You said you would tell fortunes, so you can catch ghosts and exterminate zombies easily?

"Grandma, I'm fine."

"I'm used to hearing these kinds of things."

Lin Yan explained.

He was raised by his great-grandfather, and no one ever dared to say such things to him.

But when we arrived in Cuicheng...

Liu Chunhua carefully examined his expression.

"Xiao Yan, are you planning to put up with this?"

Lin Yan remained silent.

Su Chen cleared his throat: "Mom, don't worry about it. He's not a child anymore."

"Xiao Yan is only a few years old, he's not a child..."

Liu Chunhua had just mumbled a few words when Su Chen said, "When you have time, go and spend some time at the hardware store on Chunming Street."

“…Huh?” Liu Chunhua asked, puzzled.

"Brother Biao has been busy with the dragon boat races lately, so the shop is short-staffed."

"We can't let Xiao Yan go."

Lin Yan said softly, "It's okay, Grandma, I can do it."

Su Chen hummed in agreement: "Let's eat."

Liu Chunhua, filled with doubts, waited until Su Chen finished his meal, then hurriedly dragged him outside.

"What are you up to, kid?"

"Xiao Yan is an honest child. I hope he doesn't get bullied or harassed by the guests later."

Su Chen said helplessly, "Mom, you've never been this worried about A-Kun before."

“Ah Kun has his own ideas and doesn’t listen to others, so why should I worry about him?”

"Besides, wouldn't he contact you if he needed something?"

“Xiao Yan is different. She has to leave her hometown at such a young age. How pitiful.”

"No, I'm asking you, why did you let Xiao Yan watch the shop?"

Su Chen casually came up with an excuse: "Let him meet more people, all kinds of people."

Liu Chunhua frowned deeply.

“It’s good for his cultivation,” Su Chen added.

"Is that so?" Liu Chunhua sighed. "I don't know what you're talking about, but Xiao Yan isn't coming back with us tomorrow, right?"

"should."

“No, I have to have Ah Hao stay and cook for this child and take the food over.”

Su Chen: “!!!”

He shook his head helplessly.

A good night's sleep.

As dawn broke, Su Chen had already led several children in performing a set of boxing moves.

Old Su and Liu Chunhua went to the market and brought back a bunch of ingredients.

After breakfast, Xie Qianglong arrived with a group of blond-haired buddies.

Having been in business for so long, they were all quite savvy; none of them came empty-handed. Some carried a bottle of wine, others a bag of noodles, and one even carried a pot.

Seeing Su Chen's gaze fall on his pot, the blond-haired youth chuckled.

"It's not easy to go to the suburbs, so we have to have a picnic. Let me tell you, I put ten packs of instant noodles in this pot, just enough for me, Brother Long, and Uncle Su. If you want to mooch some, go to the convenience store outside and buy a few packs yourselves."

Upon hearing this, the group of blond-haired men looked at each other and then ran outside.

Xie Qianglong shouted, "Don't forget to bring another box of ham sausages!"

With so many people, it was already past nine in the morning before we finally got ready to set off.

They arrived at Niuwei Village in a grand procession. In a paddy field in front of Su Mao's house, half of the rice seedlings had already been planted.

Ah Ying and Lin Chunjiao were busy at the door, one plucking chicken feathers and the other peeling eggs.

When Aqing and Ahui saw their grandparents, the children greeted them obediently.

Liu Chunhua chatted with her two daughters-in-law for a while. Seeing that they had prepared a lot of ingredients, she nodded with satisfaction: "If I had known you had bought the ingredients, we wouldn't have brought them. Pick these out. If they can be stored, we won't cook them today. We can save them for tomorrow."

Then, looking at the half-plucked hen, he asked, "Whose chicken is this?"

Ah Ying scratched her head: "I don't know, I bought it at the market in Ade."

"You two just don't know how to manage a household. Why did you go to the market to buy this old hen? You can just catch one anywhere in the village, it's cheaper..."

She was fair enough to nitpick at Lin Chunjiao for a while, and when she saw that the children were no longer gathered around, she called the two of them over and secretly slipped them a big red envelope.

