The Vicious Empress's Scum Wife (GL) - Chapter 009
Lin Yanran was naturally happy to save money and readily agreed. Lin Dahai, furious, glared and bristled, then severely scolded Lin Cuicui. Lin Cuicui, despite being scolded, didn’t utter a sound, quietly found a bamboo basket, and began loading the remaining bricks into it.
Chen Xiaohua went over to help her. Not a single man present offered assistance.
When it was time to settle the wages, Lin Dahai once again spoke earnestly: “You hired me, didn’t you get your money’s worth? Look at your eyes this morning, you young people, truly no good.”
Lin Yanran secretly grumbled, *Old schemer*.
She gave Lin Dahai thirty coins. Lin Dahai still extended his hand: “Give me my second son’s, third daughter’s, and Jianghe’s and Chen Xiaohua’s too.”
Lin Yanran clicked her tongue: “Uncle Lin, you can’t just take other people’s wages.”
Lin Dahai glared: “If it weren’t for me, would they have gotten this job?”
Lin Yanran looked around. Lin Cuicui, Lin Jianghe, and Chen Xiaohua all bowed their heads, looking like honest, easily bullied folks. Only Lin Feng showed some indignation, but he didn’t protest either. She had no choice but to count out one hundred and twenty coins.
Lin Dahai counted the one hundred and twenty coins again, his mouth full of yellow teeth showing as he smiled.
Lin Feng stepped forward and called out, “Dad, where’s my pay?”
Lin Dahai shot him a glare: “You’re not married, what do you need money for?”
Lin Feng pouted, looking stubborn. Lin Jianghe and the others also looked at him longingly. Lin Dahai reluctantly counted out thirty coins, giving ten each to Lin Feng and Lin Jianghe, and five each to Lin Cuicui and Chen Xiaohua.
Lin Yanran watched, dumbfounded. This kickback was too brutal!
She couldn’t help but ask, “You don’t want Lin Shan’s?”
Lin Dahai said as a matter of course, “Shan’er is a Qianyuan, how can he be the same?”
Lin Shan grinned, squeezed over, and took his thirty coins, brazenly saying, “Yanran, next time you have work, you must still find us. Within a hundred li radius, there’s no one more dedicated than us!”
Lin Dahai tugged at his greying beard, agreeing deeply: “Fertile water doesn’t flow to outsiders’ fields. If there’s work, Yanran will naturally find us.”
*So your family motto is shamelessness, I see.*
Lin Yanran felt a pang of annoyance. She paid the remaining two neutrals their wages and sternly said, “Work’s done, work’s done. You’ve all gotten your wages. Do you still expect me to provide dinner?”
Lin Dahai heard her reluctance to part with money and burst out laughing. Today’s work had earned him a fortune, and he’d eaten oil pancakes he hadn’t had in a long time. It was certainly worth it, so he didn’t mind her tone.
As he left, Lin Dahai said, “In five days, it’s the spring hunt. Remember to be at the training ground on time. You absolutely cannot be absent this time, or I will punish you as the head of the local guard.”
Only then did Lin Yanran remember the original owner’s identity as a hunter.
Fenghuang Town was located on the border of Longyuan Country, adjacent to Shenyao Country. Fenghuang Town was essentially a pass in Longyuan Country, with a fierce local populace. They were both hunters and potential military households; once war broke out, they would be the first to be conscripted.
To maintain the bravery of the military households, the local guard organized spring and autumn hunts every year, and all hunters were required to participate.
Lin Yanran saw his solemnity and had no choice but to agree.
In the blink of an eye, only Lin Cuicui and Chen Xiaohua were left in the courtyard, still loading bricks.
The female Zhongyong in this world were born to work; even family members wouldn’t help them.
Lin Yanran couldn’t bear to watch. She walked over to help them load the bricks into the baskets and then helped lift the baskets onto their backs.
Lin Cuicui carried a full basket, so heavy it made her unable to lift her head. She panted, “Sister Yanran, thank you. I’ll come back later for the glutinous rice mortar.”
