webnovelfull Chapter 57 An Incompetent Son-in-Law
Chapter 57 An Incompetent Son-in-Law
Lin Yue and Gong Yong's peaceful days didn't last long, only about a month. Occasionally, Lin Yue would receive calls to go to the villa to treat cultivators injured during missions for special national departments. One day, as Lin Yue was about to drive there, she happened to run into the elderly couple. They asked where she was going, and Lin Yue casually replied that she was going to the villa to treat patients. The elderly couple expressed their desire to visit, and Lin Yue didn't stop them, letting them get in the car, and they headed to the villa together.
Upon arriving at the villa, Lin Yue was busy treating patients on the east side, while the elderly couple, feeling bored, strolled around the yard. They wandered into the backyard, which was filled with numerous spiritual flowers, herbs, and fruits. Perhaps because the elderly couple had arrived, the two white wolves that had been guarding the villa remained silent, simply lying in the backyard watching them.
The elderly couple took a walk around and saw vegetables, melons, and fruits, which pleased them. They took out baskets, hoes, and some farm tools, harvested the ripe vegetables, and planted some new ones. Then they went to the storage room next to the villa, which was fully stocked with farm tools, fruit seeds, and more. They took some of these, and when they saw that the fruits were ripe, they picked some more.
Unbeknownst to Lin Yue, the elderly couple busied themselves with their tasks, unaware of the grave mistake they had made. Some of the spiritual fruits were picked before they were ripe, and some of the spiritual vegetables were dug up before they matured. Especially the seeds Lin Yue had saved—some of the spiritual flower and herb seeds were for medicinal use—were also dug up by the elderly couple. When Lin Yue finished healing the people there and came to the backyard to see this scene, she nearly went mad. She immediately called Gong Yong and asked him to come over.
Gong Yong took leave from work and rushed to the villa area. Seeing what his parents had done, he was furious. Lin Yue and Gong Yong had poured so much effort into growing these plants; they simply couldn't grow them anywhere else. They had painstakingly gathered the necessary equipment at this villa to make them thrive. Researchers from other countries had even come to see Lin Yue's research results, to see if they could flower and produce seeds, but the old couple's efforts had ruined everything.
Gong Yong looked at his parents, who were completely bewildered and unaware of their mistake, feeling both angry and helpless. Lin Yue stood by, on the verge of tears, wondering what to do.
After Gong Yong arrived, he asked his mother, "Do you know what this is? Just put it away."
The old woman said, "Isn't this just some kind of vegetable? It'll be easier to store once it's cooked."
Gong Yong said, "This was to save its seeds. If you take them all, I won't have any seeds left, and I won't be able to grow them anymore."
The old woman said, "Can't we just go buy some? There are seeds everywhere outside."
Gong Yong said, "This is a rare vegetable. It doesn't have seeds. We're conducting experiments. This batch of vegetables was planted specifically for seed production." The old woman was stunned.
Gong Yong then asked his father, "Why did you pick this fruit?"
The old man said shyly, "I see that this fruit is yellow and should be ripe, so I want to pick it and taste it."
Gong Yong asked, "Do you know what kind of fruit this is?"
The old man said, "I've never seen it before, but it smells quite good. It should be ripe and delicious."
Gong Yong sighed and said to the elderly couple, “Mom and Dad, it’s not that we don’t want you to stay here. All the flowers, grasses, and vegetables here are called ‘spiritual flowers,’ ‘spiritual herbs,’ ‘spiritual vegetables,’ and ‘spiritual fruits.’ These are some things that the country has kept secret. You see, there are many soldiers protecting this place around our villa, and that’s because of these things. You’ve been busy all day, thinking you’re helping me, but you’ve actually ruined all of Lin Yue and my hard work this year. You’ve ruined all of our year’s achievements in just three hours this morning. Many of the seeds here are things that the country is researching. The reason we don’t let you in is because we’re afraid you’ll mess with them. We originally wanted you to take a look around, but we didn’t expect you to touch these things. Lin Yue has only been busy in the east side for two or three hours, and you’ve already started working in this backyard. You didn’t even ask before you took it upon yourself to pick all these vegetables and fruits. You probably don’t know that these things, once taken out of this yard, mean they’re incredibly valuable, priceless.”
The elderly couple were stunned. The old woman said, "Really? This is something that is unique in the world."
The old man said, "How could that be? They're just some broken flowers and weeds, you can find them everywhere in the countryside."
The old woman's eyes darted around, and she said, "Since these are already broken, we don't need them anymore, right? Then give them all to us."
Gong Yong was taken aback and asked, "Why should I give it to you?"
The old woman said, "I took it out to sell."
Gong Yong said, "This belongs to the state, not to a private individual."
