Suddenly, Yun Que'er turned her head and looked seriously at Ji Chengxuan.
"Is that cooperation we talked about before still valid?"
"Sure."
Yun Que'er gave a sly smile. "Then... do me a favor, please."
The next day, Yun Que'er dragged Yun Fu Jin to the town again to buy more seeds.
"Aren't there enough crops planted at home?" Yun Fu Jin asked in surprise. "Xiao Que'er, that's enough. The back mountain is only that big. Even if we reclaim some land, it's just a small area. Besides, if we plant too much..."
Yun Fu Jin felt a twinge of uneasiness. "Some villagers are already gossiping about our family, saying that privately cultivating land is against the rules."
Yun Que'er scoffed. "Which family doesn't plant something in their yard? It's all for personal use anyway. What's the difference between planting on the back mountain and in the yard?"
Yun Fu Jin was still worried. "That's true, but the location is different. Others might find fault with us. Big brother is afraid that the village head will make an issue out of this in a couple of days."
What a couple of days! He was actually already up to something.
However, Yun Que'er knew all the village head's tricks and didn't take him seriously at all.
"Don't worry, big brother. I said it'll be okay, and it will. If you don't trust others, don't you trust your little sister?"
Yun Que'er tugged at Yun Fu Jin's hand and said coquettishly.
"Moreover, I'm not just talking nonsense. Maybe in a while, this land will really belong to our family. We should take this opportunity to buy some seeds and give it a try. Then we can plant whatever grows well."
Yun Que'er's words left Yun Fu Jin stunned. He quickly reached out and covered her mouth.
"Don't talk nonsense like this. If the village head hears it, he'll surely say something bad about our family..."
Yun Que'er felt a headache coming on. "Big brother, why are you so afraid of him? He's just a village head."
But Yun Fu Jin thought differently. The village head was an official after all, and an official always had the upper hand. They were just ordinary villagers.
Yun Fu Jin was already content with the good life they had now. How could he dare to hope for their own land?
"Alright, that's enough. Don't mention this to anyone else."
Yun Que'er knew that Yun Fu Jin wasn't a coward. He just had to think about the whole family, especially with Yun Mo Tan working as a teacher in the town. So he had to be careful about everything.
As long as the family was safe and sound, that was enough.
Yun Que'er was considerate enough not to mention it anymore, but she continued to drag Yun Fu Jin to choose seeds.
She was standing in front of a stall, calculating which seeds would grow the best seedlings when she suddenly heard someone say beside her,
"Little sister, it's you!"
Yun Que'er turned her head and found that it was Wang Shu Fen standing in front of her.
"Sister Shu Fen?" Yun Que'er widened her eyes. "You're better now. Why are you here? How's the matter of Big Brother Da Qiang's family going?"
"I'm all better now, and everything's fine. The betrothal gifts from Big Brother Da Qiang's family have all been retrieved. We didn't suffer any losses." Wang Shu Fen smiled and stroked Yun Que'er's head. "Thanks to you, little sister, and that little boy who helped that day. I haven't had the time to visit him yet. Please pass on a message for me and thank him on my behalf. Tell him that I'll visit the village in person to express my gratitude when I'm free in a few days."
Yun Que'er nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry, Sister Shu Fen. I'll definitely pass on your message."
Wang Shu Fen gave Yun Que'er a kind smile. She really liked this girl.
A man walked over from the side. "Shu Fen, you've met an acquaintance. But this isn't the time to chat. Let's hurry up. Let's go for a meal first. The town leaders will come this afternoon, and we still have a meeting to attend."
Yun Que'er sized up the man. He was probably in his forties, wearing a pair of gold - rimmed glasses on his nose and a well - tailored Zhongshan suit. He looked gentle and elegant, with an air of a leader.
After hearing what the man said, Yun Que'er guessed a bit.
This man must be an official, and judging from his close relationship with Wang Shu Fen, they must be from the same system.
Yun Que'er rolled her eyes. When Wang Shu Fen confronted Wang Shu Juan before, she was out of breath due to excessive blood loss and was really angry. But her words were reasonable, not something an uneducated person could say.
Now that she thought about it, she might have underestimated Wang Shu Fen. Maybe after Wang Shu Fen and her father left the small town for so many years, they really made a name for themselves outside.
It was just that they had to suffer the humiliation of those despicable people after coming back...
Wang Shu Fen whispered a few words to the man, then turned to wave at Yun Que'er.
"Then, little girl, I'll be leaving. See you another day."
Yun Que'er sweetly said goodbye to Sister Shu Fen and kept her eyes on her back.
Wang Shu Fen and the man walked side by side, whispering to each other.
"Brother Li, I've arranged everything for this afternoon's meeting. It'll be held in the meeting room of the guesthouse."
A meeting? Who was this man?
Yun Que'er became interested again and couldn't help but take a couple of steps forward.
Li Wen Jie nodded. "Okay, then let's go back to the guesthouse. Let's just grab a bite at the restaurant downstairs. After the meeting tonight, we'll have a good meal with the town leaders."
"I wonder if the leaders will still be in the mood to eat." Wang Shu Fen said with a meaningful smile.
Li Wen Jie snorted. "These people have embezzled a lot of money from the fields. Now that the household - based production responsibility system is about to be implemented, they're naturally unhappy. But this policy will be implemented nationwide sooner or later. They can't oppose it."
Hearing this secretly, Yun Que'er's eyes lit up.
Sure enough, it was their turn so soon.
Yun Que'er had an idea. She immediately grabbed Yun Fu Jin beside her and shouted,
"Big brother! It's already noon. I'm hungry! What shall we eat?"
"Weren't you just eating two fried pastries?" Yun Fu Jin was a bit surprised. He touched Yun Que'er's still bulging little belly. "You just ate and now you want to eat again. Aren't you afraid of getting stuffed?"
"Come on, big brother~" Yun Que'er tugged at Yun Fu Jin's sleeve and acted coquettishly. "Actually, I just want to taste the local cuisine in the town. I heard a few days ago that the braised lion's head in the restaurant downstairs of the town guesthouse is really delicious."
As she said that, Yun Que'er licked her lips, looking extremely eager.
"Big brother, take me to try it."
Yun Fu Jin was both amused and annoyed. "We often have meat at home. What's so special about a braised lion's head? I heard they add a lot of flour to it. It's not as good as the meat we eat at home. How about big brother buys you two catties of spare ribs and makes braised spare ribs for you when we get home?"