Chapter 78 The Whistleblower
"Your father wants to kidnap me. Why did you come and tell me?" Sitting at the top of the parlor, You Jin looked at the girl standing in front of her with burning eyes: "What are you aiming for?"
Taking in this ragged and disheveled person, You Jin couldn't help but think of her days in Cuifeng Village. It wasn’t that she was unwilling to help someone with the same fate as her. What if it was a cover-up? You Jin was very familiar with old Third Chen's ‘great achievement’. In addition, You Jin deeply suspected it was old Third Chen who wanted to sneak into her house to steal things last time!
Standing in this parlor with warm candles and a faint fragrance, Chen Xiao Hong glanced at defensive Su You Jin. Her initial courage had long since disappeared. Now she only felt she was impulsive for a moment and resulted in her neither being able to leave or stay.
Unconsciously, both her hands grabbed the cuffs of her coarse linen clothes that had been washed white. Chen Xiao Hong lowered her head. After a long time, she murmured: "I don't want to live in this house anymore..."
Although her voice was low, You Jin's ears were very sharp. Hearing what she said, she asked: "You don't want to live in your house anymore, so you want to exchange this news for me to help you escape from Chen's house?”
After a pause, she looked Chen Xiao Hong up and down: "Or do you want to come to our house?" Chen Xiao Hong felt a little guilty when she asked such a straightforward question. Naturally, she dared not say that she had truly wanted to rely on this news to exchange for her to stay in Su’s house to live a good life.
Looking at Chen Xiao Hong with guilt written on her face, You Jin sneered: "Just now you said that your father wasn’t human and wanted to kidnap me for money. Are you the same, using this news to kidnap me now, so that you can live a better life?"
Hearing Su You Jin classifying herself as the same kind as the beast she hated the most, Chen Xiao Hong clenched her hands tightly into fists. She gritted her teeth and stated, "I'm not!"
As always, You Jin only cared about her own family's affairs. She never wanted to meddle in other people's affairs. After all, kindness had been regarded as a donkey's liver and lungs since ancient times. Seeing that she said this, You Jin uttered: "Then what do you want? A debt of kindness be repaid? If it is true, the favor I should repay will naturally become true."
At the beginning, Chen Xiao Hong just wanted to rely on this news to climb onto Su Family’s boat. But before she could say this, mighty Su You Jin blocked off this route. Except for this, she couldn’t think of any condition so suddenly.
Seeing that she hesitated for a long time without saying a word, You Jin sighed. In the end, her heart softened a little: "It's getting dark now, go back and think about it slowly."
After finishing speaking, she asked Uncle Song to send her out.
"Eldest Miss, from what I see, Chen Family’s lass seems to be telling the truth. Old Third Chen would really be bold enough to come and kidnap you?" After sending Chen Xiao Hong away, Uncle Song worriedly asked You Jin who was still sitting in the parlor: "Why don't we report to the official! Let the officials arrest them?"
However, You Jin solemnly shook her head: "We don't have evidence now. No one will care about it even if we got a hold of an official." She didn't miss the hatred for old Third Chen in Chen Xiao Hong's eyes just now. Although she couldn't be 100% sure, she felt Chen Xiao Hong's words were probably true. After thinking for a while, she spoke: "We can only take one step at a time. Now we know their plan, we can take precautions in advance."
This matter was of great importance. It went without saying You Jin didn’t hide it from Mrs. Su. Attracting more problem by avoiding Mrs. Su from worrying was a case of loss outweighing the gain.
Sure enough, as soon as You Jin finished speaking, Mrs. Su was already grasping her chest and looked at You Jin with panic: "Then what should we do?"
She was used to asking her daughter for help. Her first reaction was always to pin all her hopes on You Jin.
"Mother, what do you think should be done?" You Jin naturally discovered this. Since moving to Luohe Prefecture, Mrs. Su had never regarded herself as the backbone of the family and relied on her for everything. However, there were too many matters at home before. You Jin didn't have time to slowly guide and correct Mrs. Su's shortcoming. Now that she was free, she naturally wanted to start cultivating Mrs. Su's independence.
