"You sharp-tongued little wench, I could tell you were trouble from the start! Pah! I'm telling you, you'd better get them to release my son, or I'll be camped out on your doorstep every single day! And you can forget about keeping that orchard of yours!"
The old woman was flanked by the families of Monkey and the others, who now all started clamoring at once, pointing their fingers at Chi Wan.
Their argument boiled down to one thing: there's no smoke without fire. Why would Liu Dali and his friends target Chi Wan of all people? It must have been her fault. She needed to tell the police to release them, and so on and so forth.
They talked as if Chi Wan owned the police station. She almost had to laugh at their thuggish logic.
Chi Wan sneered, pointing to the security camera on the gate. "Go on, keep at it. I'll make sure every last one of you gets sued and thrown in jail! My parents might be sentimental about us all being from the same village, but I'm young, and I'm not about to take this kind of abuse."
"All I know is, if anyone dares to bully me, I'll call the police for help! Since you miss your sons and grandsons so much, why don't you go join them in prison for a family reunion? I mean every word I say."
"You little wench, you've really got some nerve! Does your family want to be run out of this village?! Believe me, after this, no one is going to help you with your orchard. You can just watch all that fruit rot on the trees!"
"Exactly! We all got along just fine in this village, and then your family came back and started stirring up trouble. If you mess up this deal with the research base, not even the village chief will let you off! You couldn't afford to compensate for that loss even if you sold your entire orchard!"
...
'After all that fuss, they're still worried about *their* orchard,' she thought. 'It's a classic case of how a small favor earns gratitude, while a large one breeds resentment.'
'The old woman claimed to be in poor health, but her voice was loud and resonant. Even her clothes and shoes were well-made. She was hardly the pitiful figure she made herself out to be.'
'Chi Wan had heard ever since she returned that Liu Dali's family had made a fortune off the orchard over the years. They'd built a new house and bought a car—of course they wouldn't be willing to give it back.'
'No wonder his family saw it as theft when Chi Yuanshan took back the orchard that was rightfully his.'
Chi Wan was done indulging them. She decided that if Li Xingye really couldn't save the fruit trees, she would do as her parents suggested: sell off the entire orchard rather than let these people get the better of them.
So she pulled out her phone. "Are you going to scram or not? If you don't, I'm calling the police. You should know, I'm a timid person, so I like to record everything. When the police see the surveillance footage of you all cursing a blue streak... that's called 'picking a fight and provoking trouble,' you know? It's grounds for detention!"
Although most of the villagers didn't know much about the law, they knew that Liu Dali, Monkey, and the others had been locked up, and word was they would be going to prison.
So, hearing Chi Wan speak with such conviction, they grew a little wary.
Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, a slightly raspy, elderly voice cut in. "Is this the Fragrant Vine you planted?"
Chi Wan looked up and saw, to her surprise, that it was the professor from yesterday. The village chief was beside him and shot her a glare when he noticed her looking over.
Chi Wan was baffled. 'The village chief is a real piece of work,' she thought. 'Is he actually going to blame my family for these people showing up to cause a scene?'
Professor Zhang paid no mind to the war of glances. He was putting on his reading glasses, his expression one of surprise as he carefully examined the lush Fragrant Vine covering the wall of Chi Wan's house.
"That's odd. When I was here yesterday, this wall was completely bare. In just one night, this Fragrant Vine has grown so lush."
Zhou Huaijin stepped out from behind Professor Zhang, also looking at the thriving Fragrant Vine with admiration. "It's truly rare to see a Fragrant Vine with such impressive growth. It seems the soil here is excellent."
The village chief had been annoyed, thinking Chi Wan's family was causing trouble again and worried it would displease Professor Zhang. But now, hearing the professor and his student's words, he quickly beamed. "That goes without saying! If there's one thing our village has, it's a top-notch environment. It's the perfect place for a research base!"
Chi Wan surreptitiously rolled her eyes, then said in a tone of utmost sincerity, "Village Chief, Professor Zhang and his student are trying to appreciate the flowers. Could you please get rid of this unpleasant crowd? We wouldn't want them to ruin the professor's mood."
As soon as the village chief heard that, he glanced over at Professor Zhang, who was squatting down to inspect the soil and paying them no mind. He immediately turned on the villagers. "What are you all doing here first thing in the morning, wailing like you're at a funeral? Go on, get back to whatever you should be doing! Can you afford to take responsibility for holding up the village's business?! Now, scram!"
Caught between Chi Wan's threats and the village chief's yelling, the old woman and her group dispersed, however reluctantly.
Professor Zhang stood up, clicking his tongue in amazement. He turned to Chi Yuanshan and said, "Young man, how long have you been growing this Fragrant Vine? I can't believe this density of branches all came from a single plant. How did you cultivate it?"
Chi Yuanshan gave an awkward smile. 'Good question. I'd like to know that myself. Perhaps you've heard of… superpowers?'
Of course, he couldn't say that to Professor Zhang, so he could only shoot a pleading look at Chi Wan. "This… well, this is all my daughter's handiwork. Her mother and I don't know the first thing about it. Wanwan is a botany student, you see. Yes, she's had a green thumb for this sort of thing ever since she was little…"
Song Yinghe secretly pinched his waist, her eyes clearly saying, 'You're just making things more difficult for your daughter!'
Chi Yuanshan felt wronged. 'I'm not a smooth talker like Wanwan is.'
Chi Wan found it amusing to watch her parents exchanging glances. She picked up where Chi Yuanshan had left off, saying, "We were growing it in the backyard, and it's always done well. I guess the conditions and temperature have been just right the last couple of days, so it suddenly shot over the wall."
Zhou Huaijin, however, looked pleasantly surprised. "You study botany? Where do you go to school? Huazhong University?"
Chi Wan nodded. 'She hadn't wanted to go to school too far from home, and Huazhong University was well-known for its plant science and agriculture programs. Besides, she had always loved messing around with plants, so it had been a natural choice.'
To her surprise, Zhou Huaijin smiled at Professor Zhang and said, "Professor, it looks like we've run into a fellow student from our university."
'A fellow student?'
Chi Wan blinked. 'What a coincidence. But if Professor Zhang is also from Huazhong University, how come I've never heard of him?'
As if guessing her thoughts, Professor Zhang chuckled. "I'm from the School of Agriculture next door, so our department and your Plant Science department are practically cousins. Young lady, I see you have a big orchard. You should stop by our school to learn a thing or two when you have time."
That explained it. No wonder the professor and his student had come all the way to the village to do field research.
Seeing that Chi Wan actually had this connection to Professor Zhang, the village chief's expression toward her softened. "Well, I'll be. We're all on the same side, then! It must be fate! This just goes to show that the research base should be built right here in our village. Then young Wanwan can even come back home for a job. How perfect would that be?"
Chi Wan could only marvel at how quickly the village chief could change his tune.
She ignored the village chief, turning to Professor Zhang and Zhou Huaijin with a charming smile. "Professor, senior, have you had breakfast yet? Would you like to join us for a bite?"