In Love With My Fierce Farming Wife!
Chapter 1314 - 1222: The Clue Is Broken

Chapter 1314: Chapter 1222: The Clue Is Broken

"What’s going on, won’t you let a person eat in peace?"

The man complained, picking up the eye pancake that had fallen to the ground, placing it in the palm of his hand to pat it down, dusting off the dirt on the surface, and, not minding the filth, he stuffed it back into his mouth and took a bite.

Still chewing slowly, he seemed completely indifferent to the anxious looks of everyone waiting around him.

It wasn’t until he had swallowed the food in his mouth that he deliberately lowered his voice.

"Hey! Let me tell you guys, today, I found some really incredible stuff on that ship."

"What kind of good stuff?" everyone asked in unison.

Su Pan’er also widened her eyes, listening intently to what the other was saying.

"It’s just..."

Suddenly, he stopped talking and instead lifted his head to look around. Changing the subject, he said, "Anyway, anyway, I found quite a bit of good stuff, that’s all. Let’s go, let’s go, we’ve eaten enough, so it’s time to get back to work."

He abruptly stood up and left, not even finishing the wild vegetable porridge that was still more than half full in his bowl.

"Has Peng Erniu seen a ghost or something today? Usual Days, he wouldn’t leave the bowl until he licked it clean with his tongue, and today, Unexpectedly, he’s left so much. Is it possible it rained red in the west this morning?"

Everyone was discussing him.

Su Pan’er also narrowed her eyes in the direction Peng Erniu had disappeared, silently nibbling on the pancakes with holes in her hand.

Peng Erniu’s demeanor just now didn’t seem like he was lying. Could it be he really discovered something extraordinary? Maybe she should find a time to seek out Peng Erniu and coax some information out of him?

As Su Pan’er was lost in thought, everyone was chattering and laughing, and no one took Peng Erniu’s words seriously.

"Eating these pancakes with that pickled mustard plant stem and then having it with the vegetable porridge gives it a unique flavor. You should try it."

Noticing that Su Pan’er hadn’t touched the small bit of pickled mustard plant stem in her bowl, Brother Zhang pointed out to her, "We manual laborers sweat a lot every day and need more salt. If you don’t eat something with a bit of saltiness, you won’t be able to carry those heavy goods. Looking at how delicate and tender you are, you’re clearly not someone accustomed to hard labor. How did you end up having to do such hard work?"

Su Pan’er’s heart was sweating bullets!

When she had disguised herself as a man, to enhance her rugged appearance, she had deliberately altered the definition of her facial features and even glued skin-toned faux skin to her cheeks. She believed her disguise was flawless, but to others, she still came across as delicate and tender, which made her want to laugh and cry.

"There was no other choice."

Su Pan’er smiled shyly and stuck to her cover story, "I don’t mean to Conceal the truth from Brother Zhang, but Ruan Qi’s family suddenly faced a disaster, and that’s why I came to seek refuge with distant relatives. I thought at least I wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry once I arrived, but it turned out that they moved away years ago. Now I’m at a loss whether to stay or go. Working as a laborer on the dock is tough, but it’s the only way I can think of to keep from starving."

"That’s true."

Brother Zhang nodded in agreement and let out a thoughtful sigh, "To be honest, the reason I’m helping you is that you remind me of myself back in the day. Like you, I came to seek out distant relatives to no avail and had no option left. Driven by hunger, I ended up doing manual labor..."

While speaking, Brother Zhang fell into his own memories.

This made Su Pan’er feel embarrassed inside. She hadn’t expected her casual lie to stir up such personal memories in someone else.

Truly... Life is full of unexpected twists.

Amidst the laughter and conversation, Su Pan’er unknowingly ate all four of the pancakes with holes and a big bowl of wild vegetable porridge, surprising even herself! How long had it been since she had such an appetite?

Having had their fill, the group once again rose and made their way toward the large ship, ready to start their work.

Before reaching the ship, Su Pan’er saw from afar the figure of Peng Erniu, who had left early earlier, conversing with someone. The person had their back towards her, so she couldn’t discern their face, but she did see Peng Erniu—a look of agitation on his face—as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Su Pan’er was just about to go over when Brother Zhang stopped her. "Ruan Qi, let’s go this way. The work is heavy in the afternoon and I may not be able to look out for you, so try a little harder to earn a few more copper coins. With the Autumn Harvest upon us, if you don’t earn enough, this winter is going to be tough."

"Thank you for looking out for me, Brother Zhang. Ruan Qi understands," Su Pan’er nodded in response.

They then discussed where the goods would be stacked in the afternoon and to which grain ship they would be delivered. Once she wrapped up the conversation and turned her head back, the spot where Peng Erniu had been standing was empty; his figure was nowhere to be seen.

With a sense of resignation, Su Pan’er abandoned her immediate intention to find him and get to the bottom of things, and instead followed Brother Zhang.

The cargo to be loaded onto the ship that afternoon was still a market stone’s worth of millet, all packed in large sacks ready to be carried onto the ship.

Su Pan’er also began to help with the loading.

However, just as she had delivered a large sack of cargo into the hold and was turning back, pandemonium suddenly broke out on the other end.

"Something terrible has happened! Someone’s dead! There’s been an accident!"

An accident?

Who was the one who died?

A sudden alarm gripped Su Pan’er’s heart, and she rushed toward the scene of the incident.

But when she managed to squeeze to the front of the crowd, her heart sunk.

The person who lay dead was none other than Peng Erniu, who had been chatting animatedly just a short while ago!

Now, Peng Erniu lay with bulging eyes, pierced through the chest by a broken mast pole that had entered through his front and exited through his back—it was clear that he had been beyond saving for some time.

"I don’t know how it happened. The mast pole was originally hung on the stern, and the captain had previously mentioned it needed repairs, which is why I lowered it. I didn’t even have the chance to start fixing it when suddenly a strong wind blew, picking up the mast pole, which then flew out and impaled him..."

The excuses continued, but they only plunged Su Pan’er’s heart further into the cold depths.

She stared fixedly at the pole in his chest and slowly lifted her eyes towards the direction of the large ship, her gaze narrowing.

Was it an accident?

The image of Peng Erniu speaking with that silhouetted figure came flooding back into her mind.

Moreover, what had Peng Erniu discovered? He hadn’t had the chance to say, and now this incident had occurred—could it be...

The government officers responsible for security arrived quickly, a swarm of them encircled the area, beginning to disperse the crowd.

Since ancient times, commoners do not dispute with officials!

Upon the officers’ arrival, everyone stepped back and cleared a path.

Su Pan’er was no exception. She blended into the retreating crowd but couldn’t help looking back at the deceased Peng Erniu one last time. Those eyes, wide with shock, seemed to be gazing at a distant point in the sky, an image that lingered in her mind.

Through the slow-pace of the afternoon, as she moved cargo, Su Pan’er pondered Peng Erniu’s cause of death.