Sister Hong smiled but said nothing, tucking the silver into her bosom.
Her husband beside her was curious. He leaned over to Sister Hong and sized up Qin Yihuai's departing back.
"Inspector Qin went through all this trouble just to send ginseng to the girl. Why bother?"
Sister Hong gave him a fierce glare and pushed him inside.
"Mind your own business. It's the young people's affair."
What Qin Yihuai did was not just buying ginseng. Since Ye Zhinan came to work in the fields, he had asked Sister Hong to take good care of her.
Later, it was also him who arranged everything for the trip to the market.
Otherwise, as the daughter of a convicted official, how could Ye Zhinan have the chance to go into the city to do some shopping?
It was a pity that lovers always had a hard time. Their future path would be tough.
...
Ye Zhinan got up early in the morning. She opened the window and saw an oil - paper package hanging outside.
She carefully took it into the room. Without even thinking, she could guess it was Qin Yihuai's doing.
Without bothering to check what was inside, she skillfully rummaged through it and found a note.
"Below Fushou Mountain. Bring Feng along."
Ye Zhinan sighed. She had planned to take a half - day break and go shopping in the market.
But instead, she was going to be dragged to do hard work.
"Hurry up and eat. Come with me to the mountain."
She went out and winked at Ye Yingfeng. The latter immediately understood.
Only Han Xiangmei was confused. She pulled Ye Zhinan to sit down.
"I must say, Young Master Qin is really a nice boy. The other day I asked him to help me buy some needles and threads, and he brought them over early in the morning."
Han Xiangmei beamed, stroking the things in her hand like a treasure.
Even though Ye Zhinan didn't usually do needlework, she could tell they were of top - quality.
"These aren't cheap."
"Qin didn't ask for money, but I couldn't take advantage of him for free. So I gave him a pair of shoes as a token of gratitude."
Ye Zhinan sighed helplessly.
She knew that Ye Shenyan had never worn a pair of shoes made by his own wife in his lifetime, yet Qin Yihuai got them first.
She couldn't tell if it was a blessing or a curse.
"Don't do this again next time. There are people out there watching us closely, waiting to find fault with our family. We have nothing to lose, but it would be unfair if we dragged Inspector Qin down."
Ye Zhinan's words came from the bottom of her heart.
Qin Yihuai had already helped the Ye family a great deal. She couldn't let him get into trouble because of them.
Han Xiangmei naturally understood and nodded repeatedly.
"I saw others asking him for help, so I thought I'd give it a try. I won't bother him anymore."
After the mother - daughter conversation, Ye Yingfeng had also gobbled up his food.
The siblings left together. Ye Zhinan briefly told him what had happened in the morning and walked quickly down the mountain.
"I didn't expect him to be so clever. But why didn't he leave a note for me? He had to go to your window."
Ye Zhinan forced a stiff smile.
If she told him that Qin Yihuai had also included something special, he would probably go berserk immediately.
She hesitated for a moment and then told a lie casually.
"Maybe it's because my room is closer to the outer wall."
Ye Yingfeng nodded, half - believing. But he still felt something was off.
Before he could figure it out, Chen Zhenhai quickly walked up to them.
"You two are finally here. My boss said that he still needs to discuss some mountain - related matters with you."
Mentioning Qin Yihuai, Ye Zhinan felt a strange flutter in her heart.
It had been a long time since they last met.
She saw a familiar figure not far away, and her heart started beating faster involuntarily.
"Long time no see!"
Ye Yingfeng was relaxed. He put his arm around Qin Yihuai's shoulder. The two were as close as real brothers.
Ye Zhinan looked up and noticed that Qin Yihuai's official uniform had changed style.
"You've been promoted?"
"Yes. The new inspector hasn't taken office yet, so I'm temporarily acting as the chief inspector."
Ye Zhinan calculated in her mind. Even though the title had one more character, it was still a minor official position.
But looking at him, he seemed a hundred times better than the negative person he used to be.
The group walked up the mountain side by side. Ye Zhinan looked at the person beside her and suddenly spoke.
"Helping others feels good, doesn't it?"
Qin Yihuai was stunned for a moment and then nodded.
"It really does."
Ye Zhinan showed her shallow dimples, held her head high, and strode forward.
She believed that Qin Yihuai could understand her implied meaning.
Qin Yihuai looked at her back as she walked in front and lowered his head, trying hard to suppress the smile in his heart.
Ye Zhinan was trying to tell him that being an official also felt good.
Good would always prevail over evil. Those who did wrong would eventually be punished, and only the upright people who cared about the world could sanction them.
The mountain was bustling. Lu Yanlai was organizing everyone to pack their things.
"Take all your things with you. There won't be a chance to come back."
Ye Zhinan was puzzled. She stepped forward and grabbed Lu Yanlai's hand.
"Are you guys moving?"
"Yes. Most of the village at the foot of the mountain is empty, and they're going to build new places for us to live. The stockade will be used as a granary for storing grain."
There was joy in every corner of Lu Yanlai's face.
She had lived on the mountain for many years and had rarely seen the scenery at the foot of the mountain.
If she could live at the foot of the mountain and live an ordinary life without fighting, she would naturally be happy.
"I saw on the way here that the hillside is suitable for farming. The land there is fertile and undeveloped. We can plant corn there next year."
Ye Zhinan squatted on the ground and drew a terrain map with a twig, carefully analyzing the advantages of each piece of land.
"I've seen rice when I was at home. The land at the foot of the mountain is close to the river. We can definitely divert water into canals to grow rice."
Qin Yihuai listened to her talking so knowledgeably. He even began to suspect that she had planned all this long ago and was just waiting for him to bring her here.
Ye Zhinan drew many more diagrams on the ground and even had the idea of growing Chinese herbal medicines.
After she had finished telling all her grand plans, she noticed that Qin Yihuai was still squatting there, staring blankly at her.
"Were you listening to me?"
Qin Yihuai suddenly came back to his senses. He averted his eyes, nodded, and then, feeling that it was wrong, awkwardly shook his head.
"The northern border is different from the south. Even if you build greenhouses, you won't be able to grow other crops when it snows. We'd better plan next year's things next year."
Mentioning the inability to grow crops, Ye Zhinan got excited again.
She hugged her knees and looked into Qin Yihuai's eyes as if she wanted to see into his heart.
"What do you think of doing business?"
Qin Yihuai immediately averted his eyes, suddenly stood up, and strode away.
Ye Zhinan couldn't figure out why he was so resistant to doing business. But it seemed that if they wanted to keep the economy prosperous, they couldn't just rely on this small piece of land.
"You have to give me an explanation. You know that doing business is a way out. We can also trade with neighboring countries. Even though the border is in turmoil now, the common people still need to live, and we can also have a source of income."
She caught up with Qin Yihuai's pace and blurted out all her words.
Qin Yihuai's expression changed from surprise to dejection, making it impossible for her to figure out what was on his mind.
Ye Zhinan vaguely felt that she might have touched a sensitive topic again. She tentatively spoke.
"We're friends who have shared life - and - death experiences. You should tell me what's on your mind."