The Fantastic Little Farmer

Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Seeing Me Requires an Appearance Fee

Zhang Yun fell silent. A girlfriend falling right into his lap? With just that tiny bit of mental preparation, he found it completely unbelievable.

If she were an ex-girlfriend, even after years of not seeing each other, there would still be some foundation. But they had never dated back then, making them even more like strangers now.

Just a few days ago, Zhang Yun might have been so flattered that he would have agreed immediately. After all, girlfriends were hard to find these days, let alone pretty ones. It wasn’t just tough for a farmer in the countryside; even for overworked tech employees grinding through a 996 schedule at major internet companies, it was no easy feat. But things were different now. With the Peach Blossom Spring Space in his hands, Zhang Yun could forge a path straight to the top. There was no need to be desperate.

After a moment, Zhang Yun asked in return, ”If I were willing to be your boyfriend, could you really accept it?”

Chen Hui also fell silent for a moment before offering a bitter smile. ”I don’t know... I have a lot of suitors, but I don’t have a boyfriend. That’s not the issue. The point is... it’s been years, and we’ve both changed. We definitely need more time to understand each other.”

For some reason, Zhang Yun felt a sense of relief. Being pursued by an outstanding girl should have been a happy occasion. But without his knowledge, Chen Hui had been harboring these feelings for years. It made him feel as though he owed her something, and Zhang Yun didn’t like that feeling.

”You’re probably only asking because it’s become a complex, an obsession for you,” Zhang Yun said comfortingly. ”It’s like a Barbie doll you wanted but couldn’t get when you were little. Even if you buy it when you’re older, it doesn’t necessarily make up for the past.”

”You have a point.” Chen Hui also seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She then laughed with a much lighter tone. ”Now that we’ve cleared the air today, there are no more burdens or shadows. If we get the chance, we can start over!”

”Alright!” Zhang Yun chuckled. ”You can try writing me another love letter to see...”

”Don’t flatter yourself! I’m no longer that starry-eyed girl from back then. Do you even still have your halo from those days?”

Zhang Yun couldn’t help but be curious. ”What kind of halo did I have? Honestly, my grades were average, I had no club leadership skills, and I wasn’t good at hyping up the atmosphere. I was just pretty good-looking. So, a handsome halo?”

Chen Hui let out a PFFT and started laughing. ”Handsome? You’re getting more shameless by the day! Back then, everyone wore school uniforms and didn’t really style their hair. The guys would just throw on a pair of Air Jordans...” The conversation seemed to have brought back her high school memories, and her tone became light and sweet.

”Haha! Everyone wore uniforms, and I didn’t even have Air Jordans. It must have been my sky-high good looks at work!”

”So full of yourself! I just thought you always looked so sunny and healthy since you were always playing basketball and running.”

”An athletic halo? So you were just after my body! But I was only okay at sports... It definitely had to be the sports combined with my handsomeness to create that halo!” Zhang Yun felt certain of this.

”I’m speechless! Fine, we’ll say you’re handsome,” Chen Hui chuckled helplessly. ”But speaking of which, when I saw you last night... I don’t know if it was just the lighting, but I felt like you were even handsomer than before. Plus, your skin was so good. You didn’t look at all like a...”

”Like a sun-beaten little farmer?” Zhang Yun laughed. ”The others were there too, so it definitely wasn’t the lighting. Your big brother here is simply a natural beauty!”

”Eww—that gave me goosebumps. I’m not going to keep talking nonsense with you. I’m busy!”

They had drifted so far apart that normally, Zhang Yun would never have taken the initiative to add Chen Hui. He hadn’t expected this little interlude to happen, but now that they had cleared the air, they could chat casually and affectionately again. He supposed this was an indirect benefit brought about by that jerk Yang Bo.

Zhang Yun glanced at his arm. It used to be tanned dark, but now the tan had visibly faded, leaving his skin looking excellent and deeply healthy.

This had to be the effect of the Mysterious Petal!

He checked himself in his phone’s front-facing camera. He really was getting handsomer! His skin was impossibly clear, too. Then again, all modern smartphone cameras automatically applied beauty filters, so could he really take it seriously?

Just as he was staring at the camera, a video call suddenly popped up.

It was Zhang Lifeng. Zhang Yun wouldn’t normally have answered, but he was startled and accidentally tapped to accept. He immediately barked, ”What do you want?!”

