Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Village Chief Lin lost half his momentum and forced a smile: "Huaichuan, how could you say that? How would I dare threaten your wife? I just mean that we all live in the same village, and we have a long future ahead. Mutual help and harmony bring prosperity—it's good for everyone!"

Huo Huaichuan and Gao Mingzhu sneered inwardly as they heard him still making veiled threats.

Huo Huaichuan directly told them to leave, his tone merciless, even casting a contemptuous glance at the basket in their hands: "We don't need any help from you now. Please go. Oh, and by the way."

As if remembering something, he added: "You'd better be careful carrying that stuff around. Don't let the villagers see it. If word gets out that you tried to bribe us, it won't look good."

"You! You people!" Village Chief Lin and his wife turned red with anger. How could they miss Huo Huaichuan's blatant provocation and sarcasm?

Humiliated and furious, Village Chief Lin harshly threatened: "Fine! You've got some nerve! Then I wish you good luck!"

With that, he turned to leave.

Just as he turned, he almost bumped into someone.

The person coming was none other than Du Shan.

"Old Lin? What's this?" Du Shan asked, looking at Village Chief Lin and his wife.

"Hmph, you really have a capable nephew and his wife!" Village Chief Lin snorted heavily, then turned to glare fiercely at Huo Huaichuan and Gao Mingzhu before storming off.

Du Shan was confused. Unintentionally glancing at the basket in Lin's wife's hand that wasn't fully covered, he saw the meat and eggs inside, and his brows furrowed deeply.

Once Village Chief Lin and his wife were completely out of sight, he immediately turned to Huo Huaichuan and Gao Mingzhu with a frown: "What were they here for? Was it about the accountant position again?"

"They didn't even get a word in before we shut them down," Gao Mingzhu said coldly. "But it's obvious that's why they came."

"I thought so, with the meat and eggs out like that..." Du Shan said grimly, his expression dark.

He had worked with Village Chief Lin for many years and knew he had some selfish motives, but he never expected him to go this far.

How could someone like that be a village chief?

"Scum!" Huo Huaichuan spat out two words with a dark expression.

Du Shan also had a dark face, pondering, finding it strange: "Come to think of it, his youngest son Lin Tianxiong—what is he thinking? With a high school diploma, can't he find a job in the commune or county town? Why does he have to come back and fight for the accountant position?"

Then he looked at Gao Mingzhu: "But you don't need to be afraid of him. You don't have to give up the job. They won't dare to do anything to you. Your uncle's got your back!"

Clearly, he was backing them up!

Gao Mingzhu was touched and smiled: "Okay, thanks, Uncle."

Du Shan waved his hand and got down to business: "I came to tell you that the accountant position is settled. The commune has also agreed. When can you start? In the next couple of days?"

Gao Mingzhu originally didn't think it was urgent, but seeing Village Chief Lin making such a fuss, to avoid further trouble, she felt it was better to start early: "How about tomorrow?"

Du Shan also agreed that it was best to settle it early. He nodded: "Alright, come over tomorrow. I'll let everyone know."

"Okay, thanks, Uncle."

After Du Shan left, Huo Huaichuan's face was still dark, clearly still angry about Village Chief Lin.

Gao Mingzhu walked behind him, wrapped her arms around his neck, rested her head on his broad shoulder, and cooed softly to comfort him: "It's okay. Someone like him will get what's coming to him sooner or later!"

Behind his back, her eyes suddenly turned cold and sharp.

Village Chief Lin was so afraid of her becoming the accountant precisely because he was afraid his shady dealings would be exposed, right?

Then she would investigate thoroughly, expose it all and send him to jail!

Huo Huaichuan held her slender, fair hand resting on his shoulder, looked up at her, his eyes still sharp but filled with unconcealed worry: "If you work at the production brigade, they might create obstacles for you..."

"It's fine." Gao Mingzhu's tone was light and confident. "I'm not a pushover. You know my temper—I never let anyone take advantage of me."

Huo Huaichuan gave a distracted smile, his gaze becoming distant as he looked into the distance. He needed to think... What could he do? He had to do something!

...Although the production brigade office was only a few hundred meters from home, a few minutes' walk or even faster by bike.

But if something happened to Huo Huaichuan at home, with his legs disabled, it would be hard even to call for help.

Gao Mingzhu thought of deploying their guard dog—Tiewei!

She decided to take Tiewei for a thorough walk around the village today, especially the route from home to the brigade office, so Tiewei would get familiar with it.

That way, if Huo Huaichuan needed help at home, Tiewei could run to find her or Du Shan.

Dogs have a keen sense of smell, and Tiewei, being an excellent breed chosen for military dogs, was already smarter than ordinary dogs. With the nourishment of the spiritual spring water, Gao Mingzhu sometimes felt it was almost becoming a spirit.

She wasn't worried at all that Tiewei wouldn't be able to complete the task, so she simply took him out.

When Huo Huaichuan learned they were going out, he went inside to use the restroom first. When he came out, Gao Mingzhu and Tiewei were already gone.

Huo Huaichuan: "..."

Fortunately, Gao Mingzhu returned quickly.

As soon as she entered, she pointed outside and ordered: "Tiewei, go fetch the sweet potato I dropped on the road!"

"Woof!" Tiewei, like a soldier receiving an order, turned and dashed out swiftly.

Gao Mingzhu clapped her hands in satisfaction. Turning around, she saw Huo Huaichuan sitting under the eaves, looking at her with a hurt expression.

Before she could speak, he asked: "Why didn't you wait for me earlier?"

"Ah?" Gao Mingzhu was surprised. "You wanted to go out?"

She had learned this lesson deeply in the past few days—Huo Huaichuan's pride was extremely sensitive after his leg injury!

He usually stayed in the bedroom, so she assumed he didn't want to go out and hadn't waited for him.

"So you want to go for a walk?"

"Otherwise?" Huo Huaichuan countered.

Gao Mingzhu: "..."

Overjoyed, she clapped her hands: "Great! I just took Tiewei to the brigade office. I'm going to take him around the village to get familiar with the route. If you're willing to go out, let's go together!"

Huo Huaichuan's lips curled up slightly: "Mm!"

But Gao Mingzhu was still curious: "Why are you suddenly willing to go out?"

With his legs disabled, discharged from the military and returning to the village, having fallen from the clouds to rock bottom, Huo Huaichuan would inevitably face various stares and gossip when going out.

A few days ago, he was clearly very sensitive about others mentioning his legs. Was he no longer bothered now?

The smile on Huo Huaichuan's face faded slightly. His deep black eyes were like calm whirlpools, revealing no specific emotion. His voice was low: "I can't keep hiding at home and leaving everything to you. Even if I may not be able to do much... I might be dead weight..."

He glanced down at his legs: "But I can't let you face everything alone."

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