But it wasn’t a gunshot.
Jiang Mingyu was startled as well, staring in astonishment at the man who had suddenly dropped from above.
As he kicked Old Hong and snatched the gun from his hand, he cursed with a roguish tone, “Blind fool! Of all people, you had to mess with my sister-in-law?”
Then when he turned to look at Jiang Mingyu, his eyes sparkled.
“Sister-in-law, impressive! I didn’t expect you to have such skills. Did you train before?”
Sister-in-law?
Jiang Mingyu was even more confused. She had no memory of this person at all.
Clearly, the original owner hadn’t known him either.
Fortunately, the children recognized him and cried out in delight, “Uncle Mao Can!”
“Hey~ kids, that must’ve scared you, right? Don’t be afraid, Uncle Mao Can is here to save you!”
As Mao Can spoke, he was about to stand when Old Hong struggled beneath him, threatening angrily,
“You brat, how dare you touch me? Just you wait! I’ll call my people right now!”
Bang!
Not giving him the chance, Mao Can knocked him unconscious with a single punch, sneering, “You think I’d give you that chance?”
Jiang Mingyu winced at the sight.
One punch—and he knocked him out?
Just how strong was this guy?
And he had the nerve to say she was the one who had trained—
From what she could see, his skills weren’t bad either.
Since the children knew him, she relaxed a little. Taking the opportunity, she tied up Li San and Li Si as well, tossing them into the room together with Old Hong.
But the moment she stepped inside, her expression darkened.
She quickly came back out and said to Mao Can, “This is bad—there was another woman here earlier, Old Hong’s wife. She’s gone!”
She must have escaped during the chaos.
Letting the tiger return to the mountains was never a wise move.
“Sister-in-law, I’ll go after her! You head home first—Brother Feng is waiting for you!”
Mao Can immediately sprang into action. As he left, he poked his head back through the doorway, his peach-blossom eyes curved into a charming smile.
“Oh, right—Brother Feng sent me to protect you. Name’s Mao Can, one of his brothers!”
With that, he dashed off in pursuit, disappearing from sight.
His words made Jiang Mingyu pause.
Mao Can?
Sent by Huo Mingfeng to protect her?
Shaking off her thoughts, she shut the door tightly and checked it again to ensure the men inside had no chance of escaping. Only then did she take out a bottle of mineral water from her bag, unscrew the cap, and hand it to the female college student.
“Are you alright?”
“Thank you, thank you so much!”
The girl was trembling with emotion, tears welling in her eyes.
“I thought I was going to die! My name is Liu Xiuxiu. I live at No. 26 Hongxing Street, South City. Sister-in-law, thank you for saving me!”
She shakily got to her feet.
“I don’t know how to repay you. If you don’t mind, please come to my home for a meal—or leave me your name and address so I can visit and thank you properly another day!”
A life-saving favor wasn’t something to brush aside casually.
The girl’s gratitude made Jiang Mingyu appreciate her more. She nodded.
“My surname is Jiang—Jiang Mingyu. ‘Ming’ as in bright moon, ‘Yu’ as in jade. I live at No. 18, entrance of Lushui Town.”
“No rush. Have some water and rest. I’ll take you home afterward.”
“Thank you… thank you…”
Liu Xiuxiu wiped her tears, her eyes still red as she crouched down to drink.
Seeing that she was cold, Jiang Mingyu took off her coat and draped it over her shoulders.
After the earlier exertion, she herself wasn’t cold at all. Her sweatshirt had a thin fleece lining—warm enough.
“Xiuxiu, I heard those men say you’re a university student?”
After crouching beside her, Jiang Mingyu steered the conversation toward the point.
“Mm…”
Liu Xiuxiu choked back a sob.
“I study at Rongcheng University. I was raised by my mother. She passed away recently, and my aunt called me back to handle the farmland and house back home.”
“I see. It must not be easy for you alone. If you need any help, just tell me,” Jiang Mingyu said. “As it happens, I’m also looking to buy farmland and property. If yours hasn’t been dealt with yet, would you consider selling them to me? As long as the price is fair, I’m willing.”
She happened to be in need of land.
The original owner hadn’t inherited any farmland from her natal family because she was a woman.
Huo Mingfeng was often away, and this wasn’t even his hometown—he had no land here either.
Lin Xiaohua did have a few plots, but they were all controlled by her sister Lin Xiaofang, who had essentially taken them over, making them difficult to reclaim.
If she could buy directly from Liu Xiuxiu, she wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of dealing with the production team to figure out land contracts.
At this time, the policy of contracting farmland had only just been introduced and hadn’t yet spread to this area. It wasn’t something she could simply apply for.
She would likely have to wait at least another three months before she could contract land on a large scale.
After taking a sip of water, Liu Xiuxiu finally calmed down a little from her lingering fear and turned to Jiang Mingyu.
“Sister-in-law, if you want to buy farmland, that’s actually doable. I’ll go home and discuss it with my aunt. I haven’t been back for two days—she must be worried. I’ll check how much land we’re planning to sell. If you want it all, you can talk to my aunt about the price. But since you saved my life, I definitely won’t let her ask for an unreasonable price!”
She spoke clearly and handled things with principle.
Jiang Mingyu felt inclined to befriend her, but she didn’t immediately invite her to work with her.
After all, she was still just an “empty frame.” Though she possessed billions in resources, her real-world business hadn’t fully taken shape yet.
Once she established her company, it wouldn’t be too late to invite her then.
After chatting for a while and getting to know each other, Jiang Mingyu and the children escorted Liu Xiuxiu home.
Her aunt had been anxiously waiting since the day before. When Liu Xiuxiu finally returned and recounted what had happened, the aunt expressed endless gratitude to Jiang Mingyu.
Upon hearing that Jiang Mingyu wanted to buy their farmland, Liu Xiuxiu’s aunt arranged for her to visit the fields the next day.
“Sister Jiang, our family has a total of eighteen mu of land. It’s not far—just in the southern outskirts of the county, near the mountains and close to water. But it hasn’t been cultivated for years, so it’s all become wasteland. If you want it, you’ll have to put in some effort clearing it.”
“That’s no problem. I’d be delighted if you’re willing to sell it to me.”
Jiang Mingyu smiled, thinking to herself: So the wasteland in the southern outskirts belonged to Liu Xiuxiu’s family. She had already taken a liking to it when she first saw it—she hadn’t expected such a coincidence.
It seemed that doing good deeds really did pay off.
Liu Xiuxiu’s aunt wiped her tears and gave a bitter smile.
“To be honest, I’m eager to sell the land. My husband’s family isn’t from here—they’re in Zhejiang. I came back this time to deal with the land so I could leave the money from the sale for Xiuxiu and her brother to continue their studies…”
“I see. Xiuxiu has an older brother as well?”
Sitting in the courtyard, the aunt poured water for Jiang Mingyu and the children, sighing.
“Yes. Her brother’s name is Liu Xiuqing. Their father died years ago in a mining accident—his body was buried and couldn’t even be recovered. The boss paid five hundred yuan in compensation. My sister-in-law used that money, along with what she earned through endless hard labor, to send both children to university…”