?52: Chapter 52 Female Boss 52: Chapter 52 Female Boss “You brat, you scared me to death!

    Is the task done?

    Look at how you’ve exhausted Teacher Du to the point of sweating, have you been out fooling around and left everything to Teacher Du?” Qin Yue turned and said to Mao’er, reaching out to pinch him.

    “Hehe!” Mao’er, slippery like an eel, dodged Qin Yue’s grasp and said with a cheeky grin, “Aunt Qin Yue, why are you so hot-tempered?

    Where’s the fire coming from?

    I’ll get a bucket of water to pour on it for you.”

    “Get out of here!

    You little brat, talking nonsense...

    What do you know about putting out a fire, you haven’t even grown your skin yet.

    This fire of mine is deep, it needs a good pounding to be extinguished.” Qin Yue finished the first part of her sentence, muttering the latter part to herself.

    She couldn’t help but glance at Liu Hun, and that mischievous fire flared up again.

    Her intertwined legs rubbed together out of habit.

    “What?

    Pounding what?

    Aunt Qin Yue, are you looking to borrow a piling machine or something?” Mao’er didn’t catch the latter part of Qin Yue’s muttering and couldn’t help but ask.

    Bai Lian understood perfectly and couldn’t help but laugh.

    She pushed Mao’er aside and said, “Your Aunt Qin Yue wants a piling machine that can pound meat.

    You don’t have one and can’t borrow one.

    It’s none of your business, go play!”

    “How come you understand everything?

    Do you want to get pounded yourself too?” Qin Yue and Bai Lian whispered to each other, laughing and joking.

    Mao’er scratched his head and walked away, completely clueless about what the women were talking about and what was so funny.

    Mao’er didn’t understand, and Du Yueling understood even less, but it didn’t matter to her.

    Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she said, “It’s nothing, I’m not tired.

    I like the people here and this land; it makes me feel full of life force.” Speaking, she couldn’t help but stick out her tongue a little shyly, her originally flushed face appeared even rosier, much like a bashful June lotus, exuding a charming allure.

    “This is the letter of intent signed by the villagers who agreed to collaborate with us, after Mao’er and I went house to house asking...” Du Yueling began explaining each term, worried that the listeners wouldn’t understand some of the words.

    Du Yueling’s explanation only further confused everyone, but they understood one thing: the matter was settled, and most villagers agreed to participate in mushroom cultivation through borrowing money and labor.

    Just as Du Yueling finished speaking, Fen Ran entered the temple, right on cue.

    “I’m so thirsty I could die.” Fen Ran came in, grabbed a cup, and took a gulp of water before wiping the sweat from her face and smiling.

    “There’s news, the Cooperative agreed to buy the mushrooms.”

    “Really?

    What did they say?

    What’s the price?” Liu Hun perked up immediately.

    Fen Ran didn’t even have time to sit down before saying, “The Cooperative agreed to buy them as mountain goods, but...

    they are only willing to buy dried mushrooms, so we have to dry them after picking.”

    “That’s not much of a problem, we have plenty of manpower, this isn’t a worry.

    But the mushrooms will lose a lot of weight after drying, how is the price calculated?

    How much are they willing to buy?” Liu Hun asked Fen Ran.

    He wasn’t worried about the manpower, as there were plenty of idle people in the village who could be organized to manage and dry the mushrooms, but the key issue was still the money.

    “The Cooperative said they are willing to pay ten dollars per pound of dried mushrooms, and they can buy about 10,000 pounds per year, as these things even dried are hard to store, so they’re only willing to take that much.” Fen Ran replied to Liu Hun immediately.

    “Isn’t ten dollars a pound a bit low?

    Last time I went to the market in town, dried mushrooms were over twenty dollars, right?” Qin Yue interjected and glanced at Fen Ran, noticing something.

    She quickly reached out and pulled Fen Ran aside.

    With Qin Yue pulling her down to sit, Fen Ran asked in a low voice, “What’s up?

    Is there something wrong?”

    Qin Yue looked at Liu Hun, who was still frowning in thought, and whispered to Fen Ran, “Why aren’t you wearing anything underneath?

    Everything is showing when you sweat, what were you thinking?”

    Fen Ran quickly looked down, and sure enough, the sweat had made her clothes semi-transparent.

    The front wasn’t too bad, but from Qin Yue’s angle, everything was perfectly visible.

    “What!

    It’s too hot, so I took it off at home.

    How was I supposed to know it would be this hot out?” Fen Ran blushed and explained sheepishly to Qin Yue.

    “Weren’t you just messing with your man?” Qin Yue couldn’t help but tease, seeing the telltale signs that Fen Ran had just had some fun, her eyes moist, cheeks flushed, and her breath carried a whiff of that distinctive scent.

    Fen Ran sneered, like she was looking at a pile of dung, and said, “Don’t mention him, once he gets excited, there’s no stopping him.

