52: Chapter 52: The Woman with the Basket 52: Chapter 52: The Woman with the Basket Li Hanchu was a few steps behind, when, unknowingly, a woman appeared.
The woman, dressed in a floral cloth garment, carried a basket in her hand and had a headscarf tied around her head.
Under the hazy moonlight, the woman’s face seemed somewhat blurry, and no matter how hard Li Hanchu tried, he could not make it out clearly.
A tingling sensation suddenly took hold of his scalp.
In just that instant, both his front and back were soaked with cold sweat.
He had heard the old people in the village say that when you encounter such filthy things, the more panicked you are, the more dangerous it becomes.
On the contrary, if you face it with a calm mind and manage to stay composed, the situation would be much better.
Taking a deep breath, Li Hanchu forcefully resisted the urge to run away.
“Do you want me to carry you over?
Fine, just follow behind me holding onto the frame I’m shouldering!”
He gritted his teeth and shouted coarsely at the woman.
After dropping that sentence, he didn’t bother to see if the woman would follow his instructions; he just lifted the baskets and hurried towards the water trough.
“Big brother, you are a good man, thank you…”
He had just crossed over the water trough and stepped onto the ridge on the other side when the slightly resentful voice of the woman once again echoed in Li Hanchu’s ears.
With a spine-chilling fear, he gritted his teeth and couldn’t help but look back.
Behind him, there was absolutely nothing; the woman who had just spoken to him had vanished without a trace!
His face turned pale, and Li Hanchu’s legs felt weak from fright.
He didn’t dare linger in that place any longer.
Shouldering the two frames, he walked briskly, almost running, and soon disappeared into the night ahead.
In Liuyuan County, at the Garden Hotel, inside a guest room.
After several days of rest, Chen Hai no longer felt any weakness from the divination.
Boss Li, Li Dajiang, had returned to Yuedong and had not yet sent word.
It was uncertain how many more days would pass before he would return to Liuyuan County.
Considering Boss Li could return at any time, Chen Hai had not gone back to Wuyang Town and stayed inside the Garden Hotel instead.
Even when he occasionally went out, he would only wander around the county town and certainly didn’t go too far.
According to the note left by Lin Lan, she had gone to Yuedong.
Chen Hai wanted to find her, but he had no idea where to start.
His cousin, Sun Jinzhong, however, would come by once or twice every day.
These past few days had been quite leisurely for him; every time he visited Chen Hai, that girl would almost always be by his side.
A little after one in the afternoon, after Chen Hai had eaten something outside, he had just returned to his hotel room and lit a cigarette when the doorbell rang.
He went over and opened the door.
As expected, it was his cousin, Sun Jinzhong.
But today, he was alone; the girl named Lili was not with him.
“Brother Zhong, just you today?
Chen Hai let Sun Jinzhong into the room and asked with a hint of curiosity.
He had been somewhat suffocated by the dog food Sun Jinzhong had been throwing these past days.
Even when idly chatting, that Lili would sit on Sun Jinzhong’s lap.
From time to time, they would give each other a kiss right in front of Chen Hai.
Lili and I are just mutually using each other for fun,” he responded.
“That kind of woman, I can’t afford her.
She was with me for just a few days, and nearly all of the one thousand yuan you gave me is gone.”
“She came back from Yuedong claiming she worked in a factory, but who would believe that?
Without having been through the battles, she could never acquire such practiced skills.”
“Though, to be honest, being with Lili is quite pleasurable with all the variety she offers.
It’s just that she’s quite expensive!”
Sun Jinzhong grinned and sighed.
Hearing this, Chen Hai suddenly understood.
Nowadays, most girls tended to be reserved.
When he first met Lili, Chen Hai had wondered how she could be so uninhibited.
Now, with Sun Jinzhong’s explanation, the puzzle in his mind was immediately solved.
“Brother Zhong, you’re about to run through the one thousand yuan I shared with you?”
“If you have a bit of money, I have no complaints about you improving your family’s living conditions.”
I really don’t know what to say about you!”
Chen Hai was somewhat speechless.
He gave Sun Jinzhong a disapproving stare and muttered discontentedly.
It might seem he earned several thousand yuan with just one divination for Boss Li, but that was due to good luck, having encountered Li Dajiang.
To tell the truth, it’s really not easy to earn money in the county town.
Both the Chen Hai family and the Sun Jinzhong family were in meager conditions.
It would take their parents two or three months to earn one thousand yuan.
“Little Hai, this is the first time your cousin has been with a woman.
Just think of it as paying to satisfy a craving,” Sun Jinzhong explained with a sheepish laugh.
“In the future, I certainly won’t squander money .
Lili and I had an argument last night and broke up.”
“Without money, I’m trying to find ways to earn it, right?”
He chuckled awkwardly a few times and hurriedly clarified with a smile on his face.
In the past, he always put on a big brother act in front of Chen Hai.
But now, their roles had clearly reversed; Cousin Zhong now stood a notch lower in front of Cousin Hai.
“If Lili truly saw you as a sucker, better that you split,” Chen Hai said.
“I thought you were a veteran of love affairs, but not only did you spend money, you even wasted your virginity on Lili.”
“I feel sorry for you, you know!”
Chen Hai nodded and said, joking with a smile.
He could understand his cousin’s behavior.
After all, judging by looks alone, Lili was indeed not too shabby.
For a novice like Sun Jinzhong, there was hardly any resistance against her.
Knowing they were not a suitable match and that their relationship was just a fling, it was best for Sun Jinzhong to cut his losses promptly.
“By the way, Brother Zhong, you mentioned you’re looking for a way to earn money; did you find a method?” After a slight pause, Chen Hai asked once more.
Spending these past few days in his hotel room, he felt somewhat restless.
Having nothing to do, he spent most of his time on Cultivation.
Unfortunately, regular Cultivation improved only at a painfully slow pace.
After several days of hard work, Chen Hai felt that his strength had increased by only a fraction.
“Hmm!” Sun Jinzhong nodded, “Li Hanchu from the neighboring Sixth Group encountered something unpleasant on his way to the market a few days ago…”