Chapter 89: Taking a Fancy to Lin Lin

Ever since Chi Nan Yi hired villagers to roll pills, the daily output of pills had increased quite a bit.

Among them, the one who worked the hardest was Lin Lin.

Every day at first light, Lin Lin would be waiting at the door, and only leave the Chi Family as the sky grew dark.

Just as Chi Huai Qian had said, this child from the Lin Family was indeed a good hand at work.

Not only diligent, but also quick and nimble—clearly she had done no shortage of work at home before.

"Lin Lin, you came this early again today."

"Boss." Chi Nan Yi's gaze fell on her. All these days, she had always worn the same garment—worn, yet still neat enough—but today her clothes were covered in creases, and the corners of her lips bore some bruising.

"Did something happen?"

Lin Lin shook her head: "No."

Seeing that she did not want to say more, Chi Nan Yi did not press further. After Lin Lin had walked a few steps, Chi Nan Yi noticed something wrong with her leg.

"Your leg…"

"Boss, I beg you, don't send me away. The injury on my leg won't slow down my work. I beg you, don't send me away!"

"What exactly happened?"

Lin Lin kept her head down, her teeth clamped tightly on her lip, her thin body trembling incessantly—but even so, she still said nothing.

"Never mind, I won't force you."

"Thank you, Boss."

True to her word, though Lin Lin's leg was injured, she still rolled pills with great effort—though her speed was certainly not what it had been.

Auntie Li, sitting beside Lin Lin, looked at the bruise at the corner of her lips and sighed: "Lin Family girl, you're hurt this badly and your mother still makes you come do work!"

Lin Lin nodded.

"Tsk, your mother's heart is too cruel. What are those three brothers of yours good for at home? Every one of them is just leeching off you, drinking your blood. Of the wages you earn, has even a single copper been spent on yourself?"

Lin Lin kept her head down and said nothing, only rolling pills single-mindedly.

Chi Nan Yi heard all these words. She wanted to help her, but Lin Lin clearly did not want anyone to interfere.

Just then, Chi Huai Qian walked up to her, scratched his head, his eyes somewhat evasive.

"Third Brother, what is it?"

"It's nothing, just…"

It was rare to see her third brother this tongue-tied. Chi Nan Yi could not help finding it strange—her third brother's temperament had always been straightforward, never this hesitant.

"Third Brother, what exactly is it?"

"Ahem, I just wanted to ask you for something."

"What?"

Chi Huai Qian's gaze guiltily swept past Lin Lin. Seeing this, Chi Nan Yi instantly understood.

Could it be that her third brother had taken a fancy to Lin Lin?

Lin Lin's looks, while not stunning, were gentle and soft—very pleasing to the eye. Otherwise, she herself would not have agreed to let her come roll pills.

"Third Brother, what exactly do you want!" Chi Nan Yi said with a laugh: "You're this tongue-tied—do you have some matter that's hard to speak of?"

"What hard-to-speak-of matter is there?" Chi Huai Qian scratched his head, clearly still not having figured out how to broach it: "I… I'll come back later!"

"Boss." Lin Lin's voice came from behind.

Before Chi Nan Yi could even turn around, Chi Huai Qian had already gone over and taken the box from her hands.

"These are the pills… that have been rolled." Her hands suddenly empty, Lin Lin looked at Chi Huai Qian: "Thank you, Boss."

Chi Huai Qian looked at her with some concern: "Your leg is like this, what are you coming here for?"

Hearing this, Lin Lin's eyes instantly reddened, just as when she had seen Chi Nan Yi that morning, and she pleaded: "Boss, please don't send me away."

"When—when did I ever say I was going to send you away?"

"Then…"

"Sit down." Chi Nan Yi saw her third brother's clumsy manner and could not help laughing inwardly.

Chi Huai Qian was just about to sit down when Chi Nan Yi pushed him aside: "When did I say I was telling you to sit down?" She pulled Lin Lin to sit in the chair, then turned to Chi Huai Qian and said: "Go fetch the medicine box from my room."

"Huh?" Chi Huai Qian was stunned at first, but after he realized, his eyes filled with delight, his dark face faintly flushed red—it seemed his intentions had already been discovered by his little sister.

"Boss." Lin Lin uneasily declined: "No need, no need, I'm fine…"

"Your leg must have been smashed by something." Chi Nan Yi looked at the patches of bruising on her leg and frowned deeply: "Did someone in your family beat you?"

Lin Lin bit her lip tightly as she had that morning, her eyes gradually growing red.

Chi Huai Qian stood at the courtyard gate holding the medicine box, his back to the two of them, his hand gripping the box gradually tightening.

Auntie Li walked over, looked at Lin Lin's leg, and shook her head: "Lin girl, your temperament is far too soft. Doesn't this mean anyone can bully you? Yesterday when I passed by your Lin Family, I heard you crying in there. What's the use of only crying when you've been beaten!"

Hearing this, Lin Lin could no longer hold back, and tears kept falling.

Chi Nan Yi said nothing. She reached out and pressed on her leg, confirmed there was no fracture or displacement, then handed the ointment to her: "Applying it will make you feel better, and also for the injuries on your body and face."

"Boss, I can't accept this ointment." Lin Lin said tearfully: "These past few days I've already received much kindness from you."

"It's just some ointment, not anything valuable." Chi Nan Yi pressed the ointment into her hands, and seeing the figure outside the courtyard, could not help laughing: "Hurry up and get better, otherwise someone will be heartbroken."

Lin Lin did not think much of it, only gave a self-deprecating smile.

"Many thanks, Boss." After Lin Lin applied the ointment, she instantly felt somewhat better, and walking was no longer as painful.

"Today you don't need to roll pills. You only need to divide these pills into porcelain bottles."

This task was easy—just sitting and filling bottles.

Having never experienced the feeling of being cared for, Lin Lin's eyes grew even redder.

Chi Nan Yi walked out of the courtyard and gave a pat to Chi Huai Qian, whose whole body was tense.

"Third Brother." Chi Nan Yi looked at him and said with a smile: "What are you still standing here for?"

Chi Huai Qian gave a low cough twice, a flash of unnatural expression crossing his face: "I, I just…… was thinking about something."

"Oh, thinking about things!" Chi Nan Yi nodded: "Alright, then keep thinking, I'll go back to sleep."

"Hey hey hey!" Seeing she really was about to leave, Chi Huai Qian hurriedly grabbed her: "Little sister, I have something I want to say to you."

Seeing his third brother's awkward appearance, Chi Nan Yi reached out and tapped his head: "If you like someone, just go after them! Why do you keep dragging me to say what? If you have something to say, just say it, don't be all coy like a young lady in a bridal sedan."

Chi Nan Yi spelled it out directly, and Chi Huai Qian gave a dry laugh: "You've found me out."

"Mm, yeah! I've noticed it a while ago—what do you plan to do? Propose marriage?"

Speaking of this, Chi Huai Qian shook his head: "No, the Lin Family is even harder to deal with than the Ruan Family; if we go to propose, the Lin Family will surely demand a lion's share, and besides, I don't even know if she's willing."