Chapter 41

Lin Nanzhi had been staying at the Wen family’s house for several days. Wen’s parents really liked her—if it weren’t for Wen Jiunian stopping them, they would have even wanted to recognize her as their goddaughter. Lin Nanzhi was also having a good time there.

Originally, they had planned to go out for hot pot today, but on the way, Lin Nanzhi suddenly received a call from her mother. There was an urgent matter at home, so she had to return immediately.

Wen Jiunian drove her to the airport. As for her belongings, he would send them to her later when she returned. Lin Nanzhi thought about it and agreed, booking a flight on her phone. Fortunately, she always carried her ID, phone, and wallet with her, so she didn’t have to make an extra trip back.

She managed to book the next available flight, which was in an hour. The car arrived at the airport with ten minutes to spare.

“Thanks, I’m leaving now. Drive safely on your way back.”

“Mm, take care of yourself. Let me know when you arrive. Come visit again when you have time.”

“Alright.”

Lin Nanzhi waved goodbye, quickly collected her ticket, passed through security, and boarded the plane. Wen Jiunian watched her enter the terminal before leaving the airport and driving home.

Looks like their hot pot plan would have to wait for another time.

When Wen Jiunian arrived home, Wen’s mother turned her head and greeted him with a smile. But when she saw that he had come back alone, she couldn’t help but look around curiously.

“Hey, where’s Zhizhi?”

“She had an emergency at home and had to leave in a hurry.”

“So urgent? What happened?”

“I don’t know.”

“Have you eaten?”

“No, I’m not hungry. I’m heading upstairs.”

Wen’s mother frowned slightly, sensing that something was off with her son, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

—-

Lin Nanzhi arrived in Wumeng City after dark. She took a car into the city, but since it was already late, there were no more vehicles going to the rural town.

Remembering that her father had bought a second-hand car, she called him. After waiting for an hour, he arrived in the city to pick her up.

“Dad, Mom said there was an emergency at home. What happened?”

“Your Fourth Granduncle passed away.”

“Huh?”

“Last night.”

“But wasn’t he doing fine?”

Lin Nanzhi was confused. The village head, her Fourth Granduncle, always seemed to be in good health. There was no sign of any problems—he should have been able to live until his seventies or eighties. How could he have suddenly passed away?

“Who knows?”

Lin Nanzhi didn’t ask further.

Life was unpredictable. One moment someone could be fine, and the next, they could be gone. She could only sigh at the impermanence of life.

The reason Lin’s mother called her back was that she was recognized as an honorary family member of the village head’s household. According to custom, she had to participate in the mourning ceremony. However, since she was still young, she wasn’t required to keep vigil, only to attend the funeral procession.

—-

Early the next morning, the sound of funeral music filled the air. Since she had arrived late the previous night, she hadn’t heard it before. But now, the loud music was blasting, as if trying to wake the entire village.

Lin’s father had already gone to help with the arrangements, so the rest of the family stayed at home for breakfast.

Her maternal grandparents, as well as her great-grandparents, weren’t around. Her great-grandparents had returned home after Lin Nanye’s health checkup confirmed that he was fine, as they were worried about their farmland.

Meanwhile, her maternal grandmother had felt a burning pain in her leg after consuming a special fruit, so Lin’s mother had taken her to the hospital, where she was being looked after by her eldest aunt.

After breakfast, Lin’s mother also headed to the hospital.

Lin Nanxuan was still in school, as they didn’t have summer or winter breaks. Their child was left in the care of Lin Nanxun, while Lin Nanzhi went to the orchard to water the fruit trees with spiritual spring water. She only returned at noon to prepare lunch, which she shared with Lin Nanxun.

At that moment, her phone buzzed with a QQ message. Seeing that it was from Wen Jiunian, she suddenly remembered that she had completely forgotten to update him. No wonder she had felt like she was forgetting something yesterday.

She quickly sent a message to Wen Jiunian, letting him know that she had arrived home safely. She explained that she had forgotten to message him because she had gotten back too late the previous night. She also told him that nothing major had happened—just that a relative had passed away and she had come back for the funeral.

Wen Jiunian, upon receiving the message, let out a sigh of relief before replying:

“Then send me your address, and I’ll mail your things back to you.”

“Okay.”

Lin Nanzhi thought for a moment. Their town only had a postal service, but it was accessible by electric scooter. If the package were sent to the city instead, it would be quite a distance away. So, she sent her address over.

Soon after, Wen Jiunian replied with an “OK” hand gesture and didn’t send any more messages.

—-

It was mid-July, the peak season for fruits. The orchard was full of ripe produce, and since Lin Nanzhi had watered them with plenty of spiritual spring water, some trees had already blossomed and borne fruit again after being picked.

She prepared some wooden crates, carefully selecting and packing the best fruits into boxes. At the bottom of each box, she placed ice packs. But in reality, since these fruits were grown with spiritual spring water, varieties like cherries and lychees wouldn’t spoil for at least two days, while other fruits could last even longer.

Since Wen Jiunian had taken care of her for several days and even helped her with many things, she decided to send some fruits as a thank-you. She even included four of the rare red fruits.

These red fruits didn’t have particularly strong effects, and since more had grown on the tree, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to send one to each of her friends.

Just as she finished packing, someone called out to her:

“Zhizhi, when did you come back?”

“Auntie, I got back last night.”

“I heard from your dad that you wanted to set up a grape trellis. Would doing it in the next couple of days be too late?”

“No, it’s fine. I planted some grapes earlier over there, but I was planning to build a few trellises in the yard just for our own use.”

The backyard was empty, so Lin Nanzhi thought it would be nice to put up a grape trellis. It would provide shade in the summer, and they could enjoy fresh grapes too. They weren’t growing many, just enough for personal consumption and to share with family.

“Your dad has been really busy these days. I’ll have your uncle come over to help you set it up,” her aunt offered while joining Lin Nanzhi in picking fruits.

“You know, I’ve seen a lot of people learning to grow fruit trees, but none of them have managed to grow fruit as big and delicious as yours. These have been selling really well—people are even buying them from outside the area. You won’t have to worry about sales in the future.”

“Are these for gifting?”

“Mm, to a friend in the capital who has been taking care of me. I thought I’d send some over for them to try.” The taste of these spiritual spring fruits was nothing like the ones sold on the market.

“Auntie, does your family want to grow some too? If you do, you can use that empty land on the mountain. If it makes money in the future, just give us a bigger red envelope during New Year’s.”

Her uncle and aunt were good people—unlike some of her other relatives. Now that she had the ability to help, she wanted to repay them tenfold.

Her aunt hesitated for a moment. It was true that living at home was better than being away, and with two kids and elderly parents to take care of, money seemed to disappear quickly.

Seeing how well the fruits were selling, she thought—maybe it was worth a try.