Chapter 41: Chapter 41: There Will Be a Time for Them to Regret

"Song Yinghe, please don’t blame us." A chubby Aunt Li showed up at the mountain with a fawning smile, carrying a basket of eggs. "We were tricked by the village chief, Liu Dali, back then. We thought he was doing everything for the good of the village, and that’s why we misunderstood your family. Who could’ve known it was all an act!"

Chi Wan had just woken up and was in the yard with Song Yinghe. They were eating breakfast while studying the Crystal Core-powered electric fan Li Xingye had sent over.

Because the fan had a very simple design, a single First Rank Crystal Core could power it for a long time.

According to Li Xingye, ever since the base gained the ultimate tech guru, Duan Qianyu, all sorts of strange and wonderful Crystal Core Devices had been emerging one after another.

In addition to appliances powered purely by Crystal Cores, they had even used an Electromagnetic Superpower to rig up a Crystal Core generator.

The base’s infrastructure was now worlds apart from what it used to be. Moreover, whenever Li Xingye came up with something new, if they thought Chi Wan could use it, they sent it right over.

As a result, the treehouse only looked rustic on the outside; the inside had everything one could possibly need. Concerned that Chi Wan wouldn’t have enough space if friends visited, Li Xingye had even helped her add more rooms.

This was Aunt Li’s first time up the mountain since Chi Wan’s family had returned. She had assumed the family of three was crammed into a humble little bungalow, and a flash of surprise crossed her face when she saw the enormous treehouse.

But no matter how exquisite, it was still just a treehouse. The main door was closed, so she couldn’t see the amenities inside. Aunt Li figured the Chi Family’s life probably wasn’t all that great anyway.

This gave her a little more confidence for what she was about to say.

She put on a remorseful expression. "If we’d known Brother Yuanshan had done so much for the village, we never would have hurt your family’s feelings like that!"

Chi Wan watched her, finding the whole thing rather amusing. ’If I remember correctly,’ she thought, ’this very same Aunt Li used to curse our family out, both openly and behind our backs. At the village entrance, she swore up and down that I was stealing credit, claiming she watched Liu Dali repair those roads bit by bit with her own eyes.’

’And now she’s acting completely blameless.’

Song Yinghe offered a faint smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. "Please, Aunt Li, don’t say that. No one wants to be deceived, after all," she said politely. "I have to take Wanwan into the city to do some shopping soon, so we can’t keep you."

"Hey, wait, wait!" Aunt Li brazenly feigned ignorance of Song Yinghe’s attempt to dismiss her, grabbing Song Yinghe’s wrist with practiced warmth. "My dear, it’s like this. Your family of three might be able to manage the orchard for now, but once all the fruit on this mountain ripens, it has to be picked quickly. Otherwise, it will just rot on the branches."

"We’re all used to this kind of work, and we’re quick on our feet. If you get too busy, you can call us to help. We’re all from the same village, after all. We should help each other."

Chi Wan and Song Yinghe exchanged a glance. They finally understood what game Aunt Li was playing.

Seeing Aunt Li’s expression, which screamed, ’We’re doing you a favor, so you should be grateful,’ Chi Wan almost burst out laughing.

’Seriously,’ she thought, ’is being this thick-skinned just part of the genetic makeup of everyone in Qingshui Village?’

Before Song Yinghe could refuse, Chi Wan cut in with a look of surprise. "Oh my, Auntie, you should have said something sooner! When I was hiding in the wardrobe eavesdropping, I heard Liu Dali talking about the harvest. He said something about the villagers all being bloodsuckers who demand higher wages every year.

"So he wasn’t planning to ask the villagers for help this year. He said he’d rather make a little less money and just have the buyer send their own people to pick the fruit."

She put on a regretful expression as she continued, "I’m young and don’t know the first thing about running an orchard. Plus, the village didn’t like our family much back then, so I was worried we wouldn’t be able to hire anyone. I took his words to heart and went straight to that buyer. I asked him to send his own people to pick the fruit and haul it away when the time comes."

Seeing Chi Wan’s earnest and regretful act, Song Yinghe almost lost her composure.

Suppressing the smile at the corners of her mouth, she said to Aunt Li apologetically, "Please, don’t blame us. It’s just that Liu Dali managed this orchard for ten years. While we don’t think much of his character, his business skills are undeniable. Like Wanwan said, we were worried we wouldn’t be able to hire anyone, so we decided to just contract out the whole job."

"Sigh, what a mess. Who would’ve thought he was trying to sow discord between us? He was probably afraid you’d all find out about Chi Yuanshan’s donation and hoped we’d stay on bad terms. But the contract is already signed, and it would cost a fortune to break it.

"So, how about this? If you can cover the cancellation fee, I’ll go ahead and hire our fellow villagers to pick the fruit."

Aunt Li’s expression froze.

She was here to make money, not spend it. What sense did it make to pay their cancellation fee before she’d even earned a dime?

But faced with the earnest expressions of the mother and daughter, what else could she say?

No matter how shameless Aunt Li was, she couldn’t bring herself to ask the Chi Family to take a loss just to hire her. Cursing Liu Dali a thousand times in her heart, she could only give an awkward laugh and leave.

Before she left, she didn’t forget to take the basket of eggs with her.

Not that Chi Wan wanted the eggs, but she was still left speechless by how incredibly stingy Aunt Li was.

"Well, that’s that. At least it’ll put a stop to their scheming," Song Yinghe said, rolling her eyes. "Did you see her? She acted like she was doing us a huge favor by offering to ’help.’ Anyone would think she was the one paying us."

Chi Wan giggled. "It’s too early for them to feel regret. A pack of ungrateful wolves, always taking from us and bad-mouthing us. And they still want to leech off our family? In their dreams. Oh, there will be plenty of time for regrets later~"

Song Yinghe gently poked Chi Wan’s forehead. "You clever little imp," she said with a laugh. "Liu Dali’s ears must be burning in prison."

After sharing a laugh, Song Yinghe and Chi Yuanshan headed off to the city.

What they had told Aunt Li wasn’t entirely a lie. The Chi Family had no intention of hiring the villagers, wanting to avoid any more trouble. Instead, they planned to work directly with a supermarket and arrange for on-site pickup.

The two parties had already hammered out most of the details; today was for finalizing the contract.

Chi Wan, meanwhile, stayed home to wait for Zhou Huaijin and his grandfather, who were coming to "inspect" the family’s Pure Crown Orchid.

In truth, Chi Wan had already asked Li Xingye to heal the flower the day after Zhou Huaijin dropped it off.

Not only was it healed, but the blossom even seemed a little larger than before, its elegant and precious beauty on full display.

But healing it in a single day would have been too unbelievable, so Chi Wan deliberately waited a week before sending a photo to Zhou Huaijin and telling him he could come pick it up whenever he was ready.

To her surprise, less than three minutes after she sent the photo, a video call came in from Zhou Huaijin.

When Chi Wan answered, the face on the screen wasn’t Zhou Huaijin’s, but that of a kind-looking elderly man who bore a slight resemblance to him.

He greeted Chi Wan with a wide, friendly smile. "Hello there, young Wanwan. I’m Huaijin’s grandfather. Tomorrow, Huaijin and I would like to visit and learn from your experience with orchids. Would that be convenient for you?"