'This man's head is a block of wood. Worrying about things that don't concern him!'
Liu Lanhua sneered and retorted, "She's not your daughter, so why are you so worked up about it? You have to understand, if you don't give them a hard time, how is Wang Dadan supposed to play the hero and save the beauty? How is he supposed to win her over?"
'Hearing this, Zhao Nuanyue was stunned. My God, so Accountant Li was giving them trouble because Wang Dadan from Nianqiao Village put him up to it. He teamed up with Widow Qian, and they hit it off immediately, each getting what they wanted out of the deal.'
Accountant Li wasn't as ruthless as Liu Lanhua. When the officials came to investigate, it would all be over for him. Wang Dadan had connections to help him, but he had no one. Securing the position of village accountant, a very cushy job, was already the absolute limit of his ability.
At the very least, his family had not gone hungry since he became the village accountant.
"But this..." Accountant Li started to say, but Liu Lanhua cut him off.
"You worthless man! The family is counting on you, and who knows what will become of us," Liu Lanhua cursed. "You've become the village accountant, but we can't let Shanzi be a good-for-nothing at home, just a farmer toiling in the fields! We need to become a well-off family, too. Plenty of people are trying to suck up to Wang Dadan. If you don't do it, someone else will. I'm warning you, if our son's chance to move to the city falls through, I'm done with you."
Accountant Li was rendered speechless by Liu Lanhua's machine-gun-like tirade. He was so intimidated he didn't dare say another word.
Afterward, Liu Lanhua muttered under her breath, "Coward. Serves you right for being so useless. If Wang Dadan gets into trouble, what's that got to do with you? As long as you cover your tracks, you won't be involved!"
After listening to his wife, Accountant Li no longer felt as guilty and self-reproachful. 'I'll just have to be more careful from now on,' he thought. 'I absolutely cannot let anyone get any dirt on me.'
Seeing that Liu Lanhua and Accountant Li were going to sleep and there was no more useful information to be heard, Zhao Nuanyue shifted her attention away to search for Wang Dadan's whereabouts.
She scanned the entire village and, sure enough, found Wang Dadan at Widow Qian's house. Zhao Nuanyue didn't dare to "look," afraid of what she might see, but while she could avert her mind's eye, she couldn't block out the sound.
Widow Qian asked, "Now that there's a new girl in the village, I suppose you've lost interest in this old thing!"
Wang Dadan laughed. "Don't say that. How could anyone compare to you?"
Although Widow Qian knew Wang Dadan was lying, she still enjoyed hearing it. She was a widow, and he had a wife and children at home. It was impossible for him to ever marry her.
She had hoped to hear something useful from Wang Dadan, but he was exhausted. Soon, loud snores filled the air; he was sleeping like a log.
Seeing that she wouldn't get any more information, Zhao Nuanyue pulled her consciousness back from the water.
Zhao Nuanyue carefully sorted through everything she had heard that day.
'From what Accountant Li and Widow Qian said, Wang Dadan's intentions were clear. No wonder she kept "accidentally" bumping into him hanging around wherever they were these past few days.'
'Luckily, I have this Special Ability now, so I can monitor Wang Dadan without him knowing. If he tries to make any moves, I'll be able to spot it in time.'
Zhao Nuanyue's heart pounded with anxiety, and she even felt a little scared. She still had her younger brother to think about. If Wang Dadan used him as a threat, she truly wouldn't know what to do.
The next day, when they went to catch fish, Zhao Nuanyue used her knowledge of the underwater conditions to catch half as many fish again as usual. She waited until everyone was turning in their catch. This way, even if Accountant Li wanted to find fault with the quality or quantity of her fish, the villagers' eyes were sharp, and they would surely take issue with him.
So today, he gave her the full work points without saying a word.
Zhao Nuanyue breathed a sigh of relief. 'At least we're safe until he comes up with a new trick.'
During the day, Zhao Nuanyue tried using her Special Ability to track Wang Dadan. She found that while his eyes tended to wander, he didn't dare do anything reckless in broad daylight. Still, Zhao Nuanyue couldn't rest easy and continued to keep tabs on him.
When Yang Guanghui returned from outside, he whispered a warning to them during dinner: "You three young ladies must never go out alone. You absolutely must stick together."
Hearing this, Zhao Nuanyue's heart skipped a beat. She asked in a low voice, "Yang, why do you say that? Is the village dangerous?"
Zhao Nuan Yang, who had been eating earnestly beside them, also listened curiously to their conversation.