A Good Country Wife
Chapter 297 - 291 Red Apricot Blossoms Over the Wall_1

Chapter 297: 291 Red Apricot Blossoms Over the Wall_1

Zhao Erhu at this time had no idea that his wife had once again bribed Zhao Cheng and his wife with a few steamed buns. Rather, he was quite troubled by some distant relatives who had suddenly surfaced, asking for favors. Although these people were his relatives, they had never helped him by even the slightest bit when he was down on his luck—not kicking him when he was down was already a mercy. Now that his family had come into wealth, however, they were all showing up, trying to cozy up to him in the hopes of getting work at his house.

He couldn’t simply rebuff them with a hard stance, for they were still his relatives, after all. If he were too harsh, no one would care about his past hardships; instead, they would simply say that he’s become rich and now looked down on his own kin. His reputation, although not something to be overly concerned about, still mattered to an extent. It could not be entirely disregarded—after all, he could not let those who harbored ill-intentions tarnish his name, which would certainly have an impact on his children’s future marriage prospects.

"Since we’re all relatives, you’d ordinarily come to me for help, and I shouldn’t refuse you," said Zhao Erhu, his face showing signs of distress. "The truth is, our family was indeed short of a couple of workers just until yesterday, when I’ve already agreed to take on my fourth brother and his wife. Therefore, I simply can’t make the same promise to you. Business is tough these days. While it may look like we are making money, think about the relationships we have to maintain, the seeds we have to buy, and the workers we have to pay—everything costs money. We’ve already hired quite a few long-term workers, and if we take on any more, I’m afraid we won’t be able to afford the wages. I, Zhao Erhu, might not know about grand principles, but I do know that I cannot fail to pay the wages when they are due."

Sure enough, as Zhao Erhu mentioned that he might not even be able to pay wages, the smiles on the faces of some became a bit stiff, and they no longer insisted on working for Zhao Erhu. They didn’t come knocking for the sake of doing free labor! Then there were those who did not quite believe Zhao Erhu ’s words; with such a large business employing many workers, how could it be possible to not afford paying wages? But fearing that what Zhao Erhu said was indeed true, they hesitated. Seeing their reactions, Zhao Erhu knew quite well in his heart and wasn’t very disappointed. After all, these people had no real connection to him; they were just drawn by self-interest.

Recently, the weather had been consistently poor. It was overcast in the morning, and by afternoon, a torrential rain had begun to fall. Fortunately, they had anticipated this and erected a large tent; otherwise, so many people would have had nowhere to shelter from the rain.

Lin Yue was originally among those taking refuge under the tent, but as more and more people arrived, she grew uncomfortable in such crowded spaces with poor air quality. Additionally, the gossiping busybodies held her in conversation without end, which annoyed her. Consequently, she decided to escape to the secluded, uninhabited back house, which was once the residence of Zhao Erhu’s grandfather. The building had been neglected for many years and fallen into disrepair, rarely visited by anyone. Lin Yue had been there before with Zhao Erhu and thus chose it as her refuge from the rain.

"Phew, finally some peace and quiet. These busybodies talk way too much. Luckily, I found this spot to hide," Lin Yue sighed with relief and walked inside. The house was dilapidated, with many leaks in the roof. The inner room appeared to be in slightly better condition. However, as she moved further inside, Lin Yue heard noises that made her instinctively tread lightly.

"Honey, touching you there feels so good."

"Ah, um, you brute, gently..."

As Lin Yue advanced, the sounds from within the room grew more distinct—the man’s heavy breathing and the woman’s complaints tinged with annoyance. She recognized those voices instantly, but initially, she couldn’t believe them. It wasn’t so surprising that Chunxi would appear here, as she was notoriously promiscuous and having an affair behind Zhao Jingui’s back was hardly a shock. But the man’s voice unmistakably belonged to Zhao Quan.

My goodness, Lin Yue thought, this is why she couldn’t believe it—it was just too absurd. Considering that Zhao Quan’s father, Zhao Jingen, had just passed away the day before and his funeral was being arranged, here was Zhao Quan, embroiled in flagrant adultery in broad daylight, utterly disregarding basic decency and morality. If their behavior were to be discovered, Zhao Quan would surely face public scrutiny and admonishment at the village hall, while Chunxi, given the harsher social judgments towards women, might even suffer a fate like being drowned in a pig cage.

By now, Lin Yue had made her way to the window, and peering through the gap, she was assaulted by a scene too disgraceful for words. She quickly turned her face away, her heart pounding—not out of shyness, but from the sudden realization of her predicament. Stumbling upon the scandalous actions of others was no fortunate matter.

Lin Yue held her breath, her hands tightly clenched into fists. No, she couldn’t let the people inside discover her. In this isolated place where hardly anyone came, if Zhao Quan and Chunxi realized that their disgraceful act had been witnessed, they might do anything to ensure their secret remained safe. Her current situation was extremely perilous; she needed to leave immediately.

In that moment, Lin Yue also regretted her imprudence. She should have left the moment she first heard the noises if not for a bit of curiosity spurred by the fact that it was Chunxi’s voice coming from within. What good could come from a man and a woman sneaking away to this desolate spot? It was primarily because Chunxi was the persistent thorn in her side, always stirring up trouble and even setting her sights on Lin Yue’s own husband, Zhao Erhu, that Lin Yue wanted to catch Chunxi red-handed, failing to suppress her curiosity.

While reflecting on this, Lin Yue stealthily backed away. As long as she could leave quietly without alerting the people inside, she would be fine.

But it’s often when people are most nervous that they’re prone to make mistakes. Without noticing, Lin Yue bumped into a wooden stick leaning against the wall, which fell and made a muffled sound on the floor. "Damn," she cursed under her breath. In an instant, she abandoned all caution and dashed outside—it was crucial that she not fall into the hands of Zhao Quan and Chunxi, whose animosity towards her was no secret. Under these circumstances, they would not let her off easily.

Zhao Quan and Chunxi in the room were in the throes of passion when they heard the noise from outside, which startled them both, and their faces became anxious. Hurrying to investigate, they couldn’t understand why anyone would come to such a desolate place. If someone indeed had seen them, they would have no choice but to prevent the story from spreading at all costs. The mere thought of the story getting out horrified them, particularly Chunxi, who visibly paled at the thought of the consequences, her previous seductiveness and passion vanished.

Since so much rain made work impossible, Zhao Erhu found himself with some free time and went looking for Lin Yue. He checked the kitchen first; both Mrs. Liu and Li Xiaomei said Lin Yue was outside. After searching around to no avail, Zhao Erhu grew anxious, worrying whether his wife had returned home or encountered some trouble. Just as he was about to go back to check at home, he saw Lin Yue emerging, soaking wet and looking utterly frantic.

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