His fierce tone gave Old Man Zhang a fright. ”Uh...”

After shouting, Zhang Yun remembered that this man was a buyer and quickly changed his tune. ”Old Zhang, do you want to buy some ginseng? Or maybe a softshell turtle?”

”I don’t want to buy ginseng, and I don’t want a softshell turtle...”

”Then what do you want to buy? I can customize an order for you! Tell me what medicinal herbs you need, and I’ll harvest them for you!”

”I... I’m not here to buy anything!” Zhang Lifeng said testily. ”Stop trying to squeeze money out of me! How much money do you think I have?”

”If you’re not buying anything, what are you bothering me for?” Zhang Yun instantly lost interest. He took a sip of cola and said casually, ”Do you have a granddaughter you want to set me up with? We both have the surname Zhang, so that’s not a good idea.”

Zhang Lifeng steadied his emotions and lowered his voice. ”Miss Ouyang is being discharged... she’s transferring to another hospital. You need to come over here right away!”

”To see her one last time?”

”Pah! What a crow! She’s perfectly fine. What do you mean, ’one last time’?! Miss Ouyang asked to see you by name.”

Zhang Yun recalled the friend request from earlier. ”Did you give her my WeChat ID?”

”Yes, but you didn’t accept it. I made an excuse for you. I knew your phone fell in the water yesterday, so I said you probably hadn’t gotten a new one yet. Now hurry up and get over here!”

Zhang Yun lazily drank his cola. ”Is there money in it?”

”Money? What money?” Old Zhang was baffled.

”She’s calling me out for a paid appearance like an escort... uh, why does that sound so weird? Anyway, I have no interest in seeing her. I still have fields to plow. If you want me to see her, you need to pay my appearance fee!”

”You, you... what am I supposed to say to you?” Zhang Lifeng was exasperated by his lack of ambition. ”You open your mouth and all that comes out is money. Can’t you show a little promise? The Ouyang family is a prominent family. If you serve them well and keep them happy, taking you to the big city and arranging a job for you in a massive corporation would just take a single word from them!”

”Why would I want to go to the big city, and why would I want to join a massive corporation?” Zhang Yun asked.

”If you go to a big city and join a major corporation, you could make an annual salary of a hundred thousand yuan! How much do you make farming in the countryside for a whole year? How many chances will you get in your lifetime to save a person of such noble status? Seize the opportunity!” Zhang Lifeng lectured earnestly.

Zhang Yun chuckled. ”Is a hundred thousand a year a lot? Didn’t I make a hundred and fifty thousand in a single day yesterday?”

”...” Zhang Lifeng was infuriated. ”How is that the same? Can you make that kind of money every single day?”

”Every day? That’s thinking too small! You have to aim higher!”

”You’re hopeless!” Zhang Lifeng immediately hung up the phone. It wasn’t as if the kid was part of his own family anyway. If he didn’t want to better himself, then let him rot in his little mountain village.

Zhang Yun was in a fantastic mood. He bought another can of cola and found a motorcycle dealership. He paid upfront for a motorcycle he had had his eye on since yesterday, leaving his address for the shop owner to deliver it later.

The small town only had a few streets, leaving practically nowhere worth strolling around. Once Zhang Yun finished his shopping, he prepared to head home. Then he remembered one more thing—medicinal herbs!

Growing ordinary vegetables in the Peach Blossom Spring Space was far too extravagant, and the yields were far too exaggerated. It would be much better to use the space to cultivate medicinal herbs that required a long time to mature, as they grew more valuable with age. The only such herb he knew off the top of his head was ginseng. For other herbs, he would have to go to a pharmacy to inquire about their market values and plant them accordingly!

There were many pharmacies in the town, but only two pure traditional Chinese medicine apothecaries, sitting side-by-side at the end of West Gate Street.

Zhang Yun rode his motorcycle over to West Gate Street. Just as he parked, he noticed a noisy commotion at Liu’s Pharmacy.

He didn’t need to buy any medicine, only to check out the market trends, so he naturally wandered over to see what the fuss was about.

”I really didn’t mean to. A few kids were running by just now, and I bumped into it while trying to dodge them. I’m sorry...”

”Miss, I didn’t say you maliciously destroyed it. But even if it was an accident, you broke it, so you still have to pay for it!”

Zhang Yun could glean the gist of the argument from the outside, but... that was Sister-in-law Xiuqin’s voice!