    This little matter I have to handle myself.”

    Qin Yue couldn’t help but laugh, realizing what was going on.

    She now understood why Fen Ran had hurried over with just a single layer on.

    Ye Canghai was ineffective, and Fen Ran took matters into her own hands, then rushed over.

    It seemed like she wasn’t much different from me in this regard, Qin Yue thought to herself, feeling unintentionally comforted by this realization.

    “Bang!” Liu Hun slammed the table heavily, finally making a decision, and as he turned to the others, he said, “Let’s go ahead with this, 10,000 pounds is better than nothing.

    I’ll go to town tomorrow to check things out.”

    Liu Hun, determined like he had swallowed a weight, was set on mushroom cultivation.

    Given the current situation in Wanbao Village, even if it was a one-time deal, it could make enough money to revive the village.

    Taiping Town wasn’t far from Wanbao Village, and among the various villages under its jurisdiction, Wanbao Village was the closest.

    Although the town wasn’t prosperous, let alone developed, it was certainly lively on market days.

    Today, Liu Hun arrived just in time for the market, with the town in full swing—a stage show and bustling crowds, with many nearby villagers bringing their produce to sell.

    Fen Ran had run to the Cooperative, and Liu Hun wasn’t relying on finding anything new from that avenue.

    Besides the Cooperative, what other paths were there...

    Liu Hun pondered as he strolled along, spotting a restaurant named “Ke Yunlai.” A thought rose like a fish blowing bubbles, and just as he was ready to enter the restaurant, someone stumbled out, crashing into him.

    Liu Hun, quick-witted, caught the person and asked, “What’s the matter?

    Are you okay?” His hand landed on something soft, instantly recognizing it was a woman and he quickly let go.

    The woman steadied herself, brushed her hair back, and seemed to Liu Hun about in her late twenties or early thirties.

    She had long hair, large eyes, slender eyebrows, and a high nose bridge, with plump, red lips, similar to the Cui Yingying he once saw in a performance, especially with a look in her eyes that seemed to spell “stubborn.”

    “Thanks!

    I’m fine!

    Just ran into some shameless folks,” the woman said irritably, glaring toward the restaurant’s entrance.

    As soon as she finished speaking, three men came out of the restaurant, wiping their mouths and burping.

    The man in the middle grinned at the woman and said, “Look at that mouth of yours!

    Tsk, it’s lethal.

    Why call yourself Shi Bingyu, Stone Mouth would be more apt.” With that, the two men beside him joined in mocking laughter.

    Shi Bingyu snorted coldly, “I can call myself whatever I want.

    Mind your own business, I might just call myself ‘Stone Your Uncle’ if I feel like it, you wanna try it?”

    The restaurant was situated on the busiest street, and their ruckus caught the attention of the market-goers, who began to gather and chatter.

    “Look at this girl, she’s quite pretty, but her mouth shows no mercy.

    What’s going on here?

    Could these three be causing trouble?

    They sure don’t look like troublemakers.”

    “What do you know, she’s Shi Bingyu, the owner of this restaurant!

    It was left to her by her father as a dowry when he passed.

    But instead of getting married, her business thrived.

    As for those three...

    let’s just keep quiet.”

    “What’s there to be scared of saying!

    That round-headed, turtle-like guy is just Lin Degui, the director of the Urban Development Office.

    As for Huang Qing and Huang Qiang, they’re nothing worth mentioning, just sycophants.”

    “...”

    Though the crowd grew larger, Shi Bingyu remained haughty, ready to clash head-on.

    She directly confronted the three, “Lin Degui!

    You’re not leaving until you settle the bill today!”

    “Hey!

    This insolent woman, do you need a reminder?

    We dine here as a favor to you.

    Don’t give us that attitude, step aside!” Huang Qiang said, rolling up his sleeves as if ready to fight.

    “What now?

    Want to get physical?

    Let everyone judge for themselves!

    You’ve been dining on credit for months with no payment and you dare to bully me!

    So what if you’re with the Township Government?

    My words stand: no money, no leave today!” Shi Bingyu firmly stood her ground, unfazed by Huang Qiang’s threat.

    “Hey!

    You’re asking for it today, aren’t you?” Huang Qiang, emboldened by his alcohol, ran at Shi Bingyu with a raised fist aiming for her head.

    As Huang Qiang lunged, the onlookers were frozen in shock.

    Shi Bingyu hadn’t expected him to strike —the liquor had clearly clouded his mind— and she stared at the approaching punch, feeling helpless.

    I’m done for, not married yet, what will I do...

    was the fleeting thought in Shi Bingyu’s mind as she instinctively closed her eyes.

    Suddenly, she felt a tightness around her waist, like something flew past her.

    She quickly looked and saw Huang Qiang lying on the ground, while she was unharmed, her face pressed against someone’s chest, the beating of his heart making her feel unexpectedly flustered.