Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands

Chapter 447 - 427: Gaining Mr. Song’s Approval (1)_2

He said it like that, so it was hard to refuse.

Mr. Song had no choice but to say, "Alright then."

"Hey, thanks, Grandpa Song," Chen the Third said happily.

He ran to the corner of the kitchen, found the hatchet he left there yesterday, and went chopping wood again.

Jinxiu frowned and called to Mr. Song, "Grandpa?"

Mr. Song looked at Jinxiu, "Let him do it. If he’s truly diligent, he won’t get tired even after many days. If he’s just pretending to fool us, he’ll soon get bored in a few days."

Since Grandpa had spoken, Jinxiu had to say, "Alright."

Mr. Song thought for a moment and then said, "Since he’s here all the time, people in the village will inevitably gossip and ask about him. Just say that I hired him for work."

Jinxiu understood what Mr. Song meant, "Got it, Grandpa."

When Chen the Third returned with two bundles of wood and went to drink water, Jinxiu passed on Mr. Song’s message to Chen the Third, "You cannot say we are courting. My grandpa and I haven’t agreed yet; you can only say we hired you."

Chen the Third didn’t mind, as long as he could come every day, who cared for what reason?

See, yesterday these grandparents hardly spoke to him, today they’re talking more. Maybe in a few days, they’ll acknowledge him.

"Alright, I understand." Chen the Third readily agreed.

Since he was here to help, Chen the Third’s comings and goings at the Song Family became more open.

If he wanted to drink water, he did; if he wanted to see Jinxiu, he saw her.

While chopping wood, he saw Jinxiu holding a vegetable basket and shovel, heading out of the back yard gate.

Chen the Third immediately dropped the firewood, grabbed the hatchet, and ran up, "Miss Jinxiu, where are you going?"

Jinxiu was speechless; why was he always following her?

She raised the basket, "I’m going to dig up some carrots from the field."

"Oh, I’ll go too. I’ll see if there’s any wood to chop there." Chen the Third tucked the hatchet into his waistband and followed Jinxiu’s steps.

Jinxiu was even more speechless and pointed to the half-acre small grove outside their backyard, saying, "There’s plenty of trees there, why go to the vegetable field to chop wood? The field is quite far from my home."

But Chen the Third said, "There aren’t many trees here anyway. Now that it’s cold, we burn more wood daily. This small grove will be cut down sooner or later. Sooner or later, we’ll have to go further to chop wood, might as well start today."

He spoke so righteously that Jinxiu couldn’t refute.

"Alright then." Was he just looking for a place to exert his strength?

The two walked one after the other towards the fields outside the village.

Walking on the path to the fields, they inevitably met villagers.

The introverted ones would just glance at them from a distance without speaking, but then whisper to their companions about who the man following Jinxiu was.

Those familiar with Jinxiu immediately asked her who Chen the Third was.

Jinxiu blushed, "My grandpa hired him to help us."

"Your family doesn’t have much land, only an acre and a half of vegetable fields; what help do you need? There isn’t much to do in the fields at this time, isn’t it? Didn’t you already harvest those few plots of beans?" This was a quick-tongued woman, curiously asking.

Jinxiu hemmed and hawed, not knowing how to answer.

Chen the Third chimed in, "Miss Jinxiu said to pick more vegetables. I’m following her to the field to carry them."

At this time, the fields were mostly filled with white radishes, carrots, and Chinese cabbages.

The radishes were still quite small, but the cabbages weren’t light.

A single cabbage weighed ten pounds, and carrying two would be challenging for Jinxiu with her stature.

The woman eyed Jinxiu’s size and laughed, "Jinxiu, you sure do need a helper."

She gave Chen the Third a meaningful look and left with a smile.

Jinxiu’s face became even more embarrassed.

She lowered her head and started to jog.

She feared that if she were too slow, she would encounter more questioning.

Chen the Third chuckled and also quickened his pace.

But being tall, with long legs, he didn’t need to run; he merely needed to walk slightly faster to keep up with Jinxiu’s pace.

