C12 He Broke the Sales of the Peach

In Shen Yong's dream-laden memories, he and Su Yaner had journeyed to Mount Witchcraft hand in hand!

But if the Su Yaner of his dreams were to be replaced by the real Lee Xiaona, did that mean he and Lee Xiaona had already crossed that line?

This was a notion Shen Yong couldn't possibly entertain!

After all, he still considered himself green, inexperienced!

The first time should be thrilling and wonderful, not something to sleep through, devoid of awareness, robbing him of a treasured life memory.

Even in the throes of passion with Su Yaner, they shared a bed but never succumbed to temptation!

It wasn't a question of Shen Yong's ability; rather, each time they neared that final step, Su Yaner would claim her period was to blame for stopping them.

Back then, Shen Yong cursed the very thought of menstruation, wishing he could lock it away like a mischievous pet!

Lee Xiaona was far from a child now, and as Shen Yong posed his question, she grasped its implications, her fair face flushing crimson.

"No! Nothing else happened! Just holding hands, and then you fell asleep! Xiaona went home afterward!"

Xie Yun tapped Shen Yong's head, scolding, "Foolish boy! What's gotten into you? You're acting as clueless as a toddler, only concerned with eating, sleeping, and playing! You've done nothing else!"

"Oh! Alright! I admit I was pretty silly back then! Hahaha!"

Shen Yong chuckled sheepishly.

Lee Kun quickly cut in, "Xiaona! Act your age! Show some decorum! Don't be so brazen!"

"Dad! You make me sound so improper! I've always been the picture of decorum at school, so much so that I've graduated from college without ever having a boyfriend!"

Lee Xiaona gripped Shen Yong's hand firmly. "Mr. Shen Yong isn't a stranger, so why should I act reserved? I love being close to Mr. Shen Yong!"

She finished her protest with a playful grimace directed at her father, Lee Kun.

Lee Kun was left at a loss for words. His daughter had grown up alongside Shen Yong, even wearing his hand-me-downs, reluctant to part with them, and always dressed like a little tomboy.

Anyone who didn't know better might think Shen Yong had gained a younger brother!

"Old Li! Leave the kids' situation to me. You're always so strict with Xiaona! Remember when you wanted to be a kind father?"

Shen Wanshan counseled.

"Alright, I'll ease up! I'll be that loving father!"

Lee Kun declared, his expression suddenly turning to one of astonishment, "Hold on?! Old Shen, you're standing?"

"Ah, well, Shen Yong has been raising pigs in the military, right? He picked up some tricks for treating pigs and tried them out on me. Believe it or not, it worked wonders! No injections, no pills, just a little pinch and I'm good as new!"

Shen Wanshan couldn't hide his delight when he mentioned his healed right leg.

"Ah, so your leg was a pig leg all along! Human treatments wouldn't do, only pig remedies could fix it!"

Lee Kun teased.

"What kind of nonsense is that? If my leg's a pig leg, then yours must be a cow leg!"

Shen Wanshan shot back with a glare, then turned serious, "Enough jokes. With the rain pouring like this, you didn't come just to have a drink with me, did you?"

"Ha! As if! You all distracted me earlier, and I nearly forgot what I came for!"

Lee Kun smacked his forehead, his expression turning tense, "This is serious! We've got a big problem!"

"Uncle Kun, take a breath, sit down, and let's talk it out. We've been through life and death; what's there to fear now?"

Shen Yong offered a stool, nudging it towards Lee Kun.

"How can I sit at a time like this? Shen Yong, did your dad ever tell you how he hurt his leg?"

Lee Kun asked, urgency in his voice.

"He told me."

Shen Yong nodded in confirmation.

"Good, then I'll skip the backstory. Straight to the heart of the matter!"

Lee Kun took a moment to steady his nerves and continued, "Today, I had the factory security review the surveillance footage from that day. The injury to your dad's leg? It's on that truck driver! While we were unloading, the driver was fooling around with his wife in the cab and accidentally hit the dump button, causing the truck to tip over! That's on the factory, no doubt about it! And they haven't paid a dime! That's just not right!"

"Old Li! Let it go! My leg's all better now, isn't it? No need to dwell on it anymore!" Shen Wanshan pleaded, "How about we just drop the whole thing?"

Shen Wanshan was known for his honesty, but Lee Kun hadn't expected him to be quite this extreme. Lee Kun couldn't bear to see him just give up like that.

"You got lucky this time, only hurting your leg, and Shen Yong even healed you! What if you had been killed? Would they still dodge responsibility?" Lee Kun implored, his face ashen with urgency, "Are you scared? Have you turned into a shrinking turtle?"

In our village, most of the older folks didn't have much in the way of education. Lee Kun was among the most educated of his generation, having only completed the fourth grade. Despite their limited schooling, they were down-to-earth and spoke their minds plainly. Whatever they thought, they said.

Lee Kun's words might have been harsh, but he meant well. He truly cared about Shen Wanshan's welfare.

"Old Li! I know you mean well! But I have my reasons," Shen Wanshan responded, "In a month, our village's peach blossoms will be ripe! Most of them are sold to their factory! If my issue causes a stir, and the factory refuses our peaches, our loss will be even greater!"

"Ah, Old Shen! You really think things through! If you'd explained it to me like that before, maybe I wouldn't have been so hasty!" Lee Kun said, smacking his forehead in realization. "But it's too late now! After checking the surveillance footage today, I went straight to the factory manager. Not only did he lay off all our villagers working there, but he also said they won't buy our peaches from this year on!"

"Old Li, how could you be so rash? We've only got a month left! Where will we find buyers now?" Shen Wanshan lamented, quickly doing the math in his head, "Last year, our peach blossoms suffered from the late frost and snow, losing many flowers. Even with the poor harvest, we still managed to produce 350,000 jin. Today, with the good weather and abundant sunshine, the yield is even better, easily reaching 500,000 jin. If the factory won't take them, we'll have no choice but to watch helplessly as the peaches rot on the trees!"

Shen Wanshan was the village's seasoned accountant. Despite having only a second-grade elementary education, he possessed a unique knack for bookkeeping.

As a result, Shen Wanshan had a deeper insight into the village's affairs than Village Chief Lee Kun.

"What are we going to do? We were banking on selling this year's peaches to pay off the thirty thousand yuan we owe Zhao Erhu! His brothers already came by to make a scene this afternoon. If we can't settle the debt in time, there's no telling what kind of ruckus they'll stir up next!"

Beside him, Xie Yun fretted, speaking in hushed tones.