The male supporting character was actually myself.

Chapter Forty-Four: Inviting the Fairy

Amidst laughter and playful banter, Jiang Chen led Liao Yuzhou further and further away on their ride.

The land allocated to their family was in a very remote location, which is why, in the original story, the depressed original owner suffered heatstroke and collapsed in the field, dying silently without anyone noticing.

"So far?" Liao Yuzhou naturally put his arm around his waist and leaned against his back, feeling a little sorry for him. "You used to walk this far by yourself to do farm work, and after you finished, you still had to walk home by yourself to cook."

Jiang Chen thought for a moment and shook his head, replying, "Life was tough back then. Besides farming my own land, I also had to farm He Yongqiang's nine mu of land. How could I possibly manage? I had no choice but to bring some dry food and eat it in the fields at noon, and only be able to have something hot to eat when I got back in the evening."

She felt even more heartbroken upon hearing this, and wrapped her arms around her husband's waist, pressing her entire body against him as she whispered, "From now on, I'll be with you, so you'll never be lonely again."

"Well, actually, we won't need to farm or anything like that in the future." He placed one hand on her clasped hands, a faint smile on his face. "I can't bear to let you work in the fields, so you see, that's our land over there..."

Before they even reached their own field, the four hooligans who were busy working in the field spotted them and waved and shouted greetings.

Liao Yuzhou found this even stranger. Yesterday, during the banquet, the four of them were busy with everything, not even stopping to have a sip of tea. This morning, they came to his house to help clean and tidy up, and even built him a chicken coop...

I didn't see anyone in the afternoon; apparently, they were all helping out in the fields.

"Why...why are they in our field?"

"A few years ago, the nearby villages were broken up and reorganized. Some villages with only a few households were assigned to larger nearby villages. They were all newly moved-in residents. They didn't get much land and could only idly wander around. Their families weren't well-off either."

I happened to have some spare cash from selling the antiques, so I hired them to do some chores for our family.

We can save time and effort without neglecting our fields, and they can earn money to supplement their household income through their labor. Isn't this a win-win situation?

Hearing him say this, Liao Yuzhou couldn't help but look worried. "But we can't just sit around and do nothing, can we? We can improve our living conditions now with some money, but windfall is not a long-term solution. We have to think about how to make a living."

"Yes, my wife is right." Jiang Chen waved to Huang Mao and the others, and asked with a smile, "Have you thought about what direction you want to go in the future? We can't stay in the countryside and farm for the rest of our lives, can we?"

You come from a big city and have been to school before.

Have you ever considered picking up books again?

Knowledge is always useful, and future development will undoubtedly prioritize technology. Why don't you study hard and wait for the opportunity to take the exam to return to the city, so you can be closer to your family?

When his family was mentioned, Liao Yuzhou's eyes lit up for a moment, then dimmed again.

She shook her head and said softly, "Who knows how the policies will change in the future? I don't know if I can take the exam to go back, but... when I left, my parents repeatedly told me to make sure I maintain my learning and adaptability, and to try not to go back to the city in the future."

Otherwise, in case…

Clearly, they were terrified after the devastation of the chaotic period. Living conditions in the countryside might be much worse, but at least they wouldn't starve to death if they encountered another difficult time.

It's too early to talk about these things now. Jiang Chen thought for a moment and changed the subject, saying, "Then let's bring some things to visit your family in a couple of days. They must miss you a lot."

"Really?" Liao Yuzhou immediately perked up, then, remembering something, she clutched the hem of her clothes, her voice still soft, "My home is in the far south. When we were sent to the countryside, the organization arranged for us to take the train for free. If we were to go on our own, the travel expenses would probably be very expensive!"

Jiang Chen lowered his head slightly and whispered in her ear with a soft smile, "How about I hand over the family fortune to you to manage? Once you know how much money we have, you won't have to worry about travel expenses anymore."

Her face flushed instantly. "I'm not your wife yet, how can I manage the household for you?"

Well, we've come full circle.

Fortunately, Huang Mao hopped over to greet us and successfully defused the situation. "Brother Chen, sister-in-law, let's collect all the remaining wheat straw and burn it as fertilizer. In a couple of days, we can start planting corn."

“Brother Chen, you’ve prepared all the corn seeds, but…” Ribs Jing leaned closer, looking at him with a troubled expression, and stammered, “But it looks like there are only enough seeds for nine acres…”

Following his finger, Liao Yuzhou saw another large field separated from his own by a ditch.

That's He Yongqiang's nine acres of land, which the original owner used to manage entirely by himself.

