Chapter 389: The Rash is the Best Evidence
Yang Laosan suddenly shouted from the side, "That’s right, her medical skills are pretty good. My wife was treated by her."
The Village Chief looked at Bai Ruozhu with confusion. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Bai Ruozhu could administer medical treatment, but it was strange to him that Yang Laosan would, despite hating the Bai family and causing trouble in their fields, seem to be on friendly terms with them.
"Village Chief, let’s go have a look. Even if it’s just to see what kind of illness Zhou Chunsheng has," Bai Ruozhu suggested.
The Village Chief nodded. He wasn’t too old and was still spry, so he headed towards the doctor’s house in the village.
By the time they all arrived at the doctor’s house, Zhou Chunsheng’s wife was wheeling Zhou Chunsheng out of the courtyard. Seeing Bai Ruozhu and the others approaching, she wore an expression of panic for a moment before quickly hiding it.
"Village Chief, my husband shouldn’t catch a cold. I’ll take him back first," Zhou Chunsheng’s wife said, as she attempted to avoid Yang Laosan, appearing as though he had really frightened her.
Bai Ruozhu, however, stopped her in her path and asked, "What did the doctor say the problem was?"
Zhou Chunsheng’s wife, unable to meet Bai Ruozhu’s gaze, responded, "Just an allergic reaction to the wind."
Zhou Chunsheng lying on a cart groaned, "I’m feeling uncomfortable right now. I apologize for my rudeness. We can talk about anything else once I get better."
The couple looked as though they were about to leave, but Bai Ruozhu would not let them go. She looked at Zhou Chunsheng and said, "I know a little about medicine. Why not let me take a look at you as well?"
"There’s no need, no need... It would be a bother." Zhou Chunsheng’s wife hadn’t even finished speaking when Bai Ruozhu swiftly lifted the blanket covering Zhou Chunsheng. His wife, startled, indignantly demanded, "The doctor said he must not be exposed to the wind. Why did you lift his blanket?"
Bai Ruozhu gave a deliberate show of surprise, saying, "This doesn’t look like an allergic reaction to the wind. It looks more like the allergic reaction caused by the pesticide powder I use. You didn’t go back into my fields again, did you?"
Upon hearing this, both the Village Chief and Yang Laosan looked toward Bai Ruozhu. The Village Chief even asked, "What pesticide powder?"
Bai Ruozhu explained, "Just a few days ago, the Zhou family told us that they were being pressured by Yang Laosan and would no longer rent our fields. They wanted us to provide some compensation, after which they would terminate the lease. After that, my father and I conducted an inspection of our fields. We discovered some small black spots on some of the plants. I’d created a pesticide powder that’s effective in killing pests. Sprinkled on crops, it has no harmful effects on them, but it would cause rashes if it gets on skin. The rash is pretty itchy."
Bai Ruozhu pointed to the red bumps on Zhou Chunsheng’s exposed skin and continued, "Fortunately, the pesticide remains effective only for three days. I thought that nobody would be working on our land during this time, so I applied it liberally. Who would’ve thought that Zhou Chunsheng would return to our land? Just what were you doing there, Zhou Chunsheng?"
Zhou Chunsheng, feeling accused by Bai Ruozhu, tried to maintain his composure, saying, "How can you be sure it’s the allergy to your pesticide? The doctor told me it was a wind rash."
Bai Ruozhu took out a piece of lotus root and said, "Although my pesticide can cause allergies, there are ways to alleviate it. Rubbing the affected area with a piece of lotus root can significantly improve the condition. I brought one today in case there was still some pesticide left in the field. It just so happens that I can use it on Zhou Chunsheng."
As she extended her hand, Zhou Chunsheng’s heart pounded with fear, but soon relaxed as Bai Ruozhu pulled her hand back.
"Father, you do it. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me." Bai Ruozhu changed the direction of the lotus root in her hand and passed it to Bai Yihong.
