Days of Living with My Sister-in-Law-Chapter 99: The Panic-stricken Shen Jiawen

"Chen Xiaobei, stop spouting nonsense! It was clearly Wei Long who attacked me, and A Zheng only hit him in self-defense!" Li Xinghe, wishing he could slaughter the scoundrel, glared furiously as he spoke. "Moreover, I seriously suspect that you were the one who instigated Wei Long to do it."

"Wei Long is my man. There’s no way he would attack me for no reason!"

"Old man, do you have any evidence? I’m warning you, if you don’t have evidence, you’d better not say such things, or I’ll sue you for slander!"

"I recorded the whole thing," Chen Xiaobei said with an arrogant look.

"Oh my, isn’t that the Chen Family’s second son? What the heck is he up to?"

"Who knows? The kid’s gone crazy. Why mess with Elder Li?!"

"I think he’s just stirring up trouble to get some attention."

The onlookers were very displeased. After all, if Chen Xiaobei hadn’t shown up, they would have probably signed their contracts by now. He had ruined everything.

"Hey, Chen Xiaobei, can you hurry up and get down from there? Don’t disrupt our contract signing!"

"Shen Jiawen, you need to get your brother-in-law under control! If he messes this up for us, we’ll all have a bone to pick with your family!"

In an instant, the crowd surrounded Shen Jiawen. She had never imagined Chen Xiaobei would make an entrance like this. As a simple woman from the countryside, she wasn’t very worldly and was overwhelmed with nervousness and fear.

In contrast, Qiu Xingcai was the picture of calm. She stepped in front of Shen Jiawen and said, "Folks, Xiaobei wouldn’t do this without a good reason. Please trust him, because this whole thing is a scam! To help you all get rich, Xiaobei has been working very hard these past few days. Even if you’re angry, you should at least let him finish what he has to say, shouldn’t you?"

Qiu Xingcai was a CEO, after all. Even if her presence couldn’t match Li Xinghe’s, she still managed to quiet the villagers.

"Chen Xiaobei, go ahead. What exactly are you planning?" an old man asked curiously.

"Alright, let me explain it to everyone!" Chen Xiaobei nodded. In truth, he was a terrible public speaker, but with no one else to step up, he had to bite the bullet and go for it.

"Folks, I recently learned some secret farming techniques that can increase our annual yield by at least four times! I plan to lease all the farmland in Shanhe Village and grow organic fruits. For every mu of land, I’ll pay a leasing fee of two thousand. While that might not seem as good as getting a new house in the short term, from a long-term perspective, it’s a much better deal."

"Xiaobei, why is that?" Seeing that no one else was speaking, Qiu Xingcai decided to help him along by posing a question.

Watching from the side, Shen Jiawen bit her lip, a storm of emotions churning inside her. She had talked at length with Qiu Xingcai last night. Although Qiu Xingcai never explicitly said she liked Chen Xiaobei, Shen Jiawen wasn’t a fool; she could clearly sense her feelings. Now, as she looked at the radiant young man on the stage and then at Qiu Xingcai, whose eyes were filled with tenderness, Shen Jiawen felt a piercing sadness and helplessness. The truth was, she couldn’t compare to Qiu Xingcai in any way. She didn’t even have the courage to shout out in support of Chen Xiaobei. The more she dwelled on it, the worse she felt, the chasm between herself and Chen Xiaobei seeming to grow ever wider.

But Chen Xiaobei was hardly in the mood to notice his sister-in-law’s distress. He quickly answered Qiu Xingcai’s question.

"Because my fruit is in hot demand! Right now, my First Love Melon is already selling like crazy in Mangniu Town. Next, I plan to open a factory right here in Shanhe Village to produce fruit beverages! The factory will also boost the local rural economy, which means all of you can come work there! Once we’re all making good money, we can build our own houses right here in Shanhe Village. There’s no need to move away, is there?"

A collective gasp went through the crowd.

His words immediately tempted some of the villagers. For starters, the leasing fee of two thousand per mu was an astronomical price. Especially for villagers with large plots of land, a quick calculation showed they could earn over a hundred thousand a year just from leasing out their land. It was a slow but steady stream of income, which was indeed better than just moving away!

Just then, Li Xinghe shouted, "Folks, don’t believe his nonsense! He’s the one who’s deceiving you! The area around Shanhe Village is remote, and the roads are rugged. It’s completely unsuitable for business. I advise you to sign the contract with me quickly. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Qiu Xingcai retorted, "What’s wrong with rugged roads, Elder Li? If you want to get rich, you have to build roads first! And I’m not afraid to tell you, Xiaobei has already entrusted all the construction work to me! I guarantee it won’t be long before the villagers are driving on asphalt roads."

"You—" Li Xinghe’s eyes flashed with a menacing light, but Qiu Xingcai didn’t flinch. Instead, she stood tall with her chest out, her eyes filled with determination.

Shen Jiawen, on the other hand, was scared to death. That was the underground boss of Songshan, after all. She simply didn’t have the courage to meet Li Xinghe’s gaze.

Xiaobei, what... what am I supposed to do? Shen Jiawen’s eyes reddened with unshed tears, her heart aching with distress.

Chen Xiaobei continued, "Folks, a gangster is always a gangster. Have you ever stopped to wonder why Li Xinghe is so insistent on making you move? Our Shanhe Village is a treasure. This land has nourished not only me but all of you as well! As the only college graduate from Shanhe Village, I swear I will lead everyone to prosperity! Please, trust me. Everything I’ve told you is the truth!"

His words stirred the villagers even more, but they were still hesitant.

Just then, Zhao Caixia arrived in a flurry of activity with Yang Yun in tow.

"Out of the way, out of the way! Don’t block this boss lady from cutting a watermelon!"

Zhao Caixia motioned to her subordinates, who promptly carried a First Love Melon onto the stage. She then grabbed a large knife and sliced the melon open right then and there.

Instantly, an intoxicating fragrance filled the air, so rich that even the birds in the sky seemed to swoon and fall to the ground.

"See this? This is the watermelon grown by my Brother Bei! Isn’t it awesome? And talk about perfect timing! My Brother Bei said there’s plenty of watermelon to go around today. Everyone, come and get a slice!"

Zhao Caixia plunged the watermelon knife into the stage beside her. Her posture was both beautiful and commanding, and she didn’t forget to blow a sneaky kiss to Chen Xiaobei.

Soon, the villagers began eating the melon. A moment later, they were crying. There was no helping it; the fruit tasted like nothing on earth. Even Li Xinghe, standing nearby, couldn’t help but gulp, desperate for a taste.

"Damn, this melon is so good I’m crying!"

"Say what you will, but college graduates really are something else. How did he even develop this watermelon?"

"Who knows, but this thing is definitely valuable!"

Watching the villagers chattering excitedly, Chen Xiaobei let out a long sigh of relief.

But just then, Li Xinghe suddenly laughed.

"Hahahaha, Chen Xiaobei, oh, Chen Xiaobei. You really are ruthless. You’ve scammed these villagers so badly, doesn’t your conscience bother you at all?"