Xiao Lingyu looked at the wounds on Silly Zhao's body and thought of Xiao Tong in her previous life.
From the moment he was born, Xiao Tong was called a bastard. Children and adults in the village bullied him, causing him to be injured every day. Xiao Tong's heart was always bleeding. However, Xiao Tong was unusually sensible. In order to not let the adults in the family worry, he always said that he fell and injured himself.
Of course, Mother Xiao didn't believe it. However, Xiao Tong never sold out his bullies.
It was not until one time when Mother Xiao came back from working and saw the scene of her grandson being bullied that her eyes flamed. Then, she grabbed the ax and went to demand an explanation. The villagers really got their lesson then.
Mother Xiao warned, "If I hear any of you scold my grandson, hit my grandson, and throw stones at my grandson again, I will sew your mouths and break your limbs. We'll see who will regret it then."
Everyone in the village knew Chen Qiuying's character. She was a woman of her words.
Therefore, everyone in the village told their children, "Don't provoke and hit Xiao Letong. If Auntie Chen breaks your legs, we can't help you."
The children had no idea why they couldn't bully Xiao Letong anymore, but they still heeded the adults' warnings. They stopped scolding Xiao Letong... at least in front of him.
Silly Zhao was in the same situation as Xiao Tong, or perhaps even worse. Back then, Xiao Tong had Mother Xiao to protect him, but Silly Zhao couldn't have his father around him all the time.
Due to various reasons, the villagers at Zhao Family Village liked to bully Silly Zhao. No one was really close to Uncle Zhao. Whenever he went away to work, the villagers would gather to bully Silly Zhao. When Uncle Zhao returned, they would disperse. Uncle Zhao saw the wounds on his son and knew the truth, but he had no evidence. His son was very sensible and never complained to his father. He knew his father already had a lot of things on his shoulders.
Silly Zhao made Xiao Lingyu cry.
Uncle Zhao held the child with red eyes and cried silently.
Xiao Lingyu did not know how to comfort Uncle Zhao and his son. She said, "Uncle Zhao, pack your things and come to my place. I believe that your son will definitely get better, and your days will also get better."
Xiao Lingyu could only console them this way.
Her spring water had the effect of treating all kinds of diseases. Silly Zhao's fever damaged his brain, and the spring water should be able to heal his brain. However, it would take a long time, perhaps two to three years. Of course, she could not give him a cup of water to drink daily, as she did with Gong Tianhao. Instead, she'd treat them to her family's food.
After Uncle Zhao brought Silly Zhao home, apart from packing up his clothes, he also took some things with him.
Xiao Lingyu saw Uncle Zhao pick up the iron pot and said in amusement, "Uncle, you don't have to bring these things. I'll get someone to buy new ones.
"You can leave these things at home. It'll be easier for you to cook when you come back. I heard that you'd planted three Mus of land. You must come back from time to time to take a look."
Uncle Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Okay, you're right."
He was indescribably touched and said, "Boss Xiao, thank you."
Uncle Zhao was silently packing inside the house, but outside, it was bustling. Many villagers heard that Zhao Xiaojun had come back in a car. They thought that Zhao Xiaojun had struck it rich. Otherwise, how could he come back in a car?
Over the years, there were less than ten people who came to visit Zhao Xiaojun on motorcycles, much less in a car. And most of them were debt-collectors.
"Who came to his house?"
"I don't know. As soon as they got off the car, Zhao Xiaojun and his son started to pack their things. It looks like they are going to leave."
The villagers were slightly puzzled. "Leave? Where are they going?"
"Who knows?"
"I'll go ask him!" A villager said. The moment she walked into the house, she saw a very beautiful woman who was helping Zhao Xiaojun to pack. She was stunned and very surprised. 'She is so beautiful. Does she want Zhao Xiaojun to be her in-house husband?
'But Zhao Xiaojun is disabled and old. He also has an idiot son. Who would want him? Especially not someone as beautiful as this woman.'
