Chapter 159

Chapter 159

Plotting Against Qiao Lu

Not so tough, not so cocky, with such a powerful backer—she wanted to see if Qiao Lu could handle the fallout.

Hu Yunlai was stunned at first, but then his eyes lit up as he caught on and immediately said, "Should I leave first?"

Picking a fight with Qiao Lu would make him look like he was picking on a kid, but a battle-hardened man like him had barely held back from slapping her when she dared to scold him, finger in his face. So when he heard Lin Nannan’s suggestion, he readily agreed.

"You can leave first," she said, "but act like you're devastated after being yelled at by someone pointing fingers. You’re old now, time to retire and enjoy your golden years—no more sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, right?" Lin Nannan grinned mischievously, making Hu Yunlai chuckle along. "And then?"

This was child’s play—he could pull it off flawlessly.

"Then we’ll only recognize you. Nobody else counts unless they try to snatch it outright. Wonder how the villagers will take that." When it came to food, the villagers were united.

Plenty of villagers were big-mouthed, but they were mostly in it for the show. Except for a few truly malicious ones, most had each other’s backs—just like when they patrolled alongside Hu Yunlai’s men during harvest season. That’s why she had the guts to put Qiao Lu in her place and send a message to whoever was backing her.

She might not be able to bring them down, but exposing them might help Lu Hang.

Hu Yunlai immediately got what Lin Nannan meant. If he left, Lin Nannan would insist no one else could do the job. No one could steal the credit. Eventually, they’d have to beg him to come back—it concerned national interests, after all, and no one could afford to mess that up.

"I’ll pack up and leave tonight!" Hu Yunlai said eagerly, like a kid itching for trouble.

"Perfect!" Lin Nannan smirked, her eyes glinting with mischief.

With Lu Hang away, she’d have ignored Qiao Lu if she hadn’t kept making waves. Sure, she hadn’t lost anything yet, but the constant provocations were annoying. Best to shoo her off and let her raise hell somewhere else—just don’t let her keep messing with her.

So when Qiao Lu came looking for Hu Yunlai again, she was told he had left overnight with everyone. It wasn’t until the next morning that the caretaker noticed—the bed was cold. He must’ve hightailed it out of there.

Qiao Lu was stunned. "Why would he just leave like that?" she cried in disbelief.

The village chief rushed over upon hearing the news and was handed a note. After reading it, he glared at Qiao Lu and snapped, "You threatened the old master into handing over the seeds, putting his life at risk. Would he have stuck around waiting for you to make a move?"

"Chief, what’s going on?" Villagers close to Hu Yunlai came to check things out after hearing he had fled overnight. When they heard Lu Ding’s words, they pressed for details. Lu Ding quickly showed them the note Hu Yunlai had left. Soon, Qiao Lu found herself under a storm of furious stares, leaving her flustered.

"I—I was just joking! How could I, alone, possibly hurt him?" She could call in favors, but it wasn’t the right time yet. She had planned to keep pressuring Hu Yunlai into giving up the seeds, never expecting the old man to scare so easily.

"We don’t care. You scared the old master away. We were counting on him to teach us farming and fertilizing. Now he’s gone—who’s going to make up for our loss?" The villagers weren’t having it.