The old man said, "Isn't this house yours?"
Gong Yong said, "When did this house become mine? This is a sanatorium that Lin Yue set up specifically for treating injured people for the country. We only come to stay here occasionally during holidays, just so that Lin Yue can take care of the patients more conveniently."
The old man and woman said in unison, "Why didn't you go to a specialized hospital when you were sick? Is Lin Yue indecent?" Gong Yong couldn't reason with them, so he pulled the two elderly people into his car and drove away.
Lin Yue stood in the garden, heartbroken, because all her efforts of the year had been wasted today. The evening breeze made her figure appear so lonely and helpless.
Standing in the evening breeze, Lin Yue took out her phone and called a central government leader. She explained that her two elderly relatives hadn't been very considerate and had picked a lot of some special fruits and vegetables from their garden, some even losing their seeds. Lin Yue asked if the leaders needed these fruits and vegetables, and if so, to have them airlifted immediately so they could eat them.
Lin Yue was dejected after making the phone call. She went to a flowerbed and found a surviving seedling in a corner. She quickly marked it, wrote a label on it, and hung it on the seedling. This might be the only one left in the world. Then, Lin Yue frantically searched the various nurseries, taking out spiritual water from her spatial storage and quickly watering them. She paid special attention to the seedlings with only one or two buds remaining. This was because these might be the only ones in the world, if they bore fruit, they might still be saved and could be cultivated. If they didn't even bear fruit, it might be impossible to study this spiritual flower and herb again.
Less than half an hour after Lin Yue made the call, a helicopter landed on the football field in the residential area. Three soldiers disembarked, armed and carrying ammunition. The soldiers found their temporary accommodations, took many styrofoam boxes, and quickly came to Lin Yue's villa. Lin Yue let them in, and they sorted the spiritual flowers and vegetables into the styrofoam boxes. They were hesitant to eat the spiritual fruits, as some were unripe. Lin Yue examined them and said they were edible, though less potent, but better than ordinary fruits in both appearance and taste. In the end, they packed eight styrofoam boxes, sorting the spiritual fruits and vegetables, for a total of over twenty boxes. They planned to take these to the central government to distribute to several high-ranking leaders. Lin Yue kept some of the spiritual flowers to dry and make medicine. Some of the spiritual herbs had no choice but to be given to the central government leaders; they would see if any senior cultivators needed them, as these were useful when fresh, but some would become useless after drying.
Soon, the helicopter took off and headed to the central government. Meanwhile, it was already past 10 PM on Lin Yue's end. She silently closed the door, patted the two wolves' heads, and told them to keep watch and not let anyone in again, including the old man and woman from earlier that day. Lin Yue drove off, when the three old men—Old Man Number One, Old Man Number Two, and Old Man Number Three—came out of the alley behind her and surrounded her, saying, "Why didn't you say so sooner? You didn't leave us any of the spiritual vegetables inside." Lin Yue replied, "I did leave some; I was just about to take them to you." She opened the trunk and took out three styrofoam boxes, which contained what she had prepared for the three elders. The three elders opened the boxes and found spiritual flowers, herbs, fruits, and vegetables—everything imaginable. She had given them a little of everything. The three old men chuckled.
Lin Yue bid farewell to the three elders and drove away into the night, leaving the three old men behind, happily taking their styrofoam boxes back home.
After Gong Yong drove the elderly couple home, they were still puzzled. They had been busy all day, hadn't even had lunch, and their son had dragged them back, looking so upset. Sitting in the living room, the old couple asked Gong Yong, "What are all these things? Why didn't you tell us?" Gong Yong was speechless.
Gong Yong said, “These things were cultivated by Lin Yue for the country. I don’t know how much the country will lose because of your actions, and Lin Yue will definitely be punished. The reason Lin Yue’s salary is high is because she is now a member of the national establishment, a soldier, and is under special protection. I have also been granted a military title and am also a special talent protected by the country. Lin Yue and I’m mainly responsible for cultivating these spiritual flowers, herbs, and fruits. These spiritual flowers and herbs are not very useful for ordinary people, only for health preservation, but they are very useful for cultivators. The reason I’m telling you two is because some things, like the flowers and plants in my old house where you are now, are things you’ve never seen before. These were specially prepared for you by Lin Yue. If you live here for a long time, the flowers and plants here will emit gases that are beneficial to your bodies and can help you live longer.”
