Chapter 181: Farming: Saving the Substitute Husband 24

"What does your boss want to do?"

Jin Chen stopped and stood opposite them.

Those five had also watched Jin Chen fight in the underground arena that day; originally the man in yellow had wanted to quit and run away, but the boss flew into a rage, and if they didn't bring Jin Chen back today, they feared they'd lose their livelihood.

But they… really can't beat him!!

The leader said: "The boss wants to recruit you as a regular fighter for our arena, with a handsome monthly salary."

Jin Chen: "No interest."

His tone dropped to freezing: "Go tell your boss I won't have anything to do with the arena anymore, and I won't report you—but if you come looking for me again, I'll kill you one by one."

To prove his point, Jin Chen threw the two stones he had casually picked up earlier, and they shot straight into the wall.

The leader was startled, nodding repeatedly.

"Okay, okay, we'll go back and say that."

The five turned and ran.

Jin Chen frowned, left the alley, and went to find his husband to go home.

——

Three days later.

Early that morning, Jin Chen rode to town on horseback, hired a carriage, and brought along the two guards he had bought earlier, moving from the village up the mountain.

Afterwards they didn't abandon the bamboo lodge; it was a nice spot to cool off in summer, so they had no plan to empty it, and the townhouse courtyard already had everything they needed.

They planned to bring only some clothing and valuables; one carriage would suffice.

But having a carriage made taking the small path up the mountain inconvenient; Jin Chen knew it would draw the villagers' attention, but he didn't mind.

When they had finished packing and the two guards drove the carriage down the mountain, they indeed attracted quite a few villagers' onlookers.

"Hey hey, where did this carriage come from? It looks so precious!"

At the crossroads, several aunts and grandmothers were chatting when they suddenly saw a carriage pass by the road, feeling both surprised and amazed.

Villagers rarely see carriages in the village; normally they only spot rich folks riding in them when they go to the market.

"Unbelievable," one aunt slapped her thigh, "that carriage is coming down from the mountain—could it be Jin Chen?!"

"Exactly, they must be moving to town today!"

The speaking grandmother obviously knew something: "A few days ago I went to town with my husband to sell tofu, and I saw Jin Chen and Yelin dressed so finely, like town rich folk, with someone else beside them chatting about buying a house."

"Goodness, that means they'll be town residents from now on!"

"No way, I need to go see for myself."

The aunts couldn't curb their curiosity, also thinking they might gain some good luck, and they went straight toward the carriage.

When the two guards saw someone approaching, not knowing who it was, they stopped; they had been given surnames by Jin Chen while keeping their original family names, and were respectively called Zhou Da and Zhou Er.

Zhou Da called out respectfully to the interior: "Master, someone is blocking the way."

Hearing that form of address, the aunts and grandmothers were startled again—could it be Master Jin Chen inside?

Jin Chen was affectionately embracing his husband in the carriage; hearing this, he froze, released the blushing Yelin, and lifted the side curtain.

"Who?"

"Oh my, it really is Jin Chen!"

Jin Chen recognized that the several people were all from Fengshu Village; they had often followed Madame Song in speaking ill of Yelin and spreading rumors, and he now had a grudge.

"So it's just a few neighbor ladies; what business do you have?"

"Nothing much; we just saw a carriage enter the village, found it novel, and guessed that the person most likely to be riding a carriage in the village would be you—so we came over and indeed it was."

"Yes yes, I've always thought you were blessed, and you'll keep prospering."

The ladies spoke flattery, their eyes crinkling with smiles.

Jin Chen smiled inscrutably: "Ladies, why not speak plainly? My husband and I are in a hurry to get on the road."

"Seeing you today is already good; since you're moving to town, you probably have many things you won't need—why not give us some to add to our festive spirit, saving us the trouble of moving things back and forth?"

"Exactly, now that you've made it, you should remember the elders who helped you."

"How unfortunate; we still plan to use the bamboo lodge as a summer retreat, having someone live there to look after it, so there's nothing we don't need."

Jin Chen gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes: "Thanks for your concern; hearing you say that, I recall that the village head's family indeed helped us a lot, and we should remember them."

He took Yelin's hand and got out of the carriage, facing the aunts' incredulous gazes, and gave some broken silver to Zhou Er.

"Go forward along this road; there's a house covered in luffa vines—take the silver to the village head and say it's in gratitude for his care."

"Yes, Master."

Zhou Er mounted a fine horse and galloped off.

This left several people dumbfounded; they weren't here to remind us, but genuinely wanted to get some benefit.

Yelin also recognized these people, and his smile inevitably carried some sarcasm.

"Just now I heard the ladies say they'd helped us; I wonder what they meant."

Now he had confidence; his speech was no longer timid as before, but actually carried a few traces of sternness.

……

They just said that offhand; they don't actually recall helping with anything.

The first to speak, Madam Li, had another idea; everyone in the village knows her daughter is now of marriageable age, pretty and clever, with several families wanting to marry her.

Originally she wanted to take her time choosing, but now she might as well let her marry Jin Chen; even as a concubine she'd be a town resident, and since most servant girls rarely bear children, if her daughter got pregnant she'd enjoy wealth and honor.

Madam Li's face broke into a grin as she leaned close to Jin Chen and said, "I was thinking the same; Chenzi really is kind-hearted, but once in town it's not like the village—you'll need someone to look after you."

"My daughter is clever and lovely, with a kind heart; she won't be jealous, so—"

"Shut up."

Yelin immediately caught her meaning, his tone turning cold: "Madam Li, you're scheming—I'm right here, and you want to take a concubine for my husband."

Jin Chen touched his nose, took half a step behind Yelin, feeling sweet inside because of Yelin's action, and handed the "battlefield" over to his husband.

Aunt Li was interrupted while speaking, her expression also turned ugly; behind her were several aunts and grandmothers, and seeing that Jin Chen didn't speak, she also wasn't panicked.

"Yelin, saying this, which wealthy family in town doesn't have several rooms? Rather than let others take them, it's better to rely on our own village's known roots."

"Yes, Yelin, as a husband you can't be jealous; you can't bear children yourself, so you can't let Jin Chen cut off the line!" Others chimed in.

Bringing this up openly benefits no one; Yelin grew angrier the more they spoke, and immediately refuted loudly.

"You're not jealous, you're generous; why don't I pay for your men to go to the brothel for a fling? Several aunts and grandmothers, don't stop them!"

Yelin immediately shouted at Zhou Da: "Go, follow these aunts' homes, summon their men to the town's Yanliu Lane, and count the silver spent as mine!"

——

The selection results are out!

The most votes were for the apocalyptic small world, so I'll write this one first.

The infinite flow will be written later~

Bao Bao, enjoy reading~