Chapter 30

Half an hour later.

Cha Baiwan returned with a serious expression, opened the car door, and got in. “Let’s go.”

Cha Yonghao noticed his expression and asked, puzzled, “Hey, man, can you tell me what’s going on?”

It wasn’t until they had been driving for a while that Cha Baiwan finally spoke. “I think I understand why the Jiang family’s younger sister chose to stay in Cha Village.”

“Huh? Why?” Cha Yonghao asked, distracted as he drove.

“I just checked her room. Other than a bed and a table, it looks no different from a storage room. She barely has any personal belongings. It seems like her life in the Jiang family wasn’t good at all.”

“Also, I went around the neighborhood and talked to a few old ladies.”

“The reason she didn’t take the college entrance exam this year was that, right before the exam, she was caught in her school dormitory with a male student from another school. They were caught in the act.”

“She insisted that she didn’t know the guy, that he barged into her dorm and assaulted her. But the guy claimed they were in a relationship. Some people at school even testified that they had seen him visiting her and giving her things before.”

“The incident caused a huge scandal. She was taken home that night, developed a high fever, fell seriously ill, and ended up missing the exam entirely.”

Hearing this, Cha Yonghao was furious. He slammed his hand hard on the steering wheel.

“Damn it! The Jiang family is too much. Do they think Brother Jiuzhang is running a shelter? How dare they try to push a woman like that onto him!”

Cha Baiwan rolled his eyes. “Calm down. Maybe things aren’t as they seem.”

“I haven’t met her, but the old ladies in the neighborhood all say she’s an extremely timid and obedient girl. She walks with her head down, doesn’t dare to look at people, and runs away if someone gets too close. How could she possibly do something like that? They all suspect there’s more to the story.”

“On the other hand, her older sister is often out playing with friends, very sociable.”

“Just tell Jiuzhang the basics when we get back. He’ll make his own judgment.”

For the rest of the drive, Cha Yonghao wore a gloomy expression.

As they passed a residential area, he noticed Cha Baiwan staring at it, deep in thought.

Annoyed, he honked the horn loudly and pulled over.

“If you want to look, then go in and look properly. What are you even doing?”

He glanced at Cha Baiwan and sneered. “But looking like you do right now, you’d just get kicked out.”

“Do you know why pandas and pigs both love to eat and sleep, but their fates are completely different?”

Cha Baiwan was hesitating about whether to get out of the car when the sudden question caught him off guard. “Why?”

“Because of their coats. One gets pampered, the other gets slaughtered.”

“So in life, appearance matters. If you need new clothes, buy them. Don’t skimp.”

“Look at yourself right now—do you really think you can walk in there looking like that?”

Cha Baiwan, who had been in a heavy mood, couldn’t help but laugh. “She’s not that kind of person. Don’t say that.”

Cha Yonghao got even more frustrated. Everyone around him seemed smart—until they got involved with women. Then they all turned blind.

He shouted, “Are you getting out or not? If not, I’m driving off.”

Cha Baiwan wiped his face with both hands and let out a breath.

“Let’s go.”

At this point, seeing her wouldn’t mean much anyway.

—-

Although today’s mushroom harvest wasn’t as large as yesterdays, when Jiang Tiantian had joined in, thanks to Mop’s help, Fifth Aunt and the others still had a decent haul.

On the way down the mountain, San Ya looked at Jiang Tiantian in confusion. “Tiantian, I feel like you’ve gotten even fairer after just one afternoon!”

Jiang Tiantian’s skin was now snowy white, glowing like fine porcelain under the sun.

She casually pulled off the triangular sun scarf from her head and waved it at San Ya

“Sanya, I told you yesterday—when you’re young and careless, the sun darkens your skin.”

She pointed at the sky. “Ultraviolet rays are a skin’s worst enemy. You should always wear sun protection when you go out. It not only prevents tanning but also keeps your skin from aging.”

In reality, the valley had a humid climate, and the air had high moisture content. The villagers had good skin naturally, but they didn’t pay much attention to skincare.

“But” San Ya leaned in closer, staring at Jiang Tiantian’s face. She reached out and gently touched her left cheek.

“Tiantian, your skin isn’t just whiter—it’s smoother too!”

“So soft!”

It wasn’t just curiosity. That morning, the bruise on Jiang Tiantian’s left cheek had still been visible, but now it had completely disappeared.

Jiang Tiantian froze for a second. She had been careless.

She quickly said, “I found a hot spring earlier and soaked in it for a while. Maybe the water helped improve circulation and reduced swelling.”

Sanya immediately nodded in agreement.

“Oh! I know that hot spring! When we were little, our parents took us there a few times.”

“But,” she added regretfully, “once we got older, I never went again.”

“My older brothers still go occasionally, though.”

“It’s just so far. If only it was closer to the village.”

Sister-in-law Guifang chuckled. “Exactly! The year I married in, your eldest brother once took me there at dusk for a soak.”

“It felt great at the time, but coming back in the dark, we ended up covered in dirt.”

“Might as well just use a big wooden tub at home and heat water ourselves—it’s more convenient.”

Fifth Aunt memorized what Jiang Tiantian had said about sun protection.

As expected of a girl from the city—she really knew her stuff.

But she didn’t agree with Guifang’s take on the hot spring.

“You can’t compare them! The older villagers always said that soaking in the hot spring regularly is good for your health.”

She used to secretly get her husband to take her there. While she soaked, he stood guard.

It was a bit of a hassle, but afterward, she always felt completely refreshed.

And maybe it was just her imagination, but every time she soaked, her skin seemed smoother, softer, and more hydrated.

That’s why she kept pestering her husband to take her.

He would grumble, “You’re too old to care about looking good!”

But in the end, he still took her.

Those who used it knew its benefits…

Suppressing a knowing smile, Fifth Aunt continued, “Third Uncle always tells people with arthritis or rheumatism to soak there—it helps with the pain.”

“And remember that boy from that one family? He had some weird skin condition that made him itch all over. Nothing worked, but after a few soaks in the hot spring, he got better.”

Jiang Tiantian understood. The minerals in the hot spring water likely had antibacterial and anti-itch properties, which helped relieve chronic skin issues.

She asked, “What if we channel the hot spring water to the village and build a public bath? That way, everyone can use it anytime. What do you think?”

Sanya immediately nodded excitedly. “Yes! That sounds amazing!”

Second Aunt sighed, “Sounds easy, but it’s not. When Chengye held a village meeting, he suggested the same thing. The problem is, how do we bring the water here? What pipes do we use? How do we maintain the water temperature? No one could figure it out, so the idea was dropped.”

Jiang Tiantian nodded thoughtfully.

If the village had already considered this plan, then as long as she could get the right materials, organizing the labor wouldn’t be a problem.

She had to admit—Tea Father was a responsible village chief.

Jiang Tiantian instantly felt motivated.

Time to film more videos, gain more followers, and make more money.

A hot spring she could soak in anytime was waiting for her!