Chapter 43: Digging into Trouble

What?

The villagers felt like they’d stumbled upon some earth-shattering gossip.

All eyes immediately turned toward Ye Xin Ran.

Ye Xin Ran felt a lump in her throat.

“Young man, do you even realize what you’re saying?”

“Miss, do my words ring a bell?”

Seeing Ye Xin Ran remain silent, the young man pressed further.

“Not even a little!” Ye Xin Ran denied it outright. “You must have the wrong person!”

“That can’t be!” The young man froze, confused. “A petite woman with a scar on her left cheek, she matches my master’s description exactly!”

“Please step aside!”

Ye Xin Ran’s denial prompted Xiao Huai’an to step forward, placing himself between her and the young man.

As Ye Xin Ran led the two children farther away, the young man grew anxious and tried to follow, but the imposing man before him refused to budge an inch.

“Stop bothering my family. She already said you’ve got the wrong person!”

“But that doesn’t make sense…”

The young man, intimidated by Xiao Huai’an’s towering stature and stern demeanor, hesitated. “My master clearly said…”

“If you take another step forward, don’t blame me for what happens next!”

“I…”

Xiao Huai’an’s expression remained unchanged, but the young man suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, as though a cold breeze had swept over him. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and the words he had been about to utter stuck in his throat.

And just like that, the commotion dispersed.

The group returned to the village. Those who still had energy hurried to light fires and cook before nightfall, while the utterly exhausted simply tossed some yam roots and potatoes into a pot, making do with whatever they could.

Ye Xin Ran, worn out from the day’s labor, hadn’t realized just how tired she was until she washed her hands. It was only then that she noticed several cuts on her fingers.

She took out some iodine from her space, disinfected her wounds, and did the same for the two children. Planning to make do with a simple meal of steamed buns, she headed to the kitchen, only to find a freshly cooked pot of porridge waiting for her.

“Well, well, where did this little helper come from? Looks like someone cooked dinner for us already.” Ye Xin Ran teased with a grin.

Chang Sheng’s face turned beet red. “Auntie, I made it.”

“Chang Sheng, you’re so capable!”

Chang Sheng shuffled his feet awkwardly. “It’s just a simple meal. I came back early today and didn’t go up the mountain, so it’s only right that I handled the cooking.”

“Big Brother is amazing! His porridge tastes way better than Second Uncle’s!” Chang An chimed in, eager to flatter.

Chang Ping added, “Second Uncle’s cooking? Even the dog wouldn’t eat it!”

Chang An: “…”
Chang Sheng: “…”

With porridge on the table and leftover steamed buns from breakfast, Ye Xin Ran took out a plate of eight-treasure pickles made by a master chef from her space’s kitchen. She served them on a dish and called everyone to dinner.

“Auntie, these pickles are delicious! Did you buy them from the city?”

Chang An munched on a crispy cucumber as he spoke.

Ye Xin Ran smiled and played along, “Yes, if you like them, Auntie will buy more next time!”

Xiao Huai’an, however, silently pondered, when did they last buy pickles?

---

As dusk fell, the village grew quiet, blanketed in serenity.

That night, everyone slept soundly. Their bodies were tired, but their hearts were content.

By dawn, smoke was already rising from chimneys.

As usual, Ye Xin Ran handled the morning’s record-keeping before heading up the mountain. Today, she noticed an unexpected addition to the group heading out, Zhang Da Peng, the son of the notorious Madam Zhang.

Seeing him join the workforce sparked hushed conversations among the villagers.

“Well, I’ll be, Zhang Da Peng actually showed up to work!”

“Looks like Madam Zhang finally let her precious son step out of the house.”

“Look at all that extra weight on him. I wonder if he’ll even manage to climb the hill.”

The chatter continued until they reached the mountain. Once there, everyone threw themselves into digging the channel, leaving no room for idle gossip.

Breaking through the mountain was tougher than they had anticipated. Judging by their progress, it would take another two days to finish.

As usual, Xiao Huai’an dug faster than the rest.

Ye Xin Ran was making her way down the mountain with some tools when she suddenly heard someone calling her name.

“Miss Ye, Miss Ye!”

Turning back, she saw Zhang Da Peng trailing behind her.

She hadn’t even noticed when he ended up so close.

Unbothered by Ye Xin Ran’s cold gaze, Zhang Da Peng held up a handful of lavender flowers, grinning cheekily. “Miss Ye, don’t you love these purple flowers? I just found them over there and brought them just for you.”

“No, thank you,” Ye Xin Ran replied curtly, turning to leave.

“You don’t want them? They said you love these flowers!” Zhang Da Peng persisted, taking a couple of steps closer.

Ye Xin Ran scoffed. “The flowers are lovely, shame they were touched by dirty hands. Now they’re ruined.”

“You!”

Zhang Da Peng was stunned, no one had ever insulted him so directly.

“And who do you think you are!” he spat angrily.

He threw the flowers on the ground, stomped on them viciously, and glared hatefully at Ye Xin Ran’s retreating figure before turning and walking away.

Some people noticed the commotion, but seeing Zhang Da Peng leave, they quickly dismissed it. After all, everyone was focused on digging the canal.

Today’s work proved even tougher than the day before. By midday, they had already felled seven or eight large trees.

Working together, they cut through the massive roots to clear a passage.

As everyone was hard at work, a panicked voice suddenly rang out:

“Village chief, come and take a look!”

The urgency in the voice drew everyone’s attention. Turning toward the sound, they saw Wang Tie Shu standing near a deep hole that his pick axe had uncovered.

“Where did this hole come from?”

“Dig around it and see!”

Amidst the flurry of suggestions, Wang Tie Shu dug a little to the side, only to find another hole.

“This can’t be! How could there be such a big hollow space?”

Others started digging to the left and right, only to uncover more pits.

The hole stretched two feet wide, seven or eight feet deep, and extended dozens of meters.

“This is bad. To avoid this pit, we’ll have to reroute the canal.”

“How far would that detour take us?”

“And even if we change the route, what if this pit extends behind the mountain?”

“What if we just dig shallowly instead?” someone suggested.

“Yeah, we didn’t notice this hole when we climbed up earlier. If we dig shallower, the pit won’t be exposed.”

“It won’t work. Once the water flows, it’ll erode the thin soil layer on top and still end up in the pit.”

“No wonder there’s no water at the base of the mountain. It’s all draining into this pit!”

“Does this mean all our hard work was for nothing?”

Confusion, frustration, and resentment welled up in everyone’s hearts.

They had worked tirelessly for two days, only to discover the mountain’s water wouldn’t even reach the base.

“Village chief, did your 200 taels of silver go to waste?”

“Exactly! That’s 200 taels of silver, enough to buy a year’s worth of grain!”

“We shouldn’t have listened to the young lady. She’s never even farmed before, what does she know about these things?”

“Village chief, what do we do now?”

Amid the chaos and heated discussions, a deep, steady male voice broke through:

“What’s going on?”