Qin Yihuai watched the receding figure, and the bag in his hand seemed to grow heavier.
The money was enough. They could now dig a canal to divert water down the mountain.
The marinated ducks were being sold, the rabbit heads were being collected, and the fields were being cultivated. Everything seemed a bit mundane.
During a break from her labor, Ye Zhinan sat on the ridge of the field, holding a teacup in her hand, and stared blankly at the sky.
She always felt that something was about to happen.
She took a sip of the water in the teacup. Before she could swallow it, she saw a familiar figure running towards her in the distance.
Lu Yanlai?
"Why are you here in the daytime?"
Before Ye Zhinan could finish her sentence, the teacup in her hand was snatched away.
"Hey? This water tastes quite sweet!"
"I'm asking you why you're here?"
Ye Zhinan snatched the teacup back, filled it up, and then stuffed it back into the other person's hand.
"I've found out something."
Lu Yanlai took out a ledger from her bosom, pointed at a string of numbers on it, and said, "Yan Xuan altered this part. That's why I couldn't figure it out before."
"Falsifying accounts! The method is just a bit clumsy."
Ye Zhinan took a quick glance and couldn't help but let out a snort.
"Now that we have the evidence, should we go and tell Ruonan?"
The fact that Lu Yanlai came to find Ye Zhinan meant that she was also hesitating.
If they told Liu Ruonan, and she drove Yan Xuan away, she would surely be sad, which might affect the baby.
If they kept it to themselves, Liu Ruonan would still be sad and worried, and it would still affect the baby.
For this kind of difficult situation, it was natural to turn to Ye Zhinan. At least they could ensure that the doctor would be present if there was a problem with the baby.
Ye Zhinan saw through it at a glance. She put away the ledger, poured herself another cup of water, and slowly took a sip.
"What? Are we just going to let it go?"
Lu Yanlai was shocked, confused, and puzzled.
"Let it go? How could that be? But we have to wait until after the autumn harvest."
Ye Zhinan put away the tea set, wrapped the scarf around her face again, and went back to the field to continue working.
Lu Yanlai felt bored. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and shouted, "By the way, Inspector Qin has recently organized people to dig the canal!"
"Um."
Ye Zhinan let out a low sound. There was no sign of emotion on her face, but inside she was filled with doubts.
Was the money enough? The silver she gave was only half. Although the marinated food shop had good business, the consumption level in the northern border was limited after all. It would take at least three quarters, or even longer, to raise enough money. How did he manage it?
Her doubts didn't last long. Soon, someone came to give her the answer.
It had been a long time since Sister Zhang came to the Ye family to chat. One day, she came to the Ye family with some fresh duck eggs.
When Ye Zhinan came back from the field, she saw Han Xiangmei and Sister Zhang sitting in the yard, drinking tea and chatting.
"Miss Ye is back?"
As soon as Sister Zhang saw her, she greeted her with a smile on her face. "My ducks just laid some eggs. I'm here to give you some to taste."
Ye Zhinan knew Sister Zhang's character. She never came without a reason. So she just quietly waited for what was to follow.
"I heard that your family dug a well. My family also wants to dig one, so I'm here to ask for some advice!"
Ye Zhinan had expected that someone would come because of the well, but she didn't expect it to be Sister Zhang first. So she politely declined.
"I heard that they're going to dig a canal. After the water is diverted down the mountain, there's no need to dig a well, right?"
The Ye family's location was remote. Even if the water was diverted down the mountain, it wouldn't reach them. But Sister Zhang's family was in a rare good location in the village. Digging a well was simply unnecessary.
So, other than wanting to take advantage, there was no other suitable reason.
Sister Zhang was rebuffed. Her eyebrows immediately knitted into an unsolvable knot.
"I saw that the Wei family dared to donate money to dig the canal upstream for the benefit of us common people. I thought your Ye family would be the same! Since they can be so noble, I didn't expect your family to be so stingy."
"What did you say? The Wei family donated money?"
No wonder they managed to raise the money for the canal so quickly!
A fire flared up in Ye Zhinan's heart. She threw down the hoe and turned around to enter the house.
Sister Zhang was stunned. Not knowing whether to advance or retreat, she left dejectedly.
Han Xiangmei had never seen her daughter so angry. She quickly went into the house to comfort her. She gently pushed open the door and said, "Sister Zhang has always been outspoken. If you don't want to help with the well-digging, just ignore her. There's no need to be so angry."
"I'm not angry because of this!"
Ye Zhinan was angry that Qin Yihuai didn't want her money but instead took the Wei family's money. Who knew if the money was sent by Wei Shishi?
Just thinking about Wei Shishi's obsequious and charming face made her even angrier.
So she plopped down on the bed and found an excuse casually.
"I'm tired. I'm going to sleep first!"
Han Xiangmei saw that it was already late morning outside. She closed the door with a bitter smile.
Ye Zhinan buried herself under the quilt and tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
What was wrong with her? It was just that the Wei family donated money. They had so much ill-gotten wealth. The more they scattered their money, the better!
Suddenly, there was a dull sound outside, and the door was pushed open.
She sat up abruptly and pricked up her ears.
She heard Han Xiangmei's voice: "Yanlai is here!"
Could something have happened to Ruonan?
Thinking of this, Ye Zhinan casually threw a piece of clothing over herself and ran out. She saw Lu Yanlai holding Xiaohu's hand with one hand and carrying a bamboo basket with the other.
"Child, look at how you're dressed. How can you appear like this in front of outsiders?!"
Han Xiangmei said as she quickly stepped forward to tidy up Ye Zhinan's clothes. But Ye Zhinan's eyes were fixed on the basket.
"What's this?"
"Beans. Don't you remember what you promised me?"
Lu Yanlai put the basket of beans heavily on the ground.
"Of course I remember. But where did you get these?"
Ye Zhinan stared into the other person's eyes, a hint of inquiry flashing in her pupils.
These beans were brought back by Li Feilong at Qin Yihuai's order. Lu Yanlai understood at a glance that this was just using someone else's gift to curry favor. So she didn't explain further.
"Just tell me if you'll make it or not. Why do you ask so many questions?"
Ye Zhinan was urged and didn't have time to think too much. She immediately washed her hands, ground the beans, and started making tofu pudding.
The promise she made to coax Lu Yanlai back then now had to be fulfilled.
Her father's exile had forced her to become a cook.
Han Xiangmei not only had mediocre cooking skills but also had good eyesight. Using the excuse of being weak, she calmly sat aside and gave instructions.
"All of you go out. My kitchen is too small. Besides, children shouldn't be exposed to the fumes."
Ye Zhinan said as she pushed everyone out.
Making tofu pudding didn't produce any fumes. She just used it as an excuse to enter the space.
Soaking the beans, grinding them, and forming the tofu pudding all took time, and they also needed glucono delta-lactone powder. This couldn't be done in a short time.
Lu Yanlai really didn't know how to do it. She just brought a large handful of beans like this.
Ye Zhinan thought that she should first prepare everything for making tofu pudding, and then she pickled some side dishes with soybeans.
It took a long time before she finally came out of the kitchen.
"Can we eat now?"
Lu Yanlai was eagerly looking forward to it. Xiaohu even rushed over impatiently.
"No. It'll take at least a day. You can come back tomorrow!"