Chapter 113: Making Self-Watering Vegetable Planters

The two of them left the teahouse one after the other and headed straight to the place outside the city where Dahua was waiting.

“You’re back, huh? Chengjin, what happened? Did someone bully you?” Dahua asked, carefully examining Chu Chengjin’s appearance. Seeing that he was uninjured, she finally relaxed.

“Nothing happened. Let’s go home first,” Chu Chengjin replied.

Knowing the man’s pride, Gu Xiaoyao did not mention what had occurred inside the teahouse. Besides, when she had arrived, she noticed he was meeting someone there—the teacup opposite him still steaming faintly.

The three of them gathered their belongings and quickly hailed a cattle cart. After reaching the foot of the mountain, they took a familiar shortcut back to Lotus Village.

After Gu Xiaoyao returned home carrying a woven basket on her back and Chu Chengjin with her, she picked up a hoe, ready to work the fields.

“By the way, what you said on the cart earlier—is it all true? You didn’t lie? Those two can really be subdued that way?” she asked.

Chu Chengjin chuckled softly and gently twisted a lock of her hair with his fingers before letting go.

“Every word I said to my wife is true. You can try it; those two are the easiest to deal with.”

Earlier, on the cart, Chu Chengjin had earnestly shared with Gu Xiaoyao the techniques he used to handle his younger brothers.

Gu Xiaoyao grasped his fingers, her bright eyes pulling at the corners of her mouth into a small smile. Then she reminded him to rest well at home.

Once outside the village, they met up with Dahua, who was also carrying a hoe, ready to cultivate the wasteland.

The two chatted idly as they walked into the mountains, hoes slung over their shoulders. Standing at the top of the hill, Gu Xiaoyao glanced down and noticed their plot seemed to have been dug the least.

“Xiaoshu,” she called from the hilltop. The people below looked up.

“Sis, you’re back!” Gu Xiaoshu happily jumped up to greet her.

Chu Qingsong and Chu Qingbai, the two brothers, saw Gu Xiaoyao return. Instantly, their expressions tightened; they clenched their legs and gripped their hoes tightly, hastily putting on a diligent facade.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Liu, upon seeing Gu Xiaoyao, did not budge her ample hips. She was engrossed in lively conversation with other village women. Her hoe had long been set aside on the ridge; she had never truly worked the land, instead spending time chatting or wandering around.

“I’m back. It seems not much has been dug,” Gu Xiaoyao said, knowing without asking that her brothers were the ones who had done the work. She patted Gu Xiaoshu’s shoulder, telling him to rest first.

Noticing her gaze turn to them, Chu Qingsong and Chu Qingbai swallowed nervously.

“Chu Qingsong, Chu Qingbai, if you don’t want to work at home, tomorrow I’ll send you down the mountain to work,” Gu Xiaoyao warned.

“I’ve already made arrangements with the people at the tavern. You two have hands and feet; at least you can be helpers there.”

As expected, at her words, the brothers’ faces turned a dark shade of red. They shook their heads vigorously, replying anxiously, “No, we’re not going to work in the tavern! Don’t even think about it.”

“You don’t want to go? You have to. If you don’t go tomorrow, I’ll tie you up and take you there myself. The tavern owner used to be a butcher,” she said firmly.

“I’ve already talked to the owner. If you don’t behave, he’ll make sure you learn your lesson.”

Seeing their nervous expressions, Gu Xiaoyao realized Chu Chengjin hadn’t been wrong—these two brothers were the classic bullies at home but cowards outside.

They acted lawless within the family, but the moment they stepped out, they shrank back like timid turtles, lacking any semblance of courage.