Chapter 103 - 103 102 Hot Springs

Words : 1605 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

103: Chapter 102 Hot Springs 103: Chapter 102 Hot Springs “Huff, huff, huff...” Cai Yan gasped for air, so angry that her chest heaved with each breath. She finally managed to catch her breath and then asked Liu Hun, “I need to go to the bathroom now. Where is the bathroom?” “What are you washing? A bathroom just for washing hands? Isn’t that being too fussy? Just scoop a ladle of water from the tank in the backyard and wash up, that’s it!” Liu Hun grew even less understanding of what was going through Cai Yan’s mind; he knew that Du Yueling also came from a big city but he had never seen her make such mysterious and unreasonable demands. “I’ll take you there!” Du Yueling offered with a gentle smile. She had encountered many troubles herself when she first came to teach. So, she was very caring towards Cai Yan, not wanting this woman, who would live here long-term, to have a serious conflict with Liu Hun. “Hmph!” Cai Yan snorted and, flipping her hair, followed Du Yueling with a twist of her hips. A minute later, an earth-shattering scream came from the outhouse in the backyard. A few seconds later, Cai Yan ran back, as pale as if she’d seen a ghost, and sat on a stool without recovering for a good long while. “What’s the matter now?” Liu Hun asked Du Yueling, completely baffled. Du Yueling stuck out her tongue at Liu Hun, a mischievous and somewhat embarrassed look on her face. “She can’t adapt to that kind of toilet.” “Toilet?! How could you even call that place a toilet?” Cai Yan yelled at Liu Hun, both terrified and furious. “Miss Cai, the conditions in our village are just like that. Hun is leading our village step by step towards progress, isn’t that to improve these places? But the road must be taken one step at a time, right? Since you’re willing to stay here, for the time being, you’ll have to put up with it, don’t you think?” Fen Ran said in a hushed tone to Cai Yan, aware that this woman wasn’t easy to offend and that they would have to live together in the future. “Put up with it?! How can I bear it? Just two planks over a pit of dung! Can that even be called a toilet? It’s terrible! Really terrible! Your village must improve sanitation immediately! Otherwise, you’ll never escape poverty! You’ll always remain backward and ignorant!” Cai Yan trembled all over as she shouted at Liu Hun, having vowed never to visit the place Du Yueling had taken her ever again. “That’s enough! Fen Ran and Yueling have made it very clear to you! No one is forcing you to stay! You chose to be here, don’t things have to be resolved step by step? You’ve just had your fill and you’re already worried about fixing toilet issues? We in Wanbao Village really don’t have that capability! I’m truly sorry, but our village is just that ignorant and backward! If you like, stay; if not, leave!” Liu Hun also said irritably to Cai Yan. Wanbao Village was still one of the poorest in the county, and just as they were about to get rid of the ‘poor village’ label, Cai Yan came along with all her complaints, using harsh-sounding words he just didn’t want to hear. “You! You think I care?!” Cai Yan stood up in a rage, threw a sentence at Liu Hun, and stormed out of the house. She had thought Liu Hun would soften and tell her everything would be taken care of immediately, but instead, she was met with such a response. “Don’t bother with her. She’ll settle down after she makes a fuss. It’d be better if she left. Let’s focus on figuring out what to do about the tea,” Liu Hun called to the two women, with no more energy left to deal with Cai Yan. The tea leaves harvested from the ancient tea trees were of astonishing quality and quantity. Before, there had been no need to worry about sales since they were always sold to the Cooperative, but ever since they got into a dispute with Bai Hongcai, cutting off that channel, selling tea had become a difficult issue. Although the first batch was sold out, the second batch was almost ready to be picked and still, there was no one to sell to. This product was considered high-end, and the price wasn’t cheap; even if villagers from ten miles around were willing to buy, they couldn’t purchase much. While Liu Hun was discussing the tea leaves inside the house, Cai Yan was huffing and puffing, already having walked half a circle around Wanbao Village. Looking at the wisps of cooking smoke, green mountains and clear waters, smelling