Ye Zhinan was surrounded so tightly that she couldn't even utter a complete sentence. She could only wave her hands feebly.
She felt as if her throat was on fire, but it was all in vain.
Those people simply wouldn't listen to what she had to say. It was obvious that they were itching for a fight.
Just when she was on the verge of being pushed down by the crowd, she suddenly fell into a familiar embrace.
She looked up and saw Qin Yihuai's handsome side profile. Her heart suddenly settled down.
"Take her away. Leave the rest to me," Qin Yihuai said as he pushed her towards Ye Yingfeng. Ye Zhinan gradually extricated herself from the crowd and could no longer see his figure.
She had witnessed the prowess of those people. Although Qin Yihuai was a man, he was an official after all.
He couldn't fight back, nor could he scold them. Most likely, he could only stay there and take the abuse.
"Let's get out of here quickly. Neither side is easy to deal with," Ye Yingfeng said.
When people live together, it's inevitable that they'll have conflicts, just like teeth bumping into tongues.
Moreover, the mountain bandits were used to living a carefree life in the mountains. Suddenly returning to the foot of the mountain and being constrained everywhere, they would surely feel uncomfortable.
"I think we should put the construction of the new village on the agenda. Since there's still some time before the Chinese New Year, let's build the village as soon as possible," Ye Zhinan said.
Ye Yingfeng spread his hands and shrugged helplessly, leaving her with just two words.
"No money."
Ye Zhinan thought it was a big deal. There was a smile on her face as she walked up to him and played a little game.
"Even if we don't have money, I can still lead them to build houses."
With that, she strode away and went into the room to start drawing.
The commotion outside had nothing to do with her because she believed that Qin Yihuai would surely find a way to solve it.
Sure enough, Qin Yihuai came back with Chen Zhenhai just as the sun was about to set.
As soon as Chen Zhenhai entered the yard, he picked up the kettle and gulped down the water.
"Slow down. Did you have a war of words with a bunch of scholars?" Ye Zhinan asked knowingly, which made Chen Zhenhai choke on his water.
"Don't even mention it. Those people just wouldn't give in. They insisted on causing a huge ruckus. Fortunately, the boss finally sorted it out," Chen Zhenhai said.
She walked up to Chen Zhenhai and secretly slipped a throat lozenge into his hand. Only after seeing him put it in his mouth did she speak.
"Tell me in detail what happened."
Chen Zhenhai quickly tried to spit out the lozenge, but Ye Zhinan covered his mouth.
He had to swallow the lozenge whether he liked it or not.
Chen Zhenhai had no choice but to pull at her hand and mumble the truth.
"The boss asked the village head for the family genealogy. He told the story of the past in detail and promised the villagers to tear up the talismans and move out within ten days."
Within ten days!
Ye Yingfeng stared at Qin Yihuai with wide eyes in disbelief.
But seeing his pale face, he couldn't bring himself to ask.
"You were forced into a corner. Otherwise, you wouldn't have resorted to this," Ye Yingfeng said.
Just as Ye Yingfeng was feeling sorry, Qin Yihuai's face visibly darkened.
He had long been confident about the construction of the new village.
After all, people with different living habits couldn't rely solely on gratitude to maintain their relationship. Over time, conflicts were bound to arise.
All of this was reasonable, and he had long anticipated it. It was just that it came a little too soon.
The reason for his bad mood was the two people who were making a ruckus in front of him.
They were really an eyesore!
"Chen Zhenhai, have you finished all the tasks I assigned you?" Qin Yihuai asked.
Chen Zhenhai shuddered and stood up straight immediately. He quickly went through the tasks in his mind.
Tasks?
Why couldn't he remember what tasks he had been assigned?
Chen Zhenhai was a shrewd man who had lived for more than a decade. Seeing Qin Yihuai's eyes on Ye Zhinan, he immediately understood.
"Yes. I still have some things to do, so I won't bother you guys anymore," he said with an awkward smile. He glanced at Qin Yihuai guiltily and quickly slipped away.
Ye Zhinan was confused, and even Ye Yingfeng stood there stunned.
The lively yard suddenly fell silent. Qin Yihuai sat at the table with a cold face, looking like the King of Hell.
"Well... I'll go inside first," Ye Zhinan said with a dry laugh. She also wanted to leave, but when she saw the drawing Qin Yihuai took out, she couldn't move.
The drawing showed a mortise and tenon structure.
"How do you know about this?" she asked with a sparkle in her eyes. She decided not to leave and sat in front of Qin Yihuai, examining it carefully.
She had only seen the mortise and tenon structure in history books. She only knew its name and had a shallow understanding of its structure.
As for how to operate it specifically, she had no idea.
Qin Yihuai gave a meaningful smile and put the drawing back into his bosom.
His slender fingers tapped on the table rhythmically, as if hypnotizing her.
"If you want to know, you have to cooperate with me," he said.
Ye Zhinan knew he meant no harm and readily agreed.
"Deal."
The two of them clapped hands to seal the deal, and only then did Qin Yihuai take out the drawing.
Chen Zhenhai squatted by the wall, listening to the commotion inside. The corners of his mouth almost reached his ears.
It seemed that the big bad wolf was going to take the initiative.
"Since you know the old craftsman, you should invite him over to oversee the work. We don't have much time. It's too troublesome to communicate with just the drawings," Ye Zhinan said anxiously as she paced back and forth in the room. They only had ten days.
If they couldn't build the houses within ten days, the entire mountain bandit group would have to sleep on the streets.
Before they could come up with a solution, Ye Yingfeng burst into the room, his forehead covered in fine sweat.
"You guys should go out and take a look. The villagers are throwing paper money outside, and they've also set up a memorial tablet at the village entrance. It looks like there's going to be another fight," he said.
Ye Zhinan sighed, and the two of them walked out together without a word.
Qin Yihuai looked at her and frowned.
"Stay in the room," he said.
She showed her cute dimples, blinked her eyes, and waved her hand.
"We've reached a cooperation agreement. We should share both good and bad times. Don't even think about leaving me behind," she said.
Qin Yihuai's cheeks flushed, and he even forgot to respond. He stepped out of the door.
His steps were steady, but his heart was pounding.
He secretly swore in his heart that he would never leave Ye Zhinan behind.
As long as she needed him, he would always be by her side.
Even if he had no name or status, even if she never knew.
"Stay away later and protect yourself first," he said.
Ye Zhinan nodded vigorously. She would never cause trouble for Qin Yihuai.
The two of them walked to the middle of the road and saw someone walking towards them.
The person was wearing coarse cloth clothes and had a white flower in their hair. They were holding a large handful of paper money and throwing it vigorously into the air.
The fluttering paper money landed on Ye Zhinan's shoulders. Even though she was a firm materialist, she still felt a chill run down her spine.
"Just in time for you guys to come. You're both educated people. You tell me, who can sleep at night with this kind of thing going on?" Xiao Qiu said as she led a group of people over. She was so angry that she was trembling all over. She tried to stop those people, but they just walked on as if they couldn't see her.