Lin Yanran patted her shoulder comfortingly: “We’re family, don’t mention it.”
Lin Cuicui looked at her in confusion. *Family? But neither her father nor her elder brothers ever helped her.*
Chen Xiaohua also thanked her quietly. Both girls kept their heads down, silent, and left with their heavy bamboo baskets.
Lin Yanran looked at the sky. It was currently the height of spring, with plenty of sunlight. She figured that after three days of strong sun exposure, these newly built walls would be solid.
With no outsiders in the courtyard, the black dog dared to creep out from the corner, circling her legs, still looking both ingratiating and fearful. Only then did Lin Yanran remember she had forgotten to feed it at noon.
She walked into the room and found Qin Mingyue already awake, sitting at the table reading a medical book. There really wasn’t much entertainment available in this farmhouse.
The bedding on the bed was neatly folded.
Lin Yanran cleared the leftover food from the table, asking, “What do you want for dinner?”
Qin Mingyue’s tone was icy: “The same as lunch will be fine.”
She had heard Lin Yanran’s teasing words with those coarse men and felt deeply insulted, even more pained by her earlier doubts about Lin Yanran’s despicable character.
Lin Yanran didn’t mind her cold tone and happily said, “Okay, I’ll go buy it right away.”
She poured the leftover food into the dog bowl. The black dog immediately gulped it down, taking a bite, then looking up at her, letting out an ingratiating, soft whine.
Lin Yanran smiled: “I promise to feed you until you’re fat and plump from now on.”
Just as she was about to leave to buy dinner, the main door was suddenly pounded upon. *Was Lin Cuicui here so quickly?*
Lin Yanran went to open the door, the smile on her face gradually disappearing.
Three men stood at the doorway. The leader was a burly middle-aged man with a full beard, followed by two short-clad henchmen.
She immediately recognized the burly man as a low-grade Qianyuan, and the two henchmen as Zhongyong.
The burly man looked at her with a half-smile: “Lin Yanran, why haven’t you been coming to the gambling house these past few days?”
Lin Yanran’s eyes narrowed, and a memory suddenly flooded her mind.
This burly man was Wu Yuan, the second boss of the Yuanbao Gambling House in Shimen County. He was treacherous, cunning, and insatiably greedy. The original owner had initially made a living by hunting, but later, instigated by Zhang Zhen, Li Qing, and Zhu Shiyu, she went to Yuanbao Gambling House once. From then on, Wu Yuan targeted her, finding ways to entice her to gamble. The original owner, being mindless, quickly lost most of her family fortune. These people then began to instigate her to take out high-interest loans.
The original owner thus fell into the bottomless pit of gambling, until she lost all her family property and even sold Qin Mingyue into a brothel, ending up with no corpse left.
She quickly composed herself, stepped across the threshold, and then slammed the door shut, a hint of displeasure on her face.
“Boss Wu, I’ll naturally go play when I have leisure. Now it’s the spring hunt, and I don’t have time. However—”
Her voice rose, and her demeanor suddenly became fierce: “Boss Wu, what do you mean by bringing people to my doorstep? Do you intend to drag someone to the gambling house?”
Wu Yuan usually saw her in two states: when she had no money, she would fawn with a smile; when she had money, she would put on an arrogant air, typical of the shameless gamblers at his establishment.
He had never seen her looking so fiercely changed in demeanor. He couldn’t help but exclaim “Hmm?” and sideways scrutinize Lin Yanran.
“Could it be that what the shopkeeper at the eatery said earlier was true? Lin Yanran struck it rich, so she’s acting like a big shot again?”
Lin Yanran stood with her hands behind her back, open and confident, allowing him to examine her. In reality, she was terrified.
She remembered that in the original novel, Wu Yuan had several lives on his hands. These people were money-hungry and wouldn’t stop until they had squeezed every last drop out of someone.