This thickness...

Lin Chunjiao and Aying exchanged a glance and repeatedly declined.

"Mom, no need, no need~"

Liu Chunhua glared at them: "What do you mean you don't need it? Just take it if it's given to you."

“Now that Ah Chen’s life is better, your two families are struggling. You should think about what kind of business you can start. If you really can’t do it, you can buy a house in town and rent it out to others.”

"Don't worry, Mom doesn't have money. If Mom doesn't have money, Mom will ask Ah Chen for it."

Ah Ying stammered, "Mom, you're making Ah Chen uncomfortable. We've already separated our households, and you're still supporting us like this..."

Liu Chunhua glanced at him sideways: "Do you think Achen is such a petty person?"

Ah Ying shook her head repeatedly.

"What else are you saying? Take it and hide it!"

Although Su Chen was on the edge of the field, he could hear their conversation clearly.

He sighed and reminded the bouncing Xie Qianglong, "Watch your feet..."

"Pfft!"

Xie Qianglong successfully fell into the paddy field, his body covered in mud on one side. He tried to climb up several times but couldn't, and let out a series of howls.

None of the blond-haired men stepped forward to help; they all pointed at him and laughed.

Old Su was among them, laughing so hard he was doubled over.

After making a ruckus for a while, Xie Qianglong, soaked to the bone, persevered until he finished inspecting the paddy fields rented to him. He then hurriedly returned, took a shower, changed into Su Mao's clothes, and led a large group of blond-haired brothers on a leisurely stroll through the village.

They were all native city dwellers, and vegetable gardens were nothing special to them, but they were quite fond of chicken coops and pig pens.

Su Chen sat on a stone stool, picking vegetables while chatting with the aunties and sisters-in-law who had come to watch the commotion.

They were still talking about the murder case in town.

"Ah Chen, I heard that Mei Hong was chopped into many pieces, is that true? How many pieces exactly?"

"I heard Ade's face turned black from vomiting, just how bad was it?"

"Her husband was arrested. Could he have killed him?"

"They say Mei Hong cheated on her husband, but I think it's because her husband couldn't stand it anymore."

……

Liu Chunhua was peeling garlic when she heard this and pouted.

"I heard it, I heard it, who told you all this?"

“My Ah Chen said that Mei Hong didn’t cheat on me.”

"Are people not allowed to dress up or laugh these days?"

"They also run a shop. When customers come in, are you expected to stare at them with wide eyes?"

Hearing her say that, the group paused for a moment, then slowly nodded.

Lin Chunjiao asked, "Mom, did Achen tell you who the murderer is?"

Liu Chunhua glanced sideways: "Achen is right here. If you want to know, ask him yourself. Why are you asking me? Have you gone crazy from working?"

Lin Chunjiao looked at Su Chen with an embarrassed smile.

Su Chen shook his head.

"I haven't calculated it carefully, so I don't know who it is, but I believe our police station officers will solve the case soon."

Not getting an answer, the group wasn't annoyed and started discussing who the murderer was.

"Besides Mei Hong's husband, I heard that the police officers at the local police station are also asking who in town they haven't seen for several days recently."

"I heard there's a guy named Ah Shou near the place where they play cards, but I haven't seen him for days."

"Ah Ying, you've been staying in town lately, do you know this person?"

Ah Ying shook her head with a dry laugh.

Liu Chunhua waved her hand: "You can ask other people, but you're asking Aying? Don't you know she's shy? She probably only knows about kitchen stuff all day. Ade does all the grocery shopping."

"Why don't we ask Ade? Hmm~" Liu Chunhua finally remembered her son, "Where are Amao and Ade? Have they already gone to the fields?"

"Didn't we agree to plant rice together tomorrow? Are they worried that we'll make a fuss and we won't finish?"

Lin Chunjiao waved her hand.

“They didn’t go to plant rice. When Ade and the others came back in the morning, they met a stranger who had accidentally broken his leg on the mountain road. They asked Amao to come and help him down the mountain.”

Liu Chunhua frowned: "Out-of-towners? What are they doing here?"