Hearing her daughter ask her opinion, Mrs. Su was stunned. How could she know what to do? But seeing her daughter’s eyes burning with expectation, Mrs. Su felt a flash of embarrassment. Her face was slightly hot: "I don't know what to do..."
In fact, Mrs. Su can't be blamed. After all She had been relying on others all her life. Even when it came to leaving Yue's house, it was only under the strong instigation of You Jin and other children that she had the courage to do something that she never dared to think about in her life.
You Jin sighed slightly. Haste makes waste! Sitting next to Mrs. Su, she poured a cup of hot water for her: "There's a high probability that old Third Chen had set his eyes on our family. Our family's You Ling, You Luo, and the few are still little. I’m currently busy every day. I have to trouble you, Yu Lan, and Auntie Song to worry about the affairs at home. Watch them closely."
In the end, You Jin was more worried about the younger ones in the family. If old Third Chen made a move on her, she had the confidence to escape the danger. But the little ones? Although they have practiced some boxing skills with You Jin, they were all a few years old. There was hope of winning when it came to same-age bullying. Old Third Chen and the others were all grown men. How can they beat them?
"En! I know!" Mrs. Su vigorously nodded. Although she couldn't help Eldest Daughter much, she tried her best not to hold her back. The mother and daughter talked for a long time before You Jin dragged her heavy feet back to her room to rest.
***
Old Third Chen’s greedy group were really the men of action. Within two or three days, they were ready. They even bought low-quality drugs, which might come in handy.
You Jin had to go to Houjiawan every two or three days. Old Third Chen had been strolling along the river for several days, watching Su Family on the other side of the river with his eyes. Finally, he figured out Su You Jin's trip schedule. He and his cronies discussed it and decided to wait until the next time Su You Jin went out.
Su Family now had two mule carts. One was driven by Han Li, who was responsible for transporting You Yin, You Zhu and others to and from Luohe Prefecture every day. The other was driven by Song Hua, who was responsible for transporting You Jin around every day. Today was the day when You Jin was going to Houjiawan to check the growth of the saplings.
The season had entered June, the heat was high. Cicadas on both sides of the official road were very noisy. You Jin, who was sitting in the mule cart, had also closed the curtains. When she got up early, she took a gourd of sour plum soup and hung it in the well overnight to relieve summer heat.
"Eldest Miss, it's getting hotter and hotter today. Thankfully, there’s enough water on the mountain, so it's not dry." This was Hou Wei, the oldest of the five long-term workers hired by Su Family. He wore a straw hat and followed beside You Jin who was carefully inspecting the situation of the saplings and jollily commented. This Hou Wei was nearly forty years old. In front of Su Family’s young eldest girl, he was full of respect.
After carefully inspecting the growth of the supplementary seedlings, You Jin nodded with satisfaction: "This time the supplementary seedlings mostly survived. The last fertilization was about half a month ago. Too much fertilizer will easily burn the roots. So don't worry about fertilizing." After Su Family moved to a new home, You Jin replanted two mu of thorn roses and sweet-scented osmanthus. Now they had established roots and were growing gratifyingly, You Jin was very satisfied.
After wandering around the mountain, they came down. The sweaty people sat in the grass hut built at the foot of the mountain and heartily drank a few bowls of water. You Jin took a handkerchief and wiped off the beads of sweat on her forehead one by one. She spoke: "This composting work can't be delayed. Except for the field where saplings and sunflower seedlings have been planted, we should pay close attention to composting the other places. Those areas will be planted next year."
Although there were only four long-term workers in Su Family’s 100-mu barren hill, it wasn’t a problem. Minding the saplings wasn’t as strenuous as minding the crops. The main work of the four was actually composting and nourishing the land. Hearing what You Jin said, Hou Wei frowned and complained to her: "Miss, it's not that we are slow in composting. The branches and leaves for composting are simple matter. It's just that the dung is difficult. In our village, we don’t have enough for ourselves. Buying it is also a problem.
