Zhao Jiaqi looked at Wang Hui and said, "I wasn't wrong to call you shameless. What kind of young girl comes and immediately tries to snatch someone else's husband?"
"We're here for business, not to visit a brothel. Don't just throw yourself at any man you see. Isn't that embarrassing!"
Her words greatly displeased Wang Hui.
"Brother Fan, look at what she's saying. She's insulting both of us. Why haven't you divorced her yet? Are you waiting for her to curse at people again?"
Zhao Jiaqi couldn't stand the saccharine voice. She rubbed her arms and walked into the house, not even sparing Fan Zehao a glance.
He didn't follow his departing wife. Instead, he stopped and looked at the person acting spoiled beside him. His face darkened, and he said coldly, "Miss Wang, I'm only here on business with your father. As for you, I've never fancied you. Let alone being a concubine, you're not even worthy of being a maid to carry my shoes!"
"Please respect yourself. If you act like this again next time, I won't be polite. Today, it's solely on your father's account. I'm not a gentleman. Anyone who bullies my wife, whether a man or a woman, old or young, I will deal with them!"
After saying this, he went to chase after his wife, leaving Wang Hui standing there, gazing dreamily at the retreating figure. She didn't feel he disliked her at all. On the contrary, she thought the man was so domineering, and she liked that.
Little did she know that this threat would leave an imprint in Wang Hui's heart, making her even more infatuated with him.
When Fan Zehao returned to the house, he saw his wife sitting on a stool drinking tea, not even giving him a proper look. After thinking for a moment, he had the servants bring a basin of water and bathed in front of everyone, throwing away all his clothes.
He rubbed his red arms and promised Zhao Jiaqi, "From now on, I will absolutely never let another woman touch me again. Wife, please don't be angry!"
Zhao Jiaqi shot him a glare but said nothing. This confused him. After bathing and changing, he spent a long time coaxing her before she finally spoke, "I'm not angry with you!"
Fan Zehao was stunned. So she wasn't angry, which meant his coaxing was in vain.
Before he could react, Zhao Jiaqi continued, "I was thinking, should we use a honey trap to resolve this matter!"
Slowly, Fan Zehao realized that his wife wanted him to seduce the village chief's daughter.
"Wife, are you just going to watch your husband flirt with other women?"
Zhao Jiaqi said nothing, just looked at him, not even blinking. This made Fan Zehao unable to understand what his wife was thinking.
However, he knew one thing: if he dared to agree, his wife would definitely make him suffer. He didn't need to think about it; after all, he had experienced it before and could guess his wife's petty nature.
"I'm telling you, wife, I will definitely not sell my looks. I'll let the Chief try later. Let him try to seduce her, and she might fall for it quickly!"
The Chief was thus sold out by him. However, this answer made Zhao Jiaqi very happy, as at least he had some self-awareness.
"Look at how nervous you are. I was just joking, and you took it seriously!"
Fan Zehao wiped away the beads of sweat. His inner clothes were soaked. He didn't dare to retort loudly, acting like a wronged little wife, and pouted, "You can't make jokes like that. It can kill people!"
Zhao Jiaqi smiled without speaking, but she thought that since Wang Hui was so infatuated with her husband, she could use this matter to investigate some things.
"I guess the Chief will find you in the next couple of days to talk about Miss Wang. If you don't know how to respond, just push it all to me!"
Fan Zehao was dressed and had just sat down when he heard his wife say this, which immediately threw him off.
"What's so difficult to respond to? I'll just refuse directly!"
Zhao Jiaqi shook her head. "No, no, no. Since you told Miss Wang that you're a live-in son-in-law, you should see this lie through. This way, you can still play the good guy, and you have to act like you want to marry her but dare not."
His wife's strategy made his brain pause for a moment before it started working normally. "You mean I should string along the Chief's appetite so that it's convenient for me to act in the village?"
Zhao Jiaqi gave him a thumbs-up. "Yes. I'll string along Miss Wang, and we'll extract some information from her and her father, which will be more convenient!"
Now, Fan Zehao understood his wife's intentions and thought it was a good idea, but it was also too risky!
When the Chief came down the mountain that day, upon hearing the report from the guards, he simply sneered, "You did well. No one is allowed on the mountain without my orders."
On the way back, the Chief was still pondering the matter, wondering who they were.
Were they here to cause trouble, or did they genuinely want to do business with him? Right now, it was just suspicion. Once the people sent to investigate returned, everything would become clear.
He returned home as dusk was falling.
After dinner, Zhao Jiaqi deliberately said, "They say that spring fish are very clean and taste good. Today, I wanted to go up the mountain with my husband to catch some and pick some wildflowers. Who knew there would be guards on the mountain?"
"He didn't let us in. Chief, is there something good on this mountain that requires people to guard it?"
The Chief smiled when he saw that Madam Fan had started to suspect. "There's no particularly good thing being guarded. It's mainly because after spring, there are more wild beasts on the mountain. After starving all winter, they easily come down to the village to cause trouble, so we send people to guard the mountain to prevent them from harming people!"
Zhao Jiaqi gave this explanation full marks, but she asked again, "When we went up the mountain today, we passed by the villagers' houses and found that the village was very quiet, with all the doors locked. Where have all the villagers gone?"
When this was mentioned, Fan Zehao also perked up his ears, as he was very curious about this matter.
Wang Yuanzhi began to be a bit evasive, but he still provided an explanation. "Our village's villagers are restless. Some have gone up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables, some are working, and the rest are at the gold mine, so our village is relatively quiet!"
He then sighed, "If the villagers weren't so diligent, with houses like these, when would they earn enough? So, if the whole family is diligent, they can become prosperous. Don't you agree?"
Fan Zehao and Zhao Jiaqi exchanged a smile and nodded in praise. However, Zhao Jiaqi didn't let go of the loophole in the Chief's words.
"Didn't the Chief say there are wild beasts on the mountain and that villagers aren't allowed up? Then how are there villagers going up the mountain to pick wild vegetables?"
The Chief paused while serving food, and a dish fell onto the table. He gave an awkward laugh and explained, "Ah, our villagers have lived here since childhood. They know where the wild beasts are and where the wild vegetables are. Outsiders, however, do not. That's why we didn't let you in, to avoid any unpleasantness, which wouldn't be good!"
"That's true. The Chief is very thoughtful and responsible. We are very confident doing business with you!"
Zhao Jiaqi finished speaking and then changed the subject. "We have to greet someone when we, as business people, enter. How do others get in? Can they come and go freely, or do they also need an introduction?"
The Chief was taken aback by the question and couldn't respond for a long time, chuckling awkwardly as he searched for an excuse. Seeing this, Fan Zehao turned and pretended to scold her, "You're a woman, why are you asking so many questions? Eat!"
Zhao Jiaqi lowered her head and ate silently, listening to the two of them humble and flatter each other.
Finally, the Chief uninterestingly brought up their marriage.