Chapter Thirty-Four: Human Trafficker?

"Little one, are you telling the truth?" Just as Lin Miaomiao was feeling frustrated, she suddenly heard the old man ask her this. She patted her chest and replied with conviction, "It's true! I just can't remember which book I read it in. But, sir, you have to believe me—what I said is absolutely true."

Lin Miaomiao, still feeling troubled, could only recall some simple facts but not the specific conditions for cultivation.

After she finished speaking, she noticed the old man's face suddenly darken. Quickly, Lin Miaomiao forced a polite smile and swore, "I promise you, I'm telling the truth. Wheat can definitely be grown twice a year, but there are regional differences."

"Let me give you an example: it's warmer in the south, so they grow rice there. In the north, people grow wheat and millet."

"So, those are regional differences. Even though I’m not a farmer, I know you can adjust the sowing time according to the season, and that’s how you get two wheat harvests in a year."

Hearing Lin Miaomiao’s words, the old man felt her explanation was a bit jumbled. In truth, Lin Miaomiao wasn’t confused—she just genuinely couldn’t remember the details.

Back in high school, Lin Miaomiao had chosen the liberal arts, which she found rather dull. During class, the students would often doze off.

Her geography teacher, known for a fiery temper, would point at the class and scold them loudly, "If you don't study hard now, you won’t even know how to farm in the future!"

"Tonight, I want each of you to write a thousand-word essay about crops. If you’re a single word short, it won’t count. Mark every hundred words for me—I’ll count each one!"

Writing that thousand-word essay nearly drove Lin Miaomiao mad. Cursing her geography teacher under her breath, she resigned herself to copying from an online encyclopedia.

Perhaps the resentment was too deep, because whenever she mentioned her geography teacher, she always brought up that thousand-word essay.

So, even after all this time, Lin Miaomiao still remembered that her essay mentioned wheat could be planted twice a year: winter wheat and spring wheat.

She couldn’t recall much else, but she did learn that crops’ growth was related to regional differences. Beyond that, she knew less than an ordinary farmer.

If her grandmother were around, she would certainly know more about farming.

The only farm work Lin Miaomiao had ever done was probably picking strawberries in a strawberry field, or digging and watering trees on Arbor Day.

She sighed, then continued to say to the old man, "Honestly, I’m not very clear on the specifics, but based on the region, it is possible to grow two seasons of wheat."

"But these are issues that require specialists to study. If the research succeeds, there can be two wheat harvests a year; if not, then that’s just how it is."

Lin Miaomiao crunched down the last hawthorn candy in her hand, sighed quietly, and buried the empty stick in the soil.

She sighed again and addressed the old man with graying hair, "Sir, you must understand that scientific research relies on repeated experiments. If you want good crops, someone has to keep trying over and over."

She then turned to Anqi and asked, "Brother Hei Qi, do we have a department in our country dedicated to agricultural research?"

Anqi glanced at her silently. Before he could reply, the old man sitting beside her answered, "There isn't one now, but I suspect there will be soon."

Lin Miaomiao nodded and said to the old man, "In that case, the prosperity of our nation is just around the corner. I believe those people will work themselves bald every day."

She checked the time and said to Anqi, "Brother Hei Qi, let’s head home early. It’s almost noon, and I need to make a nice meal for Big Brother Li this afternoon. He’ll be back for dinner tonight."

"I wonder if he ate the lunch I made for him? Did he remember to heat it up before eating? Honestly, I worry too much sometimes."

With that, Lin Miaomiao walked ahead, chattering nonstop, while Anqi dutifully did his job as her bodyguard.

He listened quietly to Lin Miaomiao’s endless talk, while the old man squinted as he watched them walk off into the distance.

Before leaving town, Lin Miaomiao bought some fabric and cotton. Northern winters are cold, so she had extra quilts made.

When she returned home, she found the house cozy and warm—they had already started heating the kang.

She called over Lanzhi and Cuiliu, then took out her homemade pencil—a stick of charcoal wrapped in cloth—and started drawing on paper.

After finishing her sketch, she handed it to them. Lanzhi and Cuiliu glanced at the drawing, then exchanged a look and told Lin Miaomiao it wouldn’t be difficult to make.

Lin Miaomiao’s eyes lit up. "Is it really possible?" she asked them.

They nodded, and two days later, Lin Miaomiao’s long-awaited first garment was finished—and it wasn’t adult-sized.

The clothes were made to fit Lin Miaomiao herself. She donned the little red outfit, and her hair was styled into two buns.

When Li Yanhe saw Lin Miaomiao dressed so festively, his heavy mood immediately lifted. The next day, he carried her with him to the county office.

As Li Yanhe walked past people carrying Lin Miaomiao, everyone assumed she was his daughter.

When others looked at Li Yanhe with curiosity, he simply stated, "This is my child bride—look any longer and I’ll gouge out your eyes."

He carried Lin Miaomiao into the government office. It was her first time seeing such a grand, imposing official building from ancient times.

In her mind, government offices were places for interrogating criminals, where corrupt officials often beat people to death.

She always thought the yamen were sinister places, which was why people in ancient times feared going to court.

She was set down beside Li Yanhe, who handed her a stack of paper to draw on while he worked.

Watching Li Yanhe concentrate on his work, Lin Miaomiao suddenly felt she had struck it rich—she had crossed time and resolved her biggest life issue.

As a husband, Li Yanhe was actually quite good-looking, a civil servant, and very dedicated to his job.

Though he could be cold at times, he was attentive and often brought home anything the household needed.

Most importantly, he handed his entire salary over to her, which greatly satisfied Lin Miaomiao.

She might not want to admit she was smitten, but their time together had shown her that Li Yanhe was an honest man.

Looking at him, Lin Miaomiao began to sketch. Around noon, when Li Yanhe finished his work, he saw her holding a drawing, smiling with delight.

He walked over and saw she had drawn him—and the likeness was striking.

She handed the portrait to him. "I drew this," she said proudly. "Isn’t it great? You must treasure it."

Li Yanhe glanced at the picture, his expression as chilly as ever, but carefully tucked it into his chest.

His unexpectedly cute reaction made Lin Miaomiao laugh, and she suggested, "Big Brother Li, let’s eat outside today!"

Lin Miaomiao wasn’t a true northerner, so she hated the heat in summer and the cold in winter. Li Yanhe carried her through the bustling streets.

Perhaps as winter had arrived, the streets were lively. She gazed around from his arms, full of excitement.

She soon spotted street performers, which made her even more interested. She patted Li Yanhe’s arm.

He lovingly patted her head, thinking that, at last, she seemed like a real child—so playful.

Watching the fire breathers and strongmen breaking stones on their chests, Lin Miaomiao clapped and snacked on sunflower seeds, utterly delighted.

She had only ever seen such performances on TV or at the circus, but those had foreign influences, not the authentic local variety. So she was even more eager to see them.

Clapping with joy, she was carried by Li Yanhe through the festivities. At noon, he took her to a restaurant.

While enjoying the local specialties, Lin Miaomiao drank a lot of water and needed to use the restroom, so she asked the waiter for directions.

As an adult, she certainly wouldn’t let Li Yanhe accompany her, so she went by herself.

Exiting the restroom, she noticed a sleazy-looking man staring at her. Lifting her head, she asked, "Uncle, do you need something? Why are you following me?"

The man pulled a handful of candy from his pocket and offered it to her. "Would you like some candy? I have plenty more. If you come with me, you can have candy every day."