"Alright, Chun Sheng, don’t move. You might feel better soon." Bai Yihong chuckled, took hold of Zhou Chunsheng’s hand that was exposed and rubbed the lotus root on the back of his hand.
Zhou Chunsheng and his wife were terrified. They quickly said, "Uncle, don’t do this casually. What if it worsens the condition?"
A pity Bai Yihong didn’t pay any attention to the couple’s pleas. He continued rubbing the lotus root and Zhou Chunsheng’s rashes faded noticeably. Even Zhou Chunsheng was surprised, as the itchiness was greatly reduced. He wished he could have thought of this remedy himself. Couldn’t he just have rubbed it with a piece of lotus root?
When Bai Ruozhu noticed the expression on Zhou Chunsheng’s face, she guessed what he was thinking. She couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. Did he really believe that ordinary people would have lotus root at this time of year?
The Village Chief watched, very surprised. He couldn’t help but admit, "It really seems like they got an allergy from the pesticide in the Bai Family’s fields."
"Chun Sheng, what were you doing in our fields? Didn’t we terminate the lease?" Bai Yihong handed the lotus root back to Bai Ruozhu and asked Zhou Chunsheng.
"I, I noticed some weeds and thought I’d help out by weeding your land," Zhou Chunsheng stuttered, though his story lacked credibility.
Bai Ruozhu raised an eyebrow and asked, "Zhou Chunsheng, did you see anyone digging up our crops?"
Zhou Chunsheng’s face turned red. He stood his ground and retorted, "Are you accusing me? If you want to point fingers, just say it outright. Even though my family is poor and had accepted your compensation, and maybe we did take advantage of your family, it doesn’t mean you can just pin any crime on me!"
Bai Ruozhu giggled, "Everyone says you’re honest. But as soon as you open your mouth to defend yourself, you don’t seem very ’honest’ anymore."
The Village Chief furrowed his brows, not wanting to believe that Zhou Chunsheng was guilty. But how could he explain Zhou Chunsheng’s rash? Was it really because he was helping to weed the Bai Family’s fields?
"Village Chief, let’s go have a look at the other fields the Zhou family had rented," Bai Ruozhu said, turning to the Village Chief.
The Village Chief understood, nodding along, "Sure, let’s go have a look. It would be great if this could be cleared up as a misunderstanding."
Yang Laosan snorted, "I just hope it’s not a misunderstanding. I’ll have to settle scores with them if they try to pin all this on me."
Zhou Chunsheng and his wife immediately felt a chill run down their spines. Their faces went pale. They knew they had greatly offended Yang Laosan.
Soon, everyone arrived at the Zhou family’s fields. Zhou Chunsheng and his wife still harbored a glimmer of hope, only to have Bai Yihong instantly spot several newly transplanted seedlings. He pointed them out to the Village Chief, "Village Chief, these were just moved here."
The Village Chief, an experienced farmer, went over for a closer look. His face grew stern.
"I just relocated the crops within my own field. What’s it got to do with your family?" Zhou Chunsheng stubbornly defended himself.
Bai Ruozhu’s mouth twitched into a small smile. "The best way to figure this out is to touch the seedlings. If an allergic reaction occurs, it’s sure to be the seedlings from our field."
While the idea was good, the Village Chief didn’t want to experiment on himself. Bai Ruozhu doubted that the Zhou family would readily own up to it. Neither she nor her father could conduct the test. Unexpectedly, Yang Laosan stepped forward, "I’ll do it. There is nothing I detest more than people trying to play tricks on me. It appears as though they didn’t want to farm anymore and conveniently blamed it all on me. Some of the crops that were toppled in the field weren’t done by me. Probably Zhou Chunsheng did it himself to gain sympathy from the Bai family."
After saying that, he walked straight to the seedlings and touched them. Before long, his hands broke out in a rash!
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Dear readers, the fifth update is here. Mouka waves a little hand and asks for a pat~ I’ve noticed the recommendation tickets are quite few this week. Did everyone remember to cast their votes for Mouka?