"What's going on over there?" Jiang Chen flicked him on the forehead and laughed, "That's He Yongqiang's land, what does it have to do with me? You guys are hired by me to work for me, and you want to meddle so much and do free labor for He Yongqiang's family?"

Anyone who's idle and has plenty of energy can help their family with farming; I have no objection.

The four thugs scratched their heads and smiled sheepishly. The blond-haired guy saluted and replied earnestly, "Yes, sir! We understand. We only care about our own nine acres of land and nothing else!"

Liao Yuzhou laid out the cooled boiled water, dry food, and side dishes he had brought under the shade of a tree at the edge of the field, inviting them to rest and have something to eat.

In a secluded field, a few young people chatted and laughed, spending a cheerful and simple summer afternoon in the gentle breeze.

The time when the sun is just beginning to set and before nightfall is the best time of day in summer.

The fluffy ball stretched and scratched its paws, then jumped down from the roof. Looking around the room, it saw an incense table with several large red incense sticks burning, the smoke billowing around it. It couldn't help but think, "Damn, is this some kind of blatant feudal superstition? I wonder if reporting it would be any good?"

He Yongqiang and his family of three stood neatly behind Li Laoliu, holding incense sticks and praying with their hands clasped together.

The room was filled with the smell of incense, creating a solemn atmosphere.

"Mom, won't we get arrested for making such a big fuss?" He Yongqiang asked, nudging Qian Shuandi beside him with his elbow.

The other person's eye was swollen and bruised, and he didn't dare to open it. He kicked him and said, "You little brat, you're not sincere at all. How can you exorcise a ghost?"

Don't worry, nobody's been interfering as much these past two years.

This is the custom in the village; it doesn't matter who comes! Nobody dares to do anything about it, so you'd better just wait patiently for the spirit medium to appear.

The little white cat squatted in the center of the incense table, peeking out to watch the group of people jumping around.

Li Laoliu was probably around sixty years old. He was holding a stick of incense and humming a strange tune. After a while, he suddenly started trembling and groaning.

"Oh wow, it really works!" Just when the fluffy dumpling thought he was faking it to cheat people out of money, a faint light descended from the sky and landed on Liu Laoliu.

He trembled for a moment, then opened his eyes and slowly scanned the room with his slightly gleaming eyes.

However, the light he "invited" was far too weak, and in the eyes of the little white cat, it was not even as good as He Yongqiang's corners and edges.

After looking at it carefully for a moment, Li Laoliu shook his head and said sincerely, "Gousheng, there's nothing evil in your house, and your neighbors don't keep ghosts. If there really were something unclean, there would be black mist surrounding it."

Both of your families are very clean.

And judging from my observation... your son is no ordinary person; he's destined for great wealth and honor!

Chapter Forty-Five: The Lingering Ghost

Hearing that Li Laoliu's words were exactly the same as the fortune teller's, He Gousheng was immediately delighted.

Instead, Qian Shuandi was worried and hurriedly asked, "Take another careful look to make sure there's nothing there? Then how did my thermos end up on the wall?"

"A thermos on the wall?" Old Li turned his head with a suspicious look and looked through the window at the red tin thermos steadily on the wall.

He also found it strange; he had seen many incense offerings over the years, but he had never witnessed such a scene before.

If He Gousheng's family wasn't lying, then the thermos on the wall was indeed strange. But he had consulted a "divine eye" and saw clearly that there was no sign of evil spirits, and the tin thermos on the wall was nothing strange at all.

How did it end up on the wall?

Old Li was completely baffled. Finally, he shook his head and said, "I can't figure out what's going on here. Either there's nothing strange about it and your family of three is just unlucky, or there's something even more powerful that I can't see through or deal with."

"Fine, since you're really capable and willing to tell the truth, I won't scare you." The little white cat thought for a moment and decided to save its energy to deal with He Yongqiang's family.

After rambling on and on for half a day, Li Laoliu packed his things and left without taking a single penny.

“He said there was no ghost, and he couldn’t explain how the thermos got onto the wall. I think it’s because Li Laoliu’s skills are too shallow.” He Gousheng urged his wife, “Let’s go find that crazy old woman to take a look. I heard that the Huang Daxian she invited is very powerful. Maybe he can cure it by fighting poison with poison.”

Exhausted and sleepy from all the fuss, He Yongqiang waved his hand impatiently and said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow. We've been up all afternoon. Mom, I'm hungry! I want to eat pancakes. Go and make some for me."