.

Although Jinxiu said, Chen the Third was hired by Mr. Song to help.

But it only superficially placated the villagers.

The villagers knew Jinxiu was thin-skinned; not long ago, she was scolded by Mrs. Tian Song and almost jumped into a pond for it, so they didn’t reveal the true meaning behind her words.

But behind their backs, they often gossiped about Chen the Third and Jinxiu.

Someone said that aside from a slightly crooked mouth, there’s nothing to criticize about Chen the Third: he’s tall, and importantly, he’s polite to Jinxiu, not shady-like.

Moreover, some recognized Chen the Third, "Isn’t that Chen the Third from the Gui Jianchou father-son duo of Huang Village?"

Those unfamiliar with the Chen Family asked, "Gui Jianchou? What kind of family is that?"

Those familiar with Chen the Third described the Chen Family’s situation, "They’re the bullies of Huang Village, wealthy with land and even big boats. All four sons are good fighters, and their mother was fierce, having wielded a knife when young to cut those who dared to seize their land."

Everyone couldn’t recall who the Gui Jianchou Chen Family was, but once they mentioned this bully with big boats from Huang Village, and that all family members were formidable, the villagers immediately knew.

Because around these nearby villages, no family was quite like the Chen Family, all known for their feistiness.

Chen the Third coming to the Song Family and sticking to Jinxiu, wasn’t he possibly smitten with her?

Someone else added having seen Chen the Third beat up Tian Sanbao.

Another pointed out how yesterday Chen the Third had chopped wood for the Song Family all day and carried over a dozen pails of water; today, he even brought a large piece of meat.

All these actions were exactly what a grandson-in-law would do.

Additionally, some speculated that if Jinxiu married into the Chen Family and gave birth to a first grandson for them, Mr. Song wouldn’t have to worry about the future.

One mischievously remarked that with Chen the Third protecting Jinxiu, would Tian Sanbao still dare to bully her? Surely, Chen the Third’s arms were as big as Tian Sanbao’s legs, so couldn’t he snap his neck with one hand?

Some mischievous students from the school who had cursed at Tian Sanbao for Jinxiu even wagered whether Chen the Third could lift Tian Sanbao with one hand.

Little Wang Huizi even claimed Chen the Third could lift Tian Sanbao with two fingers and said if he lost, he’d give away all his snacks.

That certainly excited the children.

Because Wang Huizi’s mom made the best snacks, and there were always snacks in Wang Huizi’s schoolbag every day.

After school, they weren’t in a rush to get home for dinner but instead ran to Jinxiu’s place to surround Chen the Third, telling him about their bet.

Chen the Third stacked a bundle of wood in the courtyard corner, laughed, and said, "Then you all watch closely."

He rolled up his sleeves, came to the step by the Song Family’s gate, and blocked Tian Sanbao, who was getting ready to head home. He dragged Tian Sanbao to a stone beside the step.

Standing high on the stone, Chen the Third stretched two fingers and lifted Tian Sanbao by the back of his collar.

In mid-air, Tian Sanbao kicked his legs in fright, "Chen the Third, put me down, don’t bully people too much!"

"So what if I bully you? If you have the guts, hit me back?" Chen the Third said with a chuckle.

Tian Sanbao kicked twice, and with a crack from the collar, it tore, causing him to fall to the ground.

Once free, Tian Sanbao didn’t care about the pain in his backside, scrambled to his feet, and ran fast with his belongings.

The children laughed heartily.

Meanwhile, Wang Huizi happily collected the snacks he won from the other kids.

The kids who lost the snacks weren’t mad, laughing as they chased after Tian Sanbao.

The story of Chen the Third at the Song Family quickly reached Mrs. Tian Song; after being frightened by Jinxiu chasing her with a knife, she decided to bring a knife someday to confront Jinxiu.

But when she heard that Chen the Third had taken a liking to Jinxiu, she was scared and tucked away her thoughts of revenge.