Chapter 69: Chaos in the Space

The next day, when Lin Jingyue saw Wang Xueping, she noticed a change in her gaze—there was less gloom and malice in her eyes, replaced by a tangle of complicated emotions. There were so many emotions swirling there that Lin Jingyue couldn’t quite parse them, but she didn’t dwell on it. Wang Xueping’s shifting moods didn’t concern her; she remained on guard, ready to retaliate should Wang Xueping make a move against her.

“Lin Jingyue, you’ve got a letter.” Around ten o’clock, while everyone else had gone off to work, Lin Jingyue, having just handed in a basket of pigweed, was making her way back to slack off when she ran into the postman at the door.

The postman was familiar with all the educated youth, as he delivered letters to them often.

Another letter?

Lin Jingyue felt suspicious. After signing for it and taking it back inside, she saw it was sent from An City again.

What on earth?

She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. Tearing open the envelope, she skimmed the contents, her brows knitting tighter with each line.

It was still that person claiming to be her mother’s old friend. The letter was earnest, recounting the past, imploring her with heartfelt words: now that her mother was gone and only Lin Jingyue remained, the old debt of gratitude should be transferred to the daughter. There was no need for Lin Jingyue to feel any psychological burden; even without any past debt, as her mother’s friend, she ought to look after her.

Enclosed with the letter was a remittance slip for one hundred yuan.

Impressive—a generous gesture.

That was an ordinary person’s wages for three months.

The letter also mentioned that another package had been sent and reminded her to collect it.

Lin Jingyue’s frown deepened. Perhaps she was being oversensitive, but something didn’t feel right.

Would her mother’s friend really go to such lengths? Even with a debt of gratitude, occasional help would suffice. But sending both money and packages…

It felt less like repayment and more like guilt.

Guilt for what?

Lin Jingyue narrowed her eyes, pondering for a long while. Then she changed clothes and headed out. Jiang Xun’s bicycle was parked in the yard; she got on and rode away.

Arriving at the post office, she didn’t see Zhou Mingxue, who was likely off duty today, so she queued up to use the phone.

The brigade headquarters had a phone, but it wasn’t available to just anyone, and she didn’t want to argue. It was easier to come into town.

She pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and dialed the number. After a long wait, someone finally picked up. “Hello, this is the Guo family residence. Whom are you looking for?”

“Aunt Guo? This is Lin Jingyue, Yutong’s classmate.” Lin Jingyue recognized the voice.

When Mrs. Guo heard her name, she remembered—Lin Jingyue, the girl who sold the work assignment to her daughter.

Could she be regretting it?

“So it’s you. Are you looking for Yutong? She’s at work right now.” Mrs. Guo’s words were a polite reminder that the job had already been sold—there was no turning back.

“It’s fine to speak with you, Auntie.” Lin Jingyue’s voice was unchanged. “I have a favor to ask…”

She explained her request: for Aunt Guo to help her find out about anyone who was close to or entangled with her mother, who had left over a decade ago and recently returned to An City. It shouldn’t be too difficult to investigate.

Before Mrs. Guo could respond, Lin Jingyue spoke again, unhurriedly, “As payment, I’ll find a way to get Yutong two sets of medicinal herbs to improve her health. The results should be quite good.”

Guo Yutong had been frail since birth, which was another reason her family hadn’t wanted her sent down to the countryside.

Previously, they’d only been ordinary classmates, and Lin Jingyue hadn’t wanted to reveal her medical skills, as it would be hard to explain. But now the circumstances were different—she needed a favor.

Besides, there were plenty of so-called countryside experts; she could easily make something up.

Mrs. Guo was silent, skeptical, but as Lin Jingyue expected, she thought of those local experts who had gone to the countryside in recent years.

With Lin Jingyue stationed there, perhaps she’d met an exceptional doctor.

“Jingyue, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but Yutong’s health isn’t easy to improve…” Mrs. Guo still sounded doubtful.

“How about this, Auntie—I’ll send one set first. You can see how it works before deciding.” Lin Jingyue was not annoyed.

After all, she was asking a favor.

“All right, I’ll start making inquiries for you.”

“Thank you, Auntie. When I send the medicine, I’ll include the brigade headquarters’ phone number. If you hear anything, please call me there.”

“Very well.”

“Goodbye, Auntie.”

“Goodbye.”

Hanging up, Lin Jingyue paid and left the post office, her expression calm, hoping her suspicions were unfounded.

Since she’d come to town, she might as well make the trip worth it. Lin Jingyue changed her appearance and went to find Tian Yang.

“Brother, my dear brother, you’re finally here!” Tian Yang greeted her as if seeing a long-lost relative, his urgency apparent.

“So, what do you have for me?”

“Around three this afternoon, at the usual place—two thousand jin of rice, one thousand jin of white flour, two hundred jin of vegetables, two hundred jin of fruit.” This time she hadn’t brought any meat.

That would be enough to keep them supplied for a while.

Tian Yang’s eyes lit up. “When you make a move, it’s always impressive!”

“This batch took everything I had to put together. The quality’s even better, so you’ll have to raise your prices—especially for the rice and flour.” She could mix sand into the rice, but the flour was harder to dilute. She had to get a good price for it.

Tian Yang thumped his chest. “Don’t you trust your big brother? When have I ever let you take a loss?”

Lin Jingyue raised an eyebrow. For now, Tian Yang was a reliable partner, but unfortunately, she couldn’t sell too much of the grain and flour from her space. She was still stationed here—too risky.

She needed to come up with a plan to do a big job elsewhere before the college entrance exams.

“See you this afternoon at the usual place. I have other matters to attend to. Goodbye.” Lin Jingyue drained the brown sugar water Tian Yang’s assistant had prepared for her.

Watching her leave so quickly, Tian Yang could only marvel.

Her speed was something else.

After leaving Tian Yang, Lin Jingyue went straight out of town, found some fine sand, and packed it up. Then she slipped into the woods, entered her space, and busied herself preparing the rice and flour for sale.

She checked the remaining vegetables—enough for about two more sales.

After sorting out the goods, she headed to the livestock farm.

Staring at the glossy, well-fed pigs, she sharpened her metaphorical knife. Damn, she hadn’t learned how to slaughter pigs yet—what now?

Lin Jingyue squatted beside the fence, brooding for a long time before standing up abruptly, startling the pigs into retreating a couple of steps.

She couldn’t buy meat all the time—she had to do it herself!

Rolling up her sleeves, she opened the gate, intending to drive out one pig… She’d imagined things going smoothly, but reality was much harsher. The moment she opened the gate, the whole herd, thinking they were being let out to graze, charged out.

Lin Jingyue: “!!! Damn—!”

“Hey, hey, hey, Second Brother, that’s the orchard, you can’t go there! Get back here!”

“That’s my field, Second Brother, damn it, my crops…”

“Ugh, you’re asking for it! Why are you chasing the chickens?!”

“My ducks…”

In an instant, chaos erupted—chickens flying, dogs barking, pigs running wild. Lin Jingyue, looking like a madwoman, flailed around trying to herd the pigs, but lacking any skill, her efforts were utterly in vain.