The Rogue Villager Chen Erbao

Lin Rui's hand slid under the covers, resting on Chen Erbao's abs. She giggled.

"Brother Er Bao, the sun's high in the sky… The new village chief came looking for you. She's in the front room right now."

Hearing this, Chen Erbao finally sat up, threw off the covers, and got ready to wash up.

A full night's rest had completely restored his energy. Not only was the wound on his leg beginning to itch—a sign of healing—but thanks to just waking up, his Bright Silver Spear was also standing at full attention.

Lin Rui's eyes were immediately drawn to it. She raised a hand to cover her face, but peeked through the gaps between her fingers.

"Brother Er Bao, why do you sleep naked?!"

Chen Erbao gave her bottom a light squeeze.

"It's not like you haven't seen it before… Besides, when I sleep alone, why would I wear anything?"

And with that, he went to the bathroom to wash up, his "long spear" swaying as he walked.

By the time he returned, Lin Rui had already laid out his clothes. She had also thoughtfully swept the floor and tidied the room, leaving it clean and neat.

In that moment, Chen Erbao was suddenly overcome with a feeling of bliss.

He came up behind Lin Rui, who was making the bed, and wrapped his arms around her, pressing himself against her back.

"Xiaorui, you're going to make a wonderful wife and mother someday. I'm so lucky!"

Lin Rui's smile made her eyes curve into crescents. It was the first time she'd ever heard such sweet words from Chen Erbao, and her heart felt as if she'd eaten honey.

"Brother Er Bao, I'm happy too…"

They shared a long, tender moment before finally leaving the room.

When they reached the living room, Fang Yun and Chen Dabao had already finished eating and were entertaining Zhao Ruoying.

"Er Bao, you're awake! Village Chief Zhao is here for you."

Fang Yun stood up and helped Chen Erbao sit down.

Chen Erbao smiled at Zhao Ruoying as he picked up his bowl of food.

"Village Chief, you look like you slept well last night. Your complexion is much better today."

Zhao Ruoying's cheeks were rosy, and her skin was fair and glowing. She had clearly rested well.

'It must be because of my Essence Milk!' Chen Erbao thought to himself.

Seeing the odd look in Chen Erbao's eyes, Zhao Ruoying knew he was alluding to what happened last night. Her cheeks flushed hot, but her expression remained calm.

"Thank you so much for yesterday."

"We only went into the mountains for my sake in the first place," Chen Erbao said earnestly, waving his hand dismissively. "If anything had happened to you, I would've been the one to feel terrible!"

Seeing this, Zhao Ruoying didn't bring it up again. She took a sip of tea and continued, "The wild animals on Bailong Mountain were mostly cleared out yesterday. What are your plans moving forward?"

Chen Erbao thought for a moment, then glanced at his phone. He saw that Lin Zhiqing had already sent people to Bailong Village to pick up the medicinal herbs.

"After today, Medicine King Hall will start putting pressure on Liu Xian. I'll get in touch with a construction crew and have them draw up plans to build a safe path up to the mountainside as quickly as possible."

Seeing that Chen Erbao had a specific plan in mind, Zhao Ruoying simply nodded and said, "I've arranged for the city's TV station to come do a story for publicity. This will also put pressure on Liu Xian. Medicine King Hall is backing you because you're partners. Me getting the TV station involved is my way of thanking you for saving me yesterday. We'll angle it as a story about a young college graduate returning to his hometown to start a business. That way, we can win the battle for Bailong Mountain in the court of public opinion."

Chen Erbao listened quietly, thought it over, and decided the plan could work.

"Village Chief Zhao, words can't express my gratitude. If there's ever anything you need from me in the future, just say the word."

Their relationship was anything but ordinary, but with others present, they couldn't be too direct.

"Also," Zhao Ruoying added, "the survey experts have already provided a detailed plan. When your construction crew arrives, they can get started right away."

"It'll just be a day or two, no more delays… As for… your… thing, I'll return it to you some other day…" Chen Erbao suddenly stammered.

Zhao Ruoying froze for a second. Following his gaze to her chest, she remembered that her lacy bra was still in his possession.

A faint blush crept onto her cheeks, and she gave a discreet nod.

"You should get some rest… Oh, right, how is the wound from yesterday?"

She had just then remembered that Chen Erbao's leg had been torn open by the leopard.

Chen Erbao stood up, stretched his leg, and said with a smile, "I told you, it was just a flesh wound. See? It's mostly healed after just one night. In another day or two, it won't affect my movement at all."

His body healed much faster now. In the past, a wound like this would have taken at least a week.

Only then did Zhao Ruoying feel relieved. "Don't see me out. I'll head back. I'll arrange for the reporters from the city to come the day after tomorrow. I'll have a script prepared for you; you'll just have to read it."

"Okay."

Fang Yun saw Zhao Ruoying off. After finishing his meal, Chen Erbao also stood up and called Lin Zhiqing.

"Zhiqing!"

"Er Bao, have your people arrived yet?" Lin Zhiqing asked.

Chen Erbao carried the medicinal herbs and walked toward the village entrance with Lin Rui.

"I'm heading over right now. As soon as they get back, have your second uncle take a look, then start running interference with Liu Xian for me. I need to start construction on my end!"

"Don't worry. The moment the herbs arrive, that construction crew we contacted will set out. They should be able to reach Bailong Village by this evening."

"Okay," Chen Erbao reminded her. "The village has a guest house, so have them stay there for now. The village chief's survey experts have already provided a plan, so it'll save our crew the trouble of going up the mountain to take measurements themselves."

It was only then that Lin Zhiqing remembered: the village chief of Bailong Village was Zhao Ruoying!

"Hmph… The village chief is so good to you, Er Bao!" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Chen Erbao slapped his forehead, grimacing with regret.

'Why did I have to go and mention that!'

"Er… well, it's tied to her job performance, so she's pretty invested. If this project succeeds, it'll look good on her record."

Lin Zhiqing let out a dry laugh.

"This won't do, Er Bao. I'm afraid you won't be able to stay out of trouble… How about this: when the construction crew gets to Cyan Mountain Town, I'll go over with them!"

"Huh???"

Chen Erbao was dumbfounded.

'If Lin Zhiqing comes over, my world is going to explode!'

"The guest house is in bad shape—it's dirty and messy. And we're right next to Bailong Mountain, so there might be bugs crawling into your bed at night… The conditions are really rough, you shouldn't come!"

He racked his brain for an excuse.

"Can't I stay at your place?"

Chen Erbao hesitated for a moment.

"You could come, but… my family has been nagging me to get married lately. If you show up and they start pestering me about it, I'll just have to go to your family and propose!"

"In… in that case, never mind."

Hearing this, Lin Zhiqing immediately backed down.

She believed Chen Erbao would go far in life, but he wasn't there yet—at least, not to the point where her family would take him seriously.

Chen Erbao knew they hadn't seen each other in a while and that she must miss him. He lowered his voice and said,

"Once the construction crew is settled, I'll come find you. We can have some fun in the city, and I can spend some real time with you."

"Really?"

On the other end of the line, Lin Zhiqing's face was beaming with joy.

"Of course. Would I lie to you?" he declared, thumping his chest.

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