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Seeing her happy, Lubei also breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, things were progressing smoothly; if they continued on this momentum, they would soon achieve success.
He looked down at Ye Xiaohan, who seemed to be sparkling with joy, feeling more fulfilled than ever before. Even in poverty, every moment was rich and meaningful.
It was more satisfying than all the days he had experienced combined.
Ye Xiaohan felt a gaze lingering on her and knew it must be Lubei. Feeling a bit uneasy, she raised her head and asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?"
Caught in the act, Lubei usually would have stepped back, but for some reason this time he reached out and touched her face. His deep laughter echoed in her ear as he said, "I think you're really amazing."
The unexpected gesture made Ye Xiaohan forget to dodge. The contact between her smooth skin and his rough fingertips startled her, and she quickly stepped back, her face uncontrollably flushing red.
"You!" Ye Xiaohan covered her face, looking at Lubei with a hint of panic.
Lubei's hand hadn’t had time to retract; it seemed he himself was surprised by his actions. He stood there momentarily stunned before stammering, "I... I’ll go see what else needs to be tidied up," and hurriedly left.
Ye Xiaohan pressed against her racing heart. This strange Lubei was even harder to deal with than usual.
A head peeked out from behind her; it was Liuyang pointing at her. "Sister-in-law, where did big brother go? Why did he run off so fast? Hey, why is your face so red?"
"Why do you care about that?" Startled by him, Ye Xiaohan blushed with anger and pushed his head back down.
With a good start, the business at the shop began to thrive. Customers flocked in, making the neighboring shops envious.
Ye Xiaohan had Lubei buy back their house and pay off the high-interest loans they had borrowed. Suddenly free of debt, they still had quite a bit left over.
Seeing the Liu family gaining prominence once again, the villagers could no longer sit still.
"Old man, you are the highest-ranking elder in our village; your words carry weight. Please evaluate this: is it appropriate for the Liu brothers to act this way? Taohua belongs to the village; they only paid this little money and took it away. They can sell it for so much more without sharing anything with the village—aren't they being ungrateful?"
A group of villagers gathered together, pointing fingers at the Liu family. After some discussion, they unanimously agreed to confront them.
When Ye Xiaohan heard their intentions, she knew these people were just envious. They were lazy and only eyed the fruits of others' labor, hoping to get a share for themselves—what a dream.
"Let's go see what kind of tricks they come up with!" Ye Xiaohan sneered.
Liu Bei didn't want her to face these people alone, but unable to stop her, he could only stay close by her side to prevent any trouble.
When those villagers saw them come out, one of them scoffed, "Liu Bei, you really have no shame. We came here in such numbers to discuss matters with you, and instead of inviting us in to sit down, you keep us outside. Is this how your father taught you to treat your neighbors?"
Before Liu Bei could respond, Ye Xiaohan interjected, "Liu Bei's father passed away long ago. If you’re unclear about how he raised his children, feel free to ask him yourself!"
"Goodness! What a misfortune for the Liu family to have a woman like you!" The villagers cursed angrily. If it weren't for Liu Bei maintaining a calm demeanor beside her, they might have rushed in to start a fight.
Ye Xiaohan coldly said, "If you have something to say, say it quickly and leave." Time and again, these leech-like villagers were not worth her courtesy.
Seeing that they couldn't gain any ground with words, the villagers decided to change tactics and planned to extort a good sum from the Liu family; they wouldn't let them get too arrogant.
An old man tapped his cane and said, "Liu Bei, your family used to be poor, and the village helped you out quite a bit. Otherwise, how would you be where you are today? Now that your family is doing well, shouldn't you repay the village?"
Ye Xiaohan recalled the first time she saw Liu Bei's family's dilapidated house with walls that let in the wind; it was clear how the villagers had 'helped' them before.
Liu Bei replied politely, "I will certainly do my best to help where I can. What do you all have in mind?"
One villager shouted, "All your peach blossoms belong to the village; the money you earn should be shared equally!"
"Yes! Share it equally!" The crowd echoed.
Ye Xiaohan nearly burst out laughing; how could these people be so shameless as to say such things? She rolled her eyes and decided not to engage further. Secretly pinching Liu Bei's arm, she urged him to handle it.
6 Bei was somewhat displeased with the villagers. "Everyone, the peach blossoms were bought with our money, clearly priced, and not a single coin has been shortchanged. As for the profits we make, that is our own business; how we spend it is none of your concern."
Seeing 6 Bei's attitude, the crowd grew unhappy. "What are you talking about? If it weren't for us picking the peach blossoms for you, would you have such a large sum of silver coming in? 6 Bei, you can't burn bridges like this!"
One particularly sharp-faced villager chimed in, "If you’re unwilling to share the profits, we won’t force you. But you must hand over the recipe for the peach blossoms; let’s all earn money together in the future!"
