Inheriting a Farm Made Me an Internet Sensation - Chapter 10

Tan Xiao quickly turned around to meet them. Looking at Liu Sheng, who was running toward her in a great hurry, she asked, “How is the person?”

Liu Sheng was out of breath, pointing outside. “On… on the way back… back now.”

Lin Muhan walked quickly out of the living room. Hearing Liu Sheng’s answer, she immediately felt a slight sense of relief and followed up with a question: “She was perfectly fine yesterday, so how did this happen today?”

Liu Sheng took the water Tan Xiao handed him, took a sip, and replied, “I heard that when she answered the phone this morning, something wasn’t right. Sister Chen thought she was feeling unwell and told her to rest for a while. Who would have thought that in just a short moment, someone saw her walking toward the reservoir all by herself?” He slapped his thigh. “Fortunately, Sister Chen and the others ran fast and managed to pull her out.”

Just as his voice fell, noisy sounds came from outside the courtyard. Immediately after, Zhang Da was seen carrying someone on his back, heading inside.

The blue short-sleeved shirt on Zhang Da’s body was already soaked through, and a few drops of water were left behind wherever he walked.

On Zhang Da’s back was Yang Kaifeng; her face was deathly pale, and her eyes were vacant. The clothes on her body and her hair were completely drenched.

Following behind Zhang Da were Chen Cuihua and two other male helpers, who had taken turns with Zhang Da to carry Yang Kaifeng back.

Chen Cuihua bent over, panting, “Carry… carry her into the room. I’ll change her clothes first.”

Seeing that she could not be of much help for the moment, Tan Xiao returned to the living room and grabbed three bottles of mineral water to hand to the two male helpers.

After Yang Kaifeng was brought into the room, Zhang Da came out, shaking the water off his clothes with his hands. He took the mineral water handed over by Tan Xiao with both hands, unscrewed it, and gulped down several mouthfuls in succession. Only then did he feel a bit better.

Knowing that Tan Xiao and Lin Muhan were both worried, he lowered his voice: “We asked on the way back. Her mother back in her hometown was swindled out of five hundred thousand yuan.” He glanced cautiously toward the house, and hearing no movement from the room, he continued, “That husband of hers is lazy and gluttonous; he has always been eyeing Yang Kaifeng’s mother’s pension money. Because of this, the two of them fight constantly. If her husband finds out about this, there’s no telling how much trouble he’ll cause.”

Lin Muhan knit her brows slightly. “Even so, it shouldn’t come to the point of suicide.”

Zhang Da waved his hand. “Lawyer Lin, you don’t know—every family has its own difficult problems.” He slapped the back of his hand. “This five hundred thousand is a massive amount for families like ours. Furthermore, those two older brothers of Yang Kaifeng have no conscience. Once the old lady loses her retirement money, wouldn’t the responsibility of supporting her fall entirely on Yang Kaifeng? With the old to care for and the young to raise, and a husband who is good for nothing, her life ahead…” He shook his head. “There’s no hope!”

Upon hearing this, Lin Muhan fell into silence, feeling annoyed at herself for the words she had just spoken. She tried to make amends: “I will do my best to help the auntie recover the money.”

Zhang Da immediately looked up and slapped his own head. “Yang Kaifeng couldn’t think straight, and I’ve become muddled too. You are a lawyer; you must have more ways to help than we do.”

Seeing Chen Cuihua emerge from the room, Tan Xiao turned to Lin Muhan and said, “We can go in now to understand the sequence of events.”

Lin Muhan nodded and followed behind Tan Xiao into the house.

There were not many rooms downstairs. To accommodate more helpers, each room was furnished with two beds.

Yang Kaifeng and the other helper were both very diligent, and the room was kept neat and tidy.

Tan Xiao looked around but couldn’t find a stool, so she could only sit on the bed opposite Yang Kaifeng’s.

Lying on the bed, Yang Kaifeng stared blankly at the ceiling, looking as if she had lost her soul.

Tan Xiao spoke tentatively: “Sister Yang, no matter what happens, there will be a day when it passes.” Seeing that Yang Kaifeng did not react, she gave Lin Muhan a look, signaling for her to take over.

Lin Muhan understood and said softly, “I just heard a few things from Brother Zhang, saying that your family has encountered some trouble. I am a lawyer; you can tell me the whole story, and we can solve it together.”

Yang Kaifeng sat up from the bed, her eyes flushed red. she looked back at Lin Muhan with agitation: “Re—really? Is it really possible?”

Lin Muhan nodded. “We can try.” Without understanding the full details, she didn’t dare make a guarantee.

If what the auntie encountered was the telecommunications fraud that had been rampant over the past two years, the possibility of recovering the money would be quite low. Because these people hide abroad, even if domestic public security and judicial organs intend to strike, it is difficult to reach into other countries.

Yang Kaifeng raised her hand to wipe her tears, her hands clenched tightly on her lap. “I’m not very clear on the specific situation either. I only heard my mother say that someone told her there was some kind of investment with high returns, so she kept it from me and invested the money.”

“Then how did your mother realize she had been cheated?” Tan Xiao asked.

“With such a large sum of money, her heart was always uneasy. It just so happened she heard a relative had been scammed, so she hurried over there. She saw many people gathered outside, and after asking, she found out that the boss had run away with the money.” Toward the end, there was a hint of gritted teeth in Yang Kaifeng’s voice.

She beat her leg resentfully, muttering, “That’s five hundred thousand, five hundred thousand! That was the money she saved her whole life, and it’s just gone like that.”

Tan Xiao pulled two tissues from the table nearby and handed them to Yang Kaifeng.

Yang Kaifeng said thank you and took them, but she didn’t wipe her tears. Instead, she looked up at Lin Muhan with hope: “Lawyer Lin, can my mother’s money still be recovered? Even… even if only a part of it can be gotten back, that would be good.”

“You rest first. Tomorrow, I will accompany you back home. Only after I ask your mother about the specific situation can I make an accurate judgment.” Lin Muhan stated her plan. At the same time, she felt a sense of relief; although Yang Kaifeng’s description was vague, she could be certain that the auntie had not encountered telecommunications fraud.

Since it wasn’t telecommunications fraud, the possibility of recovery was much higher.

Yang Kaifeng hurried to move her body off the bed, saying anxiously, “Let’s go now.” Thinking of something, she stopped again and asked tentatively, “Lawyer Lin, is that okay?”

Lin Muhan did not hesitate and nodded. “That’s fine.” She stepped away from the bed and turned to look at Tan Xiao. “Coming along?”

Tan Xiao replied, “Yes. Give me the keys, I’ll drive.”

She hadn’t forgotten that Lin Muhan had gone to resolve Xiao Ran’s family matters early this morning, and had only sat down for a moment after returning before this incident with Yang Kaifeng happened.

With someone else driving, Lin Muhan was naturally happy to oblige. Without a word, she threw the car keys directly to her.

“Thank you, thank you both,” Yang Kaifeng said gratefully. Although her face was still pale, the sense of despair and helplessness had dissipated quite a bit.

“Speaking of which, we are also colleagues. It is only right for colleagues to help each other,” Lin Muhan replied casually; she didn’t want Yang Kaifeng to carry a psychological burden.

An hour later, the three of them arrived at Xu Family Village.

After parking the car, Tan Xiao and Lin Muhan followed behind Yang Kaifeng and walked onto a small path.

“It’s just ahead, Ma—” Yang Kaifeng, who was leading the way, saw a crowd of people gathered in her courtyard and dashed toward it at full speed.