Chapter 15: Chapter 15 Zhang Qing's Secret
All seven sturdy men were born and raised in Osmanthus Village, and they were all very strong, each carrying two hundred pounds with a shoulder pole to Shanyan Village.
Xia Liu was no exception; he carried the remaining hundred-plus pounds on his back, all in one bag, astounding all the sturdy men.
Carrying over one hundred pounds on a shoulder is completely different from carrying two hundred pounds on a shoulder pole in terms of the pressure one has to bear, and they couldn't fathom the extent of strength hidden in Xia Liu's seemingly not-so-large frame.
Before they had set out, Xia Liu had already phoned Liu Lanxin. That girl was quick to act; after waiting for about ten minutes in Shanyan Village, a small cargo vehicle arrived.
Xia Liu told the seven to head back first while he followed the truck to town. After weighing the load, Liu Lanxin transferred fifty-four thousand yuan to Xia Liu's account.
When it came to the authenticity of Atractylodes, Liu Buyi could tell at a glance. The fifteen hundred pounds were all genuinely wild-grown and guaranteed to be of good quality.
After the money was transferred, Xia Liu didn't linger. He went straight to the bank to withdraw fifty thousand in cash—he had too many purchases to make and aimed to complete them as quickly as possible.
He saw that Zhang Xiaoxue was pretty bored every day, so he went to a cellphone shop intending to buy her a phone, which would make it more convenient to contact her in the future.
However, there weren't many cellphone shops in the town, and not many of good-quality chicks either. Thus, he had to take a tricycle to the county.
The way of life in the county was absolutely different from that in the town or the village. How to put it, Xia Liu's clothes were somewhat dirty and old, making him look like a migrant worker entering the city.
But besides the county folk, most were people from various villages coming to the market, so his attire didn't cause much of a sensation. Had he been in the city, his appearance would have certainly garnered much more attention.
Xia Liu randomly entered a cellphone shop by following his feet. Although it wasn't a specialty store, there were quite a few customers, mostly young people. Seeing Xia Liu walk in, they pinched their noses as if fearing they'd smell something unpleasant.
Xia Liu ignored the looks from the people around him and asked a shop assistant at a counter to show him a cellphone model.
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"Yikes! You country bumpkin, step back!" Just then, a shrill voice rose beside Xia Liu.
This voice garnered the attention of everyone in the store. Xia Liu furrowed his brows and turned to look, his gaze suddenly fixating.
The yelling came from a woman, whose looks could undermine the heavens and earth, and her figure was conspicuously asymmetrical: exceedingly plump below the belly, but slender above. If she were captured in a photograph, she would be startlingly stunning, but seeing her in person would only send shivers down one's spine.
What caught Xia Liu's attention was not the woman but the man beside her. Xia Liu recognized this man and felt somewhat acquainted with him.
"What you looking at? Instead of properly farming at home, coming here to look at phones, do you even have the money to afford one?" said the asymmetrical woman, sneering with her mouth twisted.
Xia Liu silently stared at the man, trying to confirm if it was indeed him.
"Kid, tired of living, are you? My wife told you to get lost!" the man finally couldn't restrain himself and roared at Xia Liu.
"If I'm not mistaken, you must be Zhang Kuang, right?" Xia Liu's face was expressionless as he directly uttered the man's name.
Zhang Kuang was not a stranger to him. Back in the village, Zhang Kuang was the village bully, capable of doing all sorts of things, and there wasn't a single person in Osmanthus Village who didn't despise him.
Ever since finding out that Zhang Qing was married to Zhang Kuang, Xia Liu had been astonished—how could such a man marry a beauty like Zhang Qing?
Moreover, what was he seeing right now? Zhang Kuang actually referred to this repulsive woman as... his wife?
Upon hearing Xia Liu disclose his own name, Zhang Kuang's pupils constricted. He wasn't flustered, however, and coldly interrogated Xia Liu, "Who are you? Does knowing me make you feel honored?"
Hearing this, Xia Liu nearly wanted to spit in Zhang Kuang's face. Such scum, neglecting his wife at home and hooking up with other women outside—women nobody would want to look at twice—and he talks about honor? Even mentioning his name felt disgraceful.
Seeing that her man knew Xia Liu, the disproportional woman's face darkened and she fell silent.
"Osmanthus Village's Xia Liu, you should understand now, shouldn't you?"
After taking a look at Xia Liu, Zhang Kuang whispered something to the woman and then pulled Xia Liu aside, "Brother Liu, I barely recognize you after all these years, you've changed so much."
"Oh, it's nothing compared to how much you've changed," Xia Liu wanted to question him why he disregarded Zhang Qing, but eventually held back.
"Brother Liu, don't tell Lili about my affairs. If she finds out I have a wife at home, all my effort over the years will have been in vain," Zhang Kuang explained to Xia Liu briefly.
Xia Liu then learned that Zhang Kuang was eyeing that woman's family wealth; if she found out about his wife, she'd undoubtedly kick him out.
Soon after, Zhang Kuang took out one thousand yuan and stuffed it into Xia Liu's hand, "Brother Liu, I didn't bring much today, you can have this for now. I'll treat you to a meal when I have the chance."
Looking at the one thousand yuan handed to him, Xia Liu coldly spoke, "I just want to know, what are your plans regarding Zhang Qing?"
"Plans? Hmm, when I find the time, I'll go back and divorce her. A barren woman like her is too much for me to bear," Zhang Kuang said with confidence. In rural areas, a woman's inability to bear children can be a fatal flaw, as it concerns the crucial issue of offspring.
Hearing this, Xia Liu fell silent. He took the money and parted ways with Zhang Kuang. He had to get to the bottom of this matter; it concerned Zhang Qing's future.
Before returning, Xia Liu bought two cellphones from the store, one for himself and one for Zhang Xiaoxue; he also took care of the SIM cards.
With the phones acquired, Xia Liu browsed the county's farmers' market, noting the difference from the town: the market offered chicks that were large and vibrant. After some selection, he ordered a batch of native chicks.
Xia Liu paid upfront, and asked the seller to deliver the chicks to the village. The seller, elated by a customer who bought five thousand chicks in one go, eagerly called the workers at the chicken farm to select and load the chicks onto the truck.
While waiting, Xia Liu wandered around the county and bought the rest of the needed items, planning to put them on the truck with the chicks for the trip back.
Since the truck couldn't go directly to Osmanthus Village, Xia Liu had no choice but to have it wait in Shanyan Village. He himself carried two boxes of chicks back, then called people from the village to move all the chicks there.
After everything was settled, he had people use nets to enclose some areas on the mountain. Although they had plenty of hands, the area was large, and it wasn't until evening that they finished enclosing it,
Once the nets were up, the five thousand chicks ran freely on the mountaintop…