The two elderly people quickly looked around the house and found several pots of particularly beautiful flowers and plants, emitting a faint fragrance. Gong Yong said, "Don't even think about selling these precious flowers and plants; they're very valuable. If you sell them easily, I might never forgive you. This is the culmination of Lin Yue and my efforts over the past few years. Although I'm still officially working at my old company, we're busy at the villa on weekends and holidays, and Lin Yue is constantly running back and forth. We were hoping you could help us take care of the children and make things easier for Lin Yue and me. But your arrival has been a disaster for us. I didn't expect you to help me with the children; I know it's my responsibility." It's your responsibility. I'm glad you could help me. But the truth is, you've never helped me; you've only helped my brother. I don't know how you differentiate between me and my brother. I'm not as good at talking as my brother. For so many years, Lin Yue and I have raised three children with great difficulty, and I didn't want your help. But I also hope you'll stop causing me trouble. You can live peacefully in this community. The house is cleaned for you, your food, drink, and everything else is provided, and you've been given money. You can go out, but only within the community area. You have people protecting you.”
The old woman and man were startled: "We have protectors around us?" Gong Yong nodded: "Yes, sent by the government. You just haven't noticed, but plainclothes police and armed police are often around you." "Why? Are we being monitored? It's not like we're in jail," the old woman said. Gong Yong said: "Because you are our parents. Lin Yue and I now belong to the government, and our work is special. Our family members could be kidnapped or threatened. The reason we didn't let you come before was to protect you two and prevent you from contacting us. Who would have thought you'd always wanted to stay at this villa? Even the central government leaders haven't stayed at that villa, why?"
The old man and woman looked at each other and fell silent.
After this incident, the elderly couple finally calmed down. Once things quieted down, they often strolled around the neighborhood, kept two dogs, and got to know more and more people. Occasionally, people from their neighborhood would visit their home and see the spiritual flowers and herbs. Among them were some criminals, foreign spies, and even some foreign practitioners who learned about this and tried to persuade the elderly couple to sell the plants to them, offering prices approaching several million.
Although the elderly couple came from the countryside, they understood the stakes involved. When they initially only had around 100,000 yuan, the old woman was tempted and called Gong Qiang. "Gong Qiang," she said, "I'm telling you, your brother and sister-in-law have some very valuable potted plants in our house. Your older brother said they're some kind of spiritual flowers and herbs, not found on the market, worth several million. Do you think you should sell them?" Gong Qiang suddenly realized that there was a park not far from his brother's house. One night, during a thunderstorm, it was said that a plant was undergoing a tribulation, and the park had been fenced off, with troops from many countries stationed there—those were supposedly spiritual flowers and herbs.
Gong Yong knew this was a serious matter, so he quickly drove over and asked his mother, "How did you know?" The old woman said, "Your brother told me. Last time your father and I went to visit the villa, we did something stupid." Gong Yong asked, "What stupid thing did you do?" The old woman said embarrassedly, "When we were strolling around inside the villa, we saw all those vegetables, flowers, and fruits. They were so beautiful. Your father and I were bored, so we picked a lot of those vegetables and flowers, and we also picked some fruits. When your brother came, he was furious. He dragged your father and me into his car and drove us back immediately. That's when he told us that he and Lin Yue, who are now under the government's jurisdiction and receive their salaries from the government, were growing some kind of spiritual flowers, herbs, and fruits that are extremely valuable."
Gong Qiang suddenly realized that his brother and sister-in-law had concerns. Then, when Gong Qiang arrived, he noticed that as he exited the elevator, several people peeked out from the stairwell, glanced at him, and then continued smoking. Gong Qiang looked closer; these people were clearly soldiers. Gong Qiang understood then that his brother and sister-in-law might indeed be finding it difficult to care for their parents. You see, strange people were starting to appear around their parents, trying to get them to sell the plants in their rooms, and he himself had encountered a group of such people, trying to persuade him to get some plants from his brother and sister-in-law.
He understood the importance of the matter and quickly called his brother and sister-in-law. When Gong Yong heard the call, he and Lin Yue rushed over to the old lady and gentleman's house after work and sat together in the room. The old lady and gentleman said that recently many people had inquired about buying their flowers and plants, with offers reaching five million yuan. They asked Gong Yong and Lin Yue if they could sell them. Gong Yong and Lin Yue replied firmly, "No, we can't sell them. These belong to the state; they're just for you to enjoy."
Gong Yong looked at the elderly couple seriously and said, "Mom and Dad, this isn't about money; it's about the interests of the country. We can't be foolish. Those people aren't good people; they just want to get these precious things from us to do bad things." Lin Yue added, "Yes, Mom and Dad, we can't let momentary greed cause losses to the country and bring trouble upon ourselves." The elderly couple nodded repeatedly, indicating that they would never have such thoughts again.
Since then, Gong Yong and Lin Yue have strengthened their protection and reminders for the elderly couple. The family has become more careful and cautious, working together to protect those precious spiritual flowers and herbs.