"All you ever do is eat! You glutton..." Qian Shuandi grumbled, but as she turned around, she caught a glimpse of a white shadow floating past the open window of the east wing. Startled, she screamed and pointed at the east wing, stammering, "A ghost! It's a female ghost!"

He Gousheng and his son hurriedly turned their heads but saw nothing.

"It's definitely a female ghost! I saw her, wearing a white dress!" Qian Shuandi's heart pounded wildly. "It's...it's the white dress I took from that courtyard...He Jiangchen's mother's..."

The fluffy ball peeked out and meowed, "Wow, your eyesight is pretty good. You saw it clearly after just a quick sway? So you took someone else's clothes but couldn't wear them, and you're always thinking about them?"

"I think... I saw it too." He Gousheng swallowed and recalled what he had seen in the courtyard earlier—a white shadow seemed to flash by in the east wing!

He casually picked up the door latch leaning against the door, and the round wooden stick, more than a meter long, felt very safe in his hand.

He Gousheng led the way, with Qian Shuandi pulling her son close behind. Before the sun went down, they cautiously pushed open the door of the east wing room.

"Squeak~"

The dilapidated wooden door emitted sound effects reminiscent of horror movies.

The small room could be seen at a glance; there wasn't a single white thing to be seen. He Gousheng used the latch to open all the cabinet doors where things could be hidden and peeked inside to make sure no one was hiding there.

"Let me check the closet!" Qian Shuandi turned and went to her bedroom, rummaging through all the clothes she had looted from He Jiangchen's house, and confirmed that a moon-white dress was missing.

"Mom, what should we do? Is this He Jiangchen's mother's vengeful spirit haunting us?" He Yongqiang was the first to back down, trembling as he said, "The red tin thermos is hers, the white dress is hers too, she's trying to torment our whole family to death!"

"Hmph! I wouldn't be afraid if it really were her!"

Qian Shuandi's eye was swollen and bruised, and her glaring face made her look even more frightening. "I'm not afraid of her if she's alive, so I'm even less afraid of her if she's dead! If she dares to cause trouble again, I'll make her regret it!"

As she spoke, she angrily threw down a pile of old clothes on the kang (a heated brick bed), muttered something, and left, leaving the father and son staring at each other, not knowing what was going on.

As night was just beginning to fall, Qian Shuandi returned carrying half a bowl of bright red blood, looking as if she had just killed someone.

What have you done?

"Rooster blood! It's specially used to ward off ghosts. If it comes out to cause trouble again, I'll definitely splash it with blood until its soul is scattered!"

"Mom, where did you get this rooster blood? We don't raise chickens."

"Shh!" She made a shushing gesture, glanced out the window and whispered, "We don't raise roosters at home. There are so many big roosters running around in the street. We can just catch one, kill it, and we'll have rooster blood."

He Yongqiang rubbed his hands together, looking greedy. "Mom, whose rooster did you kill? You only brought back the blood, where's the chicken? Anyway, we've already caught and killed it, why don't we just take it back and stew it!"

Qian Shuandi glared at him and said irritably, "No wonder you get caught no matter what you do, you idiot."

"If we just bring it back and stew it, won't that attract people by the smell? Let's use the rooster's blood first. I've hidden the dead rooster; you can go get it tonight, burn it over a fire in the wild, and bring it back to eat together. That's the safest way!"

"Hehe, great!" The thought of having chicken for dinner made him less afraid of the ghost story.

As darkness began to fall, the dim yellow light of kerosene lamps illuminated every house.

The sounds of neighbors calling their children home for dinner and searching for their free-range chickens drifted through the neighborhood.

He Yongqiang's family was gathered around a small table, drinking thin porridge, eating vegetable pancakes and pickled vegetables, and chatting about how they would enjoy a delicious meat meal that evening. Just as they were getting into the mood, a series of shouts and curses suddenly came from their doorway.

"Damn it! My rooster, which I raised with so much care, was stolen, killed, and eaten!"

"Who will stand up for me, a widow who's unemployed?!"

"He Gousheng, you're a complete scoundrel! You stole someone's guard dog one day and today you're stealing my chickens. Your whole family of thieves will get their comeuppance sooner or later..."

…………

The intermittent cries quickly attracted the attention of the villagers, many of whom came over with bowls to find out what had happened.

"Damn it! You stupid old woman, whose rooster did you kill? Where did you hide it? How come someone came to your door and called you by name?" He Gou hadn't finished his leftover rice when he put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and walked out.

Qian Shuandi, who thought she had done a flawless job, followed closely behind, only to witness an unforgettable scene as soon as they stepped outside!