Tian Mengyao bit her lower lip, her voice filled with grievance, "Xiao Fan ran to Xiajiagou yesterday and helped them sell toon at an astronomical price. The entire village was as happy as if it were New Year."
"I'm angry that Xiao Fan didn't think of his own village when he had such a good opportunity, so I came to find him."
Before Xia Xue could speak, Song Yue interjected, "Secretary Tian, Xiajiagou is Sister Xue'er's maternal home, so they aren't outsiders. Besides, what Xiao Fan does seems to be..."
As Song Yue spoke, Xia Xue quickly tugged her arm, gesturing with her eyes for her to stop.
Tian Mengyao felt terrible, her eyes turning red.
Why couldn't she manage it?
All along, who had she worked herself to death for?
Wasn't it for the people of Luofeng Village to live a good life?
Lin Fan, on the other hand, not only didn't help his own villagers but went to Xiajiagou to gain favor.
The more Tian Mengyao thought about it, the more wronged she felt, tears welling up in her eyes.
Xia Xue immediately felt heartache, "Alright, it's all Xiao Fan's fault."
"Apologize to Secretary Tian!"
Her tone was almost an order.
"I'm sorry." Lin Fan apologized immediately.
Upon hearing this, Tian Mengyao felt even more wronged, tears falling like pearls from a broken string.
"Secretary Tian, don't cry. We can discuss anything," Xia Xue said, not knowing what to do. The village committee secretary was crying here; if word got out, people would think Luofeng Village was full of ruffians.
"I'm not crying." Tian Mengyao sniffled, trying hard to hold back her tears.
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop the tears of sadness.
"We have a patient, I'll go out to greet them first," Lin Fan said, feigning urgency.
Tian Mengyao quickly wiped her tears, not wanting others to see her crying.
Lin Fan walked around outside and then circled back.
Tian Mengyao asked nervously, "Who's here?"
"No one, I must have misheard." Lin Fan said with a smug expression.
"You!" Tian Mengyao gritted her teeth in anger, her small fists clenched tightly, her eyes fierce as if she wanted to kill someone.
Xia Xue chuckled, "Secretary Tian, don't mind him. That's just his personality; he's never serious."
She changed the subject, "By the way, Secretary Tian, what's this about the astronomical price for toon?"
Tian Mengyao immediately complained, "The toon from Xiajiagou, Xiao Fan helped find a buyer and sold it for sixty yuan a pound."
"How much?" Xia Xue grew up in the countryside, and in her impression, toon was the most common and worthless thing.
In the past, when people's lives were difficult, they would pickle toon into preserves, eating it from the beginning to the end of the year.
She had long been tired of the taste of toon. Since marrying into Luofeng Village, she had never thought of eating toon again.
"Sixty!" Tian Mengyao's beautiful eyes widened.
"Sixty a pound?" Even after confirming, Xia Xue still couldn't quite believe it. Toon, the most worthless thing, had sold for such a price.
"Sister Xue'er, Xiajiagou sold hundreds of thousands in total."
"Not hundreds of thousands, just two to three hundred thousand."
Lin Fan interjected, and facing Tian Mengyao's displeased gaze, said, "They cleared out all the toon in the village in half a day. Many toon trees had their branches broken off. The yield will definitely drop sharply, probably less than half of this time."
"That still could have sold for over a hundred thousand!" Tian Mengyao said enviously.
Lin Fan sighed helplessly, "Alright, I will definitely find a way to find a path to wealth for our village. I'll rack my brains to come up with something."
Tian Mengyao pouted and remained silent, her dissatisfaction evident on her face.
Xia Xue worried about her parents, wondering if they would overexert themselves to earn more money.
"Sister Xue'er, I have something else to do, I'm leaving." Tian Mengyao waited for a long time but didn't get Xia Xue to mediate.
She then thought, Xiajiagou was Xia Xue's maternal home, and now her own family had benefited; it would be good enough if they weren't overjoyed.
Thinking this, Tian Mengyao could only leave with a belly full of grievances.
Xia Xue chased after her and said many mitigating words for Lin Fan, which made her mood improve slightly.
"Why did you and my sister-in-law come so early in the morning?"
Only Lin Fan and Song Yue were left in the room.
"What else could it be, but to catch you in the act?"
Song Yue rolled her eyes, "If my sister-in-law and I were a step later, wouldn't you two already be in bed together?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Lin Fan said unhappily, his tone full of impatience.
Song Yue got angry, "What, you're tired of the new and bored with the old, are you disliking me now? Have you forgotten how you used to cling to me..."
"Shush!" Lin Fan was startled and signaled to her repeatedly.
"Hmph!" Song Yue reluctantly stopped and turned away from Lin Fan.
Lin Fan could only smile wryly.
Even the best land needed regular watering, otherwise, it would definitely have problems.
He had indeed been neglecting Song Yue recently. It seemed he needed to find an opportunity to cultivate their relationship properly.
"Xiao Fan, look how unhappy you've made Secretary Tian." Xia Xue returned and reprimanded him.
"Sister-in-law, I didn't expect her to be so petty," Lin Fan sighed.
"Never mind, let's not talk about this anymore." Xia Xue pointed in the direction of her home, "Xiao Fan, since we have time in the morning, let's go see the new house together."
"The house is renovated?" Lin Fan was a bit surprised.
Xia Xue raised her eyebrows, "Why aren't you paying attention at all? When was the last time you checked on it?"
"I just didn't expect the construction progress to be so fast," Lin Fan said, scratching the back of his head guiltily.
Construction started at the end of last summer and only stopped near the Chinese New Year.
It had been almost half a year, and it was indeed almost completed.
"Let's go." Xia Xue walked out first, "The major things are done. There are still many details you can help me with; I'm a bit undecided."
"Alright!" Lin Fan nodded happily.
The three of them walked out of the clinic.
Lin Fan and Xia Xue walked towards their home, chatting and laughing.
Song Yue followed behind, not too close, forcing a smile.
"Xiao Fan," Xia Xue blinked, "Little Yue seems a bit unhappy."
"Is that so? How come I didn't notice?" Lin Fan, unsure if his sister-in-law was testing him, pretended to be oblivious.
"Perhaps she's reluctant to leave because we're moving back. It's quite nice staying at her place too; there are many people and it's lively," Xia Xue said with a smile.
"It's always more comfortable at home," Lin Fan said decisively.
Xia Xue's lips curved into a satisfied smile. That was more like it!
Lin Fan understood his sister-in-law's intentions immediately and gave a wry smile.
"Xiao Fan, look." Xia Xue raised her hand and pointed to the two-story building not far away, which stood out from the surrounding houses by a large margin.
The blue glazed tiles reflected a dazzling sheen under the morning sun, giving it an elegant yet luxurious beauty, a blend of classical and modern.
"It's so beautiful!" Lin Fan flattered his sister-in-law without hesitation.
"This color was chosen by Little Yue and me. She said blue was popular now, and I didn't expect it to look so good when it was finished," Xia Xue said with a happy smile.
She had lost seven or eight catties while building the house.
There were endless troubles every day, causing her worry and consuming her energy.
Now, looking at the new house standing tall, all her efforts had paid off.
She thought it was worth it!