"Knock, knock, knock!"
"Who is it?"
A gruff voice came from inside.
"Uncle Dajun, it's me."
Lin Fan, standing outside the door, took a step back. After a moment's thought, he retreated behind Su Yurou.
"Is that Xiaofan? What brings you here today?"
Jiao Dajun hobbled over and opened the courtyard gate. "I came to the clinic to find you last time, but you weren't there. How… huh?"
The moment he looked up, he froze. His eyes stared straight at Su Yurou, and his mind went blank.
Had a fairy fallen from the sky?
"Cough, cough, Uncle Dajun."
Lin Fan coughed loudly, reminding him of his lapse in manners.
"Xiaofan, this is… who is she?"
Jiao Dajun snapped back to attention, immediately averted his gaze, and dared not look at Su Yurou again.
Judging by her appearance alone, a woman like this would never have anything to do with him in this lifetime.
He might have already incurred her displeasure just by looking at her.
"This is Boss Su from the city. She's here to visit and investigate our village. Uncle Dajun, can we come in and talk?"
Once Lin Fan got into character, he acted naturally, showing no signs of pretense.
"Oh, come in, come in quickly."
Jiao Dajun turned and walked back into the courtyard. "I live alone, so my home is a bit messy. Please don't mind."
As he spoke, he tidied up anything too unsightly.
Su Yurou stepped over the threshold, her high heels treading carefully. She feigned the ignorance of a city dweller, curiously surveying her surroundings.
"Fellow villager, this house looks quite old, doesn't it?" Su Yurou asked.
Jiao Dajun first went inside and brought out a few stools, vigorously wiped them with a tattered towel, and then replied, "This house is over fifty years old. It's too dim inside."
He looked embarrassed. "Xiaofan, you and… Boss Su, sit outside for a while."
"Uncle Dajun, you sit too."
The four of them sat down under the eaves. Jiao Dajun didn't dare to raise his head.
"Xiaofan, why did you bring Boss Su to my place? Why don't you go to the village committee if you have something to discuss?"
Jiao Dajun felt a sense of inferiority, not wanting the beautiful woman to see his impoverished state.
"Uncle Dajun, it's not enough to just hear one side from the village committee." Lin Fan chuckled.
Jiao Dajun looked up at Lin Fan, puzzled. "What do you want to ask?"
"Just casual chat." Su Yurou smiled faintly. "Fellow villager, how is life at home?"
"It's okay, it's okay." Jiao Dajun still didn't dare to look at Su Yurou. In his eyes, Su Yurou was like the sun, blindingly bright!
"How much do you earn in a year?" Xiaochun opened her folder and diligently took notes.
Jiao Dajun was extremely nervous, constantly signaling Lin Fan, fearing he might say something wrong.
"Uncle Dajun, just tell the truth. Boss Su is here for a visit, she just wants to understand the reality of Luofeng Village." Lin Fan's tone was gentle.
Jiao Dajun relaxed a little, but the string of tension in his heart remained taut.
"I… Boss Su, as you can see, my leg was injured years ago when I was working at the quarry. A falling stone smashed it. When the weather is bad, it aches and itches, feeling as uncomfortable as ant bites."
He first rambled about his predicament and then continued, "Now I just rely on farming a bit and making baskets and crates from willow branches and cottonwood at home. I take them to the market to sell. In a year… I can earn about twenty thousand yuan."
Jiao Dajun steeled himself and exaggerated his income. Men needed to save face, especially in front of beautiful women. It might be useless, but it was human nature.
"No wonder I see so many branches drying in your yard." Su Yurou smiled.
"The finished products are all inside. They have to be air-dried. If they're exposed to sunlight, the branches will crack, and I won't get a good price." Jiao Dajun stood up and added, "Let me get one for you to see. I'm not bragging, but in this village and the surrounding ones, my craftsmanship is second to none."
"No, no, it's fine." Su Yurou waved her hand. "Sit down first. I have a few more questions."
"Oh, okay." Jiao Dajun sat down, and Su Yurou asked, "Your village is planning to set up a medicinal herb planting cooperative, isn't it? How is that going?"
"Cooperative?" Jiao Dajun's heart skipped a beat. He looked at Lin Fan, wondering about Su Yurou's identity. When Secretary Tian spoke at the village meeting, he said it was Lin Fan who found a kind-hearted boss to invest, which was why there was money to set up the medicinal herb planting cooperative. Could this beautiful woman be that boss?
Thinking this, Jiao Dajun became even more cautious, not daring to be negligent.
"It's going well. It's a good thing for us common folk," Jiao Dajun mumbled.
"Oh, I see." Su Yurou smiled. "The weather has warmed up. Has your cooperative started working yet?"
"Ah?" A flicker of panic crossed Jiao Dajun's eyes. He shot Lin Fan a pleading look. But Lin Fan was staring at some ants on the ground, pretending to know nothing.
"What's wrong? Is there any difficulty?" Su Yurou asked.
"Yes, it started working. It's been days. I even watched them transport excavators up the mountain from the roadside that day." Jiao Dajun nodded like a pecking chicken.
"That's good." Su Yurou asked again, "Fellow villager, I see you're still weaving baskets at home. Didn't the village committee arrange any work for you in the cooperative? After all, its original purpose was to benefit the villagers."
"I…" Jiao Dajun's scalp tingled, and cold sweat broke out all over his body. He stammered, unable to speak.
"Fellow villager, what's wrong?" Su Yurou leaned forward, staring directly into Jiao Dajun's eyes.
Jiao Dajun's lips moved. After a long struggle, he still couldn't come up with a good excuse. If this beautiful woman was indeed the major investor in the cooperative, then there would be big trouble! What should he say? Tell her that the villagers found the pay too low and were unwilling to work for the village committee? But Secretary Tian had already said that the boss sought no return and gave all the benefits to the villagers. If he said that, it would sound like begging for food and complaining about the rice being too coarse. Jiao Dajun truly didn't know how to respond.
"Fellow villager, what's going on? Is there any hidden reason?" Su Yurou feigned confusion and turned to Lin Fan. "Xiaofan, do you know?"
"Me?" Lin Fan shrugged. "I've been away for a few days, so I'm not familiar with the village affairs." He looked at Jiao Dajun and advised, "Uncle Dajun, just say what you need to say. Boss Su is just here to understand the situation, it's nothing."
How could it be nothing! Jiao Dajun felt bitter. He could only lie with his eyes open. "Secretary Tian asked us to work, but…" He stammered, "Everyone has their own work. For example, I have land to farm, and I also weave baskets."
"Oh?" Su Yurou gently probed. "Is it that the wages offered by your village committee are too low?"