The carefree life of Yang Shuisheng, the village miracle doctor

"No, no! I was just talking to Sister Cuihong about picking vegetables tomorrow."

Yang Shuisheng was caught red-handed by Lin Wan, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face. He quickly waved his hand and said, "Well, I still need to find someone to help me. I'll be going now."

After he finished speaking, without waiting for Lin Wan's reaction, as if he had done something wrong, he slipped away and ran out of the courtyard in the blink of an eye, disappearing into the alley.

Lin Wan watched his hasty retreating figure, feeling both annoyed and amused, and her doubts deepened.

"Sister-in-law Cuihong, what were you two whispering about just now?"

She turned to Guo Cuihong, who was still standing there, and asked, "Why did he run away as soon as I came over?"

Guo Cuihong looked at Lin Wan's clear, inquiring eyes, then glanced in the direction Yang Shuisheng had disappeared. She smiled and, without hiding anything, said bluntly, "I didn't say anything, but I told Shuisheng that you're a girl who's going to leave soon and you're reluctant to part with him."

"Sister-in-law Cuihong! What...what nonsense are you talking about!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Wan's cheeks instantly flushed red, and even the base of her neck turned pink. She immediately denied it, her tone filled with the panic of having her secret exposed: "Who...who can't bear to part with him? I didn't."

Whether it is or not, you know it in your heart.

Seeing her suspicious look, Guo Cuihong didn't expose her, but just smiled meaningfully, turned around, picked up the chicken feeder, and continued feeding the chickens, leaving a sentence floating in the air: "Auntie is an experienced person, she can tell."

"If you really can't bear to part with it, don't hide it, just say it openly."

"Otherwise, once we return to the provincial capital, which is so far away, it will be too late to regret it."

Lin Wan stood there, watching Guo Cuihong's busy figure, and then she remembered how Yang Shuisheng had fled in panic. Her heart felt like it had been hit by a stone, causing ripples to spread.

She didn't argue further, but simply lowered her head silently, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, after leaving Guo Cuihong's house, Yang Shuisheng patted his still slightly flushed cheeks and took a few deep breaths to suppress the embarrassment he had just felt.

He started planning how many people would be needed to harvest the vegetables tomorrow.

Liu Xianglan and Guo Cuihong have already been confirmed, and if we add Liu Yulan, then including myself, the four of us should be about right.

As for Zhou Caifeng, he thought about it and decided against it. She was usually busy with her small shop business and rarely worked in the fields, so he decided not to bother her.

Having made up his mind, he turned and headed towards Liu Yulan's house.

But as soon as Yang Shuisheng reached the outside of Liu Yulan's courtyard wall, before he could even say hello, he heard a familiar complaining voice coming from inside the courtyard, along with the sound of people cracking sunflower seeds.

He paused, instinctively turning to hide in the shadows of the corner and peering out.

In the courtyard, Liu Yulan was bent over, holding a bamboo broom, silently sweeping the ground.

Meanwhile, the sharp-tongued Granny Sun was sitting on the threshold with her legs crossed, cracking sunflower seeds and spitting the shells on the ground.

Just as Liu Yulan finished sweeping an area clean, Granny Sun spat out a piece of sunflower seed shell with a "pui" sound, which landed precisely on the cleaned ground.

Liu Yulan paused for a moment, then silently swept away the sunflower seed shells.

But it seemed as if Granny Sun was deliberately going against her; every time she swept, Granny Sun would spit it out, and fresh sunflower seed shells were always scattered on the ground.

"You take forever to sweep the floor, and it's still not clean. What else can you do?"

"What a useless thing!" Granny Sun said in a shrill voice as she cracked sunflower seeds, her eyes full of disgust and impatience.

Liu Yulan lowered her head and remained silent, but her hand gripping the broom tightened unconsciously.

"Hmph, in a few days, it will be the one-month mark that I made with that brat Yang Shuisheng."

Seeing that she dared not talk back, Granny Sun became even more smug and continued, "If he can't come up with the two thousand yuan, then he can't blame me."

"I'll marry you off to Zhao Hu right away."

"Although Zhao Hu isn't a great person, at least he can come up with three thousand yuan as a bride price."

Liu Yulan's body trembled slightly, her voice carrying a suppressed tremor as she whispered, "Mother... Zhao Hu has been missing for many days."

"Missing?" Granny Sun suddenly threw the sunflower seed shells in her hand at Liu Yulan, her voice rising abruptly to a shrill, piercing tone, "Missing, so what?"

"They're just missing, not dead!"

"Who dares to say Zhao Hu is definitely dead? You'd better watch your mouth!"

Liu Yulan flinched after being hit by a sunflower seed shell and dared not speak again.

After venting her anger, Granny Sun seemed to remember something, and her tone softened slightly, but still carried a smug sense of control: "However, even if Zhao Hu really has an accident and doesn't come back, don't think you can still stay in my house."

"To tell you the truth, I've already found you a new job."

"An old bachelor from Wangjiawan next door is willing to offer 5,000 yuan as a bride price."

"More than double Yang Shuisheng's two thousand yuan! Much more than Zhao Hu's three thousand yuan."

"If I hadn't promised that kid Yang Shuisheng a month's notice, I would have married you off to him long ago and would be living a life of luxury."

"Why would I need to stand here watching you act so clumsy!"

Liu Yulan's hand holding the broom trembled slightly, but this time, she did not choose to remain silent and endure as usual.

"Mother, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

She raised her head, her gaze filled with an unprecedented firmness, and looked directly into Granny Sun's harsh eyes.

"Shuisheng said he would definitely be able to raise the two thousand yuan."

"Collect them all? So what if you do?"

Granny Sun was taken aback by her sudden retort, then chuckled as if she'd heard the funniest joke in the world. She tossed the sunflower seed shells aside and said sarcastically, "Is two thousand yuan a lot?"

"The owner of Wangjiawan is willing to pay five thousand! A full five thousand yuan!"

"Are you blind or have you lost your mind?"

"Why would she give up a perfectly good life of wealth and luxury to be with that penniless Yang Shuisheng?"

She grew angrier as she spoke, stood up, walked over to Liu Yulan, poked her forehead with her finger, and said in a tone of utter disappointment, "Let me tell you! Even if Yang Shuisheng slaps two thousand yuan in front of me tomorrow, you won't leave this house unless I agree."

"I'm doing this all for your own good!"

"The boss of Wangjiawan has a shop in the county town and is quite wealthy. You'll be living a life of luxury if you marry him."

"Isn't it better than following that Yang Shuisheng?"

"Mother, you don't need to say anymore."

Liu Yulan's head tilted back slightly as Granny Sun poked her, but she did not back down. Instead, she straightened her back and said, word by word, in an almost resolute tone, "I will not follow anyone but Shui Sheng."

"I don't care about the families you find for me, no matter how good they are."