Chapter 327 - 25: The Doomed Sister-in-law in the Group-Pampered Novel

As soon as these words came out, the secretary’s face changed.

"Is that how you just spoke to him?"

Shen Jia was also a bit nervous. He did say it like that, but who knew the sentence had this meaning!

Jiang Lai continued.

"And the ’sweet water’ that people just mentioned means fresh water. Teacher Shen translated it as sugar water. Those people might know it was a misunderstanding, but if this is mistranslated, it could have a big impact on the subsequent work."

"Oh, fresh water... no wonder! I was puzzled as to why he suddenly asked about our county’s sugar water production! I thought he was asking how many people sell sugar water here!

Fresh water, that’s right, it makes sense now!"

Shen Jia could no longer maintain the composed look on his face. He wiped his sweat and quickly stepped back.

"I can’t handle these colloquial things. It’s better to let this young girl do it. My skills are insufficient, and I shouldn’t waste your time."

By this point, the secretary dared not let Teacher Shen continue translating. He quickly switched to Jiang Lai.

Now, the efficiency of their conversation immediately improved. Jiang Lai spoke at an appropriate pace and reacted quickly. Whether in Chinese or English, as soon as the other party finished speaking, she could translate without any pause into all colloquial, concise, and easily understandable content.

Even Zhao Ziyu, who was pouring tea on the side, was dumbfounded. Initially, he enlisted Jiang Lai because he had no other options and never expected he’d actually find a treasure in a small village!

For over two hours, from discussing customs and habits to national changes, and then covering a significant portion of geological content, the related field span, and some professional terms—let alone translating, even just understanding the Chinese meaning was almost challenging.

By the end, all that was left in Zhao Ziyu’s eyes was the veneration of a powerhouse.

This figure was truly a powerhouse. Why bother farming? Just directly contribute to the nation!

In the morning, the interview ended, and the geologist and the secretary had a delightful chat, both smiling as they also had lunch together.

During this time, Jiang Lai followed along, inadvertently gaining a sumptuous lunch, with both Chinese and Western dishes, just in case the overseas Chinese wasn’t used to or satisfied with the food.

Before leaving, the geologist specifically chatted with Jiang Lai for a while.

After work, the secretary took Jiang Lai for a stroll in the lake park behind the office.

"Did you learn English just from that old gentleman in the countryside?"

"Yes, he was well-informed and happened to study in this field too."

Jiang Lai lied with a straight face. Since they’d lost track of the person, she could say whatever she wanted. The secretary had no choice but to believe her; otherwise, how could a rural girl who hadn’t attended school speak fluent English?

There were many doubts, but the secretary didn’t press further. After learning that Jiang Lai hadn’t even attended elementary school, he sighed.

"With your education, it’s really hard to manage."

If she had at least some middle school education, she could be appointed to a job on exception.

"Don’t trouble yourself. Next time you need me, just call. Besides, I’m not helping for free. Your secretary did give me quite a few tickets and money, right?"

It wasn’t much money, just ten yuan.

But the tickets were rare. They gave a lot of leftovers from the year.

This trip was worthwhile because one of the tickets was for a watch. Jiang Lai planned to get some money together to buy Xie Jian a watch so he’d have a better sense of time when working.

The secretary looked at Jiang Lai with deep appreciation in his eyes.

"If you’re not able to work in the county, I can’t let you continue meaningless work. You’re talented, and our country needs talent right now. I’ll first arrange a job for you in your village’s bookstore so you’re not working for nothing."

"Alright, thank you, Secretary."

Considering the geologist’s translator would soon recover, Jiang Lai had no pressing matters, so the secretary arranged for a car to personally send her back.

The news of Jiang Lai returning from the town in a sedan spread throughout the village. As the harvest season ended and there wasn’t much work to do, everyone had time to chat about the Xie family.

The third brother’s wife and Lv Cuiping got into a fight. The third brother didn’t help his mother but even broke his mother’s leg.

This news seemed reliable because Lv Cuiping hadn’t appeared lately. She always liked being where people gathered. Now after meals, when things weren’t busy, she was nowhere to be seen, making those watching more certain of their assumptions.

Lv Cuiping was indeed quite ill, aggravated, unable to eat or drink, grinding her teeth with hatred even while sleeping, regretting bringing such a character home for the third brother.

Eldest Xie advised her to take it easy and not to mind such trivial matters. After being scolded by Lv Cuiping, he didn’t say another word.

Since Jiang Lai had that episode, Xie Yumian’s status in the family subtly changed. Before, she was served a bowl of sugar water and poached eggs routinely. Recently, the poached eggs stopped, and no one even called her for meals.

Xie Yumian felt distressed. When had she ever been treated like this? Despite her contributions, nothing good came of it—instead, they resented her.

Finally, unable to stand it, she went to the forest alone. Usually, she always had some unexpected gains when she went, and today was the same. As soon as she entered the forest, she encountered a plump gray rabbit, squatting still, allowing Xie Yumian to step forward and pick it up.

On her way back, with no one around, Xie Yumian walked unhurriedly, thinking she might come across more. Suddenly, from behind, a pair of rough hands unexpectedly covered her mouth. A musty smell of halitosis wafted over her face, accompanied by the "huffing" sounds of a man that scared Xie Yumian so much she froze, instinctively screaming.

"Don’t scream!"

The man’s voice sounded somewhat familiar. She was terrified, tears streaming as she struggled and called for help.

The other person, clearly frightened as well, immediately released her and tried to run away. Before he could take more than two steps, a figure tackled him to the ground.

Then, heavy fists rained down on his face, muzzling any cries. The man could only cover his face as the beating went on fiercely and heavily, almost knocking the wind out of him before it stopped.

Xie Yumian stood aside, trembling with sobs, watching Xie Jian approach with blood-covered hands. She rushed towards him with red eyes, clutching his arm.

"Is he dead?"

"No."

"Is he Jiang Lai’s brother? Jiang Jinbao, right?"

Xie Jian pressed his lips together, glanced back, then nodded.

"It’s him! Jiang Lai must have ordered it! Brother, it must be Jiang Lai!"

"You’re shaken up, don’t talk nonsense. Your sister-in-law wouldn’t do something like this."

With Xie Yumian’s already taut nerves, she couldn’t handle any further provocation.