Xiao Changyi remained silent, simply watching her with a slight hook at the corner of his mouth.
An Jing continued smilingly, "Just now, we were just~"
Just now, the way she and he had cooperated was in perfect harmony, as if their minds were connected by some extraordinary telepathy.
In fact, every household in Jiuping Village had their own vegetables, but everyone was reluctant to eat them, preferring to sell them in the town for money. As for the vegetables they ate on a daily basis, they were mostly wild greens foraged from the mountains.
Only Xiao Changyi didn’t grow vegetables.
But that was because he had returned only over two months ago. He had tilled an acre of farmland and cleared a bit of the mountain, but had not had time to plant vegetables yet.
Everyone was tired of eating wild greens daily, but they had no choice if they wanted to survive.
Now, however, Xiao Changyi and An Jing had a method to make black flowers non-toxic, allowing everyone to diversify their palates. Thus, as soon as they returned home, families gathered together to discuss how to coerce Xiao Changyi and An Jing into sharing their method, so they too could feast on the black flowers.
Lin Daqiang’s family:
Lin Daqiang, who couldn’t think of any strategy, was filled with regret. "If we hadn’t sold that wretch, wouldn’t Xiao Changyi have married into our family? Then the method to detoxify the black flowers would’ve been ours, and we wouldn’t need to rack our brains!"
Lin’s mother, Lin An Dong, and Mrs. Gu also felt regret, and at the same time, they grew to hate Xiao Changyi and An Jing even more, completely forgetting their previous fear that Xiao Changyi might bring death upon them.
Mrs. Hongxia’s family:
"Mom, if it weren’t for dad, he would have already been dead. If you ask him, he will definitely tell you the method!" Liu Sanya said.
Mrs. Hongxia set her face, "But wouldn’t that be like slapping my own face? I said before that I wouldn’t associate with them ever again! I’m not going!" She paused, then added, "However, with this black flower incident causing such a stir, the villagers surely won’t let it go. They will definitely force them to give up the method, so even if I don’t go, it won’t matter."
Upon hearing that Xiao Changyi and An Jing might be pressured by the villagers, Liu Sanya felt a malicious sense of schadenfreude, "They had it coming!"
"Xiao Zheng, why didn’t you keep an eye on things? Why did you let that wretch marry out?" the clan elder said, leaning on his cane, blowing his beard and glaring with anger. If Xiao Changyi were still a member of the Xiao clan, they could have directly asked him to contribute the method to the clan.
Xiao Zheng just sighed. At that time, he hadn’t paid much attention, thinking that Xiao Changyi was merely getting married, not realizing he’d be marrying into another family.
"What’s the use of talking about this now!" a clansman shouted. "Clan Leader, our top priority now is to make that wretch hand over the method so we can also enjoy the black flowers."
Xiao Zheng pondered for a long while before saying, "How about... we let Mrs. Chen try? After all, she is his biological mother."
Immediately, a clansman said, "Mrs. Chen should be the one to go! Her fault has caused us to lose face in the village. Now is her chance to redeem herself by doing this meritorious deed!"
Only then did the clan elder nod and stroke his beard, "Let Mrs. Chen go."
Mrs. Chen, who had been ill from anger, had only just recovered when she was told to ask Xiao Changyi for the method as a way to redeem herself. Reluctantly, but with no other options since the clanspeople frowned upon her, she agreed to Xiao Zheng’s request to approach Xiao Changyi for the method, clenching her teeth in resolve.
Before Mrs. Chen had even set out to find Xiao Changyi, Aunt Liu Hua had already swiftly approached Xiao Changyi and An Jing.
Xiao Changyi and An Jing were carrying hoes, ready to go out to continue clearing the land, when they saw Aunt Liu Hua coming. They knew the situation well but showed nothing on their faces.