Chapter 50

Chapter 50

If Gao Mingzhu had chosen to get a divorce and return to the city, Huo Huaichuan might have locked himself in that dim room forever, letting himself wallow in despair.

But she chose to stay—stay by his side!

Then he couldn't hide. Even if going out meant facing those stares and whispers that humiliated him, he couldn't let her face everything alone.

His words were a little ambiguous, but Gao Mingzhu understood instantly.

Her heart slammed as if hit by something—aching yet tender, filled with an indescribable warmth.

How could she not love a man like this? She was totally crazy about him!

Just as she was about to say something, she heard a panting sound approaching from a distance.

Turning around, she saw Tiewei held the sweet potato firmly in his mouth, running with sturdy limbs, as nimble as a cheetah, charging toward her like a victorious general.

"Wow! Tiewei, you're amazing!" Gao Mingzhu couldn't help but cheer with delight, crouching down with open arms to greet him.

Tiewei excitedly pounced on her, with considerable force, knocking Gao Mingzhu flat on the ground.

Huo Huaichuan's face changed in his wheelchair: "Mingzhu—"

"Haha~ It's fine, it's fine!" Gao Mingzhu laughed while hugging Tiewei, nuzzling into his thick fur. "Tiewei knows his limits, didn't hurt me. Good dog!"

The last remark was naturally for Tiewei.

Huo Huaichuan's expression remained serious: "Tiewei, get up!"

Tiewei glanced at Huo Huaichuan, seeing his stern look, then obediently climbed off Gao Mingzhu.

Gao Mingzhu also stood up, affectionately ruffled his fur, then smiled at Huo Huaichuan. "Come on! Let's go out!"

She quickly locked the door, pushed Huo Huaichuan's wheelchair, and with the majestic-looking Tiewei, went out again.

At this time of day, most villagers were working in the fields; there weren't many people outside, but there were still some elderly and children.

Gao Mingzhu had fair skin and was stunningly beautiful; Tiewei was a robust and mighty wolfdog—a rare sight; and then there was Huo Huaichuan in his wheelchair—though his legs were disabled, his handsome, calm demeanor remained unchanged.

As soon as this unusual trio appeared, they immediately drew everyone's attention.

"Am I seeing things? Huo's third son and his wife came out? And with that huge dog? What are they up to?"

"Who knows? But honestly, this couple is really good-looking and such a perfect match!"

"Yeah, and that dog looks fierce, I wouldn't dare get close."

"I thought with Huo Huaichuan's broken leg, their family would be sad all the time, but they're laughing so happily? That's totally not what I imagined."

"Exactly! If it were just Gao Mingzhu smiling, you could say she didn't care, but look at Huo Huaichuan—he seems in a good mood too. Doesn't he look even better than before?"

"Better? Much better! I saw Huo Huaichuan the day he returned—he was scary thin and gloomy. Now he looks so much healthier!"

"People used to say Gao Mingzhu wasn't good to Huo Huaichuan, but look, isn't she taking care of him well? He's clean and his face has filled out a bit compared to when he first returned!"

"She's been eating meat every day lately, and you all said she was wasting money! I think she's doing it to build Huo Huaichuan's strength! Otherwise, how could he have improved so quickly? In just a few days, Huo Huaichuan looks much healthier than that skeleton he was before!"

"Have we been misunderstanding Gao Mingzhu?"

Gao Mingzhu and Huo Huaichuan were training Tiewei, completely unaware that their reputation had suddenly turned around.

The Lin family had planned to go out and chat with the villagers while trashing Gao Mingzhu to make everyone dislike her more, but instead they heard nothing but praise for Gao Mingzhu and Huo Huaichuan.

They suddenly didn't know how to begin badmouthing her.

Tiewei was really smart.

Gao Mingzhu and Huo Huaichuan took him for a walk around the village. This time they upped the difficulty—instead of throwing sweet potatoes, Gao Mingzhu picked up a few small pebbles, let Tiewei sniff them, then tossed them onto the road and into the grass.

When they got home, she asked Tiewei to retrieve those same pebbles he had sniffed.

To her surprise, Tiewei actually found all the pebbles!

After that round, Gao Mingzhu stopped calling Tiewei a good dog and started calling him a miracle dog!

Now, she felt completely at ease about going to work.

So the next day, Gao Mingzhu went to the brigade office on time.

It wasn't far, but for convenience, she rode her bicycle.

The brigade headquarters was a two-story building with a big drying yard in front.

Gao Mingzhu rode her bike across the drying yard and arrived at the entrance.

Before she even entered, she heard a buzz of talking inside—she was a bit surprised.

She had thought that after rejecting Village Chief Lin, given his petty and spiteful nature displayed yesterday, he would definitely give her a hard time and give her the cold shoulder for a few days.

Could it be that she had judged him too harshly?

Gao Mingzhu couldn't help but wonder if she was too cynical, seeing everything in a negative light.

She got off her bike, pushed it under the eaves to park it, and was about to enter the office when Du Shan, hearing the commotion, came out of the room.

"Mingzhu, you're here?" Du Shan greeted her with a smile and waved her over. "We've all been waiting for you."

Gao Mingzhu walked over and said with a smile, "I'm not late, am I? Sorry about that."

"No, no, you're not late, don't worry!" Du Shan explained with a smile. "We just wanted to introduce you to everyone and hold a meeting. Most are here, but the village chief isn't here yet!"

"Okay." Gao Mingzhu replied with a smile and followed Du Shan into the meeting room.

The meeting room was simple—two large square tables pushed together, with several long benches beside them.

At the moment, several main members of the brigade were seated inside. Gao Mingzhu glanced around; all of them were men. Counting Du Shan, there were seven in total.

Village Chief Lin was indeed absent, but Huo Weicheng was among them.

These men had been chatting and laughing, but when they saw her enter, the laughter stopped in unison, and their gazes all locked onto her at once.

Those gazes held curiosity, scrutiny, and open scorn.

"Ahem!" Du Shan cleared his throat and said in a loud voice, "I don't need to introduce Mingzhu, do I? Starting today, she officially becomes the accountant of our brigade!"

He pointed at Gao Mingzhu. "From now on, she will be in charge of the brigade's purse strings! Let's welcome her!"

After saying that, Du Shan started clapping first.

The others followed with scattered, half-hearted claps—cold and reluctant.

"Are you all that weak?!" Seeing this, Du Shan glowered and slammed the table, his voice filled with anger.

At his shout, those men finally clapped vigorously as if someone flipped a switch, but the clapping sounded more like they were letting out frustration, without any welcome at all.

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