Wu Yuan grinned, flattering her: “Yanran, you’re joking. It’s just that I haven’t seen you at the gambling house for several days, and your brother here misses you dearly. Today, I happened to pass through Fenghuang Town, so I thought I’d come see you, and by the way—”
He paused here, a familiar, ill-intentioned smile appearing on his face.
“The head boss remembers you as a frequent customer of our gambling house, and you borrowed a full hundred taels in high-interest loans. Although we trust you, it’s been ten days since you owed the money, so the head boss sent me to inspect the goods.”
A hundred taels in high-interest loans? With compounded interest, wouldn’t that have rolled into almost two hundred taels by now? Lin Yanran instantly gritted her teeth in hatred for the original owner. She was short on money right now!
Wait, what did “inspect the goods” mean?
Her face changed, and she looked at Wu Yuan vigilantly: “Boss Wu, what do you mean by ‘inspect the goods’?”
Wu Yuan chuckled twice, eyeing her: “Yanran, don’t blame me for being direct. You personally signed the agreement back then: if the money couldn’t be repaid, your wife would be used to clear the debt. At that time, the head boss and I treated you like family and allowed you to sign without inspecting the goods. Now that you haven’t repaid the debt for so long, we’re naturally a little worried, aren’t we?”
Lin Yanran felt as if she had been struck by lightning!
*Using her wife to repay debt? That dog-like original owner had already pledged Qin Mingyue and even signed for it?!*
I… She had a belly full of expletives to unleash!
Wu Yuan looked at her with a half-smile: “Yanran, will you bring her out yourself for me to inspect the goods, or should I go in myself?”
Lin Yanran suddenly turned sideways, blocking the main door, and said word by word, “Boss Wu, business is about integrity. I remember the repayment date on that contract hasn’t arrived yet. Is it not too much for you to block my door with your men right now?”
“Although my Fenghuang Town only produces crude hunters, we also have some backbone. Whoever dares to insult my wife will fight with their lives!”
As these words left her mouth, her whole demeanor abruptly changed. She became sharp and valiant, as if a different person.
Qianyuan were inherently strong. The original owner used to seem frivolous because her marking ability was useless, but now, Lin Yanran’s pheromones were stimulated by Qin Mingyue’s top-tier Kunze scent, and her entire aura changed.
At this moment, killing intent was fully displayed, immediately revealing a fearless and resolute toughness.
“Yan, Sister Yanran?”
Just then, a somewhat timid voice sounded from the side.
It was Lin Cuicui and Chen Xiaohua, carrying bamboo baskets to fetch glutinous rice mortar. Seeing Lin Yanran confronting strangers with an angry expression, they immediately dared not advance.
Lin Yanran glanced at her, then withdrew her gaze, staring at Wu Yuan, and said unhurriedly, “Sister, have Uncle Lin and the five cousins all returned home?”
Lin Cuicui was momentarily stunned. *Weren’t there only three cousins?* Without thinking further, she quickly nodded: “Yes, they have.”
Lin Yanran then asked casually, “Did they also take the money back?”
Lin Cuicui didn’t know what she meant by this question but quickly nodded again: “Dad and my brothers took it back. Thank you, Sister Yanran, for hiring us.”
Wu Yuan’s eyes suddenly narrowed in shock!
*This Lin Yanran hired so many hunters, and it involved money again? It seems she really got rich!*
His Yuanbao Gambling House was after money, not actually looking for death. He had only brought three people into Fenghuang Town, and this place was a wild frontier, with fierce folk. Hunters here were ruthless killers.
Hearing this, he immediately cowered, hastily retreating two steps, and chuckled ingratiatingly: “Yanran, I was just entrusted by the head boss to come and see you. Why are you so particular?”
Lin Yanran said coldly, “Boss Wu, how would you feel if someone broke into your house and insulted your wife with their words and actions?”
“You run a gambling house, which is a business. Business is about making money, not about robbery and kidnapping!”
“Boss Wu, isn’t that right?!”