"This is indeed a problem. Uncle Hou, since you bought it up, do you have any idea?" You Jin didn't consider this problem before. Now that Hou Wei said this, she realized that this was really an urgent matter that needed to be considered in the long run. The biggest issue was that without fertilizer, this hundred mu of wasteland was really going to be wasted.
Hou Wei smoked a tube of dry tobacco before hesitantly responding: "Our land is so big, why don't we raise some pigs and cows ourselves. This way, dung supply problem will be
solved? What do Eldest Miss think?"
As soon as Hou Wei opened his mouth, You Jin's eyes lit up. After hearing what he said, You Jin approved: "Then we have to find food to feed the pigs. We are short of too many things now. It’s better to raise some chickens and let them run in the mountains. In such a big forest, would there be a lack of food?”
After listening to You Jin's words, Hou Wei clapped his hands in delight. He grinned: "Eldest Miss has thought it through. If it was up to me, I would never have thought so much."
Hearing Hou Wei's obvious flattery, the smile on the corner of You Jin's mouth faded a little. Although she didn't like this kind of style, she didn’t comment about it. She just uttered: "Then, I will leave this matter to you, Uncle Hou. See if anyone in our village is willing to hatch chicks and sell them. I'll go by the market price. How about three or four hundred chicks first?" You Jin was well aware of the principle that when water was clear, there will be no fish. To boost the underling’s morale, she can accept it when the commission is within a reasonable range.
Hou Wei was naturally willing to take on such a job, even when it was at the market price, he can earn some money from it, no? Then he patted his chest and agreed to the matter: "Deal, I will help Miss with this matter for sure!"
You Jin nodded. Then she talked with him for a while about the chicken pens that need to be prepared for raising chickens on the mountain. The early stage food that the young chickens need to be prepared, etc. This made the other long-term workers jealous. Everyone secretly scolded Hou Wei in their hearts and envied him for getting this oil content task and gaining limelight in front of the employer.
"Your father wants to kidnap me. Why did you come and tell me?" Sitting at the top of the parlor, You Jin looked at the girl standing in front of her with burning eyes: "What are you aiming for?"
Taking in this ragged and disheveled person, You Jin couldn't help but think of her days in Cuifeng Village. It wasn’t that she was unwilling to help someone with the same fate as her. What if it was a cover-up? You Jin was very familiar with old Third Chen's ‘great achievement’. In addition, You Jin deeply suspected it was old Third Chen who wanted to sneak into her house to steal things last time!
Standing in this parlor with warm candles and a faint fragrance, Chen Xiao Hong glanced at defensive Su You Jin. Her initial courage had long since disappeared. Now she only felt she was impulsive for a moment and resulted in her neither being able to leave or stay.
Unconsciously, both her hands grabbed the cuffs of her coarse linen clothes that had been washed white. Chen Xiao Hong lowered her head. After a long time, she murmured: "I don't want to live in this house anymore..."
Although her voice was low, You Jin's ears were very sharp. Hearing what she said, she asked: "You don't want to live in your house anymore, so you want to exchange this news for me to help you escape from Chen's house?”
After a pause, she looked Chen Xiao Hong up and down: "Or do you want to come to our house?" Chen Xiao Hong felt a little guilty when she asked such a straightforward question. Naturally, she dared not say that she had truly wanted to rely on this news to exchange for her to stay in Su’s house to live a good life.
Looking at Chen Xiao Hong with guilt written on her face, You Jin sneered: "Just now you said that your father wasn’t human and wanted to kidnap me for money. Are you the same, using this news to kidnap me now, so that you can live a better life?"
Hearing Su You Jin classifying herself as the same kind as the beast she hated the most, Chen Xiao Hong clenched her hands tightly into fists. She gritted her teeth and stated, "I'm not!"