Realizing they could earn more by getting the recipe, others quickly changed their tune. "That works too; let’s do it that way!"
Ye Xiaohan had been holding back her anger but finally couldn’t take it anymore. She burst out, "Bah! Share with you? If you love dividing things so much, why don’t you bring out your own family’s belongings to share? You have no money and no recipe; what goes around comes around. Stay out of here and spare us your embarrassment!"
Upon hearing Ye Xiaohan's declaration, the villagers were furious. "If you refuse to share, don’t expect to receive any more peach blossoms from us in the future!"
Ye Xiaohan scoffed, "Not interested!" She pulled 6 Bei inside and shut the door, leaving those people outside.
Worried that she might get too upset, 6 Bei gently comforted her. "Don’t pay attention to them; they’ve always been like this, just looking to take advantage of others."
"Aren't you angry?" Ye Xiaohan recalled that 6 Bei rarely got angry; he usually wore a serious expression.
Initially, 6 Bei thought there was no need to get worked up over such people. However, seeing her face flushed with anger—more vibrant than usual—he hesitated and then said, "I am angry."
Ye Xiaohan pouted, clearly unconvinced by his response. "Living in this village is unpleasant. With such a ruckus today, I fear they won’t let it go easily; there will be trouble later on."
If they were simply trying to get rich, Ye Xiaohan would naturally be willing to help them out as a way to build a good reputation for the 6 family. But these people clearly wanted to exploit them; why should she allow herself to be taken advantage of?
After considering it for a moment, an idea crossed her mind as she looked at 6 Bei, hesitating to speak.
"What’s wrong?" 6 Bei asked.
Ye Xiaohan hesitated before suggesting, "What if we move out of the village and find another place to live? What do you think?"
Ye Xiaohan had no attachment to this village; she could leave without a second thought.
However, for Liu Bei's family, having lived here for so long, this place was their home, and their feelings toward the village were undoubtedly different. If they were unwilling to move...
"Alright, then let's move," Liu Bei replied without hesitation, as if there was no need for further consideration.
Instead, Ye Xiaohan was taken aback by his straightforwardness. "You agreed that easily? Shouldn't you think it over a bit more? Moving isn't a trivial matter. If we leave, it won't be so easy to come back later. Plus, we should ask Liu Yang and Qi what they think."
Liu Bei pondered for a moment. "You're right; we should wait until they return to discuss it together." He looked at Ye Xiaohan and said, "Don't worry. If Liu Yang disagrees, I'll persuade him."
"Oh?" Ye Xiaohan asked curiously. "What about you? Don't you have any feelings for this place? You can just leave?"
Liu Bei met her gaze directly. "Wherever you want to live, that's where we'll move."
He was serious. Ye Xiaohan's heart skipped a beat as she avoided his eyes. "Then let's wait for Liu Yang to come back and see what he thinks."
Liu Yang's thoughts were quite simple.
"Moving? Sure! Wherever Big Brother and Sister-in-law go, I’ll go with Qi. Sister-in-law, where are we moving to?" Liu Yang asked excitedly about the prospect of relocating.
Ye Xiaohan found the brothers' attitude surprising. "You're just going to leave like that? What if you never see your friends again?"
Liu Yang questioned, "Are we moving far away?" He thought for less than a second before exclaiming, "A man's ambition lies in the world; sooner or later, we have to venture out. We can't just stay in the village playing with the dogs."
He mimicked the heroes from the stories he had read, clasping his fists together and saying dramatically, "If fate allows, we will meet again; the green mountains remain unchanged, and the waters flow forever!"
Laughter filled the room.
With one worry resolved, Ye Xiaohan felt much better and found joy in her business dealings.
The villagers, in an attempt to pressure the six families, decided to stop providing Peach Blossoms, aiming to cut off their source of income from the very beginning.
Ye Xiaohan was surprised by their underhanded tactics and turned to head towards Next Village.
Peach Blossom Studio's reputation gradually spread, and the people of Next Village lamented that they were too far away to benefit from it, not realizing that the opportunity was coming to them.
Ye Xiaohan managed to gather all the materials at the same price, leaving both parties satisfied. The villagers of Next Village could only resent how quickly the Peach Blossoms wilted, wishing they could gather more.
Upon hearing the news, the villagers were filled with bitterness, and their tone towards the six families grew even harsher.
However, their thoughts did not stir a single ripple in Ye Xiaohan's mind.
At that moment, Ye Xiaohan was busy in her shop. The business was on the right track; although it wasn't as booming as it had been at first, it was still maintaining a gratifying level, which made her quite satisfied.
After tidying up and arranging the products neatly on the shelves, Ye Xiaohan hummed a tune while her mind worked on considering the next feasible plan.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the shop. Ye Xiaohan quickly greeted, "Welcome! Feel free to look around. Each product has a sample available for you to try before you decide to buy."
But something felt off; this person was a middle-aged man and there were no women accompanying him.
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