the scent of blueberries carried by the breeze, Cai Yan’s mood also improved a good deal. The dialectical philosophy in her head advised her that where there were negatives, there would also be positives. To understand how exactly Liu Hun achieved what he did, she must continue to stay here. And the biological knowledge in her head told her, humans have their urgent needs! Upon relaxing, Cai Yan suddenly felt the urge to pee. She had walked a grand loop around the village and found that either the places were unsafe or unclean. Just as she was about to burst, she didn’t know how she stumbled upon such an out-of-the-way spot, but she finally found a satisfactory place to relieve herself. Just as Cai Yan thought she had found a very secluded spot, suddenly a “gurgle” sound emanated from behind her! She was so frightened that she almost fell to the ground, and the “peak” she was about to reach instantly dropped to the valley. She quickly pulled up her pants and stood up, shouting behind her, “Who’s there?!” A breeze passed, leaving no trace; not a soul was in sight. “Could it have been my imagination?” Cai Yan muttered to herself, looking at the scene before her. She had analyzed herself from a biological perspective with precision, short of slicing and studying herself, and hadn’t detected any auditory or visual hallucinations that would occur as she approached her “peak.” “Gurgle!” Another clear sound made her alert, and this time Cai Yan saw it clearly, there definitely wasn’t a person, and the sound seemed to be that of water. Could there be a stream here? She had to find out. Driven by a meticulous scholarly attitude, Cai Yan picked up a stick only good for poking anthills and tentatively walked toward the source of the sound. The closer she got, the louder and more frequent the “gurgling” sound became. After pushing aside the last flourishing cornus tree in her way, Cai Yan finally saw the source of the strange noise. “Oh my God! Could it be...” An excited and joyous idea flashed through Cai Yan’s mind before she even finished her thought, and she walked towards a small pond ahead. Cai Yan took two steps to the edge of the pebble pond, carefully stretched out her hand—hot! She tried again—it really was hot! “A hot spring vent! This broken-down village actually has a hot spring vent!” Cai Yan exclaimed with delight. Applying her serious academic approach, she counted three large vents spewing water and eight smaller ones, not to mention countless others bubbling up that were too many to count. The spot before Cai Yan had formed over hundreds of years of natural erosion into a pebble pond that could hold five or six people, surrounded by magnolia, catalpa, and short cherry trees. The pond was crystal clear, and occasionally a few playful fish could be spotted. The pebbles at the bottom of the pond were smooth and pretty, and the water flowed down a stream without indication of its destination. This place was indeed a rarely seen and marvelous sight. As the temperature dropped in the evening, a mist gradually rose from the hot spring, prompting Cai Yan to exclaim again and again, marveling at the village’s singular appeal. “Who would have thought that this mountain village would have such a great place! A mountain hot spring untouched by pollution is the most nourishing spot! The farmers in this village surely don’t know about such an amazing place, or if they’ve seen it, they just find it curious. No one can understand its real value; it’s utterly wasted,” Cai Yan said excitedly, mentally scorning Liu Hun and the farmers of Wanbao Village over and over. She bent down to scoop up a handful of water and splashed it on her face, immediately feeling the warm moisture on her skin. “This is exactly the sensation I’m after! From now on, this place will be my private bathing pool! With this place, Liu Hun, just you wait! I will definitely outlast you here, and expose your tricks!” Cai Yan said with a sly smile on her face, already forming a detailed plan on how to make the most of this hot spring. For several days, Liu Hun, who had expected Cai Yan to keep nagging like a mother hen, completely didn’t foresee that since the day she came back from her excursion, she hadn’t mentioned bathing at all, and neither Du Yueling nor Fen Ran had seen her bathe in the backyard. As long as Cai Yan didn’t trouble him, Liu Hun didn’t care what she did.

Chapter 103 - 103 102 Hot Springs

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