Chapter 38: Serving the goddess well is their top priority

Villagers stared at the passing small truck like lurking imps, standing at each household's door, eyes fixed, feeling both envy and anger.

Later I heard that Lin Meng actually spent six hundred to buy the vegetables grown on those three small broken plots of land.

Those few old-timers who hauled vegetables to town each day earned only enough to trade for a few blocks of tofu, and might not make six hundred in half a year.

Lin Meng, however, gave them all that at once and even promised to continue cooperation in the future.

After hearing this, many households in the village were intensely jealous, inquiring everywhere whom Lin Meng was buying for, hoping to bypass her and find the hidden boss behind the purchases.

In the end, no one could find out, and they could only anxiously fret.

Naturally they found nothing, because Lin Meng was not any middleman at all—the mysterious small boss was herself.

The villagers never imagined that someone owing three million could spend money so generously.

Upon reaching the granary, Lin Meng spotted Zhang Yufan guarding the entrance from afar.

"Are you helping me keep watch?"

Zhang Yufan nodded, "I'm afraid villagers might come to cause trouble, so I'm standing guard just in case."

"Not only me—Old Lady Wang also had her son come to look things over, and I just relieved him."

Zhang Yufan dared not claim credit, then began moving the pumpkins and vegetable baskets together with the freight driver.

Upon hearing the news, Old Lady Wang's family also rushed to help, cheerfully seeing Lin Meng off the village.

The jealous villagers couldn't help spitting at Old Lady Wang's face.

"A petty person's luck—this time you're just fortunate; next time I'll see if you still have that damn luck!"

"Lin Meng is just a little girl—what can she possibly achieve? When market people come next time to harvest, I want to see whether she'll still buy your vegetables."

Old Lady Wang learned from TV to roll her eyes, giving them a nonchalant departing back.

The best way to deal with these gossips is to ignore them, making them furious.

Regardless of whether she will later do business with Lin Meng, she will always think well of them.

A little girl who lost her parents, being vilified everywhere by this bunch of scoundrels, makes her heart ache just to watch.

Lin Jianyang's home.

After Lin Qianqian was pricked once by a nanoneedle, her arm ached intermittently several times, almost making her think she had truly suffered some retribution.

But soon she healed, the scar forgotten and the pain gone.

Upon hearing that Lin Meng was spending money in the village to buy pumpkins and vegetables, being very generous, Lin Qianqian began to harbor ulterior motives.

"Mom and Dad, I think Lin Meng definitely has a problem—don't you remember me telling you about that spirit tablet? It's worth a full five hundred thousand, and Lin Meng didn't even blink before getting one for Grandfather. Now she's spending money in the village so lavishly, isn't she still owing over three million?"

Madam Wang frowned and said:

"Impossible? Where would a poor wretch get that much money? Qianqian, could you have mistaken? Was it really her who bought the spirit tablet at Ling Qing Si that day?"

Lin Qianqian stamped her foot in anxiety.

"Mom, why don't you believe me? I personally saw her pay fifty thousand on the spot, and the name on the spirit tablet is Grandfather's—if you don't believe us, you can go see for yourself; plus there are monks specially chanting sutras, the spectacle is huge."

"It's really true, my goodness—that's fifty thousand, I couldn't possibly pull that out of my hand all at once..." Madam Wang seethed with jealousy inside.

Lin Jianyang sat there, old and scheming, his eyes narrowing at the words, then he dialed a number.

After hanging up, he spoke with a grim face:

"I had people from the underworld inquire for me—if she really has that much money in hand, it's obviously suspicious."

"And those debts—if she has spare money yet doesn't repay a cent, I also have ways to make her unable to eat and walk!"

After Ye Heng left the 13th Special Zone, he met up with the small squad searching for supplies, and the group scoured the dangerous streets, finding many overlooked pieces of jewelry.

"With all this gold, silver, and jewelry, the goddess should be pleased, right?"

The team members were all excited; previously, seeing a moldy biscuit in a corner would make them happy for half a day, but they wouldn't even glance at passing gold, silver, and jewelry.

Now it's reversed—even if they spotted moldy bread or biscuits, they wouldn't bother picking them up.

If they could find a lump of gold or a ring, they'd rush at it like starving wolves and stuff it into their pockets.

Ye Heng packed this batch of collected gold, silver, and jewelry into his backpack, then immediately stored it in his space, though his face showed little smile.

"Not enough—these are far from enough. The resources the goddess gives us make even people in the special zone envy them, yet we only need to pay her worthless gold, silver, and jewelry, which is practically giving us things for free."

After returning from the 13th Special Zone this time, Ye Heng more deeply realized just how valuable the materials Lin Meng gave him are.

A few grapes and oranges are enough to make Luo Song, the captain who commands the entire 13th Special Zone's defense team, treat him so courteously, fearing to offend him.

This time giving a single cabbage even elicited a hint of ingratiating, even fawning, attitude from the other side.

The reason for this goes without saying.

"We must hurry, expand our search range—starting today, split into two teams: the less fit will stay at the sanctuary to guard others' safety, while the other team must go farther afield to find jewelry for the goddess."

"Before the sanctuary is fully strengthened, this matter must be carried out secretly, so others don't notice our abnormal movements."

Ye Heng had considered trading gold, silver, and jewelry directly from within the special zone, which would yield higher-quality goods.

But for a civilian to exchange precious supplies for useless gold, silver, and jewelry makes no logical sense and would inevitably invite suspicion and prying from others.

Once someone associates his supplied goods through this matter with something else, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The team members nodded earnestly, each taking it seriously and daring not to be lax in the slightest.

Now the goddess is their hope for survival; serving her well has become their top priority.

Lin Meng had just settled the truck driver's fee, locked the warehouse door, and was preparing to move the goods into her space when she sensed movement in the First Space.

She focused her gaze—it was Ye Heng's backpack, filled to the brim with gold, silver, and jewelry.

Lin Meng's eyes lit up at once—her wealth had arrived.

"Ye Heng, I see you've helped me gather the gold, silver, and jewelry—just in time for my urgent need, a big help."

Ye Heng quickly heard Lin Meng's voice and promptly linked his mental power to the space.

Before he could speak, the space suddenly flashed with one big, round pumpkin after another, and finally five large baskets of green vegetables.

In an instant, half the space's corner was piled high to the brim, leaving no room to stand, and Ye Heng was stunned.