The woman said in a mocking tone, "Zhao Xiaojun, why are you and your son packing? Are you going to be this woman's in-house husband?" Then, she didn't wait for Zhao Xiaojun's reply and continued, "I need to advise you. With your conditions, if you marry over, you'll be treated like a slave. Besides, the idiot won't have a good life with you. You should just stay at home to farm the land and raise your fish."
These words sounded kind, but they were plain sarcasm and contempt.
Xiao Lingyu, "..."
"..." Zhao Xiaojun looked at her coldly and said, "Thank you for your good intentions. However, I'm not going to marry. I'm going to work."
When the neighbor heard this, she was shocked and said, "Work? Where are you going to work that you need to pack up your things and bring idiot alone? Doesn't your boss mind the idiot child?"
At this time, Xiao Lingyu said with a smile, "I'm sorry, Auntie. I'm Uncle Zhao's new boss. I don't mind the cute child coming to work with Uncle Zhao."
The neighbor was stunned. "You are..."
Someone outside immediately thought of something and said loudly, "I remember now. A few days ago, Xiao Zhengyang from Taoyuan Village came to look for Zhao Xiaojun. He said that he wanted to ask him to raise fish. Could it be true?"
The neighbor blurted out, "Zhao Xiaojun, you're not really going to Taoyuan village to raise fish for Xiao Zhengyang's family, are you?"
Xiao Lingyu smiled and said, "That's right."
Hearing Xiao Lingyu's words, the villagers looked at Xiao Lingyu in confusion. "Who are you?" An older woman outside asked loudly.
Xiao Lingyu said, "Oh, let me introduce myself. My name is Xiao Lingyu. I'm the daughter of Xiao Zhengyang from Taoyuan Village. Uncle Zhao was hired by me to raise fish.
"This is long-term work, so naturally, Uncle Zhao needs to stay there for a long time. The child is very sensible. I'm sure he won't be a burden."
The villagers were shocked that the beautiful woman was Xiao Zhengyang's daughter. The villagers knew of Xiao Zhengyang. After all, he was the richest man in the neighboring villages.
When Xiao Zhengyang came to Zhao Xiaojun and asked him to help raise the fish, no one believed it. They didn't think Xiao Zhengyang would want to hire a disabled person to work. However, Xiao Zhengyang's daughter came to fetch Zhao Xiaojun personally, so how could it be false?
Someone immediately asked suspiciously and tentatively, "Miss, how many fish do you have in the pond that you have to hire some to move there to look after them?"
Xiao Lingyu said, "I contracted a reservoir not long ago. I don't know how to raise fish. I heard that Uncle Zhao has experience in raising fish, so my Dad hired Uncle Zhao."
"A reservoir!" Someone exclaimed. "You contracted a large reservoir?!"
"Yes, Auntie, is there a problem?"
"Then how much do you pay per month for someone to look after the fish?" Someone asked.
Xiao Lingyu smiled, "I pay the same amount as the other bosses."
How would these villagers know how much the other bosses pay? In the past, there were people who had asked Zhao Xiaojun to raise fish, but they paid him by the days. They mainly asked Zhao Xiaojun to make fish food.
The villagers wanted to probe for information, but Xiao Lingyu expertly deflected all of them. This made the villagers even more curious.
"Boss, we're done packing. We can go now!"Zhao Xiaojun said.
He was holding the snakeskin woven bags that were normally used by the villagers to store pig feed. These bags were filled with his and his son's clothes and daily necessities.
"Zhao Xiaojun, you've packed so many things. Don't you plan to come back anymore?" Someone asked curiously.
Zhao Xiaojun nodded, "I will come back to look at my fields." He was telling the villagers that he'd come back from time to time. Those who wanted to steal from him should weigh it again.
The villagers immediately got his meaning.
Back then, when his fish died, everyone thought that it was an accident. But Zhao Xiaojun turned and called the police. The truth was his uncle and auntie had poisoned the pond. They were locked up for a few days, and they needed to pay Zhao Xiaojun compensation. Every villager knew about it.
Zhao Xiaojun was a ruthless person. If the things in the field were stolen when he was not at home, he would definitely report it to the police.
