Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 58: Peeling the Cocoon Fifty-Four Times
"Uncle Tiemu, I need to speak with you," Feng Xuxu said to the village chief, her expression serious as she sat in the chair.
"Xuxu, did you find the person who poisoned the crops?" Seeing Feng Xuxu’s icy gaze that was no longer gentle as before, the village chief put down his smoking pipe and asked tentatively.
"Not exactly, but I’ve found a way to save the rice seedlings and I want the village chief to oversee it," she replied.
"What? Really! That’s fantastic," the village chief said, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go right now." He grabbed Feng Xuxu, who was still seated, and headed towards the door.
The bell at the entrance of the ancestral hall rang out, and after the time it took to burn one stick of incense, all the villagers had gathered at the entrance of the hall. Everyone was craning their necks in anticipation, waiting to hear the good news from the village chief.
"Everyone knows that our rice has been poisoned," the village chief began, holding up a small bottle in his hand. "You see this bottle? It contains the medicine that Feng Xuxu has concocted; it’s specifically designed to counteract the poison in the rice. But it will only work once, if there’s another poisoning, not even the greatest immortals could bring them back," he announced, raising his hand high to show everyone the bottle.
As the last drop of Spiritual Spring Water was poured into the rice fields, Feng Xuxu’s lips curled into an attractive smile, and her gaze turned colder, her long lashes veiling her chilling eyes. But when she looked up, she had a beaming smile as she said to everyone, "The remedy I have created will only work once, if there’s a next time, I too will be powerless." Feng Xuxu spread her hands in a gesture of helplessness.
Feeling extremely pleased, Feng Xuxu played with her jet-black shining hair, patiently waiting for the poisoner to fall into the trap.
Arriving at the foot of Nameless Mountain, Feng Xuxu nodded her head as she saw that the villagers of Luo Jiabao were still busy planting vegetables, one even skiving off. It wasn’t until Feng Xuxu approached that she saw the village chief of Luo Jiabao was also working in the fields. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
"Uncle Luo, you’re in the fields too," Feng Xuxu said as she went up to assist Luo Jiabao, who was nearly fifty.
"Ah! Xuxu, this isn’t right; I’m covered in dirt," Luo Jiabao said, putting down his hoe and exiting the field together with Feng Xuxu to sit on the grassy slope.
Chief Luo patted the dirt off himself, took out the smoking pipe tucked behind him, lit it, and took a gentle puff. "Xuxu, I’ve heard about what happened, don’t be sad." He paused for a moment, "Don’t worry, I promise that I’ll finish all the work in the fields," Luo Jiabao didn’t know how else to comfort Feng Xuxu.
"I trust you, Uncle Luo," Feng Xuxu said, sitting on the grass and watching the diligent people nearby with a faint smile on her lips.
The sun set in the west, and the moon hung on the tree branches. The day passed just like that, and a light breeze blew at night, bringing peace to the village.
"Dad, I didn’t expect Feng Xuxu to come up with some antidote!" Feng Santian said gloomily while seated on a stool to one side.
"Dad, what do you think we should do now?" Feng Eryu sat across from Feng Santian, looking up at the elderly man who was puffing heavily on his smoking pipe.
Feng Youcai put down his smoking pipe with a thud and huffed, "Hmph, let that little brat jump around for a few days first."
"Dad, how about I go and poison the crops again?" Feng Santian asked eagerly, his eyes shining as he looked at his father at the head of the table.
Upon hearing this, Feng Youcai almost toppled backward, he gave Feng Santian a slap on the back of the head. "You useless thing, haven’t you thought about it? They’re all on alert now, aren’t you just asking for death if you do it now?" Feng Youcai was furious.
Feng Santian, rubbing the back of his head, asked, "Dad, are we just going to let them off like that?"
Feng Eryu looked at their father in the same way, but upon seeing the sneer and the sinister gleam in his eyes, he couldn’t help but shiver.
"Hmph, let them jump around for a few days, and in a few days we’ll..." Feng Youcai picked up his smoking pipe again, closed his eyes, and took slow drags, thoroughly enjoying the rings of smoke wafting out from his nostrils.
Feng Eryu and Feng Santian exchanged a glance, both smirking slyly. They sat waiting for that day to come. Xiaobai, perched on the rooftop, overhearing the despicable conversation of the three inside, stretched out its small front paw, revealing sharp claws that gleamed like blades; it wished it could descend and viciously scratch them to alleviate the anger in its little tiger heart.
Xiaobai nestled in Feng Xuxu’s arms, seeking comfort, and relayed what it had heard to Sister Feng. Feng Xuxu simply smiled faintly, stroking Xiaobai’s fluffy fur. Poisoning, very good, old grudges and new would be settled together.
The days were peaceful and uneventful.
Nameless Mountain’s more than a thousand acres were fully planted: five hundred acres of chili pepper seedlings, over three hundred acres of cowpeas, and the remaining two hundred acres of watermelons. Feng Xuxu looked out at the vast fields, contemplating hiring several farmhands to manage this expansive land for her. So, when settling accounts with the village chief of Luo’s village, she brought up this matter, and the chief, seeing it as a good thing, promised to help her find some workers that very afternoon.
After paying out the wages to Luo’s village, Feng Xuxu returned home feeling lighter. Just past noontime, someone knocked at Feng Xuxu’s door. When she opened it, she saw people from Luo’s village who came to work on her land, and she let them into the yard.
A man with dark skin and somewhat older in age spoke up, "Miss Feng, we were sent by the village chief of Luo’s village to work as long-term farmhands here." After saying that, he chuckled, then added, "Miss Feng, you can rest assured, we won’t slack off."
"That’s right, if we slack off, you can withhold our wages and send us away." The other two, seeing Feng Xuxu not speaking, worried that she might not need them, hurried to make their willingness clear to her.
"You’ll start work first, but let me finish speaking," Feng Xuxu said as she took a small stool from beneath the small table in the courtyard. Once all four were seated, she began, "Working for me, you’ll get three meals a day. The daily wage is twenty-five wen, with the requirement that you properly tend to the fields; regarding weeding..."
"Ah, Miss Feng, don’t worry, we’ll go home and get ready right now. We’ll certainly rush back here tonight." Luo Da, leading his two brothers, got up and headed back.
The silvery moonlight spilled onto the ground, and the sorrowful chirps of crickets were everywhere. The fragrance of the night permeated the air, weaving into a soft net.
Two people sneaked swiftly towards the fields outside the village, with Xiaobai trailing behind, telepathically connected to Feng Xuxu, "Sister Feng, they’re heading to the fields."
"Xiaobai, keep a close watch; I’ll be right there." After checking on the Lychee Wine in her space, Feng Xuxu immediately left the space upon hearing Xiaobai’s call, summoned her elder brother, and together they rushed to the village chief’s house.
Knocking on the door of the village chief’s house, Feng Xi pulled the chief along as they ran towards the fields while informing him someone had poisoned the fields again, "There’s trouble again? Let’s hurry and take a look; we can’t let the culprits get away." The chief, upon hearing this, disregarded putting on his shoes properly and ran towards the fields with his shoes half on.
Feng Xuxu notified a few families who were planting rice, telling them someone had poisoned their fields again. Upon hearing this, the families grabbed their hoes and ran angrily to their fields, intent on finding the poisoner and fighting for their lives.
Feng Xuxu followed behind, laughing scornfully.
