Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 855 - 845. Indifferent Little Thoughts

Chapter 855: 845. Indifferent Little Thoughts

In the deep night of October, the temperature had already dropped. Old Lady Zhou sat by the edge of the woods, her double-layered coats unable to ward off the increasingly penetrating cold.

She was old and often dozed off. Originally, she had been quite tired carrying a hoe to dig up sweet potatoes, and now, the colder and colder she felt, the sleepier she became.

Ahead, not only was the area brightly lit, but two drivers were also chatting and laughing, holding bowls of hot loofah and egg drop soup in their hands.

The loofah was tender and the eggs were fresh and fragrant. It seemed like she could smell the oily aroma from afar. Old Lady Zhou watched with resentment, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

This Lao Song’s family! Why are they so wealthy, having people collect vegetables even late at night?

Looking at the baskets of vegetables, neatly and cleanly arranged, especially tempting in the white plastic baskets, Old Lady Zhou instantly forgot about the sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes aren’t worth much!

It’s these vegetables; hmph, Lao Song’s family secretly sells these vegetables at the market, and the wholesale price might even be a dollar or two per pound!

She felt a sudden urge and saw that one car had its baskets piled high. The driver was sitting there smoking and chatting, and she couldn’t help but take her hoe and head over...

But, who knew that just as she touched the car door, for some unknown reason, her scalp tingled. Old Lady Zhou instinctively looked back and saw in the pitch-dark shadow, three local dogs, responsible for guarding the factory, baring their teeth ferociously at her!

"Woo..."

It was indeed Qibao!

They had been guarding the factory for one or two months without any achievements and were feeling frustrated!

Now, with Old Lady Zhou appearing in the middle of the night, the dogs sniffed her out as a bad sort and, learning from the other Baobaos, they put on an especially terrifying front!

"Mommy!"

The shadow of Da Wang still loomed in Old Lady Zhou’s heart, how could she know that Song Tan’s Home’s dogs were now everywhere!

At that moment, she threw her hoe and, with a nimbleness uncharacteristic of the elderly, skedaddled down the mountain!

The people on the mountain made a ruckus, while Xin Jun, holding a notebook, looked down at the shadow below and smiled without uttering a word.

He squatted down, patting Qibao on the head one at a time as a reward: "Well done!"

He hinted afterward: "Tomorrow let Qiaoqiao bring you some treats. We need everyone from our mountain top to want even a stalk or a leaf of our vegetables, and it’s all on you to keep an eye!"

"After all, these are contracted high-priced vegetables, the contract’s demands are strict, we can’t afford a single mistake."

"If we catch anyone stealing vegetables again, no matter if we know them or not, familiar or not, go up and bite! After the bite, we’ll compensate for medical expenses, and they have to pay for lost work, penalties, and compensate for the vegetables."

The smart and agile Qibao, though not entirely understanding, knew roughly what he meant. At this moment, they barked especially boldly:

"Woof woof woof!"

As if responding to his words.

They were now seven or eight months old, their fur glossy, and their bodies robust. Usually, their silly frolicking was one thing, but now, aligning with Xin Jun’s words, they looked fiercely threatening. A set of fierce, bright teeth glistened under the light, as if they could bite off a person’s arms and legs in one bite!

Extremely fierce!

Meanwhile, in the vegetable field, someone uncomfortably shifted their stool, attracting the curious glance of Li Lanhua.

...

This incident was just a minor interlude. The next morning, Xin Jun only told Song Tan about it. Before she could even react, she heard Zhang Yanping nearby, looking furious:

"That old woman, always sneaking around in the village, disliked by both people and dogs, and she wants to mess with our vegetables? No way!"

Just saying, he was rubbing his hands excitedly: "No, I need to tell everyone about the surveillance on the mountain again!"

Xin Jun smiled though: "Actually, her arrival is quite timely."

The vegetables on the mountain are monopolized by Boss Chang, selling at a high price of 40 yuan per kilogram, and with a seven-hour drive, because there are no cold storage or pre-cooling facilities on the mountain, he also needs to arrange for refrigerated transport vehicles, showing their scarcity and importance.

But... the villagers don’t admit it!

Taking advantage is human nature. Everyone picks fresh vegetables every day. At first, hearing the high price, they dared not to act, but the vegetables in the fields are endless, today this plot, tomorrow another.

Just after the leeks are cut, three days later they grow back a few inches...

In this situation, with the familiar state of the vegetable fields, people soon developed small tricks.

It’s nothing else, just casually picking a bunch of greens on the way home! In the morning, they could even cook some noodles.

To be fair, this sort of behavior is truly nothing in the village. Sometimes when they pass by someone’s vegetable field and see the greens looking good, they can shout and pull a few to take home.

But not for Song Tan’s home.

Xin Jun is very detailed-oriented. From the beginning when someone jokingly said to also pick two kilograms to taste, he has been on guard.

Yet, they handed this responsibility to himself and Zhang Yanping, and just as he was on the night shift for half a month, he did not disturb Song Tan upfront.

But still, he was worried: If Baobao smelled vegetables hidden on someone, being from the same village, how should he handle it to not hurt feelings but also deter everyone?

Under such circumstances, Old Lady Zhou was simply a godsend!

Without spending any soldiers, she deterred everyone. It’s hard to say in the long term, but in the short term, everyone will really treat this job seriously.

Alas, that’s the difficulty of doing business in the village.

But on the other hand, every coin has two sides, not being in one’s own village, newcomers do thriving business, but villagers banding together to create trouble, that’s even worse!

In just a few moments, Xin Jun had thought through the whole situation from beginning to end, while Zhang Yanping was still getting fired up—

"We can’t nurture this kind of mindset in everyone."

"Our wages are not low, and the food is always good! I was even thinking about how to increase wages after it cools down. If someone starts this, in the future people from our village won’t dare to hire."

After all, if it were ordinary crops, it would be one thing, but the vegetables and fruits from Tantan’s home, who could control themselves after tasting them?

This risk is too great.

But Song Tan was very satisfied: Teacher Xin Jun being multi-use and so considerate, by comparison, the 1000 yuan night shift fee is really worth it!

Definitely need to give more annual bonuses for the New Year.

As for the worries he had, Song Tan actually wasn’t too afraid.

—Just catch them and don’t use them!

And also, don’t forget, each household in the village is still waiting for their fruit tree grafting and the radish seedlings planted in their fields.

Without her to facilitate, even if their radishes taste better than ever, who doing business isn’t cunning? Who would still offer a high price just like that?

Giving seedlings is about remembering the camaraderie of the village, it’s also to let them taste the sweetness first, and then to restrain themselves.

However, saying it like this sounds too cold. So it’s better to keep it from the parents for now.