The villagers didn't want to end up like Zhao Xiaojun's auntie and uncle. Their money was very precious, and they wouldn't be dumb enough to waste them on police fines.
Zhao Xiaojun and the other two quickly left Zhao Family Village.
After getting into the car, Zhao Xiaojun said gratefully, "Boss Xiao, thank you so much!"
Xiao Lingyu drove the car and shook her head. "Uncle Zhao, there's nothing to thank. It's just a small favor."
Xiao Lingyu sent Zhao Xiaojun to the dormitory and said to the father and son, "Uncle Zhao, you can stay here for now. Let us know if you need anything."
"Okay, thank you, Boss!" Zhao Xiaojun nodded.
After that, Xiao Lingyu left.
Silly Zhao stood beside him and looked at Xiao Lingyu. "Dad, Sis... sis... is... a... Good... person! A... Good... Person!"
Zhao Xiaojun nodded and said, "Yes, you're right. A good person like her will be rewarded."
After that, Xiao Lingyu left the reservoir for Uncle Zhao to take care of.
The reservoir was installed with a thin iron fence to prevent children from getting into the water.
There were 15,000 fish in the reservoir and many kinds of freshwater fish.
Xiao Lingyu would go to the reservoir to take a look from time to time. In fact, she would take the opportunity to pour some spring water into the reservoir.
...
After the supermarket opened and the reservoir was contracted, spring arrived. The flowers bloomed.
Over one night, peach, pear, apricot, and other flowers all bloomed.
"Yu 'Er, Yu 'Er, the fruit trees planted last year on the mountain have all bloomed," Xiao Zhengyang, who had gone around the mountain, said excitedly to his daughter the moment he returned home.
All the fruit trees on the mountain had been planted last summer. Furthermore, because of the hot weather, Gong Tianhao had specially invited two planting experts and professors from the Beijing Academy of Agricultural Sciences to come over and guide them.
Xiao Lingyu knew that the fruit trees would bloom around this time.
"I thought they wouldn't bloom so early. Even if they did, I was only expecting a few blooms. But actually, the whole mountain is blooming!" Xiao Zhengyang could not help but say excitedly.
How could he not be excited?
Among all the projects that Xiao Lingyu had invested in, fruit trees were the ones with the largest investment.
They had contracted six mountains, covering an area of more than 10,000 Mus, and planted more than 10,000 fruit trees.
Some of these fruit trees were more common in their areas, such as peaches, oranges, and grapefruits.
There were also some fruit trees that were not common in their area, such as arhat fruits, ginseng fruits, and so on.
But no matter what kind of fruit tree it was, Xiao Lingyu valued it very much, so naturally, the members of the Xiao family also valued it.
After Xiao Zhengyang was excited for a while, he came back to his senses and asked, "Yu 'Er, some fruit trees will only produce better fruits after three years. Our family's fruit trees are only one year old. Will the fruits taste good?"
Xiao Lingyu said, "Our fruit trees are prime selections. Their fruits will taste amazing." In reality, she was telling Father Xiao that the trees were raised with spring water, so there was no problem.
Father Xiao said with some worry, "Yu 'Er, the things our family grows are so special. I don't think Little Light will be a sufficient excuse anymore."
Xiao Lingyu nodded. "Dad, it'll be fine. I've thought about this problem before, and I'll think of a way to deal with it. In the future, we'll take it one step at a time and see how far we can go!"
Father Xiao said worriedly, "Yu 'Er, why don't we take a low profile for now or else..." something bad might really happen.
Xiao Lingyu shook her head and said, "Dad, it's already very difficult to stop now. If we stop now, won't it make people more suspicious?" At this point, she comforted Father Xiao and said, "Dad, don't worry. We have Grandpa Gong and Tianhao's men protecting us now. Nothing will happen."
Xiao Tong, who followed his grandmother outside to look at the flowers, magnified his spiritual sense and heard the conversation between his mother and Grandpa. He thought to himself, 'I have to become strong as soon as possible. However, to become strong, I have to enter my mother's space. But how to do that...'