As always, You Jin only cared about her own family's affairs. She never wanted to meddle in other people's affairs. After all, kindness had been regarded as a donkey's liver and lungs since ancient times. Seeing that she said this, You Jin uttered: "Then what do you want? A debt of kindness be repaid? If it is true, the favor I should repay will naturally become true."
At the beginning, Chen Xiao Hong just wanted to rely on this news to climb onto Su Family’s boat. But before she could say this, mighty Su You Jin blocked off this route. Except for this, she couldn’t think of any condition so suddenly.
Seeing that she hesitated for a long time without saying a word, You Jin sighed. In the end, her heart softened a little: "It's getting dark now, go back and think about it slowly."
After finishing speaking, she asked Uncle Song to send her out.
"Eldest Miss, from what I see, Chen Family’s lass seems to be telling the truth. Old Third Chen would really be bold enough to come and kidnap you?" After sending Chen Xiao Hong away, Uncle Song worriedly asked You Jin who was still sitting in the parlor: "Why don't we report to the official! Let the officials arrest them?"
However, You Jin solemnly shook her head: "We don't have evidence now. No one will care about it even if we got a hold of an official." She didn't miss the hatred for old Third Chen in Chen Xiao Hong's eyes just now. Although she couldn't be 100% sure, she felt Chen Xiao Hong's words were probably true. After thinking for a while, she spoke: "We can only take one step at a time. Now we know their plan, we can take precautions in advance."
This matter was of great importance. It went without saying You Jin didn’t hide it from Mrs. Su. Attracting more problem by avoiding Mrs. Su from worrying was a case of loss outweighing the gain.
Sure enough, as soon as You Jin finished speaking, Mrs. Su was already grasping her chest and looked at You Jin with panic: "Then what should we do?"
She was used to asking her daughter for help. Her first reaction was always to pin all her hopes on You Jin.
"Mother, what do you think should be done?" You Jin naturally discovered this. Since moving to Luohe Prefecture, Mrs. Su had never regarded herself as the backbone of the family and relied on her for everything. However, there were too many matters at home before. You Jin didn't have time to slowly guide and correct Mrs. Su's shortcoming. Now that she was free, she naturally wanted to start cultivating Mrs. Su's independence.
Hearing her daughter ask her opinion, Mrs. Su was stunned. How could she know what to do? But seeing her daughter’s eyes burning with expectation, Mrs. Su felt a flash of embarrassment. Her face was slightly hot: "I don't know what to do..."
In fact, Mrs. Su can't be blamed. After all She had been relying on others all her life. Even when it came to leaving Yue's house, it was only under the strong instigation of You Jin and other children that she had the courage to do something that she never dared to think about in her life.
You Jin sighed slightly. Haste makes waste! Sitting next to Mrs. Su, she poured a cup of hot water for her: "There's a high probability that old Third Chen had set his eyes on our family. Our family's You Ling, You Luo, and the few are still little. I’m currently busy every day. I have to trouble you, Yu Lan, and Auntie Song to worry about the affairs at home. Watch them closely."
In the end, You Jin was more worried about the younger ones in the family. If old Third Chen made a move on her, she had the confidence to escape the danger. But the little ones? Although they have practiced some boxing skills with You Jin, they were all a few years old. There was hope of winning when it came to same-age bullying. Old Third Chen and the others were all grown men. How can they beat them?
"En! I know!" Mrs. Su vigorously nodded. Although she couldn't help Eldest Daughter much, she tried her best not to hold her back. The mother and daughter talked for a long time before You Jin dragged her heavy feet back to her room to rest.
***
Old Third Chen’s greedy group were really the men of action. Within two or three days, they were ready. They even bought low-quality drugs, which might come in handy.
You Jin had to go to Houjiawan every two or three days. Old Third Chen had been strolling along the river for several days, watching Su Family on the other side of the river with his eyes. Finally, he figured out Su You Jin's trip schedule. He and his cronies discussed it and decided to wait until the next time Su You Jin went out.
