys the most turmeric seeds in the entire Guihua Village and is also the number one turmeric grower in the village. They go to the village head's family to buy turmeric first. If the village head sells the turmeric directly to them, the villagers will hear about it and sell their turmeric to them as well, and the purchase will be almost guaranteed.
When the two of them arrived at the village head's house, they found that the gate was tightly closed.
Shui Sheng said, "The door is locked in broad daylight, so the village head and his family must have gone to the fields. Why don't we go to the fields now and look for them?"
“Okay, let’s go look in our fields. They rented our fields to grow turmeric separately. Maybe they’re in those two fields right now.”
Turmeric is much more valuable than rice. The village head's family grows both turmeric and rice. If both ripen at the same time, everyone knows which one should be harvested first.
After all, if someone steals turmeric, they can just go to the field, dig it up, pull it off, and take it home. But if they steal rice, they have to carry it home, dry it, and beat it. Compared to rice, turmeric is more valuable and more troublesome.
So the two of them drove the carriage to the field, where the village head and his family were busy harvesting turmeric.
The village head, panting, urged his wife, children, and daughters-in-law, "Everyone, put in extra effort and bring the turmeric from Qingchuan's field home today. Tonight, I'll roll up my bedding and sleep by the edge of Shuisheng's field. The turmeric is ripe, so we can't leave it unattended."
The eldest son, Shen Che, was the first to respond, "I know, Dad. We've been working quite fast, so don't worry. We'll definitely finish before dark. You're getting old, and it's getting dark and the dew is heavy outside. How can I let you sleep in the fields with your bedding and watch over things? I'll take over tonight. You and Mom can go home and get some rest."
The second son, Shen Yuan, took a heavy breath and said, "Dad, why don't we take a break before we continue? Look, Mom and the others' hands are all red from being rubbed. This field is so big, we've been pulling and plucking, it's exhausting."
A look of worry crossed the village head's face. He sighed and said, "Back then, Qingchuan and Shuisheng encouraged everyone to plant turmeric. More or less half of the villagers in our Guihua Village planted some, all hoping to get a good price for the harvest. But now, our turmeric is ripe, and they've been gone for months without a trace. The town only has Feng's Pharmacy to buy the turmeric. Our village has planted so much; what will we do if the pharmacy can't buy it all and we can't sell it?"
Shen Che pondered for a moment and said, "How about we go find Qingchuan and the others?"
"Qinghe Town is so big, where are we going to look?"
You can just find any house to live in; if it's even slightly remote, you won't be able to find one at all!
Actually, no one in Guihua Village knew that the Lin family had moved to Dushui County, because Manager Yao had instructed that no chef or waiter in Yunlai Restaurant was allowed to reveal the whereabouts of the Lin family.