Su Family now had two mule carts. One was driven by Han Li, who was responsible for transporting You Yin, You Zhu and others to and from Luohe Prefecture every day. The other was driven by Song Hua, who was responsible for transporting You Jin around every day. Today was the day when You Jin was going to Houjiawan to check the growth of the saplings.
The season had entered June, the heat was high. Cicadas on both sides of the official road were very noisy. You Jin, who was sitting in the mule cart, had also closed the curtains. When she got up early, she took a gourd of sour plum soup and hung it in the well overnight to relieve summer heat.
"Eldest Miss, it's getting hotter and hotter today. Thankfully, there’s enough water on the mountain, so it's not dry." This was Hou Wei, the oldest of the five long-term workers hired by Su Family. He wore a straw hat and followed beside You Jin who was carefully inspecting the situation of the saplings and jollily commented. This Hou Wei was nearly forty years old. In front of Su Family’s young eldest girl, he was full of respect.
After carefully inspecting the growth of the supplementary seedlings, You Jin nodded with satisfaction: "This time the supplementary seedlings mostly survived. The last fertilization was about half a month ago. Too much fertilizer will easily burn the roots. So don't worry about fertilizing." After Su Family moved to a new home, You Jin replanted two mu of thorn roses and sweet-scented osmanthus. Now they had established roots and were growing gratifyingly, You Jin was very satisfied.
After wandering around the mountain, they came down. The sweaty people sat in the grass hut built at the foot of the mountain and heartily drank a few bowls of water. You Jin took a handkerchief and wiped off the beads of sweat on her forehead one by one. She spoke: "This composting work can't be delayed. Except for the field where saplings and sunflower seedlings have been planted, we should pay close attention to composting the other places. Those areas will be planted next year."
Although there were only four long-term workers in Su Family’s 100-mu barren hill, it wasn’t a problem. Minding the saplings wasn’t as strenuous as minding the crops. The main work of the four was actually composting and nourishing the land. Hearing what You Jin said, Hou Wei frowned and complained to her: "Miss, it's not that we are slow in composting. The branches and leaves for composting are simple matter. It's just that the dung is difficult. In our village, we don’t have enough for ourselves. Buying it is also a problem.
"This is indeed a problem. Uncle Hou, since you bought it up, do you have any idea?" You Jin didn't consider this problem before. Now that Hou Wei said this, she realized that this was really an urgent matter that needed to be considered in the long run. The biggest issue was that without fertilizer, this hundred mu of wasteland was really going to be wasted.
Hou Wei smoked a tube of dry tobacco before hesitantly responding: "Our land is so big, why don't we raise some pigs and cows ourselves. This way, dung supply problem will be
solved? What do Eldest Miss think?"
As soon as Hou Wei opened his mouth, You Jin's eyes lit up. After hearing what he said, You Jin approved: "Then we have to find food to feed the pigs. We are short of too many things now. It’s better to raise some chickens and let them run in the mountains. In such a big forest, would there be a lack of food?”
After listening to You Jin's words, Hou Wei clapped his hands in delight. He grinned: "Eldest Miss has thought it through. If it was up to me, I would never have thought so much."
Hearing Hou Wei's obvious flattery, the smile on the corner of You Jin's mouth faded a little. Although she didn't like this kind of style, she didn’t comment about it. She just uttered: "Then, I will leave this matter to you, Uncle Hou. See if anyone in our village is willing to hatch chicks and sell them. I'll go by the market price. How about three or four hundred chicks first?" You Jin was well aware of the principle that when water was clear, there will be no fish. To boost the underling’s morale, she can accept it when the commission is within a reasonable range.
Hou Wei was naturally willing to take on such a job, even when it was at the market price, he can earn some money from it, no? Then he patted his chest and agreed to the matter: "Deal, I will help Miss with this matter for sure!"
You Jin nodded. Then she talked with him for a while about the chicken pens that need to be prepared for raising chickens on the mountain. The early stage food that the young chickens need to be prepared, etc. This made the other long-term workers jealous. Everyone secretly scolded Hou Wei in their hearts and envied him for getting this oil content task and gaining limelight in front of the employer.
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